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Manny's Reviews > 2020 on ŷ
2020 on ŷ
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Manny's review
bookshelves: australia, celebrity-death-match, children, covid-19, donalds-are-trumps, french, fun-with-lara, games, german-and-dutch, go-go-go, greenlandic, history-and-biography, life-is-joyce, linguistics-and-philosophy, older-men-younger-women, older-women-younger-men, received-free-copy, science, science-fiction, swedish-norwegian-and-danish, the-goodreads-experience, the-tragedy-of-chess, too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts, transcendent-experiences, translation-is-impossible, trash, well-i-think-its-funny, what-i-do-for-a-living, why-not-call-it-poetry
Dec 26, 2020
bookshelves: australia, celebrity-death-match, children, covid-19, donalds-are-trumps, french, fun-with-lara, games, german-and-dutch, go-go-go, greenlandic, history-and-biography, life-is-joyce, linguistics-and-philosophy, older-men-younger-women, older-women-younger-men, received-free-copy, science, science-fiction, swedish-norwegian-and-danish, the-goodreads-experience, the-tragedy-of-chess, too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts, transcendent-experiences, translation-is-impossible, trash, well-i-think-its-funny, what-i-do-for-a-living, why-not-call-it-poetry
Although, or possibly because, the world appeared to be ending, I had a good reading year and found some remarkable books. Here are my top ten, alphabetical by author, but it was hard to choose...
Anonymous, öܲá . Tolkien's favourite poem. Thanks to , I was finally able to read and appreciate it in the original Old Norse.
Honoré de Balzac, Illusions perdues and Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes . A fantastic over-the-top mixture of absurd melodrama and biting social realism. More Comédie Humaine!
Ken Binmore, Natural Justice . A remarkably original piece of philosophy that should be more famous. It's fun to read as well.
Lucy Ellmann, Ducks, Newburyport . The daughter of Joyce's biographer shows you how to do female stream-of-consciousness right. Molly Bloom, eat your heart out.
Michael Ende, Die unendliche Geschichte . For some unfathomable reason, this mystical vision is usually referred to as a children's book.
Romain Gary, La promesse de l'aube . One of the most insane autobiographies I've ever come across, wonderfully written and completely unputdownable.
Marc-Uwe Kling, QualityLand . Gross, stupid, laugh-out-loud funny, slyly insightful.
Stian L. Lybech An Introduction to West Greenlandic . Oh, if only I could understand this crazy language! Stian Lybech's book really makes me want to try.
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice . Not easy to get through, but you'll feel like a better person.
Stuart Russell, Human Compatible . A terrifying glimpse of our possible near future. Anyone who's interested in technology really needs to check it out.
And now, if everyone who believes in literature claps their hands, Donald Trump will not find a way to destroy civilization before Jan 20...
Anonymous, öܲá . Tolkien's favourite poem. Thanks to , I was finally able to read and appreciate it in the original Old Norse.
Honoré de Balzac, Illusions perdues and Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes . A fantastic over-the-top mixture of absurd melodrama and biting social realism. More Comédie Humaine!
Ken Binmore, Natural Justice . A remarkably original piece of philosophy that should be more famous. It's fun to read as well.
Lucy Ellmann, Ducks, Newburyport . The daughter of Joyce's biographer shows you how to do female stream-of-consciousness right. Molly Bloom, eat your heart out.
Michael Ende, Die unendliche Geschichte . For some unfathomable reason, this mystical vision is usually referred to as a children's book.
Romain Gary, La promesse de l'aube . One of the most insane autobiographies I've ever come across, wonderfully written and completely unputdownable.
Marc-Uwe Kling, QualityLand . Gross, stupid, laugh-out-loud funny, slyly insightful.
Stian L. Lybech An Introduction to West Greenlandic . Oh, if only I could understand this crazy language! Stian Lybech's book really makes me want to try.
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice . Not easy to get through, but you'll feel like a better person.
Stuart Russell, Human Compatible . A terrifying glimpse of our possible near future. Anyone who's interested in technology really needs to check it out.
And now, if everyone who believes in literature claps their hands, Donald Trump will not find a way to destroy civilization before Jan 20...
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Reading Progress
January 1, 2020
–
Started Reading
December 26, 2020
– Shelved
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
australia
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
celebrity-death-match
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
children
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
covid-19
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
donalds-are-trumps
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
french
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
fun-with-lara
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
games
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
german-and-dutch
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
go-go-go
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
greenlandic
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
history-and-biography
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
life-is-joyce
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
linguistics-and-philosophy
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
older-men-younger-women
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
older-women-younger-men
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
received-free-copy
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
science
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
science-fiction
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
swedish-norwegian-and-danish
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
the-goodreads-experience
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
the-tragedy-of-chess
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
transcendent-experiences
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
translation-is-impossible
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
trash
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
well-i-think-its-funny
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
what-i-do-for-a-living
December 26, 2020
– Shelved as:
why-not-call-it-poetry
December 26, 2020
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 58 (58 new)
message 1:
by
Adrian
(new)
Dec 26, 2020 06:59AM
Disappointed that An Introduction to West Greenlandic didn't make it this year
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There's still time for the world to end this year! But I'm hoping it won't.We may not have read many of the same books this year, but I continue to enjoy your reviews, which always entertain or educate, and often do both. But we did both read and enjoy Qualityland: "slyly insightful" is perfect.
I hope you and Not et al enjoyed some festivities, and best wishes for good health and lots more reviews in 2021.
Adrian wrote: "Disappointed that An Introduction to West Greenlandic didn't make it this year"Put it on your list at once and make it your New Year's resolution!
Cecily wrote: "There's still time for the world to end this year! But I'm hoping it won't.We may not have read many of the same books this year, but I continue to enjoy your reviews, which always entertain or e..."
Hi Cecily! I hope you guys are also finding creative ways to enjoy the festive season, such as it is, and best wishes for 2021.
We're having a pleasant low-key Christmas here on the other side of the world, which fortunately doesn't seem to have ended yet. All the king's horses and and all the king's men seem to be doing a surprisingly good job. Let's hope they bring their work to a triumphant conclusion.
Manny wrote: "... I hope you guys are also finding creative ways to enjoy the festive season..."As you're quite a few hours ahead of us, if the world does end, it'll hit you first!!
Meanwhile, you seem to be in the best hemisphere.
Thumbs up for Human Compatible. Very accessible to the layperson.
I don't understand why there hasn't been more buzz around this book. I've been trying to persuade a moral philosopher I know to read it and comment, but he keeps saying he's too busy. Sigh.
Cecily wrote: "Manny wrote: "... I hope you guys are also finding creative ways to enjoy the festive season..."As you're quite a few hours ahead of us, if the world does end, it'll hit you first!!"
Should that occur, I will do my best to post from the afterlife and give you a sneak preview.
Nice top 10, Manny, I've added a few of them. Any plans for your reading in 2021?I had a look at your Stats page, interesting that you read as much in 2018 as 2019 and 2020 combined, in terms of number of pages!
Hi Junta! Hm, my plans for 2021 so far include more Balzac, more German, at least one book each in Icelandic and West Greenlandic, at least two books on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (I just started one), at least one book on quantum mechanics. That will keep me busy for a while!If you look at the details, I'm afraid you'll find that my figures for 2018 are less than completely reliable :(
Happy Period-Between-Christmas-And-New-Year! You can say this more concisely in Swedish...
Hello & Season's Greetings to you, Manny. I feel my IQ grow every time I read a review by you. Hope you have a kick arsed year in 2021. Rock on, you ol' Pirate!
Thank you Shaun, season's greetings to you too and I like being called a pirate... not everyone appreciates the desperate cutthroat world of academia :)
I'll clap every time I think of it, Manny, and hopefully my clapping will coincide with others' clapping from time to time, and so there will be a continuous wave of clapping from us literature enthusiasts that will prevent T from leaving his golf course until after the 20th!
Congrats on a great year, Manny. I always enjoy our exchanges. I'll surely get to a number of SF books where I might need your guidance.
Wait...I thought Trump already destroyed civilization in 2020? Does this mean it's OK to leave my house?
My understanding is that there are still a few isolated pockets of resistance which are currently being mopped up. Better stay indoors.
Good top, Manny. But I haven't seen any book by Trump ? You think it can be a real top in such conditions ??
He's a loser. He doesn't deserve to be on the same list as Honoré de Balzac, John Rawls, Michael Ende or the anonymous authors of öܲá.
Yes, I think Balzac would have muttered something like " tu dois mûrir, fiston, ce pays n'est pas ta trottinette ".
Je ne trouve pas une personnage balzacienne qui resemble vraiment à Trump, comment c'est possible ?
Ça peut être Vautrin, en quelque sorte ?
Il se croit Vautrinmais il n'est pas assez malin.
Stimulating selection, Manny. I also read this year La promesse, but I found his La vie devant soi even better. The stream coming from Ellman daughter looks very appealing. I am planning of reading Courtisanes next year since I got the eponymous catalogue from the Orsay, reread Nana this, and we have another exhibition on women in the Prado. Oh, I also have pending a book by a certain Dr Rayner. Happy 2021 reading year to you, Manny.
Et il n'a pas de perruque non plus, n'est-ce pas ?
Kalliope wrote: "Stimulating selection, Manny. I also read this year La promesse, but I found his La vie devant soi even better. The stream coming from Ellman daughter looks very appealing. I am planning of reading..."Thank you Kalliope! I have loved every Gary I've read so far, putting La vie devant soi on the list right now. A very happy reading year to you too :)
Théodore wrote: "Et il n'a pas de perruque non plus, n'est-ce pas ?"Absolument pas, il a juré à maintes reprises que c'est pas vrai !
En plus, Vautrin aime LucienMais Donald, il n'aime rien.
LARA project sounds great! Are there other portals/websites for LARA? I want to learn Russian and it seems a little bleak there.
Thank you Sudeep! I'm afraid there's so far been very little work with Russian. I'll ask around and see if anyone feels like doing some more.
Thanks for all the great reviews throughout the year. I find the biting political analysis in the various polls you've organised far superior to anything available in other parts of the Intertubes. Have a blessed 2021.
Thank you Radiantflux for your many contributions to the Haters Club Poll Area, the secret rulers of the world! I'm still not completely sure that 2021 will be the Year of Kittens and Rainbows, but we are thinking of getting a kitten. Maybe that will tip the balance.
Well it looks like I will be getting a son in January to add to the daughter, so I guess it's kittens and unicorns all round.
Radiantflux wrote: "Well it looks like I will be getting a son in January to add to the daughter, so I guess it's kittens and unicorns all round."Good news! How exciting. Congratulations.
(But the rest of us still want kittens and unicorns.)
Congratulations from me too! Have you decided on a name yet? I think "Rainbow-Unicorn Radiantflux" has a nice ring to it...
Thanks! We are still debating names here. Sadly we had lots of girl names, but were a little short on boy names, and we'd like something that isn't too popular, but also cool, and works in English and German. Does Kitten work for a boy?
In which case, Manuel/Emanuel/Manny is surely the obvious choice!
There's a Swedish (male) chess player called Tiger. He's widely respected for his creative interpretation of 1... g6.
Here's a list of names with tiger, lion etc derivations (Google is great!): Perhaps I should reconsider Leander? I guess there is always Aslan, if we want to go all CS Lewis.
WRT: Manny. I am worried that that is too big a name for such a small child, but who knows?
Unfortunately I don't think Aslan is advisable for a child who'll grow up in Germany, it's too close to arschloch :(
I'm always fascinated to see what you're reading. It's insanely varied, both in languages and topics. This might imply that I think you are insane. I will leave that question hanging there tantalisingly unanswered.
I respectfully submit that it is not insane to want to learn West Greenlandic, just unrealistically ambitious.
Semantics, the last hiding place of the truly deranged!
Your honour, I would like to admit that I have published more than one paper on semantics. I throw myself on the mercy of the court.
Is each paper in a different language..?
They are all in English. Will that be reflected in sentencing?
LOL! Manny, you make my shite itch ....
I respectfully submit that it is not insane to want to learn West Greenlandic, just unrealistically ambitious.This reminds me of interaction I remember on a language learning community filled with polyglots. After one of them listed their spoken languages as: English, German, Russian, Polish, Spanish, Dutch and Icelandic, the other sneered and said perhaps it's time to stretch yourself a bit and get out of your Indo-European bubble. :)
