Books I\'ve read recently
 

Speaker for the Dead Written by Orson Scott Card, this is the first sequel to his very popular Ender's Game. I thought it was brilliant, I enjoyed it more than Ender's Game. Even though I wasn't too delighted with the whole piggie storyline, I really liked the characters, specially the Speaker for the Dead. I like much of his philosophy.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man A book by John Perkins a person who claims he was an "economic hit man" for a big company in America. The book was very good and it made dislike the government a lot more than I had before. It talks about government ties with dictators, exploitation of third world countries and many other awful things. It was an eye opener, I think my view of the world changed after reading it.

Forces of Nature The last book in The Lounge Book Club. I didn't see any discussion of it (only the first chapters) but I went ahead and read it back in November. I liked the book, probably liked it a bit more because I had just read "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man", I could relate globalization as an enemy a little better. The book is very pessimistic, but it entertained me. I was frustrated seeing how Chris kept going in that downward spiral of meanness. Particularly towards his wife, but also as a person willing to use other people for his gains. It was interesting seeing a good person rationalizing doing bad things.

A Mathematician's Apology The famous book by G.W Hardy, an early 1900s mathematician. He wrote an essay describing why it was good to be a mathematician. A lot of the things he writes come out as arrogant, but many things make a lot of sense and are in a way inspiring. I guess any mathematician should read it.

Watchmen The graphic novel by Alan Moore. I thought it was excellent. I really enjoyed Ozymandias character, it reminded me a lot of Alexander the Great. One of my favorite books is Persian Boy by Mary Renault, which is a fiction biography of Alexander the Great.

Letter to a Christian Nation A lot of very good arguments against religion (note: not against spirituality, but against organized religion). Books like this make my belief that religion is bad for society stronger.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy So far, I have only read the first one. I liked it a lot, laughing a lot while reading it. A lot of the crazy ideas are hilarious and his choice of words seems perfect.

Those are the books, I read the last two months of 2006.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

Read more hitchhikers, it's good stuff.

And the Watchmen never gets boring, no matter how often you read it. Can I recommend 'Arkham Asylum' with Batman for some psychological food for thought?


Here's mine...

Stephen King - On writing - I reviewed it in here, but overall an invaluable writing resource

Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy Not a big fan of Hardy - too much description for my liking, but this is very nicely written. Very, very, very sad though.

Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier brilliant writer, and the first half of the book is stunning right up until the unnamed herione nearly throws herself out of the window...then it gets a little plainly melodramatic to be a classic.

Wuthering Heights - Bronte - read this a while back and didn't like it that much, and was hoping a reread would improve my view of it. Nah, didn't like it much again.

Oliver Twist - Dickens - Great storyteller, sometimes tortuous phrasing. Some GREAT characters though. A twisty work, but the twists are written well enough to make it a nice, enjoyable read.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

finish the first four in the hitchhiker trilogy. do not read mostly harmless.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

[ QUOTE ]
finish the first four in the hitchhiker trilogy. do not read mostly harmless.

[/ QUOTE ]

I actually thought that each Hitchhiker book was steadily worse and than the previous one. The first one is just plain brilliant, though.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

[ QUOTE ]
finish the first four in the hitchhiker trilogy. do not read mostly harmless.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think I would be capable of stopping at four without reading the fifth one. It's not that much of a time waste even if it is very bad.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
finish the first four in the hitchhiker trilogy. do not read mostly harmless.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think I would be capable of stopping at four without reading the fifth one. It's not that much of a time waste even if it is very bad.

[/ QUOTE ]

I did. I do not know why.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

[ QUOTE ]
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier brilliant writer, and the first half of the book is stunning right up until the unnamed herione nearly throws herself out of the window...then it gets a little plainly melodramatic to be a classic.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have read Rebecca a few times. It is a rather odd book, but certainly entertaining in a mysterious way. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in gothic type literature.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

[ QUOTE ]
Read more hitchhikers, it's good stuff.

And the Watchmen never gets boring, no matter how often you read it. Can I recommend 'Arkham Asylum' with Batman for some psychological food for thought?

[/ QUOTE ]

Arkham Asylum is amazing. I read it in an English class freshman year of college - wrote a paper on it too. You read that and you'll vomit in disgust next time you see Nicholson's Joker.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

[ QUOTE ]

Letter to a Christian Nation A lot of very good arguments against religion (note: not against spirituality, but against organized religion). Books like this make my belief that religion is bad for society stronger.

[/ QUOTE ]

I need to add this to my next Amazon order - has anyone else read it?

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

Sadly I haven't read much lately. (Though I'm currently reading for class now)...

However, I really liked the last book I read. Cracked by Dr. Drew Pinsky (of Loveline fame). I found it to be a really interesting insight to a world that I am totally unfamiliar with. While I've known people who did drugs (and certainly never did rehabs) it was really interesting to read about that side of society. That, in general, I think very few people are familiar with unless they are directly affected...

I'm currently reading "100 Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

Martin Van Buren - The Romantic Age of American Politics by John Niven

President and first real party leader

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

Oh by the way, I am reading <u>The Shadow of the Wind</u> right now, about halfway through it, and so far I would highly recommend it. It's a great translation from the original Spanish version. I am looking forward to finishing it and if it holds up to what I've seen so far, perhaps I will do a review.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

do read his dark materials.

http://www.firsts-in-print.co.uk/pic...0materials.jpg

you won't be disappointed.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

[ QUOTE ]
do read his dark materials.

http://www.firsts-in-print.co.uk/pic...0materials.jpg

you won't be disappointed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry to hijack, but the movie of the first book is being made right now but apparently they've decided to remove any references to religion or god. That might be the stupidest thing ever.

The books are amazing, I can't see the films not sucking.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

yeah, i fully expect the film to suck, but will watch it. they likely removed the religious stuff in order to simplify the process, though hollywood is going through a rah-rah-xtianity phase right now.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World This book was a completely fascinating look at the life of Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire after his death. I was very impressed with this book.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. True crime documentary about the murder of a family in Kansas in the 50s. Everyone knows about this one I guess, but I just wanted to say I thought it lived up to the hype.

A World Lit Only By Fire by William Manchester. A look at the early Renaissance. The middle part dragged, by the final part of the book is the story of Magellen's trip around the world which was quite interesting.

Flashman in the Great Game by George Macdonal Fraser. This is the fifth installment about Harry Flashman, the Victorian Era rogue. Great book, great series. Can't recommend them highly enough. My only warning would be that these are not for anyone who is easily offended. Flashy is a horrible sexist and racist, which was the style of the time...

Wolf of the Steppes by Harold Lamb. This is a collection of historical fiction about Khlit the Cossack. Harold Lamb is one of the most influential pulp writers of the 20th century, and was a hero of Robert E Howard. I found these stories to be well researched, but a little slow.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I enjoyed reading this, but it wasn't anything spectacular. Just an entertaining fairy tale.

I know I read a few more, but that is enough for now.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

I recomend any Hiaasen

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

[ QUOTE ]
A Mathematician's Apology The famous book by G.W Hardy, an early 1900s mathematician. He wrote an essay describing why it was good to be a mathematician. A lot of the things he writes come out as arrogant, but many things make a lot of sense and are in a way inspiring. I guess any mathematician should read it.


[/ QUOTE ]


I enjoyed this book and recommend it highly. I did not think the tone arrogant and think many should read it, not just mathematicians (I am not a mathematician by the way). The Forward by C.P. Snow is also very instructive and gives a good historical setting and some exemplifications of the eccentric Hardy. It is a short book and makes an enjoyable read.

-Zeno

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
A Mathematician's Apology The famous book by G.W Hardy, an early 1900s mathematician. He wrote an essay describing why it was good to be a mathematician. A lot of the things he writes come out as arrogant, but many things make a lot of sense and are in a way inspiring. I guess any mathematician should read it.


[/ QUOTE ]


I enjoyed this book and recommend it highly. I did not think the tone arrogant and think many should read it, not just mathematicians (I am not a mathematician by the way). The Forward by C.P. Snow is also very instructive and gives a good historical setting and some exemplifications of the eccentric Hardy. It is a short book and makes an enjoyable read.

-Zeno

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, the Forward was good.
In the book "The Man Who Knew Infinity" by Robert Knigel. They give about a 100 page biography of Hardy (the book is the biography of Ramanujan, but to understand Ramanujan you need to understand Hardy).
Hardy was a very interesting man and a magnificent mathematician. I was very interested in his anti war actions during WWI.

Very outspoken, honest man. If you haven't read "The Man Who Knew Infinity", take a peek at least at the chapters that talk about Hardy. The book is very good.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

The Great Influenza

very interesting read about the flu epidemic of the early 20th century. The first part especially, about the state of medical science leading up to the epidemic was very interesting.

The Street Lawyer by John Grisham

standard Grisham stuff, bought it for a plane trip and it kept me engrossed, very suspenseful, yadda yadda.

Nothing Like it in the World by Stephen Ambrose

good book about the building of the transcontinental railroad. Kind of long, but if you're into history stuff it's a good read.

Limitations, Scott Turow

some kind of John Grisham ripoff that I picked up on a whim. Just read a Grisham book (any will do) instead.

The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell

Another good read from the author of Blink. I'm actually liking this one a bit more. I get the impression he just finds all of the most bizarre, unexpected, and interesting psychological/sociological studies and experiments, and tries to make some theme to wrap them up in. and it's fine by me.

Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose.
great book, I've watched the miniseries a dozen times or so and it's just as good. The miniseries tracks the book almost exactly (pretty much down to each chapter = one episode. Even if you've seen the miniseries it's worth reading.

Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides

Great story about the soldiers captured by the Japanese upon overtaking the Philippines during WWII, and the army rangers that rescued them.


I'm about to read some book called _A Short History of Nearly Everything_, it looks okay.

Re: Books I\'ve read recently
 

[ QUOTE ]
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World This book was a completely fascinating look at the life of Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire after his death. I was very impressed with this book.

[/ QUOTE ]

this sounds awesome, thanks.