The Syndicate

Next up: the thesaurus.

G-Man wrote: ↑Wed Jul 18, 2018 9:47 pm Next up: the thesaurus.

I've already read it.

I check this thread for the first time ever and the latest page is about the thesaurus gg well played

I only read books that sync up to sigur ros or dubstep

Ulysses.

Through 40 pages it makes as much sense as its reputation suggested it might: zero

brave soul, i wish you luck on the longest day in literature history

Epignosis wrote: ↑Wed Jul 18, 2018 10:01 pm

G-Man wrote: ↑Wed Jul 18, 2018 9:47 pm Next up: the thesaurus.

I've already read it.

How was it?

Sloonei wrote: ↑Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:22 pm

Epignosis wrote: ↑Wed Jul 18, 2018 10:01 pm

G-Man wrote: ↑Wed Jul 18, 2018 9:47 pm Next up: the thesaurus.

I've already read it.

How was it?

Wordy.

The Thesaurus- Part 4 (the final update)

Review coming this weekend.

Project Bookshelf continues with my third read: Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms

The last thing I read was "Leaving the Atocha Station" -- the guy observes himself observing his life in Spain, where he is sojourned as a poet. His Spanish isn't the best and this gets him into some uncomfortable situations (or does it).

I am reading The Woman in the Window. Good so far, suspenseful. I want to know what's coming next.

G-Man wrote: ↑Sun Feb 17, 2019 8:50 pm Reading update for January.

Learned two things, I did.

Ok finished Women in the Window - great beach read, suspenseful and twisty all the way through.

Now I'm on to The Looming Tower, winner of the Pulitzer Prize a while back. Very interesting so far.

Reading the first of JK Rowling’s detective series under the Galbraith pseudonym. It’s good so far but I feel like some of the verbiage is needless and exists only to say, “See, I can write for grown-ups too!”

Then again, she is the author who published “Slughorn ejaculated loudly,” so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.

I'm about to start "Less" which won the Pulitzer last year for fiction but got mixed reviews from critics.

Reading update for February. I finished my third book faster than I thought I would.

Book #4: The Bedford Handbook

[mention]Epignosis[/mention]- have you ever come across this composition guide? I may be interested in your thoughts on a few sections of this book. I have a few other books about writing that may be fun to dissect. They're all waiting in the wings though.

I have not. I have two books I like for composition. One fits in your pocket. The other one doesn't.

I understand the book you reference covers things like resumes and what have you, but really, at this juncture, almost everything you would need in that regard can be found online anyway. Personally, I hated the books we had to buy in college for this nonsense every semester (Such as).

Epignosis wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:42 pm I have not. I have two books I like for composition. One fits in your pocket. The other one doesn't.

I understand the book you reference covers things like resumes and what have you, but really, at this juncture, almost everything you would need in that regard can be found online anyway. Personally, I hated the books we had to buy in college for this nonsense every semester (Such as).

Strunk & White is on deck. I may save my copy of On Writing for when I’m ready to start on some fiction. I have a college text on writing fiction that I didn’t enjoy when I took a creative writing class. I may drag that one out around the same time as King.

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2019 11:02 pm

Epignosis wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:42 pm I have not. I have two books I like for composition. One fits in your pocket. The other one doesn't.

I understand the book you reference covers things like resumes and what have you, but really, at this juncture, almost everything you would need in that regard can be found online anyway. Personally, I hated the books we had to buy in college for this nonsense every semester (Such as).

Strunk & White is on deck. I may save my copy of On Writing for when I’m ready to start on some fiction. I have a college text on writing fiction that I didn’t enjoy when I took a creative writing class. I may drag that one out around the same time as King.

The CV section of King's book is worth the price of admission.

On Writing was awesome. I should probably go through it again soon.

Reading update for The Bedford Handbook.

The questions I posted on Facebook:

To my educator friends at all levels:

1) Which pre-writing exercises (listing, freewriting, clustering, etc.) do you recommend most to students and which ones do you think yield the best results?

2) Do you tell students to revise and edit while they write or after they finish a draft?

3) Should college freshmen already know how to write a competent essay or term paper?

4) Do you feel that it is ever too late for a student to learn how to write according to the standards these kinds of guidebooks consider proper?

G-Man wrote: ↑Sun Mar 24, 2019 4:46 pm Reading update for The Bedford Handbook.

The questions I posted on Facebook:

To my educator friends at all levels:

1) Which pre-writing exercises (listing, freewriting, clustering, etc.) do you recommend most to students and which ones do you think yield the best results?

2) Do you tell students to revise and edit while they write or after they finish a draft?

3) Should college freshmen already know how to write a competent essay or term paper?

4) Do you feel that it is ever too late for a student to learn how to write according to the standards these kinds of guidebooks consider proper?

1. I don't recommend any because I don't use any myself, especially when it comes to formal writing. My preference is to write whatever comes to mind and then sort it out later. I certainly teach a variety of methods for my students to choose from, because obviously everyone is different.

2. If my students revise at all, in any capacity, at any time, I'm thrilled.

3. Yes. I wavered for a moment after an instinctive, resounding "Yes," but I'll not waver further: Writing a competent essay is not hard. It just isn't. Anybody going to college, no matter what the program, should be able to construct a basic written essay if physically able.

4. No.

juliets wrote: ↑Tue Feb 26, 2019 3:48 pm I'm about to start "Less" which won the Pulitzer last year for fiction but got mixed reviews from critics.

I just finished this! I liked it a lot, particularly as it went on. Some really wonderful passages and I laughed a good amount.

ColinIsCool wrote: ↑Sat Mar 30, 2019 1:00 pm

juliets wrote: ↑Tue Feb 26, 2019 3:48 pm I'm about to start "Less" which won the Pulitzer last year for fiction but got mixed reviews from critics.

I just finished this! I liked it a lot, particularly as it went on. Some really wonderful passages and I laughed a good amount.

I was about to start it and then I didn't but I plan to read it this week. Thanks for letting me know!

The Bedford Handbook, Installment #3

My question for Facebook friends was:

Alright educators, the ESL trouble spot section was good food for thought, but what's it like outside the ivory tower of academic book publishing? This text devotes a fair amount of time covering verb confusion and article confusion. What ESL struggles have you seen the most on the front lines?

Please share your answers too.

Is this thread only for fictions?

Creature wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 4:26 pm Is this thread only for fictions?

Not at all.

G-Man read the thesaurus and posted about it here. Anything is allowed.

I have been reading a lot lately. On pace to finish my 20th book of the year today (I think I'm shooting for 52, but quality > quantity.)

Best ones lately:
John Darnielle - Wolf in White Van [read in one afternoon, super dark but very affecting]
Ian McEwan - Atonement [is "ooooof" a review?]
Stephen King - On Writing [obviously, he has some good advice]

ColinIsCool wrote: ↑Sat May 25, 2019 10:05 am I have been reading a lot lately. On pace to finish my 20th book of the year today (I think I'm shooting for 52, but quality > quantity.)

Best ones lately:
John Darnielle - Wolf in White Van [read in one afternoon, super dark but very affecting]
Ian McEwan - Atonement [is "ooooof" a review?]
Stephen King - On Writing [obviously, he has some good advice]

So Colin did you like Atonement or not like it? Also did you see the movie before you read the book?

I thought it was tremendous. "Like" is a strong word maybe but I'm glad I read it. Haven't seen the movie.

ColinIsCool wrote: ↑Sat May 25, 2019 11:33 am I thought it was tremendous. "Like" is a strong word maybe but I'm glad I read it. Haven't seen the movie.

I loved it. I read the ending while flying to NY and I remember I felt like "wot just happened" - I was sitting on that plane and my eyes were spinning - it felt surreal. His other books haven't had that kind of impact on me but I just got his latest book, Machines Like Me, from the library.

Finally got around to reading The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, the first book in the Broken Earth trilogy. It has won lots of awards and I've been hearing so many raving reviews of it for a while and I knew I would love it and it still blew my mind. Absolutely the best fantasy book I've ever read. The innovative way the character perspectives are written, the worldbuilding, the unraveling of the plot, the allegorical commentary on real social and environmental concerns, all of it is stunningly executed and I highly recommend it. Moving on to the sequel asap.

I am currently reading:

In Hoffa's Shadow - Jack Goldsmith
Talking to Strangers - Malcolm Gladwell
Olive Again - Elizabeth Strout

Edit: So Hoffa's Shadow was an interesting book. Even though I was in labor relations I never heard the story of Jimmy Hoffa and his death, and I love true crime so it was right up my alley. On to "Olive Again" the sequel to "Olive Kittredge".

as many of you know, my favorite book ever is jane eyre. so how could it have been my favorite for so many years and i go without reading wide sargasso sea you ask? no idea. my boyfriend got it for me and i was like, ok so who dis? was pretty shocked i didn't know of its existence. it's a prequel to jane eyre (a response, if you may) written in the 1960s, from the POV of mr. rochester's mad wife, antoinette cosway (or bertha as he renamed her). amazing book that tackles all kind of race and identity issues, and anyone who comes from mixed backgrounds like me can really relate to and appreciate the content and trauma that exists in discovering a person's identity when they can't claim any country as their own. born in jamaica and taken to europe, it tells you how much conflict exists in "foreigners" and how they never feel truly accepted or loved for who they are. i cried a few times. highly recommended.

now to tackle on ayn rand's fountainhead like the little wannabe-libertarian that i am.

Wow, I've been slacking in giving you guys updates on my reading. Here's six months of catch-up all at once:

BOOK #4- The Bedford Handbook
Update #4

Update #5

Bedford Handbook Review: Thank God I Don’t Have to Write Research Papers Anymore ( gave it a solid B to B+)


BOOK #5- The Elements of Style
Review: If Prescriptivism Is Wrong, Then I Don’t Want to Be Right (I gave it a solid A-, possibly soft A)


BOOK #6- The Idea of the Holy
Intro Post

Review: ‘Mysterium Tremendum’ is Not a Harry Potter Spell (I gave it a B due to clunky moments of translation and copious amounts of wordiness)


BOOKS #7-12- The Bible and More
Intro Post

I've been sitting on an update post for a few months now but I needed to re-read the first four chapters of Reading the Old Testament before I could give it a fair shake. My goal is to finish that post over the weekend.

Reading Chrysalis. It's a web-novel:

https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/wiki/series/chrysalis

An AI wakes up and finds out the Earth has been attacked and destroyed by aliens. Every single human and every living being was killed, and the planet has been turned unihabitable. The AI apparently has the memories of a human, and feels like one.

It then spends the next 12 years developing and build the largest spacecraft in the history of humanity, so it can launch itself onto space and do the only one thing it has to: kill all the motherfucking aliens and get revenge.

But it gets interesting, when we learn the aliens are part of a galatic federation, so picking a fight with them means picking a fight with the whole federation. Furthermore, there are some ethical questions about whether an entire species can be guilty for the actions of a few members. So there is some cool plot going on.

I just finished The Overstory for a book club and WOW it is so good!

I am starting the new Josh Malerman book Inspection.

I'm reading Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson. It's the second book in the second act of the Mistborn series.

I recently finished Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. It was extremely hyped but I found it immensely disappointing. It's labelled a dark fantasy novel with shades of horror, but the author routinely breaks from immersion to make her main character sound like someone using Gen-Z meme-y language in a casual conversation, except as genuine internal monologue. It doesn't fit the environment and genre at all, and I personally can't stand comedy in literature. It took me out enough, again and again, that I couldn't make it to the end. Mind, I use the language myself in my own conversations, but there's a time and place for it IMO.

I'm reading the Mass Effect books.

The author is way too focused on determining whether or not female characters are pretty.

Finished the 1st Mistborn Trilogy.

Now I long for more.

DrWilgy wrote: ↑Thu Sep 23, 2021 11:38 pm Finished the 1st Mistborn Trilogy.

Now I long for more.

Second Mistborn series is not as good, but still worth reading.

Elantris also good. Just one book though.

I'll probably go back to them eventually. Going to see if I like the kingkiller chronicles first. Maybe the 3rd book for that will be released.

Finished the Broken Empire Trilogy (aka Thorn Trilogy). Suffice to say I really liked it.

The premise is similar to A Song of Ice and Fire. A hundred kings are fighting to decide who will sit on a certain special throne, and they have to figure out and unite the empire before a certain undead threat arrives and destroys the world. The protagonist, Jorg Ancrath, is a child who watched his mother and little brother be killed as a result of that dispute between kings, and after learning that his father will do nothing about it, he runs away and joins a band of thieves. Over the years, he becomes their leader, and eventually comes back to get his revenge and make his own moves at the empire game. He is far from being a hero and he knows it, but he is extremely resourceful and pragamatic, tends to find the most unique solutions to problems (usually some bloody variation of cutting the gordian knot), so he may be just what the empire needs to stop the incoming undead threat.

It's very good. Particularly the last 2 books. First one is mostly good too, but it is a little harder to get into because the protagonist is a complete sociopath (in the first 50 pages, he kills multiple innocent people and rapes someone, so that can be an entry barrier for some people). But if you can get through knowing you don't have to root for the guy, plot stuff will eventually happen and he will start developing, so he will become more of an anti-hero as the story goes, which is represented by how the cover of each book has a lighter color than the previous one (but never fully white). The story tests the absolute limits on whether it's possible to redeem someone, and the way it ultimately resolves it is... unique, to say at least.

It also uses anachronic storytelling order, which is something I love. Each book has 2 or 3 narrative lines that are usually happening at different points of the timeline, and the stuff happening in the present makes more sense as you learn what happened a few years ago. There is one trip that takes the entirety of Book 2 and 3, while the other half of each book is influenced in the future by the things that happened during that trip. Each book has at least one huge plot twist that explodes near the end of the book as you learn what happened in the past, and changes your whole perspective.

Bottomline is, not a series for people who are sensitive to gore/violence (or rape, though those aren't particularly graphic) or require their narrator to have at least some semblance of humanity (at least in the first book), but after reading, I have to admit it is a very good series. It also fulfills that craving some of you may have for an actual, quality ending to a story similar to ASoIaF which doesn't extend endlessly or split in too many characters (Jorg is usually good at ensuring superfluous chartacters don't stay around, for that matter).

I have started reading this esoteric book that I actually bought as a Christmas present for my dad.

It's called The Mathematics of History, and it's a condensation of a 9 volume predictive theory of history written in the 40s and 50s by a Catalan Republican pharmacist exile. Amongst other factoids, he predicted the collapse of the USSR towards the end of the 20th century and that despite its twin defeats, Germany would become the dominant European power into the 21st.

So it should be kind of fun even if it is bogus. If it is not bogus, someone invented psychohistory (but it's probably bogus).

Matrix by Lauren Groff. It is about nuns in the 1100s and it is SO compelling. An imagining of the adventures of Eleanor of Aquitaine's real half-sister Marie.