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[delphonso]

As in, never release in ebook form, or no longer available?

[ChairmanPoo]

As in available from my usual sources 😜. It IS in print

My usual sources did have a newer 2014 version. Which I'm presuming will be better based on that it's a collaboration between a Chinese Chinese literature faculty member, and an American literature faculty member. 

[A Thing]

As in available from my usual sources 😜. It IS in print

My usual sources did have a newer 2014 version. Which I'm presuming will be better based on that it's a collaboration between a Chinese Chinese literature faculty member, and an American literature faculty member.

I have the first volume of the Yang Suwei translation and the full set of Moss Robert's (the 80's one you mentioned) and I don't remember having any problems. Honestly either Moss Robert's or it are good. Just don't read the Brewitt version, that thing is full of spelling/complete sentence errors and also lacks any sort of footnotes to explain what the hell is going on.

[ChairmanPoo]

Ok, I have the yang suwei in the backburner 👍👍

Edit: I've been reading this for the last couple of days and it's far smoother a read than I expected. The pace and tone are a bit odd, but so far I'm liking it well enough.

[Yoink]

Brave New World.
Certainly a book well deserving of its status.   

[delphonso]

Back up to... 5 books?

Continuing Shogun,
Reading The Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaymes (really recommend, well-written and fascinating, if not totally convincing.)
Restarted The Vertical Plane, since I didn't get far into it. Again, interesting but unconvincing.
City Under the Sands - Mariotte, a Dark Sun novel that's well-digestible.
The Worm Ouroboros - a favorite from some years ago. Only listened to it, haven't read it before.

[Yoink]

I'm reading The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. Phwoar, it's a bloody good book - possibly my new favourite of his, even.   

So good. I kind of wish I had someone to discuss it with in more detail. You know how, when one watches a movie or show with friends, depending on the company one will sometimes bounce their theories as to how things will progress off one another? Like, you'll have an "aha" moment, realising what a character is up to or what's about to happen, and share it with the others - sometimes being entirely wrong?   
Obviously, I imagine this is something you'd only do in the right company, where it's not annoying anyone.   
I'm not sure how that sort of thing would be possible with books. Everyone somehow reading at the same rate? Stopping at pre-determined points in the story to check in and trade notes? Sounds like it would get very frustrating if the book gripped one participant more than the other(s).     

What I'm getting at is, I think I'm going to post some more-spoilery discussion of the book below, just to... get my ideas of what's to come recorded in writing, rather than just shouting them excitedly into the void (I'm pretty sure I've done that before, when watching something alone, come to think of it).
Please, don't read this spoiler if you haven't read The Chrysalids - go read the damn book instead.   

Spoiler: WARNING: actual spoilers for The Chrysalids, a book far too good to risk spoiling. These may only be my wild theories as I'm only halfway through the book, but nonetheless the content of them contains considerable spoilers for what's happened so far. I am on page 117 of this edition (1981 I think?), partway through chapter 11. (click to show/hide)

I feel like there's a distinct possibility that the telepaths will end up (once something terrible enough happens to drive home how unwelcome and despised their kind truly are in their homeland) not only fleeing to the fringes to join up with the folk there, but becoming an important military asset to them in the increasing raids on the 'civilized' world.
What with the primitive tech-level of the setting, a set of human radios (who are apparently at least somewhat skilled at warfare in their own right) would be a great asset, allowing them to coordinate larger-scale attacks and possibly overrunning the psychopathic bible-bashers altogether.   

Though of course, there would probably be all sorts of risks there, what with not knowing who or what else (possibly with more powerful versions of the same abilities, much like P has) might be listening in. Not to mention the mundane, physical risks, if they are to be running back and forth attached to whatever rag-tag combat units the Fringes might muster up. This is all assuming they make it out there in one piece, or if they're even welcomed by whoever actually lives out there - I'm sure that spindly giant fellow who bore a resemblance to Davie's father will make an appearance at some point.   


The other thing that occurred to me is: what's the bet that it was Sophie and/or her parents who did for that Alan Ervin POS? Perhaps David (and possibly the others, depending on how things pan out) will meet up with them at some point, assuming they were just banished to the Fringes like someone mentioned, rather than suffering a more sinister punishment.   
...Or, as I've just started to suspect at the point where I stopped reading, maybe even Uncle Axel was responsible?!    
That would be a bit of a shock, but it would certainly cement his general greatness in my eyes. I guess I'd better get back to reading and find out.   

   



Ah, it's good to have gotten that out of my head. I've actually been meaning to post this for a couple of days, with my reading having slowed down a great deal in the meantime. The second theory only just occurred to me today, though, since I read about 25 pages further.     


Oh yeah, I finished Brave New World a while back as well - that was great, obviously. I only wish it were longer.   

[NJW2000]

-

Please do tell us how you feel about the ending, once you get there. After reading your post, I want to know.

Would you say you're identifying with the Fringe folk at all at the moment?

[Eschar]

-

Please do tell us how you feel about the ending, once you get there. After reading your post, I want to know.

Would you say you're identifying with the Fringe folk at all at the moment?

I've heard of Fringe, would you recommend it

[Craftsdwarf boi]

The Sorrows Of Young Werther.

[Yoink]

Been reading Credo by Melvyn Bragg, but I've been getting kinda worried that the whole thing is just an over-long, waffling, self-righteous religious tract. I mean, fair enough to some degree, it is a book about a couple of medieval Jesus freaks looking down their noses at the "heathen hordes", but the author lays it on thick enough that it's hard to tell where the beliefs of the characters end and those of the author begin. 
Funnily enough, this book is actually making me root for the saxons, for goodness' sake. Something's gotta be wrong here, right?!   
 
I looked it up and apparently he is some sort of Christian himself, which I'd been getting a sinking feeling was the case.   
A fair few of the Goodreads reviews seem to support this impression. Not sure if I can bring myself to finish it, since the idea of dark ages Christian subjugation is unpleasant enough when it isn't couched in, to quote one of the reviews I looked at, "...more waffle than a Belgian pastry fair".   

Might dig out and re-read something involving vikings and Norse gods, instead.   



I also started reading Blood's A Rover by James Ellroy, but it takes a bit of effort to get into - which may be due to the fact that it's actually third in a trilogy, apparently. The weird, detached chapter(s) introducing the characters near the start may have been just getting folks up to speed on the events of the previous books.   
I hadn't actually thought of that 'til now, but it makes a lot of sense. Huh. I was wondering what was going on.   

[NRDL]

Currently on the 10th book of the Dresden Files. Holy shit has it been fun digging into an actual series. Seeing the writing evolve and improve drastically from the first book is a real treat.

Once I catch up to the current book, I'll probably check out Assassin's Apprentice.

[Uthimienure]

The Saga of Billy the Kid

[heydude6]

I’m reading a book called “Thy Neighbour’s Wife”. It’s a non-fiction piece by formerly-famous Gay Talese, the alleged founder of literary journalism. Dude was a big deal in his time, but now he’s retired and forgotten.

As for the book itself, it’s a chronicle of the sexual revolution of the 60s. That time when America finally broke free from Victorian Era prudishness and pivoted to the opposite extreme instead. It was short-lived, (AIDS kind of put a damper on that whole thing), but our modern hook-up culture has its roots in that period.

The way it covers that topic is rather interesting. Rather than tell some grand chronological narrative about the country like a Wikipedia article or history textbook (or Sapiens), it instead focuses on the lives of individual historical figures (and a few insignificant normal people too). The contributions they made, the struggles they went through, some of their most intimate and personal thoughts (a lot of these people were actually interviewed by the author). The result is a book that takes a while to get to its point, but also has an unusual amount of humanity in it. The people described aren’t just historical figures, they’re characters, with their own motivations and goals, and who even undergo character development sometimes. It puts the story in history.

Naturally, it’s likely that some embellishments and artistic license was used (like any good memoir really). This book is clearly trying to be entertainment, but even so there’s a lot fascinating stuff in it that I’m sure is real. Things like the IRL monster Anthony Comstuck was and the evil legislation he pushed, as well as the ways vendors of naughty material had to secretly distribute their product back when it was illegal, to even the banning of many books that are now considered classics. The book portrays old America as this repressive, totalitarian, regime that was also intensely hypocritical up until the socks finally come off. No sex before marriage, but oral and “petting” was okay? Yeah right.

To sum it up I recommend it, I’ve never seen a discussion of human sexuality as thoughtful as this one, but I have a couple of warnings. The first is that the book seems to have a slight anti-religious bias that may put some people off. The second is that the intimate, character-focused approach also applies to the way the book talks about sex. It helps with the humanity I was talking about, but it’s also weirdly voyeuristic. Like I’m peeking behind those metaphorical closed curtains, or maybe even being let in. Serves me right for buying a book about filth written in the filthiest time in American history I guess.

[delphonso]

Started going into Who Censored Roger Rabbit by Gary K. Wolf. I had no idea the movie was based on a book. Very interesting world building and plot devices so far.

Toons in the book speak in bubbles which are physical objects in the world, allowing a crime to be followed up by literally seeing a victim's last words.