I realized I have quite a bit in my reading queue at the moment, so I might as well talk about what I'm working on and what's still on my to-read list.
No, you read books for awesome reasons! At least that's what I tell myself as well, when I pick them up because they tie into something else (of generally less literary clout) that I love. ^^'
I generally read one fiction and one non-fiction book at the same time. But exceptions are made depending on variables like subject and format; and in fact, size (trasportability). For instance, I've been reading a history of Chicago quite on-again-off-again because it's a very large book that I don't like to carry with me, and also because the writing can be dense and I have to be in a certain mood to feel like reading a history book full of persons and events that just enter the page and then leave again by the next.
I had to skim your Fountainhead comments in order to avoid the major spoilers. (I've heard about said sex scene, but I have not read it yet myself.) To be honest, I said I would pick up Fountainhead next as well, but I've been going through a very irritating period at work that has reminded me why Rand needed to stick her
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Ahahaha I still need to reply to your other thing but I'mma reply to this one first because... BECAUSE!
I'm sorry for your workplace situation, and I definitely understand being frustrated with that sort of thing. The corporate world is such a political minefield, and it's something I struggle with all. The time. Regarding the Ideal Sparkly Vacuum-World: totally agree. Like, I want to believe in the power of the individual, but that doesn't actually work most of the time? Everyone is part of the tangled web of people that makes up a society whether they want to be or not, and success is very rarely, if ever, going to come down to your individual achievement alone (I tell myself, as I keep trying to look for a vacuum to hide in). -_-
Ooh, more details about Dagny's career history might be kind of cool, if handled well-- or sanctimonious, if done poorly :p Hopefully without giving too much away, Fountainhead does touch on career struggles a bit: talented people suffer for their refusal to sell out, while others find great success that
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Yeah, exactly. Rand's model might shake itself out and actually work if the entire nation comprised only about 100 people who work in the economy in any capacity, and only a handful who do anything management-level. "Tangled web of people" is right! Not to mention, incompetent people truly manage to go their whole lives without having things implode in their faces as a consequence of their incompetency. Which is also probably also a result of that economy of scale. I still might pick up Fountainhead in the near future if I become in the mood for it. Realistic or not, it could be a nice revenge fantasy. X3
I don't know a whole lot about Foundation either, except for some reviews and summaries I've read. By reputation, it's definitely on my list of major sci-fi works to read. While I'm not a total sci-fi geek, I do have a deep love and respect for the stories that stand up as classics -- which is usually because they succeed in much more than relating an adventure or speculative tale. Sci-fi is often the best vehicle for human
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Your comments always make me want to write long and/or detailed responses, so here we go!
You know, I've never heard of Andre Norton, but the way you describe her books, they sound really appealing to me. As you can tell, I do tend to read and enjoy a lot of things in the action/adventure genre, but I'm sort of sad that so many of the things I've been reading lately (with the exception of Rand) are from such an exclusively male perspective. More female protagonists would be nice, as would more character diversity in general, but just reading works by a larger spectrum of authors would hopefully help broaden my palate a little. Haha, I'm actually more of a dog person myself, but I do appreciate the literary value of good cat characters (speaking of which, have you ever read Coraline? I listened to the audiobook as read by the author, and it was really excellent. Never seen that movie, but I sort of want to, and Neil Gaiman in general is yet another author I want to explore more). And thanks for the Bradbury recommendation! I will try
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Comments 4
I generally read one fiction and one non-fiction book at the same time. But exceptions are made depending on variables like subject and format; and in fact, size (trasportability). For instance, I've been reading a history of Chicago quite on-again-off-again because it's a very large book that I don't like to carry with me, and also because the writing can be dense and I have to be in a certain mood to feel like reading a history book full of persons and events that just enter the page and then leave again by the next.
I had to skim your Fountainhead comments in order to avoid the major spoilers. (I've heard about said sex scene, but I have not read it yet myself.) To be honest, I said I would pick up Fountainhead next as well, but I've been going through a very irritating period at work that has reminded me why Rand needed to stick her ( ... )
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I'm sorry for your workplace situation, and I definitely understand being frustrated with that sort of thing. The corporate world is such a political minefield, and it's something I struggle with all. The time. Regarding the Ideal Sparkly Vacuum-World: totally agree. Like, I want to believe in the power of the individual, but that doesn't actually work most of the time? Everyone is part of the tangled web of people that makes up a society whether they want to be or not, and success is very rarely, if ever, going to come down to your individual achievement alone (I tell myself, as I keep trying to look for a vacuum to hide in). -_-
Ooh, more details about Dagny's career history might be kind of cool, if handled well-- or sanctimonious, if done poorly :p Hopefully without giving too much away, Fountainhead does touch on career struggles a bit: talented people suffer for their refusal to sell out, while others find great success that ( ... )
Reply
I don't know a whole lot about Foundation either, except for some reviews and summaries I've read. By reputation, it's definitely on my list of major sci-fi works to read. While I'm not a total sci-fi geek, I do have a deep love and respect for the stories that stand up as classics -- which is usually because they succeed in much more than relating an adventure or speculative tale. Sci-fi is often the best vehicle for human ( ... )
Reply
You know, I've never heard of Andre Norton, but the way you describe her books, they sound really appealing to me. As you can tell, I do tend to read and enjoy a lot of things in the action/adventure genre, but I'm sort of sad that so many of the things I've been reading lately (with the exception of Rand) are from such an exclusively male perspective. More female protagonists would be nice, as would more character diversity in general, but just reading works by a larger spectrum of authors would hopefully help broaden my palate a little. Haha, I'm actually more of a dog person myself, but I do appreciate the literary value of good cat characters (speaking of which, have you ever read Coraline? I listened to the audiobook as read by the author, and it was really excellent. Never seen that movie, but I sort of want to, and Neil Gaiman in general is yet another author I want to explore more). And thanks for the Bradbury recommendation! I will try ( ... )
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