everywhere and nowhere Posted May 13, 2021 Share Posted May 13, 2021 Just a short text: a philosophical (and not just psychological) analysis of the phenomenon of gaslighting by Kate Abramson (title: Turning up the lights on gaslighting"). I think that this should work as a link for others who might want to read it too: http://sci-hub.st/10.1111/phpe.12046. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
everywhere and nowhere Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 Andrej Ban - "Elephant in Zemplin. Stories from Slovakia" I admit that so far I find the book rather boring, but I was drawn by its "blurb": Quote Since when do inhabitants of Hybe in Žilin region sleep in pajamas? Who was allowed, in Austro-Hungarian times, to ride the train for a symbolic one crown? Which area of Slovakia during World War II had the most informers and snitches? What was the punishment in Gottwald's time for poisoning a chicken? What did pensioners from Banská Štiavnica mean, when in 1941 they went out to the street, shouting "We demand soles!"? How many Slovaks are there per one bear? Which region is a paradise for poachers? What was an Intalian circus artist doing at the, nomen omen, tip of the panorama tower in Svidnik? How did Brezhnev kiss Honecker, and how Alexander Dubček? These are only a few motifs from Elephant in Zemplin. It's impossible to specify all due to their number, density and complexity. Time for a great reportage from Slovakia. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skittles87 Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames. It's the sequel to Kings of the Wyld and it's possibly even better. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 2 hours ago, Skittles87 said: Kings of the Wyld Oh, I read that a while back. Some interesting takes on the idea of fantasy adventurers and all that. Spoiler (owlbears are real) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cranston Posted May 15, 2021 Share Posted May 15, 2021 I just reopened my collection of Edith Wharton's short stories. I read Ethan Frome a while ago and I liked it (creepy, but I liked it). Yesterday I read The Pretext twice because it was so good. I don't remember the last time a book/short story made me make an audible sound...but The Pretext did. I just started Afterward. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skittles87 Posted May 15, 2021 Share Posted May 15, 2021 17 hours ago, daveb said: Oh, I read that a while back. Some interesting takes on the idea of fantasy adventurers and all that. Hide contents (owlbears are real) It's such a fun book, but I think Bloody Rose surpasses it in some ways. (Owlbears forever!) 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mars tries Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 I am currently rereading a couple books, "If We Were Villains", "Carrie" and "Macbeth" because its been a while since I've read them Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Loutheace Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 I'm currently reading How To Be Ace by Rebecca Burgess, has anyone read it? I couldn't read it all in one go because I had to start getting ready for work (I work evening shifts) and I love it! I really want to read more comics/graphic novels so if anyone can recommend anything I would appreciate it! I've read the first 1 or 2 of The Walking Dead. I'm also reading Quiet by Susan Cain which I love so far as well! It gives examples of people who were introverted who had successful and happy lives to prove you don't have to be out going to be happy. It's really eye opening and inspiring! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
everywhere and nowhere Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Loutheace said: I'm currently reading How To Be Ace by Rebecca Burgess, has anyone read it? Is it about asexuality, as the title suggests? And where can it be found? I just started reading a new book: Emily Dickinson's selected poems. It's a bilingual edition with the original and a Polish translation by Stanisław Barańczak printed side-by-side. I was really upset when Barańczak died, he was one of Poland's best translators of English/American and Russian poetry - and certainly the most self-aware, always understanding what translation is about and rejecting nonsense about a supposed dualism of "form" and "content". (Together with Clare Cavanagh, he also translated a lot of Polish poetry into English.) Some of Diskinson's poems, such as "(The Missing All - prevented Me / From missing minor Things...)" haunt me throughout my life. This is not delicate or sentimental poetry - this is heavy philosophy. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AmberUK Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 The sixth watch by Sergei Lukyanenko 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tetus Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 15 hours ago, AmberUK said: The sixth watch by Sergei Lukyanenko This is the second time in as many days that someone has invoked a weird fiction series that had an impact on me. I think at the time I read them, only the fourth book had been published in English, so maybe I'll have to go track down the new stuff! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AmberUK Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 On 5/21/2021 at 2:54 PM, Epic Tetus said: This is the second time in as many days that someone has invoked a weird fiction series that had an impact on me. I think at the time I read them, only the fourth book had been published in English, so maybe I'll have to go track down the new stuff! Yeah I didn't realise the last 2 books were out. Worth a look at! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cranston Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 I just restarted Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. Never finished it the first time, so we'll see. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Forest Spirit Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 Just finished the NRK radio theatre of "de dødes tjern" (lake of the dead) and I'm kind of glad I understood the overall plot despite having a hard time understanding things acoustically😅 Idk if it's mumbling or dialects or having background sounds but this one was not easy to get through, other ones are fine again🤔 Interesting crime story too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
odifoisdgdfgsfg Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MerePeasant Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 Philip Pullman's 'The Book Of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth'. It keeps me turning the pages. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
everywhere and nowhere Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 Łukasz Drozda - "Lewactwo. History of the discourse about Polish radical left wing" Lewak (person) and lewactwo (attitude, political community) are terms distinct from ordinary "left wing". Lewicowiec is the neutral term for someone with leftist views, but lewak always meant something more, it carried three aspects of added meaning: (1) that such a person's views are radical - lewak could traditionally refer to trotskyists, maoists, anarchists, the Baader-Meinhof group, but not traditional socialists and socialdemocrats (or communists, due to their position in power in the 1944-1989 period); (2) a pejorative, derogatory tone; and (3) an implication that such a person's views are "fringe" or marginal. I'm not sure how will the book develop, although judging by the "blurb" and list of contents, the author later moves to show the modern evolution of this term, its connection with what the right wing sometimes calls "cultural left" and the very paradox of adoption of originally communist language by the radical right. However, I have to add one thing and include a shoutout to @EineKleineNachtmusik because of some entries in the topic about Poland and "LGBT-free zones": the Polish political discourse has become so skewed to the right the the terms lewak/lewactwo don't really refer to the radical left anymore. The way it's used by both PiS and its yet more extreme "attachments", placed in "friendly media" or the Institute of National Memory, lewactwo can now refer to socialdemocrats or even the centre-right (!!!). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Forest Spirit Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 The Testaments by M. Atwood Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Forest Spirit Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 As I needed a dose of Tolkien I've started listening to the Lord of the Rings in Norwegian, very happy that my comprehension is good enough for that already☺️ 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
odifoisdgdfgsfg Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 Cheating slightly as I'm doing an audio book at the moment, but just started the first book in the Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher. Its narrated by James Masters (spike). Great stuff so far.... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cranston Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 On 5/23/2021 at 12:46 PM, yellowseaurchin said: I just restarted Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. Never finished it the first time, so we'll see. Mmkay, so the update is that I finished Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea and I loved it this time. I don't really understand the criticism that Verne had no understanding of human nature. Everything about Nemo made sense. Now I'm re-reading Watership Down. I still like it but I kind of find Hazel and Fiver annoying. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
everywhere and nowhere Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 I'm just reading a little children's book: Nick Caruso, Dani Rabaiotti - "Does It Fart? Th Definitive Field Guide to Animal Flatulence". It's very funny and contains a lot of animal trivia. Although... I don't necessarily favour the "anti-taboo" trend in children's literature, particularly in terms of vocabulary: Polish pierdzieć is much more obscene than English fart (and its milder equivalents, in turn, have too much of an euphemistic / childish / long-winded aura). It's closely related to pierdolić (equivalent of the F word, although it also has some additional meanings in different contexts, such as "to talk nonsense, usually in a garrulous manner") and przypierdolić (to hit someone with force). The mental processes of those who created this mental association between sex, violence and flatulence - and you may say that I have anti-male prejudice, but I somehow have no doubt that these people were male (historically, use of obscenities by women was considered much more taboo and, in turn, use of very coarse and even offensive language by men was easily excused) - says a lot, and not very nice things, about what was going on inside their heads... Slavic languages are phonetically difficult for English speakers, also have a more complex grammar (they have retained declination, Polish has seven cases - and it's still far from the abilities of some Finno-Ugric languages), but you can just memorise the basic fact that words for "f*cking", "beating" and "farting" are related in Polish - and think about it the next time a man says how wonderful sex is, and ask yourself: if they glorify sex so much, why do they talk about it in such a contemptous way? Many sex-repulsed asexuals cringe at the phrase "making love", but I must say that I vastly prefer it compared to this kind of offensive language as presented above. It's a thing I don't do anyway , but despite my sex-negative views, if I have to choose between an idealisation and degradation of sex, I absolutely prefer the former. It gives me hope that maybe my sex-negative views are exaggerated, that maybe only a small minority of sex which people actually have is abusive and/or pseudoconsensual - the latter gives no such hope, it reinforces the worst fears about the quality of sex by people who use such language. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Purple Red Panda Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 Culture Warlords Talia Lavin. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Blue eyes white dragon Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 Maid-sama, I like it but at the same time I'm just like 😬 and its tame to some of the other things I've read and watched Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TormentDubz Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 Does Twitch chat count Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nazokashii Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman The only thing I regret is not reading it before ^^ around 200 pages in... 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alto Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 I just finished EVERY LAST TIE by the Unabomber's little brother. It was good, but I skipped the afterword. (Shhhh don't tell anyone) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Luftschlosseule Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 This Golden Flame, fantasy with an ace protagonist! 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Karst Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 A very weird piece of fiction by Ursula Vernon: https://gearworld.livejournal.com/2005/ It's not exactly fantasy, and not exactly horror. It's a narrative about two scientists exploring some ruins, and it manages to be oddly unsettling without using any of the usual plot devices of horror fiction. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
argar Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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