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Author Topic: Book Thread  (Read 92464 times)

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Asherdan

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Re: Book Thread
« Reply #345 on: June 11, 2021, 04:00:06 pm »

A couple I liked over last year and this:

What the Hell Did I Just Read - Jason Pargin
Solutions and Other Problems - Allie Brosh
Point B - Drew Magary

Also, I got my hands on two big TPB focused on Maggie the Mechanic and Hopey from Love and Rockets. I've heard some modern criticism of the Hernandez brothers work, and although warranted, fuck it, these are the people, stories and tone of my teens.
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wombat

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Re: Book Thread
« Reply #346 on: June 23, 2021, 08:20:51 pm »

Oh wait I do have an answer to this. Everyone who hasn't should read the Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells and Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata.
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What is this, the fuckin' Algonquin Round Table or some shit?  - Nabu

If you're going to change your life then you have to change it every day, not just the days the world isn't taking a shit on you. -Doc

Asherdan

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Re: Book Thread
« Reply #347 on: June 27, 2021, 10:32:12 pm »

2nd time I've heard the convenience store book recommended, might have to check that out.
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wombat

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Re: Book Thread
« Reply #348 on: September 04, 2026, 10:01:35 pm »

let's revive the book thread!!

You should all read the manga series I'm editing, Dinosaur Sanctuary. It's about a struggling dinosaur zoo and the depictions of zookeepers and keeper work are perfect. It includes essays by a real dinosaur scientist who is advisor for the series. It's really incredibly well done.

ok what have you read lately that I should read?
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What is this, the fuckin' Algonquin Round Table or some shit?  - Nabu

If you're going to change your life then you have to change it every day, not just the days the world isn't taking a shit on you. -Doc

AugustWest

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Re: Book Thread
« Reply #349 on: September 04, 2026, 10:41:07 pm »

Anybody else read Wendell Berry? I picked up a Port William book that I don't think I had read before in honor of Wendell's passing. Great stuff and set; n the neighborhood. Port Royal which Port William is closely based on; s about 20 minutes from me.

Also listening to a series of pre-WWI detective novels on Librivox. They're about Hamilton Cleek, "The Man of 40 Faces." Fun.
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wombat

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Re: Book Thread
« Reply #350 on: September 04, 2026, 11:07:54 pm »

Oh that reminds me of an author I was very happy to discover fairly recently - Manly Wade Wellman, who wrote a lot of midcentury Weird Tales-type short stories including a bunch set in Appalachia featuring a character called Silver John. Most of his stuff is out of print but there's a good new edition of those stories called John the Balladeer published by Valancort Books. If this sounds even slightly interesting to you, check it out, you will not regret it.

I remember being a fan of Wendell Berry's poetry when I was in high school and had a far greater tolerance for actual literature. When he died I was surprised to learn he had still been alive and I also am not sure I even knew he wrote novels. So that's how ignorant I am!
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What is this, the fuckin' Algonquin Round Table or some shit?  - Nabu

If you're going to change your life then you have to change it every day, not just the days the world isn't taking a shit on you. -Doc

CortJstr

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Re: Book Thread
« Reply #351 on: September 05, 2026, 04:19:23 pm »

Easily the best book I've read in the past several years is Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. A trans violin prodigy, faustian bargains, aliens, and doughnuts.

For light reading I just went through all of the Dortmunder books from the library. He's kind of a sad-sack and all his heists go wrong. In the early books the characters age but at some point in 70s he just froze them and let the world change around them. They're great to read after something heavier.

I read the first 2 of the Japanese weird house books. I don't normally read murder mysteries but they were pretty good. I'll get the 3rd from the library at some point.

Based on a recommendation from Daniel O'Brien (remember him from Cracked when it was good?) I read The Getaway which is a crime novel from like the 50s. It was fine enough for most of it but ho boy the ending is something else. It turns into a completely different book.

Like a lot of people I got sucked into Dungeon Crawler Carl. You either tear through them or hate them.

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown has a neat concept.

Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story is a great graphic novel memoir

Ryan North's comics continue to delight.

I gave The Dog Knight as a gift but haven't read it myself yet. But I've heard lots of good thing.
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AugustWest

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Re: Book Thread
« Reply #352 on: September 05, 2026, 06:06:58 pm »

I love Dortmunder, and all of Westlake for that matter. Kahawa, caper book set in Idi Amin era Uganda is a favorite. I listened to the posthumously published Memory not long ago and it was absolutely harrowing.
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CortJstr

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Re: Book Thread
« Reply #353 on: September 05, 2026, 07:15:37 pm »

Now that I'm done with Dortmunder I might dip into his other works.
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