"The Mediations" by Marcus Aurelius - great Stoic philosophy
"Fjärde Flygvapnet i världen" <- research stuff
and very slowly as I am not a huge fan "Collapse" by Jared Diamond
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"The Mediations" by Marcus Aurelius - great Stoic philosophy
"Fjärde Flygvapnet i världen" <- research stuff
and very slowly as I am not a huge fan "Collapse" by Jared Diamond
Haha that book was entertaining, I enjoyed it.Quote:
Originally Posted by highflyingpilot
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I'm reading Kant's Foundation of the Metaphysics of Morals and Mill's Utilitarianism for class, both of which I have enjoyed. I read a few chapters from MacIntyre's After Virtue, and would like to read the whole thing when I have time.
For fun, I'm reading through the works of George RR Martin at the moment; I'll be starting A Storm of Swords soon. It's probably my second favorite fantasy series, after The Sword of Truth by Goodkind.
I'm also reading god is not good: How Religion Poisions Everything by Christopher Hitchens. It is a piece of garbage. I agree with his conclusions, but I can barely get through it because his grip on logic and philosophy is so awful. It is mostly baseless invective devoid of arguments, except for lovely little gems such as, "Anything that can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence." What a load. Ever heard of a synthetic a priori? :cussing:
Iceman- Read the God Delusion by Dawkins. Hitchens basically copied his format, and Dawkins does a better job with it.
Oh...yall's them book learners huh....Haunted by Palahniuk
'Caring for your baby and young child-Birth to age 5'
Riveting!
Need a new book. Been re-reading Steinbeck's "The Log from the Sea of Cortez", but almost done.
I had forgotten all the social commentary he and Ricketts injected in that book. Pretty cool.
Whatcha got? I tend to like non-fiction.
Edit to add: WTH? I thought I searched the "books, music, movies" forum. There was a good book thread over there but couldn't find it. Oh well, anyway, whatcha got?
Just finished Mindkiller by Spider Robinson which is the first book of the Lifehouse trilogy. On to Time Pressure.
I read this book in a day. Literally morning to night. Loved it.Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffmoore
I just finished Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and I'm on to Neuromancer.
the unbearable lightness of being.
hemingway's boat.
both great
ha, still funny five years later.Quote:
Originally Posted by PappaG
I recently finished a series that according to the author the premise came from bet where he had to write a book based on the topics of the Lost Roman Legion and Pokemon. The books were pretty good.
Sh*t My Dad Says and Why I Suck at Girls by Justin Halpern were funny.
Vertical, the follow up to Sideways, was funny.
Storm World by Chris Mooney
Reading The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsche right now. Good, but a bit mind-boggling at points.
Recently read The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. Awesome literary history. The description of Fermi's pile reactor at the U of Chicago is riveting. Highly recommended!
If you haven't read The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe, by all means, get cracking.
now reading death of the grownup and spoiled rotten(books by theodore dalrymple on decline of british culture).
read new deal or raw deal, panic of 1907, invasion, history of germany and suprised by hope recently.
hitlerland and american gridlock on deck.
Just finished Endurance, about Shackleton's expedition, by Alfred Lansing. Those guys were fucking hardcore. Some of the descriptions of them crossing the open ocean, crew divided among three small boats, were so obviously sandbagged I could only shake my head. What an awesome tale of people holding it together when the chips are down.
Just started The Wolverine Way by Douglas Chadwick. He's a wildlife biologist who helped out with the 5-year Glacier Wolverine Project in Glacier National Park. The wolverine is truly an astounding creature, and almost more amazing is how little we know about it. The pictures alone are worth a look.
Nice. Read Endurance years ago. Great drama.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fortune_Cookie
I went low-brow. Been doing a lot of traveling this summer so I wanted something to kill time on an airplane. Saw Abe Lincoln Vampire Slayer at B&N for $5.00.
I was pleasantly surprised...sure it's dumb. But it's quick and fun...and it was certainly better than listening to financial advice from Mortimer Duke in Seat 4B.
-Smarty
I'm going to go get Necrophelia Variations today. NSFW link.
Whoah - 5 years later and I'm reading Book 8 - Toll the Hounds. Yes I read several dozen other books in between...Quote:
Originally Posted by Tippster
Read "South" Shackleton's first hand account.Quote:
Originally Posted by blender
Currently I am reading the "Mary Poppins" series. We were talking about it the other day, and it turns out I never read them, even having two daughters. Fun books.
No, serious now - Driving the Rim by Tom McGuane. Only 30 pages in and I'm hooked. Hilarious and poignant, it's one of his better ones.
I just finished Sandstone Spine by David Roberts. Not bad, but not as good as his In Search of the Ancients. He's all about Anasazai in those two. ISotA is a good read, almost as good as his climbing stuff.
I bet it's good. I'll put it on the list. It's a long list.Quote:
Originally Posted by hutash
Genesys
Reporting and Analytics Aggregates 8.0
Deployment Guide
Fun and exciting stuff, along with the conference calls where I have to argue with several people on each and every option setting.
Shades of Grey. Text porn. Reading away on the reader, no one knows what I'm readin' but me.
Pretty fucking weak; as a book and as porn.Quote:
Originally Posted by Beaver
I ordered some books.
I just read Searching for Captain Zero. Like it, so I bought Cosmic Banditos.
My boy was watching Shark Week and I got sucked into the episode about three guys adrift for 47 days during WWII. So I bought Unbroken, the story of that ordeal, written by the author of Seabiscuit.
And for shits and giggles, I bought I've Never Met an Idiot on the River, by The Fonz.
In searching for Driving the Rim by Tom McGuane, I ended up more intrigued by his book The Longest Silence: A Life in Fishing. Will probably order the former after I get through these. At 10-20 pages a night, it takes a while!
I'll let ya'll know what I think (whether you care or not!).
Slogging through War and Peace, the fucking thing just will not end, but its a death march and I refuse to give up.
Also reading God's Crucible by David Levering Lewis which chronicles the history of Europe from 700's to 1500's and the role that the interplay between Muslim and Christian worlds played in it. I'm kind of in to it.
For shits and giggles Benicio Del Toro's sci-fi "The Strain" first in a dystopic vampire trilogy without all of the faggy twilight kind of bull shit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beaver
Never thought beaver's porn cred would be challenged, but I hear you.Quote:
Originally Posted by blender
Just finished Cloud Atlas....liked it a lot.
Just starting Railsea by China Meiville...steam punk.
I've got to agree. I made it through but don't plan on reading the others.Quote:
Originally Posted by blender
On the positive side, my wife is now reading it and horny.
I read all 10 books in succession...it took me nearly 6 months. I went through a grieving process when they were all finished. Great series.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tippster
Recently finished On Killing by Lt Col Dave Grossman. Author is a West Point psychology professor. Describes what it takes to make humans kill each other, and how modern media is affecting the behavior. A maggot (AKPogue IIRC) recommended this to me in the wake of the Aurora shootings. Very enlightening although somewhat of a slog.
Currently working my way through The Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell - a series of novels based around late 9th century Britain and the Norse invasions. Am staying up way too late many nights reading these.
If anybody is interested in American History, I highly recommend
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg
It describes the early 19th century beaver trapping expeditions and their contribution to settling the American west. Amazing stories.
Just finished rereading
Underworld-DeLillo
Reading
Labryinths-Borges
Freedom-Franzen
Where'd you go Bernadette?
Maria Semple
fun read, witty, contemporary to our device-addled lives (i have not seen the movie)
Pimp: The Story of My Life
Iceberg Slim
character study & interesting slice of life that you don't see in history books (i have not seen the movie)
Stronghold: One Man's Quest to Save the World's Salmon
Tucker Malarkey
reads well for a conservation biography (pacing/engagement not dry), very interesting for salmon fishermen & specifically Oregonians
If Tucker has any aspirations of making a career out of writing non-fiction, it sure seems like he should change his name.Quote:
Originally Posted by ::: :::
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay ...again
next:
The Great Believers
The Overstory (Pulitzer prize in fiction 2019)
Lately, I've had a lot of time to listen to audiobooks so I'm finally doing the "reading" that I never had time for.
- How Not to be Wrong by Jordan Ellenberg, I loved it although a friend pointed out that he couldn't pin down a thesis. He's right. It's just interesting quirks of math and how understanding them can help us make better decisions. I guess that's the thesis but the breadth of topics is a little jumbled.
- The Future of Capitalism by Paul Collier was a really insightful read about the current issues in politics and economics. I like that he's very much a pragmatist and he doesn't have much love for idealogues on either the right or the left of the political spectrum.
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, pure fun entertainment.
- Our Oriental Heritage, The Story of Civilization, Volume 1, by Will Durant. First published in 1935, this book is just as relevant today as ever and is full of quotable sections such as: “There is hardly an absurdity of the past that cannot be found flourishing somewhere in the present. Underneath all civilization, ancient or modern, moved and still moves a sea of magic, superstition and sorcery. Perhaps they will remain when the works of our reason have passed away.”
I'm a bit of an insomniac so I read a lot but probably couldn't name ten books I've read in the last year, even though I've probably read over 75.
Some memorable ones:
All the Pretty Horses by McCarthy. Forget Matt Damon or whatever. This is a beautiful book about untamed northern Mexico around world war one. If you liked it, continue on and finish McCarthys Border Trilogy. And for those of you who read Blood Meridian or The Road, it's all of the good style of Cormac's writing without the gore or baby brisket.
Dog Star...read it before, enjoyed it again. Dystopian survival story with a very personal aire about it.
Fight Club...if you haven't read it, do it. The movie didn't even come close.
Speaking of movies that didn't compare to the book, Black Hawk Down. You'll learn a lot.
Empire of the Summer Moon:. Simply a must read. Should be required reading for all Americans.
Astro Physics for People in a Hurry by DeGrasse Tyson. A fantastic read for nerds or folks who like to be reminded that we are immeasurably insignificant.
Where the Crawdads Sing: I really enjoyed this one.
And I read Shogun about once every two years. Still one of the best books of all time.