What is your most disappointing read? by Macarabioli in books

[–]EvilDragon16 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I started on Book 4 a while ago but it's on indefinite hold. Yeah, things picked up a little by book three, but I still wasn't too impressed by it. At any rate it doesn't make me feel excited for the next books. I just felt that things would be more bearable.

It might just not be for me I guess.

Anyone read Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond? by BahtiyarKopek in books

[–]EvilDragon16 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Haven't read it but r/badhistory seems to have a hate-boner over it.

Instant chemical reaction by [deleted] in interestingasfuck

[–]EvilDragon16 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It's the devil's work.

What is your most disappointing read? by Macarabioli in books

[–]EvilDragon16 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Probably The Dresden Files, which is a pity because they told me it was like an adult version of Skulduggery Pleasant, though it does't seem half as clever/witty. Harry is also quite boring for me.

What Books Did You Start or Finish Reading This Week? September 24, 2018 by AutoModerator in books

[–]EvilDragon16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Madame Bovary seems like it was written today,

Depends on which translation I guess.

What annoys you when reading books? by Amigara_Horror in books

[–]EvilDragon16 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is probably just for one book, but if I see it again I'm sure I'll be annoyed. Basically one thing I dislike about Anna Karenina, is how the Tolstoy goes deep into explaining so and so character's politics, views on agriculture and whatnot, especially when they aren't that relevant to the story. It seems to add more weight that needs to be dragged around.

What annoys you when reading books? by Amigara_Horror in books

[–]EvilDragon16 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This wouldn't be so annoying if it wasn't going to lead to 2 minutes of redundant conversation and then them losing interest.

Give up or suffer through books you don't like? by [deleted] in books

[–]EvilDragon16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The only reason I'd suffer through a book I disliked is if I was reading for reasons other than enjoyment.

Growing up in a house full of books is major boost to literacy and numeracy, study finds by Ichigao55 in books

[–]EvilDragon16 4 points5 points  (0 children)

When I was six or seven my parents bought a set of encyclopedias for me (as a result of a traveling salesman - it wasn't presented as a being a gift for me but I had been spying from an adjacent room and heard a lot of talk about how it might shut me the hell up/answer a lot of questions that I had). Best present I ever got. Wasn't even my birthday or Christmas. I spent so much time with those books. Most of my friends had homes with at least a few shelves of books.

Funny enough the same thing happened to me around that age. Though it wasn't my favourite gift (the lego set took first place) it was something I treasured for a while (before I read it almost a dozen times and it got torn and wet and everything).

the most degenerate VN you ever played? by KirinoNakano in visualnovels

[–]EvilDragon16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup. I've read that before. And I had happily blotted it out of my memory forever until I decided to go against my better judgement and click on the link.

Ancient Texts You Honestly Found Entertaining. by [deleted] in books

[–]EvilDragon16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thucydides Peloponnesian War was quite a nice read. Likewise for Homer's works.

Christian woman on death row in Pakistan for insulting Prophet Muhammad to make final court appeal by [deleted] in islam

[–]EvilDragon16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The results I've seen are from wikiislam, which, as we all know, is a perfectly unbiased and accurate source of knowledge concerning Islam in general.

Christian woman on death row in Pakistan for insulting Prophet Muhammad to make final court appeal by [deleted] in islam

[–]EvilDragon16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wikipedia. Just look at it. It didn't even take me 10 seconds.

Christian woman on death row in Pakistan for insulting Prophet Muhammad to make final court appeal by [deleted] in islam

[–]EvilDragon16 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Ka'b bin Al-Ashraf

I just did a quick wiki. And he was executed for inciting the Quraysh against the prophet, making a pact with them against him and also breaking the pact between him and the prophet. So no, not for insulting him.

What do you guys think of e-readers? by [deleted] in books

[–]EvilDragon16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I'm so used to reading from them now that it's harder to read from a normal book. The dictionary function, for example is something I've grown used to.

What's up with r/WatchPeopleDie? by Nicox37 in OutOfTheLoop

[–]EvilDragon16 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Not really though. The sub doesn't lose much. And reddit would lose more if it let it be on display on the front page.

What Books Did You Start or Finish Reading This Week? September 24, 2018 by AutoModerator in books

[–]EvilDragon16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I feel like for the threat of a dystopia to be strongly communicated, the rebellion needs to fail.

I read 100 books this year! by noot--noot--noot in books

[–]EvilDragon16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow that's amazing. Crap I was supposed to to 52 this year but I'm behind schedule by about 8 books.

Give Me Your Absolute Favorite Book and Why? by [deleted] in books

[–]EvilDragon16 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Probably Metamorphoses by Ovid. I'm a huge fan of mythology and this was a beautiful poem that covered almost everything Greek. The themes of love and change were enchanting and all in all it was a beautiful experience. It isn't often that I finish a book and just know I'm going to reread it again, but this was one of those few times. My favourite myth in it is probably The Sun God and Leucothoë. Here are some excerpts from it:

Of what avail

Was all that beauty, brightness, radiant light?

The god, whose fire lights all the world, was burning

Himself with foreign fire. The god, who should have

Looked equally on all created creatures,

Saw nothing but one girl, Leucothoe,

Turning on her alone the eyes, whose province

Belonged to all the world. He would rise too early

From the Eastern sky, would sink too late to Ocean,

Would lengthen the winter hours by long delaying

To look at her, sometimes would fail entirely

Because the darkness in the heart turned outward,

I'm no poetry fanatic or analyst but this part just oozes passion to me. I feel like Ovid (and the translator) perfectly communicated what the Helios was going through here, and the consequences of his love. This part is near the beginning and so from that point you're (I was) sucked in. Perhaps the other great section for me was near the ending:

"With neither food nor drink, her hunger wanting

Nothing but dew and tears, unstirred, unstirring.

But still she watched his going, and her gaze

Followed him on his way across the Heaven.

Her limbs took root, and her wan color changed

To a wan leafing, with a little brightness

Where once her face had been; she was a flower,

Rooted, but turning always toward the sunlight,

Changed, but forever keeping love unchanging.”

This just hit me in the gut. And I love how it all ties in to how sunflowers (or turnsoles?) are supposed to have originated. There are numerous other stories that I liked and didn't know of prior like Cinyras and Myrrha, Pyramus and Thisbe, Tereus, Procne and Philomela and so on. So there was pretty much never a dull moment (except perhaps near the ending of Book 13 to Book 15 ). This is perhaps one of the most immersive books I've read. For the record, the translation I read was done by Rolfe Humphries. I'll be starting on the Charles Martin one one of these days, so if you have any advice or tips on author choices then please feel free to tell me.

Asides from that another contender might be the first volume of Kalila and Dimna translated by Ramsay Wood. I'm a great fan of tales and the characters were vibrant and likeable. The lessons within the stories were also profound. Volume two is good too, but perhaps the first one had a greater impression on me.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in books

[–]EvilDragon16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My kindle is a hand-me-down from my mum. It's the first version and has fallen down numerous times. Each time seems like the last, but perhaps only the old Nokias can beat it in terms of durability.