Books I'm reading etc.

[mbillie1]

Borges is probably just as much philosophy as short story, so as plain fictions go they aren't as good as they could be, but as far as sort of... aggressively or deliberately philosophical fictions (meaning dealing with specific philosophical issues of Borges' era, which he did I think) I think it's wildly successful. BUT, I am obviously biased by 1) reading a lot of philosophy and 2) enjoying other sort of similarly dense stuff like Kafka. So take my recommendation with a grain of salt I guess [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

edit: and I don't mean this pretentiously... I mean that I am able to ignore the fact that it isn't as well written as some other stuff because I just like that kind of thing

[amplify]

mbillie,

I don't take it pretentiously at all. Reading philosophy is one of my literary hobbies, and I appreciate the ideas in Borges stories immensely. The problem I have is that he has these fantastic ideas, takes a couple of pages to just sketch them out, and then he's done. Kafka could take one stunningly simple idea (man turns into cockroach, tattoo as torture, hunger artist, etc) and leisurely investigate and elucidate it until the absurdity becomes normality and begins to mirror the absurdity OF normality. Or something.

When I say most overrated, I don't mean that he's not good. It's just that I don't think he's anywhere near Chekhov or Kafka or James Joyce as an artist. He's a lot better than that hack Poe.

[mbillie1]

amplify,

I agree... Borges doesn't really develop ideas, I guess I'd say he sort of illustrates an example of one specific idea, but I think he does so pretty well. He definitely doesn't illustrate or develop ideas or system like Kafka or Joyce (I haven't read Chekov [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]). I'd equate what Borges does sort of to what ee cummings does in certain poems, eg gives a brief example of a particular philosophical idea or argument. But this may all just be support for Borges simply because I like his writing lol [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Another random thought is "Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov, Russian names randomly reminded me of this lol. A strange book but very interesting and IMO quite well written.

[Jeff W]

Recently read I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves. I, Claudius is awesome. The sequel is good, but it didn't blow me away. Both are fictional autobiographies that track the rise and fall of Claudius, the 4th Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The first book focuses more on other prominent historical characters during the rule of Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula. The second book focuses primarily on Claudius and Herod Aggripa, King of the Jews (Bible: Acts).

Also read The Power and the Glory and Our Man in Havana, both by Graham Greene. I am an atheist and found it hard to relate to the protagonist(fallen catholic priest) in The Power and the Glory, but I appreciate the artistry.

I highly recommend Our Man in Havana--it is a satirical spy novel that never lapses into the saccharine. I am not doing it justice, though--just buy it and read it without spoiling yourself by reading reviews/descriptions.

Next up: Alice in Wonderland+Through the Looking Glass and The Selfish Gene. These have been sitting on my shelf for awhile and I'm finally in the mood to read them. I also order the Modern Library Classics' first volume of Plutarch's Lives--I am an ancient history buff, but this is the first time I'm delving into contempary sources.

[silver book]

IM reading gandhi's autobiograph, its awesome

[mikeczyz]

just finished kafka by the shore...good stuff. murakami spins fantastic stories as anyone who's read any of his works will attest.

am going to start reading godel, escher, bach: an eternal golden braid. given that it's thicker than the phone book, it looks a bit dense but i'll give it a shot.

[RicoTubbs]

[ QUOTE ]
Next up: Alice in Wonderland+Through the Looking Glass and The Selfish Gene. These have been sitting on my shelf for awhile and I'm finally in the mood to read them. I also order the Modern Library Classics' first volume of Plutarch's Lives--I am an ancient history buff, but this is the first time I'm delving into contempary sources.

[/ QUOTE ]

Jeff, it sounds like you already have the book, but I'd highly recommend the annotated version of Alice in Wonderland. It's fantastic.
http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Alic.../dp/0393048470

[oe39]

books i've read recently

Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin:
This is a multiple biography of Lincoln and members of his cabinet. Although it is quite long, it is an entertaining book throughout. One of the things that comes through best is how Abe never held personal grudges and valued opinions that contradicted his own. Anyone considering reading this should read the author's introduction; I would encourage everyone to read this.

American Prometheus - Bird/Sherwin
This is an Oppenheimer bio. It has almost no science, and is mostly a story of his life as a manager and political entity. I'd say to read it if you are interested in his life and in knowing a bit more about the start of the cold war. Some parts get a bit slow, for instance I thought there was maybe too much detail regarding specifics of spying on his associates.

moneyball
i guess a lot of people have read this. it's an easy, quick book. i found some parts to be stronger than others. in retrospect, i would have skipped the parts about billy beane's young life. my sense is that this book will have something in it that most people here would like.

books i didn't like enough to finish

the black swan - nassim taleb
this is a book on skeptical empiricism. although i like and agree with some of the ideas, i really hated this book. the author seems just way too into portraying himself as an intellectual / academic. there are a ton of strange parable/anecdotes that don't really seem as relevant as maybe the author thinks they are, often the book is self-referential, he develops vague philosophical-sounding titles for concepts he barely talks about, and he has factually incorrect examples. what made me put the book down was the part about the swimmers body, where the author explains that swimming/running/weightlifting don't actually change your body type, but that people who are pre-disposed to having those body types will participate in those events.

fooled by randomness - nassim taleb
i thought, after putting down the black swan, that maybe this book would be better. it is about the same book. i actually like the ideas, and i think it is a shame that the writer is more into himself than he is into careful writing or research.

[kerowo]

The Last Colony By John Scalzi, the last book (so far) in his Old Man's War universe. So far very fun, the first two books are also very nice. A homage to Heinlein that's very readable.

[El Diablo]

All,

Recently read the following:

Heat by Bill Buford. This is about him learning to cook and cooking in Mario Batali's Babbo kitchen. This is OK, and if you're really into cooking/restaurants you'll probably like it. I liked it a lot, but didn't love it. I don't think I would be too into it if I wasn't so into the subject matter, so basically I recommend this if you're really into food/restaurants. This guy wrote Among the Thugs about soccer hooligans which was a really amazing book that I highly recommend.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Boris and Gift of Gab have been tellng me how great this guy is for years. Of course, I don't read him 'til I'm running late in an airport with no book for the flight and see something by him. Also, Oprah now recommends him! This book was pretty good, but nothing great. I enjoyed reading it and liked his style a lot, but wasn't blown away. I'll give some other more highly recommended books of his a shot.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. I hadn't read this since high school or college, but was reminded of it recently. I picked up a copy and wow, it was even better than I remembered. Just gripping and compelling all the way through. A must read.

Books I'm planning to read soon:

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

China Inc. by Ted Fishman

The Known WOrld by Edward Jones