this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2024
133 points (95.9% liked)

Asklemmy

44148 readers
1285 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_[email protected]~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 48 points 9 months ago (3 children)

The Martian, by Andy Weir

That being said, why are you using camelcase with "re-read"? That's what the hyphen is for.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago (3 children)

I didn't quite get into the martian, but project hail Mary... I'm savoring when I have the time and headspace to read it again.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

This. So much.

The Martian was the first and to this date only book that I've read and, when I was finished, decided to re-read right away.

Love all Andy Weirs stuff. I've read the Martian four to five times now (lost count) I've also read Artemis twice and am currently re-reading Project Hail Mary.

Even when you know the ending the way there is still always fun another time.

Also I've re-read the Dirk Gently books since I just love Douglas Adams

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Acshually, that's Pascal case.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 25 points 9 months ago (6 children)

Les Misérables is easily the best book I've ever read in my entire life. A few years ago I read a shorthened version of it and even then I was fascinated by it. I finished reading the full text two months ago and oh my fucking god this book is the best thing ever written.

I'm Turkish so I read the Turkish translation (will read the full text in English and French when I learn it) and on the back of it, it says something along these lines:

"... Les Misérables is the third and the most majestic collumn of the author's novel trilogy that tells of the society..."

And I completely agree with that. This book is simply timeless. The characters, situations, unjustice, inequalities, all the suffering in it could be applied to any society. This book is real.

The messages that it sends are solutions to topics that seemingly anybody with a functioning brain should be capable of thinking and realizing. And yet, these solutions are ignored and refused because of greed, revenge, bloodlust and most important of all, ignorance.

The main character of the book, Jean Valjean is the embodiment of redemption. His entire arc teaches us how to treat criminals. Some countries today are taking these lessons and applying them. The lessons being; treat them as human, rehabilitate them. The result? They actually do heal and return to society as normal human beings.

And yet you see people against this practice. Those kinds of people are blinded by bloodlust and revenge. They are the same kind of people that were racist, sexist and much more back in the day. The arguments that these people bring don't hold up either. The most common one I see (at least from my perspective) is this:

"You wouldn't react this way if they hurt one of your loved ones!"

The fact that these people don't know anything about me aside, this argument is pointless as it implies that I would be blind to fact and logic when I'm in pain. And while that is true, me being angry over an apple falling onto my head won't make gravity any less real. In other words, so what?

The biggest victims of this mentality are pedofiles. Not the ones that do engage in action. But rather the ones that don't harm anybody are aware of their issue. For instance, if a non-engaging pedo went to a therapist and told them of their issue, what would the therapist do? Call the police of course. And what would that do? Their life would be pretty screwed from that point forward. Assuming they are the non-engaging type, of course. I don't believe this to be the correct attitude towards these kind of cases.

I would also like to dive into other topics that the book covers (and perhaps extend on this one) but it would be way too long for a comment. Thank you anyone reading this far. I would like to hear your opinions on the matter and discuss even!

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] [email protected] 20 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Asimov's Foundation series (two times polish translation and once original) and The Hitchikerms Guide to Galaxy by Adams Douglas (once in polish, twice original)

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 18 points 9 months ago (2 children)

The Discworld series, the Culture series by Iain Banks, Tolkien, Illuminatus!, GEB: The Eternal Golden Braid, The Book of Swords...

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 9 months ago (1 children)

there is a lot of books i have read more than once. but one stands out over all others, yet there is no storyline to speak of. The C Programming Language by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

Me too. But due to the non linear storyline I typically jump around a lot

[–] [email protected] 16 points 9 months ago (4 children)

The Wheel Of Time, by Robert Jordan

The entire series, start to finish, repeatedly. I've read it at least a dozen times since the late 90s when I first discovered it. I'd read the entire series over again whenever a new book in the series was released so the first few books I've read far more frequently.

Then the TV show came out and now I can't bring myself to look at it ever again.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Then the TV show came out and now I can't bring myself to look at it ever again.

I tell people the TV show is what you'd get if you handed the books to the CW's teen soap/drama writers. Yes, it's that bad.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 9 months ago (4 children)

I have re-read The Lord of the Rings and all of Larry Niven's books (many in the Ringworld universe).

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The stand, by Stephen King

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago

" When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton. "

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Pretty much all of Discworld but especially the Moist Von Lipwig and Vimes ones.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (3 children)

I've definitely gone through the Harry Potter series a couple of times at different phases of my life. Definitely had a different experience with every reading. Not always positive, but at this point it's part of the tapestry of my childhood.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (5 children)

I just read the 4 Stormlight Archives books this past year (in addition to the novellas) but I’m already itching to reread them.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

I got into the Cosmere about three years back. I started with The Way Of Kings just because I had heard Sanderson was good and had an audible credit. Then I learned about the whole Cosmere and flew through the rest of it. I’m up to Words Of Radiance on my first re read before #5 comes out.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I reread the whole Cosmere last year. It was worth it.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

I started reading more when the Reddit API stuff happened. Meant to pick up Mistborn AGES ago at a friend’s behest and then went to Way of Kings after Mistborn Era 1 was over.

Haven’t looked back, and have barely read anything not written by Brando Sando since then.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Anything by Sanderson. His consistency is so, so wonderful. I hate ass-pull macguffins.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Excession, by Iain M Banks.

Genar-Hofoen felt the Diplomatic Force officer's kiss through the few millimetres' thickness of the gelfield suit as a moderately sharp impact on his jaw followed by a powerful sucking that might have led someone less experienced in the diverse and robust manifestations of Affronter friendliness to conclude that the being was either trying to suck his teeth out through his cheek or had determined to test whether a Culture Gelfield Contact/Protection Suit, Mk 12, could be ripped off its wearer by a localised partial vacuum.  What the crushingly powerful four-limbed hug would have done to a human unprotected by a suit designed to withstand pressures comparable to those found at the bottom of an ocean probably did not bear thinking about, but then a human exposed without protection to the conditions required to support Affronter life would be dying in at least three excitingly different and painful ways anyway without having to worry about being crushed by a cage of leg-thick tentacles.

Gorgeous.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Currently there is a Humble Bundle with Cory Doctorow's books. I liked Little Brother and read it twice. Maybe I'm going to read some more of his work.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Lord of the rings.

Hunt for Red October and Without Remorse by Tom Clancy

Currently re-listening to Debit of Honour

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Red October is honestly great 👍

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

HHGTTG Tue trilogy of 5 I've read through maybe 5 times now. Unfortunately I think the last time was a mistake as I really struggled after the first 2 books and didn't enjoy them like I once had.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago

I had to look up:

HHGTTG = The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)

The Stand by Steven King. Also, his Gunslinger series.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

Malazan Book of the Fallen, Gentlemen Bastards series, most of Neil Gaiman's work, The Library at Mount Char, the Baru Cormorant series, Gatsby, Flowers for Algernon, and most of Plath's work - I go back to most of those every few years.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (4 children)

Only two so far

Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy

And

Gone away world

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

His Dark Materials trilogy.. still so excellent.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Watership Down.

Also some Philip K. Dick books, like A Scanner Darkly and Eye in the Sky.

But I also enjoyed the Bartimaues trilogy so much when I was somewhat younger.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I know I'm 8 hours late, but please attach the genre of your books.

The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking by Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird - Psychology, Self-Help, Study-Help, Non-Fiction. Please, this one. It's short. Even if you aren't a college student anymore. Their other books are also good fun plus maths.

  • Spy the Lie - Psychology, Self-help, Non-Fiction

  • Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini - Psychology, Self-help, Non-Fiction

  • Thank You for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs - Non-Fiction, Rhetoric, Self-Help

Fun:

  • The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini - YA Fiction, High Fantasy.

  • The Guild Codex (Universe) by Annette Marie - Urban Fantasy, Magic, YA

  • Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews - Urban Fantasy, Magic, YA

  • Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs - Urban Fantasy, YA

  • Edited to include, almost anything by Tamora Pierce - Fantasy, Low-Magic

My mother would have said:

  • Little Women, Coming-of-Age and Semi-Autobiographical.

  • Cassandra Palmer - High-Fantasy, Fiction, Time-Travel, Magic

  • Twilight - Unhealthy-Female-Romance, Fiction, Fantasy,

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

I have reread several books but most of them have several years or decades in between.

Especially Terry Pratchetts' books are better after and worthy of a second read.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I remember the VCR instruction manual.

Otherwise Terry Pratchett's discworld novels and the Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy (the 3 first ofc).

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

Foucault's pendulum by Umberto Eco. Just thinking about it makes me want to read this masterpiece again.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault%27s_Pendulum

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

When I was 7, I got brought to the school library and told to pick a book to read over the summer. I picked The Hobbit. I got told no. I Insisted. Read that, then moved on lotr. I then read those I don't know how many more times over the years. As far as I remember, those are the only books I ever bothered to read more than once. Not counting listening to the audio books at work, as well.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (3 children)

The entire series of Culture books by Iain M Banks, they're just phenomenally written.

Others I've reread at least twice:

Frank Herbert's DUNE series

Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash

The Thievesworld anthology series

Alastair Reynolds House of Suns

William Gibson's Jackpot books

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Because Clive Barker doesn't get enough credit:

The Books of Blood

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

To Kill A Mockingbird

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Harry potter series

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

When Sysadmins Ruled The Earth by Cory Doctorow

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

The Count of Monte Cristo

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago
  1. H.G. Wells’ Time Machine
  2. Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide
  3. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter
  4. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451
  5. Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club
load more comments
view more: next ›