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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   5876 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 21, 2023

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?

I'm still on Delany's Babel-17. It's definitely on the too-weird side, but Rydra Wong is a fantastic protagonist with the apparent ability to read people like a book.

Paper I happen to be reading: Elias (1956). Problems of Involvement and Detachment. My impression of the social sciences has undergone a rehabilitation ever since I learned that Comte coined "sociology."

I just finished The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell, the second book of his Saxon Stories series of historical fiction. These are the basis for The Last Kingdom TV series from the BBC and later Netflix, and chronicle the life of a warrior during the Viking incursions in 10th and 11th century England. The fictional protagonist is wonderfully woven into real historical events, and the writing has excellent pacing. Cornwell also wrote the Sharpe novels which were made into a popular BBC program in the '90s. I'd highly recommend the books and Netflix series to anyone with an interest in the time period, as I often find myself motivated to research the historical events after reading them in such a compelling narrative.

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