What's everyone reading?

[DarkStar]

I think the trench warfare in WW1 vs the blitzkrieg tactics of the Nazis had greater shock value to civilians. Europe was flattened and it was the second world war in only 30 years. People were fed up with it everywhere.

I don't have a good answer.

My gut instinct leans towards the Marshall plan where we rebuilt Europe with an economy that worked for everyone instead of just a powerful few. Economic prosperity, interconnectedness and interdependence are major barriers to war.

I also think total war with the bombing of civilian populations helped break down class barriers in the civilian population. I remember reading about how the bliz on London hand everyone of all economic status hiding in the same bomb shelters. That shared experience made the wealthy more willing to pay for social safety net programs after the war.

Eisenhower played a pivotal role in picking up the torch and building on the social programs of the FDR and Truman administrations.

 

[Althetuna]

Started The Fall of the Ottomans by Eugene Rogan. Basically lead up to, the events of, and the fallout from WWI in the ME.

 

[NetflixAndClone]

Does it also get you more annoyed that it will never be completed?

In a serious note, yes I am a bit bugged and I know GRRM says he doesn’t want anyone to finish it. At the same time I can live with the fact that the GOT ending isn’t canon because the books are not finished and honestly are so far outside of the plot of the tv series at this point.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

In a serious note, yes I am a bit bugged and I know GRRM says he doesn’t want anyone to finish it. At the same time I can live with the fact that the GOT ending isn’t canon because the books are not finished and honestly are so far outside of the plot of the tv series at this point.

He was a fool to let it happen like it has. Sanderson pumps out massive books across multiple story arcs. Idk why GRRM can't finish his series?

 

[houjix]

He was a fool to let it happen like it has. Sanderson pumps out massive books across multiple story arcs. Idk why GRRM can't finish his series?

I don't think Sanderson ever had one of his series "finished" via another medium. At this point he may not care anymore due to the backlash from the TV series. Writing anything that varies greatly from the show will create a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation that he just doesn't want to deal with.

 

[NetflixAndClone]

He was a fool to let it happen like it has. Sanderson pumps out massive books across multiple story arcs. Idk why GRRM can't finish his series?

I think the main issue with GRRM is he wrote himself into corners with many plot lines that can’t be reasonable tied up. Plus since he told himself he wanted two more books I don’t think that is enough to fix his issues. Even some plot lines like the others are barely explored in the book yet. His love of world building is his undoing because it made it impossible to finish the books.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

I don't think Sanderson ever had one of his series "finished" via another medium. At this point he may not care anymore due to the backlash from the TV series. Writing anything that varies greatly from the show will create a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation that he just doesn't want to deal with.

I guess my point was if he didn't want that to happen then he should have finished it first. I haven't read the books though so I like the feedback about painting himself into a corner from @NetflixAndClone . Sanderson is really good at tying things up in a bow for the reader. Maybe finishing Jordan's books is part of the reason he's so good at that?

 

[FriendlySpartan]

I think the main issue with GRRM is he wrote himself into corners with many plot lines that can’t be reasonable tied up. Plus since he told himself he wanted two more books I don’t think that is enough to fix his issues. Even some plot lines like the others are barely explored in the book yet. His love of world building is his undoing because it made it impossible to finish the books.

Yeah Sanderson is a machine with an incredible writing process, Martin is just distracted by every new shiny thing that comes his way and ignores the people who allowed him to pursue those shiny things.

Martin and Rothfus are perfect examples on how not to be an author. You have a duty to finish the stories you start if you want to be taken seriously or be remembered

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Yeah Sanderson is a machine with an incredible writing process, Martin is just distracted by every new shiny thing that comes his way and ignores the people who allowed him to pursue those shiny things.

Martin and Rothfus are perfect examples on how not to be an author. You have a duty to finish the stories you start if you want to be taken seriously or be remembered

Sanderson isn't human.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

Sanderson isn't human.

Yep he’s a writing spren

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Yep he’s a writing spren

God I want to be a Radiant.

 

[hoosman]

Anyone enjoy Hemingway. I loved A Farewell to Arms and I don't really care for love stories typically.

Yes. I read that book a couple months ago. It was his partial autobiography. Very good. I just finished For Whom the Bell Tolls, and I liked it even more than Farewell to Arms. Spanish Civil War story but also a love story.

 

[enisthemenace]

Yes. I read that book a couple months ago. It was his partial autobiography. Very good. I just finished For Whom the Bell Tolls, and I liked it even more than Farewell to Arms. Spanish Civil War story but also a love story.

For those new to Hemingway (again, I’ve not read his work yet), I’ve heard The Old Man and the Sea is a good starter. It’s short and gives the reader insight into his style, so it’s a good one to help someone decide if they want to get into his larger works.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Anyone like Moby ****? I couldn't finish it but might try again.

 

[houjix]

I guess my point was if he didn't want that to happen then he should have finished it first. I haven't read the books though so I like the feedback about painting himself into a corner from @NetflixAndClone . Sanderson is really good at tying things up in a bow for the reader. Maybe finishing Jordan's books is part of the reason he's so good at that?

Jordan supposedly had large chunks of the finale written and copious notes and outlines for Sanderson to follow to allow him to finish the series. The biggest change was to split it into 3 books as there was no way to physically print a book to include everything Jordan wanted. Maybe he did gain some good lessons from that.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Jordan supposedly had large chunks of the finale written and copious notes and outlines for Sanderson to follow to allow him to finish the series. The biggest change was to split it into 3 books as there was no way to physically print a book to include everything Jordan wanted. Maybe he did gain some good lessons from that.

Not to forget he was Sanderson's mentor so he probably had the best intuition for what Jordan would have wanted.

 

[enisthemenace]

Anyone like Moby ****? I couldn't finish it but might try again.

I read Moby D!ck a few months ago. It is such a DIFFICULT read. I swear there were many times I had to give myself a pep talk to keep going. It IS a great book, but some of it is extremely tedious and the language used…like Melville was challenging himself to use every single word in the English language…makes it tiring.

At the end, I was glad I finished it, but in all honesty, I’m not sure I’m glad I finished it because it is such a good book/story, or if I was proud of myself for enduring it.

 

[hoosman]

Did the Russia gig in the last 12 months.
Dostoevsky- C&P, Brothers K, The Idiot
Tolstoy- War and Peace, Anna Karenina
Pasternak - Dr Zhivago
Checkov- Short Stories

Most underrated- Checkov
Least liked writing style was Pasternak.
All the others were great reads - no clear favorite.

Spoiler alert - Gone with the Wind is a pretty close copy of War and Peace.


Spoiler alert #2 - If you are divorced, you will relate to Anna K. more easily.

 

[Kinch]

While true Japan and China were at war (Tower of Skulls touches a lot of this) the US was a major thorn in Japan’s side during that conflict, and it boiled over. A lot of disruption of supply chains in SE Asia and the oil embargo basically forced Japan’s hand, I believe.

That’s the stuff I want to know more about. How much of Pearl Harbor was “Japan feeling safe” vs “Japan felt they had no other option”.

In the Japanese eyes, Pearl Harbor was actually a “side show” to the main Japanese thrust into Malaysia, Burma, Phillippines and Java. Planning for Pearl didn’t even start until early 1941 when Roosevelt forced Japan to switch to a southern strategy because of the oil embargo. I feel the purposes for Pearl were: 1. to buy Japan time to form a defensive shield protecting the Central Pacific islands and keep the Americans from sending heavy units to Southeast Asia; 2. By smacking America in the face at the start, the hope was to decrease American morale and force them to the negotiating table early (it had the opposite effect). They were hoping the war lasted only six months to a year. When Japan’s Kwantung Army started their war against China in the early 30s, American public didn’t favor one side over the other. However, when Japan started heating things up there and American newspaper reporters over there started sending newsreels of Japanese atrocities that were played before movies, Americans quickly favored the Chinese almost 90 percent to 10 percent. That and the Pearl raid were the two biggest miscalculations made by Japan. EDIT: The other big miscalculations were hoping for a “decisive battle against the U.S.’ (the U.S. instead defeated Japan through attrition); and signing the Tripartite Pact with Hitler.
One of the podcasts I really recommend is the Unauthorized History of the Pacific War before you read any WWII books. They have large segments on what was going on in Japan before World War II that will answer a lot of your questions.

 

[enisthemenace]

Did the Russia gig in the last 12 months.
Dostoevsky- C&P, Brothers K, The Idiot
Tolstoy- War and Peace, Anna Karenina
Pasternak - Dr Zhivago
Checkov- Short Stories

Most underrated- Checkov
Least liked writing style was Pasternak.
All the others were great reads - no clear favorite.

That is a heavy 12 months. Great books, but a LOT to consume. Congrats!