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Tumbler Taker posted:Just picked up Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. Having a little trouble keeping some of the names straight, but it's a fantastic book despite my ineptitude with names. I guess judgments like this are inherently subjective, but this is a really superb work. Enjoy! Just started a number of works on contemplative prayer(these include The Cloud of Unknowing and Open Mind, Open Heart, and I just finished a related book by Merton), which is a Christian analogue of sorts (similar, but certainly not the same) to meditative techniques from various Eastern traditions (e.g., Vipassana).
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Jun 8, 2009 04:24
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Archyduke posted:Thomas Merton? I'm a huge fan of his poetry but never read his theological (I guess? Maybe his spiritual work is more apt?) stuff. Hm. It was New Seeds of Contemplation; I also read The Seven Storey Mountain not too long ago. I really enjoyed both of them, but - fair warning - I happen to have an interest in the general topic area (mysticism, contemplation, meditation, etc. of various traditions), and they might have been tough sledding otherwise.
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Jun 14, 2009 22:42
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Just (re)started Dark Night of the Soul by St John of the Cross, a book I last read perhaps 20 years ago. It's a classic of mysticism, and what's striking, as so often is the case in this area, is the similarities between his experience and admonitions and those from other traditions (e.g., sufi, buddhist, hindu).
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Jun 21, 2009 05:16
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Starting Shogun by James Clavell. It's beach reading, essentially; it's obviously not what you'd want if you're in the mood for The Brothers Karamazov or Ulysses, and there is a fair amount of tour guide type explication centered around the historical Japanese setting, but it's fun (and I'm on vacation so it fills the bill) and the story remains a good read if you're in the mood for lighter fare.
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Jul 6, 2009 17:11
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Taking a break from my more typical fare with Ten Days that Shook the World by Reed. It's a firsthand account of the Russian revolution, focusing on the events of November 1917 (when Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power) that by all accounts is a superb bit of journalism. I've wanted to read it for years and am very much looking forward to it.
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Jul 20, 2009 00:26
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In addition to 10 Days that Shook the World, which I mentioned earlier, I've been listening to the audiobook version of Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. It's a memoir of the author's childhood in Ireland (mostly in Limerick thus far) full of hardship, loss and the wonder, joy and sadness of life, all told in the author's lyrical and powerful way. I'm enjoying it immensely. Also, the audiobook version, read by the author, has much to offer: his wonderful brogue and gentle, sad humor really take the edge off of what might otherwise be a somewhat bitter narrative, but in no way diminish it.
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Aug 4, 2009 16:40
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Just started, among a few other books, Bad Samaritans by Ha-Joon Chang. It centers around a criticism of the type of free trade policies advocated by developed countries for adoption by developing economies. His thesis is that the benefits of free trade are not unalloyed and that such policies have not been followed in the period before full development by the very nations who promote them. The following excerpt from the Washington Post review gives a flavor of his point of view, and the criticisms of that perspective:WaPo posted:The dirty secret of capitalism, as Chang explains, is that much the same is true of the modern industrial economies of the West, including Britain and the United States. Although advocates of free trade typically extol the British as the pioneers of open markets, London lowered tariffs in the mid-19th century only after its industries had firmly established their lead over rivals. Likewise, U.S. tariffs remained high throughout America's industrialization. So why, Chang asks, should today's poor nations be required to develop differently?
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Aug 11, 2009 14:56
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Just bought The Big Sleep by Chandler. I'm still working on Bad Samaritans, by Chang (an excellent, but somewhat biased look at trade policy and development economics), but am very much looking forward to Chandler's work, which I understand epitomizes (or was seminal to) the noir detective genre. Just thinking about it evokes the Bogart film, and hopefully the writing will live up to the hype.
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Sep 1, 2009 19:00
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Just started two contemporary books on spirituality from a distinctly Western (and specifically monastic) point of view: Wisdom Distilled from the Daily by Joan Chittister and Tools Matter for Practicing the Spiritual Life by Mary M. Funk. The former examines the Rule of St Benedict as applied in a contemporary context, and explores the community based spirituality of the Benedictines. The latter is a reprise of many practical techniques used in the Western spiritual tradition from earliest times to the present, and it's good enough to have been recommended by Sharon Salzbeg. I'm also starting, on quite a different note, Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler. It's another in the Marlowe series of novels, and I'm quite looking forward to it.
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Oct 7, 2009 13:08
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Skyl3lazer posted:I just started the Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe, and have just finished Shadow of the Torturer (the first book in said series). It seems pretty drat entertaining so far. You'll want to stick with it through the end of the fourth book. As a whole, it's one of the most surprising and original science fiction series you're likely to encounter.
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Oct 14, 2009 03:10
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Well I just picked up The Road by Cormack McCarthy. The many positive (if somewhat depressing) reviews in the "What did you just finish?" thread have had me thinking about this for a while, and the more I've looked into it, the more excited I've become. It's not often that modern fiction combines elements of epic adventure, a futurist, post cataclysmic setting and deep literary value. (So much so that it seems odd to put these elements all into the same sentence.) This will be my first McCarthy work and I'm hoping that the actual read will if anything exceed the buildup and high expectations.
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Oct 18, 2009 06:02
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Stil working on The Road as I mentioned earlier. But in addition, I've been on a bit of a book binge, putting me in the somewhat unusual position of having a surfeit of reading material for some time to come. The pile now includes (i) Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace, which I am hoping will be as creatively compelling as its text is sprawling, (ii) When You Are Engulfed in Flames, a Sedaris book that I mean to use as a bit of reading candy, mainly on the strength of Me Talk Pretty Once Day, which more than lived up to its promise in that department, (iii) Generation Kill, by Evan Wright, a reporter's eye view of life in a Marine Recon unit in the invasion of Iraq that (to a layman anyway) provides some perspective on the fog of war as experienced by today's soldiers and (iv) The Informant, by Kurt Eichenwald, which I am hoping will offer a bit of perspective on how decisionmaking and control can go astray in a large organization.
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Dec 27, 2009 19:41
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Dacap posted:Just picked these up at a local used store: I've had The Satanic Verses on my list for quite some time; I hope you'll come back and post your impressions in the "What Did You Just Finish?" thread after you're done.
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Mar 13, 2010 23:16
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Just starting off on The Revolution Betrayed by Trotsky and The Guns of August by Tuchman. So far, The Revolution Betrayed has been a good read, though the analytical/prescriptive points are driven by a significant amount of condensed data, leaving the reader wondering how those outside of the Left Opposition would respond to Trotsky's characterizations. More reading to come on that front, I suppose. More importantly, while it's obviously driven by Trotsky's own perspective, it is a pretty remarkable window into the events of the early Soviet Union. The Guns of August has been living up to its reputation as a very lucid, readable piece. Tuchman has thus far driven the narrative with character portraits rather than focusing on facts and figures, the order of battle, or like matters, though she conveys those very clearly, including (to this point) the early Schlieffen plan and its modifications. Very much looking forward to the balance of both books.
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May 6, 2010 03:17
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Just started Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves, famously the author of I, Claudius. I had previously enjoyed I, Claudius as part of a wave of classics and classical history reading some time ago, and was inspired to take this one on after reading The Guns of August (a really excellent bit of historical writing). Graves's style is a bit underwhelming thus far, but it may be that that's because the environment he describes in the early chapters, namely his experience as a public school student in pre-War Great Britain, is so alien. I'm looking forward to the chapters on his experience in the War, which I hope will be comparatively vivid and evocative. Also started A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn. It's a critical history focused (thus far) on power and class struggles. It has received a mixed critical reception, largely because of the manner in which it is sourced and because of a perceived lack of balance in the selection and focus of the material. I'm not far enough in to pass on either of these criticisms, but I would note that Zinn never purports to be writing a non-selective, broad based history - indeed quite the contrary. He is trying to shed light on matters that had received little attention in courses focused on statesmen and industrial or mercantile magnates. In this he so far seems very successful, and the book is highly lucid and readable. Very much look forward to getting through the rest of this one as well. Red Dad Redemption fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Aug 17, 2010 |
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Aug 9, 2010 01:04
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Thalamus posted:Just bought The Brothers Karamazov, Pevear and Volokhonsky translation. It will be the first Dostoevsky book I've read, I'm looking forward to it. Also bought Little Dorrit by Dickens, adding one more to my collection of Dickens novels, putting the total at nine. If you don't mind, please chime in in the "What Did You Just Finish" thread when you're done with Karamazov. I haven't had a chance to read any of the Pevear and Volokhonsky translations yet, but they've obviously gotten spectacular reviews, and Karamazov is either my personal favorite work of literature or very close to it. I had been waiting for their Pasternak translation forthcoming in October, but depending on your thoughts I may jump in and tackle this one first.
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Aug 23, 2010 01:17
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7 y.o. bitch posted:I have this translation and was planning on reading it once I finished Bleak House. I'll let you know what I think about it, too. I'd very much appreciate that; many thanks!
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Aug 25, 2010 01:48
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Just started The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf. It's already an interesting counterpoint to the Western narratives, focused as it is on Middle Eastern sources: for example, a battle that in Western accounts is presented as almost miraculous, with bedraggled and starving knights deliberately fasting before an ultimately victorious fight, is revealed as impressive, but due mainly to the prevailing Turkic tactics of the time, which involved wearing an adversary down through ranged attacks that were ineffective against European armour, and to disunity among rival Middle Eastern princes. Unsurprisingly, the accounts of the brutality of city conquests are appalling and difficult to read. It's been a quick read so far; looking forward to the rest. I've also dived into The Satanic Verses by Rushdie. The prose has so far been spectacular: vivid and imaginative. But I'm just a few pages in at this point. And I'll soon be starting the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation of War and Peace. It's been a while since I've read any Tolstoy, and years since I read this piece, but I'm inspired to tackle it by the quality of the translation, and as a first course to be followed by the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation of Pasternak's Zhivago due out in about a month, which I expect will be well worth reading and a significant improvement over the previous translation. I've picked up a copy of Freedom by Franzen. I don't have a good sense of what to expect, since I never read The Corrections, but I'm looking forward to it once I get through some of the others on my nightstand.
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Sep 12, 2010 21:32
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I've been working on The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn after a long foray into Russian literature (Tolstoy and Pasternak). SSR is perhaps the original work on paradigm shift, and focuses the lack of what might be thought of as a steady progressive stream of discovery in science: Practitioners work at the margins within generally accepted models (for example the geocentric model) until anomalies in research outcomes over time force researchers into a major shift consisting of an entirely different way of looking at the problems they are investigating, which in turn results in a new model (for example the heliocentric model) and new constraints on what makes sense to investigate and how to study it. A fascinating book that I'm about half way through. More in the "What you've just finished" thread when I'm done.
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Apr 2, 2011 12:55
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Adonis Gunther posted:I just bought War and Peace Leo Tolstoy as I figured I will forever be shunned among the community of book nerds if I don't read it. I do hope I don't die before I finish. It's worth being sure you have the new translation (Prevear & Volokhonsky). It's a wonderful read: great characterization, wonderful plotting, well developed themes, and on and on. Take your time and enjoy it, even if it takes a while (though it need'nt).
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Jun 20, 2011 00:40
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pkd3001 posted:I just finished "Man's Search for Meaning," by Viktor Frankl. It was a great book, imo. It's been quite a long time since I read that, and I'd be interested to hear your impressions in a bit more detail, if you wouldn't mind expanding on this.
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Jul 3, 2011 01:29
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pkd3001 posted:Oh, yeah, sure no problem. I really love existentialism, but Frankl created "logotherapy" which is a type of therapy that focuses on how "meaning" affects our lives instead say someone like Frued who was concerned with repressed memories and sexual repression. The book is all about how to find meaning in our lives despite the fact that we all suffer and we all will die one day. He was jewish and in the concentration camps during WWII, so despite the enormous suffering there, he still found meaning in his life. The book is really great and quite famous. I just like the existential themes in it, because I really love existentialism, especially Heidegger and Kierkegaard. Also I am new to Something Awful, and I keep forgetting where I post my replies, is there any way I can get email, telling me when someone responds to me, so I can respond back to them? Well, thanks, and looking forward to your response. Ah, many thanks! I do recall the overall thrust of the book in terms of the importance of finding meaning, but it's been a long, long time and I must confess I hadn't recalled a connection to the kind of subjectively determined/realized truth that's central to Kierkegaard's writing. As it happens, I've been digging around in an old copy of Bretall's anthology of late, so now I'm inspired to disinter Frankl so that I can compare them. As for the site, I think you can set it up so that you get emails when someone PMs you, but I'm not so sure about emails when a thread is updated. Probably the easiest thing would be to mark the thread and check it on your CP when it shows new posts.
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Jul 5, 2011 10:18
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pkd3001 posted:Yeah, I actually have a master's degree in philosophy, and what Orwell is getting is one of the deepest philosophical subjects out there. He is writing about the nature of evil, actually and how it happens. The famous political and phenomenological philosopher Hannah Arendt, used the often used, phrase, "banality of evil." This means, that evil happens not always, but sometimes, by psychopaths, but by ordinary people just going with the flow. In Nazi Germany how did the evil happen? It wasn't because the nation was a nation full of psychopaths, but because 30 million Germans were just "going with the flow." If you get enough people to start thinking 2 plus 2 equals, and they have actually done experiments where you get people to believe things they known are not true, then you get lots of evil. The ending is really, really, really, deep. I've not previously read Arendt, and recently added Origins of Totalitarianism to my wish list, so I was interested to see your post. Have you read her other works, and if so would you suggest starting with a different one (e.g., The Human Condition)? My initial curiosity about Arendt was as a political author (and came in the context of a fair amount of 20th Century history and economics reading), but if she's worthwhile as a purely philosophical author, I'd probably be equally interested in her philosophical work. Red Dad Redemption fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Jul 5, 2011 |
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Jul 5, 2011 10:37
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masada00 posted:I just started A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. I've had the thing hanging around for something like 10 years now and I'm finally getting around to reading it. I'm a few chapters in, and I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I recently finished The Evolution of God and Guns, Germs, and Steel which is probably what lead me to disagree with some of the views stated early on in the book. Specifically, I think he immensely underplays the role that disease had in the deaths of Native Americans, and he doesn't bother to examine what caused them to live a communal lifestyle or why the religions and laws of hunter gatherers are the way they are. I get that he's trying to come at the topic from a certain angle (which is why I decided to read the book) but I wish he would be more analytical. So now I'm starting off pretty skeptical, which in all honesty is exactly how one should be when they're reading history. Regardless, I am enjoying it so far and learning things which I had never even thought to question, like how Columbus made money on his voyages if he was unable to find gold or spices. In general terms Zinn would probably concede your point, but it's not unrelated to the perspective he's trying to highlight; he's trying to achieve a focused polemic rather than a more general history, as he notes in Chapter 1: quote:My point is not to grieve for the victims and denounce the executioners. Those tears, that anger, cast into the past, deplete our moral energy for the present. And the lines are not always clear. In the long run, the oppressor is also a victim. In the short run (and so far, human history has consisted only of short runs), the victims, themselves desperate and tainted with the culture that oppresses them, turn on other victims.
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Aug 28, 2011 19:30
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Clayton Bigsby posted:Just picked up James Bamford's The Shadow Factory, which is about all the fun things the NSA has been up to. Right now I am in the first part which is a very detailed breakdown of the communications breakdown and screwups relating to the 9/11 hijackers. Damned interesting read. Have you by chance read The Puzzle Palace by the same author? If so, if would be great to hear your thoughts; it was recommended to me a few years back, and I've thought about reading it from time to time but don't have a good sense of what to expect and/or whether the recommendation was well founded.
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Apr 9, 2012 23:16
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Recently started back in on Capital. I'm sure I needn't highlight the substance, the broad outlines of which are probably familiar to everyone, but I have to say I'm always surprised at what what an engaging and compelling read it is. It's really well worth reading for anyone, whether the reader is or is not sympathetic or otherwise particularly interested in political economy.
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Sep 9, 2012 19:03
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Vanderdeath posted:I'm starting Infinite Jest again after a couple of cold starts earlier this year. The page count doesn't deter me but Infinite Jest's story is so sprawling and its cast is so huge that it's daunting as hell to read. I have the same issue with Pynchon's novels. Had the same experience with that and Gravity's Rainbow. I've heard that Inherent Vice may be an easier read but I haven't ventured it yet. What I have recently been reading is In the Ruins of Empire by Prankaj Mishra. It's a discussion, in the main, of the intellectual and political crosscurrents of the Middle East, China and to a lesser degree South Asia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as older cultures contended with and struggled to react to their encounters with a newly energized West. It takes two intellectuals in particular and follows their respective careers, and for this reason, particularly since these are less well known figures, has something of the feel of a dissertation expanded into a book. Nevertheless, it's a lucid and fascinating read and good context for what continues to be a fraught set of relationships between the nations in these regions. I'm also continuing to chip away at Capital, which, whether or not you agree with the economic analysis it encompasses, is a remarkable achievement and an essential read.
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Nov 4, 2012 06:16
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Just started In Search of the Miraculous, by Ouspensky, and I think I'm almost as quickly going to put it down. I have an interest in contemplative traditions, and from time to time have run across references to Gurdjieff and "fourth way" schools, so I was curious to see what they were all about, and that book seemed like a good place to start. I retrospect, however, I should have started with Wikipedia; Ouspesnky is very lucid and readable, but the subject matter is just too far out, even for a genre that's intrinsically full of a lot of very weird material. I've also started The Gardens of the Moon. I'm a little nervous about that one, since some people say it's the weakest book in the series, but it is the first, so I'm going to try starting there and see how it goes. I've also begun the Bryant translation / edition of the Yoga Sutras. It seems to have a more scholarly flavor than some of the other translations, and appears very good so far. Finally, I recently picked up a copy of Cryptonomicon. I've just barely scratched the surface of that one, and probably it will be a while before I really get going on it, especially since I'm probably going to squeeze in Moby Dick before I begin Cryptocomicon in earnest.
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Aug 25, 2013 18:30
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Just started Consider the Lobster, by David Foster Wallace. It's witty, engaging, erudite, readable and slightly spergy all at the same time. A wonderful collection of essays, and probably (in light of the above) the perfect menu item for any goon who happens to enjoy that genre.
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Jul 6, 2014 22:08
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PantsBandit posted:I've been disappointed with how little I've been reading recently so I went and picked up A Game of Thrones, American Psycho, and The Illiad. One thing to bear in mind about A Game of Thrones and the other books in that series (A Song of Ice and Fire) is that the details really do matter. All sorts of plot points are nested in, the significance of which only becomes clear later, so you want to pay close attention to what is going on. Even small turn of phrase can turn out to be quite important. Enjoy! P.S.: The Illiad is great, you have some very good reading ahead.
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Jul 10, 2014 05:56
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MaggieTheCat posted:I just started The Blue Nowhere by Jeffrey Deaver. I'm on a mystery book binge, and my husband recommended this one. I assume you've already worked in Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely, The Long Goodbye)?
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Aug 9, 2014 02:07
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Started in on (or am re-reading) a number of books, including (among others): - The History of the Russian Revolution, Trotsky - Capital in the Twenty First Century, Piketty - The Bhavagad Gita, Prabhavananda and Isherwood trans Enjoying the first two so far, though Trotsky's unique writing style can take getting used to. The third is a translation I picked up as an undergrad years ago. Not the best, I'm (quite) sure, but very readable and hence suitable for interludes between sessions with heavier / drier material. Actually, if anyone could recommend a strong translation of the Gita, I'd be grateful: it would be good to take a deeper dive at some point.
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Aug 16, 2014 03:57
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cheekyvixen posted:Just started The Holy Qu'ran... I have a few copies, but frankly I'm dissatisfied with the translations I have. If you don't mind my asking, which one did you choose, are you happy with it and if so why?
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Aug 20, 2014 02:50
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