The newest book thread

[steelcobra]

So, I figured I might as well dump what I've read recently here in review form.

The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson
While good, I'll say it doesn't meet up with the standard he set with Snow Crash. While the post-reconstruction era past the time of SC that's based heavily on nanotech is quite impressive, the way the story is told can be schizophrenic, and sometimes he lets parts trail off or simply end too roughly in order to satisfy certain needs to finish the story in a reasonable number of pages. Still a great book, but nowhere near as compelling as Snow Crash.

Freakonomics (Revised and Expanded Edition) - Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Quite an intriguing book that actually goes into the deep facts about our culture to reveal the why of various things - such as the causal relationship between the Roe vs. Wade decision and the drop in crime rates in the mid 90s. Everyone should read this book.

[V-22 Osprey]

What, no one else around here is reading right now? :p

Right now I'm reading through the original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. I've just started Iron Shadows in the Moon.

[BlackIce, British Commie]

What, no one else around here is reading right now? :p


No, actually, i'm not.

[nightwng2000]

Still listening to Gathering The Bones. Really weird stories.

[BlackIce, British Commie]

Still listening to Gathering The Bones. Really weird stories.

*Raises Eyebrows*

[nightwng2000]

*Raises Eyebrows*

Books on tape through the Library of Congress. I listen to them at work.

Lately, they've been getting permission to "reprint" previously commercially sold unabridged editions onto their own book on tape format. In some cases, that means music and sound effects, plus some familiar voices, are included.

"Normal" books on tape from the Library of Congress don't usually include music or sound effects or even have readers who are of note (such as actors or authors).

The Library of Congress is moving from a cassette system to a digital system though. It'll be a year or two before they are wide spread though.

[Mark of Cain]

Currently reading through A Confederacy of Dunces, the Popol Vuh, and at an unusually slow pace The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny.

[Hannah]

Finished reading Mein Kampf (in English, sadly... and I know it took me too long to finish it. I kinda lost interest part way through and abandoned it for months.)

Started reading The Communist Manifesto.

[Thefremen]

Finished reading Mein Kampf (in English, sadly... and I know it took me too long to finish it. I kinda lost interest part way through and abandoned it for months.)

Started reading The Communist Manifesto.

You should get "the essential works of marxism". I found it in my Grandma's garage. I has The Communist Manifesto and other essays by Marx.

[Hannah]

You should get "the essential works of marxism". I found it in my Grandma's garage. I has The Communist Manifesto and other essays by Marx.

Hey, one thing at a time.

Also on my reading list for the distant future are Marx's Das Kapital, (from the other side of the political spectrum) Rosenberg's The Myth of the 20th Century and maybe Chamberlain's The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century... but before I tackle any of those texts (none of which I currently own, although I'm sure full English texts are available online), my brain needs a very long rest :p

[Ace_ofspade]

The entire Hitchhiker's Guide series for the first time in years. Good ****.

[Hannah]

Since I last posted in this thread, I finished up The Communist Manifesto and then proceeded to read Terry Pratchett's Equal Rites. I am now over a third of the way through Pratchett's Maskerade. Oh, how I love Discworld novels...

[MUTANT SPUD]

The Great War by Les Carlyon, a massive tome on the Australian involvement on the western front in WW1...its quite shattering in parts, reading the guys letters home and whatnot. One that I've read recently that has a more general appeal is Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed, by Jared Diamond.
Very thought provoking work on the historical effects of climate change and human activity on societies.

[BlackIce, British Commie]

Since I last posted in this thread, I finished up The Communist Manifesto

Good girl.

The Great War by Les Carlyon, a massive tome on the Australian involvement on the western front in WW1...its quite shattering in parts, reading the guys letters home and whatnot. One that I've read recently that has a more general appeal is Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed, by Jared Diamond.
Very thought provoking work on the historical effects of climate change and human activity on societies.

The only reason that we fought in WW1 was because the Germans were stupid enough to march through Belgium. If that hadn't happened, we could well have entered on their side.

[KN]

The only reason that we fought in WW1 was because the Germans were stupid enough to march through Belgium. If that hadn't happened, we could well have entered on their side.

You do realize you now have to explain your allegiance to the wretched BELGIANS, do you?

[BlackIce, British Commie]

You do realize you now have to explain your allegiance to the wretched BELGIANS, do you?

Belgium was a British Protectorate. Besides, we beat Napoleon in their country. We weren't fighting for them as much as we were fighting for the memory of what we did there.

[Theory?]

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce

I don't know if I can do it.

[beemoh]

You do realize you now have to explain your allegiance to the wretched BELGIANS, do you?

To secure their rich, natural waffle supply, the same way we've invaded Iraq for the oil.

[BlackIce, British Commie]

To secure their rich, natural waffle supply, the same way we've invaded Iraq for the oil.

No, we invaded Iraq because of a very bad mix of politicians.

Y'know, it's nice that everyone in Europe hates each other if they share a border.

Oh, and KN, my Grandmother was Belgian. So screw you.

[Thefremen]

No, we invaded Iraq because of a very bad mix of politicians.

Y'know, it's nice that everyone in Europe hates each other if they share a border.

Oh, and KN, my Grandmother was Belgian. So screw you.

If anything the Iraq War has driven up the price of oil. 150,000 guys driving around in Abrahms, HUMMVs, Apaches etc tends to use a lot of jet fuel/gasoline, and that stuff doesn't just fall out of the sky.

Back to books, I'm reading Hunters of Dune which is the 7th book as written by Brian Herbert & KJA, based on an outline by Frank Herbert. Many doubted that the outline was real but when reading it you can tell. The plot is there, the deep characters and the plans within plans, it's just the writing that is horrible. Like if you asked a 3rd grader to write Julius Caesar.

[V-22 Osprey]

Like if you asked a 3rd grader to write Julius Caesar.

That bad? That's a shame, I liked some of the prequel novels. The Nazi-doctor inspired robot, whatever his name was, really gave me the creeps.

[Thefremen]

Like if you asked a 3rd grader to write Julius Caesar.

That bad? That's a shame, I liked some of the prequel novels. The Nazi-doctor inspired robot, whatever his name was, really gave me the creeps.

Well it's written exactly like the prequels, style wise, so you should like it.

Maybe not a 3rd grader, more like a high school junior. The main problem I have with it is in the first 5 chapters each faction has a "so far in the story..." paragraph or two that tell you about the events of Chapterhouse and Heretics which just took me right out of the story, and then there are the usual small mistakes like Telling character traits instead of Showing, characters who would say "Rakis" slip up and say "Dune", etc.

[MUTANT SPUD]

Currently reading through A Confederacy of Dunces, the Popol Vuh, and at an unusually slow pace The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny. Heh..I must dust off A Confederacy Of Dunces for a re read...if my valve will permit it.:D

[Thefremen]

Heh..I must dust off A Confederacy Of Dunces for a re read...if my valve will permit it.:D

Is Confederacy of Dunces a sci-fi novel about an off-shoot nation in the US made up of creationists and religious extremists?

[MUTANT SPUD]

Is Confederacy of Dunces a sci-fi novel about an off-shoot nation in the US made up of creationists and religious extremists?Yes...well what I mean to say is no, its about a guy who..hmmm its very hard to describe him..he's kind of a high minded, hypochodriac pest...he's in the Dickensian mold of absurd, blustering windbags. Its one of the funniest books I've ever read, sadly the manuscript only came to light after the author, John Kennedy Toole had comitted suicide.

[nightwng2000]

The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders & Deceivers

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Intrusion-Exploits-Intruders-Deceivers/dp/0471782661/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211997758&sr=8-1

It's one of the randomly sent books on tape and I've got nothing better to listen to yet. Mildly interesting.

[Hannah]

I just finished reading Terry Pratchett's Maskerade (yes, I know I read slowly)... and I have yet to decide what I will read next.

I'm eyeing The Negro in 20th Century America, just because it will be fun to read it in public and make people go :eek:, but it isn't really a book.. it's just a collection of articles and essays and such. I expect it will be interesting, however, so even if I don't read it next, I'm sure I'll get to it eventually. Other than that, I have Union Now with Britain (an American book from 1941 about how the US should rejoin Britain), and Ben Hur.

[Thefremen]

Just finished reading Sandworms of Dune. The ending was mostly satisfying, it certainly had a similar feel to Chapterhouse.

I think the one thing that really dissapointed me was that I used to theorize that the Great Enemy that The Tyrant used to talk about was in no way responsible for the Worms on 'Rakis, and that we still don't know how the Worms got to Arrakis.

[nightwng2000]

Terry Brooks loves animals.

Listening to Armageddon's Children now.

http://www.amazon.com/Armageddons-Children-Genesis-Shannara-Book/dp/034548410X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212685488&sr=8-1

The characters are Human but they have animal names. And I know Terry Brooks has done other animal type stories.

[Thefremen]

http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/covers_450/9780375410031.jpg

From the book:
lol u tk him 2da bar|? (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS BOOK)

[nightwng2000]

Topper Takes A Trip by Thorne Smith

http://www.amazon.com/Topper-Takes-Modern-Library-Paperbacks/dp/0375753079/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214329160&sr=1-1

Pro-Tip: If you're a ghost who wants to commit suicide, make sure you jump from a window that isn't on the FIRST FLOOR!

:D

[nightwng2000]

Peony In Love by Lisa See

http://www.amazon.com/Peony-Love-Novel-Lisa-See/dp/0812975227/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214569723&sr=1-1

Another randomly sent audio book by the library which turned out to be interesting.

The Amazon page best explains it. But though I'm not big on even remotely historical tales, this one has some interesting insights. For example, I didn't realize that the practice of foot binding was so brutal. I mean, binding the feet together is one thing. Having to break the ankles is something else.

The story overall is rather interesting overall, even though it deals with traditions that I can't imagine as being so blindly followed as those described in the story.

Definitely worth a read if you want something new.