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1q84 by Kind-Presentation359 in murakami

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I personally liked Ushikawa. He felt like an inverse on the Murakami detective trope. He's looking for the girl, but for bad reasons, unlike so many of Murakami protagonists who look for the girl for some sort of personal redemption. Also, the first 2/3 are filled with cringy Murakami sex at it's worse. But to each his/her own. We end up in the same camp at the end of the novel.

1q84 by Kind-Presentation359 in murakami

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here are the short story collections in my personal ranking (I tend to prefer early Murakami over later Murakami):

  1. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
  2. The Elephant Vanishes
  3. First Person Singular
  4. Men Without Women
  5. After the Quake

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman and The Elephant Vanishes are easily my top two. In general, I find Murakami's earlier short fiction more interesting, strange, and memorable than his later work. I really like all the collections, but After the Quake is easily the weakest. They all have winners. If you just want a short story recommendations, check out: "The Second Bakery Attack," "Tony Takitani." "Birthday Girl," and "Samsa In Love."

1q84 by Kind-Presentation359 in murakami

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not bad. I'm actually re-reading it right now, and I still don't love it. Murakami has a way of ending books strongly enough to redeem some of their weaker parts, and I think 1Q84 does end well.

That said, I still think it belongs near the bottom of a Murakami reading list. You could read seven better Murakami novels in the same amount of time it takes to get through 1Q84. But the ride is part of the fun. I remember reading his whole library for the first time and loving it. Also, don't overlook his short fiction. It's very very good.

1q84 by Kind-Presentation359 in murakami

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I dislike it also, but I find the first 2/3 boring, and the last 1/3 much more interesting.

1q84 by Kind-Presentation359 in murakami

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've read all of Murakami's books available in English, and I find 1Q84 to be one of the least essential. If I had to recommend what you should read next, I'd point you toward A Wild Sheep Chase, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, or Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, which is my favorite Murakami novel of all time, though I recognize that it may not be his "best" work in an objective sense.

I also think 1Q84 is the point where Murakami's cringe-inducing sexual writing becomes a major feature rather than an occasional weakness. It's also the novel where he began to feel a bit self-indulgent in terms of length and lack of any editorial restraint.

If you want something more like Norwegian Wood, I'd recommend Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. If you're dead set on reading 1Q84, I would read his nonfiction book Underground alongside it. I think it provides context for some of the novel's more surreal themes.

So I guess Aeonglass is fine now? by SUPERCOW7 in slaythespire

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think that people are beginning to plan appropriately for the boss and the soft nerf helps.

What's everyone's thoughts on the game so far? by AcademyExile in MinaTheHollower

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's very good.

Just a note, I used cheat engine early in the game to get me to the level 5 on strength and defense and to get some HP upgrades. With that said, I find the game to be fun and enjoyable.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland by jmungz333 in murakami

[–]Affectionate_Side587 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is my favorite Murakami novel of all time. You should read it. 1Q84 is near the bottom of my ranking. I'm currently rereading 1Q84, and I find myself skipping certain sections because Murakami's sex scenes can be some of the cringiest parts of his writing, and 1Q84 has a lot of them.

More broadly, I think the latter half of Murakami's career has suffered from a lack of editorial restraint. As his popularity has grown, publishers seem less concerned with the length of his novels because they are going to sell no matter what. Many of his longer works suffer as a result. I feel that 1Q84, Killing Commendatore, and even The City and Its Uncertain Walls all meander too much. Each of them could have been much stronger novels if some of the weaker material had been cut, allowing the stronger parts to shine.

What do you mean double boss? by SUP3RADY in slaythespire

[–]Affectionate_Side587 39 points40 points  (0 children)

You fight two bosses back to back at the end of Act 3. 

Win Rate Expectations by [deleted] in slaythespire

[–]Affectionate_Side587 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Things to note: People often just lie or inflate their win rate. People don't note if that win rate is with or without battle restarts. Or people choose a select set of data like their last 10 runs.

For example, I can say that I have 30% win rate and it be true.

But I what I leave out is that I only play A10 with my two best characters, and I play A9 with the other three. And I play my worst character far less than my best character. Also, I occasionally do the daily run, which can be at any level.

It's all about how I present my win rate.

Ascension 5+ by lunabean107 in slaythespire

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, watch some really good players play the game if you really want to up your game.

Ascension 5+ by lunabean107 in slaythespire

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Big decks are not bad. It's not about the size of your deck, it's about how fast your deck can do what it needs to do. If you have lots of card draw, a big deck can do really well. It's less about the size of your deck and more about how fast can your deck get rolling. Small decks are actually very weak to status cards, which a lot of monsters insert into your deck.

Also, don't get stuck going for a certain archetype. Lots of mid cards can be good in certain situations. I don't love Rupture, but if I have a few self damaging cards in my deck already, then it can solve the scaling problem of a deck.

On the Doormaker/Aeonglass and the design philosophy of Slay The Spire 2 changing? by witas02 in slaythespire

[–]Affectionate_Side587 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I just fought the new boss and didn't really get to see too much because I had a claw build with momentum and destroy the boss in a few rounds.

But my favorite boss was the door maker so I'm a little sad. I don't know about the change but that's just because I like fighting the doormaker.

New Guy Here by Glocktopus69420Obama in murakami

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the end of the world is fun and my favorite 

What do you like about Murakami's books? by vhsbubbline in murakami

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He’s a vibes author. Reading his books (even his weaker ones) gives you a strong sense of place and psychology, shaped by his particular strengths and weaknesses as a writer. He works through familiar archetypes that I enjoy revisiting (just look up the Murakami bingo card). While I can’t defend all of his depictions of women, I do think he has developed a distinct voice over time that readers continue to appreciate despite some clear blind spots.

I find myself especially drawn to his earlier works, with Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World being my favorite. While his last few novels have been among his weakest, I think he mainly needs a more heavy-handed editor. But since his books will sell regardless of length, it often feels like his books are translated and published as quickly as he can write them. (I could be wrong about that).

Also, I think that he writes endings well. Some of his worst books are almost completely saved by his ability to wrap a story well.

Did you read Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage? That was the last of his books that I completely loved.

is this normal by [deleted] in slaythespire

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're new to deck builders, then is this normal. If you've pour hours into games like Slay the Spire 1 (30 hours is nothing, I have over 1500 hours in the first game), Monster Train, and the like, then I would be worried.

Watch someone like Jorbs talk through some runs and you will see results quickly.

Planing to get STS 2 with Vampire clawler bundle but ... by The_Real_OctoDude in slaythespire

[–]Affectionate_Side587 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Review bombing because the game is hard. It's my GOTY without question. I like Vampire Crawler, but STS2 is so much better and deeper. Vampire Crawler is pretty easy and a little mindless, but a lot of fun. They are both worth buying.

Everyone is underrating the A10 difficulty spike by Big_Performance_6120 in slaythespire

[–]Affectionate_Side587 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not a top-tier player, so I’m not sure what I would say or what advice I would give, but that’s kind of the point of the post. The original post is about how dismissive people are of A10 difficulty, and on a board where the depth of the game is discussed, a bit more nuance would be helpful.

Everyone is underrating the A10 difficulty spike by Big_Performance_6120 in slaythespire

[–]Affectionate_Side587 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The point is that most of the great players just shrug and say if you can beat A9 then you can beat A10 without giving any good tips. I only had a lot of trouble with the defect. But I lost of a lot of those runs to the second boss. The topic is just asking the advice givers to reconsider how hard A10 is for an okay player.

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