The 2011 50 Book Challenge

This is the forum to discuss non-footbag movies, TV, music, videogames, and art.
Post Reply
User avatar
sen
Post Master General
Posts: 2648
Joined: 08 Mar 2003 19:29
Location: Coaldale, AB, CA
Contact:

Post by sen » 29 Apr 2011 19:12

1. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Allies, Christie Golden, 384 Pages
2. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Vortex, Troy Denning, 375 pages
3. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Sean Williams, 319 pages
4. Footbag Manual, Vasek Klouda and Dan Ednie, 98 pages
5. Star Wars: Deathtroopers, Joe Schreiber, 265 pages
6. Star Wars: Red Harvest, Joe Schreiber, 256 pages
7. Star Wars: The Starfighter Trap, Steve Miller, ~100 pages
8. Star Wars: New Jedi Order - Dark Tide I: Onslaught, Michael Stackpole, 304 pages
9. Star Wars: New Jedi Order - Dark Tide II: Ruin, Michael Stackpole, 304 pages
10. Star Wars: New Jedi Order - Agents of Chaos: Hero's Trial, James Luceno, 352 pages
11. Star Wars: New Jedi Order - Agents of Chaos: Jedi Eclipse, James Luceno, 348 pages

NJO is some reading I've been meaning to get caught up on for a while. I had read the first book and a few after, although I had to re-read those to remember, a few years back. It's good stuff. The first really game changing stories in the expanded universe.

User avatar
dp
Egyptian Footgod
Posts: 1222
Joined: 09 Nov 2005 16:25
Location: ohio

Post by dp » 16 May 2011 19:58

1. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick 336pg
2. The Metamorphoses by Ovid translated by Horace Gregory 448pg
3. SlaughterHouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut 215pg
4. Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce 253pg
5. Franklin's Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin 346pg
6. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 509pg
7. Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago 238pg
8. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson 204pg
9. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace 1079pg

Second time reading it. Definitely needs to be read twice to be fully appreciated.
Danny P.

User avatar
sen
Post Master General
Posts: 2648
Joined: 08 Mar 2003 19:29
Location: Coaldale, AB, CA
Contact:

Post by sen » 22 May 2011 14:21

1. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Allies, Christie Golden, 384 Pages
2. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Vortex, Troy Denning, 375 pages
3. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Sean Williams, 319 pages
4. Footbag Manual, Vasek Klouda and Dan Ednie, 98 pages
5. Star Wars: Deathtroopers, Joe Schreiber, 265 pages
6. Star Wars: Red Harvest, Joe Schreiber, 256 pages
7. Star Wars: The Starfighter Trap, Steve Miller, ~100 pages
8. Star Wars: New Jedi Order - Dark Tide I: Onslaught, Michael Stackpole, 304 pages
9. Star Wars: New Jedi Order - Dark Tide II: Ruin, Michael Stackpole, 304 pages
10. Star Wars: New Jedi Order - Agents of Chaos: Hero's Trial, James Luceno, 352 pages
11. Star Wars: New Jedi Order - Agents of Chaos: Jedi Eclipse, James Luceno, 348 page
12. Star Wars: Republic Commando: Hard Contact, Karen Traviss, 304 pages
13. Star Wars: New Jedi Order - Balance Point, Kathy Tyres, 384 pages
14. Star Wars: Omega Squad: Targets, Karen Traviss, ~100 pages

A few more.

User avatar
Jeremy
"Really unneccesary"
Posts: 10178
Joined: 08 Jan 2003 00:20
Location: Tasmania

Post by Jeremy » 30 May 2011 14:22

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg
2. Concepts of Nature: A Wildlife Photographer's Art by Andy Rouse - 159pg
3. Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Roland and Raoul W. Adamchak - 167pg
4. The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct by Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson - 127pg
5. Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis - 256pg
6. Shark: In Peril In The Sea by David Owen - 294pg
7. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - 670pg
8. Moby Dick by Herman Mellville - 469 pages
9. Coral: A pessimist in paradise by Steve Jones - 242pg
10. The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Our Disappearing Fisheries by Mark Kurlansky - 246pg
11. The Shallows: How the internet is changing the way we think, read and remember by Nicholas Carr - 224pg
12. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham - 200pg
13. Beyond Lies The Wub: Collected short stories volume 1 by Phillip K Dick - 397pg
14. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil - 487pg
15. Dead Men Risen: The Welsh Guards and the real story of Britain's war in Afghanistan by Toby Harnden - 512pg
16. Slaughterhouse 5: Or the children's crusade: A duty-dance with death by Kurt Vonnegut - 215pg
17. The Moral Landscape: How science can determine human values by Sam Harris - 191pg


This book is amazing and very compelling. It's one of those books that everybody should read, except that has Sam Harris noted recently, nearly everybody appears to misunderstand it (or not read it), despite it being such a straight forward argument. All I can say if you do read it is don't read any reviews of it first, because they're probably wrong.

The thesis of the book is basically that if we define moral questions in a meaningful way science is the best tool for answering them, and it can be done objectively. Alternatively if we don't frame them in a meaningful manner, they are obviously meaningless. By meaningful I mean well defined, for example if we say "Is it wrong to kill a person to save a life?" that question obviously only has meaning if you specifically define the word "wrong." Most moral confusion comes from moral questions that are undefined. Harris also spends a lot of time talking about neuroscience and how it is increasingly in a position to answer many questions about morality - especially things like; Why do we have morals? Interestingly the neuroscience shows that our brain treats values in the same way as it treats facts (or perceived facts), and Harris argues on two accounts that we should treat values and morals as claims of fact, and then investigate them in the same way we currently investigate claims of fact. Of course with many questions (both moral questions and factual questions) there is uncertainty in the answer, so sometimes we need to admit that we don't know, or give caveated answers that recognise the uncertainty (as science currently does).

Harris also completely demolishes the notion that religion is a reliable or good source of morality, and shows that it's clearly one of the poorest sources available to us, or in fact is a source of immorality masquerading as a source of morality. Not only should we not get our morals from such places, we shouldn't connect them with good moral behaviour.

User avatar
Jeremy
"Really unneccesary"
Posts: 10178
Joined: 08 Jan 2003 00:20
Location: Tasmania

Post by Jeremy » 05 Jun 2011 03:17

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg
2. Concepts of Nature: A Wildlife Photographer's Art by Andy Rouse - 159pg
3. Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Roland and Raoul W. Adamchak - 167pg
4. The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct by Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson - 127pg
5. Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis - 256pg
6. Shark: In Peril In The Sea by David Owen - 294pg
7. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - 670pg
8. Moby Dick by Herman Mellville - 469 pages
9. Coral: A pessimist in paradise by Steve Jones - 242pg
10. The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Our Disappearing Fisheries by Mark Kurlansky - 246pg
11. The Shallows: How the internet is changing the way we think, read and remember by Nicholas Carr - 224pg
12. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham - 200pg
13. Beyond Lies The Wub: Collected short stories volume 1 by Phillip K Dick - 397pg
14. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil - 487pg
15. Dead Men Risen: The Welsh Guards and the real story of Britain's war in Afghanistan by Toby Harnden - 512pg
16. Slaughterhouse 5: Or the children's crusade: A duty-dance with death by Kurt Vonnegut - 215pg
17. The Moral Landscape: How science can determine human values by Sam Harris - 191pg
18. The Curse of Lono by Hunter S. Thompson - 207pg

I've read this before, but it's awesome and this time I read it aloud to my girlfriend :). My copy is the large, but reduced in size (as in the pages are only A3 size, instead of larger in the original) reprint. It has excellent full colour illustrations by Ralph Steadman. It's definitely a book that fans of HST will love, and other people will be a bit indifferent to - also an expensive book, so probably only fans will buy it :P I think there is a cheaper paperback version available though.

User avatar
Jeremy
"Really unneccesary"
Posts: 10178
Joined: 08 Jan 2003 00:20
Location: Tasmania

Post by Jeremy » 05 Jun 2011 20:04

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg
2. Concepts of Nature: A Wildlife Photographer's Art by Andy Rouse - 159pg
3. Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Roland and Raoul W. Adamchak - 167pg
4. The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct by Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson - 127pg
5. Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis - 256pg
6. Shark: In Peril In The Sea by David Owen - 294pg
7. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - 670pg
8. Moby Dick by Herman Mellville - 469 pages
9. Coral: A pessimist in paradise by Steve Jones - 242pg
10. The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Our Disappearing Fisheries by Mark Kurlansky - 246pg
11. The Shallows: How the internet is changing the way we think, read and remember by Nicholas Carr - 224pg
12. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham - 200pg
13. Beyond Lies The Wub: Collected short stories volume 1 by Phillip K Dick - 397pg
14. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil - 487pg
15. Dead Men Risen: The Welsh Guards and the real story of Britain's war in Afghanistan by Toby Harnden - 512pg
16. Slaughterhouse 5: Or the children's crusade: A duty-dance with death by Kurt Vonnegut - 215pg
17. The Moral Landscape: How science can determine human values by Sam Harris - 191pg
18. The Curse of Lono by Hunter S. Thompson - 207pg
19. Kraken: The curious, exciting, and slightly disturbing science of squid by Wendy Williams - 200pg

A fairly enjoyable light read. I read this mainly because we had a squid dissection at uni and I missed most of it. There were a few questionable extrapolations of scientific research but overall it was good. Having just finished it, I do take issue with the statements in the epilogue comparing the length of time humans have been on the plant with the length of time cephalopods have been. I think these kinds of statements are always meaningless. For starters humans are single species, while cephalopods are class - so a more meaningful comparison would be with mammals. But animal classes are fairly arbitrary. There's no scientific reason to have the mammal, reptile and bird clade as a class instead. From an evolutionary perspective this view is even sillier. Cephalopods and humans have a direct line of ancestors on this planet for the same amount of time. All that statements like this really mean is that from a subjective point of view, humans have changed more since the Cambrian period than cephalopods have.

Anyway this is a pretty trivial concern, but I just finished reading it, so it's what's most on my mind :P.

User avatar
Zac Miley
Post Master General
Posts: 5953
Joined: 04 Jun 2006 12:11
Location: Kansas City, MO
Contact:

Post by Zac Miley » 07 Jun 2011 12:32

Here's what I've read so far this year - lots of image-heavy books, but they require no less concentration when you're trying to write a paper using them as reference.

1. Illustration: A Visual History by Steven Heller and Seymour Chwast
2. Posters: A Concise History by John Barnicoat
3. Hope: A Collection of Obama Prints and Posters by Hal Wert
(my professor)
4. Birds and Bees by Dugald Stermer
5. One Hundred Views Along the Road by Alfred Leslie
6. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
7. All's Well That Ends by Michael Smith
8. The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman
Jay (8:06:01 PM): Bu-bu-buu-buug--Looks up, and the feeling goes away like a sneeze-bu-buuuh-BULLLSHITTT
Jay (8:06:14 PM): *wipes bellybutton*

User avatar
dp
Egyptian Footgod
Posts: 1222
Joined: 09 Nov 2005 16:25
Location: ohio

Post by dp » 09 Jun 2011 17:13

1. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick 336pg
2. The Metamorphoses by Ovid translated by Horace Gregory 448pg
3. SlaughterHouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut 215pg
4. Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce 253pg
5. Franklin's Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin 346pg
6. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 509pg
7. Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago 238pg
8. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson 204pg
9. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace 1079pg
10. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse 153 pg

Also, I read about 100 pages of The Sound and the Fury but then gave up. And I don't often give up on books.
Danny P.

User avatar
Jeremy
"Really unneccesary"
Posts: 10178
Joined: 08 Jan 2003 00:20
Location: Tasmania

Post by Jeremy » 10 Jun 2011 03:19

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg
2. Concepts of Nature: A Wildlife Photographer's Art by Andy Rouse - 159pg
3. Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Roland and Raoul W. Adamchak - 167pg
4. The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct by Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson - 127pg
5. Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis - 256pg
6. Shark: In Peril In The Sea by David Owen - 294pg
7. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - 670pg
8. Moby Dick by Herman Mellville - 469 pages
9. Coral: A pessimist in paradise by Steve Jones - 242pg
10. The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Our Disappearing Fisheries by Mark Kurlansky - 246pg
11. The Shallows: How the internet is changing the way we think, read and remember by Nicholas Carr - 224pg
12. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham - 200pg
13. Beyond Lies The Wub: Collected short stories volume 1 by Phillip K Dick - 397pg
14. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil - 487pg
15. Dead Men Risen: The Welsh Guards and the real story of Britain's war in Afghanistan by Toby Harnden - 512pg
16. Slaughterhouse 5: Or the children's crusade: A duty-dance with death by Kurt Vonnegut - 215pg
17. The Moral Landscape: How science can determine human values by Sam Harris - 191pg
18. The Curse of Lono by Hunter S. Thompson - 207pg
19. Kraken: The curious, exciting, and slightly disturbing science of squid by Wendy Williams - 200pg
20. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - 48pg

I'm in the middle of exam studying, so read this as a short break. I found it amusing and confusing. I have many questions, in particular, where did he poo? Nobody knows. Anyway an interesting little story. It's most common tag on WeRead is "boring," which I guess indicates that it's taught in some schools. I didn't find it boring at all though, so I guess don't get your literary advice from school kids :P

User avatar
Jeremy
"Really unneccesary"
Posts: 10178
Joined: 08 Jan 2003 00:20
Location: Tasmania

Post by Jeremy » 16 Jun 2011 14:58

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg
2. Concepts of Nature: A Wildlife Photographer's Art by Andy Rouse - 159pg
3. Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Roland and Raoul W. Adamchak - 167pg
4. The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct by Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson - 127pg
5. Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis - 256pg
6. Shark: In Peril In The Sea by David Owen - 294pg
7. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - 670pg
8. Moby Dick by Herman Mellville - 469 pages
9. Coral: A pessimist in paradise by Steve Jones - 242pg
10. The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Our Disappearing Fisheries by Mark Kurlansky - 246pg
11. The Shallows: How the internet is changing the way we think, read and remember by Nicholas Carr - 224pg
12. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham - 200pg
13. Beyond Lies The Wub: Collected short stories volume 1 by Phillip K Dick - 397pg
14. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil - 487pg
15. Dead Men Risen: The Welsh Guards and the real story of Britain's war in Afghanistan by Toby Harnden - 512pg
16. Slaughterhouse 5: Or the children's crusade: A duty-dance with death by Kurt Vonnegut - 215pg
17. The Moral Landscape: How science can determine human values by Sam Harris - 191pg
18. The Curse of Lono by Hunter S. Thompson - 207pg
19. Kraken: The curious, exciting, and slightly disturbing science of squid by Wendy Williams - 200pg
20. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - 48pg
21. Anthem by Ayn Rand - 104pg

Another little novella I read between exam study. It's the first Ayn Rand I've read but I do plan on reading Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged at some point, despite many misgivings. I found this very unconvincing, and felt like the last couple of chapters were just Ayn Rand ranting at me about why individuals are better than being in groups. In fact if you just read the last few chapters you wouldn't realise that the book is fiction and set in a really stupid world. I am somewhat curious to know whether Ayn Rand considered the world she describes a possible future state of the world, or if she realised how absurd it would be. Anyway at least I have a better understanding as to why so many people think she's terrible, and why the only people who do enjoy her work are amoral "liberal" conservatives.

User avatar
dp
Egyptian Footgod
Posts: 1222
Joined: 09 Nov 2005 16:25
Location: ohio

Post by dp » 16 Jun 2011 22:33

1. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick 336pg
2. The Metamorphoses by Ovid translated by Horace Gregory 448pg
3. SlaughterHouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut 215pg
4. Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce 253pg
5. Franklin's Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin 346pg
6. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 509pg
7. Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago 238pg
8. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson 204pg
9. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace 1079pg
10. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse 153 pg
11. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 244pg
Danny P.

User avatar
Jeremy
"Really unneccesary"
Posts: 10178
Joined: 08 Jan 2003 00:20
Location: Tasmania

Post by Jeremy » 21 Jun 2011 05:36

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg
2. Concepts of Nature: A Wildlife Photographer's Art by Andy Rouse - 159pg
3. Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Roland and Raoul W. Adamchak - 167pg
4. The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct by Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson - 127pg
5. Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis - 256pg
6. Shark: In Peril In The Sea by David Owen - 294pg
7. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - 670pg
8. Moby Dick by Herman Mellville - 469 pages
9. Coral: A pessimist in paradise by Steve Jones - 242pg
10. The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Our Disappearing Fisheries by Mark Kurlansky - 246pg
11. The Shallows: How the internet is changing the way we think, read and remember by Nicholas Carr - 224pg
12. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham - 200pg
13. Beyond Lies The Wub: Collected short stories volume 1 by Phillip K Dick - 397pg
14. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil - 487pg
15. Dead Men Risen: The Welsh Guards and the real story of Britain's war in Afghanistan by Toby Harnden - 512pg
16. Slaughterhouse 5: Or the children's crusade: A duty-dance with death by Kurt Vonnegut - 215pg
17. The Moral Landscape: How science can determine human values by Sam Harris - 191pg
18. The Curse of Lono by Hunter S. Thompson - 207pg
19. Kraken: The curious, exciting, and slightly disturbing science of squid by Wendy Williams - 200pg
20. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - 48pg
21. Anthem by Ayn Rand - 104pg
22. The Case of the Pope: Vatican accountability for human rights abuse by Geoffrey Robertson QC - 188pg

It's hard to describe books like this as good, because it is so shocking and confronting. I had no idea of the scope of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. A reasonable estimate of how many victims there has been in the last 30 years is at the magnitude of 100,000 and it's estimated that between 1 in 20 and 1 in 10 priests have sexually abused children. The Vatican has made many excuses, including that the rate in the Catholic Church is the same as in the rest of the world, but this is an easily debunked lie. It demonstrates the crime the Catholic Church itself is guilty of, which is covering up and protecting these criminals.

Geoffrey Robertson's position has been severely distorted by the media. He is not arguing that the Pope should be arrested and tried for crimes against humanity, although he thinks that he has committed such crime. Rather this is a book aimed at Catholics trying to convince them that the Catholic Church should change its policy towards child sexual abuse to one of zero tolerance and giving all evidence and assistance to authorities, even when they are not legally obligated to do so. It's the churches continued denial of the issue, of the harm caused by sexually abusing children, and of the need for justice that is so terrible and needs to change.

User avatar
dp
Egyptian Footgod
Posts: 1222
Joined: 09 Nov 2005 16:25
Location: ohio

Post by dp » 30 Jun 2011 15:25

1. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick 336pg
2. The Metamorphoses by Ovid translated by Horace Gregory 448pg
3. SlaughterHouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut 215pg
4. Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce 253pg
5. Franklin's Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin 346pg
6. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 509pg
7. Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago 238pg
8. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson 204pg
9. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace 1079pg
10. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse 153 pg
11. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 244pg
12. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond 480pg
Danny P.

User avatar
Zac Miley
Post Master General
Posts: 5953
Joined: 04 Jun 2006 12:11
Location: Kansas City, MO
Contact:

Post by Zac Miley » 30 Jun 2011 17:57

1. Illustration: A Visual History by Steven Heller and Seymour Chwast
2. Posters: A Concise History by John Barnicoat
3. Hope: A Collection of Obama Prints and Posters by Hal Wert
(my professor)
4. Birds and Bees by Dugald Stermer
5. One Hundred Views Along the Road by Alfred Leslie
6. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
7. All's Well That Ends by Michael Smith
8. The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman
9. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

I also have a vague memory of reading a large portion of an Audubon biography earlier as well, but that may have been at the end of last year.

The Fountainhead next.
Jay (8:06:01 PM): Bu-bu-buu-buug--Looks up, and the feeling goes away like a sneeze-bu-buuuh-BULLLSHITTT
Jay (8:06:14 PM): *wipes bellybutton*

User avatar
bigdirtyfoot
Sloppy
Posts: 3142
Joined: 22 Apr 2002 12:30
Location: NC

Post by bigdirtyfoot » 30 Jun 2011 20:13

1. Cosmic Trigger Volume Three: My Life After Death, Robert Anton Wilson, 247 pg.
2. Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie, Hunter S. Thompson, 247 pg.
3. Schooled, Godron Korman, 224 pg.
4. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, 75 pg.
5. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, 216 pg.
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling, 734 pg.
7. Still Life With Woodpecker, Tom Robbins, 277 pg.
8. Welcome to the Monkey House, Kurt Vonnegut, 331 pg.
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling, 870 pg.
10. VALIS, Philip K Dick, 242 pg.
11. The Divine Invasion, Philip K Dick, 238 pg.
12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling, 652 pg.
13. A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead, Dennis McNally, 684 pg.
14. The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, Philip K Dick, 255 pg.
15. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling, 759 pg.
16. Hallucinogens and Shamanism, Michael J. Harner, 200 pg.
17. Dubliners, James Joyce, 317 pg.
18. The Long Trip: A Prehistory of Psychedelia, Paul Devereux, 250 pg.
19. Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, Tom Robbins, 356 pg.
20. The Subterraneans, Jack Kerouac, 111 pg.
21. Ulysses, James Joyce, 783 pg.
22. Ubik, Philip K Dick, 216 pg.
23. Skinny Legs and All, Tom Robbins, 422 pg.

This is Robbins' fifth novel. It was published in 1990. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first four books... there are several different events and characters that seem unrelated that are eventually connected at the end of the novel. I've also been in a bit of a reading funk, as the last book I finished was over two months ago. Hopefully I can break through though! You can read my full review here.
David Wilder

Image

NC Aliens.

User avatar
Jeremy
"Really unneccesary"
Posts: 10178
Joined: 08 Jan 2003 00:20
Location: Tasmania

Post by Jeremy » 01 Jul 2011 23:27

You really enjoy Tom Robbins hey Dave? I still think reading just one of his books will be enough for me, at least for now.

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg
2. Concepts of Nature: A Wildlife Photographer's Art by Andy Rouse - 159pg
3. Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Roland and Raoul W. Adamchak - 167pg
4. The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct by Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson - 127pg
5. Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis - 256pg
6. Shark: In Peril In The Sea by David Owen - 294pg
7. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - 670pg
8. Moby Dick by Herman Mellville - 469 pages
9. Coral: A pessimist in paradise by Steve Jones - 242pg
10. The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Our Disappearing Fisheries by Mark Kurlansky - 246pg
11. The Shallows: How the internet is changing the way we think, read and remember by Nicholas Carr - 224pg
12. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham - 200pg
13. Beyond Lies The Wub: Collected short stories volume 1 by Phillip K Dick - 397pg
14. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil - 487pg
15. Dead Men Risen: The Welsh Guards and the real story of Britain's war in Afghanistan by Toby Harnden - 512pg
16. Slaughterhouse 5: Or the children's crusade: A duty-dance with death by Kurt Vonnegut - 215pg
17. The Moral Landscape: How science can determine human values by Sam Harris - 191pg
18. The Curse of Lono by Hunter S. Thompson - 207pg
19. Kraken: The curious, exciting, and slightly disturbing science of squid by Wendy Williams - 200pg
20. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - 48pg
21. Anthem by Ayn Rand - 104pg
22. The Case of the Pope: Vatican accountability for human rights abuse by Geoffrey Robertson QC - 188pg
23. The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham - 233pg


I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was a little worried when I began it that I'd find it difficult to get passed the anti-science and pro-supernatural themes, although Maugham's introduction helped a lot. This is one of those few books where the back story really adds to the story. Basically the book is a bit of character assassination on the famous British magician Aleister Crowley, who was, by Maugham's account, a massive dick. After the book was published Crowley wrote a review which he signed as the villain in this book (that is modelled after him) and accused the book as being full of plagiarism (probably accurately, after reading that review). Later in an autobiography he proudly recounts telling Maghaum; "If only you were an important writer." Maugham's opinions of Crowley are amusing too.

The book itself has a very slow sophisticated pre WW1 feel, right up until the very last few pages, when it changes dramatically. It's hard to go into it in too much detail without spoiling the plot, but it's definitely worth a read. I have a physical copy but when I was trying to find Crowley's review I discovered it's in the public domain, so you can read the whole book for free on whatever device you like reading ebooks with.

Pasquar
Fearless
Posts: 517
Joined: 17 Jul 2010 08:02
Location: Columbus, OH/ Philadelphia, PA

Post by Pasquar » 03 Jul 2011 20:00

Zac Miley wrote: The Fountainhead next.
I thought the story was captivating but I personally feel the overall message/philosophy of Ayn Rand is bogus :?

let me know what you think when you're done
Nick Pasquarello


Shred on

User avatar
Zac Miley
Post Master General
Posts: 5953
Joined: 04 Jun 2006 12:11
Location: Kansas City, MO
Contact:

Post by Zac Miley » 05 Jul 2011 13:30

That's generally how I feel, although I don't think it's completely bogus. She's obviously very smart and single-minded, but that doesn't mean we can't understand pieces of it as truth.

It's a fantastic novel so far, though. One of my favorites if taken as just that.
Jay (8:06:01 PM): Bu-bu-buu-buug--Looks up, and the feeling goes away like a sneeze-bu-buuuh-BULLLSHITTT
Jay (8:06:14 PM): *wipes bellybutton*

User avatar
Jeremy
"Really unneccesary"
Posts: 10178
Joined: 08 Jan 2003 00:20
Location: Tasmania

Post by Jeremy » 05 Jul 2011 16:42

I haven't read much Rand, although I have Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged approaching the top of my list of books to read. On the other hand, the Rand that I have read was terrible, and at least on that I definitely don't accept that she is obviously very smart. I think it's important to differentiate between a good story and a good argument for something. Her books are arguments for particular beliefs, not merely stories. I'd be more inclined to think that she was mentally ill and obsessive than that she was particularly intelligent, although I obviously haven't read her most important works yet (just read about them and her philosophy).

Pasquar
Fearless
Posts: 517
Joined: 17 Jul 2010 08:02
Location: Columbus, OH/ Philadelphia, PA

Post by Pasquar » 05 Jul 2011 18:06

Jeremy wrote: I think it's important to differentiate between a good story and a good argument for something.
preach!!
Nick Pasquarello


Shred on

Post Reply