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  • This s*** STUNK man. I love the Alien movies (Aliens is my favorite movie of all time) and while the Alien 3 that they made was terrible, this unmade screenplay would have been just as bad if not worse. William Gibson is one of my all time favorite sci fi authors, but I can't see this script working any better than the one they went with.

    They give the Aliens new ways to reproduce (super confusing), they write Newt and Ripley out of the book in the first 100 pages (it's Ripley's series!), overall just a mess. I still read the whole thing because I love me some Aliens but damn did this suck

  • Mar 25, 2023
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    As someone who worked a series of s***ty kitchen jobs in his early 20s this was an especially fun read. Bourdain was a bit of a d***head but I can't help but love the man, he was proof that you don't necessarily have to be a nice person to be a good person. I would've f***ing hated to work for him though

  • Mar 25, 2023

    Right now I'm readin plays by Rainer Werner Fassbinder

  • Mar 26, 2023
    Bizzle

    As someone who worked a series of s***ty kitchen jobs in his early 20s this was an especially fun read. Bourdain was a bit of a d***head but I can't help but love the man, he was proof that you don't necessarily have to be a nice person to be a good person. I would've f***ing hated to work for him though

    Such a banger of a book, and the audiobook is great cuz he reads it, but man does he come across as an a****** in a past life lol

  • Mar 26, 2023
    UIP

    just finished Devil House by John Darnielle s*** was great, one of the weirder, more thoughtful books I’ve read. It’s basically about the moral implications of true crime media and the impact it has on everyone involved, expressed through a fictional narrative about a true crime author trying to research/write his latest novel.

    I think I enjoyed this one better than his debut Wolf in White Van. haven’t read Universal Harvester yet tho

    its insane how I was thinking about this after a recent jcs vid and theres a book roughly about it in a thread I ain't checked in forever

  • Mar 29, 2023
    Bizzle

    As someone who worked a series of s***ty kitchen jobs in his early 20s this was an especially fun read. Bourdain was a bit of a d***head but I can't help but love the man, he was proof that you don't necessarily have to be a nice person to be a good person. I would've f***ing hated to work for him though

    love this one. a sure fire recommendation too. everyone enjoys it to some degree

    funny how it made me miss the restaurant life for split second

  • Forgot to update for a bit so I'll play just the hits

    First Nabokov I ever read and this s*** goes crazy. I get it 100% I would have let him write that Lolita s*** too. It's somehow both meandering and focused, I think since it's about the deterioration of one person's mental state it can be both. The prose is gorgeous, I could read this guy writing about anything. I don't know much about the theory of chess, despite that this book managed to be accessible and make chess matches exciting. Highly recommend.

    Graham Greene writes like a Cormac McCarthy that's a little less concerned with the scenery and more with the people who inhabit it. This was a fantastic pursuit novel that really examines what it means to save souls, the pros and cons of dogma, and what one's responsibility is to society. It seems members of the Catholic Church waffled on whether this book was critical of the church or whether it celebrated it, and I think both interpretations have tons of evidence in the text.

    The priest doubts himself and his ability to benefit society: is he worth anything as a priest who's an alcoholic and a father? The police lieutenant chasing the priest wonders if he's doing the right thing by stamping out religion and bolstering social services. Both eventually become convinced that they are doing the right thing, and at that point the novel also becomes an examination of what happens when two people in the grips of opposing dogma each insist they're right. Again, highly recommend.

  • Mar 31, 2023
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    Great little story of a Russian scientist who transplants the testicles and pituitary gland of a human into a dog with hilarious consequences. This was written 100 years ago but the writing is so fresh and the themes (what it means to be human and who can decide that, class division, government corruption) so relevant that it feels like it could have been written yesterday.

    Really love Bulgakov and his sense of humour. Too often people who write satire forget that it should actually be funny, he nails that. Would recommend to anyone looking for a bite-sized taste of his work

  • Apr 1, 2023
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    Bizzle

    Great little story of a Russian scientist who transplants the testicles and pituitary gland of a human into a dog with hilarious consequences. This was written 100 years ago but the writing is so fresh and the themes (what it means to be human and who can decide that, class division, government corruption) so relevant that it feels like it could have been written yesterday.

    Really love Bulgakov and his sense of humour. Too often people who write satire forget that it should actually be funny, he nails that. Would recommend to anyone looking for a bite-sized taste of his work

    The Master and Margarita is a top 5 book of all time for me. So good, man. Have you ever read it?

  • Apr 1, 2023
    Grenouille

    The Master and Margarita is a top 5 book of all time for me. So good, man. Have you ever read it?

    Read it last year and it's probably in my top 5 as well, absolute masterpiece

  • Apr 4, 2023
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    Just finished 100 years of solitude. Book is so sad but full of life. One my fav recents. 4.5/5

    The prose is next level, and I love the way time is portrayed in this novel. Time isn’t linear and history is fragmented thru perspective rather than dogma. So it’s hard to piece down what is really happening, but that mysteriousness brings an ambiguity to the story and lives that’s really intriguing. I also think this is the best magical realism book I’ve read so far.

    The surreal parts of this book are really beautiful. And the character arcs are really human, as it displays intergenerational trauma in such a matter of fact way. its quite poignant to witness.

  • Apr 4, 2023

    5/5 book, goat book, and here’s a spine check for all my doubters and haters


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    Finished Neuromancer. Its influence on everything that comes after it is striking, but the prose and technobabble are the real signature. Felt like Naked Lunch for geeks.

    Started Nightwood by Djuna Barnes which also has tremendous prose. Too bad it's like mostly about "the Jew" and race science so far

  • Apr 6, 2023
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    Hurricane Season

    3/5

    F*** me this was a disgusting read. Actually started off with 4 stars in mind, then 3.5, and then 3 by the end. The three stars are for the book being technically well written, but if you hate run on sentences or everything stream of conscious, you'll have a hard time with this book.

    One thing I'll say is that I didn't have too much of a rough time at the start, because of the author's skill. She had a way of keeping up the pace and order of events, while mixing it up with dialogue and internal thoughts, and in some moments, it all read seamlessly.

    The book should've ended after chapter 6, when everything came together. Idk wtf was happening by the end.

    This book reads like an anthology of people's stories that were all connected to a local witch in one way or another.

    Graphic scenes, think of every trigger warning under the sun. At some point, especially the last third of the book, the s*** just got overwhelming (including gross child molestation/rape sequences that go into excruciating detail).

    There is absolutely no way of enjoying this book, and I'm pretty sure you're not meant to, because you're dealing with people living in poverty making such depraved life choices, but I'll never read it again. Took everything in me to finish this and there are bits that I seriously had to skim. Yuck. Just f*** me...

  • Apr 6, 2023
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    This book is insane. It was impossible for me to read it and not be just flabbergasted by the anecdotes shared within, constantly going "that can't be true" at everything I read (no one really has any idea what in this book is true to life). The prose is beautiful, although can be meandering at times. Malaparte is so navel gazing it's sickening and he switches sides and cozies up to whoever is the most powerful in the room like it's a compulsion. I imagined Peter Lorre as the author the entire time. I think the pacing of the book is it's strong suit, and really matches the tone as the narrative falls to an unsatisfying, uneasy conclusion in the absence of any resolution of the war.

    Malaparte was by all accounts a fascist, which comes up in interesting ways in the story as he protects Jews from Nazi pogroms and criticizes Mussolini, Hitler, Himmler, Rommel, pretty much every fascist leader one could imagine. This book does a good job of showing how complex people can be, especially against my understanding of WWII as a two-sided conflict between nations allied under common goals.

    This is a book I will think about for a while for many reasons: the questions of how much and what specifically is true, the horrific imagery of war, the beautiful prose, and the complex and utterly unlikeable characters (real people?) presented within. Also there's a hilarious anecdote of Malaparte trying for all he's worth to avoid a meeting with Himmler. What a bizarre individual Malaparte was.

  • Apr 7, 2023

    Do not click this thread lurkers

  • Apr 7, 2023
    CRACKASTEPPAVEGAN

    Hurricane Season

    3/5

    F*** me this was a disgusting read. Actually started off with 4 stars in mind, then 3.5, and then 3 by the end. The three stars are for the book being technically well written, but if you hate run on sentences or everything stream of conscious, you'll have a hard time with this book.

    One thing I'll say is that I didn't have too much of a rough time at the start, because of the author's skill. She had a way of keeping up the pace and order of events, while mixing it up with dialogue and internal thoughts, and in some moments, it all read seamlessly.

    The book should've ended after chapter 6, when everything came together. Idk wtf was happening by the end.

    This book reads like an anthology of people's stories that were all connected to a local witch in one way or another.

    Graphic scenes, think of every trigger warning under the sun. At some point, especially the last third of the book, the s*** just got overwhelming (including gross child molestation/rape sequences that go into excruciating detail).

    There is absolutely no way of enjoying this book, and I'm pretty sure you're not meant to, because you're dealing with people living in poverty making such depraved life choices, but I'll never read it again. Took everything in me to finish this and there are bits that I seriously had to skim. Yuck. Just f*** me...

  • Emu 🇮🇱
    Apr 8, 2023

    The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli

    "Time opens up our limited access to the world. Time, then, is the form in which we beings, whose brains are made up essentially of memory and foresight, interact with the world: it is the source of our identity."

    I love this quote. It's a scientific statement with philosophical implications. Time is our key to worlds. It's not money, ability, motivation or anything else that gives us access to explore or inner and outer worlds, it's time. The more time we have the more we can experience. This book is full of gems like this Carlo Rovelli did an amazing job explaining something as complex as time based on scientific evidence. "The most credible answers are the ones given by science, because science is the search for the most credible answers available." If you ever wanted to know just understand what time actually is, this is a great book to start with.

  • Apr 9, 2023

    such a great introduction to Murakami. relatable, surreal, gorgeous loved the whole ride. started out slow, but quickly pulled me in. ended on a perfect high note.

    4.5/5

  • Apr 9, 2023
    HrdBoildWndrlnd

    This book is insane. It was impossible for me to read it and not be just flabbergasted by the anecdotes shared within, constantly going "that can't be true" at everything I read (no one really has any idea what in this book is true to life). The prose is beautiful, although can be meandering at times. Malaparte is so navel gazing it's sickening and he switches sides and cozies up to whoever is the most powerful in the room like it's a compulsion. I imagined Peter Lorre as the author the entire time. I think the pacing of the book is it's strong suit, and really matches the tone as the narrative falls to an unsatisfying, uneasy conclusion in the absence of any resolution of the war.

    Malaparte was by all accounts a fascist, which comes up in interesting ways in the story as he protects Jews from Nazi pogroms and criticizes Mussolini, Hitler, Himmler, Rommel, pretty much every fascist leader one could imagine. This book does a good job of showing how complex people can be, especially against my understanding of WWII as a two-sided conflict between nations allied under common goals.

    This is a book I will think about for a while for many reasons: the questions of how much and what specifically is true, the horrific imagery of war, the beautiful prose, and the complex and utterly unlikeable characters (real people?) presented within. Also there's a hilarious anecdote of Malaparte trying for all he's worth to avoid a meeting with Himmler. What a bizarre individual Malaparte was.

    This one's been on my to read list for a minute, gonna have to nab it. love the cover too

  • Apr 9, 2023
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    felli_varda

    Just finished 100 years of solitude. Book is so sad but full of life. One my fav recents. 4.5/5

    The prose is next level, and I love the way time is portrayed in this novel. Time isn’t linear and history is fragmented thru perspective rather than dogma. So it’s hard to piece down what is really happening, but that mysteriousness brings an ambiguity to the story and lives that’s really intriguing. I also think this is the best magical realism book I’ve read so far.

    The surreal parts of this book are really beautiful. And the character arcs are really human, as it displays intergenerational trauma in such a matter of fact way. its quite poignant to witness.

    I just came in to post about One Hundred Years of Solitude too — just finished.

    For me it’s probably a 3.5/5 — I also love the fluidity lucid-dreamlike state the novel puts you in.

    The nonlinear plot; the repetition of names; the surreal being described with just as much sincerity as the real — this novel is an expertly woven maze.

    I still think The Master and Margarita is T1 for magic realism, mind.

  • Grenouille

    I just came in to post about One Hundred Years of Solitude too — just finished.

    For me it’s probably a 3.5/5 — I also love the fluidity lucid-dreamlike state the novel puts you in.

    The nonlinear plot; the repetition of names; the surreal being described with just as much sincerity as the real — this novel is an expertly woven maze.

    I still think The Master and Margarita is T1 for magic realism, mind.

    Man you're hyping me up with master and margarita. I'm gonna finish this book I'm reading rn then dive in.

  • Apr 9, 2023
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    Grenouille

    I just came in to post about One Hundred Years of Solitude too — just finished.

    For me it’s probably a 3.5/5 — I also love the fluidity lucid-dreamlike state the novel puts you in.

    The nonlinear plot; the repetition of names; the surreal being described with just as much sincerity as the real — this novel is an expertly woven maze.

    I still think The Master and Margarita is T1 for magic realism, mind.

    The master and margarita getting copped after I finish warlock and chronicles of a traveling cat

  • Apr 9, 2023

    Currently reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

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