Happy Atheist Forum

What books are you reading or planning to read?

Here are mine:

1. Anything by Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins.  The End of Faith and The Greatest Show on Earth provided proof and reason why these two are the leading atheists at the moment.  Both are very provocative and responsible in their arguments.

2. Wafa Sultan's A God Who Hates. Ms. Sultan was on Al Jazeera TV and she told of an Arab sheikh for his fundamentalist views.  In her book, she actually showed a great compassion and love for Muslims but calls upon them to see the light when it comes to outmoded and evil Islam.

3. Gareth Wilson's The Plain Truths of Religion.  What we have here is a Harris and Dawkins in the making.  It is surprisingly very well written for a first time author for a first book.  Wilson does not just froth at the mouth chanting I hate religion, he actually discusses his reasons for being a secular advocate.  Insightful and entertaining.

4. Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian Fundamentalism by David Mills.  Mills is a persuasive writer and he is very responsible with his arguments.  He presents his side and debunks the myth, and basically answers the question why god and religion is unnecessary.

Currently reading:
1. The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell.

I Plan on reading.

1. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (agian. I've already read the book back in my sophomore year, but I I'd like to read it again with a different perspective about the world )

2. God Is Not Great by Hitchens.

3. ALL of the odyssey novels by Aurthur C. Clarke (because I LOVE science fiction).

And many more that I cannot list off the top of my head. I just recently got into reading, but I plan on reading quite a few works in the near-future once I get the money hehe.

Im currently reading the lord of the rings and
"and another thing" http://www.amazon.com/Another-Thing-Eoi ... 945&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Another-Thing-Eoin-Colfer/dp/B00342VEEM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282242945&sr=8-1) I always read two books at a time
next to my bed is a pile o books waiting to be read:
-99% ape-how evolution adds up
-the greatest show on earth - dawkins
why evolution is true -
-the blind watchmaker- dawkins
the children of Hurin - Tolkien
-what evolution is - ernst Mayr
-great expectation - dharles Dickens
the selfish gene - Dawkins
-does god hate women?
-gulliver's travels - Swift
-why evolution matters
-The end of faith - Sam Harris
-Do cows walk down stairs?
-duh-the stupid history of the human race

Hi MariaEvri:

I love Lord of the Rings too.  I'd check out And Another Thing, now that I've actually finished Gareth Wilson's book.  A great book, really.

Who wrote the 99% ape book?

Quote from: "Reasonable"Hi MariaEvri:

I love Lord of the Rings too.  I'd check out And Another Thing, now that I've actually finished Gareth Wilson's book.  A great book, really.

Who wrote the 99% ape book?

It's a collective book produced by The Natural History museum in London and edited by Johnathan Slivertown. I read it as part of an Open University short course on Darwin. I would highly recommend it.

Quote from: "Tank"

Quote from: "Reasonable"Hi MariaEvri:

I love Lord of the Rings too.  I'd check out And Another Thing, now that I've actually finished Gareth Wilson's book.  A great book, really.

Who wrote the 99% ape book?

It's a collective book produced by The Natural History museum in London and edited by Johnathan Slivertown. I read it as part of an Open University short course on Darwin. I would highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/99-Ape-How-Evol ... 755&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/99-Ape-How-Evolution-Adds/dp/0565092316/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283005755&sr=8-1) here it is

Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Political-Ideologies-and-the-Democratic-Ideal/Terence-Ball/e/9780205779963/)

I'm now reading the first book of the marvelous Stieg Larsson's "Millennium Trilogy" (http://www.amazon.com/Stieg-Larssons-Millennium-Trilogy-Bundle/dp/0307594777/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283012268&sr=8-1)

I'm reading Benny Morris' 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War. It's a history of the formation of the Jewish state in Israel. I think the author has a pro-Jewish bias, though some apparently claim he has a pro-Arab bias. I'm not seeing the latter. But anyway, it's interesting to get an idea of what the hell happened there before and after the second world war. Also, it's not at all dry. Apparently some of history is a Tom Clancy novel. And of course I don't read Tom Clancy  

I'm collecting the Horus Heresy book series, I don't want to start until I've got them all!... Or at least the first one.

I recently ordered every single novel by Neil Gaiman, and am in the process of reading them. Finished Good Omens a few hours ago, and I'm about to start on American Gods, then Anansi Boys, then The Graveyard Book, then Neverwhere, then Stardust...

I haven't picked up Coraline yet, or... I'll have to look it up, but I think there's a few more.

I also have American Psycho, and Welcome to the NHK (Manga) volumes 1-8 to finish as well.  :crazy:

@MariaEvri: I have also read 99% Ape, and I agree it's great.  And to think it was a requirement for philosophy class.

@Reasonable: I would also agree with you that Gareth Wilson's Plain Truths of Religion is also a great read.  Very enlightening.

Of course, Harris and Dawkins are staples.

@Cite134:  I personally haven't read Conquest of Happiness, but my girlfriend loves it!

I'd try to see what you guys have suggested here.  Thanks for the recommendations.

Most recently finished:

Blood of Flowers.  Great book - interesting look at another culture and time (Iran in the 17th cent I believe).

The Help  Again, a good look at another culture and time, this about 1960s Mississippi (black servants, etc).

Currently reading Lonesome Dove.  Wow, what an incredible tale.  I always thought it was just a cheesy TV show but the book is marvelous!

I've never been the biggest fan of Dawkins, Harris, etc.  I started the The God Delusion and I sort of had this "preachin' to the choir" annoyance with.  Perhaps it's better for atheist who used to be religious...or agnostics that are still clinging to some religious precepts?  I should really give it another shot though.  I didn't get very far and I was distracted by another book.  So I'll put that as my next read!

Quote from: "madness"I've never been the biggest fan of Dawkins, Harris, etc.  I started the The God Delusion and I sort of had this "preachin' to the choir" annoyance with.  Perhaps it's better for atheist who used to be religious...or agnostics that are still clinging to some religious precepts?  I should really give it another shot though.  I didn't get very far and I was distracted by another book.  So I'll put that as my next read!

Skip it and stick to Dawkins bio work, unless you're uninterested in biology, in which case just simply skip it and move on to something interesting.

Quote from: "PoopShoot"Skip it and stick to Dawkins bio work, unless you're uninterested in biology, in which case just simply skip it and move on to something interesting.

You mean like The Greatest Show on Earth?  My mom got me that book too.  I am interested in most aspects of science, so perhaps that would be a better read!

... Currently reading the Ringworld series (mid way through the last "Ringworld's Children")

Just finished "Grand Design" by Hawking.
Liked the first 95% of the book, then he lost me at the end.
I've bookmarked it to read again and see if I change my mind...
Anybody else read it yet?

BTW, I'm using a Kindle now (the $139 wifi version) - amazing device.
Honestly, I've been reading a tonne (metric) more since I got it.
Found a epub-to-pdf converter and am loading all sorts of things on it.
(got "From Beyond" in the queue ;-)

Quote from: "madness"You mean like The Greatest Show on Earth?  My mom got me that book too.  I am interested in most aspects of science, so perhaps that would be a better read!

Maybe.  I haven't read that one yet.  If it's less philosophical than The Blind Watchmaker then it's a good one.

I'm currently reading Lost Victories By Erich von Manstein, a German Field Marshal from WWII.

For what it's worth, I disliked Atheist Universe, especially the last third of it.  I don't think he was a terribly talented presenter of some pretty mundane arguments.

Currently reading Combat Knife Throwing....I decided to step out of the academic realm for a bit and pursue other reading interests - I've had my nose buried in texts for way too long.

Next on the list is The Ultimate Sniper...

Quote from: "Squid"Currently reading Combat Knife Throwing....I decided to step out of the academic realm for a bit and pursue other reading interests - I've had my nose buried in texts for way too long.

Next on the list is The Ultimate Sniper...

Cool - I used to throw knives.  Still have a collection of some pretty odd blades.

(off to hide before you finish the Sniper book...)

I'm currently reading guitar tablature from System of a Down.

I'm halfway through "Bluebeard" by Kurt Vonnegut. I've read it before, several times in fact. I really need to pay a visit to the second-hand book store and pick up a bunch of paperbacks.

I recently got a signed copy of "The Complete Arranger" by Sammy Nestico but it's all functional harmony.

Quote from: "PoopShoot"I'm currently reading guitar tablature from System of a Down.

Useful reading is good!

I just read Stephen Hawkings' "The Grand Design". There isn't much material and it's kind of expensive. It's beautifully illustrated though. Hawkings' ideas on the nature of reality are, as always, mind blowing. It is not even remotely technical but still interesting - no math. I recommend asking somebody rich to buy it for you as a holiday gift. And only after reading Richard Feynman's "QED". If ever there was a "must read" popular physics book, the latter would be it IMHO.

Quote from: "AlP"I just read Stephen Hawkings' "The Grand Design". There isn't much material and it's kind of expensive. It's beautifully illustrated though. Hawkings' ideas on the nature of reality are, as always, mind blowing. It is not even remotely technical but still interesting - no math. I recommend asking somebody rich to buy it for you as a holiday gift. And only after reading Richard Feynman's "QED". If ever there was a "must read" popular physics book, the latter would be it IMHO.

Yeah, kinda short and short on science too.  Only $10 on the kindle, though.
I'll have to pick up QED - thanks for the recommend!

Quote from: "joeactor"BTW, I'm using a Kindle now (the $139 wifi version) - amazing device.

So, it is worth it? I've kind of been on the fence about getting one..

Quote from: "TheChainSmoker"

Quote from: "joeactor"BTW, I'm using a Kindle now (the $139 wifi version) - amazing device.

So, it is worth it? I've kind of been on the fence about getting one..

Yeah, I like it a lot.  My wife's got the Kindle 2.  This is lighter, smaller (same screen size, though), better navigation, etc.
Also a little more clear display.  Works really well in full sunlight down to low reading light. Keeps a charge for about a month, even with daily reading.  Haven't seen anything beat those specs for a dedicated reader for that price.

Quote from: "joeactor"Yeah, I like it a lot.  My wife's got the Kindle 2.  This is lighter, smaller (same screen size, though), better navigation, etc.
Also a little more clear display.  Works really well in full sunlight down to low reading light. Keeps a charge for about a month, even with daily reading.  Haven't seen anything beat those specs for a dedicated reader for that price.

This, along with the news about a new job I recieved a few minutes ago, go hand in hand, haha. I do believe I'll pick one up.

BUT.. If I don't like it.. Well then.. It won't end well for you..

I could have sworn I came across a similar topic that is sometimes common, the What are you Reading? topic, but this was the closest thing I found.  Right now I'm reading one of my favorite HP Lovecraft stories, The Dreams in the Witches House.  I've been bouncing around between anthologies (Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Midshipman Horner, Robert E. Howard, ect) and 1980's comic series (Marvel Star Wars, Classic GI Joe).  This week was exciting because it saw the release of a sequel to one of my newest favorite novels; The Magician King, which follows on from The Magicians.

The Magicians certainly had my attention at one particular point when a character confronts a deity and calls them out for not having made the world better than it was!  Well, it resonated for me, anyway.

the books I am reading now are:

jurassic park by michael chrichton

the lord of the rings - the return of the king by Tolkien  and

bad science by Ben Goldacre

I am not listing the books I am [planning on reading because the stack next to my bed is huge. Mot of them are biology/evolution/atheist books.

Just finished 'A Single Man' by Christopher Isherwood.

Now trying to decide out of the current backlog of books which to read next, these are:

'Disturbing the Peace' by Richard Yates
'Goodbye to Berlin' by Christopher Isherwood
'The Three Musketeers' by Alexander Dumas
'We Need to Talk About Kevin' by Lionel Shriver
'Norwegian Wood' by Haruki Murakami

After I have gotten through those I will be picking up;

'Designer Evolution: A Transhumanist Manifesto' by Simon S Young
'The Black Cloud' by Fred Hoyle
'The Temple Of The Golden Pavilion' by Yukio Mishima
'Twilight of Idols and Anti-Christ' by Friedrich Nietzsche
'Utz' by Bruce Chatwin
'Journey to the West' by Cheng'en Wu

I usually don't read books, No time and I generally prefer movies. But someone on this forum got me interested in the "His Dark Matters" trilogy.
I found the first half of "The Golden Compass" quite boring, but maybe it was taking me time to get used to reading books again. After that I just couldn't put the book down. Now I am 2/3rds of the way through the last book, "The Amber Spyglass", this trillogy story is really good. Way better than Harry Potter, Narnia, Lord of the Rings. Very imaginative, not so black and white on who is good or bad or what is wrong or right.

Quote from: Stevil on August 20, 2011, 04:46:22 AM
I usually don't read books, No time and I generally prefer movies. But someone on this forum got me interested in the "His Dark Matters" trilogy.
I found the first half of "The Golden Compass" quite boring, but maybe it was taking me time to get used to reading books again. After that I just couldn't put the book down. Now I am 2/3rds of the way through the last book, "The Amber Spyglass", this trillogy story is really good. Way better than Harry Potter, Narnia, Lord of the Rings. Very imaginative, not so black and white on who is good or bad or what is wrong or right.

Wow that trilogy takes me back to my childhood/early teens. I loved them, a set of books I wish I could read again with fresh eyes. Totally agree with being better than Harry Potter, Narnia, Lord of the Rings. Plus the ending wasn't dumbed down from what I can remember.

Currently reading:

in bed, "The Measure of Her Powers" a M.F.K. Fisher reader

in the bath, "When you are engulfed in flames", by David Sedaris

in my purse, for when I'm waiting in lines, "How to cook a wolf", by M.F.K. Fisher

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on September 10, 2011, 03:56:59 AM
Currently reading:

in bed, "The Measure of Her Powers" a M.F.K. Fisher reader

in the bath, "When you are engulfed in flames", by David Sedaris

in my purse, for when I'm waiting in lines, "How to cook a wolf", by M.F.K. Fisher

Have you ever considered a Kindle? I got my wife one for Xmas last year and she uses it all the time. She has over 150 books on it and has it with her all the time. She hasn't bought a single book, the vast majority are from Project Gutenbug (http://www.gutenberg.org/) which has over 30,000 out of copyright books so all the classics and all free to download.

Quote from: Tank on September 10, 2011, 08:42:18 AM
Have you ever considered a Kindle? I got my wife one for Xmas last year and she uses it all the time. She has over 150 books on it and has it with her all the time. She hasn't bought a single book, the vast majority are from Project Gutenbug (http://www.gutenberg.org/) which has over 30,000 out of copyright books so all the classics and all free to download.

I've been resisting one more piece of technology in my life for some time, but a friend of mine got a Nook (pretty much the same as a Kindle, I think) and it does so many other things than store books that I'm seriously tempted.  She can highlight a word and the thing pronounces it for her -- you have no idea how tempting I find just that feature.

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on September 11, 2011, 03:49:19 AM

Quote from: Tank on September 10, 2011, 08:42:18 AM
Have you ever considered a Kindle? I got my wife one for Xmas last year and she uses it all the time. She has over 150 books on it and has it with her all the time. She hasn't bought a single book, the vast majority are from Project Gutenbug (http://www.gutenberg.org/) which has over 30,000 out of copyright books so all the classics and all free to download.

I've been resisting one more piece of technology in my life for some time, but a friend of mine got a Nook (pretty much the same as a Kindle, I think) and it does so many other things than store books that I'm seriously tempted.  She can highlight a word and the thing pronounces it for her -- you have no idea how tempting I find just that feature.

Kindle ve Nook page http://www.kindlevsnookreviews.com/

Just started reading the Fighter's Fact Book 2: Street Fighting Essentials by Loren W. Christensen.

Quote from: Tank on September 11, 2011, 08:34:33 AM
Kindle ve Nook page http://www.kindlevsnookreviews.com/

Hey, thanks -- that was very useful.  I had no idea there was so much price difference between them and, all other things being equal, it looks like Kindle is the way to go for me.

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on September 11, 2011, 08:31:28 PM

Quote from: Tank on September 11, 2011, 08:34:33 AM
Kindle ve Nook page http://www.kindlevsnookreviews.com/

Hey, thanks -- that was very useful.  I had no idea there was so much price difference between them and, all other things being equal, it looks like Kindle is the way to go for me.

Well I have used my wife's Kindle and I think it represents good value for money. There is one thing I hate about it and that is the way Amazon seems to think you're buying it to buy things just from them. Once you get over that it's great. It will dispay .pdf files but it's not good at it. For normal ebooks it's fine.

Ah! I loved Journey to the West.  <3 Grea t story


I'm just reading ShadowDance by Robin Wayne Bailey.

I just finished up David Sedaris' When You are Engulfed in Flames, hilarious book tho Sedaris is not for everyone -- definitely on the twisted side.  I've noticed his writing, while still twisted, has gotten less dark over the years.  Interesting actually watching someone mellow out.

I've started re-reading Ruined by Reading: a life in books, by Lynne Sharon Schwartz.  The story of my life.

I've been rereading a lot of short stories. I love Raymond Carver, even going over him again, the way he makes what is normal seem strange and vice versa. Stephen King has some good ones too - I actually prefer his short stories to his novels in a lot of ways. I've also been reading through The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales, which is a really good mix.

Also, the BBC National Short Story awards were given out fairly recently and the podcasts are still online if anyone's interested. Some of them are pretty good: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/nssa

I'm almost done with
God hates you hate him back
and
The lord of the rings-the return of the king
I think tonight I will start
7 years in tibet and
the blind watchmaker, unfortunately in greek

I just got bit by the mystery bug and splurged on a bunch of novels, most by writers I don't recognize:

Royal Blood, by Rhys Bowen
Unnatural Selection, by Aaron Elkins (do recognize this name but haven't read him before)
Sweetness at the bottom of the pie, by Alan Bradley (bought for the title alone)
Baker Street Letters, by Michael Robertson
A Drink Before the War, by Dennis Lehane
Maisie Dobbs, by Jacqueline Winspear

I am currently reading "The Bridge to Humanity: How Affect Hunger Trumps the Selfish Gene" by Walter Goldschmidt.It talks about how human culture has evolved since the time of early humans "the hominids" and how that evolution came to be through shifts in behavioral traits. The book focuses specifically on "affect hunger" (the inherited trait that makes us crave affection from others) and how that was really significant to our survival and shaping culture. The book ties in Anthropology with Biology, it is very interesting :) 

Sounds interesting -- that's going on my reading list.

Quote from: no_god_know_peace on October 17, 2011, 11:32:57 PM
I am currently reading "The Bridge to Humanity: How Affect Hunger Trumps the Selfish Gene" by Walter Goldschmidt.It talks about how human culture has evolved since the time of early humans "the hominids" and how that evolution came to be through shifts in behavioral traits. The book focuses specifically on "affect hunger" (the inherited trait that makes us crave affection from others) and how that was really significant to our survival and shaping culture. The book ties in Anthropology with Biology, it is very interesting :) 

Interesting, thinks for posting this.

Quote from: MariaEvri on September 21, 2011, 05:45:59 PM
I'm almost done with
God Hates You, Hate Him Back

That looks like fun. I'll give it a go, even though one of the reviews describes it as "A very good book for someone just getting into atheism."

Dead tree books:
Just finished - Ben Goldacre's Bad Science.
About to start - Treat or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial.

On my Sony reader:
Old Josephine Tey detective stories; Inspector Montalbano; fun stuff from Project Gutenberg like Augustus Carp Esq.

Online (proofreading for Distributed Proofreaders, which provides book for Project Gutenberg):
An 1821 Italian translation of Gibbon's Decline and Fall. Chiefly notable for the fact that every time Gibbon says anything which the translator takes to be offensive to the RC church, or doctrinally incorrect, or comments on the bad behaviour of some Christian emperor, he goes off on a 3 page footnote rant. Excellently funny.  ;D

Currently reading "The Doomsday Book" (Sci-Fi - great story so far).

Next up: "God No" by Penn from Penn and Teller.

Quote from: joeactor on October 20, 2011, 02:43:31 PM
Currently reading "The Doomsday Book" (Sci-Fi - great story so far).

I loved that book! Must read it again soon.

Strong recommendation:

All other reading is on the back burner at the moment as I've got stuck into Augustus Carp, Esq. Being the Autobiography of a Really Good Man. It's in the style of Diary of a Nobody, but Augustus Carp is the most loathsome creature imaginable - a pious proselytising Christian with absolutely no morals and no self-awareness. Very funny indeed and the ebook is available free here:

http://www.manybooks.net/titles/bashfordhother09augustus_carp.html

(not spam - it's a link to the download page)

Among the books I just finished is Kate Chopin's The Awakening, the book considered so immoral that it destroyed both her reputation and her career as a writer when it was first published in 1899.

The Awakening is a well-written story but I just couldn't work up any interest for the main character, who struck me as one of those essentially useless people -- in Edna Pontellier's case a woman who was completely unsuited to being either a wife or mother (which, lets face it, some of us aren't) but leeched off the benefits of domesticity while failing to fulfill the roles.  When she finally drowns herself in the sea, apparently because she had nothing better to do that day, the strongest reaction I can manage is "she's dead, so what?".  I know I'm probably being unfair to the story, or not understanding it at all, but I do think Willa Cather is right that this is an American Bovary, and like the original, just as unsympathetic.

However, I will recommend reading it for two reasons -- 1) it is an American classic, and 2) the writing is very good:

on the influence of bugs:  The mosquitoes made merry over her, biting her firm, round arms and nipping at her bare insteps.  The little stinging, buzzing imps succeeded in dispelling a mood which might have held her there in the darkness half a night longer.

on selecting a husband:  Her marriage to Leonce Pontellier was purely an accident, in this respect resembling many other marriages which masquerade as the decrees of Fate.   It was in the midst of her secret great passion that she met him.  He fell in love, as men are in the habit of doing, and pressed his suit with an earnestness and an ardor which left nothing to be desired.  He pleased her; his absolute devotion flattered her.  She fancied there was a sympathy of thought and taste between them, in which fancy she was mistaken.  Add to this the violent opposition of her father and her sister Margaret to her marriage with a Catholic, and we need see no further for the motives which led her to accept Monsieur Pontellier for her husband.

on husband/wife relations:  "You are too lenient, too lenient by far, Leonce," asserted the Colonel.  "Authority, coercion are what is needed.  Put your foot down good and hard, the only way to manage a wife.  Take my word for it."  The Colonel was perhaps unaware that he had coerced his own wife into her grave.  Mr. Pontellier had a vague suspicion of it which he thought it needless to mention at that late day.

Just finished the Game of Thrones, picked up the rest of that series.

Just finished the first two books in the Hunger Game series and started on the third.

Just got the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series.

Starting on the Dresdon Files series (about fourteen books in it now).

I have been reading the Bones series by Kathy Reichs. I love both the books and the TV series. Just finished Fatal Voyage.

Quote from: Davin on December 08, 2011, 02:59:25 PM
Starting on the Dresdon Files series (about fourteen books in it now).

I love the Dresden series -- wonderful brain candy.  I was sorry the TV series didn't take off.

Finishing up reading The Disaster Preparedness Handbook by Arthur Bradley...some good stuff in there.

Quote from: Tank on October 18, 2011, 11:00:46 AM

Quote from: no_god_know_peace on October 17, 2011, 11:32:57 PM
I am currently reading "The Bridge to Humanity: How Affect Hunger Trumps the Selfish Gene" by Walter Goldschmidt.It talks about how human culture has evolved since the time of early humans "the hominids" and how that evolution came to be through shifts in behavioral traits. The book focuses specifically on "affect hunger" (the inherited trait that makes us crave affection from others) and how that was really significant to our survival and shaping culture. The book ties in Anthropology with Biology, it is very interesting :) 

Interesting, thinks for posting this.

Agreed. This sounds like just my cup of tea!

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on December 08, 2011, 10:54:08 PM

Quote from: Davin on December 08, 2011, 02:59:25 PM
Starting on the Dresdon Files series (about fourteen books in it now).

I love the Dresden series -- wonderful brain candy.  I was sorry the TV series didn't take off.

Me too, it seemed like the TV series was just getting into it's rhythm too. I also like the first book so far.

at work I am re-reading
christine by stephen king
at home I am reading
7 years in tibet by Heinrich Harrer
evolution in the everyday life by David P. Mindell
and re-reading god is not great by christopher hitchens

I'm still working my way thru Carl Sagan's collection of lectures, The Varieties of Scientific Experience, but it's been slow going since I've made it my bed time book and I haven't had much trouble falling asleep in awhile.  I think I'll transfer it to the bathroom and make it my tub book.

I've also just started reading The Rashomon Gate, by I. J. Parker, an amateur detective mystery set in Feudal Japan.  Despite the language between the characters often being oddly modern and American, I'm enjoying it.  The story involves a scandal in cheating on exams at an old and now failing university, as well as unpleasantness at a poetry competition.  I just eat this stuff up.

I just finished Jim Thompson's Pop. 1280 and loved it.  It's a weird and funny version of Thompson's usual grim noir writing and, altho it does bear a resemblance to his more popular The Killer Inside Me, I do think it still stands on its own.  Altho no real specifics about time and place are given, it takes place in the American South around 1920 or 1930 and the sheriff of a tiny town is the narrator.  There's plenty shocking going on in this small place and Sheriff Nick Corey is very amusing in telling us all about it, tho the story does take a chilling turn at the end as we get to know the sheriff better.  He's definitely a man with an interesting slant on things. 

Here's where the sheriff has his great vision while peering in a window where a multiple murder is about to happen:

Well, sir, it was a funny thing, a funny-terrible thing, a strange crazy thing.  Because what caught my attention wasn't what you'd have thought it would be at all.  Not Rose, scared and dazed and wonderin' what the heck had gone wrong.  Not Lennie and Myra, smilin' and spiteful and enjoyin' theirselves.  Not something that was in the room itself.  Not somethin' but nothing.  The emptiness.  The absense of things.

I'd maybe been in that house a hundred times, that one and a hundred others like it.  But this was the first time I'd seen what they really were.  Not homes, not places for people to live in, not nothin'.  Just pine-board walls locking in the emptiness.  No pictures, no books -- nothing to look at or think about.  Just the emptiness that was soakin' in on me here.

And then suddenly it wasn't here, it was everywhere, every place like this one.  And suddenly the emptiness was filled with sound and sight, with all the sad terrible things that the emptiness had brought the people to.

There were the helpless little girls, cryin' when their own daddies crawled into bed with 'em.  There were the men beating their wives, the women screamin' for mercy.  There were the kids wettin' in the beds from fear and nervousness, and their mothers dosin' 'em with red pepper for punishment.  There were the haggard faces, drained white from hookworm and blotched with scurvy.  There was the near-starvation, the never-bein'-full, the debts that always outrun the credits.  There was the how-we-gonna-eat, how-we-gonna-sleep, how-we-gonna-cover-our-poor-bare-asses thinkin'.  The kind of thinkin' that when you ain't doing nothing else but that, why you're better off dead.  Because that's the emptiness thinkin' and you're already dead inside, and all you'll do is spread the stink and the terror, the weepin' and wailin', the torture, the starvation, the shame of your deadness.  Your emptiness.

I shuddered, thinking how wonderful was our Creator to create such downright hideous things in the world, so that something like murder didn't seem at all bad by comparison.  Yea, verily, it was indeed merciful and wonderful of Him.

It's mostly merciful and wonderful for the sheriff, who doesn't have to feel so bad about all the murders he commits, never mind the ones his girlfriend Rose is about to commit on his wife Myra and her boyfriend Lennie.

Also finished a Dr. Laura Schlessinger book, How to Survive a Shark Attack (on land): overcoming betrayal and dealing with revenge.  Schlessinger's position is that she's 100% for revenge but only if it can be done without being criminal, immoral or fattening.  Since revenge usually involves at least one of those things, she's sadly kept from seeking it against the many people who have wronged her, but despite this unfair advantage on the part of evil, she has still managed to emerge triumphant in life, her truth proven for all to see.

The most interesting thing about this book for me is what it doesn't say.  When people tell you how they've been wronged and triumphed you're only getting one side of the story and who's to say how things might skew if the rest of the tale were available?  For instance, Bill Ballance and the nudie photos.  I'm sure nearly everyone remembers this and granted it was a crass thing to do and Ballance himself later regretted it (tho not enough to apologize to Schlessinger).

It seems to me Schlessinger had a hand in her own nudie embarrassment by cutting Ballance, the man who'd given her a start in radio as well as being a former lover, off cold as soon as he was no longer useful to her.  I remember comments surfacing from former friends and her sister (there's someone who's side of things I'd like to hear) that this was a common practice of Dr. Laura's.

And then there's the banner she flies under of conservative morality.  Nothing wrong with that, as long as you're upfront and honest about your own falls from grace with it and what you've gained from those falls.  Leave out that honesty and yes, you're headed for a comeupance and rightly so.

I think Schlessinger would agree that the best things in her life, her marriage and her son, came to her by breaking her own rules.  Her husband was a married man with three children when he and Dr. L began their affair, which turned into a 9-year co-habitation before they married.  Their son Deryk was conceived while they were still unmarried.  I have to wonder, if Schlessinger were given a chance to do it all over again, would she really do it differently?  Especially given that the son she adores on is the result of the coming together of two specific people at one specific time?

A lot of good can happen from following the rules, a lot of good can happen from breaking them.  I'd venture to say a lot of bad can happen from following and breaking the rules as well.  All I know is there are no guarantees, no insurance, so stop looking for it.  You do the best you can not to be a dick while bearing in mind that life is no end of ironic.

I need to read all of the standard Atheist reading. *picks it all out of this thread and adds it to her list* I haven't even read The God Delusion yet.

I just finished reading The Hunger Games and it made me have so many feelings. Too many feelings. I desperately need to read Catching Fire and Mockingjay now.

Well, I'm attempting to read One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest as I need to for school. I also attempted reading Don Quixote, but gave up because I felt it didn't go anywhere. I'm a very picky reader. Still, I should read more.

I've started Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science by Lawrence M. Krauss

I find Richard Feynman fascinating. A few weeks ago I read Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character both written by Ralph Leighton. I also read Feynman's Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life by Leonard Mlodinow. If I haven't gotten my fill of Feynman by then I have a copy of Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman by James Gleick waiting in the wings.

He was an amazing person.

It's funny how we have such a stereotypical view of gifted people like Richard Feynman but he was almost the polar opposite of a nerd. Anyone who leaves their office at Caltech and heads to a strip club to do his work is alright with me.

Damn right. He really though and lived outside the box.

I agree with all of the above regarding Feynman. He was one of the most inspiring people of the 20th century, in my opinion. To see him in action in the lecture hall, check out the Douglas Robb Memorial Lectures (http://vega.org.uk/video/subseries/8). Not great quality video, but a series of fine gems none the less.


BooksCatsEtc, you were very gentle with the Schlessinger woman, in my opinion. The least offensive thing I could say about her is, "a real piece of work." Less diplomatic: a vile termagant


Right now I'm reading Revel, Riot and Rebellion: Popular Politics and Culture in England 1603-1660 by David Underdown. I've only read the first few chapters, but they certainly haven't improved my opinion of the Puritans.

Quote from: Recusant on December 12, 2011, 11:34:42 PM
BooksCatsEtc, you were very gentle with the Schlessinger woman, in my opinion. The least offensive thing I could say about her is, "a real piece of work." Less diplomatic: a vile termagant

I try to be tough, esp. on difficult people such as vile termagants, but I am innately a gentle person.  It's like a curse.

QuoteRight now I'm reading Revel, Riot and Rebellion: Popular Politics and Culture in England 1603-1660 by David Underdown. I've only read the first few chapters, but they certainly haven't improved my opinion of the Puritans.

My view of the Puritans started wobbling as soon as I began reading non-school-approved history books, and it was blown to smithereens by Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates, her account of the history of Puritans in American and what it means to be "a Puritan nation".

I just read Karen Armstrong's A Case for God.

It's actually pretty interesting, at least as a history of religious attitudes goes, and a lot more honest and intelligent than the usual 'street' apology. Not exactly convincing, but interesting enough to be worth a read. Especially for me, who doesn't know much about theology or its development, because it provides a sort of overview.

Quote from: Melmoth on December 13, 2011, 02:11:01 PM
I just read Karen Armstrong's A Case for God.

It's actually pretty interesting, at least as a history of religious attitudes goes, and a lot more honest and intelligent than the usual 'street' apology. Not exactly convincing, but interesting enough to be worth a read. Especially for me, who doesn't know much about theology or its development, because it provides a sort of overview.

Karen Armstrong is my favorite religious writer, I'll make a note to pick this book up.  Thanks!

Recently finished Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.
Now reading Daemon by Daniel Suarez.
Next up is The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco.

Quote from: NHOJ on December 14, 2011, 04:19:55 AM
Recently finished Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.
Now reading Daemon by Daniel Suarez.
Next up is The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco.

I love Urberto Eco, I think he's the funniest brilliant man I've ever read.  I recommend a collection of his essays and short stories called How to Travel with a Salmon.

I'm finally making headway on Carl Sagan's "The Varieties of Scientific Experience: a personal view of the search for god".  What I like about Sagan is that he has a kindness at heart for the religious, a sympathy even if he does not share their beliefs. In the lecture The Organic Universe he quotes a woman who wrote to him of her problems with the scientific view:

I want to close on a beautiful little piece of poetry written by a woman in rural Arkansas. Her name is Lillie Emery, and she is not a professional poet, but she writes for herself and she has written to me. And one of her poems has the following lines in it:

  My kind didn't really slither out of the tidal pool, did we?
  God, I need to believe you created me;
  we are so small down here.

I think there is a very general truth that Lillie Emery expresses in this poem. I believe everyone on some level recognizes that feeling. And yet, and yet, if we are merely matter intricately assembled, is this really demeaning? If there's nothing in here by atoms, does that make us less or does that make matter more?

Maybe I'm one of the few, but I've never minded being "small", or even "insignificant". It does not cause my ego to collapse because I'm just matter swirling around for a very brief time in a universe where nearly everything is greater than I am. I feel flattered to be part of it.

In the lecture I'm currently reading, The God Hypothesis, gets into the real meat of arguments between theists and atheists, who or what is god?:

If we are to discuss the idea of God and be restricted to rational arguments, then it is probably useful to know what we are talking about when we say "God". This turns out not to be easy. The Romans called the Christians atheists. Why? Well, the Christians had a god of sorts, but it wasn't a real god. They didn't believe in the divinity of apotheosized emperors or Olympian gods. They had a peculiar, different kind of god. So it was very easy to call people who believed in a different kind of god atheists. And that general sense that an atheist is anybody who doesn't believe exactly as I do prevails in our own time.

Now there is a constellation of properties that we generally think of when we in the West, or more generally in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition, think of God. The fundamental differences among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are trivial compared to their similarities. We think of some being who is omnipotent, omniscient, compassionate, who created the universe, is responsive to prayer, intervenes in human affairs, and so on.

But suppose there were definitive proof of some being who had some but not all of these properties. Suppose somehow it were demonstrated that there was a being who originated the universe but is indifferent to prayer . . . Or, worse, a god who was oblivious to the existence of humans. That's very much like Aristotle's god. Would that be God or not? Suppose it were someone who was omnipotent but not omniscient, or vice versa. Suppose this god understood all the consequences of his actions but there were many things he was unable to do, so he was condemned to a universe in which his desired ends could not be accomplished. These alternative kinds of gods are hardly ever thought about or discussed. A priori there is no reason they should not be as likely as the more conventional sorts of gods.

And the subject is further confused by the fact that prominent theologians such as Paul Tillich, for example, who gave the Gifford Lectures many years ago, explicitly denied God's existence, at least as a supernatural power. Well, if an esteemed theologian (and he's by no means the only one) denies that God is a supernatural being, the subject seems to me to be somewhat confused. The range of hypotheses that are seriously covered under the rubic "God" is immense. A naive Western View of God is an outsize, light-skinned male with a long white beard, who sits on a very large throne in the sky and tallies the fall of every sparrow.

Contrast this with a quite different vision of God, one proposed by Baruch Spinoza and by Albert Einstein. And this second kind of god they called God in a very straightforward way. Einstein was constantly interpreting the world in terms of what God would or wouldn't do. But by God they meant something not very different from the sum total of the physical laws of the universe; that is, gravitation plus quantum mechanics plus grand unified field theories plus a few other things equaled God. And by that all they meant was that here were a set of exquisitely powerful physical principles that seemed to explain a great deal that was otherwise inexplicable about the universe. Laws of nature, as I have said earlier, that apply not just locally, not just in Glasgow, but far beyond: Edinburgh, Moscow, Peking, Mars, Alpha Centauri, the center of the Milky Way, and out by the most distant quasars known. That the same laws of physics apply everywhere is quite remarkable. Certainly that represents a power greater than any of us. It represents an unexpected regularity to the universe. It need not have been. It could have been that every province of the cosmos had its own laws of nature. It's not apparent from the start that the same laws have to apply everywhere.

Now, it would be wholly foolish to deny the existence of laws of nature. And if that is what we are talking about when we say God, then no one can possibly be an atheist, or at least anyone who would profess atheism would have to give a coherent argument about why the laws of nature are inapplicable.

I think he or she would be hard-pressed. So with this latter definition of God, we all believe in God. The former definition of god is more dubious. And there is a wide range of other sorts of gods. And in every case we have to ask, "What kind of god are you talking about, and what is the evidence that this god exists?"

I particularly like the way this lecture ends:

So, to conclude, I would like to quote from Protagoras in the fifteenth century B.C., the opening lines of his 'Essay on the Gods'

  About the gods I have no means of knowing either that they exist or that they do not exist or what they are to look at. Many things prevent my knowing. Among others, the fact that they are never seen.

Finally checked out The God Delusion from my local library yesterday. I'm planning on starting it on Saturday when I start on Christmas break.

I remember reading Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. It was shortly after losing my faith and I found it a very good book.

Quote from: Budhorse4 on December 14, 2011, 01:14:44 PM
Finally checked out The God Delusion from my local library yesterday. I'm planning on starting it on Saturday when I start on Christmas break.

What excellent timing!

Quote from: Crocoduck on December 14, 2011, 02:57:38 PM
I remember reading Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. It was shortly after losing my faith and I found it a very good book.

Definitely my favorite of all Sagan's books.

I'm half-way thru Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking and I'm cursing myself just a little for never having read her books before.  Her style is so clear, so disciplined and yet so poignant it makes me want to read everything she's written.  Maybe it's just the subject of this memoir -- the year following her husband's sudden death -- yet I want to find out more about this woman's gift.  (Sadly, the next book I read of hers is likely to be Blue Nights, the memoir of her daughter's death two years later).

I've also just picked up from the library the next in Laurie R. King's Kate Martinelli series, Night Work, and an intereresting looking memoir by Donovan Hohn called Moby Duck.  The author was a high school teacher when he heard a story about a cargo of 28,000 rubber bath ducks being lost at sea and was so fascinated by this that he quit his job and went looking for them.  Along the way he found a large number of other people doing the same thing -- it's a very odd club of very odd people and promises to be an interesting read.

The next book I plan on reading is The God Delusion.

My sister is buying me Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot for my birthday next week. I know it's an oldie but it's one I've been planning to read for years but never got round to.  During the Xmas break I'm going to tackle Dean Hamer's The God Gene and also have a look through Bart D. Ehrman's Lost scriptures too which should be interesting.

Just picked up Hitchens' Arguably: essays.  I ordered it sight unseen and had no idea it was this big -- I could use it as a weight when I'm not reading it.

Just finished Peter F Hamilton Reality Disfunction and starting on The Neutronium Alchamist (part 2 of 3 in the Nights Dawn trilogy). Big space opera set in 2,600+. A little heavy handed in places but if you like your SF writ large then worth a look.

Quote from: Tank on January 07, 2012, 05:33:13 AM
Just finished Peter F Hamilton Reality Disfunction and starting on The Neutronium Alchamist (part 2 of 3 in the Nights Dawn trilogy). Big space opera set in 2,600+. A little heavy handed in places but if you like your SF writ large then worth a look.

My local library has 5 books of his, 4 available.  3 voids a Manhattan and Lightstorm, I haven't ready any of his stuff.

I'm currently reading Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick. She interviewed about 100 defectors from NK - this book focuses on the lives of six of them. It tells of daily life under the Kim regime over the span of several decades and is a pretty fascinating read.

One part I found particularly interesting is that Demick drew the comparison of one young man figuring out that their "Dear Leader" was a sham to atheism. He had growing doubts for years, but one particular moment made it click for him:

"He now knew for sure that he didn't believe. It was an enormous moment of self-revelation, like deciding one was an atheist. It made him feel alone. He was different from everybody else."

An enourmous moment of self-revelation is exactly what it felt like for me.

That looks like a very interesting book.

House of Leaves by  Mark Z. Danielewski is next on my list. I've heard good things and I could use a spooky bit o' fiction.

Quote from: DeterminedJuliet on January 11, 2012, 04:31:44 AM
House of Leaves by  Mark Z. Danielewski is next on my list. I've heard good things and I could use a spooky bit o' fiction.

Great book!

I'm reading "The Sun Grows Cold" by Howard Berk

Anything Harry Potter.

Lord of the Rings

The Hunger Games

I'm currently reading Facing Violence: Preparing for the Unexpected by Rory Miller.  Great book so far.

Quote from: corgilover on January 11, 2012, 05:56:48 AM
Lord of the Rings

May I suggest The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (& Brandon Sanderson for the last three books)

It is, of course, subjective, but WoT is, in my opinion, infinitely better than LOTR.

I'm re-reading the Charlie Huston "Joe Pitt" series.  If you're a fan of the kind of hard boiled crime novels AND you like vampires, I highly recommend them.   :D

Quote from: Ali on January 11, 2012, 02:16:19 PM
I'm re-reading the Charlie Huston "Joe Pitt" series.  If you're a fan of the kind of hard boiled crime novels AND you like vampires, I highly recommend them.   :D

I strongly second that high recommendation.  I absolutely love this series, and it's the only story about vampires (other than Dracula) that I can stand reading.  I particularly enjoy how Huston didn't give his vampires any truly supernatural qualities (they don't even have fangs) and created as plausible a medical reason as he could for their condition, and its assorted pecularities.

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on January 11, 2012, 03:39:04 PM

Quote from: Ali on January 11, 2012, 02:16:19 PM
I'm re-reading the Charlie Huston "Joe Pitt" series.  If you're a fan of the kind of hard boiled crime novels AND you like vampires, I highly recommend them.   :D

I strongly second that high recommendation.  I absolutely love this series, and it's the only story about vampires (other than Dracula) that I can stand reading.  I particularly enjoy how Huston didn't give his vampires any truly supernatural qualities (they don't even have fangs) and created as plausible a medical reason as he could for their condition, and its assorted pecularities.

Absolutely.  And what's not to love about Joe Pitt? 

Quote from: Ali on January 11, 2012, 02:16:19 PM
Absolutely.  And what's not to love about Joe Pitt? 

The classic tough guy with a soft heart for all the right people.  I was hooked when I saw how sincere his love for his uninfected girlfriend Evie was being played.  And even if there'd been no Evie character, I think Philip Sax would have sealed the deal for me.

Quote from: Asmodean on January 11, 2012, 12:55:39 PM

Quote from: corgilover on January 11, 2012, 05:56:48 AM
Lord of the Rings

May I suggest The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (& Brandon Sanderson for the last three books)

It is, of course, subjective, but WoT is, in my opinion, infinitely better than LOTR.

I'm open to any suggestions about books. I'm simply gearing up for the release of The Hobbit in December.

I just finished reading Lord of the Flies for class and that book left me so confused.

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 01:27:06 PM
I just finished reading Lord of the Flies for class and that book left me so confused.

Saw the movie of the same title, so probably related... It was terrible.

Quote from: Asmodean on January 12, 2012, 03:11:23 PM

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 01:27:06 PM
I just finished reading Lord of the Flies for class and that book left me so confused.

Saw the movie of the same title, so probably related... It was terrible.

Where there were a group of kids stranded on an island. It's a good concept, I just hate how Golden wrote it.

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 03:13:14 PM

Quote from: Asmodean on January 12, 2012, 03:11:23 PM

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 01:27:06 PM
I just finished reading Lord of the Flies for class and that book left me so confused.

Saw the movie of the same title, so probably related... It was terrible.

Where there were a group of kids stranded on an island. It's a good concept, I just hate how Golden wrote it.

What was it you disliked, Golden's writing style or plot or something else?

As far as "kids gone wild" books goes, I prefer High Wind in Jamaica, by Richard Hughes.  The movie version was good too.

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on January 12, 2012, 03:21:15 PM

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 03:13:14 PM

Quote from: Asmodean on January 12, 2012, 03:11:23 PM

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 01:27:06 PM
I just finished reading Lord of the Flies for class and that book left me so confused.

Saw the movie of the same title, so probably related... It was terrible.

Where there were a group of kids stranded on an island. It's a good concept, I just hate how Golden wrote it.

What was it you disliked, Golden's writing style or plot or something else?

As far as "kids gone wild" books goes, I prefer High Wind in Jamaica, by Richard Hughes.  The movie version was good too.

I feel like it was a mix of both, with Golden's style being slightly more disliked. Like I said, the plot of a group of kids being stranded and surviving is an appealing idea, but Golden seemed to skip around a lot. It just left me feeling really confused about what had just happened. I was told that you understand more of the plot if you reread it, so maybe that was my problem.

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 03:31:44 PM
I feel like it was a mix of both, with Golden's style being slightly more disliked. Like I said, the plot of a group of kids being stranded and surviving is an appealing idea, but Golden seemed to skip around a lot. It just left me feeling really confused about what had just happened. I was told that you understand more of the plot if you reread it, so maybe that was my problem.

I hate being told that, to me that's the sign of a bad writer.  I understand about some stories having layers and getting something new out of a story every time you read it, but the plot should be crystal clear from the start.  I can't tell you how many times I'd read Pride and Prejudice before I started to understand Mrs. Bennet's outlook on life, but I was never confused about the story as a whole. 

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on January 12, 2012, 03:43:53 PM

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 03:31:44 PM
I feel like it was a mix of both, with Golden's style being slightly more disliked. Like I said, the plot of a group of kids being stranded and surviving is an appealing idea, but Golden seemed to skip around a lot. It just left me feeling really confused about what had just happened. I was told that you understand more of the plot if you reread it, so maybe that was my problem.

I hate being told that, to me that's the sign of a bad writer.  I understand about some stories having layers and getting something new out of a story every time you read it, but the plot should be crystal clear from the start.  I can't tell you how many times I'd read Pride and Prejudice before I started to understand Mrs. Bennet's outlook on life, but I was never confused about the story as a whole. 

I mostly irritates me because my thought process is if I didn't like it the first time, why would I like it the next five times. XD

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 03:13:14 PM

Quote from: Asmodean on January 12, 2012, 03:11:23 PM

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 01:27:06 PM
I just finished reading Lord of the Flies for class and that book left me so confused.

Saw the movie of the same title, so probably related... It was terrible.

Where there were a group of kids stranded on an island. It's a good concept, I just hate how Golden wrote it.

Yes, that. I suppose my disliking the movie was mostly due to terrible acting, but that's to be expected when most of the lead roles were played by amateurs. That, and it did seem kind of low-budget.

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 03:48:28 PM
I mostly irritates me because my thought process is if I didn't like it the first time, why would I like it the next five times. XD

Yes, that.

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 03:48:28 PM

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on January 12, 2012, 03:43:53 PM

Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 12, 2012, 03:31:44 PM
I feel like it was a mix of both, with Golden's style being slightly more disliked. Like I said, the plot of a group of kids being stranded and surviving is an appealing idea, but Golden seemed to skip around a lot. It just left me feeling really confused about what had just happened. I was told that you understand more of the plot if you reread it, so maybe that was my problem.

I hate being told that, to me that's the sign of a bad writer.  I understand about some stories having layers and getting something new out of a story every time you read it, but the plot should be crystal clear from the start.  I can't tell you how many times I'd read Pride and Prejudice before I started to understand Mrs. Bennet's outlook on life, but I was never confused about the story as a whole. 

I mostly irritates me because my thought process is if I didn't like it the first time, why would I like it the next five times. XD

Because it was the only book you brought to the desert island. I have re-read a few books because someone suggested I should to properly enjoy them, so far it has never helped my enjoyment of them... always the other way 'round.

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on January 12, 2012, 02:01:27 AM

Quote from: Ali on January 11, 2012, 02:16:19 PM
Absolutely.  And what's not to love about Joe Pitt? 

The classic tough guy with a soft heart for all the right people.  I was hooked when I saw how sincere his love for his uninfected girlfriend Evie was being played.  And even if there'd been no Evie character, I think Philip Sax would have sealed the deal for me.

Agreed.  The only thing that bothered me about the whole Evie/Joe dynamic is how he didn't tell her and wouldn't give her the option until she was on the razor's edge of death, and then he still didn't give her the option, he just (started to) go ahead and do it.  If it were me, I would have saved her a lot of suffering (if she wanted to be saved) by broaching the topic when she *first* started getting really sick.

Quote from: Ali on January 12, 2012, 04:13:24 PM
Agreed.  The only thing that bothered me about the whole Evie/Joe dynamic is how he didn't tell her and wouldn't give her the option until she was on the razor's edge of death, and then he still didn't give her the option, he just (started to) go ahead and do it.  If it were me, I would have saved her a lot of suffering (if she wanted to be saved) by broaching the topic when she *first* started getting really sick.

I could see Joe's point about that -- there was only a 50/50 chance the vyrus would take and even if it did, it wasn't going to spare her a horrible death, just postpone it.  And if it didn't take . . . well, I'm not sure I'd want to live with the guilt from that either.  I do see your point about Evie having the right to choose her own risks, but I can understand why the choice to tell would be so difficult.

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on January 12, 2012, 04:35:32 PM

Quote from: Ali on January 12, 2012, 04:13:24 PM
Agreed.  The only thing that bothered me about the whole Evie/Joe dynamic is how he didn't tell her and wouldn't give her the option until she was on the razor's edge of death, and then he still didn't give her the option, he just (started to) go ahead and do it.  If it were me, I would have saved her a lot of suffering (if she wanted to be saved) by broaching the topic when she *first* started getting really sick.

I could see Joe's point about that -- there was only a 50/50 chance the vyrus would take and even if it did, it wasn't going to spare her a horrible death, just postpone it.  And if it didn't take . . . well, I'm not sure I'd want to live with the guilt from that either.  I do see your point about Evie having the right to choose her own risks, but I can understand why the choice to tell would be so difficult.

I know what you mean.  I think more than anything it bothered me in the context of the story because it always seemed like such a forgone conclusion that it was going to happen eventually.  I was like "We all know that Joe is eventually going to try to turn Evie to save her...just effing do it already so she can stop hurting!"  In real life I would probably be more understanding of th einternal struggle he was going through.

Quote from: Ali on January 12, 2012, 04:59:52 PM
In real life I would probably be more understanding of th einternal struggle he was going through.

Then again, maybe Joe's reluctance was meant to be a flaw in his character, a black mark?  I remember reading somewhere (maybe on Huston's website) that it frustrated him that people saw Joe as a hero or even anti-hero when he meant for Joe to be a bad guy.  All I can say to that is he shouldn't have given Joe so many virtures then. I've know more than my share of real people who weren't nearly as decent as Joe. 

I just finished The Varieties of Scientific Experience, by Carl Sagan.  Subtitled A Personal View of the Search for God, this book was edited by Ann Druyan some 10 years after Sagan's death, using the talks he gave as part of the Gifford Lectures on Natural Theology at the University of Glasgow in 1985.  I am so glad Druyan did this altho it has given me yet another reason to mourn Sagan's death -- he was such a good representative of atheism, so much kinder, patient and more understanding of human needs than many of the spokesmen we have now.

Ffrom the lecture on The Search:  We kill each other, or threaten to kill each other, in part, I think because we are afraid we might not ourselves know the truth, that someone else with a different doctrine might have a closer approximation to the truth.  Our history is in part a battle to the death of inadequate myths.  If I can't convince you, I must kill you.  That will change your mind.  You are a threat to my version of the truth, especially the truth about who I am and what my nature is.  The thought that I may have dedicated my life to a lie, that I might have accepted a conventional wisdom that no longer, if it ever did, corresponds to the external reality, that is a very painful realization.  I will tend to resist it to the last.  I will go to almost any lengths to prevent myself from seeing that the worldview that I have dedicated my life to is inadequate.

(Sagan explained that he put this in personal terms so as to avoid appearing to accuse anyone in the audience of "an attitude".  This is part of what I mean about Sagan being kinder and gentler.) 

The best part of this book for me turned out to be the questions and answers from each lecture that were included in the back.  I enjoyed these so much because so many of them were issues brought up, time and time again, by theist visitors to atheist discussion forums.  Such as this old chesnut about life's meaning:

CS:  The questioner asks that is not one central goal of religions the idea of a personal god, of a purpose for individuals and for the species as a whole, and is that not one of the reasons for the success on an emotional level (I'm paraphrasing) of many religions?  And he then goes on to say that he, himself, does not see much evidence in the astronomical universe for a purpose.

I tend very much to agree with you, but I would say that purpose is not imposed from the outside; it is generated from the inside.  We make our purpose.  And there is a kind of dereliction of duty of us humans when we say that the purpose is to be imposed on the outside or found in some book written thousands of years ago.  We live in a very different world than we lived in thousands of years ago.  There is no question that we have many obligations to guarantee our purposes, one of which is to survive.  And that we have to work out for ourselves.

Here's a response to a question about the difference between what the religious believe and what scientists know, and why the science appears incomplete:  CS:  So I see methodologically a significant difference between how science proceeds and how religion proceeds.  Now, an earlier questioner gave a very good example.  He said, "Scientists talk about the expanding universe.  What began the expansion?"  Now, many astrophysicists would say that's not their problem.  Their problem is to tell you what the universe is doing but not to tell you why it's doing it.  They avoid that "why" question -- and it's not due to modesty, although it's sometimes phrased in a way to suggest that we don't want to mess around with the really big questions.  But physicists love to mess around with the really big questions.  The reason that questions such as "Why did the universe expand?" are considered off-limits is that there's no experiment you can do to check it out.

And finally, he explains why the burden of proof is with the person making the positive claim:  CS:  It is -- and it seems to me quite proper.  Because otherwise opinions would be launched very casually if those who proposed them did not have the burden of demonstrating their truth.  Here is a set of thirty-one proposals that I make, and good-bye.  I mean, you would be left with a chaotic circumstance.

Questioner:  Yes, all right.  Yes, I see.  I see your point.  Yes.

CS:   The audience is laughing.  May I say I think these are . . . some of these are very good points, and this sense of dialogue I welcome and find delightful.

This last was the end of a very long discussion and I only included the summing up.  I also liked that it's another demonstration of Sagan's kindness to theists.  Altho honesty kept him from saying all the points were good, he gave his questioner some of the points and the compliment of enjoying the discussion.

Currently on House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds.
Also working my way through the Satanic Bible... just coz...

I've been working on The Meaning of Everything: The story of Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester. It's not really doing much for me and I'm not sure if I'll finish it.
Next up is The Professor of Secrets: Mystery, Medicine, and Alchemy in Renaissance Italy by William Eamon

Quote from: Crocoduck on January 30, 2012, 08:14:41 PM
I've been working on The Meaning of Everything: The story of Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester. It's not really doing much for me and I'm not sure if I'll finish it.

I read that and absolutely loved it but then I'm a word freak. 

Currently reading The Day of the Jackal. Good so far. Plus I usually hate thrillers.

I've been on this sort of dystopian future kick lately.  In the meantime, my husband is an 8th grade English teacher, so he is constantly buying books to try to interest the kids to read.  Hence, since he has a large collection of YA lit dystopia novels, I have been reading a bunch of books written for 14 year olds.  High brow stuff.   :D  I'm currently reading Incarceron, but in the past month I've read Shatter Me, Ship Breaker, Divergent, The Maze Runner, and The House of the Scorpion.  After Incarceron I may go back to reading adult books.   ;)

I'm reading books about burnouts. My wife is close to getting one (perhaps she already got one), so I like to find out what I could do to support her.

burnouts as in psychological exhaustion, or as cars, or as in a teenaged pot head (none of those definitions quite make sense in the context of the sentence.)

Quote from: Ali on February 01, 2012, 04:19:36 PM
burnouts as in psychological exhaustion, or as cars, or as in a teenaged pot head (none of those definitions quite make sense in the context of the sentence.)

Burnouts as in psychological exhaustion.

Quote from: Tom62 on February 01, 2012, 09:11:07 PM

Quote from: Ali on February 01, 2012, 04:19:36 PM
burnouts as in psychological exhaustion, or as cars, or as in a teenaged pot head (none of those definitions quite make sense in the context of the sentence.)

Burnouts as in psychological exhaustion.

I'm sorry that your wife is having a tough time.   :-[

Quote from: Ali on February 01, 2012, 09:49:10 PM
I'm sorry that your wife is having a tough time.   :-[

Thanks. Things are looking a bit brighter for her, now that she got psychotherapy and a less stressful job.

Quote from: Tom62 on February 01, 2012, 10:08:45 PM

Quote from: Ali on February 01, 2012, 09:49:10 PM
I'm sorry that your wife is having a tough time.   :-[

Thanks. Things are looking a bit brighter for her, now that she got psychotherapy and a less stressful job.

That's good to hear.

Quote from: Tank on February 01, 2012, 10:09:21 PM

Quote from: Tom62 on February 01, 2012, 10:08:45 PM

Quote from: Ali on February 01, 2012, 09:49:10 PM
I'm sorry that your wife is having a tough time.   :-[

Thanks. Things are looking a bit brighter for her, now that she got psychotherapy and a less stressful job.

That's good to hear.

Yes, very good to hear that she is moving in a positive direction.

I'm back to normal (science) fiction with Clifford D. Simak's "Special Deliverance".

Just finished the Night's Dawn trilogy, just ordered the Void trilogy by Peter F Harrison.

Re-reading Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan's "Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Milennium".

For fiction, currently re-reading "David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens, as well as "1984" by George Orwell. :)

I have plenty of new stuff to read, but I've been in the mood for some old favourites.

Finished Arguably, essays by Christopher Hitchens, and the Best American Mystery Stories of 2011.  Started Natural Prayers, by Chet Raymo, which I'm really enjoying.  It's a collection of essays about nature, set around the seasons of the year.  In fact, he's using Pagan holidays as markers, which I'm not sure is deliberate but it is giving me a little giggle.

Quote from: RunFromMyLife on February 10, 2012, 12:14:56 AM
I just started The Satanic Verses last night.

Let me know what you think.  I really wanted to like it, but couldn't get through it.  I don't have a high tolerance for slogging through a book once it loses my interest.

I'm still reading Incarceron (no reading time lately!) but next I'm going to read Game of Thrones.

Just finished the Night's Dawn trilogy (3,700 pages!) by Peter F Hamilton.
Just about to start the Void trilogy (2,560 pages.) also by Hamilton.

Quote from: TankJust finished the Night's Dawn trilogy (3,700 pages!) by Peter F Hamilton.

I have that! I have masses of books that I've not read, owing to the fact that I'm the only reader in my family, so all unwanted christmas presents, inheritances etc. get filtered down to me. It's a bugger deciding what to read next.

What's your opinion? I've been looking for something really long and epic to read, something I can get really immersed in - haven't had that since I read the Dark Tower series by Stephen King.

Quote from: Melmoth on February 12, 2012, 04:42:55 AM

Quote from: TankJust finished the Night's Dawn trilogy (3,700 pages!) by Peter F Hamilton.

I have that! I have masses of books that I've not read, owing to the fact that I'm the only reader in my family, so all unwanted christmas presents, inheritances etc. get filtered down to me. It's a bugger deciding what to read next.

What's your opinion? I've been looking for something really long and epic to read, something I can get really immersed in - haven't had that since I read the Dark Tower series by Stephen King.

9.4/10 It starts off with A LOT of scene setting and character creation and you don't realise what is actually going on until your well into the first part of the trilogy. The 0.6 off of the perfect score boils down to a pet irritation of mine about Hamilton's writing style. If you like your Space Opera loud and large you'll like this. There are over 1,000,000 words in the story and it doesn't slow down at all, which is quite an achievment.

I shall look to it then! :D

Right!?!  I'm glad I'm not the only one that struggled to get through it.

Quote from: RunFromMyLife on February 12, 2012, 07:31:20 PM

Quote from: Ali on February 12, 2012, 07:28:28 PM
Right!?!  I'm glad I'm not the only one that struggled to get through it.

I'm on page 83 and have not experienced one iota of enjoyment so far.  :(

I can't remember where I was when I finally gave up the ghost and decided to read something else.  I really wanted to know what Salman Rushdie could have possibly said to make Cat Stevens turn on him.  (sad about Cat Stevens going nuts.  I love his music, especially "Here Comes My Baby.")

For anyone interested in books on medicine and bioethics, I highly recommend the works of Dr Sherwin Nuland. I can reread a book of his repeatedly and find something new to ponder every time. He has a great style, very interesting and thoughtful. "How We Die" is the one I have on hand, and it explores the process of death and dying as a result of everything from murder, to heart disease, to Alzheimers, to cancer, as well as discussing the issue and history of euthanasia in the face of terminal illness.

I've read two of Rushdie's books (The Moor's Last Sigh and The Ground Beneath Her Feet) and really enjoyed both of them; since I've not yet tried The Satanic Verses, I can't give an opinion on it. I've heard other people say that they don't like Rushdie's style, though.

Currently reading "Frankenstein".

Watched the old Boris Karloff movie (he was brilliant, the plot... not so much)

The original book seems closer to the mini-series "Frankenstein: The True Story" that I saw a while back...

I really don't think too much in advance about what I'm going to read next. I am pretty impulsive in that area, sometimes reading three or four completely different books at the same time. I am currently reading Victor Stenger's "Fallacy of Fine Tuning - Why the Universe Is Not Designed For Us," Howard Zinn's "The 20th Century," and "Physics For the Rest Of Us" by Roger S. Jones.

Author's I like are Dean Koontz, Steven King, Brian Greene, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Lisa Randall, Shelby Foote, and Bruce Canton among others.

Dean Koontz' version of "Frankenstein" was pretty entertaining.

Looooove David Sedaris.

I'm now reading Game of Thrones.  It's satisfyingly dramatic.

Reading Kathy Reichs Fatal Voyage. I would sugest her for anyone interested in crime books.

Dangerous Brown Men by Gargi Bhattacharyya because she's speaking at a BME feminism conference I'm attending in March.  I actually need to be reading some belle hooks for this but I'm waiting on the library to get it for me.  (I'm white like my avatar).

Right now I'm about mid-way through Fred Dibnah's Victorian Heroes by David Hall. A fine introduction to the world of the British Victorian engineers who changed the world with their inventions. I hadn't heard of Dibnah till I spent some time in the UK and saw a replay of his final television series, Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Dibnah#Fred_Dibnah.27s_Made_in_Britain), in which he and his friend Alf drive the steam traction engine he rebuilt around the country to places of interest.

Quote from: Recusant on March 04, 2012, 10:11:15 AM
Right now I'm about mid-way through Fred Dibnah's Victorian Heroes by David Hall. A fine introduction to the world of the British Victorian engineers who changed the world with their inventions. I hadn't heard of Dibnah till I spent some time in the UK and saw a replay of his final television series, Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Dibnah#Fred_Dibnah.27s_Made_in_Britain), in which he and his friend Alf drive the steam traction engine he rebuilt around the country to places of interest.

I remember watching a video of Fred climbing a brick chimney. The man had nerves of steel.

LOL I found it on YT
Fred Dibnah laddering a chimney (Part 1) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F04dGK1_wYA&feature=related)

Fred Dibnah laddering a chimney (Part 2) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-a27xwcLfU&feature=related)

I'm on chapter 2 of The Edge of Physics: A Journey to Earth's Extremes to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Anil Ananthaswamy

I'm reading Night by Elie Wiesel. It's a book he wrote about his time in the concentration camps during WWII. It's good, as well as haunting.

Having finished the Void trilogy by Peter F Hamilton I've just started Pandora's Star, another book by him set in the same future milieu, 1,100 pages of space opera!

Quote from: Tank on March 08, 2012, 08:08:10 PM
Pandora's Star

Ooh! Ooh! Not bad at all, that.  :D

Quote from: Asmodean on March 08, 2012, 09:21:04 PM

Quote from: Tank on March 08, 2012, 08:08:10 PM
Pandora's Star

Ooh! Ooh! Not bad at all, that.  :D

I absolutely loved the beginning with the Mars landing! No spoilers please! 

Quote from: Budhorse4 on March 08, 2012, 03:19:06 PM
I'm reading Night by Elie Wiesel. It's a book he wrote about his time in the concentration camps during WWII. It's good, as well as haunting.

Definitely haunting! When I read it, I couldn't put it down or tear my eyes away. It was like watching someone get destroyed, yet somehow find the strength to survive the destruction. Whenever I'm feeling too damned self-indulgent and sorry for myself, I read an account from one of the two world wars (either soldier or civilian survivor, like Wiesel) to give myself a good, much needed knock of reality upside the head.

Quote from: Tank on March 09, 2012, 07:48:24 AM
I absolutely loved the beginning with the Mars landing! No spoilers please! 

Great! Now you said "no spoilers"...  :(

MUST... RESIST... MUSTRE... SIS... TMUS... TRESIST...  :-X

OK, I'll admit it. I finally caved in and I'm reading The Hunger Games.

I must say, so far it's more of an interesting concept than I thought it would be! I think I'm probably the last person on the planet to even know what the book was about, though.

Quote from: RunFromMyLife on March 09, 2012, 05:53:59 PM

Quote from: Amicale on March 09, 2012, 05:18:55 PM
OK, I'll admit it. I finally caved in and I'm reading The Hunger Games.

I must say, so far it's more of an interesting concept than I thought it would be! I think I'm probably the last person on the planet to even know what the book was about, though.

I caved about a week ago and read it also. I loved it.  :)

Haven't read that yet, but I did read the Japanese novel Battle Royale, which some people have accused The Hunger Games of plagiarizing (don't know how true that is, though the story does sound similar). Definitely very interesting, albeit pretty bloody, and I didn't like the author's stereotypical portrayal of one of the students who happened to be gay. There was also a movie, also in Japanese but with subtitles. Don't bother with the sequel, which sucked.

I'm doing a research paper on the topic of atheism, and the pros and cons of it. I can use the internet, but I also need about three books on the subject. I seem to have run into a problem with our school's and public library's database, though. Does anybody know of any book that would help?

Quote from: Budhorse4 on March 13, 2012, 01:04:51 PM
I'm doing a research paper on the topic of atheism, and the pros and cons of it. I can use the internet, but I also need about three books on the subject. I seem to have run into a problem with our school's and public library's database, though. Does anybody know of any book that would help?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Grayling#Publications

Against All Gods: Six Polemics on Religion and an Essay on Kindness (2007). ISBN 978-1-84002-728-0

Grayling is a professional philosopher and Against All Gods has all the content of Dawkins The God Delusion without the overbearing style.

http://www.acgrayling.com/

_________________________________

http://www.samharris.org/

http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/the-end-of-faith

__________________________________

http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/incbios/dennettd/dennettd.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_the_Spell:_Religion_as_a_Natural_Phenomenon

That should keep you going. If I were you I would not make Dawkins the focus of your work, he's too easy a target. Grayling, Harris and Dennett are more 'heavyweights, in the field.

Quote from: Tank on March 13, 2012, 01:22:43 PM

Quote from: Budhorse4 on March 13, 2012, 01:04:51 PM
I'm doing a research paper on the topic of atheism, and the pros and cons of it. I can use the internet, but I also need about three books on the subject. I seem to have run into a problem with our school's and public library's database, though. Does anybody know of any book that would help?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Grayling#Publications

Against All Gods: Six Polemics on Religion and an Essay on Kindness (2007). ISBN 978-1-84002-728-0

Grayling is a professional philosopher and Against All Gods has all the content of Dawkins The God Delusion without the overbearing style.

http://www.acgrayling.com/

_________________________________

http://www.samharris.org/

http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/the-end-of-faith

__________________________________

http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/incbios/dennettd/dennettd.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_the_Spell:_Religion_as_a_Natural_Phenomenon

That should keep you going. If I were you I would not make Dawkins the focus of your work, he's too easy a target. Grayling, Harris and Dennett are more 'heavyweights, in the field.

Thanks a lot Tank. I hadn't planned on using Dawkins, mainly because many people use him do often it's almost cliche.

*Edit After a quick search I found that my library has Breaking the Spell and End of Faith. Awesome.

Quote from: Budhorse4 on March 13, 2012, 01:32:59 PM

Quote from: Tank on March 13, 2012, 01:22:43 PM

Quote from: Budhorse4 on March 13, 2012, 01:04:51 PM
I'm doing a research paper on the topic of atheism, and the pros and cons of it. I can use the internet, but I also need about three books on the subject. I seem to have run into a problem with our school's and public library's database, though. Does anybody know of any book that would help?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Grayling#Publications

Against All Gods: Six Polemics on Religion and an Essay on Kindness (2007). ISBN 978-1-84002-728-0

Grayling is a professional philosopher and Against All Gods has all the content of Dawkins The God Delusion without the overbearing style.

http://www.acgrayling.com/

_________________________________

http://www.samharris.org/

http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/the-end-of-faith

__________________________________

http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/incbios/dennettd/dennettd.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_the_Spell:_Religion_as_a_Natural_Phenomenon

That should keep you going. If I were you I would not make Dawkins the focus of your work, he's too easy a target. Grayling, Harris and Dennett are more 'heavyweights, in the field.

Thanks a lot Tank. I hadn't planned on using Dawkins, mainly because many people use him do often it's almost cliche.

*Edit After a quick search I found that my library has Breaking the Spell and End of Faith. Awesome.

See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_atheist_authors
http://www.atheistresearch.org/index.php

Quote from: Amicale on March 09, 2012, 05:18:55 PM
OK, I'll admit it. I finally caved in and I'm reading The Hunger Games.

I must say, so far it's more of an interesting concept than I thought it would be! I think I'm probably the last person on the planet to even know what the book was about, though.

Last but one -- I didn't even know there was a book.

Currently on page 31 of The End of Faith and I have a page and a half of notes.  :D I probably won't use them all, I just write down anything that has potential.

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on March 13, 2012, 02:24:45 PM

Quote from: Amicale on March 09, 2012, 05:18:55 PM
OK, I'll admit it. I finally caved in and I'm reading The Hunger Games.

I must say, so far it's more of an interesting concept than I thought it would be! I think I'm probably the last person on the planet to even know what the book was about, though.

Last but one -- I didn't even know there was a book.

I had heard murmurs about it, but only found out what it was actually about yesterday. I might read it. I'm trying to get into fiction more.

Quote from: RunFromMyLife on March 13, 2012, 10:39:52 PM
I finished Catching Fire last night - the sequel to The Hunger Games. I think I liked it even more than the first book.  ;D

I found it more enjoyable as well, I thought the first one was too predictable in ending.

I've started reading a wonderful book called "The Library at Night", by Alberto Manguel and came across this that I just had to pass on:

Old or new, the only sign I always try to rid my books of (usually with little success) is the price-sticker that malignant booksellers attach to the backs.  These evil white scabs rip off with difficulty, leaving leprous wounds and traces of slime to which adhere the dust and fluff of ages, making me wish for a special gummy hell to which the inventor of these stickers would be condemned.

And twice in that special gummy hell for the booksellers who actually put the stickers on the front of books.

I'm starting The Hunger Games right now. I want to read the books so I can later complain about how much the movie sucks in comparison. That may not be the case, but I typically hate movies based on books I have read.

Finally managed to get into The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo after months of failing to get hooked, was alright once it got going but it was so damn obvious apart from one twist. I liked the character Salander kinda reminded me of SD.

Also George R. R. Martin needs to hurry up with The Winds of Winter, I don't want to wait two years to find out what happened to one of the characters at the end of A Dance With Dragons.

Can anyone recommend any good Sci-Fi novels?

Redemption Space series by Alystair Rynolds
Commonwealth Saga by Peter F Hamilton

Both these are 'Big' space opera sci-fi spread over thousands of light years and millennia.

Robert Edric's  "The London Satyr" provides a bravura dissection of the hypocrisy and prurience of Victorian society, subtle but vivid characterisation, a serpentine plot suffused with overhanging menace, a penetrating study of the power of the unspoken in human interaction....

I've got a couple going right now.  (My husband maintains that my inability to read just one book at a time is -yet another- sign of my adult onset ADD.)

- Clash of Kings - George R. R. Martin
- Raising The Perfect Child Through Guilt and Manipulation - Elizabeth Beckwith - I don't typically bother with parenting books, but Husband saw this one and thought it would make me laugh.  He was right.
- Big Girl Small - Rachel Dewoskin - listening to this on my iPhone when I drive and work out. 

Sci Fi, Crow?  Anything by Jack Vance.

You can get his magnificent Planet of Adventure series and Lyonesse trilogy free from TUEBL (http://tuebl.com/search/result?title=&author=Vance%2C+Jack&serie=&tags=) as epubs.  Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/download)  will convert these to almost any format.

Quote from: Ali on April 29, 2012, 05:51:24 PM
I've got a couple going right now.  (My husband maintains that my inability to read just one book at a time is -yet another- sign of my adult onset ADD.)

Tell your husband "in his ear!".  I've been reading at least 3 books at a time since I learned to read and I have no problems with . . . fluffy bunny!

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on April 29, 2012, 06:30:48 PM

Quote from: Ali on April 29, 2012, 05:51:24 PM
I've got a couple going right now.  (My husband maintains that my inability to read just one book at a time is -yet another- sign of my adult onset ADD.)

Tell your husband "in his ear!".  I've been reading at least 3 books at a time since I learned to read and I have no problems with . . . fluffy bunny!

LMAO The first time I tried to read this comment, I got distracted and didn't finish.  True story.

Quote from: Crow on April 29, 2012, 03:39:11 PM
Can anyone recommend any good Sci-Fi novels?

I really enjoyed the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card.

I just finished both The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Hunger Games, the latter because my wife read it in about 48 hours and wants badly to see the movie. Hunger Games was pretty good, though a bit shallow for my tastes at times. I thought Battle Royale had more depth to it. But a decent read.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, though I saw through most of its twists, was more fascinating. Lisbeth Salander's character was really compelling and messed up.

Quote from: Crow on April 29, 2012, 03:39:11 PM
Can anyone recommend any good Sci-Fi novels?

The Martian Chronicles by Rad Bradbury
Contact by Carl Sagan
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
1984 by George Orwell (this one's dystopian, but there is a sci-fi element to it)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Foundation trilogy by Isaac Isimov
The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, and The Invisible Man, all by H.G. Wells

Just off the top of my head.

Quote from: Crow on April 29, 2012, 03:39:11 PM
Can anyone recommend any good Sci-Fi novels?

What kind of sci fi?  It's a pretty varied genre and I lean to the softer, character-driven stuff.  My favorite sci fi author was Octavia Butler, who did some absolutely wild building-a-new-world stuff.  If you like military stuff (but not that blood and guts gritty) I'd suggest either C. J. Cherryh or Tanya Huff (the Valor series).

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on April 30, 2012, 01:50:13 AM

Quote from: Crow on April 29, 2012, 03:39:11 PM
Can anyone recommend any good Sci-Fi novels?

What kind of sci fi?  It's a pretty varied genre and I lean to the softer, character-driven stuff.  My favorite sci fi author was Octavia Butler, who did some absolutely wild building-a-new-world stuff.  If you like military stuff (but not that blood and guts gritty) I'd suggest either C. J. Cherryh or Tanya Huff (the Valor series).

If the question is military, I'd go for any Warhammer 40k novles (surprise there ;D ). But they actually are good sci-fi, especially Sandy Mitchell's Ciaphas Cain (http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Ciaphas_Cain_(Novel_Series)#.T55PmLO0Bpg)-series, Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts (http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Gaunt%27s_Ghosts_(Novel_Series)#.T55QZ7O0Bpg) or the Horus Heresy (http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Horus_Heresy_(Novel_Series)#.T55QvrO0Bpg)-series that is more akin to a massive collaboration project between multiple well known 40k authors. There's also a collection of short stories called "Tales from the Heresy", which include an interesting story called "The last church", where the Emperor visits the last church left on Earth in the closing days of the unification wars (the wars where the Emperor first united our solar system before launching the Great Crusade to re-conquer the rest of the galaxy for Mankind)

I also love the Space Wolf (http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Space_Wolf_Series#.T55Q37O0Bpg)-series , especially the first three books by William King. The list could go on, but those are some of the series that I've actaully read and love. There's also a lot of single novels, like 15 Hours (http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/15_Hours#.T55RlLO0Bpg), or collections of single novels like the Imperial Guard series (http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Imperial_Guard_Omnibus:_Volume_One#.T55RvbO0Bpg).

Out of these, my absolute favorite is Caiphas. He is just such a lovable scoundrel of a character, who has no illusions of his state, but always ends up as a "hero", as those around him mistake his bad luck of always finding trouble as sings of courage and wit. And of course, the ever reliable Jurgen, who get's to do all the paper work and his interesting little gift that get's these two out of trouble more then once...and I'm not talking about the meltagun that he usually carries around...

The story style is also interesting, as they are from his own personal perspective, with some footnotes by a certain editor..but very readable and enjoyable.

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on April 30, 2012, 01:50:13 AM
C. J. Cherryh

I remember reading Dreamstone (I think it was called) as a little kid and liking it quite a bit.

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on April 30, 2012, 01:50:13 AM

Quote from: Crow on April 29, 2012, 03:39:11 PM
Can anyone recommend any good Sci-Fi novels?

What kind of sci fi?  It's a pretty varied genre and I lean to the softer, character-driven stuff.  My favorite sci fi author was Octavia Butler, who did some absolutely wild building-a-new-world stuff.  If you like military stuff (but not that blood and guts gritty) I'd suggest either C. J. Cherryh or Tanya Huff (the Valor series).

Well I realised that I hadn't read any science fiction novels since being a kid so I'm not sure really, back then they were "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "1984", "The Time Machine", and the "War of the Worlds" with the last being my favorite by far. Some of my favorite writers are Haruki Murakami, Christopher Isherwood, Franz Kafka, and Richard Yates so that might give you an idea of the kind of books I normally go for, As you might be able to tell I like ccharacter driven stories rather than event driven stories. But people have given so many recommendations I will have to have a quick peek at the blurbs for all those that have been recommended so far.

Quote from: ThinkAnarchy on April 29, 2012, 08:45:52 PM

Quote from: Crow on April 29, 2012, 03:39:11 PM
Can anyone recommend any good Sci-Fi novels?

I really enjoyed the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card.

+1 to that - very good series.  First book was the best, IMHO.

I also like Greg Bear's work, and Gregory Beneford.

Might also check out the "Humans", "Hominids", "Hybrids" series.

... and, I just finished reading the second of a trilogy: "Heaven's War" for an audio book.
It'll be out in June or July, but the first one "Heaven's Shadow" is already out (book, e-book and audio book).

I just finished reading Field & Stream: Ultimate Outdoorsman Manual (http://www.amazon.com/Total-Outdoorsman-Manual-Field-Stream/dp/1616280611) and just started Bug Out (http://www.amazon.com/Bug-Out-Complete-Escaping-Catastrophic/dp/156975781X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336086342&sr=1-1) by Scott B. Williams.

The Field & Stream book had a bunch of really interesting tips.  For me it was a great help to learn more about practices I never really got into like fishing and hiking.

Listening to Uncle Tom's Cabin on audio book (seems like cheating) but I've been driving a lot lately.

Awesome book.  Apparently Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stow and said to her:  "So you are  the women who started the civil war" .

Life is too short to learn all there is to learn.

Quote from: technolud on May 08, 2012, 11:51:21 PM
Listening to Uncle Tom's Cabin on audio book (seems like cheating) but I've been driving a lot lately.

Awesome book.  Apparently Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stow and said to her:  "So your the women who started the civil war" .

Life is too short to learn all there is to learn.

It's for this reason, if no other, that I wish we had the ability to try several different lives, from different perspectives. :)

Maybe that's why I love reading so much. In a way, it does give us that ability.

Quote from: RunFromMyLife on May 11, 2012, 07:55:47 PM
I just started Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov because I really needed some light summer reading.

Please don't write things like that when I have a mouthful of tea.  Altho my keyboard did need cleaning anyway.

Quote from: RunFromMyLife on May 11, 2012, 07:55:47 PM
I just started Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov because I really needed some light summer reading.

... I prefer the flying version ...

I am slowly but happily working my way through each and every one of Christopher Moore's novels, again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Moore_%28author%29

The guy's hilarious. I've read each of his books at least a couple times. I'm particularly partial to my favourite, 'The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal'.  :D

Quote from: Crow on April 29, 2012, 03:39:11 PM
Can anyone recommend any good Sci-Fi novels?

I have read every Vlad Taltos novel by Steven Brust.  It starts out like a D&D series, but a few books in turns sci fi.  He is easily my favorite author for his style.  Anything by Terry Brooks is also great.  For anyone who doesn't know Terry Brooks he is the man who wrote the little know book adaptation for a little movie called Star Wars episode one.  He comes out with a new book every year in his Shannara series and I can't wait for September and the first book in his new Trilogy.  ;D

I just read George Orwell's Animal Farm again today. Great, short read.

I bought two of Timothy Keller's books, The Prodigal God and The Reason for God,  about a month back, mostly out of curiosity -- I'm open to a good argument.  On my way out to afternoon tea, I grabbed The Prodigal God as something to read in case I had to wait for the others joining me.  It was a good thing I did -- I was three chapters in before everyone turned up (parking was worse today than usual).  I had wanted to start with the other book but The Prodigal God fit better into my purse.

The title is misleading as it isn't his god that Keller is describing as prodigal (tho that would have made for an interesting book on its own), rather this is an in-depth analysis of the story of the prodigal son, which Keller considers the central story of Xtianity.  I found his arguments that both the elder and younger sons were prodigal and "lost" to their father's/god's love interesting -- the younger son in the obvious way of running wild and not obeying the rules and the older son in the much less obvious way of obeying the rules only in order get benefits for himself.  In Keller's view, obedience must be motivated solely by love and joy to count -- if you're obeying out of fear or to get promised rewards or to use it as leverage, it not only doesn't count with his god but counts against you.  That in Keller's opinion is the true teaching of the prodigal son story.

So far, so good.  I could see that interpretation but then Keller went on into theories about how Jesus was the unmentioned 2nd older brother in the story who sacrificed himself to save the younger brother, and how the crucifiction made all things better for those who accepted Jesus as their supernatural savior and all that etc.  The point at which Keller veered from philosophy into the supernatural was where it all fell apart -- mistaking shaky premises for valid theories, and unproven (and unprovable) theories for fact backed up by evidence (that didn't need to be presented).  The last third of the book is all preaching to the choir and can be skipped without fear of missing something significant.

The Reason for God, I'm rather sorry to say, is starting out even less promising.  The subtitle is "Belief in an Age of Skepticism" and is meant to provide reasons why belief in the supernatural in general and the Xtian supernatural in particular is rational -- I just finished chapter one and all it offered was the usual "the faithless have faith too!" nonsense, accompanied by weak justifications for why Xtianity should therefore be allowed to run rampant.  Not the way Keller said it of course, but that's what it comes down to. 

I'm afraid this book starts out geared towards those who already accept the supernatural and makes assumptions from there, rather than providing any reason for accepting the supernatural and then building on the logic of specific beliefs.  He does use a pair of atheists turned Xtians as examples but gives no insight into what changed their minds.  They apparently just decided, after much reading, that "Xtianity cannot be refuted".  Tells me exactly nothing.  I'm going to finish this book -- Keller is a glib writer so it's an easy read -- but I'm fighting disappointment already.

After mentioning Ender's Game several times the last few months I decided to reread the series. Enders Game was as good as it's ever been. I hated Speaker for the Dead when I first read it in high school, but really liked it this time around. Xenocide was sluggish at times but still good. Children of the Mind I don't think I will even be able to finish...

I don't remember so much religion the first time reading this series.

Now that I reread them, I would still suggest Enders Game and the next two books, but the 4th seems to have been thrown together in a hurry. I don't think I will finish reading the 4th one for the second time.

Just read George Borrow's Wild Wales all the way through for the first time.  A very interesting, though also limited, view of mid-19th century life in a primitive backwater (as Wales then was).

I'm re-reading Barrington J. Bayley's "Knights of the Limits". Truly amazing and fascinating stories of which "Mutation Planet" is in my top 10 list of best short Sci-fi stories ever written.

I never read any Harry Potter books because I was into Lord of the Rings and liked to say that Potter was for kids and I would never even watch the movies.  Then 2 weekends ago I watched 4 of the movies while drunk and immediately picked up a copy of Deathly Hollows from the library.  I read about 200 pages in 2 hours and am almost halfway through it now.  I like the quirky comedy a little more in the movies, but I am all in now and can't wait to finish the whole thing tonight.  T.V. be damned!

I found a truly awesome flowchart for people who are looking for new, interesting books to read. :)

Courtesy of teach.com :

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fteach.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F06%2FTeach.com-IG-Summer-Reading-Flow-Chart-Final-Draft-Not-Max.jpg&hash=1e9c71141a83644ed301c30058728fcb0d5e8dcb)

Quote from: Amicale on June 16, 2012, 10:58:51 PM
I found a truly awesome flowchart for people who are looking for new, interesting books to read. :)

Main problem however with these flowcharts is that a leaves out loads of books that are "better" than the examples mentioned, but are perhaps never "discovered" by the people who designed these flow chart.  Perhaps it is intellectual laziness to keep mentioning the same books over and over again (like 1984,Kafka, LOTR, etc.) and leave out books that are more fun and interesting to read. For each category there might be hundreds of lesser known books, that I believe need more attention, than these well known books that most teachers/students already know. To give an example, I was far more impressed and rocked of my socks by the anti-utopian book Mockingbird (Wather Tevis) than by 1984.

Nevertheless the idea is very nice and I did found some books on the flowchart that I'm interested in to read.

I have been reading star wars books by joe schreiber.  He puts zombies in the Star Wars universe. Awesome.

Quote from: Anti-antidisestablishmentarianism on June 17, 2012, 07:12:24 PM
I have been reading star wars books by joe schreiber.  He puts zombies in the Star Wars universe. Awesome.

What do you find interesting about zombies? I don't get it myself but I am interested in why others do.

I'm reading Iain M. Banks "Surface Detail" on my Kindle. It is one of his better Culture books.

Quote from: Crow on June 17, 2012, 08:02:16 PM

Quote from: Anti-antidisestablishmentarianism on June 17, 2012, 07:12:24 PM
I have been reading star wars books by joe schreiber.  He puts zombies in the Star Wars universe. Awesome.

What do you find interesting about zombies? I don't get it myself but I am interested in why others do.

I'm not really into zombie books per se. I loved playing the old resident evil games because they were very puzzle heavy and I loved the idea of a puzzle game where I also got to shoot stuff.  It also had a pretty deep storyline which also died with the puzzles.  I quit playing them when they became whores for money and made it all action.  The Resident evil movies are pretty cool because they still have a decent storyline, other than that I haven't seen many zombie movies.  Now the star wars zombie thing I really like because it helps explain what the emperor meant when he told Darth Vader about a sith lord who found a way to cheat death.  It also allowed the author to go down a really dark and bloody route that the Star Wars books and movies have never really done before.  I am only halfway through Red havest and quite a few sith acolytes have already had their eyes or faces chewed on.  It's pretty gruesome, but I have always felt that Star Wars was way too cutesy and were trying to sell toys to kids.  It's refreshing to see a star wars author go down a dark road with it.

Quote from: Anti-antidisestablishmentarianism on June 17, 2012, 08:26:29 PM
I'm not really into zombie books per se. I loved playing the old resident evil games because they were very puzzle heavy and I loved the idea of a puzzle game where I also got to shoot stuff.  It also had a pretty deep storyline which also died with the puzzles.  I quit playing them when they became whores for money and made it all action.  The Resident evil movies are pretty cool because they still have a decent storyline, other than that I haven't seen many zombie movies.  Now the star wars zombie thing I really like because it helps explain what the emperor meant when he told Darth Vader about a sith lord who found a way to cheat death.  It also allowed the author to go down a really dark and bloody route that the Star Wars books and movies have never really done before.  I am only halfway through Red havest and quite a few sith acolytes have already had their eyes or faces chewed on.

I also liked the Resident Evil games (the 4th game was the last one I enjoyed). The main reason I enjoyed that game besides the puzzles was the atmosphere the game managed to convey which was unlike any other form of media, the game could have removed zombies and it would have still been good. Apart from that I just don't "get it".

Quote from: Anti-antidisestablishmentarianism on June 17, 2012, 08:26:29 PM
It's pretty gruesome, but I have always felt that Star Wars was way too cutesy and were trying to sell toys to kids.  It's refreshing to see a star wars author go down a dark road with it.

Couldn't agree with you more the new Star Wars 1313 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQyGu4EqZsU) looks pretty damn good as that appears to take a darker more serious approach.

Quote from: Crow on June 17, 2012, 08:38:06 PM

I also liked the Resident Evil games (the 4th game was the last one I enjoyed). The main reason I enjoyed that game besides the puzzles was the atmosphere the game managed to convey which was unlike any other form of media, the game could have removed zombies and it would have still been good. Apart from that I just don't "get it".

Couldn't agree with you more the new Star Wars 1313 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQyGu4EqZsU) looks pretty damn good as that appears to take a darker more serious approach.

I think that the zombie thing is pretty ridiculous myself, but like I said I was in love with RE.  The atmosphere was very much a part of it for me too.  The first two were just so damn good it was scarier than the zombies themselves.  The puzzle system was so deep you could spend hours just trying to figure out where one damn emblem went.  I knew nothing about the Star Wars 1313 until I saw that video.  I haven't had a game system for over a year so I haven't been paying too much attention. It looks pretty cool. Do you know if it will be action or action rpg?  I would love to see a bounty hunter based star wars game in the style of mass effect.  You could change the whole path of a game like that just by going to a Mos Eisley cantina.

Quote from: Tom62 on June 17, 2012, 08:26:01 PM
I'm reading Iain M. Banks "Surface Detail" on my Kindle. It is one of his better Culture books.

That's one of three of his paperbacks I have on my bedside table waiting patiently. I might give this one a shot when I'm feeling dedicated as you've suggested its one of his better Culture ones - they require a lot of investment that I'm rarely able to give. I normally fall asleep within half a page these days and that's no way to tackle Iain M Banks!

Quote from: Anti-antidisestablishmentarianism on June 17, 2012, 08:26:29 PM
I'm not really into zombie books per se. I loved playing the old resident evil games because they were very puzzle heavy and I loved the idea of a puzzle game where I also got to shoot stuff.  It also had a pretty deep storyline which also died with the puzzles.  I quit playing them when they became whores for money and made it all action.  The Resident evil movies are pretty cool because they still have a decent storyline, other than that I haven't seen many zombie movies.  Now the star wars zombie thing I really like because it helps explain what the emperor meant when he told Darth Vader about a sith lord who found a way to cheat death.  It also allowed the author to go down a really dark and bloody route that the Star Wars books and movies have never really done before.  I am only halfway through Red havest and quite a few sith acolytes have already had their eyes or faces chewed on.  It's pretty gruesome, but I have always felt that Star Wars was way too cutesy and were trying to sell toys to kids.  It's refreshing to see a star wars author go down a dark road with it.

I was really into the Star Wars books, but after reading the "New Jedi Order" series, I was completely tapped out. Those are actually very bloody as well; maybe not Zombies, but the Yuuzhan Vong are pretty horrible and huge fans of torture, not the mention the number of characters they killed off. If you think Star Wars was too cute, try that series out and see what you think then.
But I'll check out Red Harvest at some point. I have gone back and read some of the Old Republic comics, so that era of the universe might hold more fascination for me.

Quote from: Firebird on June 20, 2012, 06:08:06 PM

I was really into the Star Wars books, but after reading the "New Jedi Order" series, I was completely tapped out. Those are actually very bloody as well; maybe not Zombies, but the Yuuzhan Vong are pretty horrible and huge fans of torture, not the mention the number of characters they killed off. If you think Star Wars was too cute, try that series out and see what you think then.
But I'll check out Red Harvest at some point. I have gone back and read some of the Old Republic comics, so that era of the universe might hold more fascination for me.

Try death troopers also by Joe schreiber. It's set right before A new Hope, also contains zombies, and involves two of the main characters from the original trilogy.  I won't say who, but one of them is the only character I have ever seen that is bigger AND harier than me.  The bane trilogy is also old republic and a must read as it explains the rule of two. I have to reread them myself.  It's been a few years, and I've read so many books since then I don't remember almost any of the plot.