cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor/t/413449

On the Road is a 1957 novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across the United States. It is considered a defining work of the postwar Beat and Counterculture generations, with its protagonists living life against a backdrop of jazz, poetry, and drug use. The novel is a roman à clef, with many key figures of the Beat movement, such as William S. Burroughs (Old Bull Lee), Allen Ginsberg (Carlo Marx), and Neal Cassady (Dean Moriarty) represented by characters in the book, including Kerouac, himself, as the narrator, Sal Paradise.

The idea for On the Road, Kerouac's second novel, was formed during the late 1940s, in a series of notebooks and then typed out, on a continuous reel of paper, during three weeks in April 1951. It was published by Viking Press in 1957.

The New York Times hailed the book's appearance as "the most beautifully executed, the clearest, and the most important utterance yet made by the generation Kerouac, himself, named years ago as 'beat,' and whose principal avatar he is."In 1998, the Modern Library ranked On the Road 55th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. The novel was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.

Wikipedia

Don't know if people know of this site or not but just in case you don't, it's pretty damn good. All they require is an email address (I used an anon one with no issues). You can follow up to 100 authors and get alerts when new stuff is announced and published.

It's also got a decent future search, showing up everything being published in the next 7 or 30 days which you can also narrow by genre.

They do use Web Beacons on their site and in their emails but uBlockOrigin will handle the website and DDG Email Protection can handle the emails.

Things found in library books.

I have a lot of time to fill with audio, but audiobooks are challenging for me because I have trouble paying attention consistently enough and processing physical descriptions fast enough to keep up with the narrator. I end up losing my place or having to rewind a lot. Slowing down playback doesn't help/introduces other problems.

I'm also easily put off by narrators that have repetitive quirks (e.g. ending every sentence like it's a question, or doing goofy voices) or that read in such a flat and consistent way that it becomes droning. So my preference, by far, is for narrators who basically act the book like they're in an audio drama or a movie. This seems more often the case for first person books.

On a similar note, audiodramas with full casts and music or sound effects are especially welcome.

I'm looking for something short because that makes it much more likely I'll finish. Long series are fine though if each book ends well, not on cliffhangers.

YA and even middle-grade are fine.

I'll also take "so bad it's good" suggestions.

Scifi and fantasy are my usual go-to's, but I'll take any genre, especially since adult fantasy and scifi usually has too much description for my audiobook tastes.

Horror would be good. Or maybe a comedy? Something gripping. Page-turners.

Basically I just really need something entertaining but snappy and very easy to follow, with a narrator who sounds like they're acting instead of like they're reading a script.

I'm already aware of actual play d&d podcasts - those are sometimes great, but I can get tired od them after a while and I'd like to find more variety/options with this post.

Thank you for any suggestions!

I would like to know what caused the Great Depression and how the world recovered from it. Do you know any good books on this subject?

Like, I understand listening to them while driving to work, exercising, doing chores, etc!

But sometimes you're in a moment and you don't want to stop listening, but you're done with your chores or something.

I currently just sit and twiddle my thumbs but I feel like I could be doing other things. Sorry if this was a dumb question I took an edie 😅

I am looking forward to this novel. I love this character and look forward to reading another case with her as the lead.

I am a little frustrated when I noticed that Will Patton will not be the voice for the audiobook, but I will adjust because I will at least have a physical copy.

Who else is excited for this novel?

I've recently gotten a small obsession with the idea of a single African currency or a single BRICS currency forming as a fuck you to NATO and the west. As a result i've spent far to much time this week reading wikipedia articles on the history of currency in colonial and post colonial Africa.

Would love to read an actually good source that discusses the history and possible strategies of anti-colonial monetary theory.

I am reading Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined and i was wondering if there are other books that have a similar love story/development of their relationship, I don't care if the story is about vampires, i am just interested in the romance but I prefer a fantasy background if possible

I’m heavily debating which of the two, I should purchase.

I love cats and both are about cats but can only afford one unfortunately.

If anyone here have read one or both of them - which of the two do you recommend?

What the title says, I'm tired of the trope where humans are the least advanced in the universe.

I'd like to read something different where we're the more advanced ones (not necessarily the most advanced). As an example I quite enjoyed the Ender's Game sequels and the angle of us being the more advanced ones was quite interesting.

Do you have any recommendations?

Can Anyone Recommend me Magic/Superhero School or Guild Stories?

Here's what I've read so far.

1. Worm by Wildbow (Superhero "guild")

2. Mage Errant (Magic School)

3. Harry Potter Series (Magic School)

4. Vita Nostra (Magic School)

5. Super Powereds (Superhero School)

6. The Circle Series by Sara Elfgren (Magic within normal School)

I've also read The Magician but I didn't liked it.

I may have forgotten some other books but hopefully this narrows it down.

This book is definitely more enjoyable than the previous one (Fortune's Favorites) probably because the plot is more streamlined and well paced. The focus of the narrative is more on political intrigue rather than military campaigns, making it more interesting than previous books, in my opinion. Caesar comes across as ferociously intelligent, highly capable, self - centred, manipulative, unscrupulous and ruthless, but makes for interesting reading. Cicero's section in the first half was immensely enjoyable, especially how he tried to root out the Catilina conspiracy. However, flirting with the boni (the ultraconservatives, i. e., Caesar's opponents) ultimately gets him in deep trouble. Looking forward to getting back to the Cicero Trilogy after finishing this series. Reading about the eccentric, relentless and bull headed Cato was very entertaining. He is totally immune to corruption, coercion, intimidation and probably slightly unstable. He would bull headedly advocate what he believed to be the right and would inevitably be outwitted by his more astute political opponents. Can't help but grudgingly admire the transparent directness of his intentions and motivations, especially when surrounded by his peers with shifting loyalties and hidden agendas. In the latter half of the book he becomes the leader of the boni. Politically, his biggest drawback is his lack of vision and political acumen when pitted against Caesar. However, the whole boni vs Caesar does get annoying after a while. The constant boni assault also changes Ceasar over the course of the book, making him less easygoing, intolerant and more autocratic. Servilia is as monstrous as ever. At one point, I actually felt sorry for her, something I didn't think was possible. Clodius (and Fulvia) are detestable and absolutely loathsome. Clodius is definitely unstable. Compared to him even Cato comes out to be highly sane and stable. I shudder to think what shenanigans he'll be up to next!

I am reading The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (P&V translation). About 20% through. It's starting to get interesting as the characters start to take shape. Till now I have read and enjoyed the P&V translations of both Crime and Punishment and Demons. This is a huge book and I am looking forward to enjoying this for a while! I am just excited and wanted to read other people's thoughts.

Hi all! I just finished "The Three Body Problem" by Liu Cixin and enjoyed it a lot. It's got me curious about sci-fi written elsewhere in the world and what cultural differences may appear in sci-fi written from a non-US perspective.

Does anyone have recommendations for what I should check out next? I only speak English and (sort of) French so I'm reliant on translations to one of those languages. Thanks!

Did many of you even have much nonfiction?

When someone grows nostalgic about childhood books, they generally talk about fiction, but my fiction reading nearly all came from the library and had to go back, so I don’t remember it as clearly as the nonfiction in the bookcase that I’d flip through and look at the pictures and read some here and there.

The adventure starts at the fringes of society.

It is the story of rural life in Paris with a wanderer who’s also a thinker. Indeed special case. It makes its way through the highs and lows of an unemployed person in Paris and later in London. The friendships, the conversations, and the conditions - It’s all there.

The memoir of experiences in the saddening (and sometimes exciting) environment of poverty.

I highly recommend this special book!

Bambi

https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2023/08/22/bambi-for-the-serious-reader/
@books

A friend recommended me this book, pretty satisfying reading since book is written in an easy and understandable language. Also found online version https://redstarpublishers.org/cornforth1953.pdf

PS still reading

Question to the physical book readers here, what do you use as bookmark?

I currently got a paper bookmark but don’t like it to be honest.

What non-fiction book could you just not put down? Was it a biography? Some obscure textbook? A collection of papers or speeches? Share your suggestions below!