>>332 recently, i have been reading books particularly on religion, philosophy, and political theory. i haven't delved much into these topics, so i don't really have any comments to make, but i'm doing so because i realized i don't really have well thought out opinions on the world and the people in it. so i suppose you could say i'm reading these topics as a means of self exploration and personal/ideological development. currently, i'm reading "The Sayings of the Desert Fathers", a collection of sayings from Christian monks around the 4th to 6th century. i'm a recent Orthodox convert (unbaptized) and it was recommended to me by the Father at my Church. the other book i have been reading is "Fascism, The Total Society" by H.R Morgan, a curated collection of quotes and ideas by different Fascist writers with commentary by Morgan. i'm not exactly a Fascist myself, but i plan on reading all kinds of politically extreme literature from across the political landscape. i suppose i have an interest in the ways one can view the world that would be considered "extreme" by the status quo.

these are my next reads. For My Legionaries is a somewhat longer book at 485 pages so i'm gonna read some Lovecraft alongside it when i need a break.

>>332 I've been reading fiction, it just hits a different spot compared to all other ways of entertainment. My primary source is https://royalroad.com/ , lots of great stuff in the "most popular" category

>>343 you will never be romanian

>>353 never claimed to be. i will be reading the Hagakure too even though i'm not nihonjin.

Most recent were Sirens of Titan and Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. I am a big fan of his absurdist humor and such well detailed scenes. Absolutely wonderful world building. My mom had may of his books lying around and she would talk about how she used to read them

I recently read Yukio Mishima's Sun and Steel. It's a short but pretty dense read. In some ways I very much agree with the philosophy laid out in it but at the same time I heavily disagree with the conclusions he made. He spends so much time talking about the importance of building up the body and mind and spirit into something greater than the some of its parts, learning through the body what one can't learn with the mind. Thus far I agree and can appreciate his words. But then comes to the conclusion the best way to use it is to piss it away in some vain Icarus-like selfish desire, instead of using his transcendental strengths to affect the world around him or do good work for others. The conclusions he makes almost ventures into Ayn Rand Objectivist territory (I fucking despise Ayn Rand) and overall is just very selfish, immature, and lacks responsibility. It's certainly an interesting read, and there is good wisdom within, but I simply can't agree with his conclusions.

>>357 *sum... whoops

Thinking about getting into Sci-Fi novels. Which ones do you hikarin recommend? I enjoy things like Warhammer 40k, but I don't know much about the pioneers or well established authors of the genre.

This one book i found that is about some really detailed medical problems some people had in the past, mostly really stupid people such as a guy that swallowed 50 knives for fun. I take this book with me sometimes and i show it to people just to disgust them.

I have been reading a lot more lately, which is good. I am almost finished with Yukio Mishima's Sea of Fertility series. It's nothing short of beautiful. I am not the same person after reading Runaway Horses. Temple of Dawn piqued my interest in Buddhism, so I checked out a book titled "Essence of Buddhism" by Traleg Rinpoche from my library. It's a good introduction, and I'd like to read into Buddhism further. I enjoy political science but have read only little about it. If anyone has recommendations about anything (I'm interested in Mao or Showa Japan) I'd be grateful. >>374 It's not a novel, but a rather touching short story. "The Dandelion Girl" by Robert F. Young. I haven't read it yet but I have "When Sleepers Awake" by H. G. Wells on my list, so I'll throw that out there.

>>374 >I don't know much about the pioneers or well established authors of the genre. This is going to sound weird, but Tolkien was an inflection point for science-fiction just as he was for fantasy. Much like in the fantasy genre, authors before Tolkien focused on exploring an idea or making a point rather than building an open world just for the sake of doing it. So bear in mind that those pioneers were nothing like 40k or really any of the modern sci-fi franchises, which have more in common with Tolkien than with Phillip K. Dick and such. H. G. Wells is a good starting point, I read almost a third of his bibliography when I was in high school and from what I remember, I liked his earlier work from "The Time Machine" to "Kipps", his later stuff was badly written, preachy and so optimistic and utopian that I couldn't take it seriously. I think it is completely valid to prefer modern, Tolkien influenced sci-fi over the old guys, so don't feel obligated to read Asimov or Wells if you don't like them.

>>378 Noted. Thanks for the analysis. I do prefer the worldbuilding for the sake of worldbuilding, I enjoy getting invested into and enthralled by a fantasy or sci-fi world. Honestly, using 40k as an example, I really prefer the idea of the galaxy that 40k builds more than I enjoy any specific storyline within the galaxy. The larger framework in which the authors use to lay out specific stories. Do you have any recommendations for authors that do good worldbuilding?

Very mainstream book recommendation but i reckon that this is the worst book ever read. It's legitimately just torture porn disguised as something deep. While the setting descriptions are amazing, the character development is (in my opinion) extremely subpar. Upsetting because I wanted a good read that would toy with my emotions.