News:

Departing the Vacuousness

Main Menu

HAF Book Club: September poll

Started by Sandra Craft, August 16, 2017, 11:27:15 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Sandra Craft

It's that time again.  Remember you can also suggest new books at any time.

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, by Frans de Waal
What separates your mind from an animal's? Maybe you think it's your ability to design tools, your sense of self, or your grasp of past and future—all traits that have helped us define ourselves as the planet's preeminent species. But in recent decades, these claims have eroded, or even been disproven outright, by a revolution in the study of animal cognition. Take the way octopuses use coconut shells as tools; elephants that classify humans by age, gender, and language; or Ayumu, the young male chimpanzee at Kyoto University whose flash memory puts that of humans to shame. Based on research involving crows, dolphins, parrots, sheep, wasps, bats, whales, and of course chimpanzees and bonobos, Frans de Waal explores both the scope and the depth of animal intelligence.

Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The New York Times - Michiko Kakutani
Inspired by James Baldwin's 1963 classic The Fire Next Time, Ta-Nehisi Coates's new book, Between the World and Me, is a searing meditation on what it means to be black in America today...[a] powerful and passionate book...  [written as a letter from father to son]

Confessions of a Barbarian, by Edward Abbey
Ending with an entry written 12 days before his 1989 death at age 60, the diaries of the late environmentalist and novelist (The Monkeywrench Gang) are adolescent in spirit, with all the virtues and vices that word implies. Abbey is capable of startling self-righteousness; his fulminations against writers he considers second-rate seem to be motivated as much by jealousy as by genuine bewilderment at his rivals' success. Yet such moments are cut with welcome self-mockery: He calls himself ``E. Abbey, famous unknown author.'' Though he traveled over the world, he finds his spiritual home in the American Southwest, and some of his most moving writing here pays lush homage to the austere landscape or lashes out at those poised to destroy it. Abbey the lover is as vocal as the moralist: exuberantly priapic tributes to one woman after another fill these pages.

Crazy From the Heat, by David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth recounts with trademark showmanship and canny self-awareness the antics of the feverishly bacchanalian entertainment world. In the same gleefully honest and delightfully discursive voice his many fans have come to relish, Roth gives readers a backstage pass to his long strange trip from obscurity to rock stardom, his ups and downs with the Van Halens, and much more that will raise the eyebrows of even the most jaded music industry afficionado.

Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origin, by Robert M. Hazen
Life on Earth arose nearly 4 billion years ago, bursting forth from air, water, and rock. Though the process obeyed all the rules of chemistry and physics, the details of that original event pose as deep a mystery as any facing science. How did non-living chemicals become alive? While the question is (deceivingly) simple, the answers are unquestionably complex. Science inevitably plays a key role in any discussion of life's origins, dealing less with the question of why life appeared on Earth than with where, when, and how it emerged on the blasted, barren face of our primitive planet.

The Invention of Nature, by Andrea Wulf
The acclaimed author of Founding Gardeners reveals the forgotten life of Alexander von Humboldt, the visionary German naturalist whose ideas changed the way we see the natural world—and in the process created modern environmentalism.

What Nietzsche Really Said, by Robert C. Solomon & Kathleen M. Higgins
Friedrich Nietzsche's aggressive independence, flamboyance, sarcasm, and celebration of strength have struck responsive chords in contemporary culture. More people than ever are reading and discussing his writings. But Nietzsche's ideas are often overshadowed by the myths and rumors that surround his sex life, his politics, and his sanity. In this lively and comprehensive analysis, Nietzsche scholars Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins get to the heart of Nietzsche's philosophy, from his ideas on "the will to power" to his attack on religion and morality and his infamous Übermensch (superman).


Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Biggus Dickus

My votes are in, thanks again Sandy for putting this together. 8)
"Some people just need a high-five. In the face. With a chair."

Sandra Craft

You're welcome, and love the new icon.
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Biggus Dickus

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on August 16, 2017, 05:19:14 PM
You're welcome, and love the new icon.

Thanks. I know, I saw that and I was like, "Girl, I have to have that'!
"Some people just need a high-five. In the face. With a chair."

Icarus

Good set of choices Sandy.

Sometime in the future I suggest these two; Reality check...How science deniers threaten our future. Author Donald R. Prothero has nailed it. The shabby tactics of science denialists sparked this astute exposition of what we lose when science is sidelined.  He delves into the realm of climate change, biodiversity loss, and over population. Heady stuff.

The Broken Ladder is a book about How inequality affects the way we think, live, and die.Author Keith Payne, professor of psychology at Univ of North Carolina, has also nailed it. He explains with simplicity and lucidity how our inequality and our perceptions of inequality have influenced our lives for better or worse. Mostly worse. It is an easy read that is most capable of having us examine our attitudes and senses of self worth. Maybe a life adjuster for some of us.


Sandra Craft

Quote from: Icarus on August 17, 2017, 01:45:21 AM
Good set of choices Sandy.

Sometime in the future I suggest these two; Reality check...How science deniers threaten our future. Author Donald R. Prothero has nailed it. The shabby tactics of science denialists sparked this astute exposition of what we lose when science is sidelined.  He delves into the realm of climate change, biodiversity loss, and over population. Heady stuff.

The Broken Ladder is a book about How inequality affects the way we think, live, and die.Author Keith Payne, professor of psychology at Univ of North Carolina, has also nailed it. He explains with simplicity and lucidity how our inequality and our perceptions of inequality have influenced our lives for better or worse. Mostly worse. It is an easy read that is most capable of having us examine our attitudes and senses of self worth. Maybe a life adjuster for some of us.

Thanks, Icarus!  I'll put them on the list for the next go round.

Also, a general note, we could use more fiction suggestions too.
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Velma

What about something from Michael Chabon? He writes fiction that is both funny and thought-provoking. I particularly enjoyed the The Yiddish Policemen's Union and Wonderboys.

https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Chabon/e/B00456TWZY/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1503180309&sr=8-2-ent
Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of the astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy.~Carl Sagan

Velma

Forgot this one:

Underground Airlines by Ben Winters: It is the present day, and the world is as we know it: smartphones, social networking, and Happy Meals. Save for one thing: The Civil War never occurred.

A gifted young black man calling himself Victor has struck a bargain with federal law enforcement, working as a bounty hunter for the US Marshal Service. He's got plenty of work. In this version of America, slavery continues in four states called "the Hard Four". On the trail of a runaway known as Jackdaw, Victor arrives in Indianapolis knowing that something isn't right - with the case file, with his work, and with the country itself.

I've not read this yet, but it looks quite interesting.
Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of the astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy.~Carl Sagan

Sandra Craft

Quote from: Velma on August 19, 2017, 11:17:19 PM
Forgot this one:

Underground Airlines by Ben Winters: It is the present day, and the world is as we know it: smartphones, social networking, and Happy Meals. Save for one thing: The Civil War never occurred.

A gifted young black man calling himself Victor has struck a bargain with federal law enforcement, working as a bounty hunter for the US Marshal Service. He's got plenty of work. In this version of America, slavery continues in four states called "the Hard Four". On the trail of a runaway known as Jackdaw, Victor arrives in Indianapolis knowing that something isn't right - with the case file, with his work, and with the country itself.

I've not read this yet, but it looks quite interesting.

This will go on the  list with a Chabon.  I wonder if his "Wonderboys" is the same as the movie of that name?  Excellent movie.
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Velma

Chabon's Wonderboys is about a "one hit wonder" author. He's hit middle-age, can't get his second book written, is a writing professor in Pittsburg, and has made a shambles of his personal life. The book is about one turbulent weekend in his life.
Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of the astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy.~Carl Sagan

Sandra Craft

Quote from: Velma on August 20, 2017, 07:03:59 AM
Chabon's Wonderboys is about a "one hit wonder" author. He's hit middle-age, can't get his second book written, is a writing professor in Pittsburg, and has made a shambles of his personal life. The book is about one turbulent weekend in his life.

And that's the movie! 

Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Velma

Now I am going to have to find that and watch it!
Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of the astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy.~Carl Sagan

Davin

Well, I'm going to order "Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?" by Frans de Waal.
Always question all authorities because the authority you don't question is the most dangerous... except me, never question me.

Sandra Craft

Quote from: Davin on August 30, 2017, 02:52:55 PM
Well, I'm going to order "Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?" by Frans de Waal.

Yep, that is our book.  Falling a little behind on the announcements.
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany