#TBRPile 📚 I‘m always just a little bit daunted by Neal Stephenson - his books are huge, sprawling, vivid reads full of big ideas and small details.
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Anathem | 
#TBRPile 📚 I‘m always just a little bit daunted by Neal Stephenson - his books are huge, sprawling, vivid reads full of big ideas and small details.
#TBRPile Day 3. I have a lot of unread chunksters lurking on my Kindle. I read The Rise and Fall Of DODO and loved it.
#mathematics #redroseseptember
Apparently based in a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists and philosophers. Sounds interesting but I think I tried another book by this author and couldn‘t get into it so I won‘t be rushing for this one.
pickThis book, a truly unique First Contact story, was always right on the verge of being too dense. With a glossary full of made-up jargon, chapter-long Socratic dialogues, and so much theoretical cosmography, this sometimes felt like a 900+ page epic version of AP Calculus.
But Stephenson made our core group of sheltered Math Monks a likable bunch to spend time with and there was plenty of peril to keep the plot moving.
Recommended.
Last night I found myself mentally dividing this chunkster into regular-book sized components. This lead to giving them names:
Young Math Monks in Love
Math Monks: Quest for the Missing Mentor
Math Monks: Polar Peril!
Math Monks: Volcano of Doom!
Math Monks IN SPAAAAAAAACE!!!
Slap on some pulpy covers and you could remarket this thing. You're welcome, Harper Collins.
“‘Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs,‘ I said. ‘We have a protractor.‘”
The 1st 300 pages of this chunkster was kind of Dead Poets Society with math instead of poetry, but, as you can tell from the quote above, things have escalated somewhat.
This chunkster is full of the made-up terminology used by the math monks on the planet Arbre in the far distant future. It teeters on the edge of being too dense to enjoy, but then Stephenson adds a dash of humor to liven up the proceedings.
See the definition above for the very technical term “bulshytt”.
Been chipping away for awhile but now that I‘ve finished some other books I‘m going to focus on this chunkster in earnest.
My current Audible listen is Anathem. Like all Stephenson's books I have listened to, they take forever and the world-building/immersion is wonderful. I am expecting, from LibraryThing reviews and other such books, that the ending will be less satisfactory than the journey, but the journey is wonderful.
Just finishing up this complex science-fiction beast that I thought was really engaging. Though I think my dog is ready for her walk! #dogsoflitsy
I'm sorry. I know I just posted, but the entire last paragraph...I just can't even...
"...I knew that I was alive, and not just in the sense that when I hit my thumb with a hammer I knew I was alive, but rather in the sense that I was partaking of something--something was passing through me that it was in my nature to be a part of."
"I looked down into the dark concent and felt no desire to jump. Seeing beauty was going to keep me alive."
"I could have found my way with my eyes closed by letting my feet read the memory worn into it by those gone before." #passagegasm
Can anyone motivate me to read this monster?
I have had it on my shelf for close to two years. I promised a friend I would read it, but I find myself dragging my heels and tired of feeling guilty.
#readerproblems
#TBRtemptation post! Anyone a fan of Neal Stephenson? I think I am, but I have yet to read any of his works. I know, shame on me; hey, it's a time-constraining world out there! As per his usual, this is a nice thick tome of fantasy/sci fi. In the future, a religious group of knowledge-bearers must help the world prevent certain annihilation. Sounds very medieval and gothic, which is right up my alley 😊. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎
I'm so jazzed about this one y'all I LOVE A GIANT TOME. #ilikebigbooks #booktober
pickSci Fi Epic Audio At almost 33 hours this book feels like it should have been a trilogy. there were parts that I really enjoyed countered with an ever present oh please be done soon. this isn't light fluffy reading either but a commentary on religion, politics, space time continuum, and war. I am glad I did it but I am not sure I enjoyed it.
pickTypical Stephenson. Long, detailed. Scienced up to the max. This hits my profile: long, full of interesting information, slow paced with a storytellers touch. One of my favorite reads ever. One I use to define my profile to others. But not for everyone. Little romance. Not a character study.
pickSuch a dense book. The world building is incredible. I went from complete confusion, to mild confusion, to something approaching comprehension. I think it helped quite a bit that I listened to it rather than read it.
