Summer reading (BOOK THREAD - KRACUS BEWARE)

Post by **-Replicant-** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 10:29 pm

i've heard mixed things about C&P, from the perspective of his other novels. everyone says the Brothers K is his best work, while C&P takes 2/3rd place.

Post by **R00k** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 11:40 pm

HM-PuFFNSTuFF wrote:currently rereading Sherlock Holmes the complete novels and stories. I doubt I'll reread all of it though.

Funny, that's what I've been reading for the last week and a half. :icon32:

It's been so long since I've read any of them, they're just as good as the first time.

I've also been reading Catch-22 forever, since it's just toilet material. I'm almost done with it though, so I'll have to go back to Calvin and Hobbs, or retire Sherlock Holmes to the tank and take up something else.

I've heard good things about Freakanomics, I might give that a read after hearing what everybody's had to say here. :icon14:

Just haven't had much time to read lately with everything that's going on.

Post by **Dr_Watson** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 11:54 pm

i just finished Jonathan Strange & Mr.Norrell ... really good book if you like historical fiction.

Post by **Canidae** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:38 am

So far I'm really hating Far seer by Robert J. Sawyer but I got a lot of Astounding science fiction pulps from the 40's and 50's with interesting early SF. Real rich english language stories are harder to find in this day and age where internet ebonics has changed communication so much.
Oh and..

I THINK ALL OF YOU SHOULD READ "HEGEMONY OR SURVIVAL" BY NOAM CHOMSKY
IT'S FULL OF REALLY COOL STUFF AND ITS ALL THE TRUTH.

Post by **Dr_Watson** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:40 am

god i hate chomsky.
pretentious old fart.

Post by **7zark7** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:58 am

Reading the new palaniuk " Haunted" - Some of the best short stories I ever read. WOW++

Planning on reading books by:

Dr joe Dispenza

Ramtha

I'm looking for a classic to read,
I'm thinking of
the 3 musketeers
or
the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Also hoping to sneak in a re-read of Breakfast of Champions....
(that flick " I

huckabies " got me thinking of it for some reason..must be the humour.

I'd like a good book on the Knights templar or the Illuminati if anyoines got one to recommend.

Post by **Dave** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 4:51 am

Kaziganthe wrote:Brave New World
1984
MLA Style Handbook

English lit

Why are you

? I'd read both of thoes for fun. Except the MLA book because I prefer Turabian style

Post by **Jackal** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 4:58 am

Dr_Watson wrote:god i hate chomsky.
pretentious old fart.

?what?

Post by **Scourge** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:02 am

Battlefield Earth atm. Plan on finishing the Dark Tower series after that.

Post by **ajerara** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:10 am

Crime and Punishment is one of my favorite books. I had a hard time getting into Karamazov, but loved Crime and Punishment.

I'm planning on reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein next. I've seen a couple of movie versions but never read the book, bet it's good though.

Post by **tnf** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:49 am

-Replicant- wrote:I just finished Freakenomics. Great book, reminded me a lot of Blink and The Tipping Point in its social analysis. Highly recommended.

Just starting The Brothers Karamazov by Dosteovsky.

karamazov is one of my favorite books of all time. The long debate between the atheist brother and the monk about the merits of religion (the story of Christ coming back during the Inquisition...) is one of the most brilliant and moving pieces of writing ever. I have that section of the book dogeared, with numerous passages highlighted, scribbled on, notes in the margin, etc....absolutely fantastic book, but very heavy.

Post by **tnf** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:51 am

7zark7 wrote:Reading the new palaniuk " Haunted" - Some of the best short stories I ever read. WOW++

Planning on reading books by:

Dr joe Dispenza

Ramtha

I'm looking for a classic to read,
I'm thinking of
the 3 musketeers
or
the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Also hoping to sneak in a re-read of Breakfast of Champions....
(that flick " I huckabies " got me thinking of it for some reason..must be the humour.

I'd like a good book on the Knights templar or the Illuminati if anyoines got one to recommend.

Musketeers is great. So is the original Man in the Iron mask *but seeing leofucking dicaprio bastardize the movie ruined it*
And if you are talking Dumas, you can't forget Count of Monte Cristo.

Another great read regarding that period of time (rougly) - the Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. About an underground railroad for aristocrats during Robespierre's Reign of Terror. I'd really recommend it Zark. Fast paced and good.

Post by **tnf** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:53 am

Hannibal wrote:The in-depth Kantian summer. Critique of Pure Reason, plus the collection on Intelligent Design that just arrived (Pennock, "Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics: Philosophical, Theological, and Scientific Perspectives).

Stupid question - but is that a pro- or anti-Intelligent Design collection, or simply a collection of essays on all aspects?

Post by **Ryoki** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 8:04 am

scourge34 wrote:Battlefield Earth atm.

The scientology thing?

Post by **MKJ** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 8:13 am

Kracus wrote:Nothing :icon19: Last book I read was Street Wise for Dummies.

Post by **mik0rs** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 9:55 am

Currently reading American Psycho, liking it so far, probably be done in the next few days.

I've got a stack of others to choose from after that:

A Brief History of Time
Playing the Moldovans at Tennis
Stupid White Men
Trigger Happy
McCarthy's Bar
Down and Out In Paris and London
Angels and Demons
War Diaries 1939-1945 - Field Marshall Lord Alanbrooke

I'll be having a look at some programming/computing books that I've not fully read too, including:

Design Patterns
C++: How to Program
Explorer's Guid to the Semantic Web
Teach Yourself J2EE in 21 Days
and maybe..... Database Systems

Post by **busetibi** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 10:36 am

August 1914 by Solzhenitsyn
and Gulag a History by Anne Applebaum

Post by **Shmee** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 11:44 am

scourge34 wrote:Battlefield Earth atm. Plan on finishing the Dark Tower series after that.

I

Dark Tower. I will tell you nothing except I was a bit disappointed at the end - but really I don't think there's any way King could have ended it that would really satisfy anyone

Post by **Dr_Watson** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 11:58 am

Jackal wrote:
Dr_Watson wrote:god i hate chomsky.
pretentious old fart.
?what?

people fawn over him like he's gods gift to academia... personally i find him to be kind of a wind bag.

Post by **werldhed** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 11:59 am

l0g1c wrote:Crime & Punishment is one I'm seriously considering next, although it's a little intimidating for me.

It's damn good. It does take a bit of contemplation, but it's worth it.

Kaziganthe wrote:Brave New World
1984
MLA Style Handbook

English lit

They both let me down; particularly Brave New World which borders on rubbish. They both start off marvelously, but then go absolutely nowhere. 1984 is marginally better, but only because it's better written. Both authors bit off way more then they could chew.

ajerara wrote:I'm planning on reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein next. I've seen a couple of movie versions but never read the book, bet it's good though.

Another disappointment, but not really bad. Just boring. At least it wasn't as bad as Dracula.

Post by **Nightshade** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:19 pm

Dr_Watson wrote:
Jackal wrote:
Dr_Watson wrote:god i hate chomsky.
pretentious old fart.
?what?
people fawn over him like he's gods gift to academia... personally i find him to be kind of a wind bag.

How much of his stuff have you read?

Post by **Dr_Watson** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:54 pm

Nightshade wrote:
Dr_Watson wrote:
Jackal wrote: ?what?
people fawn over him like he's gods gift to academia... personally i find him to be kind of a wind bag.
How much of his stuff have you read?

i read enough in ethics class, and every time i've seen him on TV he's been far from interesting.
anyone at MIT can't be a dumbass... i just don't think he lives up to the pedestal he sits on.

Post by **Nightshade** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 1:02 pm

I haven't read much, snippets here and there, but a couple of friends I respect a great deal rave about him. From what little I have read, he seems to have some amazing insights into the way the socio-political world turns.
I need to sit down and read Manufacturing Consent.

Post by **StarShrieker** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 2:40 pm

just recently finished "Cryptonomicon" (Stephenson) and "Monster of God" by David Quammen.

Now reading "Golden Spruce" by John Vaillant. I'm in a predator/nature mood right now.

"Ilium" and "Song of Fire and Ice" are still on my read-as-soon-as-possible list.

Post by **Jackal** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 3:28 pm

Nightshade wrote:I haven't read much, snippets here and there, but a couple of friends I respect a great deal rave about him. From what little I have read, he seems to have some amazing insights into the way the socio-political world turns.
I need to sit down and read Manufacturing Consent.

You seriously should. I honestly don't understand where watson is coming from. If you've only read a few things in an ethics class and say he's "not interesting" on television then I seriously think you need to reevaluate your position. Noam Chomsky isn't on tv often because he refuses to operate within the format all news channels use. That is quick 30 seconds spots focused on one subject. Beyond his socio-political work his work with semiotics in the field of linguistics is astounding too.