#1451

reading Octavia Butler’s Parable Of The Talents. Picked it up not realizing it was the second book in the series but its readable and compelling enough on its own. I’ll go back and read the first one after. the world created in the book in the very near future is terrifyingly plausible, following a environmental/social/economic collapse and the rise of radical right christian nationalism. only other book by Butler I’ve read so far is Kindred which I thought was great. both books through are pretty painful to read for various reasons, and her use of violence is incredibly visceral.

1 Like
#1452

Just finished:

Like Push Turn Move and Patch and Tweak, it’s beautifully put together. But there’s an inherent conflict between really showcasing some of the more gorgeous pedal designs and artwork, and including lots of content. This book goes for the latter, which I think was the right decision. But it does whet my appetite for a coffee table book of just really great looking pedal designs with full-page photos though :slight_smile:

More so than with the first two books, I personally learned a lot. I’m not a guitar player, and there are a lot of considerations that I’ve just never had to consider :wink: I feel like I have more context now, from historical and practical angles, about pedal design and usage.

I’ve got a list of ideas for different ways to use effects I already have, and effects I can piece together between Eurorack and Bitwig. And also a shopping list of pedals that I don’t think I can replicate so easily, but hear a lot of potential in online demos. And a couple that have been demystified and now I don’t really feel like I need them.

At this point I kind of hope there isn’t another in this series, because all of these are big heavy expensive (beautiful) books and I will probably not be able to resist any future ones :slight_smile:

4 Likes
#1453

Finished Borne by Jeff Vandemeer. Enjoyed it as much as The Southern Reach…

3 Likes
#1454

was so happy to get that one. Read through and imagine I’ll return to it

1 Like
#1455

I just finished the last book of the Culture Series and now I’m totally lost and sad.

5 Likes
#1456

I’m reading Excession right now. I have about half of the series left I think, so some time until I get that same feeling…

1 Like
#1457

read The Algebraist and then just start over again

#1458

one of the most gripping books about intergalactic secure chatrooms

2 Likes
#1459

Now:

plus this:

3 Likes
#1460

The Gift

2 Likes
#1461

After taking a break from William Gibson, I jumped back in with “Pattern Recognition”. So far so good!

7 Likes
#1462

Bringing Greg Egan back into the conversation, who I find to be a kind of gentle sage, a silent teacher of thought… I’ve read about half of his novels, and have been thoroughly and beautifully stunned by each. Finally reading the excellent Permutation City…and again, my brain tingles and my soul shimmers.

But to harmonize with @disquiet : Diaspora, yes, such a diamond.

4 Likes
#1463

Just finished the latest John le Carre novel. As usual, a pretty great read.

3 Likes
#1464

A couple on the go at the moment -

  • Aravind Adiga - Last Man in Tower
  • Mark Fisher - K-Punk (sat on bedside table, dipping into this every once in a while)
  • Simon Reynolds - Retromania
  • Eugene Thacker - In the Dust of This Planet
1 Like
#1465

Just starting Borne by Jeff Vandermeer - I loved The Southern Reach trilogy so I’m looking forward to reading this one through and then reading Dead Astronauts.

5 Likes
#1466

Ermagherd, berks!

In progress:

  • The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes: The Ancient World Economy & the Empires of Parthia, Central Asia & Han China by Raoul McLaughlin. I haven’t read many books on the ancient world with this much scope, absolutely fascinating so far! I look forward to seeing how McLaughlin ties it all together.

Selected books from the last year:

  • Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street by John Brooks. This is a famous classic in the business world, as endorsed by Bill Gates. The stories are all reprints from Brooks’ 1950s-1960s New Yorker journalism, and he makes some of these otherwise dry-seeming subjects (support of the pound sterling in 1964? zzzz) jump off the page. Highly recommended.

  • Lilith’s Brood: The Complete Xenogenesis Trilogy by Octavia Butler. I don’t know how I missed knowing about Butler in the 70s and 80s, but this is some heavy stuff that made me ponder the nature of humanity. The first book is the best, but I enjoyed all three.

  • Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks Volumes 1-3 by Stan Lee etc. The original Spider-Man comics from the beginning in 1962 through about 1966 are a window into the times. Hokey dialog, pointless stories, and cardboard characters are nevertheless endearing & fun. The first three volumes were free with Amazon Prime Reading (i.e. a loan)–I would not kill trees to own this, and three was enough. The Kindle app turns out to be a terrific way to read comics with its pane-by-pane mode.

  • Bach - Music In the Castle of Heaven by John Eliot Gardiner. Gardiner is of course one of the leading proponents of J.S. Bach’s choral music, having founded and directed several ensembles over the past 40-50 years which have performed and recorded a huge body of work. I thought of Bach as a peerless keyboard composer first and foremost, but Gardiner’s emphasis has completely changed my thinking: Bach was so much more than that. It’s a deep dive into some of the pieces and can be slightly tedious at times, but the opportunity to have some of Western music’s finest compositions explained by one of its greatest interpreters is a rare treat. Listening along to the works while reading his commentary is extremely enlightening.

  • Red Mars / Green Mars / Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. Huge award winner, I had high hopes. The premise interesting and the hard science fiction approach keeps interest up, but I struggled to care about what happened toward the end of the third book. The first book is worth a read.

  • One Train Later by Andy Summers. All three members of The Police have written memoirs, but guitarist Summers’ life story is the most interesting: he was in The Animals and also sold Eric Clapton his first Les Paul?!?! The Police years are probably the least interesting part, though his insight into their collective approach to music was interesting. A good read overall.

  • The Campaign of the Century: Upton Sinclair’s Race for Governor of California by Greg Mitchell. A monumentally researched day-by-day journal of the events from Upton Sinclair’s unlikely Democratic Party nomination in the 1934 election through Election Day that November. Few books have created such a feeling of the times for me as this one, and the story of this campaign is an amazing look at how we entered the modern age of political campaigning. Spoiler alert: Sinclair didn’t win.

3 Likes
#1467

I’m starting Infinite Jest, and going back on forth on whether I want to read it with a companion book or on its own.

The most important thing I’ve read about the book, however, is that I should make sure to walk around coffee shops with the book tucked under my arm, making sure the title is facing out.

8 Likes
#1468

Yesssssss! That book, like, rewired my brain. And, yeah, if you read IJ and don’t talk about it ad nauseum and condescendingly, did you even read it? :wink:

EDIT: If you’re looking for an opinion wrt a companion volume, I’ll just say I spent a lot of time feeling lost in that book, but in the best way possible. Like wandering down a really long path with a lovely view. Don’t expect to have any clue as to what’s going on for about 400 pages.

5 Likes
#1469

the only thing I can ever think of now when IJ gets mentioned- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eO2QfEGK6U

5 Likes
#1470

This:

plus this:

also:

1 Like