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I'm looking for some good Atheist reading. I've heard about the God deliusion, and checked the reviews on Amazon, doesn't really seem like my style. If anyone can suggest where to start on this subject I'd really appreciate it.
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Sep 1, 2010 06:16
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keyframe posted:I am just finishing up "Let The Right One In". Are there other Vampire books of this caliber? I have tried reading the Anne Rice stuff but found it quite lame. Goes without saying but I will stab you if you suggest twilight. The Passage by Justin Cronin is very good.
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Sep 2, 2010 16:31
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Ckwiesr posted:I'm looking for some good Atheist reading. I've heard about the God deliusion, and checked the reviews on Amazon, doesn't really seem like my style. If anyone can suggest where to start on this subject I'd really appreciate it. Read Existentialism is a Humanism. It's a lecture by Sartre on why not believing in God is incredibly empowering. You also might want to look up some of Bertrand Russell's stuff on atheism, it's been too long since I read him so I'm not the best person to ask, but he was a (brilliant) professional philosopher and his stuff is very accessible and well argued. I'd got about 40 pages into the God Delusion before wanting to smash something - it's probably the worst example of this 'new atheism', snobbish, badly reasoned, vitriolic, and ignorant of a lot of the important philosophical arguments about religion. Some people love it, but I'd advise staying clear. Edit: I've just finished Love in the Time of Cholera. Other than Hundred Years, is Marquez's other stuff worth reading? I've been told I should try Borges next, neither of my local second hand bookshops have anything of his, so any suggestions on where to start? delicious beef fucked around with this message at 02:49 on Sep 3, 2010 |
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Sep 2, 2010 21:58
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delicious beef posted:Edit: I've just finished Love in the Time of Cholera. Other than Hundred Years, is Marquez's other stuff worth reading? I've been told I should try Borges next, neither of my local second hand bookshops have anything of his, so any suggestions on where to start? Marquez himself has said that his best work is No One Writes to the Colonel, and I would definitely read Chronicle of a Death Foretold before moving on. I also liked the novella Innocent Eréndira a lot. For Borges: Fictions, or Book of Sand seem to be safe places to start. And If you like Marquez and Borges grab some Italo Calvino as well - Invisible Cities is great. e: you actually read Love in the Time of Cholera? Poor you - Hundred Years of Solitude is so much better imo, and now you have to read the shorter stories I mention above! rasser fucked around with this message at 11:16 on Sep 3, 2010 |
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Sep 3, 2010 11:14
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I'm looking for a good book that deals with the history of the middle east, mainly dealing with the Israel/Palestine conflict. Any suggestions ?
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Sep 4, 2010 06:01
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I'm looking for a few hyper-violent but still somewhat realistic American Western novels. I've already read Blood Meridian and loved it. Looking for something recently written (last 15 years or so) rather than the older classics. Either a series or standalone works are welcome.
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Sep 4, 2010 10:00
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Well, I finished reading John Dies at the End (it was phenomenal) and I'm done with the Bas-Lag series. Where should I turn now for my violent/freaky/body-horror/somewhat-juvenile/constantly-introducing-new-horrors fix?
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Sep 4, 2010 10:30
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Cobweb Heart posted:Well, I finished reading John Dies at the End (it was phenomenal) I absolutely love that book! I think I'm going to go put it in my "to read" pile. Sorry I don't have any suggestions, but I'll certainly be writing down anything that people suggest to you. 
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Sep 4, 2010 20:58
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Figure I'll ask in this thread, because I haven't read a good book in years. One of my favorite books in The Gunslinger by Stephen King. Are there other books like it that I would enjoy? Gritty, splashed with sci-fi/fantasy, but mostly an rear end in a top hat main character in a dirty, broken world?
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Sep 5, 2010 00:48
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crime fighting hog posted:but mostly an rear end in a top hat main character in a dirty, broken world? I particularly liked Jim Davis' Garfield.
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Sep 5, 2010 00:51
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ONE TWO THREE TIMES TWO TO THE SIX/JONESING FOR YOUR FIX OF THAT LIMP BIZKIT MIX
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Like Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Should read _________________ ?
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Sep 5, 2010 04:17
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7 y.o. bitch posted:I particularly liked Jim Davis' Garfield. LOL!
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Sep 5, 2010 12:18
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I just burned through almost everything that Charles Willeford has written and loved all of it, especially the Hoke Moseley novels. I enjoyed the fast pace and the images that he created, has anyone read an authour that is similar in this vein? Is there a detective/crime fiction thread?
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Sep 5, 2010 16:58
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http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3322774
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Sep 5, 2010 17:20
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I just finished reading Casanova's memoirs and I'm looking for similar books about love/passion. I'm open to any direction, non-fiction, autobiography, whatever, not so much romance but more of a focus on the human emotion/connection and its place in the world, anyone have any good ideas?
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Sep 5, 2010 18:28
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I'm looking for Swedish authors and Swedish literature. I'm not too picky about genres, I just want a large sampling of authors from the country. Individual books aren't as important as authors to me since I tend to read everything by a given author anyway. If it helps I like Doctor Glas by Hjalmar Söderberg.
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Sep 5, 2010 23:22
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Doctor Teeth posted:I'm looking for Swedish authors and Swedish literature. I'm not too picky about genres, I just want a large sampling of authors from the country. Individual books aren't as important as authors to me since I tend to read everything by a given author anyway. Tomas Tranströmer is probably the biggest deal in 20th century Swedish poetry (or so I hear) and his collected poems have come out relatively recently and are pretty cool. Harry Martinson is another important poet as well as Nobel Laureate. He wrote a poetic cycle about a spaceship that tries to leave a dying earth and gets lost outside of the solar system. Its called Aniara, though unfortunately last I checked it seems to be out of print and expensive (in English).
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Sep 6, 2010 01:31
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LuckySevens posted:I just finished reading Casanova's memoirs and I'm looking for similar books about love/passion. I'm open to any direction, non-fiction, autobiography, whatever, not so much romance but more of a focus on the human emotion/connection and its place in the world, anyone have any good ideas? If you can get past (or enjoy) the Machiavellian aspects of it, Robert Greene's The Art of Seduction is a pretty good study of this. It's mainly a series of examples from history/literature, and borrows heavily from Casanova's memoirs among other sources.
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Sep 6, 2010 14:26
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crime fighting hog posted:Figure I'll ask in this thread, because I haven't read a good book in years. Henry Kissinger's Memoirs (the Zeitgeist press's Graphic Novel edition comes out in 2012).
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Sep 6, 2010 15:32
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petewhitley posted:If you can get past (or enjoy) the Machiavellian aspects of it, Robert Greene's The Art of Seduction is a pretty good study of this. It's mainly a series of examples from history/literature, and borrows heavily from Casanova's memoirs among other sources. No. No it isn't. It isn't a "focus on ... human emotion/connection" at all. To suggest otherwise is absurd. It's a book written by a failed Hollywood screenwriter, and written with the interests of marketing over art. It's a terrible, trashy, disgusting book, just like all of Greene's books are, promoted by a con-man and dressed up in the pseudo-intellectual style of con-men. There are absolutely no reasons to read any of his books. Not because they are amoral, but because they are stupid and made for autists. And to compare him to Machiavelli is to Machiavelli a great disservice if you knew anything about Machiavelli.
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Sep 6, 2010 19:05
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If you're interested in reading about the emotions surrounding love, just read Proust's Swann's Way - Swann in Love in particular. I can't think of anybody who wrote about what it feels like to feel for somebody as well as Proust did.
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Sep 6, 2010 19:15
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barkingclam posted:If you're interested in reading about the emotions surrounding love, just read Proust's Swann's Way - Swann in Love in particular. I can't think of anybody who wrote about what it feels like to feel for somebody as well as Proust did. You must be joking.
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Sep 6, 2010 22:24
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Can anyone recommend some good end-of-the-world fiction that concentrates more on the big picture rather than the impact on a specific person/group? World War Z is a good example of the kind of thing I'm after, but I have no preference for any particular type of apocalypse. Importantly, the terrible events (whatever they are) should be taking place or have already happened, not narrowly avoided in the last chapter.
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Sep 6, 2010 22:29
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crime fighting hog posted:Figure I'll ask in this thread, because I haven't read a good book in years. Other Dirty Grubby Fantasy/Sci-Fi is probably going to be stuff like Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing Trilogy, Glen Cooke's Chronicles of the Black Company Iain M. Bank's Algebraist and Consider Phleebas, and Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon. Altered Carbon in particular was exceptionally squalid. If you want to sit down with a Big rear end Book you could check out Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, in the UK the Fantasy Masterworks series has republished it split into two books rather than the original four for extra value, although the front covers are a bit embarrassing to be seen with in public. Gay and badly drawn. Alot of guys on here make good noises about Matthew Woodring Stover's Heroes Die but I didn't rate it much. I only bring it up because the copy I got had the gayest front cover I've seen outside of the Paranormal Romance section, so be warned before you buy it online.
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Sep 6, 2010 22:35
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Sanford posted:Can anyone recommend some good end-of-the-world fiction that concentrates more on the big picture rather than the impact on a specific person/group? World War Z is a good example of the kind of thing I'm after, but I have no preference for any particular type of apocalypse. Importantly, the terrible events (whatever they are) should be taking place or have already happened, not narrowly avoided in the last chapter. How about Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt? quote:The Mississippian civilization of Illyria exists in a post-apocalyptic world in which civilization is just beginning to raise its head. Although Illyrian society is not fully described by McDevitt, its most salient point for the purposes of the novel is the existence of the Imperium, a Medieval style college which tries to understand the artefacts left behind by the previous "Roadmaker" civilization. Along with the idea of the Roadmakers is the belief in a lost Edenesque community, Haven, somewhere in the far Northeast. As the novel opens, Karik Endine returns, the sole survivor of a failed attempt to discover Haven.
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Sep 6, 2010 22:46
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Captain Corduroy posted:Like Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. It's still on my to read list, but I'm told the obvious answer is His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Majesty%27s_Dragon
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Sep 6, 2010 23:17
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7 y.o. bitch posted:No. No it isn't. It isn't a "focus on ... human emotion/connection" at all. To suggest otherwise is absurd. It's a book written by a failed Hollywood screenwriter, and written with the interests of marketing over art. It's a terrible, trashy, disgusting book, just like all of Greene's books are, promoted by a con-man and dressed up in the pseudo-intellectual style of con-men. There are absolutely no reasons to read any of his books. Not because they are amoral, but because they are stupid and made for autists. And to compare him to Machiavelli is to Machiavelli a great disservice if you knew anything about Machiavelli.  Listen, I warned the guy that the theme of the book is controversial. To claim that it isn't Machiavellian is mind-boggling and pretty much shows you have little-to-zero actual knowledge of the book/author beyond what your friends at the coffee shop told you. A puffed-up rant like the above actually serves to make the book seem more appealing than it actually is. Your description of it sounds as though it's a Larry Flynt imprint. edit: I'm not looking to debate the merits of Robert Greene or his works. But to correct your post which ignored the original request, The Art of Seduction objectively contains a great many examples of love/passion/seduction/emotion in both historical and literary contexts. If the original poster wants to find out what the fuss is about, (s)he can read it. Or I suppose if you're autistic it's probably right up your alley as well, lol. Fly Ricky fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Sep 7, 2010 |
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Sep 7, 2010 02:03
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petewhitley posted:
You have no sense of quality or value. And I meant that Machiavelli was a great, thoughtful thinker, although I know what you meant. And I don't consider Greene's book Machiavellian in any sense of the term - it is not intelligent enough for that. Now, perhaps Greene himself is Machiavellian, seeing how he has pulled the wool over your eyes and vast numbers of others ....
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Sep 7, 2010 02:44
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The Grand Judabuddha posted:It's still on my to read list, but I'm told the obvious answer is His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik I've actually read all of these books already :[ but you'd be correct!
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Sep 7, 2010 06:46
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7 y.o. bitch posted:Now, perhaps Greene himself is Machiavellian, seeing how he has pulled the wool over your eyes and vast numbers of others .... Machiavelli would have someone else pull the wool; push the original puller in an oubliette; and then blame the accident on the woolly-eyed's stumbling clumsiness.
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Sep 7, 2010 08:11
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keyframe posted:I am just finishing up "Let The Right One In". Are there other Vampire books of this caliber? I have tried reading the Anne Rice stuff but found it quite lame. Goes without saying but I will stab you if you suggest twilight. Agyar by Steven Brust is amazing. One of the few books I reread every 3-4 years. That's all I'm going to say about it and I urge you to refrain from reading any reviews, which will most likely spoil your reading experience to some degree.
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Sep 8, 2010 02:57
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Velvet Elvis posted:Agyar by Steven Brust is amazing. One of the few books I reread every 3-4 years. That's all I'm going to say about it and I urge you to refrain from reading any reviews, which will most likely spoil your reading experience to some degree. It's nice to see someone else recommend this book. I pretty much gave up because no one ever listened to me.
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Sep 8, 2010 03:02
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Sanford posted:Can anyone recommend some good end-of-the-world fiction that concentrates more on the big picture rather than the impact on a specific person/group? World War Z is a good example of the kind of thing I'm after, but I have no preference for any particular type of apocalypse. Importantly, the terrible events (whatever they are) should be taking place or have already happened, not narrowly avoided in the last chapter.  Hiero's Journey by Sterling E. Lanier.
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Sep 8, 2010 03:21
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I have two requests.. 1) This is really general. I just want to read something nonfiction that can give me knowledge or appreciation for a subject. For example, I read Cosmos and now I have a deep appreciation for why we know what we know about space and how we know it, along with tons of things ordinary people don't know. I could read about anything nonfiction, be it history, a biography, anything, as long as I come out knowing something I didn't know before. 2) A book on conversation. I just have a hard time meeting random people that arent friends of friends because I can't do smalltalk any better than the average person so naturally I sound like an average person. Any suggestions?
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Sep 8, 2010 03:40
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Velvet Elvis posted:Agyar by Steven Brust is amazing. One of the few books I reread every 3-4 years. That's all I'm going to say about it and I urge you to refrain from reading any reviews, which will most likely spoil your reading experience to some degree. When I was a teenager my best friend's boyfriend lent her this book. I remember it still because we spent a night taking turns reading it aloud to each other. It contained the phrases "pins and needles of the soul" and "acne of the soul." Also, iirc, every other sentence ends with the word "lover"; e.g., "I have acne of the soul, lover." It is genuinely the worst book I have ever seen. CheerGrrl92 posted:2) A book on conversation. I just have a hard time meeting random people that arent friends of friends because I can't do smalltalk any better than the average person so naturally I sound like an average person. Any suggestions? Like, a book about how to converse? Or a book that will make you an "interesting conversationalist"? Most people sound like average people. Facial Fracture fucked around with this message at 04:10 on Sep 8, 2010 |
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Sep 8, 2010 04:06
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CheerGrrl92 posted:2) A book on conversation. I just have a hard time meeting random people that arent friends of friends because I can't do smalltalk any better than the average person so naturally I sound like an average person. Any suggestions? I would suggest cultivating your innermost being first. May I suggest Plato?
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Sep 8, 2010 04:33
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From the Publishers Weekly write-up of the Agyar book:quote:(Brust adds the initials P.J.F. after his name. They stand for Pre-Joyce Foundation, a group whose members, among them Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, and Jane Yolen, believe that James Joyce ruined modern literature.)
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Sep 8, 2010 04:55
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I've been reading quite a few musician bio's recently, and most, while not being particularly well written have still been quite engaging and interesting, but the bits I've enjoyed most have been tales of drug/alcohol abuse and how it's affected them, their band, their family and friends, but unfortunately, most of the ones I've read haven't really gone into that kind of detail. The Motley Crue bio and Nikki Sixx diaries were good in that they didn't spare the details that painted themselves in the worst kind of light, even in their most desperate hours, while the ones like Eric Clapton, Slash and Ronnie Wood ones didn't really divulge much information about that part of their life aside from "It was bad, but then I got over it", and the Ronnie Wood version almost glorified it ("It was bad, but then I got over it, but while I WAS doing it, it was really fun!!") I've heard some good things about books about Nick Cave but not sure which would be best. So basically, any recommendations for tales of addiction are what I'm looking for, preferably musicians, but open to other suggestions as well
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Sep 8, 2010 09:11
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CheerGrrl92 posted:1) This is really general. I just want to read something nonfiction that can give me knowledge or appreciation for a subject. For example, I read Cosmos and now I have a deep appreciation for why we know what we know about space and how we know it, along with tons of things ordinary people don't know. I could read about anything nonfiction, be it history, a biography, anything, as long as I come out knowing something I didn't know before. There are several well-written popular books on evolution that are literary equivalents of Cosmos. May I recommend Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene and Stephen Jay Gould's early collections of essays (particularly Ever Since Darwin)? Tom Slee's No-one Makes You Shop at Wal-Mart serves as an introduction to economics, in addition showing the limits to the ideas of efficient markets and choice theory which underpin economics -- I really loved this book. David Cordingly's Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates is a perfect introduction to pirates. Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language is a good general outline of linguistics written in an engaging non-textbook manner.
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Sep 8, 2010 15:11
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dokmo posted:Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language is a good general outline of linguistics written in an engaging non-textbook manner. Reading this now for a university course in animal behaviour. It's very good, but it was written in the early 90s, and often Pinker makes analogies between human language and computer "language", and it can be as awkward as any book written in the early 90s about computers. Other than those moments, it still all holds up well.
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Sep 8, 2010 15:17
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