EPT2013 - What are you reading? - Page 58
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sam!zdat
United States5559 Posts
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Deleted User 137586
7859 Posts
On January 16 2013 16:15 farvacola wrote: Yes, this is why if one is interested in understanding Ayn Rand they need only read Anthem; it really saves one the trouble of slogging through a lot of text  I have not read Fountainhead, but I did read Anthem. I wouldn't trade it for Atlas Shrugged. The latter is detailed and well structured. I don't think it could be reduced to a lesser book, and definitely not the Anthem. I don't think you ought to be reading Rand for "the idea". Do you do this for any book you consider good? | ||
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farvacola
United States18838 Posts
On January 17 2013 00:00 Ghanburighan wrote: I have not read Fountainhead, but I did read Anthem. I wouldn't trade it for Atlas Shrugged. The latter is detailed and well structured. I don't think it could be reduced to a lesser book, and definitely not the Anthem. I don't think you ought to be reading Rand for "the idea". Do you do this for any book you consider good? Without transparent ideology, Rand has nothing; her writing style is incredibly boring, violates the notion of "show, don't tell" on pretty much every page through overly-expositive narrative signposting, and not a single character she comes up with feels at all organic, in that the people of her stories seem more like ideological vehicles than attempts at portraying any semblance of authentic humanity (this applies to the books themselves as well). Don't get me wrong, I was half joking when I insisted that Anthem stand in for Rand's longer works, for it behooves a good critic to understand that which he does not enjoy, but there are a great many 1000+ page novels I would recommend over Atlas Shrugged (try War and Peace  ) | ||
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Deleted User 137586
7859 Posts
On January 17 2013 02:22 farvacola wrote: Without transparent ideology, Rand has nothing; her writing style is incredibly boring, violates the notion of "show, don't tell" on pretty much every page through overly-expositive narrative signposting, and not a single character she comes up with feels at all organic, in that the people of her stories seem more like ideological vehicles than attempts at portraying any semblance of authentic humanity (this applies to the books themselves as well). Don't get me wrong, I was half joking when I insisted that Anthem stand in for Rand's longer works, for it behooves a good critic to understand that which he does not enjoy, but there are a great many 1000+ page novels I would recommend over Atlas Shrugged (try War and Peace )I guess you intentionally recommended my favourite book - the structural similarity of War and Peace with Atlas Shrugged sparked my interest in the latter in the first place. I don't know if I agree with your description, though. Especially not with "Without transparent ideology, Rand has nothing" but you probably don't mean it either. As for her writing style, I think it's excellent. Although I could see why you would say that about the characters in the first couple of hundred pages. The organic nature of characters and "show not tell" emerges from the structure (like in War and Peace) rather than in the actual descriptions. Also, being half-way through, I wouldn't say that she has a grand idea. It's obviously pulling apart certain well accepted positions, and doing so forcefully, but it's not all milk and honey for the other side either. For example, Rearden is in internal struggle (and for good cause) on most issues. It reminds me of a section in Plato's republic. Very straightforward argumentation for a side, and then the obvious response for the opposite side or a third option is shown. I don't know if I'll keep this opinion until the end (definitely a mistake if Plato's Republic served as a role model for Rand), but I would not agree with your description until now. To not clog up this thread with Rand, here's another fun book I finished recently (try it, it only takes a few hours, as it only took 2 weeks to finish). ![[image loading]](http://oraine.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/glory11.jpg) The book is about a young war veteran out of luck that suddenly meets the most beautiful woman he has laid his eyes on who, much like Gandalf, wants him to partake in an adventure. The man rushes headlong into wild adventures which teach him to let go of all he holds to believe and to try to act as a hero. This part is fun, lots of fun. Then he needs to keep on living, despite being a hero. What does a hero do? | ||
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sam!zdat
United States5559 Posts
On January 17 2013 05:27 Ghanburighan wrote: Especially not with "Without transparent ideology, Rand has nothing" but you probably don't mean it either. he means it | ||
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TMD
Canada93 Posts
On January 08 2013 13:53 hp.Shell wrote: ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/LCRjA.jpg) Dune - Frank Herbert (about 10 pages in) I've always wanted to read this series. It's apparently science fiction's supreme masterpiece saga in terms of world lore. The main character is about to travel to Dune, so there will be space travel. It seems my visions of the book as "Star Wars had Luke never left Tatooine" are completely false. It's nice to finally pick it up and have it in my hands. Nice choice. Epic series, but a little fortitude could be needed to fully absorb all the otherworldly information he describes. I love every dramatic aspect the saga provides. As a side note, David Lynch filmed Dune in 1984. Basically his take on the first book. Finish the third book before looking into this, imo. Very truncated, as can be expected. | ||
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sam!zdat
United States5559 Posts
edit: can we lock this thread? sorry | ||
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UmbraaeternuS
Chile476 Posts
On December 29 2012 12:59 IdrA wrote: it gets a million times better as the series progresses. he maintains the interesting ideas and fun story but actually learns to write. and keeps a funny amount of cheesy. Holy shit that book is good. I bought this series a while ago when I was on a trip to Argentina, in one of these airport bookstores and it is so goooood! | ||
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KNICK
Germany248 Posts
Raising The Dead by Philip Finch ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/71TL3fU.jpg) An incredible (true) story about one of the deepest freshwater caves in the world (Boesmansgat/Bushman's Hole in South Africa). In 2004, a cave diver named David Shaw went to the bottom of this cave and discovered the corpse of Deon Dreyer, who died in Boesmansgat 10 years prior. A few months later, Shaw comes back, with the intention of recovering Dreyer's corpse from a depth of over 270 meters/885 feet. Finch is by no means a brilliant writer, but capable enough, plus the source material is already so interesting that it hardly matters. Moment Of Freedom: The Heiligenberg Manuscript by Jens Bjørneboe ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/7cix5zA.jpg) This one is hard to describe. I suppose the underlying theme is mankind's inherent cruelty, or at least the capability of cruelty, especially towards their own kind. It is written from the perspective of a "servant of justice" in a German Alp village, who is a silent observer to the corrupt and unjust proceedings of court day after day. In his free time, he is working on a compendium of human cruelty, called "The History Of Bestiality". While recounting episodes of severe injustice and torture, the narrator also discovers a thing or two about those around him, and most importantly, himself. Or rather, his lack of self. A very negative outlook on man's nature by an amazing wordsmith. Highly recommended if you're not into happy, flowery books. The Consumer by Michael Gira ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/egv7Ws1.jpg) This collection of short stories and vignettes is one of my all-time favorite books that I'm re-reading at the moment. Now, Bjørneboe's novel is not exactly uplifting, but this is a different level altogether. Some of you might know Michael Gira as the founder of legendary Post-Punk/Industrial/Experimental/Avantgarde outfit Swans. Imagine Swans lyrics condensed into a fever dream and then given to someone who has just murdered their entire extended family, with the instructions to dictate what is written there to a Japanese snuff film producer. This is a rough approximation of what can be found in these pages. The themes run from + Show Spoiler [oh no, some bad words] + animal cruelty, incest, necro-cannibalism, child rape, child prostitution, a whole lot of excrements and other human waste | ||
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sam!zdat
United States5559 Posts
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llIH
Norway2143 Posts
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aZealot
New Zealand5447 Posts
On January 17 2013 00:00 Ghanburighan wrote: I have not read Fountainhead, but I did read Anthem. I wouldn't trade it for Atlas Shrugged. The latter is detailed and well structured. I don't think it could be reduced to a lesser book, and definitely not the Anthem. I don't think you ought to be reading Rand for "the idea". Do you do this for any book you consider good? I preferred Fountainhead to Atlas Shrugged myself. As a novel, IMO, it is better than Atlas Shrugged. The latter was explicitly written, iirc Rand interviews, as an exposition of Objectivism, and suffers as a result. In Fountainhead a lot of these ideas are still to be fully developed as they were in Atlas Shrugged. Atlas Shrugged, for me, is about competing Ideas while Fountainhead is the representation of an Idea in one man, Howard Roark + Show Spoiler + (and it's perversion in Gail Wynand). (Strangely enough, I don't consider Toohey all that important a character, despite being Roark's antagonist.) I did not read Anthem and We The Living until after having read both of these; so, while I enjoyed them, they were clearly early works by a developing writer. They were enjoyable enough, but not as good as Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged. However, they were certainly a lot easier to read than Atlas Shrugged! | ||
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babylon
8765 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + ![[image loading]](http://robinhobb.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/AssassinsQuest-US-Whelan.jpg) Currently(?????) reading: + Show Spoiler + ![[image loading]](http://diesel-ebooks-cdn.make-a-store.com/mas_assets/image_cache/2/e/3/7/500x500_3028959_file.jpeg) Question marks are because I didn't mean to start it. I wanted to go for Hobb's Ships trilogy first, but the bookstore didn't have it, alas. I don't have time to read right now, though, so it'll be on hold for a while, and by the time I do have time to read, maybe I'll have the first book of the Ships trilogy! :D To read: + Show Spoiler + Too many books. I have Murakami's Norwegen Wood on my physical shelf at school, as well as Seth's A Concise History of Modern Korea, Eco's Baudolino, and the first couple books of Cook's Black Company series. I've "promised" my advisor I will read Eco's Name of the Rose as well and its accompanying post-script; I'm interested in intertextuality as a research interest, so it'll be pretty enlightening I think, but I'm not sure how much I'll actually enjoy his writing. Came upon him first as a literary critic, then realized he was a novelist. Also I'm surprised people are bashing Rand's writing style. She's one of the most readable philosophers. Granted, her philosophy itself is pretty laughable, but she certainly knows how to write clear prose. I read Anthem several years ago and started (but never finished) Atlas Shrugged. It wasn't due to boredom; my brother wrested the book from me at around page 200 or 300 so he could write a book report, and I just never got back to it. | ||
Flicky
England2665 Posts
Reading Hyperion Joining the cool kids club. Once you're past about page 50, this book becomes very interesting. I'm about half way through and enjoying it immensely. Die 13½ Leben des Käpt'n Blaubär I've been learning german for little while and this was the book my friend recommended me. I'm currently using it to learn some new vocab and it's hard for me to read still but it's really adorable so far. Something about reading a book in a new language is incredibly magical. The Four-Hour Work Week There's a lot of really interesting and thought-provoking stuff in here about work and life. I've since bought all of Tim Ferriss' books and look forward to seeing what else he does. I've started using some of what he mentions and it's kind of working out. I'm not sure I'll follow all of it (especially the parts about creating a business etc) but it's a great way to approach your job, especially if you don't care too much about how people see you. | ||
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drooL
United Kingdom2108 Posts
On January 22 2013 20:24 Flicky wrote: Die 13½ Leben des Käpt'n Blaubär I've been learning german for little while and this was the book my friend recommended me. I'm currently using it to learn some new vocab and it's hard for me to read still but it's really adorable so far. Something about reading a book in a new language is incredibly magical. Wow that book is so good but I feel it's hilariously nonsensical as a foreign-language read because Moers' language and style are incredibly quirky and weird. But it's an amazing book, I just hope it doesn't mess up your perception of German haha. I just finished Game of Thrones 4 (english version ofc) and I'm now reading Siddartha. I have a ton of books lying around so I'm trying to catch up a bit now. The 4 books of Game of Thrones took me probably 1 year to read, because I was getting super lazy with my reading habits (shame on me, seriously). | ||
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therockmanxx
Peru1174 Posts
sorry about the comment | ||
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{CC}StealthBlue
United States41117 Posts
![[image loading]](http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780143116288_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG) | ||
p4NDemik
United States13896 Posts
On February 21 2013 06:46 therockmanxx wrote: Why there are 2 thread about the exactly the same topic >.< sorry about the comment Very good question. I don't know. | ||
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angieluc4
Tanzania3 Posts
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Cambium
United States16368 Posts
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