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On October 16 2013 03:50 dmnum wrote:Show nested quote +On October 15 2013 20:00 123Gurke wrote:On October 15 2013 09:28 dmnum wrote: Read Borges Borges is the shit Gonna start the master and margarita I have been considering reading him for some time now. Where do I start? Any recommendations? go with ficciones this and the aleph are borges' major works, after that there's the book of sand, a universal history of infamy, etc Thanks!
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On October 16 2013 05:21 Xxio wrote:Show nested quote +On October 15 2013 15:50 IgnE wrote:Finished as a detour: ![[image loading]](http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320533137l/6106.jpg) I recommend it as an interesting, readable overview of the political history of the Byzantine Empire. Kept my interest, while the repetition of certain themes in the rise and fall of the emperors helps out with a bit of understanding for an empire that lasted for another thousand years after Rome's fall, oft-neglected in western history discussions. Is it only about Byzantium politics, or does it go into culture, military, and other subjects too?
Well it crams 1000 years of history into slightly less than 400 pages so it can't really go into every subject in great depth. If you want more depth, Norwich has a 3-volume work on Byzantium, which was used in the preparation of this shorter book. This one mainly deals with the rise and fall of the emperors, but delves into religious disputes (e.g. Patriarch of Constantinople v. Pope, Ecumenical Councils, Iconoclasm), politics with other world leaders, art, and the politics of warfare insofar as they impacted the policy decisions emperors made. It talks about the battles that were fought but only in broad strokes. If you are looking for a military history or daily life in a certain Byzantine era then you should look elsewhere. That said, I found the lives of the emperors pretty intriguing and the religious discussion jived with what I've been interested lately in terms of the development of Christianity.
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I needed a break from Capital I (which is an absolutely awesome book, but 800 pages long...), so I picked up Death in Venice :
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I try to read mann every once in a while but he's so dry I end up giving up half-way through the book
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Well he is dry so far, but this is 100 pages long, so I'm pretty sure I'll make it
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i took a class on mann once. kinda boring really
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fuck you guys mann is a god
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I do hope this turn into pederasty or something, that would be surprising at least.
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it's never consummated he just stares creepily and dies slowly.
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Death in Venice is fine and all and it's probably his most famous work nowadays (or at least the most read since it's short), but it's hardly a good representation of the peak of Mann's abilities imo imo.
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the magic mountain is kinda amusing but sooooo long
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isnt doctor faustus his most mature work? thats the one I tried to read at first and I couldn't get into it. I'm going to give the magic mountain and buddenbrooks a try sometime
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On October 16 2013 23:57 sam!zdat wrote: it's never consummated he just stares creepily and dies slowly. That's what I feared. At least I'm reading good French, that's already something. @VW : I read it because of Visconti, which is probably a good explanation. Plus, Der Zauberberg is huuuuge.
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I just picked up Dr. Faustus and 37 pages in i quite like it. It is definitely not the most action packed book i ever read though.
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Doctor Faustus is one of my favorite books.
I mean yeah Magic Mountain is huge but you're reading Capital I don't' think size is a valid protest in light of that ~_~ Besides I loved it and I plan on reading it again at some point (the Woods translation instead of the old Lowe-Porter translation)
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I have absolutely no problems with huge books where nothing extraordinary happens(Anna karenina is one of my favourite books for example), in the end it might be like mann himself said: maybe I just don't have sympathy for his writing and I'm trying to justify it.
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Had to read Buddenbrooks in school. One of the two assigned readings I didnt enjoy (along with Iphigenia by Goethe), all the others were way better
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I love goethe, faust is one of the most amazing things ever written
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Now I feel like I should read Mann. He's clearly the hot topic on here
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On October 17 2013 00:19 packrat386 wrote: Now I feel like I should read Mann. He's clearly the hot topic on here become a hipster and read heinrich mann instead
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