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Ozma posted:Mainly what concerned me was his interpretation of South America vs Spain; I read (and truly enjoyed) 1492, which outlined a lot of reasons why the Spanish were able to conquer so many civilizations despite the fact that numbers weren't in their favor. Of course I'm going to find authors who quibble over details, but the one thing that got me was this: I THINK (correct me if I read hastily), GG&S makes a big deal out of a couple things: disease (a given, no disputing that), horses/weapons, and "naive" cultures. I'm about 2/3 through the book and he gives several examples to back up statements he makes early in the book which should answer some of the questions you are having. I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far, though it is a little dry reading it some places. I can only read about farming for so long
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Feb 20, 2008 02:02
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Gun, Germs & Steel Jared Diamond What an interesting book! It really provided an insight into the world humanity created and why it is the way it is. I've heard detractors of the book cite valid criticisms of the book before so I was very aware of what I was reading while doing so. My only complaint is that it was so long winded and repetitive. I can only read about farming and crop domestication for so long and only so many times. Regardless how interesting the theories and ideas were the first time, I don't need to be continually reminded. This book however is great for learning about the spread of technology and varying abilities of societies to advance in their environment.
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Feb 27, 2008 02:25
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Rant Chuck Palahniuk I thought it was awesome! I was cautious going in because I'd read a few bad reviews in this thread but found myself disagreeing with them. This story is one of Chuck's most complex that I've read yet. I loved the science fiction style Chuck put into this. When I read Haunted and read one of the stories that involved Venus, I knew I wanted to read more of Chuck's science fiction. I did have to skip a couple of dry parts like the chapter on liminal space or some long rants by Green Taylor Simms, but other than this I was hooked. I really liked the fact that I couldn't guess the ending or main plot points until they were actually given. I had several theories all of which turned out to only be half true. Now I'm reading The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama.
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Feb 28, 2008 16:01
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The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama Being a complete Obama fan, I just had to get this. It was really interesting and gave me a lot more information on what he plans to do than 10 second news blurbs could. He is a fantastic writer and I'd be interested in hearing the audio version. I'm thinking about getting his other book Dreams From My Father and reading that one, too. Total Party Kill fucked around with this message at 05:00 on May 12, 2024 |
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Mar 13, 2008 16:35
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LooseChanj posted:I wonder if he'll write a sequel, The Reality of Despair. NO HE WONT BECAUSE ALL THE WORLDS PROBLEMS WILL BE SOLVED ON JAN 20 2009!!!!!!!!
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Mar 13, 2008 16:41
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Encryptic posted:Just finished The Terror by Dan Simmons. I just started it today 
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Mar 15, 2008 02:58
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idhindsight posted:I really really want to read this book and it's been sitting on my nightstand for over a year. I've tried a couple of times but the pacing is deathly slow (I'm on, like, page 90). Does it ever pick up? Yes, but it's okay to skip long parts about the characters' past lives and information on the boat that will never be interesting. The story doesn't suffer.
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Mar 31, 2008 17:59
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Re: The Terroridhindsight posted:I really really want to read this book and it's been sitting on my nightstand for over a year. I've tried a couple of times but the pacing is deathly slow (I'm on, like, page 90). Does it ever pick up? perceptual_set posted:Yes, but it's okay to skip long parts about the characters' past lives and information on the boat that will never be interesting. The story doesn't suffer. idhindsight posted:e: Thanks p_s! Sorry, dude.
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Apr 3, 2008 03:28
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idhindsight posted:Well, good goddamn. Thanks for letting me know, now I can focus on better books. You and me both.
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Apr 3, 2008 21:32
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Ozma posted:This sounds really fascinating, actually. I'll add this to my list. How's Guns, Germs & Steel? Put it down?
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Apr 7, 2008 20:36
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Kentucky Shark posted:(it was also made into a movie a few years back directed by Sam Raimi; I hear the movie is excellent but I haven't seen it yet). If it's the one with Bill Paxton, then yes it's pretty awesome.
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Apr 9, 2008 15:59
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JollyGood posted:That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis (BORING) I agree, but did you read the first two books of the series? They are infinitely better.
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Apr 11, 2008 15:17
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Timequake | Kurt Vonnegut This was one of the saddest and funniest books by him that I've read. It seems throughout that Vonnegut looked around himself and saw his friends and family dying and realized that meant his time was coming soon. He seemed very comfortable with the idea of dying that it brought on an odd sense of things to come, especially as he describes walking down the stairs of his home that ultimately lead to his death. The epilogue nearly brought me to tears. Despite all this, his thoughts in this book made me laugh more than any other of his books yet. This was fantastic.
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Apr 13, 2008 18:44
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Deeper | Jeff Long A sequel to his previous work The Descent in which the hell and demons of our religions are found to be an actual place inhabited by an evolutionary off-shoot. Lots of mutilations, cannibalism and scary poo poo flying out in dark caves. The original book ended with what seemed every intention of being a self-contained story. There was no to be continued so when I was glancing through the horror section and saw this I was pretty surprised. The second book involves mankind's recolonization of the underworld. When chaos is unleashed in the underworld it only serves to increase the growing tensions between the US and China. I didn't like some of the supernatural aspects of the story like ghosts making appearances but I generally don't like supernatural elements in books. I did however love the book and found it to be a lot of fun and frequently gave me the feeling of "...just one more page!" Total Party Kill fucked around with this message at 18:37 on Apr 25, 2008 |
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Apr 25, 2008 18:35
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Death by Black Hole | Neil DeGrasse Tyson A collection of 42 essays on cosmology and astrophysics. Tyson is able to take extremely complex subjects in his field and make them really easy to understand. He's also got a great sense of humor about it all and cracks jokes throughout the book. I know Greydon Square claims the title of "Black Carl Sagan" but I really think Mr. Tyson is more deserving of the title. And yes, Tyson does explain step-by-step what it would be like to die in a black hole.
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May 9, 2008 20:53
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ProfessorFrink! posted:Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries by Neil deGrasse Tyson Last part could have been in a separate work. While it made some good points, it didn't seem to match the attitude of the rest of the book.
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May 25, 2008 04:43
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ProfessorFrink! posted:Oil by Upton Sinclair. What was your opinion of the movie, then?
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Jun 2, 2008 04:52
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ProfessorFrink! posted:I thought the movie was awesome. Daniel Day Lewis is always great and his character's fall into madness is interesting and funny at times (milkshake). I was expecting a book about the father like the movie, but got a book about the son. I'm still considering reading it, just looking for a cover that doesn't have a movie ad on it.
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Jun 2, 2008 15:14
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LooseChanj posted:This is the main reason I haven't read I, Robot yet. Same goes for a lot of books lately. I am Legend, No Country For Old Men etc
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Jun 2, 2008 16:01
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Red Mars | Kim Stanley Robinson I tried reading this series about 10 years ago and remember thinking it was awful. I was so frustrated because the idea of terraforming Mars makes me nerdgasm. I so badly wished they would talk about the terraforming nonstop and be damned with the storyline. So I struggled and gave up on this book many years ago... ...the book it seemed, kept popping up in bookstores as I wandered the aisles and so much that I got curious about how much I might enjoy the story now. Thankfully the book is much better when I'm not 14 anymore. I really enjoyed it though Robinson's scene descriptions can be kind of dull.
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Jun 3, 2008 03:29
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ProfessorFrink! posted:There are way too many storylines going on in that series. I agree...more science. I read up through about halfway in Blue Mars and put it down about 6 months ago. The storyline goes straight to government/politics basically. Hmm... that might actually help the series for me. I never got to Blue Mars even when I tried reading this when younger so thanks for the insight.
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Jun 3, 2008 16:56
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idhindsight posted:I'm currently about a third of the way through Blindness and enjoying it a good deal. I question the plausibility of any modern government quarantining a group of people without virtually any aid, and their general practice of "shoot first, never ask any questions" also seems to be absurd, but whatever. It is fiction, after all.. None of this is without historical precedent, though.
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Jun 18, 2008 23:55
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Encryptic, you read really fast.
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Jun 26, 2008 16:11
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buns of molybdenum posted:House of Leaves As in, "what the gently caress are you asking us?"
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Jul 1, 2008 21:39
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buns of molybdenum posted:I get the plot of the Navidson Report and Johnny Truant's story. I get those stories that are explicitly laid out in the book. By "What the gently caress?" I mean what does it all mean? What's the point? What am I missing? There's way too much detail for there not to be an overall theme, or allegory, or connection between the Navidson Report, Zampano', and/or Truant. I think the point is it's a haunted house and it's supposed to scare you. Didn't work? The connection between all three is Navidson = movie, Zapano = written report, Truant = fellow reader
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Jul 2, 2008 03:15
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Out of the Silent Planet | C.S. Lewis After dropping Green Mars (because god-drat that is just as boring as I remember it) I picked this up along with Perelandra, These two are some of my favorite stories by Lewis. I also like to pretend that the final installment, That Hideous Strength doesn't exist because it's awful. I hadn't read these in years because I seemed to have lost my old copies but it's nice to have them again.
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Jul 4, 2008 00:42
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The Road | Cormac McCarthy Okay, since every loving goon has written a post in this thread about this book I finally read it. I loved it. It was beautiful and made me sob like a baby throughout the end. I only needed to be told to read it 2323987239823 times.
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Jul 6, 2008 22:23
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God is Not Great | Christopher Hitchens I've had a lovely night tonight so I finished this in an attempt to fall back asleep. Needless to say, this has been my least favorite of the late atheist litanies. It's very dry and seems to suck all the fun out of some very interesting subjects. I would not recommend this to anyone interested in the subject but would ask that you seek out books by Dawkins or Harris instead.
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Jul 7, 2008 10:37
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Cosmonauticus posted:There is more graphic, awkward, with snickering aliens watching, sex scenes too! Turtledove is a hack. It's a good thing you waited almost 2 years and 73 pages to correct me. I almost made a terrible mistake.
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Jul 26, 2008 04:43
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Neo_Reloaded posted:It's that engrossing? I mean, I know it's long, but you're saying I'll be compelled to have marathon reading sessions? No, they just wont want to talk to you anymore.
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Aug 13, 2008 14:53
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The Assault on Reason | Al Gore Holy poo poo. Holy poo poo is the Bush administration hosed up. I mean, we all know it but God drat does this book absolutely scare the poo poo out of me. What the christing gently caress is wrong with us? If you're unfamiliar with the book, it's basically a laundry list of everything that is wrong with our country as a result of the Bush administration's actions. It's good but it'll scare you and piss you off endlessly.
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Aug 30, 2008 01:22
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I only wonder how butchered the movie is going to be.
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Aug 31, 2008 04:33
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No question. I'll see it too
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Sep 1, 2008 00:11
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Elmer Gantry | Sinclair Lewis This si my second Lewis novel and I really enjoyed it. Of course it's waaaay too long and for long stretches really doesn't go anywhere but there are sections of it that were really great and made the long story really worth it. It follows Elmer Gantry an aspiring protestant preacher as he rises through the ranks while hiding a private life steeped in hypocrisy and sin. It is a really great study into the duality of those working in the church. The ending was pretty funny too.
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Sep 23, 2008 17:46
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Crisis and Change: Basic Questions of Marxist Sociology - Alan Specter and Peter Knapp I got this as a Christmas gift and have used it as a guide for some of Marx's more complex concepts. It's a textbook explaining Marxist Sociology in the wake of the fall of the USSR. Plus, mine is signed by Mr. Specter.
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Jan 11, 2010 22:51
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I just finished Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem. It was part of a book club I've joined with some friends. ANyways it's kind of a noir-y detective novel written in a Vonnegut-esque scifi near-future. I'd looked forward to reading this as I thought Lethem's Fortress of Solitude was very entertaining. This, not so much. I mean, while I was reading it I was really enjoying it and wasn't bored... but periods that I wasn't reading it, I felt no attachement to it. I wasn't drawn to go back to the book at all, which I guess is pretty telling. I'd probably like to read some more detective novels as that is kind of new genre for me and I would definitely read more of Lethem's work but I wasn't blown away by this book.
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Aug 30, 2011 19:00
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You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann A short horror novella about a haunted house. Super creepy. For fans of House of Leaves. There was a Kevin Bacon movie made of it that I have not seen.
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May 3, 2024 22:10
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Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica A dystopian horror novel in which the world has been transformed by a virus that has made all animals poisonous to humans. Society has gone through the "Transition" whereby consumption of human meat is normalized and codified. An entire industry has been born out of the raising and slaughtering of humans for consumption. The main character, Marcos, works for a human meat processing plant and through a series personal tragedies has recently become disillusioned with his role in the world. This book was brutal. It broke me at a couple points. I really enjoyed it, but it was tough to get through at some points because of its disregard for humanity. 
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May 12, 2024 04:19
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