Cool. And yea no worries.
The books will be there. While I value reading, we should definitely be going out and enjoying life!
The books we are reading
1roomstudio
#225
Iām about 4/5ths the way through āA History of Western Musicā Iām at Mid 19th Century, Brahms, Liszt, Schubert, Chopin, etc.
Itās a text book, so not always a page turner (lotās of lists of compositions, when written and what innovations they contributed to their time and the future.)
The first few Centuries of written music seem a bit obscure until you realize that the music of that time was no less sophisticated or intelligent then the music of today (or any century) it was just different in concept, use and technology available. Gregorian Chants are not the simple repetitive melodies that we hear in them todayā¦ they are highly complex compositions using strict rules of melodic development and modal counterpoint supporting liturgical text, creating a sense of awe and spirituality. When you get into the detailsā¦ itās mind-blowing.
Same is true of Organum, Motets, Madrigals, Hockets etc. Every time period had itās style(s) and they overlapped in time quite a bit. Itās not until about the 16th Century that written (composed) music begins to take on a structure that is more readily recognizable to todayās listener. Specifically, more intentional coordination of horizontal (melody) with vertical (harmony) and a move away from Modality towards Tonality.
Itās āBig Pictureā stuff and I am enjoying the slow slog through each chapter.
relic
#227
Just finished Fresh Oil, Loose Gravel by Maj Ragain and started his Burley One Dark Sucker Fired. It is poetry, one of my former poetry professors and a dear friend. Hope you found that big horse track in the sky Major! Miss you.
metaside
#230
Not much and nothing special atm, reading mostly ebooks about Python and Machine Learning on my phone and some fantasy stuff (such as Terry Pratchett) for relaxation in my bed before sleepingā¦
bfk
#233
I had to stop reading duboisā¦
It was too triggeringā¦
Also its idmf not my own social issue blogā¦
From what ive read of dubois, malcomx, and james baldwin, and conversly listening/reading to some of the contrary viewsā¦and some offshootsā¦
The offshoots really dont do the original thinkers any justiceā¦some just fail to carry on the goodwill of the original predecessors.
Also in regards to the esoteric offshoot views about any social/political issue. I could buy 3000 recommended books from msnbc, fox news, or social media and get nothing out of it, except wasting my money. And if i need to buy 3000 books to understand something or continuously buy an individuals book seriesā¦its most likely that its a hustle to make money instead of bringing awareness. Because goalpost shifting.
Sorry for the tangent but anywaysā¦As for the contrary views at the end of the day dont hold upā¦even though they may make some valid points about the esoteric offshoot views. But when compared to source perspective, the contrary views just do not work ethically.
As for some other similarly related issuesā¦its subjective and not objectiveā¦im not in the mood to engage in one upping of opinionsā¦
But yeah havent been reading as muchā¦went from 20 pages a dayā¦ to like reading some pages per month. With a month breakā¦in between.
Slime
#234
I donāt know why, but I learn so much better via lectures than with books these days.
Iām pretty sure I have aphantasia though, so that probably explains a lot of it. Somehow looking at charts and shit is even easier when somebody is pointing to them or just showing slides that correlate to what theyāre talking about. Having to reference graph 1-A from page 22 when Iām elsewhere just doesnāt stick in my brain because I literally canāt see it.
Fucking weird shit to discover later in life, lol
bfk
#235
Epictetus discourses are really helpful psychologically id recommend reading it solely for general mental healthā¦
Didnt expect such an effect from stoic philosophyā¦i also have meditations by marcus aureiliusā¦i dont have letters from senecaā¦but if epictetus helps with mental health i would assume other ancient stoic philosophers would be similar.
Also the 50th law by 50cent and robert greene examines street smarts in a real academic philosophical context to a degree. Some good realistic ideas in hereā¦even though it is a commercial product it does offer a little realism on how to handle certain situations.
bfk
#237
I havent been keeping up with my readingā¦
I will try to use my reading to block out the year of 2024
metaside
#238
Reading some books on Game Design (from a Humble Bundle) atm, but nothing awesome that I would really recommend so far.
bfk
#239
Got 100 years of solitude.
I havent been reading thoughā¦
Im trying to finish epictetusā¦but some of the ideas ive already thought of myselfā¦beforehandā¦or have come across in other mediums soā¦
I feel like i should be reading but i have no desire to.
White_Noise
#240
I think I over-read before Covid. I had a lot of downtime in my office and I could get away with reading PDFs, so in a 2-3 year span I read:
Atlas Shrugged
The Fountianhead
Some Ayn Rand short stories
War and Peace
Anna Karenina
The Trial (and another Kafka book I canāt remember the name of, but it was about I guy who turns into a bug)
The Tale of Genji
Meditations (by Aurelius)
Moby Dick
Candide
A Tale of Two Cities
Great Expectations
Uncle Tomās Cabin
How to HTML and CSS
a book on engine design
a book on racecar aerodynamics
a book on racecar setup (you can tell when I started getting desperate)
So yeah, knocked a lot off my to-do list there and havenāt felt the urge to read much beyond periodicals, the occasional manual, and a few fanfics the last 2 years. Iām OK with that.