68 Comments

What an excellent selection of items. Clearly some very discerning individuals made this list 😉

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Cleary some highly holistic list makers of a melange of things and stuff! 😅

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Who might they be? 🤔

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The Spice Police! 😅

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Thanks guys. Best kind of gift guide. Full of things that I would want to get myself never mind other people! 😜

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Hehe, those are also my favourite kind of guides ;)

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Glad to be of service! We could of course have added any of the splendid things you mentioned these past months. Another list! 😅

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So many gems! I mean, I know our tastes overlap since we've been keeping the spice flowing as well... but wow.

Vita Nostra is one of my all-time favorite fantasy stories, so much so that I have an analysis of its magic system sitting in my drafts.

The Neverending Story! I remember reading a German version with green & red script as well, pretty sure it was a library copy. Would like to reread at some point.

Planescape Torment & Disco Elysium are two games that I've loved but not finished yet, for different reasons. For Disco, I probably chose the wrong personality as it makes me extremely emotional. Hard-boiled detective route next time? Planescape Torment I need to pick back up too, it has inspired at least one short story (so far).

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Oh yay! Someone else who has read Vita Nostra!! Please do post about the magic system. I'd love to read that.

I went fairly intelligent-perceptive cop on my first playthrough of DE, with decent touch of being sensitive to Esprit de Corps, which has some magical writing to it.

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Don't spoil anything though! I haven't read it, yet!

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Ahhh, "Die Unendliche Geschichte" has a special place on my shelf. I have yet to convince my son to read it.

Planescape Torment is the penultimate RPG in my book. Not a commercial success, though, at the time. Figures...

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I read this article when it first came out and was fishing around for ways to share a photograph of my own copy of “Die unendliche Geschichte” because I think the book is stylistically wonderful and it’s probably the same edition you had. But regrettably I can’t upload a picture in the comment field. The copy I had was published in 1979 in Stuttgart and, to preserve the immersive experience, all the information concerning the edition that would normally find at the beginning of a book has been banished to the last page. The first page leaps right into the book (literally!) and the typeface is in red and green with lovely illustrations scattered throughout.--Oh Bastian!

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Ahh, the Thienemann hardcover, so so beautiful. Full page capitals each chapter and yep the info is at the back. Just marvelous. I will add some pics in the chat!

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Great recommendations. Dr Strangelove is one of my favourite films too. The books look beautiful

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Thanks, Terry. Strangelove, a masterpiece and Peter Sellers, so so good. He initially also played Kong but due to an "on set" injury was replaced with Slim Pickens.

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yeah, he was brilliant. I didn't know that. Thanks!

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yep. big fan. Did you see him in "Being There"?

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You would recommend? I missed it when it came out

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No😔

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Oh, you will love it. It's his most important film and a role only he could have played, and he did. Highly recommended.

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Thanks, Alexander. I'll look around for it on Amazon, YouTube and Netflix

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The three body problem brings me to the four colors theorem. A topological thrill only computers could explain it 🤪

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I want to read it! Even if it goes over my head, gotta stimulate that ole noggin! 😅

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It’s a 3x, take it easy; great present suggestions

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Thanks, George! 👍

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You’re welcome, thanks for suggestions

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Thank you, Alex and Nathan. You have reminded me of several creations I want to get back to, and shown me two new things I will watch tonight! This post was beautifully organized and visually stunning!

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That's so great to hear, Sharon. I hope you enjoy watching whichever the two new things are :)

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Wonderful! Thanks so much, Sharron! Hope you enjoy the treats!

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Very fine selections! I remember dying so early on in Disco Elysium. It was quite embarrassing! 😳

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Literally in the opening room with the tie and fan?? 😅

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Hey now, it took me forever to create my dear bumbling buffoon of a character! Besides, I had CARTER due the next day, so... priorities! He'll still be there when I get back... I think?

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Haha. My lips remain sealed.

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I loved the opening and VO, though. Very nice, kafkaesque, can you say that?

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You can indeed.

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And thusly he spake.

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😝

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I still haven't gotten shoes... which keeps me from dying... hmmm.

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DO not find your shoes, then.

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Does that mean, if I skip the shoes, I cannot die in Disco Elysium? Or more like I turn into Schroedinger's Cat? Huh.

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You'll just keep being a sad sap with a splitting headache and no shoes. :'(

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That is ... suboptimal!

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Better than death, or maybe not!

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I remember watching Agora years ago and thinking it was incredibly boring. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I was shocked at how much I enjoyed The Social Network. Only David Fincher could make something as tedious as the creation of Facebook into something so compelling and suspenseful.

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Different tastes, totally fine. I remember mixed reviews. It's been a fair while since I've seen it, so I'd like to watch again and see if my views have changed, but the point of it I felt was to make you think along with Hypatia. It's a slow-burn, intelligent film.

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Tell us why Agora is boring. As with everything, these things are subjective to a high degree. Like Frozen vs Tangled vs Iron Giant.

And Nathan can tell us why it isn't boring! 😅

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I don't remember anything specifically (it's been at least 10 years since I watched it), but the one thing I do remember is thinking, "Geez, I sure wish something would happen in this darn snoozefest."

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I haven't seen Agora so I let Nathan answer on the snoozefest part! Have you seen Paterson (2016) by Jim Jarmusch? A film where nothing happens. Beautifully.

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I haven't actually been able to bring myself to watch any Jarmusch films yet, though Dead Man and Only Lovers Left Alive are the two I would be most interested in.

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You must! Dead Man is not your typical western, though, more like acid western? That bw photography by Robby Müller? Sublime! And that live-wire score by Neil Young? Some hated it, I loved it.

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Paterson! Yes! The action of some films happens primarily in our heads. Right? Or is that just me...?

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Paterson is one long poem. My other dear friend and I, both avid Jarmusch fans, went to see it in our local cinema on opening night in VO. We were three. THREE. It was amazing though, so quiet, and tranquil, just like the movie. It was perfect. We still talk about the night we saw Paterson. ❤️

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Yay, this is a thoughtfully curated list. Thank you!

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Most welcome. Happy shopping! 🤗

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