Books
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Currently reading the "Wheel of Time" series. Book 2 of 14 I think. Hopefully ill still be alive at to see them out! After that it will be Nick Kent, The Darker Stuff.
If you like Fantast then the Wheel of Time books are unreal. Highly recommended
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I loved those books back in the day but lost patience at least 8 books in. Jordan, god rest his soul, spent so much time on minutiae like the brocade of a character’s dress when he could have completed the WoT and then done series about the age of legends or whatever else he referenced in the world he built. When there are already so many intricate threads that I had to check WoT FAQ to get re oriented each time a new book dropped, it was just too exhausting and lengthy for someone with my impatience. Which sucks because he was a brilliant world builder. I am glad they figured out a way to wrap it up, even if posthumously. Very sad that he was not able to see his opus through.
That series, great as it was, ended epic fantasy for me as a genre.
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Currently reading:
I’d wholeheartedly recommend to anyone that likes modern fiction and is interested in art. The (unnamed) narrator is an art/tour guide in Buenos Aires. The whole book is basically descriptions of different artworks, and follows the narrators trains of thought from the works to her own life. Slowly a picture emerges of her life, all recounted through the way she experiences the artworks. I liked this part about Rothko:
“ Perhaps there is something spiritual in the experience of looking at a Rothko, but it’s the kind of spiritual that resists description: like seeing a glacier, or crossing a desert. Rarely do the inadequacies of language become so patently obvious. Standing before a Rothko, you might reach for something meaningful to say, only to end up talking nonsense. All you really want to say is ‘fuck me’.”
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I value the opinion of the people here so I’ll go ahead and ask. What’s everyone’s opinion on audio books? Comparable to reading at all? I’ve heard from people that it’s a different experience than reading but still worth your time. I have a new born and don’t have as much time to read or do anything I used to do. Couple that with an hour commute to work each way, and getting bored of podcasts, I was considering buying some audio books.
Also, anyone have any opinion on iBooks vs audible if I was to buy some audio books?
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I like both @Johnnyutah247 but it’s hard to beat the Audible unlimited plans if you read a lot. Apple’s biggest advantage IMO is that ebooks and audiobooks are integrated into the same app (and yet they haven’t figured out how to integrate Podcasts into Apple Music).
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@Johnnyutah247 yeah I’m a big fan of Audible. Weirdly though, I enjoy very different books when listening to an audiobook compared with reading print. I took up audiobooks for the same reason you have - kids/time/driving commute. Before that I read upwards of 50 books a year. It took me a long time to find a groove with audiobooks. I found that the stuff I liked to read in written format did not work well with the audiobook format. Books like “One Hundred Years of Solitude” or “Ada, or Ardor”, where the text is too dense and non-verbal, stream-of-conscious or non-linear. I found that straight ahead ahead fiction (particularly written in the 1st person), and non-fiction audiobooks are the best.
Also, the narrator of the audiobook adds a whole new dimension. First there’s the book itself, but no matter how good the books is, if the narrator is shite or annoying, you won’t be able to persevere. I find, generally, bigger authors (Stephen King, Donna Tartt, etc) have better narrators than more obscure titles do.
Why not try free trial with audible and see how you get on?
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Interesting question! I love print and the feel of books which is the only reason I haven’t tried audiobooks. I always have at least one (up to three) books on the nightstand at any one time. Sometimes I only read for 10-15 minutes and sometimes an hour before bed.
Most of my reading is done during travel when there really isn’t anything else to do. I also found by not having TV in the house (other than the occasional DVD) it’s easier to find time to read. Between the forum, online news, and books I easily read for a few hours every day. One thing I do miss is a good old fashioned newspaper and the journalistic effort that used to go into them.
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Thanks for the advice guys. One thing that turned me off about iBooks was that the audio and print version of a book was two separate things. I kind of feel like if I’m spending 20$ on an audio book, it couldnt hurt them to just give me access to the print version as well. Not that I’ve ever read a book on a iPad or kindle, because like @goosehd i prefer rhe physical copies as well.
@jerkules is audible the same?
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I don’t really listen to audiobooks myself. But I will butt in to say: don’t buy them! Your public library has them for free through Libby or whatever app your system uses. You’ve already paid for it with your tax dollars, and as long as you don’t only want the latest bestseller, you probably won’t even have to wait. Same for regular books, while we’re about it.
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@sabergirl can you give me a brief rundown of how Libby works? My local library uses it. But it seems like it’s mostly physical books and not audio.
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It depends on what your library system purchased how many (if any) audiobooks they have. Most have both things, though.
First install the Libby app.
You have to sign in using your library card number and identify what your library system is.
Once you’re logged in you can browse titles (you can limit search to audio if you like). Find a title you want, and there’s a copy available you just hit borrow. If the licensed copies are all checked out, you hit “place hold” and will have to wait until it’s available. The app will send you a message when your hold is available to check out. Don’t wait to check out your hold, or else it will send it along to the next person in a couple days.
Once you’ve borrowed a title it’s on your shelf, and you can read it at will. Pretty sure you get three weeks with most things. You can read directly in the app, download, or “read with kindle” which has the intermediate step of logging into Amazon before you can download and read with the kindle.
Anyway, it’s really very easy, and a librarian at your local could easily walk you through it!
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@sabergirl that’s perfect thanks. I’ve always been a physical book guy but I might need to try a kindle now.
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Next Friday the 16th will be Bloomsday.
30 years ago I tried to read the Ulysses, it was impossible.
20 years ago I made the second attempt, I failed
10 years ago, I got the first chapter and then I quit
In February 2022 I started reading it again, this time I managed to finish it on June 16, 2022.
It was like climbing the highest mountain on earth. Now every June I will reread a chapter to celebrate it.
I am now looking at how to tackle Finnegans Wake.
James Joyce followers…. ¿Any advice?
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@SKT I just heard about this book and upcoming movie. Think I’ll have to put this one at the top of my list. Insane how wicked money and greed makes the human.
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@Mizmazzle I think you’ll enjoy it but man it does make you scratch your head at what people will do for money. Pretty ugly stuff
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Next Friday the 16th will be Bloomsday.
30 years ago I tried to read the Ulysses, it was impossible.
20 years ago I made the second attempt, I failed
10 years ago, I got the first chapter and then I quit
In February 2022 I started reading it again, this time I managed to finish it on June 16, 2022.
It was like climbing the highest mountain on earth. Now every June I will reread a chapter to celebrate it.
I am now looking at how to tackle Finnegans Wake.
James Joyce followers…. ¿Any advice?
I read Ulysses in grad school, in a Yeats/Joyce seminar. I'd like to pick it up again (and still have my original copy) as I find I'm a better reader than I was half my life ago.
On the topic of big, difficult books: I've tried The Recognitions a couple of times and failed. That feels like my next big climb.
But back to Joyce, the guy who taught the seminar I took was Heyward Erlich, who was pretty well known in Joyce circles--I think he was head of the James Joyce society at some point. Anyway, regarding Finnegan's Wake he said no one reads it, even scholars. They'll pick up passages and sections but it's nigh impossible to read in any linear way as if it were a novel.
