Luke > Recent Status Updates

I was to speak on the futility of the struggle for the eight-hour workday, now again much discussed in labour ranks. He pointed out that the eight-hour campaigns in '84, '85, and '86 had already taken a toll far beyond the value of the "damned thing." "Our comrades in Chicago lost their lives for it, and the workers still work long hours."

I'm aware that this is basically fanfiction of a series that I've never read, so I'm just hoping that it at least goes okay.

Been looking forward to this for a long time.

The plague sure took its sweet time showing up.

Gonna burn through this quick because I can. Much as I'd like to finish the second volume of 'Three Kingdoms' this week, I want to keep the reading challenge gods appeased a tad longer more.

The problem sometimes with works like these is that they'll tell you about awesome historical figures, like the Trung sisters (info's technically on page 1142, but eh), that Anglo biographies don't seem to have even begun to catch up with. I hope I'm wrong, or at least will be wrong in the near future.

"...Our lord has a younger sister, a tough, brave woman with a retinue of several hundred females who normally carry swords and who have chambers filled full of weapons. She is a woman to outman any man..." Hallelujah, here comes another favorite character.

I'm not ashamed to say that I'm using 'Lord of the Rings' epithets to keep track of the main people and their relationships with each other, but it is rather stupid how well it's working out.

Sure hope the mystery bit kicks in soon, cause right now the book is reading like it was written by Hot Topic.

Time to step outside my comfort zone a bit.

The last few sections, we've seen a lady sacrifice the heads of her enemies on the altar of her deceased spouse, as well as the work's main hero throw his infant son on the ground. Exciting times.

The human factor is the key to any undertaking. How can we abandon those who have committed themselves to us?

Believe it or not, out of all of the works I'm currently reading, this has the fewest words per page, which should tell you something about the kinds of books I'm dealing with these days.

Back at this with Volume Two. Fortunately for me, the page count rolls over in the physical volumes, as it should.

If ever you needed reading recommendations, here's the full list of books by women in translation that went into the 100 Best Books by Women in Translation List, courtesy of Meytal Radzinski on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Biblibio/status/1...

At this point, both of Mary's suitors suck. What a mess.

Considering how often this work has had the word 'pornographic' flung at it, you'd think such would've showed up by now.

Somehow, an assignment at work led to my being able to read Shelley's The Last Man much sooner than I had expected to. I'm not complaining.

This introduction reads like a call out post for Gaskell. Informative, but if I ever read something like this that was written for a book by a white man, that'll be the day. I doubt readers would be able to take it.

To being was I brought without consent,
And naught of life I reaped save wonderment;
Then willy-nilly left not knowing why
I came and lived and left this tenement.

It's something when you go back to the profile of a former friend whom you still think fondly of and discover that they've eradicated most of their history on this website. It really is. I just hope they're doing okay.

50+ pages of introductory material is always a good sign.

End of Volume One.

Well, this is certainly no 'Les Misérables'. It's not quite reached 'the adaptation(s) was better than the book' territory, but it's certainly aimed in that direction.

I last read Duras in 2013; let's see what has changed and what has not.

Fashion has done more harm than revolutions.

"And what of your mother" asked Cao, "your wife and your children?" "It is said," Gong responded, "that he who governs with filial duty will never injure another's parents; that he who rules humanely will never cut off the sacrifices from a man's descendants. My lord, their fate lies with you. I am your captive and ask only for execution; I have no misgivings."

So I decided that this is the book I'm taking with me to Disneyland. Should make for an incongruous time.

A blast from the past, this one. Let's see how dear old Hugo holds up.

Thinking about creating my own 75 best books from the last 75 years, so...hm.

My cut off's 1945, so let's see what I have to work with.