[ttepasse]

I had it slighty worse: As a teenager I bought Holy Blood, Holy Grail on a whim (it were the 90s) in a bookstore because I was reading another Grail-focussed book series. HBHG is an utterly absurd book which could not even hoodwink a 14-year-old. One of the few books I deeply regret buying. Slightly later I read Focault’s Pendulum which of course inoculates one even more against this crap.

But of course Brown copied everything in his Da Vinci Code from HBHG which is obvious, when reading it. Every twist and turn is then utterly predictable. There was a copyright case in the 90s, annoyingly decided in Brown’s favour.

The real history behind HBHG is far more funnier: turns out the authors took their story from a french con-artist who fabricated documents and genealogies and deposited them into the Bibliotheque Francaise. And of course according the the con-artist the last descendant of the Merovingian Kings was himself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Plantard

[bazoom42]

The case that Brown plagarized Holy Blood Holy Grail is hilarious because Holy Blood Holy Grail claimed to be historical research rather than fiction. So how can you plagiarize actual history? The case was basically them admitting it was made up.

[melagonster]

unfortunately, it is rare that a 14 old kid who can read Focault’s Pendulum.

[ttepasse]

Some of the utter joys that Eco’s books give you, is that they grow with you. The more you learn about the world (and yourself), the more layers and nuances you’ll find in re-reads.

As a stubborn and curious 14 year old Foucault’s Pendulum is still a somewhat readable story, which I enjoyed and got the general gist. Later Re-reads of course brought more, because I have grown and known more in the meantime. I found that even more with re-reads of The Name of the Rose.

And of course that process is never finished. I’m sure, I’ll find even more stuff, if I were a full scale medievalist or could read better Italian than reading in translation, even though translations of Eco are said to be rather good. Reading, thought in that way, is never done.

[Yoric]

I did and I'll certainly try it on my kid :)

[Yoric]

Which I guess makes him a descendant of Jesus, in Diabolical logics? Such humility :)

[Gordonjcp]

> One of the few books I deeply regret buying.

For me it was Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged, and I begrudged every single penny of the 50 pence I paid for it in the Oxfam bookshop on Byres Road.

It's the only book I've ever intentionally destroyed, too. I soaked it in waste Citroën hydraulic fluid, and took it out to the gravelly yard behind my flat, and burnt it. I couldn't bear the thought of anyone without the intellectual rigour to see it for what it is getting their hands on it.

[randrus]

Hah! I had a similarly visceral reaction to Fountainhead - I finished reading while pacing angrily, and afterward threw it as far as I could.

The only book I intentionally destroyed though was Kaplan’s Advanced Calculus, but that was just the frustration talking.

[johndhi]

Why? I never get the hate for Ayn Rand - aside that it's weirdly cool to hate her books so people jump onto that bandwagon.

I remember really liking Fountainhead.

[cjohnson318]

Atlas Shrugged is a long book with unrealistic characters. The whole thing feels out of touch, like a podcast run by elitist trust-fund people complaining about the mind-numbing mediocrity of everyone else.

I never read Fountainhead, maybe it's better.

[EsportToys]

> There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.

http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html

[gonzo41]

It's also super frustrating to know the author lived on a public pension. Couldn't even live the fantasy.

[silverpepsi]

There are those who believe it is morally questionable or even a crime to take back any portion of what was stolen from you in an armed robbery, it now belongs to those who employ coercion to obtain things etc.

We are not amongst them and have NEVER ONCE apologized about it or otherwise suggested we care to accomodate you perverse moral principle. But do go on ...

[randrus]

Fountainhead triggered a kind of moral indignation in me. I read it as arguing that the path to happiness and success was to ignore social mores, hold your vision firm, and take what you want. I think I described it as glamorizing sociopathy.

Also, I want to reject the imputation of faddish dislike for her. I read this 40+ years ago - I'm not some johnny-come-hately.

[Yoric]

Yeah, Atlas Shrugged was really bad.

[musicale]

Avoid Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series then. But I still wish we'd gotten a third season of Legend of the Seeker.

[duskwuff]

Oof, yes. There's a reason the TV series was just set in the same world rather than being an adaptation of the books, and it's because the writing started out weird, and got progressively more insane with each volume. (Also, way too horny for even cable TV.)

[johndhi]

I liked sword of truth but will admit it got a little darker than I'd have liked.

[toast0]

Are there any good books depicting failures of railway signals? Or just railway signal networks at all... Without all the rants and sex and rants in the middle of sex.

[YeGoblynQueenne]

That's awfully precise, but how about this one?

Handbook of signalling symbols and terminology

https://rdso.indianrailways.gov.in/works/uploads/File/Handbo...

[K0balt]

Idk, I’m reading a lot of sex between the lines in that one.

It’s thinly veiled, but c’mon: “Normal aspect double yellow of a distant signal in rajdhani route( where double distant signal is provided)” is a clear reference to some seriously kinky stuff “rajdhani route” to wit.

And the “symbols” and diagrams - don’t even get me started. It’s like a pictographic Kamasutra.

[YeGoblynQueenne]

Well, if it's on the internet, it's probably porn already :P

[carrolldunham]

yay, burn the books!

[HocusLocus]

You've gone grey my friend. Wrongthink is being thunk by you.