What are you all reading?

[Keary]

The title speaks for itself.

What I am reading currently is Cell by Stephen King and unsurprisingly it's an amazing book, I am also reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley which is also a good book.:D

[kantor1003]

Mostly wikipedia.

In addition I'm reading, whenever I find the motivation, "The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism"

Yesterday I also revisited the comic book series "the preacher". Haven't read it since I was like 12 years old, so it is a rewarding reread :) Sometimes it's nice to escape the endless objectivism found in wikipedia.

[Words]

I am also reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley which is also a good book.:D

Coincidentally, I just finished that weeks ago. I believe Bernard Marx is an INFP and John an ENFP. The book was ok, It lacked scientific accuracy on detail but the overall idea works well though I would've preferred a more recent version..

...

I'm reading Fountainhead and a Sherlock Holmes' short story but these aren't very satisfying.

[Pythia]

The Joke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joke_%28novel%29), by Milan Kundera.

[Latro]

Just finished If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino. Awesome book. Considering rereading it more slowly, because the sentences are long and feel fast-paced for various reasons (asyndeton among them), and so the details slip by pretty easily.

[Anling]

I'm reading The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan. I'm quite enjoying it. It ought to be required reading.

[asmit127]

I have a couple of books on the go, as usual.

Unseen Accademicals - Terry Pratchett (science fiction)
Intuitive thinking as a spiritual path - Rudolf Steiner (philosophy)
The importance of being trivial - Mark Maso (random factual / philosphy?)
1984 - George Orwell (fiction - not touched in a month or so)

I hated A Brave New World - it highlighted everything I hate in society and suggested many of my weaknesses are the basis of humanity. Must read it again soon, only took a day last time...

[Latro]

Decided against rereading If on a winter's night a traveler and picked up Cosmicomics by the same author. It's a collection of short stories (each about 15 or so pages) with the same narrator (who is a character as well), who is a being that has existed for a very very long time. Essentially Calvino takes a little scientific factoid, such as the proximity of the Moon to the Earth during its initial formation, and makes a story out of it. It's actually pretty cool.

If on a winter's night a traveler is, without spoiling too much, a book about you (much of the book is second person) trying to read If on a winter's night a traveler--and having lots of problems doing so. Every other chapter is the first chapter of various books you read, while the other chapters are you trying to find the various books that you've been reading. It's awesome.

[Subotai]

The salmon of Doubt

Douglas Adams

[Oblivious]

The End of Food - Paul Roberts (http://www.theendoffood.com/)

[Sparrow]

Currently reading "Paris is Burning". It's a historical account of what happened in 1944 when Hitler ordered his general to burn Paris...aka scorched earth tactics...

I'm only 37 pages into it XD...

[Dormouse]

A biography on Oppenheimer.

[Anchorite]

I just got "The Color of Water" for my schools Summer Reading book.
Basically a black guys biography on his white mother and about his time growing up in New York during the Civil Rights Movement.

[citrusbreath95]

Physics of the Impossible... hee hee:D
God's Equation
Incarceron

[zxc]

Currently reading The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

[NeverAmI]

Live from Jordan.

[Jill BioSkop]

Currently reading The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett!! Have you read anything else from him?:)
I just read War with the Newts by Karel Capek.

[zxc]

Terry Pratchett!! Have you read anything else from him?:)
I just read War with the Newts by Karel Capek.

Nope, it's my first time :) . But I really enjoy this sort of thing (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Illuminatus Trilogy, Monty Python etc).

[Keary]

Reading War in the Air by H.G. Wells. It's a pretty good book so far.

[Tuesday]

A Conneticut yankee at king Arthur's court, by Mark Twain.

I figured, if I'm gonna study english, I might as well start reading literature. And I have to say, it's very amusing. Not at all literaturelike.

[The Frood]

Airman by Eoin Colfer

Despite my distaste of Colfer's attempt of resurrecting the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. (unrelated to the book)
Airman is actually quite good.

[Moniker]

I read approximately a billion books at once. Currently:

Lolita -- Vladimir Nabokov (for the 36537245837th time)
The Bestiary -- T. H. White
The Poisonwood Bible -- Barbara Kingsolver
Memories of My Melancholy Whores -- Gabriel García Márquez (for the upteenth time)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly -- Jean-Dominique Bauby
The entire Harry Potter series

among others...

[zxc]

I read approximately a billion books at once. Currently:

Lolita -- Vladimir Nabokov (for the 36537245837th time)
The Bestiary -- T. H. White
The Poisonwood Bible -- Barbara Kingsolver
Memories of My Melancholy Whores -- Gabriel García Márquez (for the upteenth time)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly -- Jean-Dominique Bauby
The entire Harry Potter series

among others...

:P are you reading the seven Harry Potter books simultaneously? That would be interesting, without any knowledge of the plot. I guess you're not but it'd be pretty cool if you were

[Jedi]

Mostly wikipedia.

In addition I'm reading, whenever I find the motivation, "The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism"


That's an interesting read, I'm about halfway into it. The correlation between eastern philosophy and western science was something i had been thinking much about, then one day i stumbled upon that book and thought "Whoa, somebody actually wrote a book on it!" I snagged it right away.

Also Huckelberry Finn, The Dark Tower Series, Dracula, Bound for Glory, and 1984.

[zxc]

That's an interesting read, I'm about halfway into it. The correlation between eastern philosophy and western science was something i had been thinking much about, then one day i stumbled upon that book and thought "Whoa, somebody actually wrote a book on it!" I snagged it right away.

Also Huckelberry Finn, The Dark Tower Series, Dracula, Bound for Glory, and 1984.

Ah I love Dracula and 1984, although I haven't read 1984 in years because it's so depressing. I should read it again sometime.

[Moniker]

:P are you reading the seven Harry Potter books simultaneously? That would be interesting, without any knowledge of the plot. I guess you're not but it'd be pretty cool if you were

Haha, no, I've read the whole series many times. I'm just re-reading it... again.

[zxc]

Haha, no, I've read the whole series many times. I'm just re-reading it... again.

My first HP book was a gift, but it was the second in the series (I guess they weren't aware that it was part of a series or something...). Needless to say, I didn't really follow until I went back and read the first book.

I find that I reread books less these days. A nice example is the fact that I've read the first four HP books five times, the fifth twice, and the sixth and seventh just once. My favourite's still the third.


> Nearing the end of The Colour of Magic. Twoflower, Rincewind and Hrun are such fun characters!

[TheHmmmm]

I have a couple of books on the go, as usual.

Unseen Accademicals - Terry Pratchett (science fiction)
Intuitive thinking as a spiritual path - Rudolf Steiner (philosophy)
The importance of being trivial - Mark Maso (random factual / philosphy?)
1984 - George Orwell (fiction - not touched in a month or so)

I hated A Brave New World - it highlighted everything I hate in society and suggested many of my weaknesses are the basis of humanity. Must read it again soon, only took a day last time...

Funny, I'd be pretty okay with the world in that novel. Honestly, being forcibly doped up on drugs all the time doesn't sound half bad. Although the parodic religions don't sound too fun, but I don't think I'd care.

[zxc]

I've been meaning to read Brave New World for quite some time, but always another book steals my interest before I begin.

[Kuu]

Ray Kurzweil - The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

You know, for all my 8+ years of earnest transhumanism, I had never ever read a book about the subject... who would have thought? :p

[5k17]

Friedrich Hölderlin - Hyperion.
Quite INFP.

[Latro]

Finished Cosmicomics, picked up Invisible Cities. The premise: Marco Polo tells Kublai Khan about all the places he has been to in his travels as the Khan's empire collapses. (No, really...that's it.) Calvino is amazing.

[saffyangelis]

Ray Kurzweil - The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

You know, for all my 8+ years of earnest transhumanism, I had never ever read a book about the subject... who would have thought? :p

..... Okay, so I went through all the bookshelves in my room, piled up all the books I've not read/finished and this was one of them *backs slowly away from Kuu*

(There's around 30 in all, so I'm not going to bother typing all the titles out though)

[Words]

Books? What importance do they provide? (Damn this current mindset)

I am reading Dune---Boring.

[PapyrusAirplanes]

A lot. *laugh*

My Utmost for His Highest :: Oswald Chambers
A Swiftly Tilting Planet :: Madeleine L'Engle
Numbers :: Bible
Out of the Silent Planet :: C. S. Lewis
To Kill A Mockingbird :: Harper Lee
The Bravehearted Gosel :: Eric Ludy
The Small Rain :: Madeleine L'Engle
A Severed Wasp :: Madeleine L'Engle
... And my Statistics textbook.

[the internet]

Right now I'm reading:

Sum: 40 Tales from the afterlife.

"This delightful, thought-provoking little collection belongs to that category of strange, unclassifiable books that will haunt the reader long after the last page has been turned. It is full of tangential insights into the human condition and poetic thought experiments.... It is also full of touching moments and glorious wit of the sort one only hopes will be in copious supply on the other side." - Alexander McCall Smith, New York Times Book Review

and

Social Intelligence: The New Science of Success

[wires]

Walden by Henry Thoreau
the Way of the World by Nicolas Bouvier (sort of a European On the Road)
God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens (not quite as self-righteous as it sounds)
Future Shock by Alvin Toffler (sociology book, on how rapid cultural change and technological advancement can affect human psychology).

Just finished a Chomsky book (which left me skeptical, unsurprisingly) and plan on beginning Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by the James Joyce as soon as I finish a few of the above novels.

[Thaklaar]

The new Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction just came in the mail, so that.

[zxc]

Reading Iron Coffins by Herbert A. Werner (book detailing U-Boat experiences in WW2); Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody (post-apocalyptic fantasy; reread); and bits and pieces of other books.

[TheHmmmm]

Stephen Prata- C++ Primer Plus 5th Edition

[Crazythinker1]

As is normal for me, I'm reading several books at once;

Science Goes to War by Ernest Volkman
The World is FLat by Thomas L. Friedman
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
The Enemy by Lee Child

[Ferrus]

The Handmaiden's Tale - Attwood.

[Fallenman]

The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand.

[lone_dreamer]

I'm reading a ton of e-books at the moment (non-fiction mostly), ranging from control theory and quantum mechanics to Astrobiology and Philosophy of Perception. But right now I'm reading "Elements of Electrical Engineering, 1st Edition" by "U. A. Bakshi".

[Synthesis]

Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter

Very enjoyable book.

[Cavallier]

I'm working my way down the Hugo award winners list and I've just finished Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin. A very interesting look at sexuality and gender via a frozen waste land.

[Minuend]

I've seen Thomas Covenant being mentioned a few times, so I figured I'd read those books.

For those of you who don't know Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever: It's about a man with leprosy thrown into a alternative universe which he refuses to believe is real.

The genre is fantasy.

I've soon finished the first book.

[Xel]

I'm reading The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon. The style takes some getting used to, and there are some subtle details that I think I missed, but its pretty good.

Also reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. Her style is a little dry, but her world building is very good and keeps me interested.

[bananaphallus]

The Everlasting Story of Nory - Nicholson Baker

- Think this is meant to be one of those books in which profound truths (or criticisms of things as they tend to be) are conveyed through the mind and sentiments of a small child. Felt like I was being teased. It's very simply written (a conscious choice by the author) - almost to the point of being frumentaceous, or even xylophonic.

Long/Short Market Dynamics - Clive M. Corcoran

- Dense with information/Composed mainly of fairly stiff and laborious expository prose which is very little fun to read (not that the primary concern in writing something like this should be the reader's pleasure). *ambivalence*

[Synthesis]

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams (book two of the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series by the same author)

Plan on working through Dantes Inferno next, should be interesting.

[Silas]

Meandering through two books:

Philosophy of Mind by Edward Feser (Fun read, highly questionable)
Analytical Psychology: its theory and practice by Carl Jung (interesting)

Furiously reading through Red Dragon by Thomas Harris at the moment. The main investigator definitely seems to be and Ni user, also Hannibal Lecter most certainly is. The manner Harris describes some parts absolutely reek of Ni to me, give good insight into some of it's characteristics (perspective shifting) too.
Adymus should give it a look.
Silence of the Lambs shall be read afterwards (can't wait).
A damn good read.

[Allinea]

I just finished reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, which was overall, a good book. I just wish there was more detail to it. I have started the next book, Speaker for the Dead.

Edit: Scratch that. Finished Speaker for the Dead and waiting to go to library to get next book in the series. Might pick up another book I kinda dropped about time travel and physics behind it.

[Allinea]

Finished Speaker for the Dead. I am now waiting to go to the library to see if they have the next book, Xenocide.

[zxc]

Finished reading Iron Coffins by Herbert A. Werner, and the first two books of the Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isobelle Carmody, and almost finished the third.

[Yasmin]

I am currently reading:

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
Just in Case by Meg Rosoff
The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

The last two I've already finished and am re-reading so they can be transformed into a Prose and Poetry Interpretation respectively. I don't expect to finish any of the three any time soon.

I haven't been much into reading lately. I'm only ever in a serious reading mood when I get adequate sleep and take my Vyvanse, but I rarely do both at the same time, so I've lost touch with my appreciation for books. A shame, I used to read non stop.

[ckm]

I am reading Watership Down, though I am not a dedicated reader and started it well over a month ago. That said, I am enjoying it.

[Methuselah]

WAR by Sebastian Junger.

[zxc]

Finished the third, fourth and fifth books of the Obernewtyn Chronicles, and now I'm sad because there's no more to read. It's always hard to let go when you reach the end of a series (finished or unfinished)...

[Inappropriate Behavior]

What are you all reading?

This forum.


Oh okay, Sundiver (David Brin) because I skipped it 15 years ago and it's been sitting on my shelf crying about it ever since. It's mediocre.

[warryer]

Just started Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. So absurd, so awesome.

[zxc]

Reading Michael Palin's Diaries 1969-79. Up to 1971.

[Nerd.]

The Disappearing Spoon. By Sam Kean. It's hilarious. A great beginner book for someone interested in Chemistry, and not insultingly simple for those with a Chemistry background.

[Anchorite]

I just finished "The Hunger Games" maybe 20 minutes ago. It was very good. It's 3 A.M. though so I can't be bothered to elaborate any further.

[Sparrow]

"Personality Types" - Carl Jung
"Analytical Psychology: Its theory and Practice" - Carl Jung
"The Journeys of Socrates" - Dan Millman - One of the best books I've ever read...I read this 4-5 years ago though. Highly recommended.
"Asya" - Michael Ignatieff

[Polaris]

Just finished Ursula LeGuin's "Left Hand of Darkness". I would like to read more of her books now. Reminded me I should also endeavour to read some of Doris Lessing's sci-fi books.

Also revisiting Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species", it is one of my favourites.

[Sparrow]

"The Man in High Castle" Phillip K. Dick - Alternate history...Germany and Japan win the war. Quite a good read. I had like a 4 hours of break today at school...finished reading the Jung lecture book and almost finished reading this one...it's quite good.

[Ermine]

The most recent one would be "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman". Best autobiography I've ever read. I highly recommend it.

[Sparrow]

The title speaks for itself.

What I am reading currently is Cell by Stephen King and unsurprisingly it's an amazing book, I am also reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley which is also a good book.:D

I read that book...it was terrible (Cell that is). I was surprised...I've (probably) liked every other Stephen King novel that I've read.

[zxc]

Finished (re)reading Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden, now (re)reading The Dead of the Night.

On hold while I read the above series: Michael Palin's Diaries 1969-79; and The Faber Book of Exploration (ed. Benedict Allen).

What I intend to read in the near-ish future: Arabian Nights; Das Boot; The Oxford Book of Modern Scientific Writing; and all of H. P. Lovecraft's stories.

[DesertSmeagle]

i hardly ever read fiction chapter books..i read alot of those sciency books wiht the pictues and shit..Thats how ive gained an unmatched wealth of knowledge..i actually was just readin "trance Formation" by richard bandler, the founder of NLP...interesting as fuck..

Theres a story in it where a person goes into hypnosis, and come out of it talking backwards, like a backwards record.

[DarkGreen]

yay! i love books! i'm reading Gone With the Wind. Scarlett's such an idiot but her attempt's at life are amusing. one of my favorite book btw is Gregor the Overlander.

[Traianus]

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. It's a really great read :smoker:

[DarkGreen]

;M; my friend begged Gone With the Wind off of me. now i want to check out Pygmalian but i have OUTSTANDING library fines. well, a quarter a day and maybe i'll pay it off soon in like a year.

[Gather_Wanderer]

In addition to my Physics 235 textbook, "God and the New Physics" - Paul Davies

[merzbau]

recently finished lewis' the monk, which is a bit of a slow-burn, but it has a bit of everything, murder, rape, incest; surprising considering it was written in the late 18th century.
the final 50 pages or so are amazingly climactic. the ending affected me with sort of surreal dread, which i haven't experienced before with literature. highly recommended.
next up will be huxley's island.

[DarkGreen]

Manchild in the promised land & Black like me :phear:

[dark]

"Great Dialogues of PLATO" Translated by W.H.D. Rouse.
Have gotten to Symposium, very nice read, very enjoyable. About half the book left to go.

[Glordag]

I am reading Dune---Boring.

Surely you jest...

Currently I'm reading Ishmael, Varieties of Religious Experience, Gifts Differing, and a guitar music theory booklet.

[erlyn]

The Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan
The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoyevsky
The Path to the Throne of God - Sarah Peck
The Cross and Its Shadow - Stephen N. Haskell
studying the sanctuary in the Bible (mostly Exodus but this study has me reading other verses and chapters in the Bible, mainly from Revelation and Hebrews since they take you through the Heavenly sanctuary)

[Cavallier]

^I admit Pilgrim's Progress is one of the most disturbing books I've ever read. :phear:



I'm reading Dune---Boring.

Surely you jest...

Agreed. I'm not even sure I have any respect for you now. :confused:

Anyway...

Dreadnought by Cherie Priest - Yup. I'm reading a zombie steampunk novel. Deal with it. :cat:

[Anthile]

Metamorphoses by Ovid. It's jarring because I already know most of the stories from other sources and the 18th century translation by Johann Heinrich Voß is giving me a headache because of the words he uses I have to read everything twice. In fact, I'm currently at Ceres.

...did you know that the word cereals comes from Ceres? Now you do!

[5k17]

Just finished de Sade's Justine, now starting Juliette; both are pretty early versions (which I find much better than the newer, longer ones).

[DarkGreen]

You know, I really liked Fight Club. I'm gonna pick it up again.

[zxc]

Finished re-reading the last six books of the Tomorrow Series by John Marsden.

Primarily reading The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford and The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. Also reading Arabian Nights.

[PossumOfTheGrotto]

I'm halfway through a pile of books I haven't touched in months...but the most recent things I'm actively reading are...

- "Boneshaker" by Cherie Priest (Pretty interesting steampunk goth adventure.)
- "Dexter Is Delicious" by Jeff Lindsay (Loves me some Dexter.)
- "The Poetic Edda" by Snorri Sturluson (I would read this just because of the author's name...let alone weird Old Norseness...how incredible is it to be an Icelandic chieftan named Snorri?!? Pretty damned awesome!)
- "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn (Found it in the middle of a hallway, unbelievably.)
- "In The Shadow Of The Silent Majorities" by Jean Baudrillard (Every single paragraph is incredibly dense and very insightful...I've been reading it for months...)

I have been wanting to start reading the Terry Pratchett Discworld books again, only this time in order and completely (I also have read only about 1/5 of the total)...so I am thinking of starting that this weekend...it seems like it would be awesome.

So that's what I've been into lately.

[RubberDucky451]

Confessions by Saint Augustine
Phaedo by Plato
1984 by George Orwell
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

[Nigerian INTP]

The Catcher in the Rye.
Although I ought to be reading my school books.
Finished reading 'Running with Scissors' yesterday. That was a disturbing book. Catcher in the Rye is hilarious.

[PossumOfTheGrotto]

Decided against rereading If on a winter's night a traveler and picked up Cosmicomics by the same author. It's a collection of short stories (each about 15 or so pages) with the same narrator (who is a character as well), who is a being that has existed for a very very long time. Essentially Calvino takes a little scientific factoid, such as the proximity of the Moon to the Earth during its initial formation, and makes a story out of it. It's actually pretty cool.

If on a winter's night a traveler is, without spoiling too much, a book about you (much of the book is second person) trying to read If on a winter's night a traveler--and having lots of problems doing so. Every other chapter is the first chapter of various books you read, while the other chapters are you trying to find the various books that you've been reading. It's awesome.

Hey, Latro...your description sounded so intriguing, I just now ordered this online...I had never heard of Calvino before, but I think I'm going to enjoy making his acquaintance...thanks for sharing.

[Bird]

Light in August which I originally hated.
I am now realizing Faulkner is not all
that bad. Not even close.

[Latro]

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card. I'm not liking it as much as its predecessors. The Chinese people feel like they're there to fulfill a plot role too much to be believable. This isn't much of a spoiler, because it's really vague, but I'll cover it in spoiler tags anyway:
Card needs a person who is really really meticulous to do something plot-relevant, and so he creates an entire planet populated by people whose religion forces its clergy to have very very severe OCD and then uses a member of that clergy.
Another vague spoiler:
Card also starts explaining how the ansible (a communication device that is instantaneous over any distance, introduced in Ender's Game) works, where previously he didn't bother to explain it. His explanation feels like pseudoscience, too, whereas everything else that he actually explains (such as relativistic travel) actually makes scientific sense.

[Cavallier]

Light in August which I originally hated.
I am now realizing Faulkner is not all
that bad. Not even close.

I have an admire/disgust relationship with Faulkner. His writing style in As I Lay Dying is fascinating and his psychological profiles are detailed but I fail to find any discernible point to this novel. Faulkner was a compulsive liar and little better than a grifter. I can't help but wonder if his books are just another trick but I've read things that were absolute trash and his novels aren't that. Gah. *shakes fist* DAMN YOU FAULKNER!!!!

Edit: I have a strange feeling of deja vu. I think I've discussed this before on this forum. Maybe it's time I took a break. :o

[snafupants]

The Human Heart in Conflict: Light in August's Schizophrenic Narrator by David M. Toomey.

This reading of Light in August is go for broke, and ultimately half convincing. Definitely thought provoking, even if you hate Faulkner and LIA and disagree completely with this interpretation.

[Cavallier]

Ah, yeah. He reminds me a bit of Harold Bloom on Shakespeare. I generally disagree with old Bloom on every point and yet he does send my thoughts down different channels than I would have otherwise gone.

[Bird]

The Human Heart in Conflict: Light in August's Schizophrenic Narrator by David M. Toomey.

This reading of Light in August is go for broke, and ultimately half convincing. Definitely thought provoking, even if you hate Faulkner and LIA and disagree completely with this interpretation.


I am not familiar with the phrase "go for broke".
I am sorry. Could you perhaps break this
down for me? I do have free time so I may just
look into Monsieur Toomey's text.

[MunkySpanker]

The title speaks for itself.

What I am reading currently is Cell by Stephen King and unsurprisingly it's an amazing book, I am also reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley which is also a good book.:D

The Theory of Poker - Sklansky
4 Hour Workweek - Ferris
Good to Great -- Jim Collins I think
The 50th Law -- 50 cent really awesome book

Does anybody else also have self diagnosed ADD -- to where you cannot finish a book cover to cover? I always seem to be reading 3-4 books at a time, and eventually end up with about 20 books that are 50% finished. I feel like I already get the gist of the entire book and the rest is just filler.

come on, anybody else? :elephant: :aufsmaul: :borg0: :smiley_emoticons_mr :slashnew: :kilroy: can't help but play with these

[snafupants]

I am not familiar with the phrase "go for broke".
I am sorry. Could you perhaps break this
down for me? I do have free time so I may just
look into Monsieur Toomey's text.

You hear it alot in golf for some reason. Basically, it means taking a gamble for a potential payoff. BTW, your avatar interests me for some reason. What is going on there?

[Gather_Wanderer]

Read half of Doyle Brunson's online poker book in a Borders the other day. It wasn't really a strategy book, which I needed (need). It sucked.

[gruesomebrat]

What are you all reading?

This forum.

Ah, so sad, but so true. I've only been a member here for a couple days, but am absolutely fascinated by some of the posts that are in here. I have had, this weekend, the most thought-provoking discussions the Internet has ever given me. All thanks to you fantastic people.

As far as actual literature that I'm reading, Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, and Executive Orders, and Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. Rereading the Clancy's, both for high school classes (History and English, respectively), and Oedipus is for English as well.

Has anyone noticed that the logic in Oedipus is incredibly lacking? as I was reading it, I kept getting struck by how incredibly dense the characters are, that they were unable to figure out Oedipus' relation to Thebes... maybe it's just because, as the reader, we already know it, but it seems there are some really obvious pointers.

[zxc]

Does anybody else also have self diagnosed ADD -- to where you cannot finish a book cover to cover? I always seem to be reading 3-4 books at a time, and eventually end up with about 20 books that are 50% finished. I feel like I already get the gist of the entire book and the rest is just filler.

come on, anybody else? :elephant: :aufsmaul: :borg0: :smiley_emoticons_mr :slashnew: :kilroy: can't help but play with these

Yup, although I do finish books, but usually only fiction books. Non-fiction I tend to leave halfway, and read several at a time.

[MunkySpanker]

Read half of Doyle Brunson's online poker book in a Borders the other day. It wasn't really a strategy book, which I needed (need). It sucked.

another poker player!!! try the Theory of Poker by Sklansky -- it will be all that you are seeking.

I started as a student of Doyle's style... "push with the best draw or best hand" type of play....

[Wish]

Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49
et
Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass (or Northern Lights; I'm not quite sure)

[Audentia]

Journey Into The Past by Stefan Zweig

[zxc]

Finished Body Language by Allan Pease. Begun reading Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Still reading The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, and Thought Manipulation by Sapir Hendelman.

[sroro]

About to finish Testimony: Death of a Guatemalan Village by Montejo and thinking about reading HGttG or some random neurolit.

[Admirable Complexities]

Beautiful Joe by Marshall Saunders

[Melllvar]

I just went to the public library and managed a pretty good score:

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7206/189o0.jpg
Of course I won't be reading all of those, I mainly just got them for exploration purposes and to familiarize myself with it all, but it should keep me plenty busy for the next month.

[Anchorite]

Right now I'm reading "This I believe" for school. It's a collection of short (2 page) essays by various people about (of all things) what they believe. It's okay, except it isn't just famous/interesting people. Most of the book is by ordinary people, the problem with that being that ordinary people are fucking boring. That's why their ordinary.
They drone on about the same old things about God, the human spirit, general goodness. I've heard that all before, I want unique perspectives and new ideas.
Relating to that, I think the limited size of the essays hurts the book. If people could go into deeper explanations and had more freedom to explore their thoughts for the book, I'm sure it would be far more interesting.

[jarred]

Last weekend, I read Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis and the UC-Berkeley computer scientist Christos Papadimitriou. It's a comic book, so it's a relatively quick read. I think I read it cover to cover in a little under 3 hours total.

It's an incredible piece of art, and I can't recommend it enough. It's probably the most unique thing I've read in the past year. While being a comic book, it's rather unusual in the sense that its protagonist is Bertrand Russell, the 20th century logician famous for trying to establish the foundations of mathematical logic. You might think that a comic book that revolves around a logician would be boring and dry, but it's actually quite the opposite.

[Nocturne]

I am currently reading and finishing up "Beatrice and Virgil" by Yann Martel. It's rather psychological and pointless. But the ideas suggested in this book is worth reading and acknoledging. P.S.- Don't be fooled by the cover of this book. lol. ;)

[warryer]

I just started Atlas Shrugged because people on here say its a great book so, I figured I'd see what all the fuss is about.

[CoryJames]

I am currently reading Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. Great book. Possibly my favorite.

[JarNew]

I've been reading the 7 habits of highly effective people for the past 3 months..

I've read the important part but I like reading them over and over again whenever I don't feel motivated

Library fine is currently 14$ dollars.

[CoryJames]

Great book, I learned a lot from it. If you are into...I don't want to say self help....self improvement books I suggest "who moved my cheese". I bought it in an airport and was through it in under an hour, and it is the type of book you can read over and over and have it apply in different ways. Great read.

[JarNew]

I'm obsessed with self help, self-improvement, self-growth. It's quite empowering.

Thanks for the recommendation. That seems like a book worthy of buying.

[Anchorite]

^ YouTube - Self-Help Books - George Carlin

I don't think you ought to be killed though. . .

[Meer]

I just finished Crime and Punishment, 15 seconds ago.

I was surprised by the strangely optimistic ending, but that's okay.

[snafupants]

Dostoevsky is strangely optimistic.

[Döden]

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. Currently on the 7th volume of Preludes and Nocturnes.

[RubberDucky451]

I just finished Crime and Punishment, 15 seconds ago.

I was surprised by the strangely optimistic ending, but that's okay.

Haha, I was just about to post that I've started that. I'm about 40 pages in and it's brilliant.

[indigofireflies]

I've been reading the 7 habits of highly effective people for the past 3 months..

I've read the important part but I like reading them over and over again whenever I don't feel motivated

Library fine is currently 14$ dollars.

That book = Agh. My best friend wants me to read it, but I keep telling him it's a waste of time.

I really can't see how it's so great.

Reading currently:
'Night' for the fourth time for my English class. I love it.
'The Life of Pi',
and 'Through the Looking Glass'.

[tziporah]

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide (of course), A Wrinkle in Time, Catcher in the Rye, the writing style of which i strangely dislike, the Bible, Shadow Puppets, by Orson Scott Card (so good).

I just looked through you guys' suggestions and found them in my library, and as soon as i get a car, i'm going to fetch 'em. :D

[Magnetosphere]

Nothing now... I'd prefer to change that.

Anybody know of any good books on Soviet politics/history/economics?

[snafupants]

Binged on "Cell" and "Insomnia" last week (see signature). This week "Outliers" and "Collected Poems of Octavio Paz" appear on library account, thank you Joe Taxpayer. Finally, picked up Jorge Luis Borges' "Collected Fictions" because ElderToadstool urged forum folk to give him a shot; basically, ET can expect thanks or damnation pretty soon.

[EyeSeeCold]

I'm trying to commit myself to some various poems and short stories. Though, I don't know where to begin. :slashnew:

[EvilScientist Trainee]

I finally got my hands on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I'll have some reading material for the next 2 months. Then, i'll start reading the Hitchhiker guide's to the galaxy series.

By the time I finish that series, I really hope that Clash of Kings, by George R.R Martin gets released in my country. If it doesn't, I'll have to plan on learning french to get the french version.

[Mary]

The Blind Assassin, again. Love Margaret Atwood~

Edit: Oh, and the Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy series.
(Again)

[Polaris]

Of Love and Asthma by Ferdinand Mount. His descriptions of characters and situations are uniquely quirky and innovative without becoming forced or pretentious. It is an exercise in the English language, rather useful if you are a non-native speaker going vocabulary-stagnant.

Just finished Roseanna, a Swedish crime novel by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. There's a whole series of these. The books were written as a sort of social commentary back in the 70's, so this has to be taken into account when reading them, although the themes are still current. They are intriguing books featuring a rather unusual writing style, perhaps due to Maj Sjöwal's background as a poet. The sparse dialogue, effective and precise use of words and severe restriction of "flowery" language only aids in conjuring up rather vivid imagery of the darker side to "bright Sweden". Stieg Larsson would certainly have found some inspiration in these books.

[Mary]

The Scarlet Letter, again. (This time for school)

An anthology of my friend's writing.. She's actually ridiculously good. I'm making her give me another set for Christmas, actually.

[Holy shit this makes sens]

Let the great world spin, Great book READD ITT!

[Linsejko]

@ RyanJF--One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich. Enjoyed that one 6 years ago, still remember it.

Otherwise, I've read these in the last two months:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Sophie's World
The Go Master
The Last Question
The Great God Success (A book that has nothing to do with God or Religion, btw)

L

[Chasm]

I'm reading the last part (Leviathan) of the Illuminatus! trilogy. Great stuff :cool:

[zxc]

I'm reading the last part (Leviathan) of the Illuminatus! trilogy. Great stuff :cool:

Ah I'm still on the first book. It's great though fnord.

[Kassie]

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
The Hex series by Rhiannon Lassiter

[Cogwulf]

Necronomicon - the best weird tales of H.P. Lovecraft

I started it months ago

[Yet]

At the moment reading:

How the mind works
Pinker

The open society and his enemies
Popper

Will take me quite a while ... big books and you can't read too much in a go.

I've enjoyed Darwin, his daughter and human evolution a lot, Keynes wrote it.
And The mating mind from Miller was also oké.

[Dr. Manhattan]

Michel Foucault, 'Madness and Civilization'.

Noam Chomsky, 'Hopes and Prospects' (newest book)

[gruesomebrat]

Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey Tetralogy. I've made it through 2001 and 2010 already. Reading 2061 now... it's not bad, but I find it doesn't grip me quite the same way that 2001 did.

[Chasm]

Ah I'm still on the first book. It's great though fnord.Indeed - by the way, did you notice that your post id is 226511, and 2+2+6+5+1+1=17. Also your post is the 132nd in this thread, and the two last numbers of 132 backwards are 23. All hail Discordia :D

[kantor1003]

Having recently finished a game of thrones, I'm now starting on the illuminati trilogy (I love you kindle.). I have always liked robert anton wilson, but haven't read any of his books except quantum psychology, a book I borrowed from my brother in my early teens, so I figured it was about time to give it a try.
In addition I'm reading, whenever I can get myself to it, a bunch of school related papers; doctoral dissertations on different music related subjects among other things.

[Chasm]

Having recently finished a game of thrones, I'm now starting on the illuminati trilogy (I love you kindle.). I have always liked robert anton wilson, but haven't read any of his books except quantum psychology, a book I borrowed from my brother in my early teens, so I figured it was about time to give it a try.
If you liked Quantum Psychology, do also consider giving Prometheus Rising a try, so long as you keep in mind that the map is not the territory (but worry not, the book will constantly remind you of that :))

In addition I'm reading, whenever I can get myself to it, a bunch of school related papers
Same here, a sort of constant pressure exerted on me to read something I didn't choose to read myself. :phear:

[kantor1003]

If you liked Quantum Psychology, do also consider giving Prometheus Rising a try, so long as you keep in mind that the map is not the territory (but worry not, the book will constantly remind you of that :))

I really enjoyed that book, so I'll give Prometheus a try as well :) I'll add it to my "to read" list. The map is not the territory almost sound like a cliche to me now, so I think it will be kept "in mind" :) However, I'm open for reading new creative ways to portray, or illuminate that statement.

Same here, a sort of constant pressure exerted on me to read something I didn't choose to read myself. :phear:
Recently I've surprised myself, in that I have managed to shift my mental approach from that of "I need to read this, this sucks." to something a little more optimistic, making me able to enjoy it more. Perhaps pretending that it is of my choosing. Many of those things I'm "forced" to read would be something I'd read with some fascination if it wasn't school related.

[Chasm]

Recently I've surprised myself, in that I have managed to shift my mental approach from that of "I need to read this, this sucks." to something a little more optimistic, making me able to enjoy it more. Perhaps pretending that it is of my choosing. Many of those things I'm "forced" to read would be something I'd read with some fascination if it wasn't school related.
The degree I'm studying for requires everyone to take courses from all the available majors in the degree before you choose the major at the end of the first academic year, so until next year I'm forced to read and study a lot of stuff I'm not especially interested in. Thankfully the first year is soon over and I can begin to steer myself towards a similar attitude.

[Dr. Freeman]

I'm reading Brighter than a Thousand Suns. It is beyond awesome. Reading it almost makes me want to be a physicist rather than an engineer.

[Gather_Wanderer]

I'm reading Brighter than a Thousand Suns. It is beyond awesome. Reading it almost makes me want to be a physicist rather than an engineer.


Checked it out on Amazon. General comments seem to be that it is a bit outdated and has mostly the opinions of people with 30 + less years of information and history (we have more from being around today), but still an essential read. I just ordered it for 4 bucks. :)

[Yet]

Michel Foucault, 'Madness and Civilization'.

Noam Chomsky, 'Hopes and Prospects' (newest book) I read about Foucault ... in a philosophy of science / psychology context.
He makes sense.

Chomsky wrote one of our study books on language science.

I do not know it, but you might be interested in this one I bumped into:
Chomsky, Noam (2006): The Chomsky-Foucault Debate: On Human Nature (with Michel Foucault), New York: The New Press, distributed by W.W. Norton.

[dark]

Working in 3 books at the moment:

"Being and Time"

"Alice's Adventure in Wonderland"

"Brave New World"

[ReadCentral]

hi Gudevening
reading up The Seven Secrets by William Le Queux

[Jesse]

Name of the Wind in preparation of the next one. Great book but I haven't got to the collage part which I disliked when I first read it.

[James Black]

97 Things Every Programmer Should Know (http://www.amazon.com/Things-Every-Programmer-Should-Know/dp/0596809484)

[Cavallier]

Wise Man's Fear! Eep! It's finally out. :herzen02:

I'm also casually reading The Historian by Kostovo and a collection of poetry by Verlaine.

[Melllvar]

Quick Introduction to Tensor Analysis (http://arxiv.org/abs/math.HO/0403252) by Sharipov via PDF
A First Course in General Relativity (http://www.amazon.com/First-Course-General-Relativity/dp/0521887054/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300198634&sr=8-1) by Schutz

Mostly finished the first one, but I need to go back and read it again for a better understanding (also work the problems).

[kantor1003]

If you liked Quantum Psychology, do also consider giving Prometheus Rising a try
I am now well on my way towards finishing it. Have enjoyed it thus far.

Oh, and something I found interesting (because of me being tall and skinny) making me think about psychological traits and wether it tend to manifest, to some extent, physiologically.
"Those extreme cases who take their heaviest imprint on the third circuit* tend to grow up cerebrotonic. They are tall and skinny, because energy is perpetually drawn upward from the body into the head. The caricatured evil genius, Dr. Syvianus in Superman, who was virtually all head, represents the extreme toward which this type seems to be evolving. Popular speech calls them "eggheads".
Almost always, these cerebrotonic Third-Circuit types ignore or are hostile to their first and second functions*. Playfulness puzzles them (appears silly or eccentric) and emotions both baffle and frighten them."

*the rational mind
*oral and emotional circuits

[Gather_Wanderer]

I'm reading Brighter than a Thousand Suns. It is beyond awesome. Reading it almost makes me want to be a physicist rather than an engineer.

Checked it out on Amazon. General comments seem to be that it is a bit outdated and has mostly the opinions of people with 30 + less years of information and history (we have more from being around today), but still an essential read. I just ordered it for 4 bucks. :)

Book just came on the mail today. I don't have class tomorrow, so I'll likely get through a good portion of it.

[Puffy]

Just finished Kafka's The Trial I really appreciated the themes but imo it was the type of book where I found the thoughts it inspired were more stimulating than the actual book itself.

Also reading 'to Kill a Mockingbird' (Harper Lee), 'Birth of a Nation' (Thomas Dixon) and 'The Doll's House' (Neil Gaiman)

[soraya]

Foundation and Empire (Isaac Asimov) - rereading it
A Study in Scarlet (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Of Human Bondage (W. somerset Maugham)

Like them all pretty much.

[digital angel]

I'll be reading The Post American World by Fareed Zakaria. Not too long ago, I read The Rational Optimist. Quantum Psychology sounds interesting.

[systembust]

The Light of Asia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Light_of_Asia) by Edwin Arnold
Using Your Brain - for a Change (http://www.amazon.com/Using-Brain-Change-Richard-Bandler/dp/0911226265) by Richard Bandler


Both are highly recommended, if you're into the subject matter.

[shoeless]

i just finished 1984. read it for school. only worthwhile thing i've read all year.

seriously, fuck beowulf.

[Dr. Freeman]

The Count of Monte Cristo. Great book.

[Stoic Beverage]

The Count of Monte Cristo. Great book.
A classic, though it's a bit dry.

I recently read Kafka on the Shore and enjoyed it.

[systembust]

I recently read Kafka on the Shore and enjoyed it.


I read that last year, after reading that the author is INTP. The protagonist seemed very INTP as well. Very good stuff.. I do tend to enjoy 'magical realism' in general, but it definitely stands out. The imagery of the library and Miss Saeki still sticks with me. I need to get around to reading more of Murakami's work whenever I can get some space in my reading queue. I think most all INTPs would like that book, though. Was just trying to think of the name of it the other day.

[Dr. Freeman]

A classic, though it's a bit dry.

I don't think it's that dry, I actually prefer the unabridged version.

I will look up Kafka, though.

[boondockbabe]

I am currently reading the essential jung-Selected wirtings Introduced by Anthony Storr. Its kinda a hard read but if I can do The Republic. I can get through Jung. Iv'e gained some exceptional insight. Hard but worh it.

[mke2686]

Bad monkeys by Matt Ruff

[xbox]

I like novels that are thrillers, horror, mystery, and adventure. If anyone has any recommendations, I would definitely go check them out.

[jantling]

Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

The Dramatist and Priest by Ken Bruen are good Noir/Mysteries.

[Wahrheitsliebe]

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin. The woman is a goddess of writing. Seriously.

[Aramea]

Just finished Game of Thrones. This was the first I have read in the fantasy genre so the writing was not what I was used to but he did a great job with character development and storyline. I will probably go on to the next book in the series ...

[A22]

Just finished reading a book about a mentally ill introverted jew who thinks he is a centaur that lives in the XX century in Brazil. The Centaur in the Garden, by Moacyr Scliar. Kafka style.

[Athideus]

Immanuel Kants books

[Affinity]

I just finished Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. Offers great insight into the culinary world as well as some good but raunchy humor.

[Mello]

Deadpool comics
It still counts as reading.

[wendy]

DEADPOOL PULP!!!!

On a serious note, I'm currently into Vietnam war novels: Tim O'brien books, Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes, etc; If I had more time I'd get into Scar Tissue by the RHCP lead singer Anthony Kiedis .. but I waste too much time on the Internet to read as much as I'd like.

[Agent Intellect]

Immanuel Kants books

Which ones?

I'm reading the Cambridge Companion to Kant (http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Companion-Kant-Companions-Philosophy/dp/0521367689) right now, when I'm at home.

Since I have a lot of time spent at school, I read Derek Parfit's "Reasons and Persons (http://www.amazon.com/Reasons-Persons-Oxford-Paperbacks-Parfit/dp/019824908X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305202599&sr=1-1)" when I'm not doing homework.

(I'm often working on more than one book at a time).

[Mange Mareng]

Francisco Ayala - a collection of some of his short stories
Aldous Huxley - Brave new world (I actually bought it when seeing so many people here mentioning it)
Michael Azar - Sartre's war: man's freedom and the end of the history
Orhan Pamuk - The white castle (quite boring, having a hard time finishing it...)

and about to start reading The unvanquished by William Faulkner as soon i'm finished with Brave new world..

[Dr. Freeman]

Next up: Plato.

[systembust]

Reading "The Iliad" limited series from Marvel Illustrated. Wooow. Comics are really underrated as a medium. Much of the dialogue is left intact from the book and it is a pretty faithful adaptation, but oh so much more engaging imho. Well worth checking out.

[systembust]

Just finished reading a book about a mentally ill introverted jew who thinks he is a centaur that lives in the XX century in Brazil. The Centaur in the Garden, by Moacyr Scliar. Kafka style.


That sounds reeeeeally interesting, but I can't find a copy online. Might have to actually go out and, gasp, buy it.

[NegativeZero]

Books? What importance do they provide? (Damn this current mindset)

I am reading Dune---Boring.


Boring, really? I though it was an excellent insightful novel, messiah is better, although maybe it'll be taking it too far if you're not really into the story.

I'm trying to decode Sun Tzu's art of war at the moment, the general premise comes easy but there's more beneath the surface than on the top.

[Tungsten]

I finished yesterday "In Cold Blood (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Cold_Blood)", by Truman Capote.

Currently I'm reading "The Diversity of Life (http://books.google.com/books/about/The_diversity_of_life.html?id=FzPaB_6Pw4MC)", by Edward Wilson.

[snafupants]

Timeline - Just finished that bad boy. For whatever reason Crichton turned the last two thirds of the novel into this picaresque thing with a love connection; it was weird.

The first third was neat because he basically rapped about archeology, anthropology, history, and quantum mechanics the whole time, while only vaguely setting up a plot line.

He is somewhat of a hack, but he is obviously intelligent and he picks these speculative topics that make good research later in their own right. Sometimes his ideas are wildly wide of the mark though. He should also have shot his editor for not fact checking.

Meh, Chrichton should have written more non-fiction; the guy is kinda a cold fish when it comes to decorating his characters, and you can basically see him writing these sort of mawkish sequences at his desk, reluctantly, cursing his fans.

The books I want to read in the next two weeks are The Heart of the Matter (Graham Greene), Prometheus Rising (Robert Anton Wilson), and maybe The Plague (Albert Camus). I remember liking Greene when I was a teenager. Wow, I have/had too much time on my hands.

[xbox]

The Devils Rooming House... yeah I'm a bit into serial killer novels.

[snafupants]

The Devils Rooming House... yeah I'm a bit into serial killer novels.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a gritty movie of the same if you're interested.

[Infinite Regress]

City of Tiny Lights by Patrick Neate
Quite funny

[Poetic Justice]

I am reading four books at the moment. 3 non-fiction and 1 fiction

Fiction:

Panic by Jeff Abbott

Non fiction:

The Stuff of Thought by Steven Pinker. This is a book about language and neurology

What Everybody is Saying by Joe Navarro. An ex FBI agents guide to reading body language

The Einstein Factor by Win Wenger. On my second read of this at the moment. It is a book about creative problem solving using visualisation techniques

[Dr. Manhattan]

Underground: Hacking, Madness and obssession on the electronic frontier.

http://suelette.home.xs4all.nl/underground/Underground.pdf

[snafupants]

Anathem by Neal Stephenson.

[Puffy]

The Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Kim Deitch. No connection to Green Day. It's a really good comic for any who like the graphic novel medium, one that doesn't get near enough the attention it deserves.

[ked]

Things about our planet, especially geography, weather. Things about the body and mind; mainly physiology and psychology. Some hobby stuffs like chess, poker, aikido, fishing, camping. I don't like fiction and consider it a waste of time though I might sometimes take a look but it might take many years before I do it more than ten pages, and I do more looks into natural sciences that I am really not interested about like chemistry, physics, biology, but only a bit at the time though I have got addicted to them at times too and read many hours but I have corrected that. I also like to study or understand some languages, I like Italian most specifically, it being like English but pronounced as it's written and it sounds nice to me. Wikipedia, I could like that as I like information over fiction but I find most of the knowledge to be past history; I know better as do many others but such stuff can't be written there as it would be considered original. History, I didn't like that but rarely, while I might now be interested to know more than I did before but nothing much I need to know anymore and there are higher priorities and time and energy is limited.

[James Black]

A Clash of Kings

[Peeps999]

I'm reading Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison for school summer reading.

[Question Authority]

Just read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, only to find that the copy I had was the abridged version... Now I am reading the unabridged version... and now I finally understand why modern writers have editors.

[Puffy]

Crumb's "Kafka"
Aronofsky's "The Fountain"
Levi's "Is this a Man"
Wiesel's "Night"

[digital angel]

Decoding Reality: The Universe as Quantum Information by Vedral

[Minuend]

Human physiology
A cocktail of chemicals (Norwegian)
Molecular Biology of the Cell (I disappear in the coach when I hold that brick on my lap)
A Treatise of Human Nature

Just finished Understanding Cat Behaviour

[Adaire]

Your transformation into cat lady is almost complete. :cool:

[Bird]

The Prokaryotes: A Handbook on the Biology of Bacteria.

[Minuend]

Your transformation into cat lady is almost complete. :cool:

Ah yes. Soon I shall inherit the perfect balance and six times better night vision.

*Walks outside at night*

Gah Noddy!? What the hell IS that?

*Covers eyes*

I don't want night vision! I don't want night vision!

[Anthile]

Just read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, only to find that the copy I had was the abridged version... Now I am reading the unabridged version... and now I finally understand why modern writers have editors.

A lot of writers in the 19th century were paid by the amount of text or the stories were first serialized in newspapers, which gave the writers an incentive to drag out as much as possible. See most of Alexandre Dumas' or Charles Dickens' works for other infamous examples.

[digital angel]

I'm reading a book on Niels Bohr and am looking forward to reading books on tax theory.

[MissBadHabits]

Harry Potter series! again. for the 35th time :D

[mainiac]

It is what I am not reading that annoys me! That would be most of the written material documentary and otherwise that the general public is denied acces to. Only the privalaged few may enter and read the most extrordinary tomes on all possible subjects. These are kept hidden by ones whos job is to spread knowledge to the populace, not conceal it and lie. That this is done there is no doubt. When cornered on the subject they will just say they are preserving the works and must be carefu; with them knowing full well they have made digital copies long since and when asked deny this alo.

So believ it or not only a very small amount of material gets to be seen by the general public. They will pick and choose what you will be allowed to read. These scholars suck up tax dollars and deny you the work everyone has baught and paid for. There are many institutions that keep the public in the dark or out right lie or use half truths. This is done to dumb down the american public and deny them useful knowledge that might upset the status quo.

So they are false teachers and false places of (learning) where in ancient past all whpo could read were welcome in the great library. Now could that reason have ben they were so secure in their power that they did care what knowledge was learned? Or maybe they were just too stupid? Unlikely. The truth of the matter was this place of learning was sacred and thus none were barred. We think a common ibrary gives you all the info you want? Just find out what the scholars are reading and ask for a copy of that and see what happens with out the official pass that says you paid the large fee..all of it you now get to read what is barred from the general public as long as it furthers the false doctrin of science methodology.

Why do I need to pay tens of thousands for a (degree) and be denied the chnace to tke one of their own equivalancy tests to see indeed if i have done my homework. But no, not here. The only way that is going to happen is a rich patron to sponsor you and bribe a university with A large cash donation to do what they should be doing for any who ask.

They hate to admit self taught scholars who might be beyond them. You have to be indoctrinated into their way of doing things to be legit. In the past it was possible to be self taught and respected, though grudingly by universities and other college. But now you canot even open certain bussnes ventures with out first having a masters degree so that you may be allowed to take a certification test that in no way requires a masters to learn the material. So its legal extortion, saying if you dont pay us for a peice of paper that has no revelancy on your certification you may not take it at all.

Why doesnt any one see anything wrong with this. This applies to all kinds of other things also. If you can prove competency...or self taught...why cant you proceed? well, they will never let you, they feel they are geting cheated out of their dues and all must pay if they want to play.

So they do things like. For one thing we will decide if we even want to leyt you outof the country to say study abroad. When an important artifact sight is discovered even the land owner is barred until they document and seize every last bit. Now how come a self taught proffesor cannot come in and be part of it with his reputation in that community? Does not work that way.

Look at the way a university teaches its courses and all the other things they think you need to know claiming its nessasary for a rounded education. You didnt come and pay there for a rounded education you came theree to learn a certian disipline that unless you show otherwise have no need to take maths and other related science unless you feel you need them to help you through.

I f I come in and know the sunbject like a founding father and prove it in short order, why must i suffer through it? Bad enough to have to pay so much. When the degree is issued who is to say many who are on the outside know much more than the degree represented. Sit me down and give me a booklet at a reasonable fee to take this test and they will have to admit that to many there is no need of this mass expense. However like jails and hosbitals they are the shot callers supported by the wealthy few who like things just the way that they are.

So you are denied legitimacy because everyone beleives in this standard that says if not by us then this man knows nothing!

[Minuend]

Just read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. I liked it, but it wasn't mind blowing in any way. I can see how it was an excellent book in its time.

Microbiology an introduction:. In the second chapter, not too impressed yet.
Hyperion: Ohhhhhhh, a page turner. I like it so far, I'm only like a 100 pages into it, so I don't think I'm starting to see the plot yet.

Still reading

Human physiology (kinda on hold)
A Treatise of Human Nature (not currently prioritized)
Molecular Biology of the Cell: This book is very good. Explains well, not too elaborate, not too short. Just perfect.

[digital angel]

A Beautiful Math by Tom Siegfried; its a story about John Nash and game theory. I'm going through a GRE book leisurely.

[kantor1003]

In addition to about 10+ half read books I need to finish I'm currently reading the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe and Godel, Escher, Bach.

[xbox]

Textbook. "Astronomy" A beginner's guide to the universe.

[digital angel]

At this precise moment, I hope to read Principia by Newton next.

[snafupants]

Raymond Carver's Collected Stories.

[Minuend]

Ender's game
Life; the Science of Biology

[Minuend]

Ender's Game was interesting, but I heard the other books ain't that great so I think I'll stop there. The conclusion was good enough for me.

Sherlock Holmes; The Complete Stories

[Dr. Freeman]

The Making of the Atomic Bomb.

The back story it gives on Rutherford and some of the other physicists is amazing.

[snafupants]

Rose Madder - Stephen King. The abusive cop in the story, Norman Daniels, reminds me of a cop my dad told me about when I was a kid. This particular cop, in a major Midwestern city back in the idyllic 1950's, would go down to the local beach, in the middle of the day, and kill winos by shooting them in the head with his drop gun. Charming guy; he had his own interpretation of the credo to serve and protect.

[A22]

Just read The Metamorphosis. Will start The Castle tomorrow.

Kafka looks awesome.

[grey matters]

I'm reading "The Closing of the Western Mind" by Charles freeman. It starts with the ancient Greek philosophers and follows the progression of western thought through the dark age to Thomas Aquinas. The book is about 350 pages and I am only on page 60 so I'm interested in how they are going to follow this story. It is a well written book that does a fair job of making it's logical arguments complete.

I am getting a bit hung up on Plato. I interpret his writings through the lens of modern psychology (most notably Carl Jung) and neuroscience. Whilst this is useful for our day and age it makes following the book a bit difficult. Being that it's mostly a history book what matters is only how people in that time bracket interpreted Plato.

[Minuend]

Thus spoke Zarathustra and The Internet is a Playground.

Haven't been reading much this week tho.

[Melllvar]

The Making of the Atomic Bomb.

The back story it gives on Rutherford and some of the other physicists is amazing.

One of my favorite books, fwiw.

[MidnightMarauder]

Just started The Art of Scientific Investigation by W.I.B. Beveridge...Pretty interesting so far. I'll always get half through a book and end up losing interest or just getting sidetracked. The last book I read was The Stranger by Camus, it being the second time reading it. I love that book so much.

[Zionoxis]

Just finished Kite Runner and Handmaid's Tale (not by choice). I am also reading Rescued by C++ in my freetime and practicing accordingly.

I am hoping to get into some books about applicative psychology and possibly NLP (yes, I know, if you don't like it, give me something which I can equally use another individual's mind as my own personal playground). I am current focusing a lot of my interests on chess, human manipulation, lockpicking, and hacking (programming, networking, exploitation, security, ect.)

Believe it or not, I have no intention of blowing something up, becoming a sociopath, or crushing the CIA's databases. I like rare knowledge and respected knowledge. I can work my way backwards to not as...deadly knowledge later. Just like in Harry Potter...the most powerful spells were the ones in a forbidden book. I would learn those first.

[Peeps999]

I just started reading American Psycho yesterday. This better end up scarring me forever.

[puer curiosus]

The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch. Only halfway through the book and it has been pretty exhilarating. A lot of material, plenty of ideas you possibly wouldn't see anywhere else.

Rereading Geeks by Jon Katz. My third time. It's the sort of book which perks you up when your self-confidence has been totally shattered for whatever reason.

[Oedipus]

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.

[Puffy]

Re-reading Kafka's short stories - gone through The Metamorphosis, The Burrow, Hunger Artist, In the Penal Colony and the Judgment so far in the last week - I know enough gets said about him, but I love Kafka so much. It's hilarious that he gets treated as book club la-de-dah reading, as really his style is so playful and funny, it's never read to me like he took himself too seriously or anything. While the allegories are interesting to reflect on, I've always loved how fun it is more than anything.

Also, Alan Moore's run on The Swamp Thing (comic). I used to enjoy the 50s EC runs on horror comics as a kid (my Grandad had them) the style is really interesting as a kind of serious, literary revamp of them. :)

[downsowf]

While the allegories are interesting to reflect on, I've always loved how fun it is more than anything.

Agreed. There's always some "laugh out loud" moments for me when I read Kafka. I find some of his stuff absurdly funny.

Right now I am reading the Autobiography of Gandhi and The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner.

[Dr. Freeman]

The Prince.

[keekins]

Well aside from the fact that I'm in the middle of about five books, the only one I'm really focused on finishing right now is Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palaniuk. If I finish it then it'll be the first book I've finished in about a year.

I also just started reading the Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, it's.. interesting.

[Puffy]

^ I'm reading Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk at the moment.

Has anyone read this? Apparantly - according to wikipedia - the short story "Guts" has led to 73 faintings at his book readings. I find this difficult to believe. For one I would expect fans of Palahniuk to be accustomed to quite dark material anyway, but how sensitive do you need to be to faint at hearing a short story? :confused:

I guess I should give a warning in that case, it's about some disgusting accidents revolving around "experimental" masturbation, but you can read it here, it's only about 3000 words: http://chuckpalahniuk.net/features/shorts/guts

I'm not sure if it's just that I have a dark sense of humour or not, but I was actually laughing my ass off at this. And yes, the pun was most certainly intended. :p

I'm a high-brow guy, I'll be honest. ;)

edit: It opens with "take in a deep breath", maybe he challenged people to hold their breath throughout the reading and that led to fainting (?)

[AkaruiRain]

1984 by George Orwell!

Pretty awesome so far. The part when they finally get caught in their little secret hideout pretty much tore up my heart. -wonders what might happen next-

I love books that can get under the skin and mindfuck a person!!

[BridgeOfSighs]

^1984 is by far one of my favorites.

Trying to get through 'On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction" by Brian Boyd. It being 600ish pages, I'm not moving quickly.

[MizKodomo]

Just finished the Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
That was incredibly entertaining. Faulkner is always a fun trip xD

Just started The Plague by Albert Camus.
Taking a break from On the Road by Jack Kerouac (There is only so much stream of consciousness I can handle at one time)

[snafupants]

Essays and Aphorisms - Schopenhauer
Infinite Jest - Wallace
Essays - Wilde
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration - Price
Complete Works - Montaigne

[Spirit]

The Tipping Point

[duke of new york]

Shogun - James Clavell
It's a lot longer than I realized when I started--about 1100 pages in print, I think, but I'm reading it on the Kindle--but it's an enjoyable read. I was interested in learning a little about feudal Japan, but I didn't feel like poring over a dense nonfiction work. Historical accuracy is limited to the general ideas, but it gives an interesting glimpse into life and the political and social structure of that time and place.

[Dr. Freeman]

Psychological Types.

[speiss]

The Mayor of Casterbridge, by Thomas Hardy.
And finishing up Down and Out in Paris and London by Orwell.
Last night I re-watched an episode of Sherlock, which led me to pick up the copy I have of the complete works. Since it was the last episode, I turned to the couple of last pages to look at the similarities. I really do love literature written from about 1895-1955. The language is my favourite.

[Pizzabeak]

The Tipping Point
How is that? I had to read Outliers for school, enjoyed it, thought about checking out his other works.

[MizKodomo]

Just finished The Plague- it was good. I feel like I would enjoy The Stranger.
Now, on to On the road, then the Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. *0*

[kantor1003]

Strangely enough, I'm only reading one book these days, The brothers karamazov, and I'm reaching the end. Not sure what I'll continue with afterwards, but I feel like reading some good, classic, adventure type books. I have never read any Charles Dickens for instance (yeah, I know). Do anyone have any recommendations? Would be nice with a list of classics "everyone should have read". Also, if you could read only one, just one, Shakespeare work, what would it be?

Any recommendations on schopenhauer would be great as well. Thus far I've only read "on human nature", I believe. I like his way of writing. Very colorful:)

[snafupants]

Strangely enough, I'm only reading one book these days, The brothers karamazov, and I'm reaching the end. Not sure what I'll continue with afterwards, but I feel like reading some good, classic, adventure type books. I have never read any Charles Dickens for instance (yeah, I know). Do anyone have any recommendations? Would be nice with a list of classics "everyone should have read". Also, if you could read only one, just one, Shakespeare work, what would it be?

Any recommendations on schopenhauer would be great as well. Thus far I've only read "on human nature", I believe. I like his way of writing. Very colorful:)

I command you to read Hamlet, The World as Will and Representation and David Copperfield/Great Expectations/Our Mutual Friend! I would just buy a cheap compendium of Schopenhauer essays and savor that for about a month. To the extent to which you consider the Brother's K an adventure book, I have more latitude in my other recommendations. Perhaps, on the Classics side, you would enjoy some sillier Faulkner like Sanctuary, and, on the postmodern front, you might do worse than William Burroughs, Kurt Vonnegut, William Gaddis, Thomas Phynchon, Vladimir Nabokov and even Stephen King. I would read The Dark Half, The Stand, Pet Sematary, The Dark Tower series, The Shining and It if you want to get into King's darker and more entertaining stuff. Rage, The Long Walk and The Running Man are great, but definitely flawed and pessimistic, King books written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. This is sounding fanboyish but I feel King is an exceptional storyteller, a competent enough writer and entertaining as hell. Your mileage may vary. My verdict: read the Dark Tower series first!

[EyeSeeCold]

Anton LaVey's writings. I have no interest in following or practicing any of his doctrines, though I find the philosophies and witticisms enjoyable.

[duke of new york]

I just started Dune. I've wanted to read it for years, but never got around to it. I've never seen the movie or TV series, either, because I wanted to read the book first.

All I can think of while I read it is that old Sega game.

[EyeSeeCold]

To oversimplify (though I do not advocate such action): If you want money and cannot get it and you create an approximation of money -- sometimes called counterfeiting -- the material rewards received could well equal those you would get had you acquired real money. You need for the real thing no longer matters.

Epicurean masturbation is a perfect example of this theory. Once one's ego flaws have been overcome, it may be realized that an artificial fantasy is infinitely superior to a lousy lay. Yet how often we observe the eternal sexual chase temporarily cease with an "any, old port in a storm" partner. Further frustration ensues.

Them that has gets. Until one has he'll never get. And you don't get it by taking someone else's either. You create your own. — Anton LaVey, The Devil's Notebook

I have to say I agree with this outlook.

Confidence, charisma, and (the feeling of)capability are what allow and assure success, but at the same time, these qualities are lacking in those who are unsuccessful.

If you are able to simulate the state of being successful, the feeling of being deprived of what you want is extinguished, and you will then be able to attract objects that come with being successful.

[Amagi82]

I read the Dresden Files again recently. They're bloody amazing.

Right now I'm reading some Shadowrun books, in particular the Secrets of Power series by Robert Charrette. The author is terrible, and has absolutely no understanding of human emotion (this coming from an INTP), but the plots are interesting and the books are easy to read.

[Sanctum]

I just finished Hunger games for my school book club im about to read Dante's Inferno then The Prince by Machiavelli

[professorblack]

Due to some polling, I'm starting The Hunger Games next. Also, I've already started The Turn of the Screw. I knew the type of story, but I didn't know it was such a ghost story. I'm excited.

[MizKodomo]

Just finished On The Road. I don't think I hate it, but I thing I solidly prefer Ginsberg and Faulkner. I need to process this book more, but I think my main problem was how Dean Moriarty was the whole expedition, and you don't figure that out until the end of the book. Sal is not as stoic as his compatriots would like to think, and is far too empathetic.

[snafupants]

Just finished On The Road. I don't think I hate it, but I thing I solidly prefer Ginsberg and Faulkner. I need to process this book more, but I think my main problem was how Dean Moriarty was the whole expedition, and you don't figure that out until the end of the book. Sal is not as stoic as his compatriots would like to think, and is far too empathetic.

Faulkner has more aesthetic sense than Shakespeare.

[Lot]

Bioschock: Rapture. It started out great, but has slowed down a bit. I hope it picks back up.

I'm also reading Modern Man in Search of a Soul by Carl Jung. It's a thick read. There's a lot to digest.

[MizKodomo]

Just finished On The Road. I don't think I hate it, but I thing I solidly prefer Ginsberg and Faulkner. I need to process this book more, but I think my main problem was how Dean Moriarty was the whole expedition, and you don't figure that out until the end of the book. Sal is not as stoic as his compatriots would like to think, and is far too empathetic.
Eraboration Edeet:
Dean Moriarty was, in my opinion, the whole expedition; It was pretty much HIS story with Sal breaking away at some points to be more introspective, and sometimes, going off on his own with others. The main bulk of the story however, was Dean- f*king the system or women. I didn't figure that out until the end of the book.
Sal was trying to understand his own demons through other people. Sal also, it seemed to this reader, attempted to live vicariously through Dean, and as such presented his time "On The Road" in a very impersonal Journal, giving drug, alcohol, and near starvation fueled facts, interspersed with Dean's musings. He seemed more of an omniscient narrator, rather than an active participant.
If Dean liked to have a captive and attentive audience, he certainly had one in Sal, and subsequently me. So no, I don't think I hated this book. I just wish I hadn't been so slow on the uptake; I kept waiting with baited breath for Sal to come to an incredible epiphany along the way; all I seemed to get for my diligence was the realization that I was entirely too focused on the wrong character the entire time.

[snafupants]

Bioschock: Rapture. It started out great, but has slowed down a bit. I hope it picks back up.

I'm also reading Modern Man in Search of a Soul by Carl Jung. It's a thick read. There's a lot to digest.

Let me know how that Jung book turns out. That was on my reading list last year but I somehow failed to scratch her off. I wish I could employ The Matrix strategy of uploading information...

More to the overarching topic, right now I'm reading some Bukowski, Wittgenstein, Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. I was German in a past life apparently.

I have a rather disordered way of selecting books from my respectable though diffuse library. I sort of go with my passion and then let my brain be the final arbiter of taste.

[Odyne]

http://images.borders.com.au/images/bau/e5c127ce/e5c127ce-f615-4b41-8866-45f37e8bcbf6/0/0/plain/winter-king-the-dawn-of-tudor-england.jpg