Last book(s) you read?

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Siggdalos
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Re: Last book(s) you read?

Post by Siggdalos » Wed Nov 18, 2020 2:43 pm

Finished rereading Handling the Undead and The Final Handling yesterday. (I know it's called The Final Processing in the English translations, but "Handling" is a much more logical translation; the novel's title isn't translated as "Processing the Undead", is it?)

My issues with HtU remain the same as when I first read it. The plot feels aimless and takes a long time before it gets going, and once it finally does, the book's over; simply put, it feels meandering and unfinished. On the positive side, I really like JAL's depiction of Death and the afterlife, and Flora and Elvy are still my favorite characters in the novel. David is not a very interesting character, but the descriptions of his grief are so visceral that I still found his part of the story gripping (David, Eva, and Magnus are pretty thinly veiled stand-ins for JAL, Mia, and their son, so I imagine John pulled a lot from how he thought he'd feel in David's situation when writing those parts). Mahler and Anna's side of the story is probably the one I liked the least, since Mahler becomes pretty unsympathetic towards the end and the book doesn't spend enough time in Anna's head for the last scene to have the right emotional impact on me; I was still moved by those parts, but not enough for it to feel like a satisfying conclusion that makes up for the lack of narrative conclusion. If I judge it as a standalone work, then I think I agree with JAL that it's his worst novel. I wouldn't say that it's bad, but it's okay and not much more.

However, I ended up liking The Final Handling more this time around than I thought I would. Kalle and Flora's relationship is really sweet, I laughed at many of the comic relief parts, and the finale with Elvy's sacrifice and the imagery of the countless butterflies made me tear up. One thing I would've liked is more explanation for the villains' motives. The visitor's character seems simple enough—his only purpose is to consume, just as Death's only purpose is to bring souls to the afterlife—but how did he convince Sture and the rest that him eating the souls and sending them to the empty place would result in the maximum benefit? Still, I think it's a nice and satisfying ending to the story. While I think HtU feels unfinished on its own, the novel and the epilogue taken together makes for a pretty good story overall, to the point where I think any future editions of HtU should have the The Final Handling included by default.
De höll om varandra i tystnad. Oskar blundade och visste: detta var det största. Ljuset från lyktan i portvalvet trängde svagt in genom hans slutna ögonlock, la en hinna av rött för hans ögon. Det största.

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a_contemplative_life
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Re: Last book(s) you read?

Post by a_contemplative_life » Wed Jan 13, 2021 2:19 am

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Listening my way through this on Audible. Quite an amazing guy. I suspect a lot had to do with his Methodist upbringing, particularly his mother.
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danielmann861
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Re: Last book(s) you read?

Post by danielmann861 » Mon Jan 25, 2021 2:06 am

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I Always Find You -- I finally finished it; fascinating! I actually really liked it. Now I have to go catch up on I Am Behind You and wait for I Am The Tiger. Yes, I still haven't read I Am Behind You yet, but will try to work through it this month.

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Domestic Girlfriend -- Book 11. I hate to say it, but I have become stupidly addicted to this dumpster fire of a manga. But not for the main characters. I actually find the main character serviceable at best. I'm actually way more into the side characters that pop up throughout. The premise is pretty trash. The premise is that of a love triangle of a guy stuck between two girls, those two girls just happen to be his step sisters (not related by blood). It could have been trashy, but it's actually not too bad and like I said, the side characters are kind of more compelling and a big part of what keeps me reading it. There is something of a coming of age story underneath the sibling love triangle.

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Remina -- I just got this in the mail today so I will give it a look later on. Always excited for anything Jun Ji Ito.

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gkmoberg1
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Re: Last book(s) you read?

Post by gkmoberg1 » Sun Jan 31, 2021 2:24 am

The Game Of Chess , by Dr Siegbert Tarrasch. I was able to get the English translation from a nearby library.

The book (Das Schachspiel) was published in German in 1931. The English translation was not produced until the mid-1970s and is slightly altered in content from the original. Tarrasch had said in his final years (he passed away in 1934) that he planned to make revisions to the book. As at that point he was running a magazine 'Tarraschs Schachzeitung' (Tarrasch's Chess Newspaper) , in which can be seen improvements on what he had published in Das Schachspiel, the translation's editors Smith and Bon chose to carefully include the updates were applicable.

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gkmoberg1
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Re: Last book(s) you read?

Post by gkmoberg1 » Sun Jan 31, 2021 2:28 am

Lakewood , by Megan Giddings and published in March 2020.

I'm yet early in the novel. It was recommended to me without much more said on why... I'm curious.

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dongregg
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Re: Last book(s) you read?

Post by dongregg » Sun Jan 31, 2021 3:58 am

Well, GK, my reading consists now almost entirely of magazines and the like. New Yorker, the Atlantic, the Sun, NYT headlines.

And poof! Just like that, the day is over.
“For drama to deepen, we must see the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”

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gkmoberg1
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Re: Last book(s) you read?

Post by gkmoberg1 » Tue Feb 02, 2021 2:42 am

dongregg wrote:
Sun Jan 31, 2021 3:58 am
Well, GK, my reading consists now almost entirely of magazines and the like. New Yorker, the Atlantic, the Sun, NYT headlines.

And poof! Just like that, the day is over.
That's a nice pace. I'll go for that. Got room on the porch?

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dongregg
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Re: Last book(s) you read?

Post by dongregg » Sat Feb 13, 2021 10:03 pm

I've started Reading Lolita in Tehran, a 300-page novel a friend dropped off. By Azar Nafisi.
“For drama to deepen, we must see the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”

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BurgerPrince
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Re: Last book(s) you read?

Post by BurgerPrince » Thu Feb 25, 2021 3:47 am

The Return of the King. Now I'm working on A Game of Thrones.
...But if you meet a friendly horse, will you communicate by Morse?

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cmfireflies
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Re: Last book(s) you read?

Post by cmfireflies » Thu Feb 25, 2021 5:16 pm

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I'm currently reading the light novel series "So I'm A Spider, So What?" and thoroughly enjoying them. I would highly recommend if you like isekai anime or manga. Also wondering if anyone has any recommendations for similar LNs as I'm almost done with volume 10.
"When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it."

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