What book(s) are you reading?

[BlueTsunami]

Finished The Dark Tower series. All in all it clocks in at 3,991 pages. Amazing journey through those books. The ending is just as... dividing? amongst readers as it seems.

[Tauntaun]

Just started 1984. 

[lordmaji]

picking this up hopefully tonight. If not, then Friday.

[Cormacaroni]

Just started 1984. 

I find this book genuinely horrifying. I'm far more intimidated to re-read it than any horror novel. It's a masterpiece but...brrrr.

[CajoleJuice]

1984

Orwell

Probably my favorite book of all-time. So perfectly horrifying and depressing.

[Purple Filth]

Twelve Pillars

[lordmaji]

1984

Orwell

Probably my favorite book of all-time. So perfectly horrifying and depressing.

Amen to that. 1984 is a damn good book.

[Dickie Dee]

At my folks cottage and Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes was laying around so I'm casually going through it. Liking it so far.

[Don Flamenco]

about 3/4ths of the way through 2666

real spoiler, not a cute joke:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

literally right at the part where Reiter changes his name to Archimboldi

[close]

this book is something else. not sure quite what to make of it, but I love it.  it kind of puts you on an emotional roller coaster with its tonal shifts. 

[Bebpo]

The Visit by Friedrich Durrenmatt
http://www.amazon.com/Visit-Tragi-Comedy-Friedrich-Durrenmatt/dp/0802130666/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253668451&sr=8-1
It's a morbid comic play that is quite entertaining.  Would recommend.  Only takes like 1-2 hours to read.

[Don Flamenco]

What is the book about Kafka, I saw it lying in the bookshop the other day but got put off by the cover somehow, it seemed so pretentious.

it's hard to pinpoint exactly.  Wiki says it well:

Depicting the unsolved and ongoing serial murders of Ciudad Juárez (Santa Teresa in the novel), the Eastern Front in World War II, and the breakdown of relationships and careers, the apocalyptic 2666 explores 20th century degeneration through a wide array of characters, locations, time periods, and stories within stories.

the various parts are loosely connected, but, as it says, each character and situation is a story within itself.  I'm 3/4ths of the way through and I don't feel like I have the big picture, as it isn't one big story, but each individual section is awesome and usually connected somehow to the ones that came before it, even if it's just an appearance or coincidence happening with a previously mentioned character.  I guess some would find that pretentious, if they're expecting it to somehow pull together and explain everything, but I think the value in the book is getting different things from different parts. it doesn't pay too much to look back when you're 300, 500, 800 pages in, I suppose.

also, it's one of those "don't read anything about it and just read it" kinds of books

[Oblivion]

[CajoleJuice]

I've always thought of checking out that book, Oblivion.

[CajoleJuice]

I read The World is Flat a couple years ago.  It's not exactly a page turner, but it's a good introduction to globalism.  I learned a lot.

Well, that sounds good to me. I have a bit of a backlog for reading though. Maybe because I now have two 1000+ page history books I currently own and want to read.

[Joe Molotov]

Eye of the World down, The Great Hunt is now on the clock!

I think The Wheel of Time should be featured in an episode of Borecast, probably in the Indefensible segment. Can you really defend 14 volume fantasy encyclopedia that basically has more characters and plot threads that a book on the complete history of the planet Earth?

[Kestastrophe]

The World is Flat is a good book, I read it 4 or 5 years ago when it first came out. Alot of the observations will probably seem dated (I remember reading about smartphones in Japan for instance), but it was an easy read and interesting.

[chronovore]

I was reading Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, but it is hiding from me. So I'm reading No Country for Old Men instead. The author brings a new perspective to the term "sparse."

[The Fake Shemp]

[BlueTsunami]

Short stories from various authors based on During and Post Apocalyptic scenarios. I love the lead in message....

What is it that draws us to those bleak landscapes - the wastelands of post-apocalyptic literature? To me, the appeal is obvious: it fulfills our taste for adventure, the thrill of discovery, the desire for a new frontier. It also allows us to start over from scratch, to wipe the slate clean and see what the world may have been like if we had known then what we know now.

Perhaps the appeal of the sub-genre is best described by this quote from "The Manhattan Phone Book (Abridge)" by John Varley:

We all love after-the-bom stores. If we didn't, why would there be so many of them? There's something attractive about all those people being gone, about wandering in a depopulated world, scrounging cans of Campbell's pork and beans, defending one's family from marauders. Sure it's horrible, sure we weep for all those dead people. But some secret part of us thinks it would be good to survive, to start over. Secretly, we know we'll survive. All those other folds will die, That's what after-the-bomb stores are all about.

[tehjaybo]

/nerd

[ManaByte]

DrinkMalk.com came back, so my Stanza is packed.

Probably going to start reading Game of Thrones tonight.

Or maybe World War Z or The Road.

[etiolate]

and a little ralph ellison

[BlueTsunami]

Blu how is that Wastelands book worth picking up? How is the overall quality of the stories?

I actually just picked it up from the Library about an hour ago. The lead short is a story by Stephen King having to do with the Messiah coming to Earth. The story is written from the viewpoint of the Messiahs brother. Something horrible happened but haven't gotten to what. Seems good so far, the lead in message that I posted has given me hope in regards to the choice of shorts (seems like the person that compiled this "gets it").

With that said, it states after the lead in message that none of the stories are about zombies or aliens destroying Earth. Its more about man destroying themselves and coping with the outcome.

[chronovore]

Short stories from various authors based on During and Post Apocalyptic scenarios. I love the lead in message....

What is it that draws us to those bleak landscapes - the wastelands of post-apocalyptic literature? To me, the appeal is obvious: it fulfills our taste for adventure, the thrill of discovery, the desire for a new frontier. It also allows us to start over from scratch, to wipe the slate clean and see what the world may have been like if we had known then what we know now.

Perhaps the appeal of the sub-genre is best described by this quote from "The Manhattan Phone Book (Abridge)" by John Varley:

We all love after-the-bom stores. If we didn't, why would there be so many of them? There's something attractive about all those people being gone, about wandering in a depopulated world, scrounging cans of Campbell's pork and beans, defending one's family from marauders. Sure it's horrible, sure we weep for all those dead people. But some secret part of us thinks it would be good to survive, to start over. Secretly, we know we'll survive. All those other folds will die, That's what after-the-bomb stores are all about.

I completely agree that this is what makes them attractive, however after reading that article on "illusory superiority" my assumption is that while the majority of people feel they'd survive better than the average person, the reality is that they're likely lower on the curve than they suspect.

Please post more impressions as you progress. I'm thinking about ordering it so I can feel illusorily smug.

[BlueTsunami]

Short stories from various authors based on During and Post Apocalyptic scenarios. I love the lead in message....

What is it that draws us to those bleak landscapes - the wastelands of post-apocalyptic literature? To me, the appeal is obvious: it fulfills our taste for adventure, the thrill of discovery, the desire for a new frontier. It also allows us to start over from scratch, to wipe the slate clean and see what the world may have been like if we had known then what we know now.

Perhaps the appeal of the sub-genre is best described by this quote from "The Manhattan Phone Book (Abridge)" by John Varley:

We all love after-the-bom stores. If we didn't, why would there be so many of them? There's something attractive about all those people being gone, about wandering in a depopulated world, scrounging cans of Campbell's pork and beans, defending one's family from marauders. Sure it's horrible, sure we weep for all those dead people. But some secret part of us thinks it would be good to survive, to start over. Secretly, we know we'll survive. All those other folds will die, That's what after-the-bomb stores are all about.

I completely agree that this is what makes them attractive, however after reading that article on "illusory superiority" my assumption is that while the majority of people feel they'd survive better than the average person, the reality is that they're likely lower on the curve than they suspect.

Please post more impressions as you progress. I'm thinking about ordering it so I can feel illusorily smug.

That was an interesting read. I agree on having an "illusory superiority" in regards to this scenario. Its a bit morbid but I guess it could be considered a fantasy and within it your some sort of human being that is able to return to the hunter gatherer way of thinking. For me though, it is definitely that sense of exploration and adventure more than anything.

[OptimoPeach]

What are some good Banks books after The Wasp Factory? Sci-fi or srs stuff, I don't care which. I hear Use of Weapons is considered to be one of his best. What else?

Also, regarding The Wasp Factory

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I feel like a fucking dipshit for not seeing that twist coming, for obvious reasons

Oh yeah, and when I was Googling around for reviews and the like after I finished the book I found this:

I picked up The Wasp Factory after it was recommended in this thread, and I've made it about 50 pages in so far. I'm an animal lover and a vegetarian, and the graphic cruelty in this book is making my physically ill, nauseous and upset.

I know that some people seem to think this book is great. I am trying to spend this year reading great books that do new things with language and form, but I have no respect whatsoever for the visceral reaction this book is eliciting from me.

[close]

Anyway, for now I'm on to Cat's Cradle. I know, I'm such a plebe :'(

[Kestastrophe]

What are some good Banks books after The Wasp Factory? Sci-fi or srs stuff, I don't care which. I hear Use of Weapons is considered to be one of his best. What else?

All of the Culture novels are supposed to be good. I've read Player of Games and Use of Weapons (I also have Matter in my backlog) and both are excellent sci-fi novels.

[recursivelyenumerable]

various .NET books

[chronovore]

Banks' Player of Games moved from "pretty good" to "holy crap wow" by the end of it. Very much a novel which requires some time to get into.

roflwaffles at the person who went off looking for books which might move them emotionally, found one, and not only ran away screaming -- they made the time to complain about finding what they wanted on teh internetz soapbox.

Exploration, adventure, surviving on your own, adventure just around the corner.

The sense of the raw, untamed, possibly hostile unknown.

Stuff dreams are made off really.

Now we know why Kosma travels the world, fucking the daughters of fathers he has never met. It's the chance to encounter the "untamed, possibly hostile unknown."

[Tieno]

Just finished this one


Very good read. I always marvel at the realization that everything is related and how everything evolved. It's so astonishing.

[OptimoPeach]

Just finished this one
(Image removed from quote.)

Very good read. I always marvel at the realization that everything is related and how everything evolved. It's so astonishing.

What's the difference between this and his 4 books on evolution that precede it? I'm always tempted to pick one of them up for kicks, but I don't know where to start. It probably doesn't help that I'm not too keen on nonfiction lately

[Tieno]

Only read the Ancestor's Tale and there he went down the tree of life going to different common ancestors.


As he says in the trailer, in his previous books he assumed evolution was true and mostly went into the driving force/mechanism (natural selection), I think. In this book he gives the evidence for evolution(and also natural selection) : from DNA and molecular comparisons, to geographical distribution, to homologies, to fossils and the strata they are found in, to plate tectonics, to experiments with bacteria and much more.
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

I think it's a very good starting point in equipping you with the knowledge to get a deeper understanding of evolution.

[OptimoPeach]

Thanks, I guess I'll throw it on my giant Amazon wish list

[Himu]

I finished this on the plane to Florida tonight:



Overall, despite my distaste for Dawkins' habit of going too long on certain subjects (particularly prevalent in the "Why God almost certainly does not exist" chapter, I think that the book meets its goal. It contains heavy analysis on religions, religious behavior, the differences between agnostic and atheist and honestly, the whole subject, honestly. It doesn't feel overly biased either, but Dawkins writes in a way so that you feel he's right anyways.

Definitely left a big impact.

[Tieno]

Also reading that one atm. I'm just at the point where he destroyed religion. (half way, at the roots of religion) Very interesting how he reveals what's wrong and dangerous with the religious way of thinking.

[Himu]

What do you think about the god of gaps, Tieno? I find it absolutely deplorable, simple, lacking in any merit what so ever. I'll bring up some funny examples from the book later.

You should also read God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens. Just as effective, if not more so. Chapter 2, where he describes modern religious atrocities in the past 30 years at locations he's been to that start with the letter 'B', titled "Religion Kills" is particularly informative. This is just one letter; and yet, the descriptions are absolutely horrible. I had a    face the ENTIRE CHAPTER.

[Tieno]

Nowadays it's lazy, arrogant and stops human progress and understanding. It's one of the major things that's wrong with a religious mindset.

Here Neil DeGrasse Tyson shows how it's wrong, with some historical examples of great minds invoking intelligent design at the limit of their understanding.
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[chronovore]

That's always what kills me about "intelligent design." It's as though they get really far, and then some kind of arrogance steps in and says "Oh, well, that's the entirety of 'that which can be explained by science.' I mean, it has to be a divine hand in here directing this portion of..." No, no, no. You've been working just fine with evidence, why are you giving up and jumping on faith now?

Just finished No Country for Old Men, and enjoyed it. The book does a better job of not feeling like I've been dropped on my ass. The resolutions which take place in the last 5~7 minutes of the movie actually take up the last 20% or so of the book. So instead of -wait, what just happened- it's that feeling, then the remaining 20% in a dazed recovery mode. Chigurh fills the "unstoppable evil" role even better than the movie. He feels more like a tool of fate, incessant. And in the movie, Moss' wife denies him that role by refusing his offer of coin toss. The book is easily as intense as the movie.

Guess I'm on a McCarthy kick, since I moved directly (back) into Blood Meridian next.

[chronovore]

Also reading Peter Watts' Starfish, the first of what's apparently referred to as the "Rifters trilogy." I'd read Blindsight on Patel's advice previously, and it did not disappoint. It did whatever the opposite of disappoint is.

Starfish so far is even more dark than Blindsight. That's saying something. So far they've got an ex-abused child and an unreformed pedophile as main characters at the bottom of the sea. Yikes.

[Tieno]

What do you think about the god of gaps, Tieno? I find it absolutely deplorable, simple, lacking in any merit what so ever. I'll bring up some funny examples from the book later.

You should also read God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens. Just as effective, if not more so. Chapter 2, where he describes modern religious atrocities in the past 30 years at locations he's been to that start with the letter 'B', titled "Religion Kills" is particularly informative. This is just one letter; and yet, the descriptions are absolutely horrible. I had a    face the ENTIRE CHAPTER.

Just finished God is not Great. Hitchens is pretty ruthless, I liked it a lot. Very interesting. Good companion to the God Delusion, which tackles the subject from a different angle.

[Cormacaroni]

I'd like to check this out, but I KNOW that a topic like this is like shooting fish in a barrel for a mind like Hitchens'.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Thirty Years War - Frag posted it originally on GAF a month ago and I got it.  Very good but the book is too small, making it harder to keep the pages still.

[ManaByte]

Starting at Book 1 and going through all 20/21.

[Himu]

What do you think about the god of gaps, Tieno? I find it absolutely deplorable, simple, lacking in any merit what so ever. I'll bring up some funny examples from the book later.

You should also read God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens. Just as effective, if not more so. Chapter 2, where he describes modern religious atrocities in the past 30 years at locations he's been to that start with the letter 'B', titled "Religion Kills" is particularly informative. This is just one letter; and yet, the descriptions are absolutely horrible. I had a    face the ENTIRE CHAPTER.

Just finished God is not Great. Hitchens is pretty ruthless, I liked it a lot. Very interesting. Good companion to the God Delusion, which tackles the subject from a different angle.

(Image removed from quote.)

Glad you liked it. Read The End of Faith by Sam Harris, my favorite of the three.

[etiolate]

[Rman]

Currently reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.  Love me some Gladwell.

[Fresh Prince]

Dead Souls- Nikolai Gogol

[Joe Molotov]

Just started reading:



I haven't read any of Jonathon Lethem's other books, but so far I like this one.

[Tieno]

What do you think about the god of gaps, Tieno? I find it absolutely deplorable, simple, lacking in any merit what so ever. I'll bring up some funny examples from the book later.

You should also read God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens. Just as effective, if not more so. Chapter 2, where he describes modern religious atrocities in the past 30 years at locations he's been to that start with the letter 'B', titled "Religion Kills" is particularly informative. This is just one letter; and yet, the descriptions are absolutely horrible. I had a    face the ENTIRE CHAPTER.

Just finished God is not Great. Hitchens is pretty ruthless, I liked it a lot. Very interesting. Good companion to the God Delusion, which tackles the subject from a different angle.

(Image removed from quote.)

Glad you liked it. Read The End of Faith by Sam Harris, my favorite of the three.

Finished End of Faith too, but I liked The God Delusion the most. Actually, I prefer The Greatest Show on Earth because reading about how religion and religious thinking sucks (rightly so) doesn't really make me happy (on the contrary) even though it is very important. Glad I read them though, because I was one of those "religion is consoling, it may be beneficial for some people but I'm not religious myself, fundies are just abusing the banner"-tards

[OptimoPeach]

I just cracked open One Hundred Years of Solitude. I was ailed by a particularly nasty spell of white guilt after looking at the list of books I've read within the past year, so I decided to pick it up. I fuckin love that new book smell -- another one of my (totally illogical, I know) gripes with eBook readers

Dead Souls- Nikolai Gogol

Glad I read them though, because I was one of those "religion is consoling, it may be beneficial for some people but I'm not religious myself, fundies are just abusing the banner"-tards

Cliff's Notes on your conversion to the darker dark side?

[ch1nchilla]

That's always what kills me about "intelligent design." It's as though they get really far, and then some kind of arrogance steps in and says "Oh, well, that's the entirety of 'that which can be explained by science.' I mean, it has to be a divine hand in here directing this portion of..." No, no, no. You've been working just fine with evidence, why are you giving up and jumping on faith now?

Just finished No Country for Old Men, and enjoyed it. The book does a better job of not feeling like I've been dropped on my ass. The resolutions which take place in the last 5~7 minutes of the movie actually take up the last 20% or so of the book. So instead of -wait, what just happened- it's that feeling, then the remaining 20% in a dazed recovery mode. Chigurh fills the "unstoppable evil" role even better than the movie. He feels more like a tool of fate, incessant. And in the movie, Moss' wife denies him that role by refusing his offer of coin toss. The book is easily as intense as the movie.

Guess I'm on a McCarthy kick, since I moved directly (back) into Blood Meridian next.

Blood Meridian is awesome, I should probably read No Country for Old Men at some point.

[Tieno]

I just cracked open One Hundred Years of Solitude. I was ailed by a particularly nasty spell of white guilt after looking at the list of books I've read within the past year, so I decided to pick it up. I fuckin love that new book smell -- another one of my (totally illogical, I know) gripes with eBook readers

Dead Souls- Nikolai Gogol

Glad I read them though, because I was one of those "religion is consoling, it may be beneficial for some people but I'm not religious myself, fundies are just abusing the banner"-tards

Cliff's Notes on your conversion to the darker dark side?

Lighter side. Basically it boils down to the notion that faith is not a virtue, it breeds intolerance and discourages conversation and critical thought because you hold your belief on zero evidence so there's no basis for rational argument.
The consoling part is basically a delusion because it doesn't make the idea true and was patronizing stance on my part. It's also questionable wether the delusion is consoling, because religious ideas have probably caused more stress and harm (hell, masturbation, devil, sexuality, food and all that) than consolement.

[Kestastrophe]

Finally someone else is reading that . I raved about it at the beginning of the year.

[Kestastrophe]

It gets better too. My favorite bit was the part on price anchoring. Shawn Elliott recommended me Drunkard's Walk, which is supposed to be similar material.

There is alot of interesting research in behavioral economics and there had already been at a Nobel prize awarded to a behaviorist (Daniel Kahneman).

[Himu]

gimme something new to read eb

[Tieno]

gimme something new to read eb

Read this one last year, it has amazing prose. One of my favourite books.

The novel, set in post- Spanish Civil War Barcelona, concerns a young boy, Daniel. Just after the war, Daniel's father takes him to the secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a huge library of old, forgotten titles lovingly preserved by a select few initiates. According to tradition, everyone initiated to this secret place is allowed to take one book from it, and must protect it for life. Daniel selects a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. That night he takes the book home and reads it, completely engrossed. Daniel then attempts to look for other books by this unknown author, but can find none. All he comes across are stories of a strange man - calling himself Laín Coubert, after a character in the book who happens to be the Devil - who has been seeking out Carax's books for decades, buying them all and burning them. In time this mysterious figure confronts and threatens Daniel. Terrified, Daniel returns the book to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books but continues to seek out the story of the elusive author. In doing so Daniel becomes entangled in an age old conflict that began with the author himself. Many parallels are found to exist between the author's life and Daniel's and he takes it upon himself to make sure history does not repeat.

Of course Jean Aul's Earth's Children series is a good one too, it got me accustomed to the concept of deep time, human prehistory which are two of the most valuable ideas that just get my imagination going. They also turned me to reading a shitload of stuff on evolution, which is the most amazing story ever. I really enjoyed the Earth Children series, really eager to read the next part when it comes out.

As a whole, the series is a tale of personal discovery: coming-of-age, invention, cultural complexities, and, beginning with the second book, explicit romantic sex. It tells the story of Ayla, an orphaned Cro-Magnon girl who is adopted and raised by a tribe of Neanderthals and who later embarks on a journey to find "the Others" (her own kind), meeting her romantic interest and supporting co-protagonist, Jondalar.

[Phoenix Dark]

Short stories from various authors based on During and Post Apocalyptic scenarios. I love the lead in message....

What is it that draws us to those bleak landscapes - the wastelands of post-apocalyptic literature? To me, the appeal is obvious: it fulfills our taste for adventure, the thrill of discovery, the desire for a new frontier. It also allows us to start over from scratch, to wipe the slate clean and see what the world may have been like if we had known then what we know now.

Perhaps the appeal of the sub-genre is best described by this quote from "The Manhattan Phone Book (Abridge)" by John Varley:

We all love after-the-bom stores. If we didn't, why would there be so many of them? There's something attractive about all those people being gone, about wandering in a depopulated world, scrounging cans of Campbell's pork and beans, defending one's family from marauders. Sure it's horrible, sure we weep for all those dead people. But some secret part of us thinks it would be good to survive, to start over. Secretly, we know we'll survive. All those other folds will die, That's what after-the-bomb stores are all about.

How is Martin's story, if you've read it yet

[Tieno]

Sounds exactly like the type of book I could never read.

It tells the story of Ayla, an orphaned Cro-Magnon girl who is adopted and raised by a tribe of Neanderthals and who later embarks on a journey to find "the Others" (her own kind), meeting her romantic interest and supporting co-protagonist, Jondalar.

 

It's pretty good Kosma, I dig it for its setting and timescape. But it is written by a female, if you need your fiction butch it may not be your thing though it focuses on a lot of stuff besides romance.

The story arc in part comprises a travel tale, in which the two lovers journey from the region of the Ukraine to Jondalar's home in what is now France, along an indirect route up the Danube River valley. In the third and fourth works, they meet various groups of Cro-Magnons and encounter their cultural contexts, including bona-fide technologies. The couple finally return to south-western France and Jondalar's people in the fifth novel. The series includes a highly-detailed focus on botany, herbology, herbal medicine, archaeology and anthropology; but it also features substantial amounts of romance, coming-of-age crises, and—employing significant poetic license -- the attribution of certain advances and inventions to the protagonists.
In addition, Ms. Auel's series incorporates a number of recent archeological and anthropological theories. It also suggested the notion of Sapiens-Neanderthal interbreeding, only later genetically supported[1], albeit still controversial.
As is often the case with speculative fiction, the Earth's Children series has a substantial fanbase, which organizes websites, holds meetings, and produces fan fiction. The author's treatment of unconventional sexual practices (which are central to her hypothesized nature-centered religions) has earned the series the twentieth place on the American Library Association's 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000.[2]

[Himu]

that sounds awesome

[CajoleJuice]

Sounds exactly like the type of book I could never read.

It tells the story of Ayla, an orphaned Cro-Magnon girl who is adopted and raised by a tribe of Neanderthals and who later embarks on a journey to find "the Others" (her own kind), meeting her romantic interest and supporting co-protagonist, Jondalar.

 

lol