#2726  
Old 03-28-2011, 07:36 PM
JoeP's Avatar
JoeP JoeP is offline
Solipsist
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Kolmannessa kerroksessa
Gender: Male
Posts: XXXVMMXI
Images: 18
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by SharonDee View Post
I don't know, Joe. I use those to help me find sci fi books because I'm new to liking the genre. Should I use some other measuring stick? Aside from the tried-and-true asking what friends like.
I'd stick with it as a way of finding books (and authors). Just don't be too surprised when something badly written occasionally gets thrown up!
__________________

:roadrun:
Free thought! Please take one!

:unitedkingdom:   :southafrica:   :unitedkingdom::finland:   :finland:
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
SharonDee (03-29-2011), The Man (03-29-2011)
  #2727  
Old 03-28-2011, 08:55 PM
Ymir's blood's Avatar
Ymir's blood Ymir's blood is offline
Coffin Creep
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: The nightmare realm
Posts: XXXDCCCIII
Images: 67
Default Re: What are you reading?

:projectilevomit:
__________________
Much of MADNESS, and more of SIN, and HORROR the soul of the plot.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
JoeP (03-29-2011)
  #2728  
Old 03-29-2011, 12:27 AM
mulebear's Avatar
mulebear mulebear is offline
Some days it's not worth chewing through the straps.
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Georgia
Gender: Male
Posts: MCMLXXIII
Images: 30
Default Re: What are you reading?

If you are looking for interesting books in various genres, I recommend joining Good Reads. There are "book groups" that you can get involved with and find others who share your likes and dislikes.

Share Book Recommendations With Your Friends, Join Book Clubs, Answer Trivia
__________________
I will always :heart: Sonoma Bear
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
SharonDee (03-29-2011), The Man (03-29-2011)
  #2729  
Old 03-29-2011, 02:56 AM
Kashmir Kashmir is offline
ellipsis . . .
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: MCCXCVI
Default Re: What are you reading?

Or you could ask me for science fiction novel suggestions. SF and educational books are basically all I read in dead-tree format.
Reply With Quote
  #2730  
Old 04-02-2011, 11:43 PM
Nullifidian's Avatar
Nullifidian Nullifidian is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: MVCMXCVII
Blog Entries: 5
Images: 19
Default Re: What are you reading?



Actually, I'm listening to it as an audiobook I downloaded from Overdrive.com. There isn't as much sleuthing as I expected, and there's quite a bit more comedy. The writers are using the short story format to satirize the conventions of the "cozy mystery". The first story is a spy story spoof combined with a body on a Turkish carpet in a country house mystery like Agatha Christie's The Body in the Library. There are numerous other Christie references in the story, and it seems to have been written for the anthology. The second story is a takeoff on P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves stories, and the one I just listened to by Simon Brett is inspired by the numerous cat mysteries out there, like those of Lillian Jackson Braun and Rita Mae Brown, and features a woman who grows murderously jealous of the cat that inspired her successful mystery series. As the story goes on, the woman's plots against the cat become more violent and intricate, which also seems to owe a debt to the film and book (by Warren Ellis) The War of the Roses.

This is funny stuff. I think I'll have to check out some of the other titles in the series. :thumbup:

Edited to add: I just finished listening to "Mea Culpa" by Jan Burke, and it's quite different from the rest of the stories so far. This one seems to be more inspired by the noir genre of crime fiction of the 30s-50s, and it's really excellent, despite being a completely different and much darker tone from the rest of the stories.

Last edited by Nullifidian; 04-03-2011 at 01:31 AM.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
The Man (04-03-2011)
  #2731  
Old 04-03-2011, 06:12 AM
Qingdai's Avatar
Qingdai Qingdai is offline
Dogehlaugher -Scrutari
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Northwest
Gender: Female
Posts: XVDLXVII
Images: 165
Default Re: What are you reading?

The Waters Rising by Sheri S. Tepper.
Reply With Quote
  #2732  
Old 04-04-2011, 07:20 AM
Demimonde's Avatar
Demimonde Demimonde is offline
an angry unicorn or a non-murdering leprechaun
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Edge of Society
Gender: Female
Posts: VMMCDLXI
Blog Entries: 5
Images: 28
Default Re: What are you reading?

Had a stubborn student day and decided to throw my book bag in the corner and scrounge through my stacks of vintage paper backs for something to read, all of them under fifty cent finds from half price books. Ended up settling on Anthony Burgess's The Wanting Seed a very strange dystopian book, kinda a Swiftian Modest proposal meets Soylent Green. A captivating read, I can't wait to pass it along to a friend focusing on queer theory as it will make his head explode. Sexuality is a political football with "Homos" as the priveledged class and closeted heteros at the onset. Women are portrayed just as badly, but you can forgive it based on the mind fuck. Interesting treatment of religion and history as well, sprinkled with typical Burgess linguistic fireworks. Dognose I'll prolly never read it again, but I look forward to talking about it with my droogs.
__________________
:boobkicker:
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
Doctor X (04-27-2011), mulebear (04-04-2011), Nullifidian (04-04-2011), The Man (04-04-2011)
  #2733  
Old 04-04-2011, 04:01 PM
Adam's Avatar
Adam Adam is offline
Vice Cobra Assistant Commander
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA
Posts: XMVDCCXLIX
Images: 29
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam View Post
David Sirota's Back to Our Future: How the 1980's Explain the World We Live In Now. Eh, I'm not blown away so far. Seems long on narrative, short on evidence.
Finished this one. Not a bad read, if you're up for a rehashing of the familiar narrative of the post-Carter conservative capture of mainstream culture, dressed up with 80's pop culture references. The last section, in which the 2008 Obama campaign and "racial transcendence" in general are examined in terms of The Cosby Show, is particularly good.

Also finished Paolo Bacigalupi's Pump Six and Other Stories, a collection of largely dystopian short stories exploring the social consequences of global warming, genetically modified crops, clinical longevity, etc. Several of them are set in the same world as his novel The Wind-Up Girl which is one of my favorite books of the last few years.
__________________
"Trans Am Jesus" is "what hanged me"
ARMORED HOT DOG
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
The Man (04-09-2011)
  #2734  
Old 04-09-2011, 04:31 AM
chunksmediocrites's Avatar
chunksmediocrites chunksmediocrites is offline
ne plus ultraviolet
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Portland Oregon USA
Gender: Male
Posts: VCCXXX
Images: 299
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam View Post
Also finished Paolo Bacigalupi's Pump Six and Other Stories, a collection of largely dystopian short stories exploring the social consequences of global warming, genetically modified crops, clinical longevity, etc. Several of them are set in the same world as his novel The Wind-Up Girl which is one of my favorite books of the last few years.
I have The Wind-Up Girl on hold at the library, and am looking forward to it.

Recently read Charles Wilson's The Chronoliths because I saw Crumb was reading it and I like sci-fi. I liked it a lot, the writing style and pacing was first-person and decent, and the idea at the center was awesome.

I just finished The Reality Disfunction Part 1: Emergence, by Peter F. Hamilton. This is the first book of Hamilton's I've read, and I may check out at least another to see how the rest of his writing is. He's billed as hard sci-fi and he has his strengths in world-building; the tech and the cultures are fascinating and rich. The space-opera aspects and the individual characters were okay to weak, and he tended in this novel to offer grotesque, over-described and casual or ritual violence against people and especially children, which was off-putting and felt punched-up and a little ham-fisted. Hamilton also throws in some fantasy aspects into what is otherwise sci-fi: evil demonic spirits, and a lone vaguely psychic character. Sometimes I'm willing to go with this, but here it was a little too pat and tacked on. I was drawn into the (very) slow-building story enough to see it through to the end of this novel, but this is only the first part and it felt like a slog by the finish, with too many running sub-plots and new characters introduced every chapter.

Now I'm working on Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
The Man (04-09-2011)
  #2735  
Old 04-09-2011, 04:37 AM
Crumb's Avatar
Crumb Crumb is offline
Adequately Crumbulent
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Cascadia
Gender: Male
Posts: LXMMCDVIII
Blog Entries: 22
Images: 355
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by chunks
Recently read Charles Wilson's The Chronoliths because I saw Crumb was reading it and I like sci-fi. I liked it a lot, the writing style and pacing was first-person and decent, and the idea at the center was awesome.
I enjoyed the first 201 pages of it, but I was unable to read the rest of it since that's all that B&N will let me download to my Nook right now. (They are working on it...) :brooding: But I enjoyed what I read so far, it was my first read from that author.

I have The Hunger Games waiting on my Nook, too. Since you are reading the sequel I suppose you liked it?
__________________
:joecool2: :cascadia: :ROR: :portland: :joecool2:
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
chunksmediocrites (04-09-2011)
  #2736  
Old 04-09-2011, 04:50 AM
thedoc's Avatar
thedoc thedoc is offline
I'm Deplorable.
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: XMMCCCXCVI
Default Re: What are you reading?

'Egyptian Ideas of the Afterlife' by E.A. Wallis Budge, which I hoped would include the 'Egyptian Book of the Dead'. The latter had been referenced in 'The Tibetan book of the Dead' which I am also reading. The 'Egyptian Ideas...' seems to be making the case that Egyptian religion was primarily monotheistic, a bit of a change from what I'd read before.
Reply With Quote
  #2737  
Old 04-09-2011, 11:59 PM
chunksmediocrites's Avatar
chunksmediocrites chunksmediocrites is offline
ne plus ultraviolet
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Portland Oregon USA
Gender: Male
Posts: VCCXXX
Images: 299
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Crumb View Post
I have The Hunger Games waiting on my Nook, too. Since you are reading the sequel I suppose you liked it?
I did like it, worth reading, and considering the plot I was surprised by the directions and strengths of the novel- a lot of interpersonal relations examined and values weighed in a setting full of violence but not overdone or as central as violence porn like the Japanese movie Battle Royale (based on a novel by Koushun Takami that I haven't read). Unexpected directions, outcome, and the political aspects and the picture of that world was interesting.

So, uh, recommended.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
Crumb (04-10-2011), The Man (04-27-2011)
  #2738  
Old 04-27-2011, 03:53 AM
Kyuss Apollo's Avatar
Kyuss Apollo Kyuss Apollo is offline
happy now, Mussolini?
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: location, location
Posts: VMCCCXI
Blog Entries: 7
Images: 17
Default Re: What are you reading?

Alan Taylor, William Cooper's Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic.

Highly recommend this. :crockett:

__________________
This week's track: MINUTEMEN - History Lesson Part II



Reply With Quote
  #2739  
Old 04-27-2011, 11:17 AM
Doctor X Doctor X is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: XMVCCCIII
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Demimonde View Post
Ended up settling on Anthony Burgess's The Wanting Seed a very strange dystopian book, kinda a Swiftian Modest proposal meets Soylent Green. . . . Interesting treatment of religion and history as well, sprinkled with typical Burgess linguistic fireworks. Dognose I'll prolly never read it again, but I look forward to talking about it with my droogs.
Interesting. I am an old fan of Burgess, but I have not read that one. I particularly liked the semi-autobiographical Joycian parody The Doctor is Sick, about a person with a brain tumor wandering London looking for his wife. Yes, Brandon is fifty years behind yet again. End of the World News is an interesting story that moves back and forth from a study of Freud, a Broadway musical based on Trotsky, and . . . the end of the world. They all sort of "fit." I also enjoyed his Kingdom of the Wicked, though it is utterly "wrong" with regards to history--slavishly following Acts and, well, whatever Burgess needed to believe at that time of his life. Nevertheless, also a good book, from a very good author. Sad most remember him just for A Clockwork Orange--but that is also a good book--for he contributed a lot of other very good works.

--J.D.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
The Man (04-27-2011)
  #2740  
Old 04-27-2011, 03:26 PM
Sock Puppet's Avatar
Sock Puppet Sock Puppet is offline
Just keep m'nose clean, egg, chips & beans, I'm always full of steam
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: so far out, I'm too far in
Gender: Bender
Posts: XMVDCCCXXIII
Blog Entries: 7
Images: 120
Default Re: What are you reading?

I am finally, after all these many years, reading Clarke's 2001. Got it on discount from the local going-out-of-business Borders :sadcheer: -- mainly because their inventory was pretty well picked over already. I would have picked up the other two Odyssey books, but I wasn't sure I'd be interested enough. I was mostly just interested in the much-maligned over-explanation of what the film treats as mysterious and trippy.

So far it's okay, a bit slow with all the detail of the flight to/description of the moonbase. The technological predictions are obviously quaint at this point; even with my unscientific liberal-arts background it's pretty noticeable. I also thought some of the ways the "man-apes" are described were a bit odd -- far less intelligent animals seem to have an understanding of their own family relationships, so why are these so completely oblivious to them? I could be completely off-base there; I'm still a bit igner'nt on finer points of biology, despite the best efforts of some to edumacate me.

Anyway, I see where Clarke gets his reputation for dryness, but his style is merely, say, Arizona-in-springtime; I've slogged through Death Valley levels before.
__________________
"Her eyes in certain light were violet, and all her teeth were even. That's a rare, fair feature: even teeth. She smiled to excess, but she chewed with real distinction." - Eleanor of Aquitaine

:sockpuppet:...........

Last edited by Sock Puppet; 04-27-2011 at 03:34 PM. Reason: I can get away with being clueless on science, but subject-verb agreement? Really? I need a lie-down now.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
The Man (04-28-2011), Watser? (04-28-2011)
  #2741  
Old 05-04-2011, 02:56 AM
thedoc's Avatar
thedoc thedoc is offline
I'm Deplorable.
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: XMMCCCXCVI
Default Re: What are you reading?

Just finished 'The Dynamic Meditation Rite of SanChin', by Sensei John M. Szmitkowski, J.D. The book takes the Kata to a level that most western Karateka are totally unaware. When I was working out I knew there was something more but could find few who were willing to explore Kata to this plateau of awareness. Some quotes from the book by permission of the author,

"The third battle, or aspect, of the Sanchin Rite is the nebulous metaphysical aspect. As I had hypothesized, the metaphysical aspect was either willfully obscured or wantonly lost in the evolution of Sanchin. It is now time for this aspect to again be awakened. The metaphysical aspect of the Sanchin Rite pays homage to the aspect of the human condition that recognizes the universal consciousness that lives within all aspects of the universe. Ancient man acknowledged and accepted that the Divine Creative Spirit exists in all aspects of the Universe. As modern man is unable to exert his control over the ntural universal world, he sought to ignore this interconnectivity. Modern man than replaced the understanding of the natural order with man-made theological dogma. The Sanchin Rite reawakens our understanding that, while one exists on this physical plain of existence, our human essence is composed of and part of the overall universal consciousness. The metaphysical aspect of the Sanchin Rite also recognizes that after this physical level of existence, called life, has ended, our etheric-essence will co-exist with the universal consciousness in a continuing state of unification".

On another subject,

"If this theory of the brain mechanics is extended to the metaphysical aspect of the Sanchin Rite, one can understand that not only is one connected to the universe, but one's actions exist in the past and merely require the fulfillment of the action to completion. Our present observation and preception of the light of the sun or stars is a contemporaneous preception of an event that occured in the past. Similarly, physical action is initiated by the brain in the past, excuted in the present by the body, but in the past from the standpoint of the brain. If one is able to connect to the universe and consciousness through the projection of etheric-essence, one needs only to allow the intended action and consequences to freely flow from that universal interconnection.
In the example of the golf shot, when the brain initiates the instruction for the body to hit the golf ball, it does so with the preconceived idea and specific intention that the shot will produce a desired result, to wit: the ball will go in the golf hole. The brain initiates that instruction for the body to fulfill via the golf swing. As soon as the instruction is given, the brain has already preceived that the (successful) shot is made. How then is failure achieved? It is achieved when one actively imposes thoughts upon the mind. While preparing to swing the golf club, or while swinging the club, one actively thinks negative results or preceives physical factors that suddenly materalize to inhibit success. "Thats a long shot", or "Damn, where did that wind comefrom" are examples."

I can attest to the accuracy of the second quote, and the general quality of the book.
Reply With Quote
  #2742  
Old 05-04-2011, 03:53 AM
Doctor X Doctor X is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: XMVCCCIII
Default Re: What are you reading?

Save he practices the modern version of the kata.

I find the irony of that--with all of his lofty proclamations and need to advertise he has a "J.D."--most singular. His devotion to the modern version certainly has not kept off the weight.

I am surprised he does not claim the eye is not a sensory organ.

--J.D.
Reply With Quote
  #2743  
Old 05-04-2011, 04:02 AM
Doctor X Doctor X is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: XMVCCCIII
Default Re: What are you reading?

I mean, how many lawyers do you know insist on being called "doctor?"

--J.D.
Reply With Quote
  #2744  
Old 05-04-2011, 04:52 AM
thedoc's Avatar
thedoc thedoc is offline
I'm Deplorable.
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: XMMCCCXCVI
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doctor X View Post
Save he practices the modern version of the kata.

I find the irony of that--with all of his lofty proclamations and need to advertise he has a "J.D."--most singular. His devotion to the modern version certainly has not kept off the weight.

I am surprised he does not claim the eye is not a sensory organ.

--J.D.
Just curious, how do you know which version of the Kata he practices? And if he has earned a degree that he is proud of, why not list it? Also curious you equate a stocky build with overweight?
Reply With Quote
  #2745  
Old 05-04-2011, 04:54 AM
thedoc's Avatar
thedoc thedoc is offline
I'm Deplorable.
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: XMMCCCXCVI
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doctor X View Post
I mean, how many lawyers do you know insist on being called "doctor?"

--J.D.

I believe most lawyers will affix the appropriate designation to their name.
Reply With Quote
  #2746  
Old 05-04-2011, 05:02 AM
thedoc's Avatar
thedoc thedoc is offline
I'm Deplorable.
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: XMMCCCXCVI
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doctor X View Post
--J.D.

Just curious, what are you a doctor of?
Reply With Quote
  #2747  
Old 05-04-2011, 07:35 AM
Doctor X Doctor X is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: XMVCCCIII
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by thedoc View Post
Just curious, how do you know which version of the Kata he practices?
Because I know the version from his style--and the parent to his style. I also know that 99% of what he wrote is absolute bullcrap that drives Okinawans crazier than Marines on BC street.

Quote:
And if he has earned a degree that he is proud of, why not list it?
How is it relevant when those who use the degree do not call themselves "doctor?" How many lawyers do you think list their dan grading on their legal webpages?

Quote:
Also curious you equate a stocky build with overweight?
Quote:
Cartmen: Ma! Ma! Tell them! Tell them I'm just big-boned! Tell them how I will grow into it!

Mrs. Cartmen: Oh Sweetie! Those were all lies. You're just fat.
--J.D.
Reply With Quote
  #2748  
Old 05-04-2011, 11:31 AM
Doctor X Doctor X is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: XMVCCCIII
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by thedoc View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doctor X View Post
I mean, how many lawyers do you know insist on being called "doctor?"
I believe most lawyers will affix the appropriate designation to their name.
Which is?

Again, how many lawyers do you know insist on being called "doctor?"

--J.D.
Reply With Quote
  #2749  
Old 05-04-2011, 01:57 PM
Charmion's Avatar
Charmion Charmion is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: CDXXII
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doctor X View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by thedoc View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doctor X View Post
I mean, how many lawyers do you know insist on being called "doctor?"
I believe most lawyers will affix the appropriate designation to their name.
Which is?

Again, how many lawyers do you know insist on being called "doctor?"

--J.D.
What about Barrister and Esquire? I don't think they're used very often in this country.

Barrister - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Esquire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lawyer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What is the Difference Between an Attorney, Lawyer, Barrister, and Esquire?

I was reading Burton's Legal Thesaurus by William C. Burton. It seems that lawyers have many titles.

Under Members of the Legal Profession:
  • advocate
  • attorney
  • attorney-at-law
  • barrister
  • barrister-at-law
  • counsel
  • counselor
  • counselor-at-law
  • esquire
  • lawyer
  • legal advisor
  • legal advocate
  • legal consultant
  • legal practitioner
  • practitioner
  • solicitor

Under Esquire:
  • adviser
  • advocate
  • armiger
  • attorney
  • attorney-at-law
  • barrister
  • counsel
  • counselor
  • counselor-at-law
  • jurisconsult
  • jurisprudent
  • jurist
  • lawyer
  • legal adviser
  • legal practitioner
  • legist
  • member of the bar
  • member of the legal profession
  • officer of the court
  • practitioner
  • solicitor

Proctor is another one:

Proctor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Representative and Spokesman are others I found.

Last edited by Charmion; 05-04-2011 at 03:52 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #2750  
Old 05-04-2011, 10:07 PM
Doctor X Doctor X is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: XMVCCCIII
Default Re: What are you reading?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Charmion View Post
What about Barrister and Esquire?
Non sequitur.

--J.D.
Reply With Quote
Reply

  Freethought Forum > The Marketplace > Arts & Literature


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

 

All times are GMT +1. The time now is 06:13 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Page generated in 0.62557 seconds with 14 queries