Book

I’ve often seen people try to raise interest in movies by saying something like “oh plus there’s an AMAZING twist ending”. It might be common sense for most, but simply saying this can ruin how someone experiences that movie because now they’re guessing what the twist could be the whole time. When you know a twist is coming, it’s a lot easier to guess what it is.

Edit: apparently this was posted on r/books recently, had no idea

It’s a nice way to turn a year older in this weird year; hadn’t really planned on anything but hey, I can show myself a nice time and enjoy the occasion.

Have you celebrated a birthday these past few months? What did you get up to?

Edit: wow, this comment section is so wholesome! Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes, and happy birthday to anyone who either had it recently, today or will have it soon! In any case, take care of yourselves :D

Our sex life has been pretty boring for the three years we’ve been married. We are both on our second marriage, I’m a widower and she’s divorced.

My late wife was very very adventurous and her first husband was vanilla missionary or nothing.

Over lunch yesterday we talked about sex and how it’s become mundane with her admitting that she’s only really ever felt comfortable with “ordinary” sex because that’s all she’s known. I suggested we get a book for her to read to get an idea of what she might like to try.

So we went into town to the bookshop and bought a book which she spent the next three hours reading in the bath.

Come bed time, 9pm unusually, I’m dragged to bed and set upon in very pleasurable way until about an hour in I feel fingers caressing my anus and perineum. Then a finger followed and to my surprise the one and only vibrator (a small one) we have was pushed inside of me. Much pleasure was had until my wife gasped and started to sound worried.

Behind me I fel

“What are you reading, old man?” he asks.

“I’m learning Hebrew, comrade,” replies the old Jew.

The KGB agent asks, “What are you learning Hebrew for? You know it takes years to get a permission to travel to Israel? You will die before you get one.”

“I’m learning Hebrew for when I go to heaven so I can speak with Moses and Abraham,” replies the old man.

“How do you know you’re going to heaven? What if you go to hell?” asks the KGB agent.

“I already speak Russian."

he takes us through the context of the Bible and explains a lot of the confusing parts. I'm still agnostic, but it really cleared up some confusion I had that the local preacher didn't know (somehow I doubt he's read the whole bible either)

The guide to Shakespeare: I did not appreciate Shakespeare at all until I read this book. Now I see why he's considered one of the greatest writers of all time.

After being mesmerized by the excellence of Christian Bale's performance in the film version, I felt compelled to pick up the book to dig deeper into this story. It was crazy.

For some, the extreme gore and graphic scenes may seem gratuitous but it seemed to serve a larger purpose of addressing the despicable nature of the main character. The gory and violent scenes were described in the same excruciating detail as the scenes where Bateman describes the attire worn by him and others or the music he loves. I was utterly disgusted by the violent scenes but it didn't take away from my interest in the novel as a whole.

The underlying satire of this book was fascinating. The toxicity of 80s yuppie culture coupled with the lack of individuality of the people sent to me a clear message that their lives were meaningless.

Patrick Bateman. There is so much to unpack with this character I don't even know if I fully understand him. He has this need to conform and maintain a shallow facade whi

Last night, I started a new book. I'm guessing I bought it at the library book sale based on the cover and the blurb on the back. I hadn't read anything from this author. From the moment I started the book, it was awful, like a high schooler's first attempt at a novel.

I kept reading until I reached this paragraph: "Maybe he hadn't gone too far. Maybe he wasn't in deep doodoo. Who knows, he might even get to screw her" on page 8. I closed the book and can't wait to re-donate it back to the library - at least they'll make another dollar if it sells again.

Anyway, the point is I always see posts about people who want to know how far in a book they should read before giving up. My advice: when you're not enjoying it. That's when you stop. Life is just too damn short to read a book that you're not enjoying (unless, of course, it's for a school assignment).

Agree? Disagree?

Edit: Some brave soul found the book so I didn't have to go upstairs (working from home these days) to find it:

Please, let me know your favorite book, I'd like to read something but I'm totally lost about which book choosing, so, suggest me your favorite one.

So, she walks over and takes a seat next to him on the bench, turns to him and says, "Sorry to bother you. I know this may be a little forward but I would love to grab coffee with you some time."

Flattered, the man responds, "Sure... but what makes you so certain you and I would get along so well?"

"Well..." the woman says. "A couple things, actually. I noticed you were wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt. Iron Maiden are my favorite band of all time. When they went on their reunion tour in 1999, my parents took me to see them in Cleveland. I was 12 years old and it was the first concert I ever went to. I absolutely love Iron Maiden."

The man can't believe it.

"I saw them play Cleveland in '99! First concert I ever went to on my own. My best friend Jimmy Spitz and I told our parents we were sleeping at each others' houses, snuck out, took a bus into the city and saw them play at the Plain Dealer Pavillion!"

Naturally, they're both shocked.

"If that isn't weird enough..." says the

I have nothing against having a partner, I even think it’s pretty cool, but at the same time there’s nothing bad at being alone and being satisfied with it. I noticed how most of modern media products are telling us that being in love with someone is the best thing you can ever experience in this life and all your inner issues will work itself out just because you finally found a couple who will make you better. I think this concept isn’t just wrong, but also to some extent harmful for many people. I know so many guys who genuinely think that all their problems with self-esteem will solve itself right after they find a soulmate and that’s so sad. People need to finally understand that you can be satisfied with life without a partner and that having a couple doesn’t guarantee you that he or she will fix all your problems. In conclusion, to spread this idea we need more main characters in the movies/tv series/books who are ending up alone and are happy with it.

Slim to Nun?

(Incidentally this is a true story and I got yelled at)

Update at bottom!! Our 4 year anniversary is in a couple weeks, and we just found out I’m somehow pregnant last week. We tried for three years, with fertility treatments and four miscarriages. All unexplained, with no idea why I couldn’t get or stay pregnant. We stopped trying a year ago and had made the best of life with the two of us and our four fur babies. Now out of the blue, I’m pregnant and so far it seems like this one might actually work. It’s still very early and we have our first ultrasound tomorrow. I’m hoping things go well. My husband is always the ultimate optimist and has full faith and confidence in me, us, this pregnancy...you name it, he’s sure it’s going to work out :)

Enter the bedtime book. The other day he was on Amazon looking at Dr. Seuss, Winnie the Pooh, and so on. I forgot about it until today when a package showed up. It’s the complete tales of Winnie the Pooh! I cried (lots of emotions and hormones) but really it was such a sweet gesture. Best hubby eve

I wish when I was in high school, books were considered an art form used to discover something about ourselves and the world, as opposed to being an assignment to be completed by Friday. This is just me though, that’s how I felt about it but i’m sure many students out there probably feel the same. Let me tell you, read those books. I’m currently a college senior, and only recently started reading for leisure. The emotions that these books evoke while i’m reading is truly amazing, to the point where I find myself lying the book on my chest and relishing the messages that just pop out of the page. Books are a tool used to deepen ourselves and change the way we see the world around us, the authors of the past have so many great insights that I wish I appreciated earlier in my academic and personal life. Just do yourself a favor and read your Faulkner, Twain, Huxley, Sinclair, etc.

EDIT: Hey guys, after reading many of your comments, I realized I may have come off a bit strong in pushing

I remember, way back, reading Diagon Alley and chuckling for the word play, that it was a crooked, diagonal street (and desperately wished I could go).

And here I am, looking at nothing HP-related this morning but it finally dawns on me, out of dang nowhere.... Knockturn Alley. I always thought of it like a speakeasy, secret knocks, that sort of thing. But really I think I missed the blinking red sign of the true word play; nocturnally. Because sneaky, devious things happen at night.

I feel like an idiot. And I thought I was smart.

I get the price would sky-rocket, but I think of all literary genres, poetry is the most reliant on cultural aspects and especially linguistic ones.

Translating poetry must be one of the hardest things to do. I remember this anecdote my literature teacher told us, about this Hispanic-Chinese woman (Marcela de Juan) who translated Ancient Chinese poems into Spanish by using Medieval Spanish vocabulary and I remember it being a hugely different experience. Translated poetry almost acts as a different version to the original poem itself, and there's something beautiful and odd about it. That's why I think we should be ‘forced’ to enjoy both.

Edit: I believed it to be unpopular since I kind of said they ‘must’ be translated (i.e. compulsory for all copies), apparently I was wrong and most people share this opinion. In my country however, most poetry books are solely published in its translated version; I am aware there are quite a few publishing houses doing it like this, even Penguin Cl

Syllabus

I've helped a few people become software engineers. The ones that learned the fastest used a mix of studying, coding challenges and personal projects. When you do all three of these things, they amplify each other. It also keeps you out of tutorial hell.

Studying (tutorials/videos/books) are how you learn about new topics and get exposed to good code. Coding challenges give you small problems to implement what you've learned and compare your solutions to other people's. Projects let you put it all together and give you something to show off when you're done.

I put together my favorite resources and then iterated on it by mentoring a few people through it. It seems to be working well. The syllabus is free and all of the books together would total up to a few hundred dollars (m

For example for me was the catspaw hired to kill Bran. He was given a freaking Valyrian steel dagger to do it with the only purpose of motivate Catelyn to distrust the Lannisters even more and go to KL to set in motion events than ended up in a war.

Until this day I find really hard to believe that a catspaw didn't just run off to Essos and sold that valuable dagger and live the rest of his life as a rich men, apparently he was a honorable assassin.

Nothing else, don't forget to sleep.

What do you think of a book that focuses on what happened at Hogwarts whilst Harry, Ron & Hermione we’re looking for horcruxes. It would have Neville, Ginny and Luna as the main characters and what went down during that year

Don’t get me wrong, I love King, and have many of his tomes. But i am looking for a slightly shorter horror book that i can sit with and be interested in for a few hours at a time. I didn’t enjoy House of Leaves (I know that’s a controversial thing to say. I appreciated its creativity and the story no doubt was good but it was too much for me), so something more stream lined. Other than that I’m pretty open to anything.

Edit: thanks to all of you for your recs! I can’t respond to everyone but i will be adding all of these to the list! Appreciate it :)

Edit 2: Wow! This is my most upvoted post ever! Thank you guys!! :)

Edit 3: thank you to all who have recommended House of Leaves, Stephen King, and Richard Bachman...

I know it’s a hard request, but I’m looking for some light in this darkness. Something like the Ghibli films, where they help you appreciate the small beautiful things in life. Some of my favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones and Lois McMaster Bujold. Edit: Thanks for all the recommendations, everyone! Sorry I didn’t reply to everyone! I’ll definitely enjoy reading these books for years to come. Thank you all so much!

When it comes to publicly elected officials, they all seem to swear on the Bible, Quran, etc. The way I see it, is that these people are making a promise to themselves to uphold core beliefs within their faith such as hard work, perseverance, honesty, and a servants heart among other things. While it will not entirely solve the problem, I think that swearing on the Constitution is a way that we can hold these people more accountable. Every single day politicians and other elected officials lie, steal, and cheat the people of this nation. Of course there are a few good eggs, however I firmly believe a majority of these individuals are bought and paid for. A lot go in with a clear mind, however when an organization like the NRA (no political bias here at all) comes in and says “hey if you vote yes for this and no on this, we will make a big donation to your reelection campaign” it corrupts the system. The same thing could go for a liberal organization. Their votes can change dramaticall

I can't give you a specific genre, but I want to feel emotional. I want to get attached to the characters, to the world and the story. I don't enjoy heavy abstract references to religion etc. I enjoy symbolism, but I don't like it when it's too abstract and only a few people out of a million can get it.

This might be too vague, and I'm sorry about that but just recommend me anything you feel like fits my needs. I haven't been reading a lot lately, and I want to be thrown off by the book, carried away like there's no outside world.

Thank you.

Thanks to everyone who made their recommendations. I'm gonna be spending a lot of money on books in the near-future

-Apple Tart recipe-

Ingredients= Egg, oil, ^^^^(turkish) yogurt, sugar, baking powder, much flour as it needs. (Must be soft as an earlobe, thicker than cake)

I'm sorry but how much ingredients do I put in it? What about the apples? This is a apple tart but it has no apples? How long do I bake it for? What's the softness of an earlobe? I have so many questions.

Edit: I found a recipe titled "dessert". There are different ingredients in 2 different paragraphs but it doesn't say what I should do with them.

I followed up reading the book with a look at the highly regarded 8-part TV series, and it was like comparing a cathedral to a shoe box. Scenes with overwhelming emotional impact in the book (such as the death of Agnes) were rushed and flat. Tension and expectation threading through the pages were entirely lost in translation. I think the main difference is that a novel shows you want a scene really feels like from the inside by giving access to the characters thoughts and perceptions. Short of a voiceover which is almost always annoying and intrusive, the screen just can't do it - and that robs scenes of their emotional kick. Next is the ability to calibrate tension with the pace of the writing. A book can extend a single moment as long as it likes (say by describing what different characters are experiencing or the details of the scene) but the screen is stuck with the same speed, short of putting something in slow motion but that can't work for long, if at all. A book can als