2. This Charming Man Marian Keyes, 676 pp. Total chic-lit, but I liked it
Currently reading Heart of Darkness and Anna Karenina
Oh and Ollie, totalling agree with you about HP.
The 50 Book Challenge 2009
-
Zac Miley
- Post Master General
- Posts: 5953
- Joined: 04 Jun 2006 12:11
- Location: Kansas City, MO
- Contact:
1. Streams of Silver (RA Salvatore)
2. Raw Deal (Ken Smith)
3. Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction (Eugenie C. Scott)
4. What's God got to do with it? (Robert Ingersoll)
2. Raw Deal (Ken Smith)
3. Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction (Eugenie C. Scott)
4. What's God got to do with it? (Robert Ingersoll)
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*
Jay (8:06:14 PM): *wipes bellybutton*
I love HG Wells. The Island of Dr. Moreau and The Time Machine are my favourites.
Interesting last two books Zac. Any review? Eugenie Scott is awesome - not that I've read anything by her (except maybe the odd journal article) but I've read a lot about her. Isn't she in the Richard Dawkins rap as well?
David your last book sounds particularly interesting, and I think I'm going to get a copy. Although something I note is that it was published in 2002, and since then there have been 2 major studies that have demonstrated, at least in my eyes, the serious health risks of smoking marijuana. One study found that smoking one joint is the equivalent in terms of cancer risk of smoking 20 cigarettes. The other study found that if you have no predisposing factors to mental illness, even smoking a single joint makes you more likely to develop mental illness and smoking frequently dramatically increases your risk even if you have no predisposing factors. Of course when you're talking about medical issues putting things in terms of an "increase in risk" can be fairly misleading, and I don't have a figure on your actual probability of those things happening. Nor can I say that I never smoke weed. That said, it's certainly something people should know.
In other news, I wrote an email to the David Myers, the author of the last book I read outlining my problems with the book. Here is his reply
Interesting last two books Zac. Any review? Eugenie Scott is awesome - not that I've read anything by her (except maybe the odd journal article) but I've read a lot about her. Isn't she in the Richard Dawkins rap as well?
David your last book sounds particularly interesting, and I think I'm going to get a copy. Although something I note is that it was published in 2002, and since then there have been 2 major studies that have demonstrated, at least in my eyes, the serious health risks of smoking marijuana. One study found that smoking one joint is the equivalent in terms of cancer risk of smoking 20 cigarettes. The other study found that if you have no predisposing factors to mental illness, even smoking a single joint makes you more likely to develop mental illness and smoking frequently dramatically increases your risk even if you have no predisposing factors. Of course when you're talking about medical issues putting things in terms of an "increase in risk" can be fairly misleading, and I don't have a figure on your actual probability of those things happening. Nor can I say that I never smoke weed. That said, it's certainly something people should know.
In other news, I wrote an email to the David Myers, the author of the last book I read outlining my problems with the book. Here is his reply
Exciting stuffDavid Myers wrote:Thank you, Jeremy, for engaging this little book and taking the time to reply so thoughtfully . . . no author could ask for more.
Cordially,
David Myers
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bigdirtyfoot
- Sloppy
- Posts: 3142
- Joined: 22 Apr 2002 12:30
- Location: NC
@Jeremy: Cool man. Yeah it's a good read. I first heard the guy because he was on the NORML podcast every week, and he debunks a lot of really stupid myths that go around the stoner community. All in all, moderation is key! As far as those studies go, I've read a lot of medical literature that contradicts both of those studies' findings. Some of it is in that book, and some of it is online. Although now that I reread your point the second study makes sense. From what I've read, the carcinogens found in cannabis smoke do equal the cancer risk of some certain amount of cigarettes. But, the anti-cancer properties of THC and other cannabinoids actually make it so that the majority of those carcinogens cannot bond to anything in our bodies, thus being flushed out before causing harm. However, smoking anything is of course bad for the lungs. Now there's vaporization, and there's always been tea and brownies!
1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
What a book! I honestly can’t believe it myself, but this will be my third five-star rated book in a row. A cousin of mine sent me Robbins’ Jitterbug Perfume for Christmas, and then a co-worker advised me to read Another Roadside Attraction, describing Robbins as “C.S. Lewis on mushrooms.â€
1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
What a book! I honestly can’t believe it myself, but this will be my third five-star rated book in a row. A cousin of mine sent me Robbins’ Jitterbug Perfume for Christmas, and then a co-worker advised me to read Another Roadside Attraction, describing Robbins as “C.S. Lewis on mushrooms.â€
Re: The 50 Book Challenge 2009
1. The Joke's Over; Memories of Hunter S Thompson Ralph Steadman 387pg
2. Bottomfeeder; How the fish on our plates are killing the planet Taras Grescoe 357 pg
3. Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad 110 pg
4. A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists David G. Myers 136pg
5. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test Tom Wolfe 368pg
A book for you David
. I really enjoyed this, so thanks heaps for the recommendation. I found a lot of it really sad. I guess I have a different perspective on drugs as the people in this, and I saw it as destructive, not constructive, but none the less I still found it inspiring and laughed a lot reading it. I guess it's hard to express. This book was the reason I read One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest last year, which was definitely in my top couple of favourite books, and it's given me a greater appreciation of The Grateful Dead too, which I spent the second half the book listening to as background music. There are some pretty epic moments. Great book, really highly recommended.
2. Bottomfeeder; How the fish on our plates are killing the planet Taras Grescoe 357 pg
3. Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad 110 pg
4. A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists David G. Myers 136pg
5. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test Tom Wolfe 368pg
A book for you David
. I really enjoyed this, so thanks heaps for the recommendation. I found a lot of it really sad. I guess I have a different perspective on drugs as the people in this, and I saw it as destructive, not constructive, but none the less I still found it inspiring and laughed a lot reading it. I guess it's hard to express. This book was the reason I read One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest last year, which was definitely in my top couple of favourite books, and it's given me a greater appreciation of The Grateful Dead too, which I spent the second half the book listening to as background music. There are some pretty epic moments. Great book, really highly recommended.-
bigdirtyfoot
- Sloppy
- Posts: 3142
- Joined: 22 Apr 2002 12:30
- Location: NC
@Jeremy Yay! The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is one of my favorites of all time. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and yes it was sad with some of the obviously dumb things they were doing at the time, like driving cross-country intoxicated on LSD and such. But at the same time, that was a different era, and I wasn't a part of it. Glad you had an excuse to listen to the Dead too, I'm actually going to see them in April. Their first stop on a new tour is just a few towns over from me!
1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
Phew! January is coming to a close, and I have exceeded my personal goal for books, so maybe I'll take it easier during February. Probably not though!
Chaos: Making a New Science was suggested to me by my college astronomy professor about two years ago. I started it a few months ago but never finished it. Picked it up again a few days ago and breezed through it. It's really a great read. Gleick makes the story of how nonlinear dynamical systems came into the scientific literature really easy to grasp. He weaves in stories about the people involved and their personal discoveries very well.
Fortunately for people who no very little about science or mathematics, this book is written specifically for us. Gleick makes an excellent translation from scientific jargon into laymen’s terms so that the story remains interesting. Recommended for self-professed geeks. You can find my full review here.
1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
Phew! January is coming to a close, and I have exceeded my personal goal for books, so maybe I'll take it easier during February. Probably not though!
Chaos: Making a New Science was suggested to me by my college astronomy professor about two years ago. I started it a few months ago but never finished it. Picked it up again a few days ago and breezed through it. It's really a great read. Gleick makes the story of how nonlinear dynamical systems came into the scientific literature really easy to grasp. He weaves in stories about the people involved and their personal discoveries very well.
Fortunately for people who no very little about science or mathematics, this book is written specifically for us. Gleick makes an excellent translation from scientific jargon into laymen’s terms so that the story remains interesting. Recommended for self-professed geeks. You can find my full review here.
Re: The 50 Book Challenge 2009
1. The Joke's Over; Memories of Hunter S Thompson Ralph Steadman 387pg
2. Bottomfeeder; How the fish on our plates are killing the planet Taras Grescoe 357 pg
3. Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad 110 pg
4. A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists David G. Myers 136pg
5. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test Tom Wolfe 368pg
6. The Black Swan; The impact of the highly improbable Nassim Nicholas Taleb 300pg
This book is so mind blowing and conscious raising. I also found it really scary. It made me want to hide from life - especially when thinking about the future, about careers and about humanity. Essentially it's a book about everything we don't know, and the effect that has on the world. It's very well written and engaging. I don't know much about finance and economics, and it's not usually a topic that interests me, but most of the book is about that and I still kept reading it . Actually my lack of knowledge is probably a good thing according to Taleb and some research. If you ask people with lots of qualifications in business, finance and economics to make predictions, and also ask people with no knowledge what so ever (or create computer programs that merely predict the same thing as last time will happen over and over), the "experts" have the worst success rate. When asking people to make predictions about something where you don't know the scale or the size of possibilities (such as behaviour in the stock market), a lack of knowledge appears more helpful - because you don't have the frame of reference to know what to expect. Understanding why events in the past occurs actually biases you into thinking those events will occur again, and stops you from considering events that haven't occurred before.
A large part of the current financial crisis is because of this. In fact Taleb actually states in the book (written in 2007) that the banking sector looks especially dangerous these days and he specifically singles out Fannie Mae as "sitting on a barrel of dynamite. Don't worry about the odds of events occurring when uncertainty is involved - worry about the approximate size of the consequences. This is a book I want to read over and over - although I guess that will be difficult while keeping up with the 50 book challenge.
Highly recommended.
2. Bottomfeeder; How the fish on our plates are killing the planet Taras Grescoe 357 pg
3. Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad 110 pg
4. A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists David G. Myers 136pg
5. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test Tom Wolfe 368pg
6. The Black Swan; The impact of the highly improbable Nassim Nicholas Taleb 300pg
This book is so mind blowing and conscious raising. I also found it really scary. It made me want to hide from life
- especially when thinking about the future, about careers and about humanity. Essentially it's a book about everything we don't know, and the effect that has on the world. It's very well written and engaging. I don't know much about finance and economics, and it's not usually a topic that interests me, but most of the book is about that and I still kept reading it . Actually my lack of knowledge is probably a good thing according to Taleb and some research. If you ask people with lots of qualifications in business, finance and economics to make predictions, and also ask people with no knowledge what so ever (or create computer programs that merely predict the same thing as last time will happen over and over), the "experts" have the worst success rate. When asking people to make predictions about something where you don't know the scale or the size of possibilities (such as behaviour in the stock market), a lack of knowledge appears more helpful - because you don't have the frame of reference to know what to expect. Understanding why events in the past occurs actually biases you into thinking those events will occur again, and stops you from considering events that haven't occurred before.A large part of the current financial crisis is because of this. In fact Taleb actually states in the book (written in 2007) that the banking sector looks especially dangerous these days and he specifically singles out Fannie Mae as "sitting on a barrel of dynamite. Don't worry about the odds of events occurring when uncertainty is involved - worry about the approximate size of the consequences. This is a book I want to read over and over - although I guess that will be difficult while keeping up with the 50 book challenge.
Highly recommended.
Re: The 50 Book Challenge 2009
1. The Joke's Over; Memories of Hunter S Thompson Ralph Steadman 387pg
2. Bottomfeeder; How the fish on our plates are killing the planet Taras Grescoe 357 pg
3. Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad 110 pg
4. A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists David G. Myers 136pg
5. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test Tom Wolfe 368pg
6. The Black Swan; The impact of the highly improbable Nassim Nicholas Taleb 300pg
7. The Life You Can Save; Acting now to end world poverty Peter Singer 189pg
I have many disagreements with Peter Singer generally - especially his support for animal rights and his association with organisations such as PETA. While this book is very convincing about why we should be doing a lot more for the world, one can't help but feel his position is entirely hypocritical when he attacks giving money to domestic charities (a position I agree with) while supporting such morally questionable organisations like PETA. One could easily use the arguments he uses against spending wealth to say - "How many children could be saved with the money that is used to rebuild the houses of scientists who are doing research on fruit flies to help fight neurological diseases after they're firebombed by associates of PETA?"
That said, he does make some very strong points and I agree with almost everything within this book. We certainly should be giving a lot more money to well directed foreign aid. We certainly have very immoral views about our own affluence and we certainly could do a lot more. I also thought his attack on the "I do my fair share" statement to be excellent. Claiming to do your fair share for helping the worlds problems has to be one of the most thoughtless or selfish arguments out there. The question should be; "How much can I comfortably do/give" and whatever the answer to that question is - that's how much you should do/give. It is, of course, counter productive to vocalise opinions on people who could give more but don't, so I'll try to avoid that. This is a great book worth reading, despite Peter Singer's shortcomings.
2. Bottomfeeder; How the fish on our plates are killing the planet Taras Grescoe 357 pg
3. Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad 110 pg
4. A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists David G. Myers 136pg
5. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test Tom Wolfe 368pg
6. The Black Swan; The impact of the highly improbable Nassim Nicholas Taleb 300pg
7. The Life You Can Save; Acting now to end world poverty Peter Singer 189pg
I have many disagreements with Peter Singer generally - especially his support for animal rights and his association with organisations such as PETA. While this book is very convincing about why we should be doing a lot more for the world, one can't help but feel his position is entirely hypocritical when he attacks giving money to domestic charities (a position I agree with) while supporting such morally questionable organisations like PETA. One could easily use the arguments he uses against spending wealth to say - "How many children could be saved with the money that is used to rebuild the houses of scientists who are doing research on fruit flies to help fight neurological diseases after they're firebombed by associates of PETA?"
That said, he does make some very strong points and I agree with almost everything within this book. We certainly should be giving a lot more money to well directed foreign aid. We certainly have very immoral views about our own affluence and we certainly could do a lot more. I also thought his attack on the "I do my fair share" statement to be excellent. Claiming to do your fair share for helping the worlds problems has to be one of the most thoughtless or selfish arguments out there. The question should be; "How much can I comfortably do/give" and whatever the answer to that question is - that's how much you should do/give. It is, of course, counter productive to vocalise opinions on people who could give more but don't, so I'll try to avoid that. This is a great book worth reading, despite Peter Singer's shortcomings.
1. Ilse Witch- Terry Brooks 452pgs
2. Antigone- Sophocles 70 pg translation (for school)
3. Antrax- Terry Brooks 378 pgs
4. Morgawr- Terry Brooks 402pgs
5. Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice Burroughs 288pgs
6. First King of Shannara - Terry Brooks 435pgs
finished the last one a few days ago but was too lazy to put it up, good book enjoyable read but not the greatest fantasy novel ive ever read, still i really enjoyed it
2. Antigone- Sophocles 70 pg translation (for school)
3. Antrax- Terry Brooks 378 pgs
4. Morgawr- Terry Brooks 402pgs
5. Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice Burroughs 288pgs
6. First King of Shannara - Terry Brooks 435pgs
finished the last one a few days ago but was too lazy to put it up, good book enjoyable read but not the greatest fantasy novel ive ever read, still i really enjoyed it
Tom Stouffer
CL: fairy, pixie, consistency, swirls, whirls, and bops(consistency)
CL: fairy, pixie, consistency, swirls, whirls, and bops(consistency)
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colefieldhouse22
- BSOS Beast
- Posts: 358
- Joined: 01 Jan 2006 17:55
- Location: Silver Spring, MD
1) Entertaining an Elephant
This book was one of those mushy inspirational books for teachers about a teacher who inspired his under performing students to become better students. I found it a bit cheesy. Although I want more than anything to be an inspiration to my students, this book didn't do it for me.
2) Looking Together at Student Work
There is a new move in some school districts to have collaborative groups of teachers and administrators look at assignments and student work in order to improve assignments and increase student achievement. This book was given out by the school at which I am interning. It discussed how to look collaboratively at student work. I think the ideas proposed in this book were really great. Moving from single teachers locked away in a classroom grading papers to having groups look at the work and figure out how to help students achieve seems to be a great way to get new ideas to help students.
3) La migra me hizo los mandados
This is a collection of essays that people from Mexico who came to the United States illegally wrote about their experiences crossing the border. "La Migra" is the slang word for the border patrol and it is a terrifying word in the Latino community in the US. It was really powerful to see how desperate these people were for a better life that they would risk life and limb to cross into the United States. It is a really interesting book. I am not sure if there is an English translation, but I would definitely recommend it.
This book was one of those mushy inspirational books for teachers about a teacher who inspired his under performing students to become better students. I found it a bit cheesy. Although I want more than anything to be an inspiration to my students, this book didn't do it for me.
2) Looking Together at Student Work
There is a new move in some school districts to have collaborative groups of teachers and administrators look at assignments and student work in order to improve assignments and increase student achievement. This book was given out by the school at which I am interning. It discussed how to look collaboratively at student work. I think the ideas proposed in this book were really great. Moving from single teachers locked away in a classroom grading papers to having groups look at the work and figure out how to help students achieve seems to be a great way to get new ideas to help students.
3) La migra me hizo los mandados
This is a collection of essays that people from Mexico who came to the United States illegally wrote about their experiences crossing the border. "La Migra" is the slang word for the border patrol and it is a terrifying word in the Latino community in the US. It was really powerful to see how desperate these people were for a better life that they would risk life and limb to cross into the United States. It is a really interesting book. I am not sure if there is an English translation, but I would definitely recommend it.
Adrienne Craver
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Zac Miley
- Post Master General
- Posts: 5953
- Joined: 04 Jun 2006 12:11
- Location: Kansas City, MO
- Contact:
1. Streams of Silver (RA Salvatore)
2. Raw Deal (Ken Smith)
3. Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction (Eugenie C. Scott)
4. What's God got to do with it? (Robert Ingersoll
5. Macbeth (Shakespeare)
2. Raw Deal (Ken Smith)
3. Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction (Eugenie C. Scott)
4. What's God got to do with it? (Robert Ingersoll
5. Macbeth (Shakespeare)
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*
Jay (8:06:14 PM): *wipes bellybutton*
-
bigdirtyfoot
- Sloppy
- Posts: 3142
- Joined: 22 Apr 2002 12:30
- Location: NC
1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
8. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander and Ann Shulgin, 978 pg.
It's a really great story - perhaps a must read for the psychedelic community. I felt like PiHKAL focuses more on the personal story of Sasha and Ann, while TiHKAL focuses on something else. Something... quite intangible for me to describe. In my review, I describe it as PiHKAL being the "here we are" story while TiHKAL is the "here's where we're going" story. I'm not sure that makes any sense though. Happy early Valentine's Day though! I'm especially glad to have finished this chemical love story today. 4/5 Stars. You can find my full review here.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
8. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander and Ann Shulgin, 978 pg.
It's a really great story - perhaps a must read for the psychedelic community. I felt like PiHKAL focuses more on the personal story of Sasha and Ann, while TiHKAL focuses on something else. Something... quite intangible for me to describe. In my review, I describe it as PiHKAL being the "here we are" story while TiHKAL is the "here's where we're going" story. I'm not sure that makes any sense though. Happy early Valentine's Day though! I'm especially glad to have finished this chemical love story today. 4/5 Stars. You can find my full review here.