Weekend Book Recommendations \ stacker news ~meta

1696 sats \ 15 comments \ @sn 25 Nov 2023 meta

What books are you all reading this weekend? Any topic counts!

289 sats \ 0 replies \ @TomK 25 Nov 2023

One of my favorites: Thomas Mann: Buddenbrooks

I never read the english translation but it surely also creates this special atmosphere of a great family of the 19th century in northern Germany in decline. The economical decline sets in with the sublime growth of cultural spirit and interests. It's the history of Mann's own family. He won the nobel price for this work with 23 years of age! Great read. Absolutely a part of a good library.

Greets

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @kurszusz 25 Nov 2023

I just finished "I was Doctor Mengele's Assistant: The Memoirs of an Auschwitz Physician" some days ago, and started to read "The Big Short" yesterday

57 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 25 Nov 2023

Digital Gold, by Nathaniel Popper.

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @030e0dca83 25 Nov 2023

Rabbits & Boa Constrictors by Fazil Iskander

This book has Animal Farm vibes

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @911 25 Nov 2023

deleted by author

296 sats \ 1 reply \ @BITC0IN 25 Nov 2023

Bitcoin: A Game Theoretic Analysis <-book review here on stacker.news

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 25 Nov 2023

Going to be buying this one!

47 sats \ 1 reply \ @OneOneSeven 25 Nov 2023

Inside the U.S. Government Covert UFO Program: Initial Revelations (2023)

Quote from the back:

“At the conclusion of a 2011 meeting in the Capitol building with a U.S. Senator and an agency Under Secretary, Lacatski, the only one of this book’s authors present, posed a question. He stated that the United States was in possession of a craft of unknown origin and had successfully gained access to its interior. This craft had a streamlined configuration suitable for aerodynamic flight but no intakes, exhaust, wings, or control surfaces. In fact, it appeared not to have an engine, fuel tanks, or fuel. Lacatski asked: What was the purpose of this craft? Was it a life-support craft useful only for atmospheric reentry or what? If it was a spacecraft, then how did it operate?"

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @oraltosun 25 Nov 2023

I saw similar objects two times back in 2017. Did I write this down here in order to be a famous person? No.

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @rafaelasprilla334 25 Nov 2023

One of the ones I like and recommend is Atlas Shrugged

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @Bullen 25 Nov 2023

Yumi and the nightmare painter (brandon sanderson)

Halfway through or something, it was a slow start but I enjoy it. It reads very light-heartedly and witty.

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @stacksatstoday 25 Nov 2023

Prepared by Mike Glover

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @Turdinthepunchbowl 25 Nov 2023

Same as Ever by Morgan Housel. Just recently finished listening to it on audiobook and it was a good "read".

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @oraltosun 26 Nov 2023

Cosmos - Carl Sagan

Is there anyone who hasn't read it yet?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei 26 Nov 2023

The school year is winding down, which frees up the mental space required to fully appreciate books like “The Lover’s Dictionary”.

But it isn’t that David Levithan has written something dense and complicated. He executes an innovative idea awesomely - map out the trajectory of a relationship from the male’s perspective in the form of dictionary entries. Each entry begins with a word and proceeds with several sentences or paragraphs linking it to his relationship. Most of his entries are short and sweet - shorter than my book reviews, in fact. So, they are quite easy to read through.

Most of these entries are written in an understated way. They typically end with a punch to the heart - and reverberate through the arteries. I needed to allow the emotions to surface and bubble up and make themselves felt. I needed to think about the things left unsaid. A process that I was willing to undergo because from the looks of it, he was crazily in love with her but she couldn’t reciprocate, perhaps due to her unresolved family trauma or inability to hold her liquor. We’re unsure as to why their relationship fell apart. Literature enthusiasts would have a whale of a time dissecting all the metaphors and rhetorical questions Levithan used.

One thing’s for sure. The female character cheated on the protagonist. And boy, did he pour out his raw anger forcefully in the entry “livid”. That’s the only entry in which I don’t have to play detective at unravelling his emotions.

I love that some dictionary entries build on previous entries but come with an additional sentence, letting me know sequentially how that pivotal conversation exactly went. Really smart of Levithan to introduce layers to the story.

I also realise that all authors are great at using punctuation marks as analogies to make salient points about something else. David Levithan has some good writing about commas and exclamation marks. So does Matt Haig, another author I enjoyed this year.