Read any Good Books Lately?

[KaskadskyjKozak]

I recently finished Master and Margarita. It was a ... nice... adventure. :-) I liked some parts more than others - I'd say every scene in Yershalaim stood out the most though. That and the naked broom ride. :-O

 

Others?

[archenemy]

I just finished Forbidden Knowledge by R. Shattuck.

Pretty good, basically two different books on the same subject (is there some knowledge that should be forbidden? What knowledge in history has been forbidden by whom, to whom, and for what reason).

The first half is good if you are well read in classic lit. The second half is good for anyone interested in current issues around knowledge and its political impacts.

 

Also read "Philosophy in the Boudior" because it was referred to so much in the first book.

[builder206]

Bascom, Waves and Beaches

 

primarily a scientific study of ocean waves but a major portion covers wave dynmaics on beaches, beach erosion and deposition

[KaskadskyjKozak]

I just finished Forbidden Knowledge by R. Shattuck.

Pretty good, basically two different books on the same subject (is there some knowledge that should be forbidden? What knowledge in history has been forbidden by whom, to whom, and for what reason).

The first half is good if you are well read in classic lit. The second half is good for anyone interested in current issues around knowledge and its political impacts.

 

Also read "Philosophy in the Boudior" because it was referred to so much in the first book.

 

what were you impressions of the 2nd book?

[JayB]

Just got "Fear of Knowledge" by Paul Boghossian. You might like it.

 

""His analysis is something of a tour de force: subtle and original enough to attract the attention of professional philosophers but accessible enough to be read by anyone with an interest in the subject. The result is one of the most readable works in philosophy in recent years."--Wall Street Journal

 

 

[dt_3pin]

Just finished and highly recommend:

 

 

Currently reading (and enjoying)

 

Wife is currently reading and next on the list:

 

 

Also, this is the coolest book I've gotten in a long time, and I look through it all the time:

 

 

 

[archenemy]

I just finished Forbidden Knowledge by R. Shattuck.

Pretty good, basically two different books on the same subject (is there some knowledge that should be forbidden? What knowledge in history has been forbidden by whom, to whom, and for what reason).

The first half is good if you are well read in classic lit. The second half is good for anyone interested in current issues around knowledge and its political impacts.

 

Also read "Philosophy in the Boudior" because it was referred to so much in the first book.

 

what were you impressions of the 2nd book?

A good, clear, complete description of the Libertine belief system.

[G-spotter]

1491

[No. 13 Baby]

"I was in Crawford and I said I was looking for a book to read and Laura said you oughtta try Camus. I also read three Shakespeare’s."

[lI1|1!]

i have kind of a short attention span but one thing i like to do is like wikipedia surfing where i take a topic i know a little about but most of what i know is wrong so i look it up in wikipedia and set myself straight and then i click the crossreferences and stumble upon lots of interesting stuff, mostly history kind of things.

[archenemy]

Cool. Whadya learn?

[NealH]

I'm currently re-reading The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro. IMO one of the best nonfiction books (and the best biography) I've ever read. Fascinating look at transportation, urban development, politics and governmental power. It's long, but very readable.

 

On the fiction front, I recently read Seeing Calvin Coolidge in a Dream by John Derbyshire which was quite enjoyable, but not spectacular.

[JayB]

i have kind of a short attention span but one thing i like to do is like wikipedia surfing where i take a topic i know a little about but most of what i know is wrong so i look it up in wikipedia and set myself straight and then i click the crossreferences and stumble upon lots of interesting stuff, mostly history kind of things.

 

I grew up with a set of encyclopedias, a dictionary, and about fifty years worth of National Geographics on the bookshelves next to my bed, and developed a similar habit. Still prefer the hard-copy format as I'm more likely to stumble over something while flipping through pages than in a directed search.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

i have kind of a short attention span but one thing i like to do is like wikipedia surfing where i take a topic i know a little about but most of what i know is wrong so i look it up in wikipedia and set myself straight and then i click the crossreferences and stumble upon lots of interesting stuff, mostly history kind of things.

 

I grew up with a set of encyclopedias, a dictionary, and about fifty years worth of National Geographics on the bookshelves next to my bed, and developed a similar habit. Still prefer the hard-copy format as I'm more likely to stumble over something while flipping through pages than in a directed search.

 

+1

 

 

[ivan]

"the american plague" - interesting non-fiction detailing the mephis yellow fever outbreak of 1878 which killed a whole fuck-load of white-folk (interestingly, an evolved resistance to the virus spared most african-americans) and then the story of walter reed's campaign to discover the cause and cure for the disease, which had a fascinating tendency to kill the very scientists studying it

[lI1|1!]

Cool. Whadya learn?

 

just this morning i was reading up on Kim Philby and other true spy stories that inspired tinker tailor soldier spy

 

 

yeah i used to randomly read encyclopedias when i was a kid too. we had one not very good encyclopedia called "the treasurehouse of knowledge" - gotta love the title. it was really interesting because it was printed just before WWII and it was fascinating to read about Hitler before he became infamous, and also the Maginot Line when it was still considered invincible.

Edited October 2, 2007 by lI1|1!

[sk]

I have been reading the PADI Open Water Diver manual. it's kinda cheesy but i am learning. i am supposed to do my open water this weekend but i am catching a cold.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

Currently I'm reading a historical novel about this person:

Roksolana

in the original, as well as War and Peace (in English).

[cj001f]

The Black Swan & Fooled by Randomness

 

be careful they may change your opinion on the impact of terrorism

[Macson]

My 5th grader brought home "Peak" by Roland Smith. We've been reading it together, taking turns reading aloud. Definitely directed toward young people, but not bad.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

My 5th grader brought home "Peak" by Roland Smith. We've been reading it together, taking turns reading aloud. Definitely directed toward young people, but not bad.

 

my son's school is starting a program like that - read one book together every month then meet with all the other participants in the program to discuss it.

[builder206]

i have kind of a short attention span but one thing i like to do is like wikipedia surfing where i take a topic i know a little about but most of what i know is wrong so i look it up in wikipedia and set myself straight and then i click the crossreferences and stumble upon lots of interesting stuff, mostly history kind of things.

 

You'd like http://www.stumbleupon.com/

[Off_White]

Cool. Whadya learn?

 

just this morning i was reading up on Kim Philby and other true spy stories that inspired tinker tailor soldier spy

 

You should read Declare by Tim Powers, everything no one ever told you about Philby, Noah's Ark, the Djinn, TE Lawrence, and the super secret British, German, & Soviet paranormal spy programs.

 

[ivan]

as well as War and Peace (in English).

i remember the only reason i could finish w&p was my absolute and complete hatred of every single character and my desire to see all of them come to the worst possible end...

 

i did really dig tolstoy's "how much land does a man need?" short-story though

[KaskadskyjKozak]

as well as War and Peace (in English).

i remember the only reason i could finish w&p was my absolute and complete hatred of every single character and my desire to see all of them come to the worst possible end...

 

Wow, pretty harsh. I find most of the characters to be typically bland/aristocracy mold. Nobody I hate yet. I am appreciating some of Tolstoy's insight into human nature - there's a gem or two in almost every few pages.