What are you reading?

Way off-topic, and allowed! General discussions on anything and everything.

Moderator: EG Members

User avatar
dialdfordesi
I live in a giant bucket.
Posts: 907
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2005 9:52 pm
Location: Bumblefuck, Midwest.

Re: What are you reading?

Post by dialdfordesi »

Grimm's Fairy Tales. It was free on iBooks.
Trust me, I'm a doctor!
User avatar
Rolos
Tastes like burning!
Posts: 1001
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:21 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Rolos »

What? Free books? Where?

P.S. Currently reading "From Alpha to Omega: Life and times of the Greek alphabet". It's hilarious.
One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings.
~Diogenes of Sinope
User avatar
Rolos
Tastes like burning!
Posts: 1001
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:21 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Rolos »

Been reading "The Unbearable lightness of Being".
It's hysterical, in a kafka-esque, soul-crushingly jaded kind of way. It makes me feel fresh, naive, innocent.
It's just so very eastern European. The only thing that could possibly screw up this literary cocaine overdose would be a happy ending.


Rated MA, for Most amusing.
One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings.
~Diogenes of Sinope
User avatar
DrPepperPro
Dirty Sennin
Posts: 2216
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2007 5:16 pm

Re: What are you reading?

Post by DrPepperPro »

Oh, the movie's good too, though I'm sure the book is better like always. I probably won't read it though.
User avatar
Facade19
Mastered PM
Posts: 124
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: Southern Cali

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Facade19 »

Rolos, you must read Kundera's the Joke. It is my favorite novel by him.

I plan on reading something diverting during my winter break, or read nothing at all.
All I read for the past 3 months has been nothing but the law.
Need something easy to digest, but with enough evocative ambitions to steer to a calmer me back into me.
User avatar
Rolos
Tastes like burning!
Posts: 1001
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:21 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Rolos »

My reccomendations:

Fun, moderately amusing and packed full of action: The Dresden Files.
Intellectually engaging, insightful and memorable: "Fictions" by Borges.
Fucking funny, in a suburban, subtly grim setting: "Something Happened" by Heller. (completely different, and not as good as Catch-22, but good nonetheless)
Anything by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.
One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings.
~Diogenes of Sinope
User avatar
papasith
Augh! Bright sky fire burn eyes!
Posts: 391
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2008 7:07 pm
Location: baton rouge, la

Re: What are you reading?

Post by papasith »

Recently read "gardens of the moon" by steven erikson. it was very hard to get into at first as the book literally drops you into the events that are happening and it is either sink or swim. I did love the book though and would reccommend it to people that love to read (not really a casual reading book.)

i am now starting on dune as i have some how over looked all of the dune series until now.
User avatar
dialdfordesi
I live in a giant bucket.
Posts: 907
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2005 9:52 pm
Location: Bumblefuck, Midwest.

Re: What are you reading?

Post by dialdfordesi »

Rolos wrote:What? Free books? Where?

P.S. Currently reading "From Alpha to Omega: Life and times of the Greek alphabet". It's hilarious.
iBooks on the iPad has a few free books including Heart of Dearkness, Don Quixote, and Grimm's Fairy Tales.
Trust me, I'm a doctor!
User avatar
Mail
Mastered PM
Posts: 136
Joined: Sat Sep 19, 2009 3:32 am
Location: The far side of the moon

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Mail »

papasith wrote:Recently read "gardens of the moon" by steven erikson. it was very hard to get into at first as the book literally drops you into the events that are happening and it is either sink or swim. I did love the book though and would reccommend it to people that love to read (not really a casual reading book.)

i am now starting on dune as i have some how over looked all of the dune series until now.
Ah, Malazan Book of the Fallen. I enjoy that series as well. Erickson can be a bit verbose at times, but the core story is pretty damn amazing.
User avatar
Femto
Devourer of Children
Posts: 5784
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: 127.0.0.1
Contact:

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Femto »

papasith wrote:i am now starting on dune as i have some how over looked all of the dune series until now.
Funny, I just started reading those books myself.

I'm a little over halfway through Messiah now.

Dunno if I'm going to read the entire series since it's like 20 FUCKING BOOKS!
User avatar
papasith
Augh! Bright sky fire burn eyes!
Posts: 391
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2008 7:07 pm
Location: baton rouge, la

Re: What are you reading?

Post by papasith »

i am planning to read only the ones written by the original author which i think are the original 4, unless someones informs me that i need to read the others too *sigh*
User avatar
Femto
Devourer of Children
Posts: 5784
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: 127.0.0.1
Contact:

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Femto »

I'm pretty sure Frank Herbert wrote 6 books but the last book he wrote before passing away ends in a cliffhanger.

His son and some other dude then took Frank Herbert's notes of what would've been 7th book and split them into two so I might read those 8 books just to get the full story and fuck the prequels (except maybe Butlerian Jihad).

I actually don't know if I want to invest that much in the series right away though.

Apparently, the first three books kinda work as a closed trilogy so I might stop there.

We'll see.

Messiah has been pretty fantastic so far.

So much more character stuff, which I enjoy.
arke
Beware my tactical spam
Posts: 482
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:53 am
Location: ::1

Re: What are you reading?

Post by arke »

The Legends books (Butlerian Jihad and company) weren't too bad, mostly because you have no previous attachment to any of the characters. It ends in a stupid way though. And Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert can't help themselves and are verbose to the point of drivel in everything. The prequels (House trilogy) were crap, plain and simple. Books 7 and 7.5 were.. hard to say. If you squinted enough you could see Frank Herbert's original plot and some of it was hinted at in the previous six books.

Finally, God Emperor > *.
User avatar
Femto
Devourer of Children
Posts: 5784
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: 127.0.0.1
Contact:

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Femto »

arke wrote:If you squinted enough you could see Frank Herbert's original plot and some of it was hinted at in the previous six books.
That's a little disappointing to hear.

Oh, well.

I finished Messiah and it was really fantastic.

I'm reading Dune and if it gives me a decent sense of closure, I'll take a break from those books for a while.

if you say God Emperor is the best, I guess I must get at least that far at some point but there's also plenty of other stuff I want to get to.
User avatar
Starnum
Elven King
Posts: 8277
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2005 3:38 am
Location: Hynneth Kore

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Starnum »

I just finished The Dark Knight Returns. It's a very interesting take on Batman, well into his fifties. It's authored by Frank Miller. Anyway, I found it to be pretty good. I really enjoyed the ending. :)
User avatar
morkar
imanewbie
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:22 pm

Re: What are you reading?

Post by morkar »

Currently reading : Leviathan by Hobbes witch is very interesting
The house of the Harkonnen by The son of Frank Hebert
And a book about The Aristotelianism logic
I am not surprised to see so much berserk fan reading Frank Hebert! Maybe it's just a sign of good taste :)
(sorry for my bad english i am a french speaker)
By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher. -Socrates
User avatar
brunoafh
This is my new home
Posts: 206
Joined: Sun May 01, 2005 6:14 pm
Location: right over yonder

Re: What are you reading?

Post by brunoafh »

Just digging into 'Disciple of the Dog' by R. Scott Bakker as I wait for his follow up to The Aspect-Emperor.

Recommendation to all dark fantasy peppered with philosophy novel readers: The Prince of Nothing series (by said author).
User avatar
Rolos
Tastes like burning!
Posts: 1001
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:21 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Rolos »

Currently reading Freud's "On the Interpretation of Dreams".
It's a joke. A bad one. The man should have been beaten to death with a copy of Euclid's "Elements" the moment this crap hit the shelves. This is basic logic we are talking about. Thank god no one takes psychoanalysis seriously anymore.

I've also been studying a lot on my own lately, though I'm not sure if that counts as "reading". Currently studying/reading Pierce's "An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, signals and noise", Khinchin's "Mathematical Foundations of Information Theory", Eichenbaum's "The Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory: An Introduction"and a shitload of other similarly dry textbooks.
I'm also studying Calculus (Larson, Stewart, Ash) on my own, just because I'm boring.
And since I'm talking about boring things, I'd like to add that I finally get nerds. Mathematics are fucking fascinating.
The study of the relation between concepts devoid of any other property apart from the fact that they are distinct from each other, and how sets of these behave.
And to believe I always regarded it with disinterest!
Besides, mathematicians are awfully interesting. The ones from books, I mean, I've never met a live one.
I guess I'll be reading that "Ulysses" book people keep talking about. I bet it's gonna suck. Overly hyped-up books always do.
I mean, has anyone here ever read "Don Quijote de la Mancha"? It's a good book, but it's not that good. Certainly not the best work of literature that'll ever be written, regardless of what spanish literature majors might say.
Hell, the short story "Don Quijote de la Mancha" by Jose Miguel Borges kicks it ass. To mars.
One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings.
~Diogenes of Sinope
User avatar
brunoafh
This is my new home
Posts: 206
Joined: Sun May 01, 2005 6:14 pm
Location: right over yonder

Re: What are you reading?

Post by brunoafh »

Ah, Alpaca. I have some friends that have taken the route you have. They claim to have "lost the ability to read for pleasure", and cling to primary (or dry, as you put it) texts now a days. I'm somewhat in the middle. I still read novels for pleasure (which translates to: solely to cure boredom), but still do my fair share of fundamental study. My mind isn't quite attune as I'd like it to be to studies regarding complex mathematics, I find myself studying history, language, and mind.
User avatar
Rolos
Tastes like burning!
Posts: 1001
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:21 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Rolos »

Just finished reading "Can't buy me love: the Beatles, Britain and the U.S.".
It was a fairly entertaining read, and I liked the way the author uses the Beatles to illustrate the changing cultural dynamic between the U.S. and the UK in the years following WWII, how their relation changed from one of two peers looking at each other with distrust to one of mentor and apprentice, akin to that of ancient Greece and the Roman Republic.
It surprised me to realize how many things I had always thought of as very American were originally British, and how many aspects of American culture have been shaped into a much more European form since the end of World War II.
But the main focus of the book is, obviously, the Beatles, and while I found it to be very satisfying in that regard, I couldn't shake the feeling that the author was trying to read too much into some of their early songs, which I've always thought to be a little too basic for my tastes. These early songs aren't bad, but they're neither intelligent (lyric-wise) nor complex (music-wise), and the author can't seem to wrap his mind about this fact. Most songs by McCartney are very clearly just cheesy love songs, and yet the author somehow manages to contrive his way into thinking they're tongue-in-cheek sarcasm masterpieces.
It gets kind of annoying at some points.
All in all, it's a fairly good book, and if you want to learn how to listen to songs critically, this book offers a wide range of tools accompanied by pretty decent examples, so that's a plus.

Not the only book I've been reading!
I've been busy, but not busy enough to NOT read cool stuff about the epistemological basis of the scientific method and its implications to neurobiology.
So I read "The Tree of Knowledge", by Humberto Maturana.
Surprise, surprise, I loved it!
There are a few things I didn't like about it, though.
For instance, the overall tone of the book was extremely arrogant. I know that may seem like a petty complaint, given the nature of the book, but this is major leagues conceit we are talking about. The author explicitly states at the beginning of the book that he intends to reform the totality of the scientific method, and not only that, the totality of knowledge as well, by establishing a new all-encompassing conceptual framework based on the fallibility of human perception as evidenced by the fact that we have a blind spot 40 cm from our face, 24/7, and don't even realize it because our brain just makes up what it can't perceive.
I'd have been cool with it if he had had the results and methods to back it up (like Newton did, only he wasn't such a dick about it), but he didn't.
As it is, the book comes across as an armchair philosopher's extremely flamboyant attempt to reform science, which is weird, because I know the author is a fairly renowned scientist, who has published a decent number of pretty relevant empirically-based books (such as "The Biology of Cognition").
On a lighter note, it's funny to see orthodox scientist having their minds blown by stuff philosophers have been talking about since Hume, like the fact that conscience is not, by any means, a unified whole, but rather a "bundle of perceptions" made coherent by self-regulating mechanisms. I guess it goes to show that armchair-ing does have its uses too.
Addendum: the author knows nothing about computers. That's a minus in my book.
All in all, a book that's almost quite completely entirely unlike a something that is superficially similar to a masterpiece.
Good introduction to System theory, though, autopoiesis for the win (It never ceases to amaze me how stupid some of the acronyms we use are).

P.S. Just bought Moby Dick. If the Fairy Godparents are as trustworthy a reference as I think they are, all american children read this on elementary school. Should I feel ashamed? Haha, of course I shouldn't. As Mr Burns once said "Climb that ladder, Monty, climb ladder. Then we'll show them..."
Soon I'll learn have learned enough to suck out all your tasty knowledge juice, and climb that fucking ladder!
P.S.S. Look mommy, a pony!
One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings.
~Diogenes of Sinope
User avatar
Rolos
Tastes like burning!
Posts: 1001
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:21 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Rolos »

So I'm halfway through Ulysses, and just not feeling it. The characters are fun, the references obscure (and I don't mean pop culture obscurity, thank Azazel), the words extraordinarily weird and the plot inconsequential. It has everything I usually love in a book, and yet I'm just not feeling it.
I'm not sure why.
Perhaps it has to do with the absence of psychopaths.
Psychopaths amuse me.
Also, no ridiculous logical games so far. I've grown to expect those.
It's a good book, I know it is, but I'm just not feeling it.
How confusing.

Also, just started Bertrand Russel's "Introduction to mathematical philosophy".
It's hard to understand, but I like it. The study of logic has a certain flavor to it that nothing else has.
I wonder how might this compare to the way information is arranged in our brain. Neumann wrote it was probabilistic, but I'm not sure I get what he meant my that.
So much to know, so much to discover!

P.S. A round of applause for my grand-uncle, who finally succeeded in his life-long struggle to beat the shit out of life.
Died in the process.
A pity.
Man led a colorful life; studied dead tongues, fought for Israel because of a girl, founded a cult.
Got people to call him "Great Brother".
Might or might not have been a freemason.
One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings.
~Diogenes of Sinope
User avatar
brunoafh
This is my new home
Posts: 206
Joined: Sun May 01, 2005 6:14 pm
Location: right over yonder

Re: What are you reading?

Post by brunoafh »

I found Finnegan's Wake to be more entertaining than Ulysses, despite it being more or less utterly incomprehensible (but that's the draw, I guess). I just happen to really dig stream-of-consciousness narrative though (but I'll argue anyone over the fact that Faulkner does it better), and Finnegan's Wake is the better display of this technique, so I was inclined to like it more really.

Applause to your grand-uncle.
User avatar
Rolos
Tastes like burning!
Posts: 1001
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:21 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Rolos »

Just finished reading Preacher. Read it all in one go, took me a whole day.
[spoiler]I liked it, but not that much.
It's intense, raw, brutal, and unforgiving on all non-sexy characters, which I found both hilarious and almost offensively stupid.
I'm no professional critic, so this is going to sound very pretentious coming from me, but I found Preacher to be a very good example of some of the best and worst trends in American fiction.
As Herr Starr put it when describing John Wayne (and westerns in general) "...typically american: an idiotic protagonist extolling a crude and simplistic outlook on life... -sorry, forgot how it went-"
Preacher doesn't fuck around: it's direct, cruel and funny, but also pretty fucking stupid. I don't even want to talk about the ruggedly handsome protagonist acting heroic all around while having lots of normal, decent sex, talking about his just-as-ruggedly handsome all-around american dad who fought in Vietnam and spouting clichéd, unoriginal, almost nauseatingly moronic philosophical insights.
No, what makes Preacher a(n almost) great work is the characterization of its villains and secondary characters. Seeing Herr Starr react realistically when his plans fail, remaking them on the go, getting scared, pissed off, the grievous wounds that were inflicted on him each time, the painful rehabilitation that followed, how each deforming injury gnawed, little by little, at his ideals and sanity, his relation to his subordinates, everything about him was very well done. He wasn't just a bad guy, he was this guy, this poor bastard, who was funny, cruel, dishonest, zealous, perverted, ambitious, and happened to be a bad guy.
And Cassidy was just as interesting.
The female interest (whose name I already forgot) was just as fucking boring as the titular character.
As for the plot, it was crap. Incoherent, unevenly paced and just really fucking stupid. Whatever interesting theological considerations it might have put forth are squashed by how childish it is. Our gloriously self-righteous protagonist boldly proclaims he's gonna (literally) find god and make him responsible for what he has done and what he hasn't, but he never really goes into details. We are supposed to share his indignation and want to punish the old man, but I personally couldn't.
It's a purely emotional reaction, and ultimately useless. Even if that wasn't true, I see no legitimate reason to be angry with the guy. Boo, hoo, there is sadness in the world~! We must makes our creator accountable for it! Durdurdur.
Let's not enslave the one and only principle in itself so we can wield the very fires of creation, no, let's punish him because he left us alone! Boooohoooo!
(Speaking of which, I was appalled by how idiotically understated the strength and power of a creator-god was.)

The other thing I absolutely despised about Preacher was it's portrayal of america as a primarily rural land. When I think of America, the american ideal and what are its core values, I don't see the same thing Preacher does. I don't see honest, hardworking men living in virtue. I see dynamism, innovation, tolerance, a ruthless competition in which all that matters is winning, being faster, better, smarter. I think of a young, open country that rewards success like no other. A little lacking in refinement and history, yes, but a fine country nonetheless.
But, ah, Preacher begs to differ. This became glaringly obvious when Magnificent-White-Beast meets a retired nazi escapee, to whom he recommends suicide as a way to redeem himself (how gloriously heroic!). They talk about america and what it represents for immigrants, and then there's a funny little panel in which Hector, a poor mexican immigrant, becomes a rich and successful individual. It made me want to gouge my fucking eyes out. That whole arc did.
God, I hated it. I hated it so much.
And its portrayal of conservative pundits and liberal intellectuals.
I-I thought I was going to have a seizure.[/spoiler]

Ah, damn. This is a rant, not a review. Spoiler tags, then. I have a lot to say about Preacher (which isn't necessarily a good thing), but not enough time to order my-
Ok, finish this tomorrow.
One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings.
~Diogenes of Sinope
User avatar
brunoafh
This is my new home
Posts: 206
Joined: Sun May 01, 2005 6:14 pm
Location: right over yonder

Re: What are you reading?

Post by brunoafh »

I think part of your reaction to Preacher was caused by going into with a certain expectation. I would have to assume it was suggested to you by many people/sites as some great work of fiction, and you probably went into it thinking "ok, impress me Preacher!" Preacher has a pretty big reputation in the comic book world. In reality, it's just a really entertaining read, and nothing but that. People talking about how deep the theological ideas presented are are full of it. Preacher was meant to entertain, and that's it. I read it while it was being produced, with no real idea what I was going to be getting into (a friend suggested I pick up a copy), and I just found myself really enjoying it. I loved the characters, the off the wall gore and humor, and just the utter ridiculousness of it all. Other comics at the time just weren't like it, Preacher was just fun.

As for your gripes with the super-macho protagonist, well, it is what it is there. You're either on board and think he's the shit, or you're not on board and can't stand him. All in all, I think you might have attempted to take it seriously, but instead got pages of insanity depicting gerbils being put up people's asses, gay police into S&M, drug addicted vampires, a retarded descent of jesus, and a guy pissing out of a water tap because his dick was chewed off. The one thing Preacher excels at doing is being humorous, whether it's through the absurd American stereotypes or the angels snorting coke. It's damn funny (to me at least).

Oh, and as for the whole story arc where he's the sheriff... yeah, that's pretty awful stuff. There's really no excuse for that one.
Eldo
Of The Abyss
Posts: 7435
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2005 9:10 pm
Location: Yours or mine?

Re: What are you reading?

Post by Eldo »

brunoafh wrote:Oh, and as for the whole story arc where he's the sheriff... yeah, that's pretty awful stuff. There's really no excuse for that one.
That was my favourite story arc...

But let me explain.

That arc, to me, was meant to be a turning point. Who would expect a tiny town like that to be so messed up? It was meant to be a change of pace from the usually insanity that Jesse deals with... only to face the town's own brand of insanity. That were many, many coincidences which, if not taken at face value, does seem to be forced (like Lorie, Jesse's mom, the Nazi). But I remind myself that it's a comic book and think about the absurdity of the entire series. It doesn't seem too out of the left field compared to the other things we've seen.

And the way he kicks the living hell out of the KKK... that was oddly satisfying.

The series shocks, humours and entertains. To me, it's not meant to do anything else. It's a classic for different reasons and strokes compared to, say, Sandman.
Image

I don't think half the toilet seats in the world are as clean as I should like; and only half of those are half as clean as they deserve. - tsubaimomo, July 26, 2010 3:00 am
Post Reply