Literature

Title is a bit redundant; I can't see how anybody could read the book and not come away as a fan, but I'm just wondering if there's anyone on Lemmy who's read it.

What do you think? I'd love to meet some other fans of DFW.

I recently finished the title book by Fabian Franklin and it was a fairly intresting read arguing against Prohibition in the US while it was in effect. It brought up some points I have never considered, such as how the sheer disregard people had for it could damage people's respect for the law overall, or how odd it is that we would have a law banning the sale of alcohol in the Constition, enshrined beside laws protecting freedom of religion or a persons right to vote. It also brought up strong feelings that "the more things change, the more they stay the same". While American passenger ships were barred from selling alcohol, it was largely ignored. Passengers would have booked European ships if it had been enforced, hurting profits.

Does anyone have suggested reading on Prohibition? Or perhaps recommendations for books of a similar vain, touching on old history as they happened?

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/722330

Old, but just in case folks don't know about this...

I'm dragging myself through an "award-winning" "best-selling" "recommended" book I got from the library and wishing I hadn't. (Yes I know those phrases mean little and I can stop, though I'm nearing the end after hoping it would stop being so hopeless. Yes I can be naively optimistic ;) .) The characters and story are all stereotypes and clichés. It's not realistic or slice of life.
The Korean drama I'm watching is top rated on MyDramaList and is well done but it also tells a sad story every episode. I'm halfway through and I don't think it's that much better than some lower rated ones with more moments of happiness.
Anyway, this has me thinking about whether there's a general trend to regard books - stories of any kind really, including real life ones - as "better" if they upset us.

"Reading is a chronicle of progress, the almost mythic tale of a latent superpower unlocked for the benefit of mankind."

Cross-postong from https://Kbin/m/wheeloftime

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I had picked this up at a used book store a long ways back after reading nothing but rock bios for a while - thought a little historical non-fiction could beef my brain up.

Took about a year, but I finished it yesterday and the timing of the whole submersible ship implosion while doing some tourist viewing of the sunk Titanic lined up in a pretty unsettling way for me.

As far as the book goes, this is my second from Erik Larson, the first being Devil in the White City, which was excellent as was this one. Erik Larson has an incredible skill for writing a mix of textbook material and humanizing detail that allows you to both learn and care, while organized in a way that builds suspense despite the events being common knowledge. It almost reads like historical fiction, his research is very thorough into both the people he describes and the events that happened, providing context to both that creates a rich and educational reading experience.

Worth noting:

• Woodrow Wilson spends the whole book being a total simp and an emotional sad sack.
• Winston Churchill is both admirable and contemptible in his actions, in modern times he would be seen in a much more negative light.
• While making it clear that the German U-Boat commander Walter Schweiger is a cold and calculated man focused entirely on sinking ships with little care for the human toll, even he at times is a relatable character.

While the current events aren’t totally related as instead of a torpedo submarine we are currently talking about a luxury submersible used to do sight-seeing of a passenger ship’s wreckage, the first hand accounts of the survivors of the Lusitania’s sinking paint an absolutely horrifying picture of living through a shipwreck.

I never watched Titanic (I only watch good movies, thank you) (jk) but to imagine the absolute chaos and carnage of thousands of people in the middle of a freezing ocean, getting off the boat just to still be maimed or set adrift amongst the debris and surrounded by corpses and other terrified people… it’s rough.

Good read, check it out.

In cleaning out my reddit closet, I stumbled upon this site again after long forgetting about it.

The impression is fresh for a while. What is the first thing you do?

Do you discuss it? Do you write some kind of review for yourself? Do you explore professional reviews/analyses instead to compare the perspectives? Do you give yourself some time to form an opinion? Do you do something else?

My readings of Shakespeare in reconstructed early 17th century pronunciation continue with Sonnet 64 ("When I have seen by time's fell hand defac'd...")

@literature @linguistics @poetry @bookstodon

The silmarillion narrated by Andy Serkis has been released. #lotr #silmarillion #tolkien @literature

I updated this post where I list a bunch of books that will encompass my personality. The gyst is getting to know me through these books. They all reveal an aspect of my personality. I am going to add to this list in the future Books to understand me. https://blindjournalist.wordpress.com/2022/11/26/books-to-understand-me/ @literature

Why Stanislaw Lem’s futurism deserves attention.

I’ve never had a book that I so immediately wanted to dive right back into. If you haven’t heard of it, but like a good mystery (closer to a self-contained ARG than Agatha Christie) or a good 500 page movie review, I could not recommend it more! This weekend I'm planning to do another read-through to catch things I might have missed.

It's really hard to put my thoughts about this this novella into a coherent form. Especially without spoilers.

Overall I liked it. It is thought provoking in ways I wasn't expecting.

If anything holds me back from an absolute recommendation is the prose. That it is a translation shows. 73 words in a sentence just doesn't work the same way in English as it does in some languages.

I've never had a book that I so immediately wanted to dive right back into. If you haven't heard of it, but like a good mystery (closer to a self-contained ARG than Agatha Christie) or a good 500 page movie review, I cannot recommend it more!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.pathoris.de/post/2880

Shouldn't books be sorted by ISBN? :-)

Cross posting from https://kbin.social/m/wheeloftime

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What is your favourite book?

It doesn't have to be famous, just a work that you connect with that you feel represents your country in some way.

So I've been reading The Wandering Inn, which is amazing btw, but it's started getting a little intense and I want to take a break for a bit. I wanted to read something similar, and I like how serious the author takes the topic. Does anyone have any recommendations? I've already blasted through Hedge Wizard and Arcane Ascension for additional references.

Edit: here's a compiled list of the recommendations so far, and where I'm putting them.

Currently Reading: Cradle

To-Read: Practical Guide to Evil, Bastion, Mother of Learning

To Check Out: Beware of Chicken, Only Villains Do, Way of Choices,

This feels like a pretty solid list, but I'll update as I go.