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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1456 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 19, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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So, what are you reading?

Still on The Wisdom of Insecurity and other things.

Just started Starship Troopers. I wanted to read something fun, and I'm enjoy it so far.

Just finished the Odyssey. This read, I thought a lot about connections to other epics, like Milton or the Ramayana. What do the differences tell us about the cultures that produced them?

I picked up Gaiman's Sandman series. I'm on to volume 4 now. It might be that I'm not used to horror or comics or horror comics, but the first two volumes (A Doll's House and the process of getting the tools back) struck me as witchy and atmospheric, but pretty uninteresting plot wise. On the other hand, the self-contained stories in Dream Country like The Dream of One Thousand Cats were great. Though, given recent news, having the author in Dream Country repeatedly rape his imprisoned muse for story ideas is a liiiitle...well...you know...

If you want a really interesting comparison to fit in with those three (particularly assuming you've read the Iliad), I would recommend adding The Song of Roland.

Still on Master and Commander as my falling asleep book.

I'm quite enjoying it and didn't expect it to be so positive, but I guess it being written in the 70's inured it against cynicism.

Last week I finished Katalin Street by Magda Szabó. It was pretty good, though I doubt I'll read it again. On Thursday I started Boy Parts by Eliza Clark and it was so compulsively readable I had it finished by Saturday. It touches on a wealth of CW topics: female violence, the male gaze, false accusations of rape, whether there's any meaningful difference between fetish art and porn. Ultimately ends up feeling a bit like an extremely online, gender-flipped version of American Psycho. Very impressive, especially for a debut from such a young writer, even if I did feel like Clark was pulling her punches slightly.

Started The Trial by Kafka last night.

"The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties," by Christopher Caldwell, which argues that both the Great Society and Reaganism were misguided. Caldwell seems scrupulous, so I'm enjoying it.

Between Two Fires

A knight in ex communicatio and a bugger priest team up to escort a loli with visions of angels across plague-stricken mids 1300s France. Shenanigans of demonic and mundane nature ensue.

I'm only about a third of the way through. This could have functioned as a straight historical fiction novel but it leans fairly into the supernatural. The character dynamics of the main trio are carrying it so far.

The White Knight Syndrome, which is an interesting read so far, even if it hasn't magically transformed me into someone other than Don Quixote...

Natural Right and History by Leo Strauss for philosophy book club. Generally enjoying it, but I feel like he makes some dubious assumptions about things. Also working through Judas by Amos Oz and the last few hours of Solaris.

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