What are you currently reading?

[ebg]

What are you currently reading? Can be a book, manga, article, etc. Feel free to share what you've liked/disliked so far, whether you recommend it to others, etc. Personally, I am reading the first Lord of the Rings book. I am liking it so far, I think having watched the movie helps with my ability to visualize what's going on.

 

[nomoredolor]

Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Cold Days (Dresden Files # 14)
The Talisman by Stephen King & Peter Straub
a book about autistic burnout I can't remember the name
LOTR was so surprisingly musical in the books!

 

[EvisceratedJester]

Right now I'm reading Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend by Alan Cumyn and whatever the fuck this shit is that I found at my local bookstore earlier today

Spoiler: NSFW-ish

I don't know who the fuck Chuck Tingle is, but I will find them and I will fucking murder them

 

[_AllCatsAreGrey_]

I'm currently reading Dungeon Meshi (aka Delicious in Dungeon). I recently started the 5th volume. I'm really enjoying the series so far. It's a fun take on D&D themes and mechanics. I enjoy the cooking theme, too. The art and character design is great.

I saw the mangaka also wrote a world guide for the series. I'm thinking to read that when I complete the series.

 

[pollux]

Currently? ANSI/ISA 5.1-2009, unfortunately.

Though in the spirit of the question, Kino no Tabi (light novel).

 

[Alexei_Kirillov]

Annals of the Former World, a non-fiction narrative history of the geology of North America

 

[rih]

Currently reading Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris; no particular reason just found it among things while trying to clean. It's written well and the details and retelling is interesting. There's a few other book recc's in another thread I made if you'd like to find more! (And contribute eheh)

As for manga when I commute if it's too busy to take a book out i'm reading Usogui, it's pretty neat. About gambling though incase there's anybody with a TW for that kind of thing but it's so over the top it's just unconventional. It's great though.

 

[wondering&wandering]

Dune.

For the past year...lol.

 

[avoid]

As you notice, I'm progressing criss-cross through multiple books. My mood dictates what I want to read so I want to have more than enough options on my e-reader. Though you could argue it's a lack of commitment; I'm easily distracted. I have ordered the books by my rating despite not having read most of them to the end yet.

The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle [★★★★★]

Living in peace in her lilac wood, the Unicorn didn't know the world had changed, or that anything had happened to the rest of her kind. Overhearing a chance conversation, she resolves to venture out and discover the truth. The road is dangerous, and the risks are great. If she fails, then unicorns will be lost. Forever.​

Why Buddhism is True, by Robert Wright [★★★★★]

Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment is a book that journeys through psychology, philosophy, and lots of meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness.​

Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman [★★★★★]

Daniel describes two systems, intuition and slow thinking, which helps us form our judgement. He walks us through the principles of behavioral economics and how we can avoid mistakes when the stakes are high.​

Spice and Wolf, Vol. 2, by Isuna Hasekura [★★★★✰]

A light novel series that follows a traveling merchant who peddles various goods from town to town to make a living in a stylized historical setting with European influences. He meets a Pegan wolf-deity girl with a wolf's tail and ears. Together, as they travel, her wisdom helps increase his profits and her true nature draws unwanted attention from the church.​

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Vol. 11, by Fuse [★★★★✰]

A light novel series that follows a salaryman who is murdered and then reincarnated in a sword and sorcery world as the titular slime, who goes on to gather allies to build his own nation of monsters.​

It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism, by Bernie Sanders [★★★✰✰]

A progressive takedown of the uber-capitalist status quo that has enriched millionaires and billionaires at the expense of the working class, and a blueprint for what the transformational change would actually look like.​

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, by Jordan Peterson [★★✰✰✰]

A journey broadly discussing discipline, freedom, adventure and responsibility, distilling the world's wisdom into 12 practical and profound rules for life.​

I whole-heartedly recommend The Last Unicorn to anyone who loves poetic, funny, magical, and heartbreaking stories. And I recommend Why Buddhism is True for its interesting approach to Buddhism by focusing on the naturalistic parts: ideas that fall squarely within modern psychology and philosophy.

 

[pyx]

i wish i could read again. i have no motivation for it anymore. the last thing i read was probably 2666 by Roberto Bolano, which i am still slowly trudging through

 

[Houraisan_Kaguya]

I've been reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez... or, rather, it's been sitting on my desk 80% complete for a month. Despite that I've really enjoyed it - I started reading literature primarily to experience stories that wouldn't fit into any other medium, and One Hundred Years of Solitude is the first book I've read that fits that to a T. Not only does the format allow for such a sprawling narrative with so many different characters whose stories can be jumped to at any time, but Marquez's stunning prose fits enhances the dreamlike atmosphere likely more than even the best director could achieve. Hopefully I can get back to it soon.

 

[star.trip]

I'm a little embarrassed to say the last few books I've read because of their subject matter.
I have read:
- Save me
- Save you
- Save us

 

[Rocinante]

Ars Amatoria

 

[NoPoint2Life]

You guys seem so well read. I don't read anything heavy as I read for enjoyment purposes and to take my mind off things. At this point, I mostly stick to psychological thrillers. I can't even remember the name of the book I started last night. Tbh, they all start to sound the same and you actually do see the same titles repeatedly.

 

[ladylazarus4]

Emma by Jane Austen (well, I'm listening to it).

 

[ilikehamsters]

The Light Fantastic from Pratchett (Only like 40 years late i know)

 

[Jealous Blackheart]

Since it's been on my bucket list for ages and all signs suggest I'm going to be alive longer than I would have liked, I'm finishing the Bible. I really appreciate finding things in there that I didn't know where biblical references. For instance, I used to listen to Avenged Sevenfold all the time as a kid but had no idea that came from Genesis, or "eat, drink, and be merry" was from Ecclesiastes etc. I like knowing what the book actually says as opposed to what the popular understanding of it is. Like people thinking the forbidden fruit was an apple when it wasn't and it explicitly says what it was in the book. Then there are some funny bits like King Solomon's existential dread, and some interesting stories like Gideon and his 300. Think the 300 movie but they actually win at the end.

I'm also halfway through The House of Bondage by Reginald Wright Kauffman. It's about human trafficking in america set around 1910. I just dislike he author's use of accents in his writing but it has otherwise been worthwhile. I put it down for a while but when I return I'll likely start over from the beginning.

Emma by Jane Austen (well, I'm listening to it).

That was my favorite Austen novel. I won't spoil it.

 

[Houraisan_Kaguya]

You guys seem so well read. I don't read anything heavy as I read for enjoyment purposes and to take my mind off things. At this point, I mostly stick to psychological thrillers. I can't even remember the name of the book I started last night. Tbh, they all start to sound the same and you actually do see the same titles repeatedly.

Getting into literature, and any art form that I didn't grow up with, is something I had to make a conscious choice to do in order to experience more stories, more aspects of humanity (and have more ways to help the days go by quicker, but I digress). If it sounds interesting to you, all you have to do is make the same decision and throw yourself into a brand new world.

If you're a fan of psychological thrillers, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a classic novel and an easy recommendation, although it's definitely heavy so make sure you're in the right headspace for it. And then once you've made it through a 19th century Russian novel, suddenly anything seems possible~

Since it's been on my bucket list for ages and all signs suggest I'm going to be alive longer than I would have liked, I'm finishing the Bible. I really appreciate finding things in there that I didn't know where biblical references. For instance, I used to listen to Avenged Sevenfold all the time as a kid but had no idea that came from Genesis, or "eat, drink, and be merry" was from Ecclesiastes etc. I like knowing what the book actually says as opposed to what the popular understanding of it is. Like people thinking the forbidden fruit was an apple when it wasn't and it explicitly says what it was in the book. Then there are some funny bits like King Solomon's existential dread, and some interesting stories like Gideon and his 300. Think the 300 movie but they actually win at the end.

The Bible is absolutely on my bucket list. If it was incredibly humanizing for me to read a 150 year old novel and be able to relate to the characters, just imagine reading something from 2,000 years ago... I think that period of history is so incredibly interesting, and the fact that we get to have a direct window into how the people back then thought and felt and what they believed in is just incredible.

 

[helppls//]

17776... I don't have good taste in media

 

[Houraisan_Kaguya]

17776... I don't have good taste in media

Yet 17776, along with everything else Jon Bois has made, is absolutely fantastic. Just because it was made for the internet doesn't make it not good, and anyone who says otherwise is a snob.

If you want to get into more "serious" stuff, I imagine anything by Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke etc. would be a great entry point, but I've barely read any sci-fi. There's also a good chance, too, that 17776 is so good and unique that you might have to really dig to find something that'll give you a similar feeling...

 

[chester]

Spoiler: NSFW-ish

View attachment 152135
I don't know who the fuck Chuck Tingle is, but I will find them and I will fucking murder them

Aaand here we go again with the donut topic, you're not letting it go, are you?

 

[EvisceratedJester]

Aaand here we go again with the donut topic, you're not letting it go, are you?

The passion I have for this topic is immeasurable

 

[Jealous Blackheart]

If it was incredibly humanizing for me to read a 150 year old novel and be able to relate to the characters, just imagine reading something from 2,000 years ago...

This has to be my single favorite thing about reading classic literature: realizing that people are people are people, everywhere (that wasn't a typo). Northanger Abbey (the funniest Austen novel) with it's dudebros showing off their sportscars trying to impress girls who do not care one bit 200 years ago:

"Look at his forehand; look at his loins; only see how he moves; that horse cannot go less than ten miles an hour: tie his legs and he will get on. What do you think of my gig, Miss Morland? A neat one, is not it?"

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, emperor of Rome, writing in his diary about not wanting to get out of bed and work 2000 years ago:

"In the morning when thou findest thyself unwilling to rise, consider with thyself presently, it is to go about a man's work that I am stirred up. Am I then yet unwilling to go about that, for which I myself was born and brought forth into this world? Or was I made for this, to lay me down, and make much of myself in a warm bed?"

Emily Bronte, long before Death Cab for Cutie wrote I Will Follow You Into The Dark:

"If a tear, when thou art dying,
Should haply fall from me,
It is but that my soul is sighing,
To go and rest with thee"


I can go on all day. The people back then weren't much different from the people today, they just lived at a different time, had different tools.

 

[vadim]

The Miner by Natsume Soseki. It's about a guy who can't bear to live among people and originally intends to kill himself, but chickens out and decides living and just not seeing other people again would be fine, so he runs away to live outside civilisation. But he can't stand being hungry after one day so when he runs into a guy who offers him a job as a miner, he's like sure, maybe I can approximate being dead by doing that.

 

[Nikki_Music]

I've been trying to get through House of Leaves. Outside of the difficulty of the book I find I have trouble focusing, but it's a good read so far.