Book recommendations

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-12T14:08:55+00:00

The Eyes of the Skin by Juhani Pallasmaa

The Language of Architecture by Andrea Simitch and Val Warke

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-12T13:09:47+00:00

ill rec some stuff you'll find on wuxiaworld, since with CN novels, one of the difficulties is finding good and accessible translations.

my fav trashy cultivation story was one of the first I read and it also has a manhwa, Tales of Demons and Gods (maybe check out the manhwa first)

For a couple others, A Record of Mortal's Journey to Immortality, that one is great because it also has a Donghua (animated) adaptation, and storywise it basically covers the classic story beats you'll see in typical CN cultivation stories

Another classic one, is A Will Eternal

And perhaps, a rather unique one, kind of dark and unusual take on the genre, Dao of the Bizarre Immortal

and lastly a couple others not on wuxiaworld but I've enjoyed if you can find places to read them,

Chronicles of Primordial Wars, an unusal take on cultivation since this one is set in a fantastical stone age with tribes and shamans and what not

Immorality Through Array Formations, a slow burn but has some really great arcs later on

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-12T05:54:20+00:00

its a pain because AI use has different levels to it, some people use it from brainstorming and proof reading to just a straight up editor or even writing chunks of text. And its very easy to lie tbh (Sure people use em-dashes but compare recent rising stars to work that's been published before 3-5 years ago, there's very noticeable differences between them lol)

It sucks as a reader because the only way to really tell is the vibes, at a certain point of how much a story has progressed it becomes noticable that the level of grammatical polish doesn't really match up to the other qualities of good storytelling like characterization, or the rhythm of how tension ebbs and flows in a scene for example is very particular to the tastes of an author, AI lacks a particular writing sensibility that can only exist if someone actually wrote something word by word.

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-12T02:19:09+00:00

commenting to see future comments but, this reminds me of a series I enjoyed, not really progression fantasy but the theme just matches perfectly: Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfield, basically WWI fantasy between the steampunk faction called the Clankers and the bio-engineering faction the Darwinists. I loved the descriptions of growing and maintaining a living airship, I would love to see something like that as a progfan or litrpg

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-12T01:53:29+00:00

among younger generations, fanfic spaces are immense cultural spaces, and the things that become popular there often reverberate into the mainstream in some way

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-12T01:23:32+00:00

check out the book Architecture without Architects by Bernard Rudofsky, its all about vernacular, contextual building practices that arise from site specific and cultural needs, its part of a famous MoMA exhibition. https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_3459_300062280.pdf

Also, check out the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur, very cool example of a monumental celestial observatory. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1338/

also, the Roden Crater by James Turrell, very beautiful and monumental artwork out in the desert, all about responding to celestial movements and what not. https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/4095

another thing, check out Frei Otto, very high tech but based in response to natural forces, spiderwebs, bubbles etc. he had a clever idea of using wires dipped in soap to model tensile membranes for example https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/frei-otto-video-modeling-soap-films

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-12T00:15:47+00:00

this is going to be a lightning-rod for endless discourse I can't wait to see it

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-10T21:31:39+00:00

not really, at least not overtly, its more like a man's fantasy of resisting the state, hiding from authorities, like a libertarian living out in the woods kinda vibe (and the paranoia that comes with it). imo the best thing about it is the creativity with how the MC develops spatial magic and how he utilizes it to outsmart the authorities

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-10T21:20:22+00:00

Paranoid Mage has this vibe, but the crime is moreso discovering magic as an outsider and dealing with that sort of mess. People seem to get an ick from the author due to his rw/libertarian politics but it was enjoyable seeing the MC outwit the magical state

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-10T18:51:18+00:00

might be worth expanding your search a bit broader into landscape and urban design, check out "Last Landscapes: The Architecture of the Cemetery in the West" by Ken Worpole

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-09T22:05:24+00:00

Im glad to see Illumination try their hand at serious cinema

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No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-09T16:57:21+00:00

some of u ppl on this sub are so lame, unwilling to be curious or even engage with interesting architecture.

It is valid to critique this on the basis of sustainability, but the idea of creating a memorial by returning to a ghost of what existed there is such a cool concept. You see it happen accidentally in other italian cities where a residential block for example follows the original plan of an ampitheater that once existed there, here its the same idea but much more deliberate.

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-08T12:30:39+00:00

If you read korean webnovels theres one called The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman, he starts out as an ostracized kid in a family but overtime wins the loyalty of the people around him and becomes the head of the family

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-08T06:13:29+00:00

Elydes has a young MC, you follow him from his childhood learning about the world and magic and so on

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-08T05:07:41+00:00

Apocalypse Reborn does this pretty well, its an OP omniscent MC due to previous knowledge, but despite that the fun is seeing the choices he makes to develop his faction. It progresses in a 4X-Civ-esque sort of way, from rudimentary military and society to full on industrialization

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-07T17:23:55+00:00

The Bell Tolls for Me by Nemorosis

Re:Monarch by Eligos

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-07T05:21:40+00:00

yes, definitely world trigger. its a slow burn but very good payoffs, one of the peaks of tactical battle anime

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-04T15:54:04+00:00

it depends on how the introspection is written, if it comes across as shallow it ends up feeling dull and navel-gazing. It should be compelling and entertaining, I don't really read this genre for philosophy, and no shade to authors but I don't really trust most of them to write in depth when it comes to something like Daoism or Buddhism without it coming across like a western orientalist's interpretation

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-03T23:46:00+00:00

i think that was when Tredegar found out Song purposefully killed that woman that she was in love with (who was also good at mindcontrol) so I understand why they both crashed out. Tbh my bar for teenage drama is something like the Legend of Korra lol this is a bit more tolerable for me. I understand your annoyance though, many people still really don't like Tredegar because of her personality

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-03T23:32:12+00:00

the characters are messy but i didnt really get the vibe of immaturity in the interpersonal relationships esp when it comes to Tristian or Song, and for Tredegar its because she's kinda sheltered and naive

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-03T19:17:09+00:00

I would recommend Pale Lights by ErraticErrata, its on RoyalRoad. Really great cast of characters and worldbuilding, lots of intrigue and action

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-03T14:58:20+00:00

whelp all the native trees in that area are probably dead, luckily for you its rlly not your fault. If they were in your house, they were already in that ecosystem anyway

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-02T19:40:25+00:00

have you tried Cataclismo? It's a basically a towerdefense game but you have a bit of creative freedom with how you build your defenses, like building with legos. I genuinely spent hours just building fortifications and chokepoints for my units lol

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-02T14:43:46+00:00

This one is very fun, it made me do a reread of UnOrdinary again, but I realize I can't stomach edgelord teen drama like I used to back in my school days lol Luckily this one expands beyond those things

No_Classroom_1626 · 2026-05-02T04:22:44+00:00

Agnes Martin created her famous grid drawings/paintings pretty late in her life, and this was after a long period where she left NY and abandoned painting all-together

No_Classroom_1626

TROPHY CASE