What book is everyone reading at the moment? - Page 9

Winny · 19th May 2005, 09:47 PM

Just finished reading "Never Let Me Go" - Kazuo Ishiguro.

Odd story. It's a bit hard to say too much without spoiling, but I quite enjoyed it. As usual with Ishiguro, it's very understated. Even though he writes in English about English people in English settings, I find his stories very Japanese thematically.

I've read "Remains of the Day" and "When We Were Orphans" and enjoyed them both. Haven't read "The Unconsoled" yet and I keep hearing not-good things about it so I'm not sure.

Now reading "The Island at the Centre of the World". I'm a sucker for that sort of pop-history.

Winny

Temporal Renegade · 21st May 2005, 07:51 PM

Meet You In Hell
Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America by Les Standiford.

Gotta love those early industrialists!

Skeptic · 21st May 2005, 08:35 PM

Everytime I read that somebody wants to learn Greek I have mixed feelings of admiration and horror because Greek is REALLY difficult, no kidding. BUT one of my closest friends who publishes The Classics has developed a methods for people to learn ancient greek. I will have to ask his if it's available in English.

I would LOVE to try his method if it's available anywhere (amazon?). Let me explain, perhaps, why I want to read the original.

I've read the Illiad in Alexander Pope's translation (an 1821 edition... with copper engravings because photography wasn't invented yet...which the library actually let me borrow. Go figure...) and it was wonderful. But it really isn't the ILLIAD--it was Pope's Illiad, which is something else. Then I started to read one of the modern, academic translations--praised by everybody as amazingly accurate--and I trust that it is. But the accuracy destroys the "feel" of the work completely, making it dry-as-dust reading. If I could read the original, I could have the wonderful poetry without losing any meaning.

I read Thucidedes in the prototype. It's the definition of perfection.

Even in English translation, I have to say that his book about the Peneponesian wars hit me right between the eyes.

It's more difficult to read the Tragedies because it's the metre involved but reading Thucidedes or Plato ( Plato is more difficult because he uses a lot of antonyms)in the prototype is a pleasure.

I imagine that the relation is a bit like the relation between the OT original in the King James translation. It is an EXCELLENT translation, from the literary point of view, but still, "The Lord is my shepard, I shall not want"--very beautiful English--does not do justice to Adon'ai Ro'i Lo Echsar...

P.S.

Speaking of the King James translation and that period (and earlier) in England: I had an interesting conversation with one of those wise@$$es in the English department who tried to convince me that Shakespeare's "dead" blank verse--unrhyming iambic pentameter--does not say anything "relevant" since it's "unnatural" to everyday speech.

I shrugged and said, "I'll have the special and a glass of milk."

She staggered back for a minute, and said, victorious, "But if you want to express deep philosophical points, who cares about this sort of thing?"

So I replied, "The world is everything that is the case."

She isn't speaking to me anymore.

hgc · 23rd May 2005, 05:40 AM

The Character of Physical Law by Feynman

angst · 24th May 2005, 06:21 PM

Currently reading The Demon Haunted World - Carl Sagan
Recently finished The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien for the second time.

treble_head · 24th May 2005, 09:32 PM

Just finished Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Good stuff. Working on something by Michael Chabon next.

Chris Haynes · 24th May 2005, 09:38 PM

We are All Fine Here by Mary Guterson ... okay, cute funny in an "I am a screwed up and totally screwed woman" kind of way.

Sandy M · 25th May 2005, 03:24 PM

Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States.

LW · 1st June 2005, 12:39 PM

Anon, South Vietnam on the Road to Victory, 1965.

I'm a long-time fan of blatant propaganda so when I saw this one on the lists of an online 2nd hand book store I had to order it. And it was almost just as I expected. The main difference was that I expected it to be a propaganda book where the South Vietnam government explains why they are going to win but it was actually written from the Vietcong viewpoint.

It is mostly a photo book with only small pieces of text in addition of the photo captions. The captions are generally of the form "Place X. Some date. YY planes shot down, and ZZZ US aggressors killed." Just out of curiosity I googled for a couple of place names for the American account, and as you might well have suppposed, those give a rather diffirent picture.

But I have to admit that the anonymous editors of the book have managed to find a couple of very powerful pictures, like one where an American soldier laughs at a Vietnamese corpse. (The caption doesn't hint where and when the photo was taken).

The final part of the book is a series of demonstration photos taken all over the world. The very last one is taken somewhere in Finland (the texts of the signs can be seen clearly). But the caption places it in Switzerland ...

headscratcher4 · 1st June 2005, 01:52 PM

Just finished The Orientalist by Reiss. Very intersting book and a good read. Now The Tale of Genji -- an ancient Japanese novel by a lady of the 11th Century imperial court. So far, very good.

Chris Haynes · 1st June 2005, 08:31 PM

I just finished The Family Tree by Carole Cadwalladr:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg.../-/0525948422/ ...

It was sweet, funny and fairly sad. It's about a family with secrets, and their effects.

I have just started In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, and No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency novel... which are always good fun:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg.../-/0375422714/

Neutiquam Erro · 2nd June 2005, 07:59 AM

The Structure of the Terror: The example of Javogues and the Loire, by Colin Lucas (1973)

Fascinating analysis of the social, economic, political, and physical geography of the period of anarchical Terror under Javogues in Lyon and the surrounding region.

asthmatic camel · 22nd July 2005, 04:26 AM

"The Algebraist" by Ian M. Banks. Superb sc-fi with added humour. Well worth a read.

hgc · 22nd July 2005, 05:33 AM

Just started The Fortress of Solitude, by Johnathan Lethem. Looks like it'll be a good one.

Zep · 22nd July 2005, 05:47 AM

With Lawrence In Arabia, my original ~1920's edition by Lowell Thomas. A bit watermarked, battered and torn when I got, but the pages and photo plates are still in perfect condition.

Reading it again for the shear and blatant propaganda effort, plus Lowell's remarkable effort at brown-nosing and living vicariously.

Beancounter · 22nd July 2005, 05:57 AM

Well, I was rummaging around at the back of our local bookstore and found this book called Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.......

Anyway, done that (not bad IMHO) and last night finished " A History of God" by Karen Armstrong. A good introduction to the development of the concept of god in the monotheistic faiths and a fairly easy read to boot. (No pictures though

)

Chris Haynes · 22nd July 2005, 09:49 AM

I recently read Hoot by Carl Hiaasen which was delightful.

After slogging through a couple of dreadfully written academically proper histories of the Buffalo Soldiers, I am now actually enjoying a memoir by a woman who died in 1932. She was the very young daughter of a white officer of the Tenth Cavalry, one of the units of Buffalo Soldiers in the West after the Civil war:
Child of the Fighting Tenth: On the Frontier With the Buffalo Soldiers .

Jorghnassen · 22nd July 2005, 10:41 AM

No book at the moment, but the last one I read was, surprise surprise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Freakshow · 24th July 2005, 11:14 PM

It's normal for me to be reading multiple books at once, because it is almost always non-fiction. Unfortunately, I rarely have time to squeeze in fiction reading.

I am reading 3 books now, off and on:
- The Shellcoder's Handbook
- Exploiting Software: How to Break Code
- The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

Cleopatra · 25th July 2005, 04:05 AM

I have just finished reading " The mysterious Flame of Queen Loana", the last book of Umberto Eco.

It's quite a book and far away from Eco's typical mania to demonstrate his knowledge about ...everything. I believe that people in their 50ies who have been in contact with the european pop culture of the 40ies and 50ies will enjoy this book very much. The book is written with sensitivity and this old european sense of humor which I find adorable maybe because I am familiar with it.

Since last month I re-read in English " Justine" the first out of four books of the "Alexandrian Quartet" of Durrel. I was very much captivated by the language. English can be an amazing language sometimes.

I also read for the first time in my life a book of John Le Carre.

The style seems more like a case of rather professed elegance but it's very amusing.

I wonder if I must read " The Da Vinci code"...

Kiless · 25th July 2005, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cleopatra

Since last month I re-read in English " Justine" the first out of four books of the "Alexandrian Quartet" of Durrel. I was very much captivated by the language. English can be an amazing language sometimes.

I noticed that his series has been re-released in my country by Penguin Press. Once it was easier to find books by his brother, Gerald Durrell (who had some very amusing early reminiscences of Lawrence), with titles such as the 'My Family and Other Animals' autobiography series. Lawrence Durrell's 'Spirit of Place' was parodied (in title alone) by Gerald Durrell with 'Fillets of Plaice'.

Quote:

Originally posted by Cleopatra
I also read for the first time in my life a book of John Le Carre. The style seems more like a case of rather professed elegance but it's very amusing.

From what I read of your posts... I wonder what you would make of 'The Little Drummer Girl'.......

Quote:

Originally posted by Cleopatra
I wonder if I must read " The Da Vinci code"...

I was probably more fond of The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason or The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Although the hype for both was just as bad. Hype irritates me. But it shouldn't deter finding out for oneself.

Currently reading - Crunch Time: How to live a more ethical and meaningful life without giving up your worldly goods, joining a commune or losing your sense of humour,by Mike Hanley and Adrian Monck.

Neutiquam Erro · 25th July 2005, 12:42 PM

Dictators & Disciples: From Caesar to Stalin, by Gustav Bychowski

Cleopatra · 25th July 2005, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Auden
I noticed that his series has been re-released in my country by Penguin Press.

Yeah I got my " Justine" in a Penguin Press edition.I two old copies in my Library but I cannot take those with me and read them in traffic.

Quote:

Once it was easier to find books by his brother, Gerald Durrell (who had some very amusing early reminiscences of Lawrence), with titles such as the 'My Family and Other Animals' autobiography series. Lawrence Durrell's 'Spirit of Place' was parodied (in title alone) by Gerald Durrell with 'Fillets of Plaice'.

I have no idea of anything you said.

Very interesting! I must do some reading. Now the next question. Which camp do you belong to? Durrell or Hemingway?

Are you a decadent Mediterannean or a decadent American type?

Quote:

From what I read of your posts... I wonder what you would make of 'The Little Drummer Girl'.......

I have seen the film.

There is a scene where the Israeli agent( the role was performed by a Greek actor!) shows his body to Dean Keaton and he describes it as "the Map of Middle East". Many Israelis in real life are like that but mostly of the older generations. Although I don't like tattoos I love the scars from the battle field. This is what I remember from the film

Quote:

I was probably more fond of The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason or The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Although the hype for both was just as bad. Hype irritates me. But it shouldn't deter finding out for oneself.

I have heard a wise man saying that he avoids reading books that they are not 10 years old at least.

Quote:

Currently reading - Crunch Time: How to live a more ethical and meaningful life without giving up your worldly goods, joining a commune or losing your sense of humour,by Mike Hanley and Adrian Monck.

If I ever published the notes I took while I was quitting smoking by using Mercutio's behavioral methods the summary on the cover would sound pretty much the same.

Jon. · 25th July 2005, 04:52 PM

Nightmares Of Prominent Men (I think that's the correct title) by Bertrand Russell. Brilliant!

LibraryLady · 25th July 2005, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Whether Man
I'm halfway through Carl Sagan's Broca's Brain and have just started Francis Wheen's How Mumbo Jumbo Conquered the World. I seem to be getting away from my usual detective thriller fare for something a little more serious.

I'm reading the Wheen book as well. One of those funny/scary books about how newage has infiltrated the government and so forth.

Dinsdale Piranha · 26th July 2005, 08:47 AM

An Army at Dawn - The War in North Africa, 1942-1943. The North African campaign is historically overshadowed by the European and Pacific theatres. This book chronicles the coming of age of the U.S. Army in WWII.

ETA written by Rick Atkinson.

Temporal Renegade · 29th July 2005, 02:46 PM

DisneyWar by James B. Stewart

A VERY informative book about Michael Eisner's rise & fall at the House of the Mouse. Or, as the cover blurb says:

'Once upon a time, one man ruled America's greatest entertainment company. This is the untold story of his triumphs and failures, and the revolt that cost him his kingdom...'

Go down a bit, to see one of Eisner's bigger missteps:
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He had, by way of Harvey & Bob Weinstein (of Miramax, that Disney had bought out), the VERY hard-to-get rights to something that the brothers thought was right up Disney's alley. Eisner told them to forget it, that no one wanted to see 'that kind of stuff at the movies anymore'; that Disney 'didn't make those kind of movies anymore anyway'. So, after much pleading and begging--Eisner wouldn't change his mind one bit--they finally found someone to buy the rights (keeping a percentage intact, so that Disney got about 5% of the gross, with the brothers getting 25% of that "without limitations", which Eisner thought wouldn't be all that much), then told their hand-picked director Peter Jackson to take Lord of the Rings over to New Line Cinema.
Oops.

Calico · 29th July 2005, 04:58 PM

I am reading James Randi's Flim-Flam.

chipmunk stew · 5th August 2005, 06:20 PM

Mine are all from the Pop-Smart department--

recently finished:
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (about late 19th century serial killer "H. H. Holmes" and the 1893 Chicago World's Fair)

now reading:
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (probably best known for Snow Crash)
Krakatoa by Simon Winchester (about the "biggest volcanic eruption in history")

GrnMtSkeptic · 5th August 2005, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by chipmunk stew
[BCryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (probably best known for Snow Crash) [/b]

Have your tried Bethke's Headcrash?

Quote:

Krakatoa by Simon Winchester (about the "biggest volcanic eruption in history")

Great book. Read this then went to Volcano National Park on Hawaii. Very interesting to see some of the stuff he talks about for real.

crimresearch · 7th August 2005, 07:10 AM

Margaret Cho's autobiography, 'I'm The One'.

chipmunk stew · 7th August 2005, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by GrnMtSkeptic
Have your tried Bethke's Headcrash?

I hadn't heard of it. It looks like it's gotten mixed reviews, but worth checking out. Thanks for the tip.

Quote:

Originally posted by GrnMtSkeptic
eta--re: Krakatoa
Great book. Read this then went to Volcano National Park on Hawaii. Very interesting to see some of the stuff he talks about for real.

I've barely cracked the cover on this one, but it's already good.
One thing bothered me so far, though. He says on p. 15 (of the 2004 Perennial paperback edition) referring to control of the Eastern seas: "The Portuguese from the warm and lazy south were slowly driven out and replaced by doughty Europeans from the cold and more ruthless north."

That this is a gross misconception about the effects of latitude on civilization ought to be evident to an author who has done as much research as Simon Winchester obviously has done. Are his other conclusions & assumptions similarly suspect?

athon · 7th August 2005, 04:14 PM

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, and Things That Never Happen by M. John Harrison.

Athon

Cleopatra · 8th August 2005, 01:00 PM

I am finishing Mark Mozower's Salonica, City of Ghosts : Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950. It's an exciting book, Skeptic you must read it by all means!

I am also reading a Greek novel. The story takes place in a vinyard on the mountains where a young man creates the wine that carries the tastes, sounds,smels, touches of the things he loves in his life. It reminds me of " The Perfume" by Patrick Suskind in that. Nice story, not a masterpiece but a good reading for the beach.

Mariah · 10th August 2005, 06:00 PM

UNCLE TUNGSTEN: MEMORIES OF A CHEMICAL BOYHOOD
by Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author of AWAKENINGS and THE MAN WHO MISTOOK HIS WIFE FOR A HAT. It is a memoir. He's that rare thing, a scientist who can write lyrically and well.

UNCLE TUNGSTEN is wonderful. I recommend it.

Batman Jr. · 10th August 2005, 07:12 PM

I'm currently reading Kafka's Amerika. You get a laugh at his grossly inaccurate descriptions of famous American monumentsâ€”he describes the Statue of Liberty as having a swordâ€”but hey, you're really interested in the characters and how the inner facets of their psyches slowly and naturally unfurl when seen through the prismatic narratives the great master weaves.

hgc · 11th August 2005, 12:49 PM

Just finished The Coffee Trader by David Liss. It's about Portuguese Jews in Amsterdam in the 17th century and the nascent coffee trade on European commodities markets. A ripping good tale from a somewhat pedestrian word stylist.

Started Linked by Alert-LÃ¡szlÃ³ BarabÃ¡si this morning. I'll report back.

alfaniner · 11th August 2005, 01:36 PM

The Catcher in the Rye

Boy, I'm right in the middle of the and it makes me kind of depressed. It really does. I don't like it much. I really don't.

Salinger-esque posting aside, I'm going to start (or find) a related thread because I simply do not understand why this book is so "important". I won't be checking back here until I'm done with it, to avoid spoilers.

Mariah · 11th August 2005, 01:45 PM

Athon, et al,

I love M. John Harrison's THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPEN. I especially love "Running Down." I've read that story twenty times or more. I originally found it in an anthology of weird fiction edited by Thomas Disch. It had a different beginning back then, though. It started off telegraphing the earth-shaking ending.

Skeptic · 11th August 2005, 03:46 PM

I am finishing Mark Mozower's Salonica, City of Ghosts : Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950. It's an exciting book, Skeptic you must read it by all means!

Heard about it. It's on my list.

As for my Greek, well--I am only starting, but I am absolutely AMAZED at how much Hebrew--and I don't mean contemporary Hebrew, I mean "good", Talmudic Hebrew--is really Greek. OK, so I knew or guessed that (for instance) Te'atron (theatre) or Itz'tadyon (stadium) are Greek, but doron (present)?! Me'chora (homeland, which at least seems to come from chora--country)?!?!

Cleo will understand me, but to the non-Hebrew speaking crowd, the first two words "feel" Greek, while the latter two "feel" like "pure" OT Hebrew, and I am very surprised that they aren't. Apparently there is a lot more Greek in Hebrew than I suspected.

I am also reading a Greek novel. The story takes place in a vinyard on the mountains

A mountain vinyard in Greece?! NO WAY!

19th May 2005, 09:47 PM	#321
Winny Critical Thinker Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: is everything. Posts: 466	Just finished reading "Never Let Me Go" - Kazuo Ishiguro. Odd story. It's a bit hard to say too much without spoiling, but I quite enjoyed it. As usual with Ishiguro, it's very understated. Even though he writes in English about English people in English settings, I find his stories very Japanese thematically. I've read "Remains of the Day" and "When We Were Orphans" and enjoyed them both. Haven't read "The Unconsoled" yet and I keep hearing not-good things about it so I'm not sure. Now reading "The Island at the Centre of the World". I'm a sucker for that sort of pop-history. Winny
	__________________ Winny isn't everything. He's the only thing - Marquis de Carabas I'll get you, Winny, and your little country, too - clarsct you sever the spinal cord of the frog by inserting a needle into its spine - roger

21st May 2005, 07:51 PM	#322
Temporal Renegade Last of the Time Lords Join Date: May 2003 Location: University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople Posts: 1,893	Meet You In Hell Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America by Les Standiford. Gotta love those early industrialists!
	__________________ "Attention please..... a child has been lost in the Tunnel of Goats......" .......FATHER TED

23rd May 2005, 05:40 AM	#324
hgc Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 13,014	The Character of Physical Law by Feynman
	__________________ Bowel-shaking earthquakes of doubt and remorse assail him and wail him with monster truck force. - Cake, The Distance Was there a second singer on the grassy Knowles? - Stephen Colbert

24th May 2005, 06:21 PM	#325
angst New Blood Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 4	Currently reading The Demon Haunted World - Carl Sagan Recently finished The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien for the second time.
angst New Blood Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 4	__________________ Ostrich - The other red meat.

24th May 2005, 09:32 PM	#326
treble_head Cupcake Loser Moron Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Look. Behind. You. Posts: 10,973	Just finished Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Good stuff. Working on something by Michael Chabon next.
	__________________ I am humble. I am modest. Those two things are what make me great. That's not going to work Treb. I'm still going to like you. - Arthwollipot

21st May 2005, 08:35 PM	#323
Skeptic Banned Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Behind the chessboard Posts: 18,361	Everytime I read that somebody wants to learn Greek I have mixed feelings of admiration and horror because Greek is REALLY difficult, no kidding. BUT one of my closest friends who publishes The Classics has developed a methods for people to learn ancient greek. I will have to ask his if it's available in English. I would LOVE to try his method if it's available anywhere (amazon?). Let me explain, perhaps, why I want to read the original. I've read the Illiad in Alexander Pope's translation (an 1821 edition... with copper engravings because photography wasn't invented yet...which the library actually let me borrow. Go figure...) and it was wonderful. But it really isn't the ILLIAD--it was Pope's Illiad, which is something else. Then I started to read one of the modern, academic translations--praised by everybody as amazingly accurate--and I trust that it is. But the accuracy destroys the "feel" of the work completely, making it dry-as-dust reading. If I could read the original, I could have the wonderful poetry without losing any meaning. I read Thucidedes in the prototype. It's the definition of perfection. Even in English translation, I have to say that his book about the Peneponesian wars hit me right between the eyes. It's more difficult to read the Tragedies because it's the metre involved but reading Thucidedes or Plato ( Plato is more difficult because he uses a lot of antonyms)in the prototype is a pleasure. I imagine that the relation is a bit like the relation between the OT original in the King James translation. It is an EXCELLENT translation, from the literary point of view, but still, "The Lord is my shepard, I shall not want"--very beautiful English--does not do justice to Adon'ai Ro'i Lo Echsar... P.S. Speaking of the King James translation and that period (and earlier) in England: I had an interesting conversation with one of those wise@$$es in the English department who tried to convince me that Shakespeare's "dead" blank verse--unrhyming iambic pentameter--does not say anything "relevant" since it's "unnatural" to everyday speech. I shrugged and said, "I'll have the special and a glass of milk." She staggered back for a minute, and said, victorious, "But if you want to express deep philosophical points, who cares about this sort of thing?" So I replied, "The world is everything that is the case." She isn't speaking to me anymore.

24th May 2005, 09:38 PM	#327
Chris Haynes Perfectly Poisonous Person Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Wacky Washington Way Out West Posts: 4,205	We are All Fine Here by Mary Guterson ... okay, cute funny in an "I am a screwed up and totally screwed woman" kind of way.
	__________________ I used to be intelligent... but then I had kids "HCN, I hate you!" ( so sayeth Deetee at http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?p=1077344 )... What I get for linking to http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/

25th May 2005, 03:24 PM	#328
Sandy M Thinker Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 183	Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States.

1st June 2005, 12:39 PM	#329
LW Master Poster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: 60°N 25°E Posts: 2,800	Anon, South Vietnam on the Road to Victory, 1965. I'm a long-time fan of blatant propaganda so when I saw this one on the lists of an online 2nd hand book store I had to order it. And it was almost just as I expected. The main difference was that I expected it to be a propaganda book where the South Vietnam government explains why they are going to win but it was actually written from the Vietcong viewpoint. It is mostly a photo book with only small pieces of text in addition of the photo captions. The captions are generally of the form "Place X. Some date. YY planes shot down, and ZZZ US aggressors killed." Just out of curiosity I googled for a couple of place names for the American account, and as you might well have suppposed, those give a rather diffirent picture. But I have to admit that the anonymous editors of the book have managed to find a couple of very powerful pictures, like one where an American soldier laughs at a Vietnamese corpse. (The caption doesn't hint where and when the photo was taken). The final part of the book is a series of demonstration photos taken all over the world. The very last one is taken somewhere in Finland (the texts of the signs can be seen clearly). But the caption places it in Switzerland ...

1st June 2005, 01:52 PM	#330
headscratcher4 Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: USA Posts: 7,749	Just finished The Orientalist by Reiss. Very intersting book and a good read. Now The Tale of Genji -- an ancient Japanese novel by a lady of the 11th Century imperial court. So far, very good.
	__________________ Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel. -- Homer Simpson

1st June 2005, 08:31 PM	#331
Chris Haynes Perfectly Poisonous Person Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Wacky Washington Way Out West Posts: 4,205	I just finished The Family Tree by Carole Cadwalladr: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg.../-/0525948422/ ... It was sweet, funny and fairly sad. It's about a family with secrets, and their effects. I have just started In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, and No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency novel... which are always good fun: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg.../-/0375422714/
	__________________ I used to be intelligent... but then I had kids "HCN, I hate you!" ( so sayeth Deetee at http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?p=1077344 )... What I get for linking to http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/

2nd June 2005, 07:59 AM	#332
Neutiquam Erro mennil-toss flykune Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 287	The Structure of the Terror: The example of Javogues and the Loire, by Colin Lucas (1973) Fascinating analysis of the social, economic, political, and physical geography of the period of anarchical Terror under Javogues in Lyon and the surrounding region.
	__________________ I'm not normally a religious man, but if you're up there, help me, Superman! - H. Simpson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For centuries, theologians have been explaining the unknowable in terms of the not-worth-knowing. - H. L. Mencken ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'm gonna find me a woman who won't fall apart on the witness stand. - Tommy Womack, "Up Memphis Blues"

22nd July 2005, 04:26 AM	#333
asthmatic camel ignoramus Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 4,540	"The Algebraist" by Ian M. Banks. Superb sc-fi with added humour. Well worth a read.
	__________________ www.stopsylvia.com

22nd July 2005, 05:33 AM	#334
hgc Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 13,014	Just started The Fortress of Solitude, by Johnathan Lethem. Looks like it'll be a good one.
	__________________ Bowel-shaking earthquakes of doubt and remorse assail him and wail him with monster truck force. - Cake, The Distance Was there a second singer on the grassy Knowles? - Stephen Colbert

22nd July 2005, 05:47 AM	#335
Zep Banned Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 26,985	With Lawrence In Arabia, my original ~1920's edition by Lowell Thomas. A bit watermarked, battered and torn when I got, but the pages and photo plates are still in perfect condition. Reading it again for the shear and blatant propaganda effort, plus Lowell's remarkable effort at brown-nosing and living vicariously.
Zep Banned Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 26,985

22nd July 2005, 05:57 AM	#336
Beancounter Critical Thinker Join Date: May 2004 Location: Firmly on planet Earth Posts: 422	Well, I was rummaging around at the back of our local bookstore and found this book called Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince....... Anyway, done that (not bad IMHO) and last night finished " A History of God" by Karen Armstrong. A good introduction to the development of the concept of god in the monotheistic faiths and a fairly easy read to boot. (No pictures though )
	__________________ "It is undesirable to to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true" Bertrand Russell

22nd July 2005, 09:49 AM	#337
Chris Haynes Perfectly Poisonous Person Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Wacky Washington Way Out West Posts: 4,205	I recently read Hoot by Carl Hiaasen which was delightful. After slogging through a couple of dreadfully written academically proper histories of the Buffalo Soldiers, I am now actually enjoying a memoir by a woman who died in 1932. She was the very young daughter of a white officer of the Tenth Cavalry, one of the units of Buffalo Soldiers in the West after the Civil war: Child of the Fighting Tenth: On the Frontier With the Buffalo Soldiers .
	__________________ I used to be intelligent... but then I had kids "HCN, I hate you!" ( so sayeth Deetee at http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?p=1077344 )... What I get for linking to http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/

22nd July 2005, 10:41 AM	#338
Jorghnassen Illuminator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The realm of ideas Posts: 3,881	No book at the moment, but the last one I read was, surprise surprise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

24th July 2005, 11:14 PM	#339
Freakshow 526a0118ae8c43594f3cfdcabb3274ed Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 3,319	It's normal for me to be reading multiple books at once, because it is almost always non-fiction. Unfortunately, I rarely have time to squeeze in fiction reading. I am reading 3 books now, off and on: - The Shellcoder's Handbook - Exploiting Software: How to Break Code - The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

25th July 2005, 04:05 AM	#340
Cleopatra Diva Caissa Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Athens-Greece Posts: 9,272	I have just finished reading " The mysterious Flame of Queen Loana", the last book of Umberto Eco. It's quite a book and far away from Eco's typical mania to demonstrate his knowledge about ...everything. I believe that people in their 50ies who have been in contact with the european pop culture of the 40ies and 50ies will enjoy this book very much. The book is written with sensitivity and this old european sense of humor which I find adorable maybe because I am familiar with it. Since last month I re-read in English " Justine" the first out of four books of the "Alexandrian Quartet" of Durrel. I was very much captivated by the language. English can be an amazing language sometimes. I also read for the first time in my life a book of John Le Carre. The style seems more like a case of rather professed elegance but it's very amusing. I wonder if I must read " The Da Vinci code"...
	__________________ Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting.~ Mark Twain.

25th July 2005, 04:48 AM	#341
Kiless Guest Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 6,103	Quote: Originally posted by Cleopatra Since last month I re-read in English " Justine" the first out of four books of the "Alexandrian Quartet" of Durrel. I was very much captivated by the language. English can be an amazing language sometimes. I noticed that his series has been re-released in my country by Penguin Press. Once it was easier to find books by his brother, Gerald Durrell (who had some very amusing early reminiscences of Lawrence), with titles such as the 'My Family and Other Animals' autobiography series. Lawrence Durrell's 'Spirit of Place' was parodied (in title alone) by Gerald Durrell with 'Fillets of Plaice'. Quote: Originally posted by Cleopatra I also read for the first time in my life a book of John Le Carre. The style seems more like a case of rather professed elegance but it's very amusing. From what I read of your posts... I wonder what you would make of 'The Little Drummer Girl'....... Quote: Originally posted by Cleopatra I wonder if I must read " The Da Vinci code"... I was probably more fond of The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason or The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Although the hype for both was just as bad. Hype irritates me. But it shouldn't deter finding out for oneself. Currently reading - Crunch Time: How to live a more ethical and meaningful life without giving up your worldly goods, joining a commune or losing your sense of humour,by Mike Hanley and Adrian Monck.
Kiless Guest Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 6,103

25th July 2005, 12:42 PM	#342
Neutiquam Erro mennil-toss flykune Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 287	Dictators & Disciples: From Caesar to Stalin, by Gustav Bychowski
	__________________ I'm not normally a religious man, but if you're up there, help me, Superman! - H. Simpson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For centuries, theologians have been explaining the unknowable in terms of the not-worth-knowing. - H. L. Mencken ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'm gonna find me a woman who won't fall apart on the witness stand. - Tommy Womack, "Up Memphis Blues"

25th July 2005, 01:08 PM	#343
Cleopatra Diva Caissa Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Athens-Greece Posts: 9,272	Quote: Originally posted by Auden I noticed that his series has been re-released in my country by Penguin Press. Yeah I got my " Justine" in a Penguin Press edition.I two old copies in my Library but I cannot take those with me and read them in traffic. Quote: Once it was easier to find books by his brother, Gerald Durrell (who had some very amusing early reminiscences of Lawrence), with titles such as the 'My Family and Other Animals' autobiography series. Lawrence Durrell's 'Spirit of Place' was parodied (in title alone) by Gerald Durrell with 'Fillets of Plaice'. I have no idea of anything you said. Very interesting! I must do some reading. Now the next question. Which camp do you belong to? Durrell or Hemingway? Are you a decadent Mediterannean or a decadent American type? Quote: From what I read of your posts... I wonder what you would make of 'The Little Drummer Girl'....... I have seen the film. There is a scene where the Israeli agent( the role was performed by a Greek actor!) shows his body to Dean Keaton and he describes it as "the Map of Middle East". Many Israelis in real life are like that but mostly of the older generations. Although I don't like tattoos I love the scars from the battle field. This is what I remember from the film Quote: I was probably more fond of The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason or The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Although the hype for both was just as bad. Hype irritates me. But it shouldn't deter finding out for oneself. I have heard a wise man saying that he avoids reading books that they are not 10 years old at least. Quote: Currently reading - Crunch Time: How to live a more ethical and meaningful life without giving up your worldly goods, joining a commune or losing your sense of humour,by Mike Hanley and Adrian Monck. If I ever published the notes I took while I was quitting smoking by using Mercutio's behavioral methods the summary on the cover would sound pretty much the same.
	__________________ Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting.~ Mark Twain.

25th July 2005, 04:52 PM	#344
Jon. Increasing entropy since 1970 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: On the Clapham omnibus Posts: 3,509	Nightmares Of Prominent Men (I think that's the correct title) by Bertrand Russell. Brilliant!
	__________________ In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. I don't appeal to the masses, and they don't appeal to me. - Graham Parker Calling modern day fundamentalists medieval is giving them about a thousand years of philosophical advancement they do not have. - Jorghnassen

25th July 2005, 05:31 PM	#345
LibraryLady ...but not JUST a LibraryLady Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Building a house in the common ground Posts: 13,075	Quote: Originally posted by The Whether Man I'm halfway through Carl Sagan's Broca's Brain and have just started Francis Wheen's How Mumbo Jumbo Conquered the World. I seem to be getting away from my usual detective thriller fare for something a little more serious. I'm reading the Wheen book as well. One of those funny/scary books about how newage has infiltrated the government and so forth.
	__________________ What would Hüsker Dü? I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight, seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about. Mildred Loving

26th July 2005, 08:47 AM	#346
Dinsdale Piranha A cruel man, but fair. Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: In the conversation pit. Posts: 842	An Army at Dawn - The War in North Africa, 1942-1943. The North African campaign is historically overshadowed by the European and Pacific theatres. This book chronicles the coming of age of the U.S. Army in WWII. ETA written by Rick Atkinson.

29th July 2005, 02:46 PM	#347
Temporal Renegade Last of the Time Lords Join Date: May 2003 Location: University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople Posts: 1,893	DisneyWar by James B. Stewart A VERY informative book about Michael Eisner's rise & fall at the House of the Mouse. Or, as the cover blurb says: 'Once upon a time, one man ruled America's greatest entertainment company. This is the untold story of his triumphs and failures, and the revolt that cost him his kingdom...' Go down a bit, to see one of Eisner's bigger missteps: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * He had, by way of Harvey & Bob Weinstein (of Miramax, that Disney had bought out), the VERY hard-to-get rights to something that the brothers thought was right up Disney's alley. Eisner told them to forget it, that no one wanted to see 'that kind of stuff at the movies anymore'; that Disney 'didn't make those kind of movies anymore anyway'. So, after much pleading and begging--Eisner wouldn't change his mind one bit--they finally found someone to buy the rights (keeping a percentage intact, so that Disney got about 5% of the gross, with the brothers getting 25% of that "without limitations", which Eisner thought wouldn't be all that much), then told their hand-picked director Peter Jackson to take Lord of the Rings over to New Line Cinema. Oops.
	__________________ "Attention please..... a child has been lost in the Tunnel of Goats......" .......FATHER TED

29th July 2005, 04:58 PM	#348
Calico Scholar Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 97	I am reading James Randi's Flim-Flam.
Calico Scholar Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 97	__________________ Jon Stewart on international politics: "Recently, the highest court in South Africa handed down a decision ordering the country’s parliament to extend marriage rights to all gay couples. So just to reiterate, American is now less progressive than South Africa."

5th August 2005, 06:20 PM	#349
chipmunk stew The Spikey Mace of Love and Mercy Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: SE PA Posts: 7,465	Mine are all from the Pop-Smart department-- recently finished: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (about late 19th century serial killer "H. H. Holmes" and the 1893 Chicago World's Fair) now reading: Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (probably best known for Snow Crash) Krakatoa by Simon Winchester (about the "biggest volcanic eruption in history")
	__________________

5th August 2005, 07:41 PM	#350
GrnMtSkeptic Thinker Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 220	Quote: Originally posted by chipmunk stew [BCryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (probably best known for Snow Crash) [/b] Have your tried Bethke's Headcrash? Quote: Krakatoa by Simon Winchester (about the "biggest volcanic eruption in history") Great book. Read this then went to Volcano National Park on Hawaii. Very interesting to see some of the stuff he talks about for real.
GrnMtSkeptic Thinker Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 220

7th August 2005, 07:10 AM	#351
crimresearch Alumbrado Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 10,618	Margaret Cho's autobiography, 'I'm The One'.
crimresearch Alumbrado Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 10,618

7th August 2005, 07:44 AM	#352
chipmunk stew The Spikey Mace of Love and Mercy Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: SE PA Posts: 7,465	Quote: Originally posted by GrnMtSkeptic Have your tried Bethke's Headcrash? I hadn't heard of it. It looks like it's gotten mixed reviews, but worth checking out. Thanks for the tip. Quote: Originally posted by GrnMtSkeptic eta--re: Krakatoa Great book. Read this then went to Volcano National Park on Hawaii. Very interesting to see some of the stuff he talks about for real. I've barely cracked the cover on this one, but it's already good. One thing bothered me so far, though. He says on p. 15 (of the 2004 Perennial paperback edition) referring to control of the Eastern seas: "The Portuguese from the warm and lazy south were slowly driven out and replaced by doughty Europeans from the cold and more ruthless north." That this is a gross misconception about the effects of latitude on civilization ought to be evident to an author who has done as much research as Simon Winchester obviously has done. Are his other conclusions & assumptions similarly suspect?
	__________________

7th August 2005, 04:14 PM	#353
athon Kowalski Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: gone Posts: 9,286	Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, and Things That Never Happen by M. John Harrison. Athon

8th August 2005, 01:00 PM	#354
Cleopatra Diva Caissa Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Athens-Greece Posts: 9,272	I am finishing Mark Mozower's Salonica, City of Ghosts : Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950. It's an exciting book, Skeptic you must read it by all means! I am also reading a Greek novel. The story takes place in a vinyard on the mountains where a young man creates the wine that carries the tastes, sounds,smels, touches of the things he loves in his life. It reminds me of " The Perfume" by Patrick Suskind in that. Nice story, not a masterpiece but a good reading for the beach.
	__________________ Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting.~ Mark Twain.

10th August 2005, 06:00 PM	#355
Mariah Thinker Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 227	Reading UNCLE TUNGSTEN: MEMORIES OF A CHEMICAL BOYHOOD by Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author of AWAKENINGS and THE MAN WHO MISTOOK HIS WIFE FOR A HAT. It is a memoir. He's that rare thing, a scientist who can write lyrically and well. UNCLE TUNGSTEN is wonderful. I recommend it.
Mariah Thinker Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 227	__________________ www.sherryaustin.com