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On April 05 2013 10:54 TheToaster wrote:
Just a few notes I have to share about this thread:
Why do some of you post programming books? I mean, sure that's considered something that you may be reading. But isn't the whole point of this thread to consider what's generally enjoyable to read? Sorry if that sounded out of place, I just don't think there are many of us that read up on programming for pure enjoyment. Even if you read for pure intellectual purpose, there isn't really anything conceptually interesting about programming itself.
Can you guys give more detailed overviews of the books you link? I'm seeing all of this paramount literature by Hemingway, Socrates, Karl Marx, etc. But no actual opinion or analysis that gives me any reason to read them myself. I mine as well just Google "classic literature" and see what I find. Even one of the comments above really confuses me. This guy reads a book called "Infinite Jest" over and over again every single year, but doesn't give one damn reason why. Like what the fuck.
I'd bet there are a bunch of people who get a kick out of reading programming books. At least enough for them to come on here and tell everyone about it. As for Infinite Jest, well its famous among those who read literary fiction as tough but rewarding postmodern magnum opus, and the reasons for rereading it would be self-evident even to those who haven't read it, like me. Reading it once only might be the worst thing you could do with it.
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On April 05 2013 10:33 RaginCanadians wrote:[...] ![[image loading]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-onzqDcUJXR4/UCAFaQjl1RI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/qZghnyPMdGc/s1600/leo_tolstoy_war_and_peace.jpg) And then my personal summer project...
If you get in farer into War and Piece, I'd like a PM how you think about it. I started it twice, but have problems getting over the first 100 pages. It is a book I really want to read, but can't get in somehow.
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On April 05 2013 17:11 SeinGalton wrote:Show nested quote +On April 05 2013 10:54 TheToaster wrote:
Just a few notes I have to share about this thread:
Why do some of you post programming books? I mean, sure that's considered something that you may be reading. But isn't the whole point of this thread to consider what's generally enjoyable to read? Sorry if that sounded out of place, I just don't think there are many of us that read up on programming for pure enjoyment. Even if you read for pure intellectual purpose, there isn't really anything conceptually interesting about programming itself.
Can you guys give more detailed overviews of the books you link? I'm seeing all of this paramount literature by Hemingway, Socrates, Karl Marx, etc. But no actual opinion or analysis that gives me any reason to read them myself. I mine as well just Google "classic literature" and see what I find. Even one of the comments above really confuses me. This guy reads a book called "Infinite Jest" over and over again every single year, but doesn't give one damn reason why. Like what the fuck. I'd bet there are a bunch of people who get a kick out of reading programming books. At least enough for them to come on here and tell everyone about it. As for Infinite Jest, well its famous among those who read literary fiction as tough but rewarding postmodern magnum opus, and the reasons for rereading it would be self-evident even to those who haven't read it, like me. Reading it once only might be the worst thing you could do with it.
Infinite Jest seems like a bit of a death knell for postmodernism to me, if anything. He combats widespread nihilism with a sort of ingenuous, interpersonal but subjective belief. Basically, despite the world rationally being meaningless, we still feel human things and think human thoughts and you've just gotta roll with that, not naively but without flooring yourself with abstractions all the time. It's like Dostoevsky vs. Turgenev all over again, but minus religion.
So, to answer you SeinGalton: Read Infinite Jest to grapple with the nitty gritty of living concretely in an abstractly meaningless world. Like, if you don't believe in god or rationalism or perfection through technology/society/etc. do you just do drugs all the time and watch TV or do you get really depressed and kill yourself/do nothing ever or do you find some way out of the cage of your own head? And if you pick the last option, how the hell do you even start?
As to people recommending books without saying anything about them... meh, not everyone's going to be a great contributor. Maybe give the book a crack (try it out on illicit ebook. Like? Buy/library).
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On April 05 2013 17:36 grs wrote:Show nested quote +On April 05 2013 10:33 RaginCanadians wrote:[...] And then my personal summer project... If you get in farer into War and Piece, I'd like a PM how you think about it. I started it twice, but have problems getting over the first 100 pages. It is a book I really want to read, but can't get in somehow.
I'm through 1/4 of the book and I'm really enjoying it. I've seen some people complaining that Tolstoy goes on some philosophical rants, but either I've not gotten to one of these parts yet or I didn't notice it.
Anyway, I'll PM you when I'm finished.
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I agree at least some reviews, or at least reasons why you're reading a book or something a bit less vague would make this thread better. It's like in the "Movie you have seen recently" thread, I always try to write a small review, but I feel very alone, and I don't think title really help anyone, even with marks. Here I don't try, because I read less and I don't really think my opinion on litterature/philosophy is really valuable. After all it can be summed up as "you should read Proust". Which you should obviously, I've even started to reread it as a side project.
I'm also trying to read the Critic of pure reason. I think I understood the introduction and the Transcendantal Aesthetics decently, but the book is becoming more difficult at the moment, and I don't have the motivation to really spend 1h a page, which is a pity. That being said, it's such a rich and smart book I feel I gain from it though. A pity Kant writes like that, but I guess it's his way of thinking that did it, so it was unevitable...
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On April 05 2013 17:41 ThisIsWater wrote:Show nested quote +On April 05 2013 17:11 SeinGalton wrote:On April 05 2013 10:54 TheToaster wrote:
Just a few notes I have to share about this thread:
Why do some of you post programming books? I mean, sure that's considered something that you may be reading. But isn't the whole point of this thread to consider what's generally enjoyable to read? Sorry if that sounded out of place, I just don't think there are many of us that read up on programming for pure enjoyment. Even if you read for pure intellectual purpose, there isn't really anything conceptually interesting about programming itself.
Can you guys give more detailed overviews of the books you link? I'm seeing all of this paramount literature by Hemingway, Socrates, Karl Marx, etc. But no actual opinion or analysis that gives me any reason to read them myself. I mine as well just Google "classic literature" and see what I find. Even one of the comments above really confuses me. This guy reads a book called "Infinite Jest" over and over again every single year, but doesn't give one damn reason why. Like what the fuck. I'd bet there are a bunch of people who get a kick out of reading programming books. At least enough for them to come on here and tell everyone about it. As for Infinite Jest, well its famous among those who read literary fiction as tough but rewarding postmodern magnum opus, and the reasons for rereading it would be self-evident even to those who haven't read it, like me. Reading it once only might be the worst thing you could do with it. Infinite Jest seems like a bit of a death knell for postmodernism to me, if anything. He combats widespread nihilism with a sort of ingenuous, interpersonal but subjective belief. Basically, despite the world rationally being meaningless, we still feel human things and think human thoughts and you've just gotta roll with that, not naively but without flooring yourself with abstractions all the time. It's like Dostoevsky vs. Turgenev all over again, but minus religion. So, to answer you SeinGalton: Read Infinite Jest to grapple with the nitty gritty of living concretely in an abstractly meaningless world. Like, if you don't believe in god or rationalism or perfection through technology/society/etc. do you just do drugs all the time and watch TV or do you get really depressed and kill yourself/do nothing ever or do you find some way out of the cage of your own head? And if you pick the last option, how the hell do you even start? As to people recommending books without saying anything about them... meh, not everyone's going to be a great contributor. Maybe give the book a crack (try it out on illicit ebook. Like? Buy/library).
I can tell you're a big DFW fan. I have Infinite Jest, along with a bunch of other books that I'm attempting to read chronologically, so it might be a while before I actually get into it (or I might decide, fuck it, I'm too excited to wait.) But first I'll try and get through some John Barth and William Gaddis, not to mention Ulysses. I'm certainly looking forward to it.
Whenever anybody talks about The Death Of Postmodernism, I'm reminded of that silly park janitor in the Donald Barthelme essay, 'Not Knowing.' I can't actually tell you anything about New Neo-Postpostmodernism, I just really like reading this stuff 
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On April 05 2013 19:23 dmnum wrote:Show nested quote +On April 05 2013 17:36 grs wrote:On April 05 2013 10:33 RaginCanadians wrote:[...] And then my personal summer project... If you get in farer into War and Piece, I'd like a PM how you think about it. I started it twice, but have problems getting over the first 100 pages. It is a book I really want to read, but can't get in somehow. I'm through 1/4 of the book and I'm really enjoying it. I've seen some people complaining that Tolstoy goes on some philosophical rants, but either I've not gotten to one of these parts yet or I didn't notice it. Anyway, I'll PM you when I'm finished.
The book is most certainly a difficult read at times but it is not impossible to get through. The last quarter or so of the book is mostly philosophical rant through Andrey and Pierre's characters.
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On April 05 2013 20:31 Syn Harvest wrote:Show nested quote +On April 05 2013 19:23 dmnum wrote:On April 05 2013 17:36 grs wrote:On April 05 2013 10:33 RaginCanadians wrote:[...] And then my personal summer project... If you get in farer into War and Piece, I'd like a PM how you think about it. I started it twice, but have problems getting over the first 100 pages. It is a book I really want to read, but can't get in somehow. I'm through 1/4 of the book and I'm really enjoying it. I've seen some people complaining that Tolstoy goes on some philosophical rants, but either I've not gotten to one of these parts yet or I didn't notice it. Anyway, I'll PM you when I'm finished. The book is most certainly a difficult read at times but it is not impossible to get through. The last quarter or so of the book is mostly philosophical rant through Andrey and Pierre's characters.
So far I'm having no trouble with it, but I've read a lot of Tolstoy so I'm quite used to his style.
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![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d5/Snowcrash.jpg/200px-Snowcrash.jpg)
Started reading Snow Crash recently and I'm really loving it so far. For a book that was written 20 years ago it is surprisingly not dated -- the metaverse is basically second life + oculus rift and so much of the techno-jargon is imaginative and witty. I'm only 7 or 8 chapters in but it's already got my full attention.
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Currently reading:
Terrorists in Love: Real Lives of Islamic Radicals
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/niggiFB.jpg)
I have to read this book for an International Relations course. I'm only two chapters in, but so far the book is great. Simply put, the book is a series of interviews with terrorists. They tell their life story which reveals how and why they ended up joining terrorists organizations. What surprises me is that the reason some people join terrorists groups aren't reasons I've ever considered. The stories are extremely colorful and graphic. I'm looking forward to finish this book.
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@TheToaster: I'd probably start a riot if I tried expressing the radically anti-socialist ideas of Bastiat in here, bro. 
That's the thing, though. I think a lot of the books in here are strongly opinionated and discussing them here too ardently would create heady debates best left for separate topics in the General forum. Plus, you wouldn't want someone to spoil you too much of the text before you read it, lol.
On April 05 2013 23:32 mattigans wrote:Currently reading: Terrorists in Love: Real Lives of Islamic Radicals + Show Spoiler +I have to read this book for an International Relations course. I'm only two chapters in, but so far the book is great. Simply put, the book is a series of interviews with terrorists. They tell their life story which reveals how and why they ended up joining terrorists organizations. What surprises me is that the reason some people join terrorists groups aren't reasons I've ever considered. The stories are extremely colorful and graphic. I'm looking forward to finish this book.
I've always wondered how authors such as these manage to have actual conversations with proclaimed terrorists, let alone get permission from them to record these dialogues and share them across the globe. Regardless, I'd be most interested in reading their point of view.
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Looking for a book similar to American God's but more realistic. American God's was definitely a really good book but the whole "Gods" theme was a bit too unrealistic for me.
I'm also interested in good mystery books that really pull you in (may be science fiction or not) too if anyone has any suggestions there.
Thanks and all the best, keep on reading guys.
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Started late for 2013, but have read so far:
Chaucer: tales from Canterbury
Nabokov - Lolita
Hugo Claus - de Geruchten
to read:
The glorious Quran by Pikthall (to get a better understanding of the Quran and the Abrahamic faiths in general)
A sh*tton of pinguin classics i picked up for a good price; le misérables, tales of sherlock holmes , Ivanhoe, Shakespeare's works, in other words, a lot of good stuff.
If anybody could advice me some good books on middle-eastern history (particularly anything from 6th to 15th cent) i would appreciate it! Can't find anything globally encompassing the history of that place so far.
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Currently reading 'The Road to Middle Earth', basically an exploration of Tolkien's development of his mythology. Have been inspired by it to finally order and read:
![[image loading]](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0196/9582/products/dscf552_large.jpg?364)
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On April 06 2013 05:34 bardtown wrote:Currently reading 'The Road to Middle Earth', basically an exploration of Tolkien's development of his mythology. Have been inspired by it to finally order and read:
Have you read Tolkien's "Monster and Critics" essay? If you're interested in his approach to texts from a more academic viewpoint, I highly recommend it. It's a pretty accepted view now that you shouldn't search for a "historical kernel" in ancient texts these days, but back when he was still writing, it was common to look at Beowulf and to denigrate it for its fantasy elements. Tolkien addresses that kind of attitude and attempts to show why such an approach is faulty. It's definitely more Tolkien-as-professor than Tolkien-as-writer though, but I think it's a nice essay.
If you like Tolkien's work, pick up some Guy Gavriel Kay, who's basically known as Tolkien's protege these days. He helped Tolkien's son edit the Silmarillion before its publication, and you can see traces of Tolkien in GGK's stories, esp. the first trilogy he published (The Fionavar Tapestry).
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On April 06 2013 05:55 babylon wrote:Show nested quote +On April 06 2013 05:34 bardtown wrote:Currently reading 'The Road to Middle Earth', basically an exploration of Tolkien's development of his mythology. Have been inspired by it to finally order and read: Have you read Tolkien's "Monster and Critics" essay? If you're interested in his approach to texts from a more academic viewpoint, I highly recommend it. It's a pretty accepted view now that you shouldn't search for a "historical kernel" in ancient texts these days, but back when he was still writing, it was common to look at Beowulf and to denigrate it for its fantasy elements. Tolkien addresses that kind of attitude and attempts to show why such an approach is faulty. It's definitely more Tolkien-as-professor than Tolkien-as-writer though, but I think it's a nice essay. If you like Tolkien's work, pick up some Guy Gavriel Kay, who's basically known as Tolkien's protege these days. He helped Tolkien's son edit the Silmarillion before its publication, and you can see traces of Tolkien in GGK's stories, esp. the first trilogy he published (The Fionavar Tapestry).
I haven't read it but it's on my wishlist and referenced a lot in the book I'm reading now. I might look it up before reading Beowulf, although it might be more relevant afterwards.
As for GGK, I read Tigana but couldn't quite get into it in the same way.
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On April 06 2013 06:14 bardtown wrote:Show nested quote +On April 06 2013 05:55 babylon wrote:On April 06 2013 05:34 bardtown wrote:Currently reading 'The Road to Middle Earth', basically an exploration of Tolkien's development of his mythology. Have been inspired by it to finally order and read: Have you read Tolkien's "Monster and Critics" essay? If you're interested in his approach to texts from a more academic viewpoint, I highly recommend it. It's a pretty accepted view now that you shouldn't search for a "historical kernel" in ancient texts these days, but back when he was still writing, it was common to look at Beowulf and to denigrate it for its fantasy elements. Tolkien addresses that kind of attitude and attempts to show why such an approach is faulty. It's definitely more Tolkien-as-professor than Tolkien-as-writer though, but I think it's a nice essay. If you like Tolkien's work, pick up some Guy Gavriel Kay, who's basically known as Tolkien's protege these days. He helped Tolkien's son edit the Silmarillion before its publication, and you can see traces of Tolkien in GGK's stories, esp. the first trilogy he published (The Fionavar Tapestry). I haven't read it but it's on my wishlist and referenced a lot in the book I'm reading now. I might look it up before reading Beowulf, although it might be more relevant afterwards. As for GGK, I read Tigana but couldn't quite get into it in the same way.
People say Tigana is good, but I personally think it's one of his weakest works. (Disappointed me quite a bit. I saved the "best" for last only to discover it was really, really lackluster, even though it dealt with some very interesting themes.) Try the Sarantine Mosaic duology or Lions of al-Rassan if you have time. I enjoyed the Song for Arbonne as well.
If you're more into Tolkien-style fantasy rather than GGK's typical historical fantasy, then Fionavar may be more down your alley. It's really meant to be read together with LotR.
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/KBM72qe.jpg)
Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis.
The book's basically a critique of the media-spread image of the good life of those in the spotlight - models, movie stars, actors, musicians, tv-hosts, athletes and anything in between. Through the book, you follow Victor Ward, a model in his mid-20s trying to "make it big" in the scene.
I had this recommended at work by a random visitor, and was initially very skeptical. The base theme of the book isn't really something I care much about - I don't read much contemporary, and I mostly focus on dystopic sci-fi or fantasy novels. The writer loves long sentences which goes on and on, barely split by commas here and there. Also, the chapters were numbered in a descending order, which occationally reset and kept on going - christ, this is so avant garde, it's hurting my dick.
While reading, however, I've grown to like most of the elements I was initially skeptical about. The book does well in describing the stereotype of the glamorous life in a believable way, all with vain superficiality, emotional trainwrecks, drug addicts and lost causes. Ellis' way of writing in this book, with the long ongoing sentences, makes the reading feel like a sort of flow of conciousness - you don't sit back and enjoy the scenes as you would with convensional situational descriptions, but are instead given short glimpses which dissapear as you're dragged onto the next bit. This also helps the image of the main character, as he appears very feebleminded with random losses of conciousness and a very loose grip on reality. The backwards chaptering, too, is growing on me - it seems the pacing of the book is very much aligned with the chapter progression, meaning the closer a section of the book gets to chapter 1, the more intense and fast-paced the actions become.
I'm sort of getting the same vibes from this book as I got when reading The Game by Niel Strauss. It's like watching bunch of despicable people heading full speed towards a crash, and as much as you want them to crash, they sort of grow on you the closer you get to the inescapable doom.
I reccomend it.
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+ Show Spoiler +
Although a book for class( we only had to read the first of the 3). It was a really great read. It's a sci-fi based after the nuclear apocalypse where humans destroy the earth. But they're "saved" by aliens, it's an awesome book because you can't really decide if the aliens are good or bad. It also raises insight on gender and human nature. The novel is also divided up very nicely, where it's divided into 3 books, where each has 3 chapters divided into 14 ish segments. So this makes it easier for the people who can't read for a long time as well as giving nice breaks for the longer readers( I went for 6 hours once, which is rare for me).
TL;DR great book for people interested in sci-fi and the unusual
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^funny, I'm at a conference and just been listening to a paper on that text. Butler has been getting a lot of attention recently
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EPT![[image loading]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcc7t4gglk1rw1doco1_400.jpg)
