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Lily Fairbairn
Half-elven
Apr 25 2017, 2:15pm
Post #1 of 10
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It's the last week of April reading thread
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I was startled to see a photo taken by a Canadian friend of the snow still piled up in her back yard, considering how, here in Texas, we've been flirting with summer since the end of February.
In any event, I hope this last week of April finds everyone enjoying spring or fall wildflowers, whichever is appropriate to your hemisphere 
I'm reading an Archaeology magazine with the usual fascinating material, such as an absorbing article on Hadrian's Wall. I'm also still reading Princesses Behaving Badly, the collection of short essays on historical, non-Disney, princesses who have sometimes acted upon their lives but who for the most part have been acted upon.
I also listened to Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane, a beautifully written, beautifully paced and plotted fantasy novel, read superbly by the author. To say simply, "A man returns to a farmhouse down the lane from his childhood home and reminisces about the amazing events that occurred soon after his 7th birthday" is to give much too short a shrift to a splendid story. Highly recommended, especially in audio.
And what have you been reading?
Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow....
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Kelly of Water's Edge
Rohan
Apr 25 2017, 7:15pm
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National Geographic special Middle Ages issue
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Really nice collector's edition bullet-pointing the era, including highlighting the dominant city of each century from Rome ending Ancient times to Florence beginning the Renaissance. The special broadens the era to include the Christian, Byzantine and Islamic world, basically considering the Mediterranean "Ground Zero", which will be illuminating to those of us (admittedly including myself) who are usually thinking England and France when they hear the term. It also puts the age into world context re: what was going on in Asia, Africa and the Americas at the same time.
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ElanorTX
Tol Eressea
Apr 28 2017, 9:29pm
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Exit West, a novel with some fantasy elements
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It describes two lovers in a unnamed country descending into civil war and their experiences with loss in many forms. Not to give away any spoilers, but I think the book is well worth a read
"I shall not wholly fail if anything can still grow fair in days to come."
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cats16
Half-elven
Apr 30 2017, 1:14am
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Still Oscar Wao, LOTR Appendices, and some Foucault
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Picked up Foucault's Madness and Civilization, which analyzes the portrayal/role/perception of madness from the Middle Ages to modernity. Sometimes it's handy to have a computer nearby while reading this, as Foucault loves to mention several pieces of art in one sentence--it's much more rewarding to actually have the image he's pondering in front of you, no matter how dense his actual interpretation may be.
Join us every weekend in the Hobbit movie forum for this week's CHOW (Chapter of the Week) discussion!
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Lily Fairbairn
Half-elven
May 2 2017, 2:30pm
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It's the May Day reading thread!
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Not the, "Mayday, Mayday! I need help!" reading thread.
I finished Princesses Behaving Badly and both enjoyed it and heaved a sigh at the long history of women's misery, which seems to greatly outweigh any history of women's empowerment.
I've started listening to Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, which is his attempt to summarize the history of science. His witty writing and clever asides keep it from being too dry, even as the array of names, dates, and places becomes a bit dizzying. Fortunately the British narrator has a plummy voice with clear enunciation, which helps.
In fact, between the narrator's voice, Bryson's wit, and the astronomical terms at the beginning of the book, it took me most of the first CD to get over being reminded of Stephen Fry narrating The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 
What have you been reading?
Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow....
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Annael
Immortal
May 2 2017, 3:22pm
Post #6 of 10
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"The Self-Aware Universe" by Amit Goswami
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a quantum physicist; he proposes that consciousness, not atoms, is the basis for everything, including both material and non-material aspects of the universe. Seems like the quantum physicists are all mystics these days; reminds me of Ken Wilbur's assertion that if you pursue ANY branch of learning to its ultimate end, even the most rigid forms of material-realist science, you'll end up in mysticism.
I recently watched a documentary on "Jodorowsky's 'Dune' " about Alejandro Jodorowsky's attempt to film 'Dune.' Made me glad he didn't get the funding; it would have been even weirder and off-book than Lynch's version (although I now suspect Lynch got many of his ideas from Jodorowsky). But it drove me to pick up "Dune" and read it again. I was introduced to "Dune" the same summer that I first read "The Lord of the Rings" and just as LOTR remains the best example of good fantasy for me, "Dune" represents the best of sci-fi. Here is hoping that Denis Villeneuve's new movie of "Dune" does justice to it . . .
I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young.
-- Gaston Bachelard
* * * * * * * * * *
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
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Darkstone
Immortal
May 2 2017, 8:48pm
Post #7 of 10
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Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign, by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes (2017). How Mrs. Clinton lost the presidency. Reading this it all seems inevitable. How can such intelligent people be so stupid and petty when they know so much is on the line?
-Recommended if you want to be depressed.
Level 7 by Mordecai Roshwald (1959). WWIII and the only survivors are in vaults built deep underground. I always thought this was an inspiration for the Fallout series. Intriguing concepts. A bit short. I first read it in the sixties. Still powerful. Current edition has two or three dense and verbose critical prefaces you may want to skip over.
-Recommended if you want to be depressed
Nightmares Of Eminent Persons And Other Stories, by Bertrand Russell (1954). Biting satires of the late forties, early fifties. References to Stalin, Eisenhower, and Dean Acheson are probably too dated for some. The Queen of Sheba and Dr. Thomas Bowdler might also be obscure. A little piece about existentialism may be a bit puzzling. Personally I enjoyed it immensely.
-Recommended.
The Dasam Padishah ke Granth
Beautiful!
I was especially struck by chapter 5, verse 13:
From both sides, the kettledrums bound with chains began to beat.
(Because of the movement of the armies much dust began to rise)
The demon commanders, who had long matted hair, were covered in dust.
The demons’ nostrils were as big as mortars and their mouths were as big as shelves.
Those brave demons with moustaches came before Durga.
They had fought against those like Indar and these warrors would not stop nor could they be stopped.
After surrounding Durga, the demons thundered like black storm clouds.
Very nice!
-Highly recommended
******************************************
"People who alter or destroy works of art and our cultural heritage for profit or as an exercise of power are barbarians, and if the laws of the United States continue to condone this behavior, history will surely classify us as a barbaric society."
-George Lucas, 1988
(This post was edited by Darkstone on May 2 2017, 8:58pm)
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
May 5 2017, 11:23am
Post #8 of 10
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The Kalahari Typing School for Men
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Lily, you've given such great reviews of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series that I had to snatch this when it was lying on our staff room "givaways" table.
I loved it! It took me a couple of chapters to get used to the formality of personal address, and I had to google the correct pronunciation of "Mma" and "Rra", but what a lovely culture, and Mma Ramotswe is such a delight, I'd love to have her for a friend.
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"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Lily Fairbairn
Half-elven
May 5 2017, 3:28pm
Post #9 of 10
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Yes, they're such positive books
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I get tired of the darkness, doubt, and despair in so many contemporary novels, whether mystery or otherwise.
We finally were able to see the first episode of the HBO series based on the Precious books. It was somewhat different, as you'd expect, but still just wonderful. They can't dramatize Precious's wise musings and have to build up the rather slight plots, but they do well showing her wisdom in action. And the actress playing Grace is perfect.
I believe Kalahari is several volumes into the series. I hope you eventually find the first ones on the table---it's worth reading the books in order.
Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow....
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Kimi
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
May 5 2017, 7:37pm
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I'm ambling through this warm and charming series, and that volume is (in audiobook) my current running companion.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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