What are you reading/last book you read

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Angilasman
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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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JAGzilla wrote: Mon Sep 07, 2020 3:13 am I'm almost done with The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, and it absolutely deserves it's praise. The author does a fantastic job weaving the various aspects of paleontology together into a story, and this book is basically the ideal place to start if you want to familiarize yourself with dinosaurs.
Read this a few months ago. Excellent stuff - full of science, yet accessible and by weaving in the stories if paleontologists' life stories alongside how their discoveries informs our knowledge of the the dinosaur era keeps things surprisingly relatable.

Listening to the audio book Republic of Pirates, a history of the golden age of piracy. Ling story short: labor conditions were so abysmal for sailors it's a wonder there were any left who hadn't turned to piracy!

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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Finished Playing With Fire the other day. It was alright... informative, but repetitive. The author's background as a journalist was a bit too apparent, too, as the book sometimes read like a newspaper.

I started A Dance With Dragons a few weeks ago, and obviously it's been very good so far. I left it in my locker at work, though, and since I'm stuck at home I won't be able to get back to it for a while.

In the meantime I've started Aviation Century World War II, which is basically an overview of the air war. It could be somewhat dry material, but the authors do a good job writing it in entertaining fashion, providing enough detail to give the reader a decent image of the events while not getting bogged down. It moves along at a pretty brisk pace.
"Stop wars and no more accidents. I guess that's all I can ask." -Akio

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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Recently I finished Where We Came From a book a friend wrote. As a first novel it was pretty good, though it was a little aimless. Still recommended to anyone who likes PKD type Sci-Fi and who is looking to support a new writer. You can purchase the book here:
https://www.amazon.com/Where-We-Came-Jo ... B08JDXBTF6

Now I'm reading Authority by Jeff Vandemere. It's a sequel to Annihilation, and I've read both the book and movie, though they diverge. So far, also some good shit.
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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Started on the graphic novel version of 'Animorphs: The Invasion' last night. Really loving Chris Grine's artwork.

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JAGzilla
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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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Leviarex wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 3:57 pm Started on the graphic novel version of 'Animorphs: The Invasion' last night. Really loving Chris Grine's artwork.
I just stumbled across that book the other day on Amazon, and I was shocked; I'm a lifelong Animorphs fan, and I never expected to see the series retold like this. It's great that these books are being made, but some of the reviews complained about the aliens being made cuter and less terrifying, and I'm sure the violence (a key part of the original books' appeal) must be drastically toned down. Is that what you're finding, or is it actually a faithful adaptation?
"Stop wars and no more accidents. I guess that's all I can ask." -Akio

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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Finished Authority and Acceptance both by Jeff Vandemeer. Great follow ups to Annihilation, and despite the differences work well and can be enjoyed without the movie.

Now I’m delving back into Japanese literature. Starting A Personal Matter by Ōe Kenzaburō. Admittedly I’ve never read anything by him, though he’s the winner of the 1994 Nobel prize for literature, so I have high expectations. Curious how he’ll compare to the ultra melancholic self-deconstructive novels and short stories by Dazai Osamu.
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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JAGzilla wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:57 am
Leviarex wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 3:57 pm Started on the graphic novel version of 'Animorphs: The Invasion' last night. Really loving Chris Grine's artwork.
I just stumbled across that book the other day on Amazon, and I was shocked; I'm a lifelong Animorphs fan, and I never expected to see the series retold like this. It's great that these books are being made, but some of the reviews complained about the aliens being made cuter and less terrifying, and I'm sure the violence (a key part of the original books' appeal) must be drastically toned down. Is that what you're finding, or is it actually a faithful adaptation?
Considering that there are panels showing Elfangor slashing Visser Three in the upper arm, drawing blood (albeit blue), and the latter explicitly devouring the former while in Antarean Bogg form, I wouldn't call the violence toned down at all. And I suppose it's a matter of personal perspective, but the aliens certainly don't strike me as cute.

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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Leviarex wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 7:41 pm
JAGzilla wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:57 am
Leviarex wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 3:57 pm Started on the graphic novel version of 'Animorphs: The Invasion' last night. Really loving Chris Grine's artwork.
I just stumbled across that book the other day on Amazon, and I was shocked; I'm a lifelong Animorphs fan, and I never expected to see the series retold like this. It's great that these books are being made, but some of the reviews complained about the aliens being made cuter and less terrifying, and I'm sure the violence (a key part of the original books' appeal) must be drastically toned down. Is that what you're finding, or is it actually a faithful adaptation?
Considering that there are panels showing Elfangor slashing Visser Three in the upper arm, drawing blood (albeit blue), and the latter explicitly devouring the former while in Antarean Bogg form, I wouldn't call the violence toned down at all. And I suppose it's a matter of personal perspective, but the aliens certainly don't strike me as cute.
Well, that's good. I don't expect to see many limbs lopped off or guts all over the floor, though. :lol: It's kind of crazy, how all-out depraved those books were allowed to get. They really did not hold much back.
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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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I've been going through some movies, and one I wanted to see "The Vanishing" (original not remake) was based on a novella by the same name (technically its called the Golden Egg but the English translation is the vanishing). I would not recommend reading the book first however. In my opinion the movie does a more effective way of revealing information to the audience, setting the pace and tone, and reading the book kind of pre-emptively spoils the end in my mind. So I would recommend the movie if you enjoy thrillers, but avoid reading the book first (although its not easy to get a hold of).
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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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This week has seen two kaiju related additions to my list: 'The Art Of Godzilla: King Of The Monsters' and 'Project Legion'. Regarding the latter, Ashtaroth has one of the best original kaiju designs ever.

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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I'm reading a collection of Ray Bradbury dinosaur stories:

"A Sound of Thunder" - So a group of hunters travels back to the Cretaceous Era to hunt a T-Rex minutes before it's destined to die. One of them accidentally steps on a "butterfly", the "effect" of which causes ripples in time and leads to Donald Trump getting re-elected. Gotcha.

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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H-Man wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:41 am "A Sound of Thunder" - So a group of hunters travels back to the Cretaceous Era to hunt a T-Rex minutes before it's destined to die. One of them accidentally steps on a "butterfly", the "effect" of which causes ripples in time and leads to Donald Trump getting re-elected. Gotcha.
I saw the movie adaptation of it some years ago. Didn't really like it. I'm sure the book is better.
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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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Just finished the book by BTK's daughter. About to start Trick or Treat: The History of Halloween.
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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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G-Matt wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:05 am
H-Man wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:41 am "A Sound of Thunder" - So a group of hunters travels back to the Cretaceous Era to hunt a T-Rex minutes before it's destined to die. One of them accidentally steps on a "butterfly", the "effect" of which causes ripples in time and leads to Donald Trump getting re-elected. Gotcha.
I saw the movie adaptation of it some years ago. Didn't really like it. I'm sure the book is better.
It's a short story that basically accounts for the film's first act.

And yes, the movie has some of the worst CGI I've seen in a theatrically-released film.

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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Reading Maria Dahvana Headley's modern English translation of Beowulf.

The only misstep, I think, has been one use of "hashtag: blessed." I feel that was a bit too current - but other than that? It's rad as hell.

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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Angilasman wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 7:12 pm Reading Maria Dahvana Headley's modern English translation of Beowulf.

The only misstep, I think, has been one use of "hashtag: blessed." I feel that was a bit too current - but other than that? It's rad as hell.
Wow, weird coincidence, I've been reading an older translation of Beowulf as part of a linguistics class I'm taking on Old English. I looked into it and thought a lot of it was pretty funny. I also looked at the recent more accurate translation by Seamus Headley. I'm not sure Headley's version it's really a "translation" but there's certainly an interesting debate to be had about it, surrounding anachronisms and the nature of translations, that maybe is too smart for TK :P . But that's cool, let me know what you think of it.
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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^ Translation is a really fun, interesting thing. A certain amount of artistic license is necessary because you're trying to convey meaning and effect, and a mechanical one-to-one transcribing of one language into another just doesn't work.

(Looking forward to reading the new translation/abridgement of Journey to the West)

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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I'm reading Stoick, the second part of Theodore Dreiser's Desire Trilogy. There is a special charm in classical literature.

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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Challenger007 wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:59 am I'm reading Stoick, the second part of Theodore Dreiser's Desire Trilogy. There is a special charm in classical literature.
Looking through some statements and positions by the author, I’m a bit hesitant, but overall his stuff looks interesting. I’m always trying to diversify my Tatar’s and not stick to one genre, so this could be interesting, Perhaps I will add “American tragedy” to the list. Thanks!
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

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Re: What are you reading/last book you read

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I’m reading The Giver by Lois Lowry.
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