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  • Showing only topics in ~books with the tag "ask.survey". Back to normal view / Search all groups
    1. Modern Portuguese literature, any hidden gems you know?

      Hello to all! Since I first read a Saramago novel (All the Names), I've grown to love Portuguese literature. Later I read Gonçalo Tavares and Pessoa, and I have some names to discover from their...

      Hello to all!

      Since I first read a Saramago novel (All the Names), I've grown to love Portuguese literature. Later I read Gonçalo Tavares and Pessoa, and I have some names to discover from their classics (illustrious ones like Gil Vicente or Eça de Queiroz), but because I don't know Portuguese yet, I have to make do with translations, which impedes me from following the current, less famous authors. So, I wonder if you could tell me about some of these ones. Which are your favourites, which ones would you suggest? Does not matter if translated or not, I can read in a couple other languages and will learn Portuguese soon too. Thanks in advance!

      7 votes
    2. Tolkien fans unite! Which is your favourite Tolkien book and why?

      I've personally read The Silmarillion 3 times and have found comfort and connection with the book and its stories. Sure, the names are still intimidating and the geography confusing sometimes but...

      I've personally read The Silmarillion 3 times and have found comfort and connection with the book and its stories. Sure, the names are still intimidating and the geography confusing sometimes but all that is part of the enjoyment for me.

      11 votes
    3. What have you been reading?

      Since it doesn't look like @basicbaconbitch is around (or they just intended it to be a one-time thing), I guess I'll post this! What have you been reading? What do you think of it? No need to do...

      Since it doesn't look like @basicbaconbitch is around (or they just intended it to be a one-time thing), I guess I'll post this!

      What have you been reading? What do you think of it? No need to do a big review if you don't feel like it, but I think we'd all love to hear your thoughts! Recs or discussion of each others' reading habits is encouraged!

      --

      Quick question: Do we want regular threads like these? Personally I think ~books is lacking a place to just drop in and talk about something that isn't news or a specific discussion topic, but maybe I'm alone on that.

      16 votes
    4. How do you read?

      I'm wondering what all the different ways people read here are! Do you always buy a new hardcover, or do you get everything from your library on your e-reader? Feel free to share both format and...

      I'm wondering what all the different ways people read here are! Do you always buy a new hardcover, or do you get everything from your library on your e-reader? Feel free to share both format and when/where/what you like to read.

      15 votes
    5. What is your favourite Stephen King book, and why?

      I'd have to go with The Long Walk, personally. It's quite haunting, the way they had every choice to sign up, but chose to anyway. The way they never quite get used to seeing their fellow walkers...

      I'd have to go with The Long Walk, personally. It's quite haunting, the way they had every choice to sign up, but chose to anyway. The way they never quite get used to seeing their fellow walkers get shot. I love the ambiguous fascist state: what exactly happened to America in the Long Walk? There is an oblique reference to fighting Nazis in the 50s for instance, but the time period is never quite mentioned.

      All in all, it's remarkable, but terribly sad. It reminded me of boys going off to war, and the truth behind all ambition.

      8 votes
    6. Any predictions for The Winds of Winter?

      Not the release date (last intel: not in 2018, that's all we know), but the content. What's going to happen? Who's going to die? Here are my brief guesses for some of the main characters: Jon:...

      Not the release date (last intel: not in 2018, that's all we know), but the content. What's going to happen? Who's going to die? Here are my brief guesses for some of the main characters:

      Jon: Inhabits Ghost for a while after his human body's death (like Varamyr in the ADWD prologue), then gets resurrected by Melisandre. GRRM has said he always found it cheap that Gandalf returned hardly the worse for wear in LOTR, so I'm interested to see how Jon's different. In the show he seems slightly more carpe-diem, but it also seems like the show has mostly forgotten about it.

      Stannis: Takes Winterfell (look up the Night Lamp theory if you're not familiar with it) from the Freys and Boltons, and holds onto it against an eventual siege by the Others.

      Bran: The show has probably disproven this, but I still think he becomes a prisoner of the Others next to his uncle Benjen, because the Others can't kill a Stark for some reason.

      Sansa: I think Harry the Heir turns out to be a nightmare, but Sansa learns to deal with him and use the power of the Vale to help the Starks in their fight to retake Winterfell.

      Arya: I think she comes back to Winterfell and gives the gift of mercy to her mother, after seeing what she's become.

      Daenerys: I think she'll have a longer experience taking over the Dothraki than in the show, and she'll fly west across Essos, laying waste to the free cities and setting the slaves free. In Westeros it will be completely unclear to everyone whether she's mad or not.

      Tyrion: I think he will continue to fall into moral decay and after becoming a close advisor to Dany will encourage her "fire and blood" side. (Especially since she's his aunt!)

      Theon: Something about "what is dead may never die, but rises again harder and stronger" makes me think he's coming back as a wight.

      Victarion: Blows the horn and dies from it.

      Cersei: I think Jaime will kill her, and fairly early on. I think Aegon will have the role she had in the most recent seasons of the show.

      Jaime: I think he survives the confrontation with Lady Stoneheart and, disillusioned with both her and Cersei, leaves high society to lead the Brotherhood Without Banners.

      Brienne: Someone has to die with Lady Stoneheart, right?

      Aegon: I think he successfully conquers King's Landing. He'll eventually die by foolhardiness, but probably not for a while.

      What do you all think? Anyone I'm forgetting?

      9 votes
    7. How do you log your reads?

      Personally I've become less and less fond of Goodreads but there doesn't seem to be many good alternatives. Plus the app is not great. Does anyone know any open source/free alternatives?

      12 votes
    8. ASOIAF/Game of Thrones fans?

      Do you have a favorite theory? Most hated theory? Books, show only, or both? We're coming up on the 7th anniversary of the release of ADWD and I'm just trying to gather us all up for the...

      Do you have a favorite theory? Most hated theory? Books, show only, or both?

      We're coming up on the 7th anniversary of the release of ADWD and I'm just trying to gather us all up for the inevitable sobbing next month.

      9 votes
    9. Favourite non-fiction books of the last couple of years?

      The main focus of the book community seems to be fiction (easier to enjoy with friends I guess), so I would love to hear your top non-fic picks of the last years and the reason for your decision....

      The main focus of the book community seems to be fiction (easier to enjoy with friends I guess), so I would love to hear your top non-fic picks of the last years and the reason for your decision. Any books that changed the way you look at certain things?

      4 votes
    10. How do you keep track of your reading list?

      This is an issue I've had for a while. I've quickly gotten myself a list that's too long for me to be able to read it in any practical amount of time. I read comments online, have conversations...

      This is an issue I've had for a while. I've quickly gotten myself a list that's too long for me to be able to read it in any practical amount of time. I read comments online, have conversations irl, walk through a bookstore, and I write a quick note on my phone, or on my laptop. In any case, it's messy, unorganized, I don't remember why I added a book, there's no way to prioritize which books I should/want to read next. So how do you handle having too much to read in too little time?

      5 votes
    11. What’s the best book you’ve read lately?

      Any recommendations? I’ve been reading Maurice Druon’s Accursed Kings series, historical fiction about medieval political drama in France that precipitated the Hundred Years’ War. George R.R....

      Any recommendations? I’ve been reading Maurice Druon’s Accursed Kings series, historical fiction about medieval political drama in France that precipitated the Hundred Years’ War. George R.R. Martin calls it “the original Game of Thrones”, and honestly, if you liked the political intrigue aspect of ASOIAF/GOT, The Accursed Kings blows it out of the water.

      14 votes
    12. Post your shelfies!

      Since I just moved into my apartment my shelf/book collection is sparse and I hardly have space for more. What I do have though keeps me busy. If anyone wants to know I ordered - history on the...

      Since I just moved into my apartment my shelf/book collection is sparse and I hardly have space for more. What I do have though keeps me busy. If anyone wants to know I ordered - history on the left, theory and sociology in the middle, and philosophy on the right. Anyone reading the same books I am?

      https://i.imgur.com/BW1BJ8z.jpg

      Post yours and discuss.

      12 votes
    13. Does anyone else get super hungry when a book talks about food?

      Like, not even movies or games, just books. Recently I've been reading this book called A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, which is about his experiences as a child soldier in Sierra Leone. The book...

      Like, not even movies or games, just books. Recently I've been reading this book called A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, which is about his experiences as a child soldier in Sierra Leone. The book talks about this root (?) called cassava, and something about the author describing it made me really hungry for it, even though I had never heard of it before. Its really weird, and I don't really know why books incite such a reaction in me.

      3 votes
    14. Becoming an avid reader

      Since AP Lit in high school, I’ve wanted to get into reading. Recently I started making a list of things I want to read (both fiction and non, fantasy and sci fi, bios and commentary), but am not...

      Since AP Lit in high school, I’ve wanted to get into reading. Recently I started making a list of things I want to read (both fiction and non, fantasy and sci fi, bios and commentary), but am not making the slightest dent in it. Im able to read magazine writing and online publications throughout the day, so what do y’all do to read more books?

      9 votes
    15. Which Hogwarts House is best?

      And why is it Ravenclaw? I figure we might as well get a thread going about the Harry Potter series of books, show that it is popular and that ~HarryPotter needs to be a thing. Which Hogwarts...

      And why is it Ravenclaw?

      I figure we might as well get a thread going about the Harry Potter series of books, show that it is popular and that ~HarryPotter needs to be a thing.

      Which Hogwarts house are you? Find some like-minded friends and start the seeds of a community here.

      14 votes
    16. June Book of the Month Suggestions

      What book are you reading currently? What's your favourite book of all time? Suggest books for us to read this month and maybe a short blurb as to why we should read it. I'm currently reading The...

      What book are you reading currently? What's your favourite book of all time? Suggest books for us to read this month and maybe a short blurb as to why we should read it.

      I'm currently reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, a book that is widely regarded as one of the best recently-released motivational tools for cleaning up and sorting your life and living areas. Ms Kondo puts forward a method of sorting possessions to keep vs ones to discard, one that appears to work for a decent number of people based on discussions I've seen.

      8 votes
    17. What's your favorite hard science fiction novel?

      I'm a big fan of Peter Watts (Blindsight, Echopraxia) and Greg Egan (Schild's Ladder, Diaspora) and always looking for more to read. That said I find myself a little bit difficult sometimes as I'm...

      I'm a big fan of Peter Watts (Blindsight, Echopraxia) and Greg Egan (Schild's Ladder, Diaspora) and always looking for more to read. That said I find myself a little bit difficult sometimes as I'm not really a fan of massive scope stuff like operas or anything too dated. Granted I really haven't given either of the latter much of a chance as I think I just prefer tight, focused stories with a small cast of characters.

      I recently started The Quantum Thief and am liking certain aspects of it but you're really thrown into a blizzard with that one.

      35 votes
    18. About Prose Novelists: Who writes novels that speak to you because of the quality and style of the writing? How would you describe them or their books?

      I don't mind reading a fast book with lots of action or a twisting plot, but over the years have discovered authors that seem to have a style unique to them apart from what's going on: Richard...

      I don't mind reading a fast book with lots of action or a twisting plot, but over the years have discovered authors that seem to have a style unique to them apart from what's going on:

      Richard Powers seems to play with the sounds and meanings of words strung together like pearls on a necklace(The Echo Maker, Orfeo).

      John Banville (Athena) creates descriptions that sound poetic and deep while remaining clear and visual.

      Donna Tartt (The Goldfinch) puts you into a scene so that you feel the emotion of being there.

      Don Delillo (The Names) makes a continental paradise seem like a dense forest of scholars and bright sunlight all at the same time.

      Those are a few of mine, what are your favorites?

      8 votes