EPTWhat Are You Reading 2013 - Page 8
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Animzor
Sweden2154 Posts
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aZealot
New Zealand5447 Posts
On January 17 2013 18:44 sam!zdat wrote: All books are political. The most interesting political content in narrative is not what is put in there by the author, it's what remains unsaid and the assumptions in the narrative, what things are desired, why is this an attractive narrative to this person... For example: why do people like stories about zombies now? These things exist along with the kind of surface themes you are mentioning. This talk of "primacy" is a little naive. Oh, you mean the things you read into it? Sorry, that is a pile of drivelling rubbish. Spare me your "literary criticism". | ||
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farvacola
United States18856 Posts
On January 18 2013 03:47 aZealot wrote: But the books are really not political in that sense. IMO, the religion themes (the tension between the Norse paganism that informed his scholarship and the Roman Catholicism that informed his belief) and the theme of friendship (partly arising from his WW1 experiences) have greater primacy. Oh, you mean the things you read into it? Sorry, that is a pile of drivelling rubbish. Spare me the literary criticism crapola. You first. | ||
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nunez
Norway4003 Posts
On January 18 2013 03:47 aZealot wrote: Oh, you mean the things you read into it? Sorry, that is a pile of drivelling rubbish. Spare me your "literary criticism". come on now... no need to act like a dick. | ||
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aZealot
New Zealand5447 Posts
On January 18 2013 01:53 GenghisKhan wrote: Not true, in my opinion. The Malazan Book of the Fallen is definitely worth a read. I tried it, but never finished it after reading upto book 5 in the series. The 3rd book in the series, Memories of Ice I think, was fantastic, though! Tad Williams' Memory Sorrow and Thorn is another good epic fantasy series, although the the ending may leave a little to be desired. Joe Abercrombie's First Law series while not an epic Fantasy series, is an interesting take on the whole genre, being dark, funny and a little subversive (it's been a while since I read the series, though). | ||
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solidbebe
Netherlands4921 Posts
On January 18 2013 01:53 GenghisKhan wrote: Not true, in my opinion. The Malazan Book of the Fallen is definitely worth a read. Patrick rothfuss's the name of the wind and wise man's fear are also really good fantast books imo. The story isn't 'epic', but that can be a breath of fresh air too. Really good story about an ordinary innkeeper who isn't that ordinary. | ||
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aZealot
New Zealand5447 Posts
Fair play. Point taken. I'll keep it on topic and talk about the books. Cheers. | ||
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SecondManRex
England24 Posts
On January 17 2013 22:59 Barrin wrote: +1 at this, DMT is not like other drugs, it really is the spirit molecule. Do NOT do it until you read some of this book, even then be warned... it is unsettling to be forced to witness reality/consciousness. While I agree that it is worthwhile reading the classics, isn't the complete Plato a bit much. Even as a philosopher there's only a few of his dialogues which are too interesting, so surely be better to get a wider range of classical texts (other Ancient Greek/Roman authors perhaps; I've always liked Seneca personally)? Meanwhile I'm reading: ![[image loading]](http://lundbooks.co.uk/books/47023.jpg) Picked it up from the library on a whim, not too far into it but already finding it... contentious, though perhaps I'm just an in denial speciest. ![[image loading]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41D5BuPcncL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) Been trying to read this on and off for a while now but just been distracted with other things. Quite a fan of Tallis (he has a very interesting book dealing with our increasing use of neuroscience to address what have traditionally been seen as philosophical issues) so will probably get through it at some point. ![[image loading]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/413DNjlG79L._SL500_SS500_.jpg) Like, the third book which I've got on logic (though the other two are more textbooks). Never quite sure whether I like philosophical logic or not, sometimes it seems interesting then at other times just seems like it's all just too tangled to really make sense of. Definitely going to be a slow read.  | ||
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sam!zdat
United States5559 Posts
On January 17 2013 22:41 Kimaker wrote: Mostly short stories. This is my first try at her main body of work, one of my friends recommended that I make her my next read, so I did. Earthsea is great. You should also check out books like The Left Hand of Darkness and the Dispossessed. I'm mostly thinking about Dawkins and Hitchens. The "OMG religion is a meme we figured it out all of you are idiots" crowd. Sophomoric. On January 18 2013 01:53 GenghisKhan wrote: Not true, in my opinion. The Malazan Book of the Fallen is definitely worth a read. Maybe that's true, can't say I'm probably gonna start reading any new epic fantasy series to find out though On January 18 2013 03:47 aZealot wrote: Oh, you mean the things you read into it? Sorry, that is a pile of drivelling rubbish. Spare me your "literary criticism". Sorry, I'm right about this. It's not my fault if you don't understand how to read literature. edit: @above, lol that Singer book, for some reason the academy has become infested with "Animals Studies," those people make me want to open a slaughterhouse. | ||
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corumjhaelen
France6884 Posts
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bardtown
England2313 Posts
On January 18 2013 05:07 sam!zdat wrote: I'm mostly thinking about Dawkins and Hitchens. The "OMG religion is a meme we figured it out all of you are idiots" crowd. Sophomoric. You have to remember Dawkin's was a 'professor for the public understanding of science' and religion in America was such a counter to this that it was somewhat inevitable he'd have to challenge it. I think the popular backlash against him for this is pretty poor; the whole "I don't think God exists but I'm not arrogant about it and I don't attack people like Dawkins does". He's not a philosopher, and he doesn't handle the issue as completely as he perhaps thinks he does, but the views and arguments he addressed were not straw men, they were widespread particularly in the US. Popular issues can require popular books for a popular response. | ||
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sam!zdat
United States5559 Posts
On January 18 2013 05:31 corumjhaelen wrote: You remind me a bit of a Merleau-Ponty text I had at an oral where he explained that litterature was almost a subcategoy of philosophy and how soon there wouldn't be any difference left^^ My experience would tend to support this thesis  On January 18 2013 05:32 bardtown wrote: You have to remember Dawkin's was a 'professor for the public understanding of science' and religion in America was such a counter to this that it was somewhat inevitable he'd have to challenge it. I think the popular backlash against him for this is pretty poor; the whole "I don't think God exists but I'm not arrogant about it and I don't attack people like Dawkins does". Yeah, I understand what he's fighting against and that's fine, that battle needs to be fought as well. But he's doing it in a clumsy way that ends up putting him opposed to me on the other side of the dialectic. Me <----> Dawkins <-----> Baptists What you describe as the popular backlash against him is not my position. I DO think "God" exists, and I AM arrogant about it  I think atheism is very bad philosophy and is a part of a whole ideological complex which it's sort of my mission to try to deconstruct. The problem is that Dawkins only understands vulgar religion - he's never taken the effort to take religious texts seriously (neither have most believers, of course). So what he's rebutting is the wrong way to think about religion anyway, but he thinks he's rebutted all of religion. He should stick to his field. He's not a philosopher, and he doesn't handle the issue as completely as he perhaps thinks he does, but the views and arguments he addressed were not straw men, they were widespread particularly in the US. Popular issues can require popular books for a popular response. It's true. But I'm just as worried about the popularity of Dawkin's atheistic worldview as I am about the popularity of the worldview he's opposing. | ||
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corumjhaelen
France6884 Posts
On January 18 2013 05:43 sam!zdat wrote: My experience would tend to support this thesis That's because you're a philosopher | ||
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sam!zdat
United States5559 Posts
don't tell anybody, I'm undercover | ||
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NeThZOR
South Africa7387 Posts
On January 16 2013 02:59 mbr2321 wrote: Just finished! ![[image loading]](http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1341322570l/13497818.jpg) + Show Spoiler + Currently reading: ![[image loading]](http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/tolkien-book-store/images/000422.jpg) ![[image loading]](http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780525478812_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG) I'm about 3/5 through John Green, and almost half-way through the Tolkein novel (not trilogy, it's a single novel, dammit!) The Casual Vacancy is an enjoyable read, and although many reviews will not agree with this, I think that the character presentation and character progression were done very well. J.K. Rowling's attempt at her first adult novel was pulled of with finesse in my opinion. I is just disheartening to know that she does not plan to make a movie out of it. | ||
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sam!zdat
United States5559 Posts
edit: On January 17 2013 19:59 Hoender wrote: Maybe I'll do that again (it's been ages since I last read the Bible), but I think I'm planning on reading more on the "lifestyle" part than the "story" part of the Bible for now Ah, pity... I'm all "story," no "lifestyle" | ||
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corumjhaelen
France6884 Posts
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sam!zdat
United States5559 Posts
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ECHOZs
United States499 Posts
![[image loading]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BA0h9QSCcAAY_ou.jpg:large) Michael Hasting is one of the best journalist out there in my opinion, is always straight forward and holds nothing back. The book itself is actually hilarious to read considering Hasting made a name for himself as a middle east correspondent covering General Stanley McChrystal who ended up losing his job because Hasting reported some comments Obama wasn't to fond of. If anyone is interested in an unfiltered account of the 2012 Obama campaign this book is worth a read or if you're looking for some comedy its pretty good as well. That's his dog by the way, pretty good marketing if you ask me. Here's an excerpt from the book about his first campaign stop. http://www.buzzfeed.com/mhastings/exclusivethe-mystery-of-jay-carney-revealed | ||
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Roe
Canada6002 Posts
On January 18 2013 05:07 sam!zdat wrote: Earthsea is great. You should also check out books like The Left Hand of Darkness and the Dispossessed. I'm mostly thinking about Dawkins and Hitchens. The "OMG religion is a meme we figured it out all of you are idiots" crowd. Sophomoric. Maybe that's true, can't say I'm probably gonna start reading any new epic fantasy series to find out though Sorry, I'm right about this. It's not my fault if you don't understand how to read literature. edit: @above, lol that Singer book, for some reason the academy has become infested with "Animals Studies," those people make me want to open a slaughterhouse. I have no clue about Dawkins' writings, but Hitch was pretty smart, and he was no sophist. You clearly have to do more research on him because calling him sophomoric only shows how sophomoric you are. | ||
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