this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2023
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literature.cafe chat

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Local off topic chat for literature.cafe, any and all are welcome. For discussions of books and beyond! Please follow instance rules. Although focused for literature.cafe users, any and all are welcome!

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Introductions Thread (literature.cafe)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Hey, there's been a bunch of new users so I figured it might be a good idea to make this thread. Feel free to post your introductions, as well as any links to socials (only if you want to!) such as storygraph, goodreads, or bookwrym etc. I am hopeful to set up a bookwrym instance eventually but its still very much in early early early development.

Also be aware that there are alternative UI front ends, as seen from here. https://literature.cafe/post/315847

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've landed here because I like reading and writing. I've saw somewhere that this would perhaps be the instance to go to find a good writing community.

Upon joining, I quickly noticed a very friendly and supportive environment. A lot of that is springs forth from our benevolent admin who genuinely seems to a very kind and generous person. Case in point? This thread. But I digress.

About me... I have an obsession with writing qua writing. I've recently finished an MA in philosophy, meaning I've been spending a lot of time reading and writing.

I'm a long time Linux user, and I'm passionate about FLOSS. I'm also enthusiastic about the Fediverse. I'm all about freedom, free flow of information, and community building.

My number 1 priority is peaceful coexistence. Whenever I can, I try my best to create harmony between people by mediating conflicts. This is quickly becoming my main craft.

Oh, and I like sewing. Knowing how to sew is like having a super power. Things which didn't exist before come into existence; things ripped apart become new again. Nothing puts my mind in a state of flow as sewing. Speaking of which reminded me that I have something to sew today! So, have fun around here, and enjoy this beautiful place.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Aw thank you! Conflict mediation is an extremely valuable skill to have. I am hopeful this communities gains traction but the only way it can is if we give it a fair try at least!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yo!

I'm going by Kaladin, as I've been loving my Storm light archive re-read. I've been enjoying Sandersons work for maybe 5 years now.

My go to is Sci-fi and Fantasy, but I'll take nonfiction if the subject interests me. I also struggle to sit down and read, so my list of read books is a little basic.

I also fucking hate red rising, I've literally read Naruto fanfiction that was better.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

LMAO was red rising really that bad???? ive heard some pretty intense criticisms of it. im tempted to read it just to see how bad it is...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

It’s… bad. Generically bad. The world building starts with one good idea (that was also the base from Brave New World, incidentally), but everything else is subpar: characters are one dimensional, the plot is basic, most things get solved by a deus ex machina that was totally unforshadowed, the writing is flat… it just has no redeeming quality.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

It's like the hunger games on Mars, in my opinion. It's probably been over five years since I gave up on it, but I recall it being a self insert character.

I can't remember if it was bad plot, unexplainable character decisions, or straight up bad dialogue that mad me hate it so. I'll see if I can dig up an old reddit comment.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Hi! I'm still deciding how much anonymity I want to keep on the Fediverse, so for the moment I will not link other social. I will just say I'm a European woman a bit over 30. I'm so glad I ended up here, I have been looking for a community where I could talk about books! I love books and talking about them, getting recommendations and sharing impressions!

I like reading in original language, so I have been learning German. My goal is to read Goethe in original, but for the moment Duerenmatt is the furthest I have gotten. I strive to read as many diverse books as possible, I have been trying to read at least a book from each Literature Nobel Prize winner, but sci-fi and fantasy are my bread and butter. Asimov is what prompted me to become a scientist!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That is more than OK, please stay as private as much as you want to. Your identity is yours, and thankfully with the fediverse it's something entirely new you can start from scratch which is one thing I love about it :)

I have been trying to read at least a book from each Literature Nobel Prize winner

What's been your favorite so far if you don't mind me asking?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Restricting to Nobel Prizes, I think Hesse. He has such a sweet way with words that crosses language boundaries. Narcissus and Goldmund was the book I read of his, when I was still a teen. I loved it.

On the other hand, there is quite a list of authors that, in my very personal opinion, should have won but didn’t.

Non-controversial: David Foster Wallace. A representation of the void of contemporary society.

Very controversial: d’Annunzio. Similar incredibly powerful words to Hesse, unfortunately he had to decide to support the fascist government. If you are able to distinguish form and content, his form is like nothing else I have met. But the content is often horrible: he is the hedonistic Übermensch, incredibly self-centered and misogynistic. I don’t know if that’s why he never won it, honestly, but seems likely.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I know nothing about nobel prize people, as I primarily stick to picture books. Nor do I follow European politics, as I'm a freedom loving American.

Who is David Wallace, and what fascist government did he support?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Sorry, my comment wasn’t clear, so I edited a couple of new lines in.

David Foster Wallace was an American writer that didn’t support any fascist government that I know of. His writing is apolitical, as far as I know.

D’Annunzio was an Italian writer and poet that explicitly supported Mussolini’s fascist government. D’Annunzio lead some really bold (and somewhat stupid) military undertaking during WWII.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Heyo!

NorthernLightMountain here (the 20 character limit on display names made me shorten it since it's 21 characters long) and I figured I'd drop by to say hi!

My handle comes from the works of my all time favorite author, anyone know who?

I started out my Lemmy journey as a reddit expat and ended up over at Beehaw since I liked the sound of them focusing on being a safe and wholesome place. Now it's starting to sound like they'll split off from Lemmy completely and move on to some other platform due to the seriously lacking moderating tools.

So I've been poking about trying to find myself a new home base and you guys caught my eye. I love to read and the fact that you guys wanted to go for a cozy book-releated area sounded nice! Figured it would be worth giving it a shot at least. :)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Welcome! :) I seriously hope beehaw stays but we will see Hope you enjoy it here, I try my best to keep it as active as I can. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah, it's a bit of a mess at the moment which also makes it a bit hard to know where to call home. You guys seem wholesome so far! :)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Well then... hi, I'm Rinn (it is so nice to be able to grab the short names on new social media sites), I'm 28 and live somewhere in the EU. I like cats, video games, and learning new things (learning crochet atm). Reading wise I'm mostly into sci-fi/fantasy + ungodly amounts of fanfiction when the mood takes me + RPG sourcebooks - I regularly play The One Ring 2e with a group and do some solo roleplaying in various systems (I journal extensively so to me solo roleplay is pretty much writing with dice). My fave books I've read last year: the Calculating Stars, the Goblin Emperor (one of my overall faves, I reread it every 2 years or so), the Empress of Salt and Fortune. It's nice to be here, I'm looking forward to watching this space develop ^^

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Nice to meet you Rinn! You and me both, I absolutely love cats and video games too. I've also been crocheting ever since I was a kid and recently (finally) learned knitting. If you ever wanna talk about crochet from someone who's been crocheting for nearly 10 years now, my DMs are always open. Also if you haven't found them already, there's a bunch of RPG focused communities on lemmy, science fiction focused communities, as well as an excellent crochet community. If you haven't stumbled upon them already, I can link you cause I'm subscribed to a large portion of them. They probably will pop up in c/all sometimes too.

I'm excited for this place develop too, I think this niche is particularly "in demand" on lemmy so to speak

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Can I get a tl;Dr on the goblin emperor?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Sure! I'll try to be fairly general to avoid spoiling anything.

It's about the youngest, half-goblin son of the elven Emperor, living in exile with his abusive uncle, until a message arrives that his father and older brothers have all perished in a totally-not-suspicious accident and he has unexpectedly inherited the throne. It follows him learning about and navigating courtly politics (and flailing. so much flailing.), his struggles with tradition and the intense alienation he feels as he is suddenly elevated to the top of society and finds that it kinda sucks to be there (and all the reasons why). I really enjoy the tone of this book - it's quite meditative and depicts certain political/social mechanisms in a somewhat realistic way, but is quite hopeful overall (without being preachy). It's very character/feelings focused and doesn't really have one "core" plot beyond following the protagonist's arc. The writing is excellent - especially the way it gives depth to characters who appear only very briefly and how much it conveys through characters' body language.

Word of caution: the jargon and the amount of names and terms that get thrown at you is overwhelming. This is intentional - you are made to feel exactly what the protagonist is feeling - but it still is too much for some. There is a glossary at the end that's helpful and often missed.

Most people seem to love this book, but those who don't tend to bounce off very hard, mostly because of aforementioned jargon/lack of one central intrigue. It's one of my personal faves and I've read it 3 or 4 times so I'm obviously in the first group ^^

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I forgot I didn't even post mine.

My name is gabe, im 22 and love reading and knitting and crochet. also cats. I love freaking love cats. I have a link to my mastodon in my profile, and that links over to my storygraph. I don't really use goodreads anymore, it's far too broken.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Hello! Markus here. I'm a Norwegian author who chose this instance because it seemed to be an interesting place for writing and reading.

I'm honestly not much of a reader, though I'm trying to change that.

I write stuff in Norwegian on my other socials, but you can find me on both mastodon and bookwyrm.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What's you're preferred writing topic, or genre?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So far I've written a trilogy of science fantasy comedy graphic novels with an illustrator friend of mine.

I haven't started my next project yet, so I feel it's hard to say what's my perfetred topic or genre. Something that goes through my work, I think, is self-empowerment. Learning what you're worth, what you know, and using it to your advantage.

I like writing science fantasy, but I'm not sure I'll write it again soon.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Anywhere I can buy it?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Welp, I don't read ... German? Idk I can only read American

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I did say I was a Norwegian author, I don't know what else to tell you. Sorry.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Don't be sorry because I can read, lol. I'm just a goofball sometimes

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I need to write more, I focus on reading more.... maybe this instance will push us to broaden both our horizons a bit

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hello, RandomDent here! Don't want to give out too much personal info, but I read a lot and am trying to write things I don't hate, so far unsuccessfully lol.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Ironically before this I had an idea to make a lemmy instance dedicated to doctor who hahaha

I’ll keep an eye out for one though and message you if I see any. I LOVE doctor who so freaking much

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Howdy! I'm ZagnutInSpace, a long time reader and writer in search of a chill space to hang out and talk about books, writing (read: editing), and other generally geeky stuff.

By genre, I'm usually drawn to weird experimental literature, Oulipo, fantasy and sci-fi, magical relism, and poetry.

I'm currently reading a 500+ page epic poem without any regular puntuation or capitalization called The Battlefield Where The Moon Says I Love You by Frank Stanford. The book is a super long meditation on civil rights and justice in the American south, and so far it has been a thoroughly fascinating and disorienting read.

I also program for a living, and in my free time I like to write little programs for fun. Right now I'm working on a tool (it may become "tools") to help writers who are exploring constrained writing but dont want to draft out insanity-inducing flow charts or tables to get started with some more complicated constraints.

I do write a little myself, and I'm currently juggling my time between two novel-length ideas that I'm just writing on scene-by-scene basis when I feel like it, nothing too serious.

Glad to meet all of you on this instance and talk about literature!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've considered making a writingtools community to catalogue some writing tools and software i know of (that arent AI based) to make things easier to find!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I would join something like that! I feel like there are lots of good ones out there, but not many aggregated or curated lists let alone communities.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah. The thing with lemmy right now that is a double edged sword is that since theres such a limited amount of content, you're extremely likely to get interactions over not getting any. But at the same time, communities can kind of die if people aren't making any effort to post to populate it with content. That's why I am hesitant to make new communities, as a small amount of active communities is easier to navigate than a few active ones mixed with a bunch of dead ones.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Interesting! I guss that makes sense with lemmy being the new kid on the block (among many in the fediverse these days). Honestly, I'm pretty new to this whole universe, but I'm excited to dive in and see what people are up to and how the whole thing works, so if I sound kinda naive, I'll point to that.

Maybe it's enough to post some kind of megathread in the writing community, that way the conversation is more directed on the writing experience as a whole instead of just tools to help with that practice.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hello! I go by PseudoMon on the internet. I'm a game programmer from Southeast Asia. Honestly I was just exploring places on the fediverse and somehow stumbled my way here. This place seems pretty nifty! Reading and writing has been a lifelong passion of mine, though I haven't written more than the sporadic short stories and I have been reading way fewer books than I like recently, aha.

I usually read science fiction and fantasy with some dabbling into "literary" fiction and biography/history books. When not reading I also (predictably) play video games and also mess around with web development. Here's my (rarely-updated) Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/12174984

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Goodreads is such a glitchy mess, it makes me so sad

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Honestly I've never really had any technical issues with Goodreads. I'm planning on moving to Bookwyrm at some point, but haven't had the time to do that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It's still in its infancy but is still quite good already. I might spin up a bookwrym instance eventually for the instance, but probably only if there's demand for it and if people are willing to chip in with donations to help somewhat cover the cost since it would likely require another (albeit potentially smaller) server separate from this lemmy instance.

I just wish there was an app for it tbh....

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hi, I'm not going to try saying my name. I'm an engineer who is now trying fiction writing as a hobby. I also do Gallifreyan on the side.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I love doctor who so much

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Met too! I still haven't found a really good community for Doctor Who stuff on Lemmy yet, there are a few but they're a bit sparse at the moment.