2017-01-14 at 8:04 AM UTC
I saw an Asimov book on there but can't tell what it is. What is it? What do you think of Asimov? I've heard good things about the foundation series. I've only read The Gods Themselves and it was pretty dry.
2017-01-14 at 8:10 AM UTC
franz kafka - the metamorphosis
2017-01-14 at 8:18 AM UTC
It's "Asimov's New Guide to Science" which is really kind of an odd volume. It's like encyclopedia entries, a few paragraphs long, on each discovery Asimov considered significant in the progress of "science" ordered chronologically. So like the idea is you build up to calculus through its historical motivations, and dynamics, and modern physics, and a handful of other subjects up to like the 60s.
I enjoyed it a lot when I was younger but I'm not sure I'd still enjoy it, while there's nothing in it that's specifically committed to scientism it's very well received in that community and not without reason.
As to Asimov in general, I have a lot of affection for him as an author but I hold no delusions that he's a literary giant. By his own admission, a lot of his output found home in pulp publications. An unconventional opinion but my favorite piece of writing of his is "I, Asimov" which is one of three autobiographies he wrote (somewhat shocking but somewhat softened by the point that he's one of, if not the, most prolific writers in English). It was, at points, really human and personal and gave a lot of insight into an era, or at least I thought it did.
As for his fiction, I read the first three books of the foundation series but honestly I wouldn't recommend it unless you really like his other stuff, if you thought The Gods Themselves was dry then stay away from foundation for sure. I think his robots short story collections are really the litmus test worth taking: read I, Robot or The Rest of the Robots and see what you think, if you like it dive in, he's got a lot of material to read if you're into it, if you think it's not you speed walk away knowing you gave him a fair go.
Post last edited by Lanny at 2017-01-14T08:20:33.077573+00:00
2017-01-14 at 6:47 PM UTC
I read Herman Hesse and Carl Yung, I also like Kafka, especially the pit of babel.
THE TOWER OF BABEL
If it had been possible to build the tower of Babel without ascending it, the work would have been permitted.
THE PIT OF BABEL
What are you building?--I want to dig a subterannean passage. Some progress must be made. My station up there is much too high.
We are digging the pit of Babel.
2017-01-14 at 10:10 PM UTC
Number13
African Astronaut
[dispute my snotty-nosed seagull]
I don't have a camera good enough but I'll log most of the stuff on it, I've got a lot of samurai books that I can't be bothered to go through and i doubt you'd wanna know about, I'm a weeb, though Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo is some suggested reading, otherwise I've mostly got stuff from when I was a kid reading for fun in school.
The Mortal Engines Quartet - Phillip Reeve - I'm rereading this now, it's honestly quite good still and the world the 4 make are quite amazing
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness - Michelle Paver - I've not read this in a very long time but as a kid I enjoyed it a lot, never managed to finish the series though
The Atrophy series - Sean Danker-Smith - These are much newer but actually out of print right now and I'm missing a couple I think, if the writer ever gets them back printing they're some you guys might like, they're based in the same world as some earlier stories which were based in the STALKER version of the zone and follow some of the same people, if you liked the games you might like these too, I'd like to get a paper copy of Roadside Picnic to accompany them.
And a book on ww2 naval ships, I play kancolle and fuck boats.
There's a few more behind some dvds if anyone wants me to move them but they're probably also kids books, I've not bought any recently.
2017-01-15 at 2:10 AM UTC
i call books, 'fuel units'
2017-01-15 at 2:17 AM UTC
kroz
weak whyte, frothy cuck, and former twink
lol who keeps books in the garage next to their Lamborghini
2017-01-15 at 2:22 AM UTC
-SpectraL
coward
[the spuriously bluish-lilac bushman]
I read so many books over so many decades, at a certain point, about 10 years ago, I just imploded, in a literate sense. From about 1968-2007, almost 40 years, I had read tens of thousands of books, through hundreds of different genres, authors and subjects. It had become a severe addiction. A "sickness", you might say. Everywhere I would go, I would have a book under my arm; people always thought it was weird - I could see it on their face. "What'cha readin'??" was the inevitable hello, any time I would encounter some person of acquaintance. I read from the time I opened my eyes in the morning, to the time I closed them at the end of the day. Seven days a week. I read while working, read while traveling, read while eating, read while shitting. Cost me tens of thousands of dollars, too, just for the copy. Then one day, about 10 years ago, I switched to Internet text only. So now, I read books online from morning until night. Online articles. Various media. So, I still have the "sickness", but it's no longer cumbersomeness, attention-causing and expensive. As the "Constant Reader", I've learned to adapt to modern conveniences.
Post last edited by -SpectraL at 2017-01-15T13:05:30.585998+00:00
