I just finished Romance of the Grail by Joseph Campbell and it was my first time encountering any mythology in written form about King Arthur and his court.

The book focused on two stories, Parzival by Wolfram and Tristan and Iseult by Strassburg. They both borrow from Christianity but offer drastically different opinions to the leading theological beliefs at the time, the author of Perceval before Wolfram actually didn't finish his work and Campbell believes it's because the ending would have been tantamount to heresy and the author would have been killed.

Thus wolfram continues and affirms his ending, showing that the character of a person is more imortar than the following of teachings or strict religious piety.

Next I'm going to read The Design of Everyday Things, or maybe the Psychology of Everyday things, I'll decide when I get back from the doctor.

I'd also like to suggest a monthly event, we're the person with the most books read that month suggests a book the rest of us read so we can get some discussion generated.

Done reading this book:

22. Pandämonium- Die letzte Gefahr (translates to "The last Danger", first word describes a place where evil spirits gather), Alexander Odin, 414 pages

Pandämonium plays in Berlin, the capital of Germany. A strange super virus breaks out, that turns people into super agressive monsters, until their constantly rising fever makes their skin and organs bloat and they die. The 16 year old Naomi and some of her neighbours are the main focus of the story, together they fight to survive and try to find the source of the virus.

Decent read for people who like stuff like The Walking Dead. One thing I didn't like too much is the pacing in the last 70 pages where the story suddenly evolves much faster. A fair share of the pages is also half empty due to the heavy use of chapters (78 for 414 pages).

At 2/14/17 04:30 PM, Asandir wrote: Done reading this book:

22. Pandämonium

Do you read books at the same time as each other, or do you just blast through 1000 pages in 3 days?

At 1/2/17 06:25 PM, usgurshaan178 wrote: The fuck is this, middle school?

Yes. Go read your book young lad. Or you will get dentention and get a F in English. I am going to read Art of the Deal.

At 2/14/17 06:20 PM, Ganon-Dorf wrote:

At 2/14/17 04:30 PM, Asandir wrote: Done reading this book:

22. Pandämonium

Do you read books at the same time as each other, or do you just blast through 1000 pages in 3 days?

I read one book after another. The stuff I read is mostly simple so I guess that makes it easy to read. Also mentioned earlier that I read the first few pages of a book to see if I like the writing style before I decide if I read it or not, that helps. For example, I don't enjoy author who describe stuff in a very, very detailed manner (Stephen King comes to mind), where I feel caged in by the vision of the author. Aside from that it's just getting used to read more. Don't feel like I blast through the books, I just developed a pace over time where I fully understand what happens while progressing at a decent pace.

At 2/15/17 02:02 AM, Asandir wrote:

I read one book after another. The stuff I read is mostly simple so I guess that makes it easy to read.

The last two books I read I was constantly turning pages to reference dates and concepts that the author was exploring, I guess that cuts into my time as it's not a steady progression for me.

Finished another book:

23. Gott im Unglück (Divine Misfortune), A. Lee Martinez, 394 pages

Divine Misfortune: Teri and Phil are a young couple. Phil is unhappy that he didn't get a promotion, so together they decide to choose a god that helps them out, something that has become a huge trend worldwide. They end up with Luka, who is the god of fourtune and also a racoon. Tons of other gods play a role and a somewhat funny story unfolds.

Alright book. The basic premise of gods having their amount of power and influence decided by the amount of people who believe in them reminded me of the excellent book American Gods by Neil Gaiman, which I recommend reading to anyone remotely interested in mythology.

Done reading this book:

24.Exit (Dust), Hugh Howey, 463 pages

Dust is the last book of the silo trilogy. Humanity lives underground, in vaults (similiar to Fallout). The humans of one vault are kept unaware of the existance of the other vaults. The major of Vault 18, Juliette Nichols, plans to use a recently found drill to get into Vault 17, setting the unravelling of a huge threat in motion.

Very nice book. Would recommend it to anyone who likes stuff like Metro 2033 or the Fallout franchise.

Finished another book:

25. Echt zauberhaft (Interesting times), Terry Pratchett, 443 pages

Interesting times: The Agatean Empire demands that Ankh-Morpork sends the "great wizzard" to them. It turns out that Rincewind is that wizzard and he then gets teleported to the The Agatean Empire that is totally not based on China.

Rincewind right after his arrival meets up with Cohen the barbarian, who is well over 90 years old and the leader of the Silver Horde, a group of rusty heroes of the past. Rincewind also meets the Red army, a revolutionary group that slightly protests against the emperor. Also, butterflies have quite the influence.

Very funny book. The story is all sorts of crazy even for Discworld standards. This story is old but still gold - almost like the Silver Horde.

Done reading this book:

26. Chroniken der Seelenfänger 2 - Dunkler Orden, Alexey Pehov, 486 pages

Chroniken der Seelenfänger 2 - Dunkler Orden is the second book of this series, read the first one last year.

The main character, Ludwig, a Seelenfänger (Soul Catcher), is part of the Brotherhood, humans armed with a special dark dagger that enables them to kill evil spirits like ghouls, etc. Seelenfänger are immune to illnesses and can extent their life by absorbing those dark spirits into their dagger. The books are divided into chapters, each one being one mission for Ludwig.

Phenomenal series, has lots of similiarities with the Witcher lore. Even the main character has a similiar personality compared to Geralt of Rivia. Sadly the books are not available in english, the third book is getting released later this year, looking forward to it.

I finished The Psychology of Everyday Things by Don Norman, his discussion of design affordances was pretty cool, but as a designer the biggest thing I took away from it was the psychological thought process on how people use things.

Up next I'm reading Jung on Mythology by Robert A Segel.

I read two books while meandering through the bookstore on Saturday.

Where the Wild Moms Are: Bad. I kept waiting for it to make me laugh, and it never did. And the book was over. >:(

Goodnight iPad: A Parody for the Next Generation: Funny. Would suggest to parents in their 20s lolol.

Finished reading this book:

27. Metro 2033, Dmitry Glukhovsky, 784 pages

Metro 2033 plays in (or under) Russia. A nuclear war of global magnitude has forced humanity to leave the contaminated surface and organise life underground in the metro stations, constantly endangered by mutated beings, the main ones referred to as Dark Ones.

The book describes Artjom's journey to the underground station Polis, a man named Hunter asked him to deliver a message, contained in a bullet, there. Across the way, Artjom meets fascinating individuals with heavily different ideals and ideologies, gets confronted with the abyss of his own mind and the never-ending mysteries of the underground.

Mindblowingly good book. Has been on my to-read list for some time. Some parts reminded me athmosphere-wise of Der Steppenwolf from Hermann Hesse. Artjom not only undergoes a tremendous journey physically but even more so mentally.

The Jung on Mythology book by Segel was unreadable, I got 40 pages in and I couldn't tell where he was quoting Jung, where he was interpreting, or where he was doing expose. Terrible structure which rendered it impossible for me to continue. I've already started Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche and it's much more enjoyable.

Finished reading New Summer.

It was awful chick-lit.

Finished another book:

28.Metro 2034, Dmitry Glukhovsky, 528 pages

Metro 2034 is the sequel to Metro 2033. It follows the story of a man who calls himself Homer, who is around 60 years old and desires to write down a story - that inspires the people of the Metro - as his legacy. He, as part of a soldier group, gets sent out to the next Metro station to find out the whereabouts of the 3-man group that has been sent out before and didn't arrive there.

Decent book. Not as great as Metro 2033 but nice for people who like the setting.

reading

<in rush>not porn!</in rush> *quicly stashes porn*

Done reading this book:

29. Der Winterschmied (Wintersmith), Terry Pratchett, 381 pages

Wintersmith: Tiffany Aching is a young, aspiring witch. On Winter solstice, she can't resist taking part in the Dark Dance, which causes the Wintersmith to take notice of her. As a result, Winter doesn't end and Wintersmith tries to win Tiffany's heart.

Story also contains smurf barbarians, a talking cheese and lots of friendliness between witches.

Good and funny book.

i'm gonna finish a book this month or else I kill myself

At 2/16/17 06:34 PM, Alias wrote: I have to take a minute to just boast about my new bookshelves which I am head over heels in love with. I picked pink knobs out for the shelves, also. I have a few more loads of books to move, and then I'll finally be able to decorate the shelves.

This looks great. Be sure to post the after pic when you're finished decorating too. I love this shit tbh, I waste so much time just looking at other people's rooms online.

At 2/20/17 08:31 PM, Alias wrote: I read two books while meandering through the bookstore on Saturday.

You including these toward your goal?

At 2/21/17 04:07 PM, Asandir wrote: 27. Metro 2033, Dmitry Glukhovsky, 784 pages

Now we're talking. This was one of my favourites for a long time and it's overdue for a re-read. I never read nor played the sequel though. I don't know if you're into games but the Metro 2033 game is one of the best adaptations of anything I've seen, all things considered. It got a bit of flak at release for being another linear shooter at a time when the genre was over saturated, though.

Although I'm pretty sure mine is in the region of 450 pages, is there really that much of a difference between translations or do you know if it has some extra chapters or something?

Metro 2033 plays in (or under) Russia

Fun fact, parts of the moscow metro build during the cold war really are designed to survive nuclear fallout and serve as makeshift shelters. There's also the secret metro-2 used by the government that probably does exist but there's no clear evidence for it. The russian government and its secrets are fascinating.

At 2/24/17 12:26 AM, Jackho wrote: This looks great. Be sure to post the after pic when you're finished decorating too. I love this shit tbh, I waste so much time just looking at other people's rooms online.

I will! The books are on there now but I want to categorize them and figure out where to put other decorations haha.

At 2/20/17 08:31 PM, Alias wrote: I read two books while meandering through the bookstore on Saturday.

You including these toward your goal?

Sure haha. I'm sure I'll be way over my goal by the end of the year anyways. :3

At 2/24/17 12:26 AM, Jackho wrote:

At 2/21/17 04:07 PM, Asandir wrote: 27. Metro 2033, Dmitry Glukhovsky, 784 pages

Now we're talking. This was one of my favourites for a long time and it's overdue for a re-read. I never read nor played the sequel though. I don't know if you're into games but the Metro 2033 game is one of the best adaptations of anything I've seen, all things considered. It got a bit of flak at release for being another linear shooter at a time when the genre was over saturated, though.

I actually downloaded it on Steam yesterday. I played the first minutes years ago but thought to myself "I rather read the book first". Took a while to get there.

Although I'm pretty sure mine is in the region of 450 pages, is there really that much of a difference between translations or do you know if it has some extra chapters or something?

Not sure. It has descriptions for some of the russian stations at the end. German is a pretty excessive language and has a fair share of long words so that might be a factor. It doesn't claim to be an extented version with extra chapters.

I finished Thus Spoke Zarathustra, it really was a book for everyone and no one. Nietzsche really didn't like the metaphysical or institutional idea of religion, I'm not sure where he stands on religious metaphor, but some further readings should clarify that. His discussion of the Overman reminded me of Campbells discussion of transcendence in Thou Art That, everyone is after the thought that can't be expressed or articulated.

On to another book tomorrow, I guess I'm up to 5 books read now.

Done reading this book:

30. Giants - Sie sind erwacht (Sleeping Giants), Sylvain Neuvel, 415 pages

Sleeping Giants: While playing in a forest, a young girl stumbles upon a gigantic metal hand. 17 years later the same girl has become a scientist and tries to find out where this mysterious hand comes from: it is made out of a metal that is so rare on earth that it must come from somewhere else.

Soon enough a method is found to seek out other parts of the gigantic robot and a mission to assemble and control that potential super weapon starts.

The story is told via log files, which are either interviews with the crew members who work on the project or military and news reports, etc.

Very nice book. I especially liked the immersive log file format, almost make you feel like the supervisor of the whole Robot project. Kind of a modernized take on the nephilim mythology.

Ended up reading something different than I said I was going to, but finally finished my 3rd book of the year; Honourable Friends? by Caroline Lucas.

I can't quite remember how I ended up reading this because it's not the kind of thing I'd normally have gone for, but glad I did. It's the UK's first Green MP sharing her observations about her first 5 years in parliament, which potentially sounds quite dull but was actually really interesting.

Reading this not only made me more interested in green politics, but in politics and current affairs as a whole. Potentially the most influencing book I've read.

I'm reading a book called Hamlet's Hitpoints now, it's about deconstructing narrative in RPG's and how successful narratives are structured, reminds me a lot of Rational Game Design theory developed by Ubisoft so far.

Finished another book:

31. Schweinsgalopp (Hogfather), Terry Pratchett, 414 pages

Hogfather: No one asks the assassin Mr. Teatime (pronounced Te-ah-tim-eh) to end the existence of the Hogfather, the Santa Claus of the Discworld. As a result, DEATH has to take up the role of the Hogfather, which is both funny and surprisingly touching at some moments.

Story also contains lots of teeth, hangovers, a depressed happy fairy and the wizards having fun with a new bathroom. Also watch out for your eyes when crows are around.

Very good book.

Finished 5 books for February:
A Banker's Confession --Gary Sanseri
The Myth of the Robber Barons --Burton W. Fulsom, Jr.
Oliver Twist --Charles Dickens
Crime and Punishment --Fyodor Dostovesky
The Death of Ivan Ilyich --Leo Tolstoy

Finished another book:

32. Die Wissenschaft der Scheibenwelt I: Die Gelehrten der Scheibenwelt (The Science of Discworld I:Science of Discworld), Terry Pratchett & Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen, 528 pages

The Science of Discworld I:Science of Discworld is the first book of a set of four, the basic premise of this one is that the wizards of the discworld build a small world similiar to earth, referred to as the Roundworld.

One chapter showcases the shenanigans of the wizards, then a longer chapter explains the real world science behind it, ranging from how planets form, to ice ages, dinosaurs and theories about how intelligent life forms emerge and the possible future of space travel.

Enjoyable and very informative. The informative chapters are explained in detail but in a well understandable fashion, definitely refreshed my knowledge on some of the subjects and furthered them in others. I liked that none of the science theories are presented with any visable bias, staying true to the premise of science to question everything and setting nothing in stone.

The half story, half science format helped to keep the book entertaining even when the explained progresses where complex.

Recommend it to everyone who either likes the Discworld universe and/or wants to have an entertaining summary of the beginning of the universe and the origin of cells, fishes, mammals, humans etc.

I finished Hamlets Hit points, it had a nice system for organizing and analyzing nara time beas that I'm going to adopt to my game design methodologies.

I've started The Feeling Brain now which is a book about the neuroscience and psychology of emotions which I'm enjoying a lot so far.

READING CHALLENGE ROLL CALL - FEBRUARY

Excellent progress all round this month, with the exception of myself, @FinaLee and @Bit (where've you been?).

Asandir is overpowered and may be nerfed in the next patch.

Username - Progress for February - Total Progress Toward Goal
@Alias - 3 read this month - 5 out of 30 |
@Asandir - 20 read this month - 25 out of 25 (32 Total) |
@Bit - 0 read this month - 2 out of 20 |
@Dean - 2 read this month - 3 our of 10 |
@Dr-Worm - 1 read this month - 2 our of 25 |
@FinaLee - 0 this month - 1 our of 25 |
@Ganon-Dorf - 4 read this month - 6 out of 24 |
@Hoodie - 0 DUNEs read - 0 out of DUNE |
@Jackho - 0 read this month - 0 out of 25 |
@Jurornumber3 - 1 read this month - [No Goal] |
@Mrccbirdguy - 1 read this month - 2 our of 20 |
@RightTime - 1 read this month - 1 our of 26 |
@Sensationalism - 4 read this month - 5 our of 12 |
@Sciencefreako - 5 read this month 9 out of 50 |
@TheQuietGamer - 3 read this month - [No Goal] |
15 Users - 45 read this month - 77 out of 293 |

Top Readers
1. @Asandir (20)
2. @Sciencefreako (9)
3. @Sensationalism and @Ganon-Dorf (4)

@Asandir @Alias @Dean @Sensationalism and @Ganon-Dorf are on track to hit their goal at their current pace, the rest of us may need to step it up.

All mistakes and mis-calculations are intentional.