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xcheopis posted:Which one? I forgot, and I don't have my bag right now. |
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May 21, 2021 12:44
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Gnomon by Nick Harkaway This is one of the trippiest novels I've ever read. Synop: From the widely acclaimed author of The Gone-Away World and Tigerman, comes a virtuosic new novel set in a near-future, high-tech surveillance state, that is equal parts dark comedy, gripping detective story, and mind-bending philosophical puzzle. In the world of Gnomon, citizens are constantly observed and democracy has reached a pinnacle of ‘transparency.’ Every action is seen, every word is recorded, and the System has access to its citizens’ thoughts and memories–all in the name of providing the safest society in history. When suspected dissident Diana Hunter dies in government custody, it marks the first time a citizen has been killed during an interrogation. The System doesn’t make mistakes, but something isn’t right about the circumstances surrounding Hunter’s death. Mielikki Neith, a trusted state inspector and a true believer in the System, is assigned to find out what went wrong. Immersing herself in neural recordings of the interrogation, what she finds isn’t Hunter but rather a panorama of characters within Hunter’s psyche: a lovelorn financier in Athens who has a mystical experience with a shark; a brilliant alchemist in ancient Carthage confronting the unexpected outcome of her invention; an expat Ethiopian painter in London designing a controversial new video game, and a sociopathic disembodied intelligence from the distant future. Embedded in the memories of these impossible lives lies a code which Neith must decipher to find out what Hunter is hiding. In the static between these stories, Neith begins to catch glimpses of the real Diana Hunter–and, alarmingly, of herself. The staggering consequences of what she finds will reverberate throughout the world. A dazzling, panoramic achievement, and Nick Harkaway’s most brilliant work to date, Gnomon is peerless and profound, captivating and irreverent, as it pierces through strata of reality and consciousness, and illuminates how to set a mind free. It is a truly accomplished novel from a mind possessing a matchless wit infused with a deep humanity. |
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May 21, 2021 12:49
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Pleiadian Light posted:Gnomon by Nick Harkaway this sounds dank op i read queer and liked it cuz i could relate to some of it. finished the 2nd earthsea book and it was ok up to the end which was really well done. started some random collection of apocalypse stories. the king one sucked, the bagliucci (sp?) one was ok. ---------------- |
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May 21, 2021 17:23
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xcheopis posted:Which one? Le crépuscule au loin. Jesus I'm dr,f.
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May 21, 2021 19:58
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I checked on-line that the signature is real. But he has come to Finland to sign his name (it's a Finnish translation). I hope it's a good book, as I paid all of 1,5 euros for it.
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May 21, 2021 20:01
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i started reading Captains of Consciousness by Stuart Ewen after i saw him consulted as an expert about the history of advertising on part of the Century of the Self (as presented by the byob movie night) and I'm blown away. I'm dumb so even Ewen's very accessible style is slow for me, but he thoughtfully charts how consumptionism and advertising transformed the class of increasingly angry workers into self-deprecating consumers, each striving to wastefully consume as much as the rich they used to hate. It's wilder because he turns to old PR journals to show how brazenly this transformation was sought by advertising execs. It is cool and good
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May 22, 2021 14:32
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I also finished Omon Ra a while back and totally recommend it to if you want a very funny take on conspiracy in the cold war space race (this time from the Soviet perspective). To tempt you, one of the funniest parts of the book involves Henry Kissinger hunting humans (just like in real life!)
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May 22, 2021 14:35
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im reading to the lighthouse, and its v good |
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May 23, 2021 20:29
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ulvir posted:im reading to the lighthouse, and its v good Its one of my favourites OP
OMGVBFLOL posted:if you have the money and the patience, you can Hello Kitty anything   Thank you deep dish peat moss! |
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May 24, 2021 04:22
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KaBob posted:Gnomon by Nick Harkaway this sounds like it rules, and I loved The Gone-Away World so I'll have to give this a read I just finished A Death In The Family, by James Agee, since I am suddenly on a "read the books you skimmed in high school English class" kick. Gotta say this book hits different when you've actually had a death in the family & have a frame of reference for the reactions & emotions people go through. Young teenage me was fortunate not to really get the vibe of this. |
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May 26, 2021 13:46
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ulvir posted:im reading to the lighthouse, and its v good I'm reading the sequel, From the Lighthouse |
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May 26, 2021 16:02
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2Lighthouse |
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May 26, 2021 16:03
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lighthouse returned |
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May 26, 2021 16:36
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the bride of lighthouse |
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May 26, 2021 16:36
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50 Shades Lighter House |
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May 26, 2021 19:38
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all the pretty horses 
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May 26, 2021 20:45
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Light Another House
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May 26, 2021 21:23
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I'm on page 230 of a novel and I'm still not sure what the gently caress it's actually about. |
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May 26, 2021 21:55
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Chewed through Max Barry's latest Providence and it was a wild ride. Very much begging for a film adaptation with every page. It's a bit of Enders Game, a bit of Aliens, and some of the claustrophobic vibe from Sunshine or Moon. A solid scifi thriller that just kept me glued to it. |
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May 26, 2021 22:31
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3D Megadoodoo posted:I'm on page 230 of a novel and I'm still not sure what the gently caress it's actually about. I read something like that once, it wasn't until the last 20% of the book that the author started thing everything together. |
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May 26, 2021 22:35
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KaBob posted:I read something like that once, it wasn't until the last 20% of the book that the author started thing everything together. Yeah I sure hope that happens. e: I guess it happened. Loads of things happened. 3D Megadoodoo fucked around with this message at 00:22 on May 27, 2021 |
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May 26, 2021 22:43
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ulvir posted:lighthouse returned ulvir posted:the bride of lighthouse KaBob posted:50 Shades Lighter House more falafel please posted:Light Another House |
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May 27, 2021 00:24
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3D Megadoodoo posted:I'm on page 230 of a novel and I'm still not sure what the gently caress it's actually about. Yeah Finnegan's Wake can be a tough read |
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May 27, 2021 00:25
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wimsy posted:Yeah Finnegan's Wake can be a tough read That's about farts, right? |
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May 27, 2021 00:29
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it’s p obviously a story about the waves behind a boat driven by a guy unfortunately named finneagan
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May 27, 2021 02:02
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nut posted:it’s p obviously a story about the waves behind a boat driven by a guy unfortunately named finneagan oh you could've spoilered tht 
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May 28, 2021 02:49
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The Loop, about a cephalopod brain virus thing that infects a small town and turns the residents into thrill seeking murdery rage monsters Providence, about the crew of a space warship being bored by the AI doing all the war so they go a little nuts but then also end up doing some real fighting And still plugging away on Underworld, Don Delilo's weirdo paranoid novel about ... America, is the short way to put it. It's 1000 pages give or take and it jumps time and place and character pretty often so it's a bit dense for me. Been reading it off and on for the better part of three years |
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Jun 26, 2021 09:03
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I burned through a lot of Tom Clancy as an impressionable youth and revisiting some of it now is a trip. Red Storm Rising remains the Clanciest of Clancies for the fighter pilot shot down in Iceland evading capture because the Russian helicopter pilots think he’s just some nekulturny Icelander out fishing and showing off a handful of his local girlfriend’s titty. e: this is no kind of a spoiler; you already know everything that happens in this book even if you’ve never read it. |
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Jun 26, 2021 10:19
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I finished Breaking Things at Work by Gavin Mueller yesterday which starts with the Luddites but argues that the struggle directly between the worker and the work they do has always included sabotage up to today. instead of trying to push some idealistic instructions for change it looks at what people actually do and have always done and build some cohesive insight out of it. it was very enjoyable, is short, and is v fun to learn about some of the ways workers rebel against their workplaces.
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Jun 26, 2021 11:50
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I'm reading a large paperback from 1947 and I fear it'll fall apart in my hands Then again it's mine, and I gotta read it what good is it otherwise! |
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Jun 26, 2021 12:11
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I am reading a collection of short stories by J.G. Ballard called Low Flying Aircraft. A bit dated and twee as a result but good nonetheless
OMGVBFLOL posted:if you have the money and the patience, you can Hello Kitty anything Thank you deep dish peat moss! |
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Jun 26, 2021 15:01
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I'm on an Otessa Moshfegh kick and I really like her so far. I guess I'm accidentally reading all her stuff in order and next up is My Year of Rest and Relaxation which I hear is the big one. I also am back on translating some Paul Scheerbart. I might translate his long essay on Cervantes next.
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Jun 26, 2021 15:06
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if comix count im reading the first elfquest run
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Jun 26, 2021 15:59
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nut posted:I finished Breaking Things at Work by Gavin Mueller yesterday which starts with the Luddites but argues that the struggle directly between the worker and the work they do has always included sabotage up to today. instead of trying to push some idealistic instructions for change it looks at what people actually do and have always done and build some cohesive insight out of it. it was very enjoyable, is short, and is v fun to learn about some of the ways workers rebel against their workplaces. Thanks, I just bought this and incidentally a poster about the Luddite movement has been on its way to my house for like a week now! Bilirubin posted:I am reading a collection of short stories by J.G. Ballard called Low Flying Aircraft. A bit dated and twee as a result but good nonetheless I have a collection of his stuff but I've really only read High Rise and that one about the people that inhabit an abandoned median in the middle of a highway? They were pretty enjoyable though. The High Rise movie wasn't bad either. Man, I LOVED The Road but the movie was terrible. |
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Jun 26, 2021 16:07
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the road was like the one mccarthy ive read that i wasnt that into. just felt long and meandering and the ending seemed flukey i love like everything else by him tho. blood meridian and suttree were bangers, child of god, and the first two books in that trilogy (havent read the 3rd) ---------------- |
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Jun 26, 2021 16:13
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KaBob posted:Gnomon by Nick Harkaway I fuckin hated that book. It is 1000% full of its own fart smelling. I think it's the only book I ever read that when I got to the end I was actually upset that the author would be so blatantly smug and up his own arse. It's also the only book I ever stopped to leave a negative review for, and I never leave reviews for poo poo. So I guess it is powerful, but maybe not in the way the author intended. I kinda want to read Obama's latest memoirs (a promised land), but it's still like $18.99 on kindle, and while that's probably a bargain.... Ehhhh.... Finger Prince fucked around with this message at 16:25 on Jun 26, 2021 |
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Jun 26, 2021 16:20
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just finished the woman in white very fun novelHow Wonderful! posted:I'm on an Otessa Moshfegh kick and I really like her so far. I guess I'm accidentally reading all her stuff in order and next up is My Year of Rest and Relaxation which I hear is the big one. ive only read her latest one death in her hands, i liked it a lot. been a bit curious about R&R, i gather its a bit polarizing https://i.imgur.com/xQxnooW.png |
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Jun 26, 2021 20:37
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Eileen was really funny mostly because it is so grim and the heroine is such a ghoulish creep, it's like if Edward Gorey had to direct a giallo movie about E/N. I really liked it, it's wild how satisfying her stories are for how much they steadfastly deny the reader what they want.
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Jun 26, 2021 23:26
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I only have to finish 0,815 books a week for the rest of the year to achieve my goal of 2 books for every week 
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Jun 27, 2021 08:38
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Achtane posted:Thanks, I just bought this and incidentally a poster about the Luddite movement has been on its way to my house for like a week now! would love to hear what you think of the book when you’re done!
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Jun 27, 2021 11:21
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