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PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   2838 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 31, 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?

Still on Monte Cristo, which has grabbed me this time, perhaps because I'm reading it in smaller portions as if it were serialized.

Some scattered themes are forming but I get the feeling that I've missed a lot already. It's implied that Dantes' basic problem was that he acted as if he was already in heaven. In material life it was deemed improper to speak as if one was already married before the ceremony, but Dantes treated life as if the marriage between Christ and the innocent was already done. It's setting him up for the role of the serpent in the phrase "as wise as serpents, as harmless as doves."

Also, what have you read for the year that interested you? I have to say that the most impactful thing I've read all year is Danganronpa 2.

Happy new year, everyone.

Dune in preparation for the 2nd part of the film release.

I thought Dune was grossly overrated. Somewhere between boring, nonsensical, and up its own ass.

It's not even that thing where a book that established foundational tropes that are explored by subsequent works seems staid and boring in comparison, I can name plenty of older books that still hold up with the best available today, and feel just as fresh as when they were written, such as anything by Mark Twain.

And don't get me started on the fucking Fremen, at least ACOUP has me covered:

https://acoup.blog/2020/01/17/collections-the-fremen-mirage-part-i-war-at-the-dawn-of-civilization/

On the other hand, the movies? At least they're a spectacle.

While I disagree about Dune (this is a reread), I share your enjoyment of Twain, do you have a favorite of his?

"innocents abroad" is a classic, especially entertaining if you yourself have visited any of those places.

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