Books: Book(s) you are Currently Reading

[GB]

The Messiah of Stockholm by Cynthia Ozick

 

[kmad]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/8833055-kevin-m?shelf=currently-reading

 

[sully1410]

A time to kill - John Grisham

 

[Thucydides]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/8833055-kevin-m?shelf=currently-reading

Interested to hear your thoughts on Kissinger's Diplomacy. It's one I've been picking away at, here and there.

 

[Deport Ogie]

How is the third one? I read the first two and really liked them, then when I was starting the final one it starts with a big time jump (I think that was it, this was a while ago) and it didn't seem like it would pay off the story in a satisfying way so I put it off for a while. I still meant to finish it but got distracted reading a different series and never got around to it. Is it worth going back to?

I'm probably not a good source because I'm an unapologetic Farseer fanboy. When you say third one, you mean the third book in the first trilogy, Assassin's Quest? There's a large number of books that all take place within the same timeline and the same realm, but not all follow FitzChivalry.

 

[GB]

Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood

 

[kmad]

Interested to hear your thoughts on Kissinger's Diplomacy. It's one I've been picking away at, here and there.

Big fan of the book, but I'm not really anywhere close to an authority on world history.

 

[Prairie Habs]

I'm probably not a good source because I'm an unapologetic Farseer fanboy. When you say third one, you mean the third book in the first trilogy, Assassin's Quest? There's a large number of books that all take place within the same timeline and the same realm, but not all follow FitzChivalry.

Yup, didn't even know there were other novels. Are they on par with the original trilogy as far as quality? They would probably be worth looking into once I finish (or need a break from) the Malazan series.

 

[Deport Ogie]

Yup, didn't even know there were other novels. Are they on par with the original trilogy as far as quality? They would probably be worth looking into once I finish (or need a break from) the Malazan series.

They certainly are. I highly recommend them. They are VERY character driven, more so than many fantasy stories. The plot can seem to be dragging at times but, at least with me, you don't mind so much because Hobb spends that time making you feel for the characters and their relationships.

The series you are speaking of is the first, The Farseer Trilogy. Next (chronologically) is the Liveship Traders trilogy, which is in the same world with different characters, although there are some cameos. These are third person multi-POV, as opposed to the single first-person narration of the Farseer books.

After Liveships is the Tawny Man trilogy which returns to Fitz (and his first person narration), the Fool, Chade, etc. At the time this series was completed it was to be the last written about this series of characters. That was later revised to be untrue and Hobb committed to another trilogy, called The Fitz and The Fool. 2 of these books have been released with the third coming (I believe) next year.

In between Tawny Man and Fitz and the Fool, there is a series called the Rain Wilds Chronicles which I shamefully admit to not having read. These books come chronologically after the Tawny Man series but occur in the (roughly) same part of the world as Liveships.

Each trilogy could potentially be read as a standalone, though I would not recommend reading Tawny Man without Farseer. You could skip Liveships, but it would cheapen some references in Tawny Man and they are a strong series on their own.

There, that should all come across as clear as mud.

 

[Prairie Habs]

They certainly are. I highly recommend them. They are VERY character driven, more so than many fantasy stories. The plot can seem to be dragging at times but, at least with me, you don't mind so much because Hobb spends that time making you feel for the characters and their relationships.

The series you are speaking of is the first, The Farseer Trilogy. Next (chronologically) is the Liveship Traders trilogy, which is in the same world with different characters, although there are some cameos. These are third person multi-POV, as opposed to the single first-person narration of the Farseer books.

After Liveships is the Tawny Man trilogy which returns to Fitz (and his first person narration), the Fool, Chade, etc. At the time this series was completed it was to be the last written about this series of characters. That was later revised to be untrue and Hobb committed to another trilogy, called The Fitz and The Fool. 2 of these books have been released with the third coming (I believe) next year.

In between Tawny Man and Fitz and the Fool, there is a series called the Rain Wilds Chronicles which I shamefully admit to not having read. These books come chronologically after the Tawny Man series but occur in the (roughly) same part of the world as Liveships.

Each trilogy could potentially be read as a standalone, though I would not recommend reading Tawny Man without Farseer. You could skip Liveships, but it would cheapen some references in Tawny Man and they are a strong series on their own.

There, that should all come across as clear as mud.

Thanks for the breakdown, I definitely be checking these out!

 

[kihei]

One of Stingo's raves The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea with Elvis Costello's autobiography Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink warming up in the bull pen.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

Almost done with this one:

Next up is this, whenever it arrives from the library:

Until that shows up, I'll probably continue with:

And Faulkner's Collected Stories, but that's just short stories so you can dip in when there is time.

 

[Warden of the North]

Going to start "The Stand" soon. Havent read any King novels before.

 

[Deficient Mode]

I'd love to read that someday. The Republic talks about the place of the arts, the meaning of justice, the Forms, . . . Very comprehensive. I would probably go for one of his shorter dialogues first, like the Timaeus (structure of the elements, or geometry of the world soul) or the Theaetetus (contains a sustained discussion on the theory of knowledge). In my opinion, a lot of Plato echoes Parmenides and the Pythagoreans.

The Timaeus isn't that short, though. Plato certainly didn't emerge in a vacuum, but I wouldn't say a lot of his work echoes Parmenides or any of the other pre-Socratic philosophers. I like your mention of the Theaetetus, though. Perhaps my favorite Platonic work.

 

[Voight]

Finished up The Agent by Leigh Steinberg a month ago, great book really shows you how the NFL works.

 

[SirPaste]

Just started Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

 

[hamzarocks]

The Winds of Winter........................ oh wait it's still not out. I'm still bending my knee in honour of Stannis the Mannis

 

[hamzarocks]

A time to kill - John Grisham

One of my friends read the book, they said it was interesting

 

[The Head Crusher]

Battle Flag by Bernard Cornwell

 

[Hippasus]

The Timaeus isn't that short, though. Plato certainly didn't emerge in a vacuum, but I wouldn't say a lot of his work echoes Parmenides or any of the other pre-Socratic philosophers. I like your mention of the Theaetetus, though. Perhaps my favorite Platonic work.

My reason for saying that is that there is a holism or monism at work in Plato, as material objects and events are reflections of the Forms and would be nothing without them. This holism or monism is most conspicuous in Parmenides' philosophy. I also recall hearing that he was influenced by Parmenides. Then the theory of the Forms suggests an abstract essentialism, while the Pythagoreans subscribed to a mathematical essentialism. There is a striking similarity here in my opinion.

 

[Deficient Mode]

My reason for saying that is that there is a holism or monism at work in Plato, as material objects and events are reflections of the Forms and would be nothing without them. This holism or monism is most conspicuous in Parmenides' philosophy. I also recall hearing that he was influenced by Parmenides. Then the theory of the Forms suggests an abstract essentialism, while the Pythagoreans subscribed to a mathematical essentialism. There is a striking similarity here in my opinion.

Yeah, I know where you're coming from. All of the Presocratics were influenced by their predecessors and extended their thought or took it in new directions, and Plato was no exception. I just look for the differences instead, and I would hardly characterize the relation between Plato and Parmenides as one of "echoing", and I don't think Parmenides differs more from his predecessors than Plato differs from Parmenides. It's hard to say only on the basis of what little of his work survives, of course.

 

[Deport Ogie]

The Winds of Winter........................ oh wait it's still not out. I'm still bending my knee in honour of Stannis the Mannis

Man, I read this whole damn thing and what a crock. Definitely GURM's worst work ever.

 

[Wee Baby Seamus]

Interested to hear your thoughts on Kissinger's Diplomacy. It's one I've been picking away at, here and there.

It's near the top of my list of books I need to get. Its length is definitely offputting though.

 

[GB]

Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis writing as Robert Markham.

My first James Bond book and my first Kingsley Amis book. About 40 pages in, it's entertaining enough so far.

 

[kmad]

Really liking Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs.

Pseudo-intellectualism abound but I don't care, Klosterman is a brilliant writer.