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Ask HN: What is your comfort book?

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Re: Ask HN: What is your comfort book?

#91

Post by veddox »

auslegung wrote: post #86
Y_Y wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess I was just unlucky. Maybe I'll try reading it the way you describe next time.

I suggest starting at the beginning, Genesis chapter 1, and really dig into just that 1 chapter for a while and try to figure out what it's really about. Remember that it was written to a different culture, a different time, in a different language, and not at all for the purposes that a lot of modern readers want.

I would actually recommend starting with the New Testament, especially the gospels. Genesis is fascinating, but you need a lot of background to really understand its implications and intentions. The gospels are much more approachable (and relevant).

Re: Ask HN: What is your comfort book?

#92

Post by veddox »

shem73 wrote: post #75

Anything by PG Wodehouse. Perfect antidote to too much seriousness. Often in spring I read Dylan Thomas 's Under Milk Wood.

PG Wodehouse is great. I first saw the "Jeeves & Wooster" TV series (with Fry and Laurie) and already loved that. Then I read the books, and discovered a whole new layer of humour in Wodehouse's prose language :D I remember literally weeping with laughter at some of the scenes...

Re: Ask HN: What is your comfort book?

#94

Post by adamhepner »

Actually, the whole Dune series, and risking to be controversial - the extended universe with the abomination of books by Frank Herbert's son. Yes, they break the rules, yes, they are rushed and yes some explanations plain don't make sense, but ohmygod the additional tens of thousands of years added to the story just put on so much more grandure... But why I like it: I open random page, and I just enjoy falling back to the epic story and remembering small details, discovering new ones, pondering upon the small artificial quotes before the chapters. Those books have so much going on for them, and thanks to the time spans involved you can actually pretty much jump in at any moment.

Other one is Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison, those are very funny and don't attempt to take themselves too seriously, and have the same principle - you can jump into the story at any moment and just enjoy rapid pace of events splashed with humorous commentary. Plus the protagonist is a very much self made man in a world where it doesn't come easily, so there's that bit of hope for you.

Thirdly - Discworld. I guess it does not need comment, does it?

Re: Ask HN: What is your comfort book?

#95

Post by auslegung »

veddox wrote: post #91
auslegung wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suggest starting at the beginning, Genesis chapter 1, and really dig into just that 1 chapter for a while and try to figure out what it's really about. Remember that it was written to a different culture, a different time, in a different language, and not at all for the purposes that a lot of modern readers want.

I would actually recommend starting with the New Testament, especially the gospels. Genesis is fascinating, but you need a lot of background to really understand its implications and intentions. The gospels are much more approachable (and relevant).

I used to think so, too, but I’ve been listening to the Bible Project podcasts and realized that the entire Bible, including the NT, is very Jewish, not modern or Greek at all, and in some ways the NT is actually more confusing because it can appear familiar when it really isn’t.

But if someone could only read a small part of the Bible, no doubt I’d send them to the Gospels.

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