If that even makes sense. Perhaps I'm wishing for a book that doesn't or cannot exist. I want to read something that is relaxing while stimulating and satisfying curiosity. I dont want something juvenile. It's ok if it's deep and thought provoking, but doesn't have to be. It should not have conflict.

When I imagine such a book, I think of beautiful descriptions of a forest and the things that live there. The weather. The scenery.

I just had the thought that what Im describing is poetry, but poetry is something which I've struggled to enjoy.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Before amazon, there was a website that I went to that allowed downloading ebooks. Ibe bought off this website many times.

Books I have enjoyed:

• https://www.baen.com/1632.html
• https://www.baen.com/the-philosophical-strangler.html
• https://www.baen.com/oath-of-swords.html

Let me know if you have enjoyed any of these books in the past as well!

Did he? Or was it like that even back then? I'm reading this book, and it's like a carbon copy of our world in the US nowadays. I keep yelling "oh my god, this is basically happening right now!!!" Not as blatant and (I don't know the word) as in the book, but essentially the same. The book is like now, but on steroids (to explain the word I'm missing). The divide/polarization, the police brutality, the pollution, corporations and exploitation, the government's overreach..... Etc, it's all here now.

Welcome back after the holidays! Hope you had a good time, and your new year is starting well!

I didn't get much time to read, so still reading The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson. Third and final book the of Mistborn series (first era).

What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?

There's a Midyear Bingo check-in post, do take a look. Even if you haven't started this year's Book Bingo, you can still join, as there are still 6 months remaining!

For details, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and it's Recommendation Post . Links are also present in our community sidebar.

Just finished reading this book, and it was very moving. I've read one other book by Frederick Backman (And every day the way home gets longer), and loved it as well. Please suggest some books in the same style of these books (a bit more feel good like Ove would be great, but fine either way)

As a memoir, I find it very fascinating, though many of the individual stories are the result of games of telephone and hardly reliable; same as all oral histories. And, of course, the numbers suggested are deeply outdated by the fall of the SovUnion and the opening of the Soviet archives.

The 'rubber-band' effect of disillusionment with a worldview is on full display, certainly, considering Solzhenitsyn's youthful Soviet ideology. His resulting Tsarist apologia is not frequent, but pops up just often enough to be discomfiting.

Anyone else read this and have thoughts?

https://archive.org/details/TheGulagArchipelago-Threevolumes/The-Gulag-Archipelago__vol1__I-II__Solzhenitsyn/mode/2up

Artist: https://www.instagram.com/blanche.draw

I've recently gotten into reading and have completed some novels and graphic novels. I will not care if it's a novel, graphic novel, or something else. Any recommendation is great. Thanks

Edit: Thanks for suggestion. I started reading The Hunger Games. And put other in my read list.

Finished Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore. It was a fine book, enjoyed reading it, at least the latter half.

Started The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson. Third and final book the of Mistborn series, well the first era anyway. This is quite a dreary book, but it concludes everything so that's good.

What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?

Just a note, next weekly thread falls on 31st Dec, so we are going to skip that, see you in week after that, in 2025!

There's a Midyear Bingo check-in post, do take a look. Even if you haven't started this year's Book Bingo, you can still join, as there are still 6 months remaining!

For details, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and it's Recommendation Post . Links are also present in our community sidebar.

Ideally US focused. Currently have a pocket issue of US constitution w/ related docs and am aiming to include something else, but not sure what exactly. Currently thinking maybe works of MLK Jr? Any suggestions on what else to include?

I've only just finished part one, so there's room for growth of course.

But, it feels like the author puts in grotesqueness at least once every chapter for no reason. For example, when the priest gets pushed over then kicked in the asshole so he shits his pants (and for those who haven't read, I do not mean he gets his ass kicked, I meant literally foot to asshole then shit comes out) and that's all that happens to him. He was then carried off to safety with no further injury. Why even write that. Sure, it could be some odd metaphor about how he's dirty just like everyone else but there are about a dozen better ways to get that across, surely.

I'm failing to see how such a crass book became an LGTBQ+ powerhouse of a musical. Surely there were other stories with similar narratives and less babies sniffing piss, right?

I suppose I don't want an actual explanation. I'm more ranting, but I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts

I think it would be cool to post a title of something I'm interested in doing a dive into but make it more social and discussion-driven to be able to get the good stuff—kinda like a federated alternative to Blinklist and get everyone reading more with an actual compelling basis to stick to their commitment cuz they'll feel the community's wrath if they dont full-ass read their chapter and absorb it so they can help teach their piece

If not or if its not feasible, could I just do it here? Like

[BookClub] Thinking in Bets

Then everyone does whatever chapter they got assigned and post sequentialky when its their turn and everyone can discuss as it builds up to everyone having their chapter in

Edit: maybe there's a convention where the first comment is like a sticky or roll-call for anyone interested who child-comments that with the next chapter. So like I reply to the first comment which asks who wants to join and then I comment chapter 1, someone replies to mine with chapter 2, and the next person replies to chapter 2 with chapter 3 and so on until all the chapters are divvied up. Like my post forever ago testing out how many levels of nesting Lemmy could handle and it was like more than 100 levels of nesting

Edit: poster has to provide the number of chapters and why they want to read it so its established as a purposeful reading for them that has actual stakes like why they believe it will be beneficial to take the time to read the book and ultimately give it the full BookClub treatment

I can't help but always worry that one day I'll need paper books. I don't know what it is, but I feel like I should start collecting paper books instead of every single book I have is on my Kobo. Which do you do? If you get paper books, is there a source that sells cheaper books. Books are kind of pricey where I look.

Finished The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. Book 2 in the Mistborn series. What I remembered of the ending, was actually 100 pages before the actual end, so was fun reading that.

Currently Reading Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore. Didn't like the start, but I am about halfway through and enjoying it now. It says it's "comedy horror", but I am just not getting the comedy part, which is probably why I didn't like the start, I think. The story itself is interesting enough though.

What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?

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There's a Midyear Bingo check-in post, do take a look. Even if you haven't started this year's Book Bingo, you can still join, as there are still 6 months remaining!

For details, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and it's Recommendation Post . Links are also present in our community sidebar.

This is a major issue for me as a non-native English speaker (it even happens in my own language, but the effect is not as bad). Why do some authors go out of their way to make their books very convoluted? Like they make it so hard for you to connect the dots from different chapters or even the same chapter. What's the point? Do some readers actually enjoy this? Or is it the author trying to show off/feel superior? (This is not meant as an insult, just an assumption/opinion?). I've read several Stephen King books and they're mostly easy to understand, but sometimes he'd go on tangents where shit doesn't make any sense. I just skip all that "filling", as a I call it. Like who's whom, and what's just happened? Where did this come from? And so on. Tried with the Malazan book of the fallen, and holy shit. The beginning of the first book was a major pain to understand, so I stopped and I've been reading more English books so I can get better then go back to it. On the other hand, my wife has introduced me to this writer, Freida McFadden. The lady has the most straight forward books I've ever read. You read and you understand everything from start to end. I don't even find myself getting distracted like I do with the books that I have a hard time understanding. Her books are very clear and the English she uses is very simple in terms of vocabulary. Vocabulary...... That's another can of worms that I don't want to open.
Thanks for reading my rant.

I'm not a big YouTube guy, but this is interesting, and I know a lot of people in here are reading/looking forward to reading Wind and Truth. Her end result is some beautiful (obviously impractical) books that make the regular giant hardcovers look like little baby books.

If you ignore the handful of YouTube-isms it's a pretty cool video.

edit: adding screenshot of the books compared to the regular ones.

Looking for books or authors that have similar books to Sandersons cosmere books and Mcellans shadow of lighning and powder mage trilogies.

Mostly looking for good world building, unique magic system.

(I did not like Lee's jade books)