Yes. And I just had to step away from the books until I can not be so attached to the characters during these chapters.
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I recently got about to reading some Jim Thompson. The classic Pop. 1280. Itās like a turn of the century āAndy Griffith Showā filtered through the Cohen brothers and Quentin Tarantino. Our hero is a total amoral asshole but yet you root for the scheming misanthrope the whole way.
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Waitā¦Pop 1280 isnāt JUST a band?
I own this albumā¦
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Iām making the most of the last week of October:
When thatās over, book 3 of Libba Brayās āThe Divinersā series, supernatural adventures of young adults in 1920s New York.
I canāt get hold of a copy of The Halloween Tree unless I drive to Maple Valley, 40 miles out or borrow an animation adaptation on DVD.
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I read the new Welcome to Night Vale Novel It Devours in about three days. Enjoyed it much more than the first novel ā it seems less like a story with mandatory references to podcast episodes, and more like a genuine Night Vale story. It does work in the references, but more like the way a typical episode would.
Now Iām on Ann Leckieās new one, Provenance. Itās entertaining so far ā in the same setting as the Ancillary series but with misfit characters outside the Radchaai society.
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Just finished Brustās new Taltos novel:
Iām on to Austral, which I bought on Kindle in the UK and exfiltrated since there is no US edition yet.
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Does anyone have Philip Pullmanās Book of Dust yet? Did you like it? Were you a big fan of the original series? Considering getting it for business travel later this week.
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Iām currently wrapping up Ripped, by Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune. Itās an interesting look at intelectual property in the music industry in the digital era, and how music is distributed, and whether downloading helps or hurts the artistsā bottom line.
@mindysan33, this may be right up your alley. Any thoughts?
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I have not read it, but will put it on my list. I did just finish reading this, though, which if youāre interested in the topic of music and value, should be of interest to you:
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iām in the last hundred pages or so of the last book of the original series, and iām liking it, so iām looking forward to the new book for sure. soooooonnnnn
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Iām still reading the Ann Leckie novel, but I started on this too. Good stuff if youāre at all interested in electronic music, UX or design.
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That looks cool.
Iām going to find that now
Once Upon A Time In Shaolin does sound interesting. I donāt know the story behind this album at all, so I donāt know why they put it out. I will have to check it out.
But yeah, the value (and propagation) of music interests me. How does the music we hear everywhere get to be everywhere, especially since I have heard way better music from relatively obscure artists, and this music oftentimes influences the next generation of ubiquitous artists.
One interesting question that Ripped didnāt answer was, why are the record labels the bad guys? I understand they need to make a profit, and exactly how they do that needs to be hammered out so that itās more equitable to everyone involved. So, if bands can promote themselves more efficiently without the labels getting involved, this should encourage the labels to step up their game.
And as for corporate music, Dave Van Ronk railed against this in The Mayor Of MacDougal Street as wellā¦ but Death Cab For Cutie or Bright Eyes is not Dave Van Ronk. Passing up an influential but obscure folk artist for someone more marketable is something I can see, but most of the bands mentioned in Ripped have huge followings. Did the labels miscalculate by passing these bands up when they were starting out, or is there a trend where artists who traditionally wouldnāt be marketable are now starting to become more marketable without corporate influence? Why does there have to be any corporate influence whatsoever? Wouldnāt it make more sense for the bands to do their thing, whatever it was that makes them unique and got them a following in the first place, and not interfere with that energy?
Basically, it just doesnāt make much sense to me that thereās corporate interference in music, and that the labels are taking so much money off the top when itās doing them no favors. The record industry just canāt be that dickish for no reason.
I was replying to your comment in this thread, and Iām talking about the books, but we can move it over to the thread. Right now, itās on topic, but if we keep discussing it, it will derail the thread. Best to move it then.
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It can stay here and we can continue to talk in the other thread!
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I remember enjoying InterstellarNet: Origins a few years ago, a story collection where extraterrestrial contact is through AI brokers who are licensed to exchange information. Space is too vast to travel, but even newer sentient races have some kind of info or unique tech worth trading. Stories are set up like small puzzles almost in the Asimovian ārobotā mold.
There are later books in the series but IIRC at some point (3rd book?) the author introduces superluminal flight which kinds of ruins the premise. Anyway the first set of stories stands alone.
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I think as is typical of having read stories in multiple translations, I have my own private version of Borges which does not exist in any volume. Iām sure Iāve tried to source an exact quote before only to realize those words were an amalgamation of various versions Iāve read. Much like my experience with the Bible, I guess.
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