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Pit Book/Discussion Thread

The Decagon House Murders is excellent. A 1987 Japanese crime novel paying homage to And Then There Were None. It has been out of English language print for a while and just returned. Really fun and easy.
 
The Decagon House Murders is excellent. A 1987 Japanese crime novel paying homage to And Then There Were None. It has been out of English language print for a while and just returned. Really fun and easy.
1985-1986 was an important year for the Christie novel. If y'all don't know the publication history (and especially debates over its titles), it's worth looking into.
 
Finished Lonesome Dove. I'm glad I waited until I was older to read it because I think books with that sort of pacing used to bore me. (The Road comes to mind). A younger me wouldn't have appreciated all of the small things and only seen the over arching plot of a cattle drive from Texas to Montana. Instead, I loved the world and character building. Just a masterfully written book. I didn't even find it to be too long, because when it slowed down and got into the nuanced details of life in those times is what I really appreciated. I've heard the other 2 books in the trilogy aren't as good, but I'm still very tempted. I don't even particularly like westerns, but I loved Lonesome Dove and have to imagine that if you were to only read 1 western, this is it.
 
I just read it over the holidays this year. I don't think I want to read the others, just bc I've heard a little bit about the plots. Got some prequels and some sequels. Tempted by the story of their Rangers days though
 
phan, how much contemporary fiction do you read?
I do very little pleasure reading these days, sadly. One big book over Christmas break and trudge through a novel every couple of months. Couple of novels at the beach. I have tended to spend my free time reading the boards and news. I'd like to change that.

It's also one of those things I'm sure a number of posters experience where I'm reading all day every day for work and my brain just kinda turns to mush. I can't really focus on pleasure reading

In grad school I was in a contemporary reading group (and the dept bought us the books) so I read several new, well-regarded things each year in the 2020s -- chosen by students of contemporary fiction and poetry. So I have a decent handle on what was new and good during a very specific and limited period.

How about you?
 
I don't read as much fiction as I'd like, but I probably get through a couple novels a month, maybe one and a half

they tend to be more contemporary, with a few classics sprinkled in, but I'm woefully under-read re: the all-time great books

I don't do a ton of non-fiction books, but I probably read more non-fiction words across the various journals and publications I subscribe to

I do my best reading in the morning, but that's when I'm doing my non-book reading -- after work, I have a tough time sticking with it for more than 15 minutes
 
I don't do a ton of non-fiction books, but I probably read more non-fiction words across the various journals and publications I subscribe to

Oh yes, me too. Well-put. I've been slogging through two non-fiction books for literally years. Every year or so el chupe and I will check in about one of them and neither of us will ever have finished it
 
I find a lot of things being written about are better served by the essay format than the book format — many (most?) of the non-fiction books I read are just collections of essays

frequently I find there is too much redundancy in non-fiction books as they try to stretch ideas to get it to a justifiable length for publishing

I think we need more short non-fiction books, 50-100 pages
 
Finished Lonesome Dove. I'm glad I waited until I was older to read it because I think books with that sort of pacing used to bore me. (The Road comes to mind). A younger me wouldn't have appreciated all of the small things and only seen the over arching plot of a cattle drive from Texas to Montana. Instead, I loved the world and character building. Just a masterfully written book. I didn't even find it to be too long, because when it slowed down and got into the nuanced details of life in those times is what I really appreciated. I've heard the other 2 books in the trilogy aren't as good, but I'm still very tempted. I don't even particularly like westerns, but I loved Lonesome Dove and have to imagine that if you were to only read 1 western, this is it.

I just finished this as well. I would agree that it is masterfully written.
 
I also loved Lonesome Dove even though I do not like westerns in general. I could not pass up reading Comanche Moon and Streets of Laredo, but they are not on the same level. I do think Dead Man’s Walk is worth reading. I liked it more than CM and SoL and it is much less of a time commitment than the others.
 
I find a lot of things being written about are better served by the essay format than the book format — many (most?) of the non-fiction books I read are just collections of essays

frequently I find there is too much redundancy in non-fiction books as they try to stretch ideas to get it to a justifiable length for publishing

I think we need more short non-fiction books, 50-100 pages

I read a lot more nonfiction than fiction. It used to be the reverse. Then after law school, during which I rarely read anything for pleasure, it flipped to mainly nonfiction reading for me. I can provide examples to support your redundancy opinion, but overall I do not find that to be my experience. Or at least no more so than fiction books could be a little tighter as well.
 
Anybody have any recommendations for (very) introductory books on string theory, quantum physics, or time theory/philosophy (i.e. A-time vs. B-time)?
 
Finished my last book while on vacation in Wyoming so I guess I felt inspired and downloaded Lonesome Dove and plowed through it after perusing the thread. Slow start but didn't want it to end. Echo the comments about not appreciating it had I read it younger, got me in a pretty wild headspace for a day or two after finishing it.
 
Finished my last book while on vacation in Wyoming so I guess I felt inspired and downloaded Lonesome Dove and plowed through it after perusing the thread. Slow start but didn't want it to end. Echo the comments about not appreciating it had I read it younger, got me in a pretty wild headspace for a day or two after finishing it.
My experience of visiting Wyoming, Montana, Yellowstone, etc. was significantly enhanced by having read Lonesome Dove. Especially since my dad and I drove up there along a similar route to the cattle drive.
 
Just dropped in to see if anyone has read Underworld. I’m 400 pages in and I understand why it’s such a great novel and all, but man is it thick and some parts are a slog.

I’ve been trying to make myself do a great work of lit and then a shit plot based beach book but the works of literature are starting to seem like actual work.

Second the McMurty love. I read Lonesome Dove back to back with Blood Meridian a few years back, and that was a fun contrast.
 
Picked up “The Boys in the Boat” recently again around the Olympics. Just such a compelling book. Amazingly well-written story.
 
I’m not a big self help book dude but it’s been pretty cool to read and apply part 4 of ‘how to win friends and influence people’ once I started managing people
 
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