#1
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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. |
#2
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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. |
#3
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Re: Books I\'ve read recently
finish the first four in the hitchhiker trilogy. do not read mostly harmless.
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#4
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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. |
#5
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Re: Books I\'ve read recently
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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. |
#6
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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. |
#7
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Re: Books I\'ve read recently
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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. |
#8
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Re: Books I\'ve read recently
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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. |
#9
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Re: Books I\'ve read recently
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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? |
#10
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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. |
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