What are you reading? - Page 23

styx · 10-09-2008, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsallgoodbabyGb

i've got wasp factory, it's pretty good

haven't read it in a while though. quite disturbing

Wasp Factory was the first Iain Banks book I read, it was indeed quite disturbing. I have a feeling that I missed out on some of the subtleties due to the weirdness.

itsallgoodbabyGb · 10-09-2008, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by styx

Wasp Factory was the first Iain Banks book I read, it was indeed quite disturbing. I have a feeling that I missed out on some of the subtleties due to the weirdness.

is, but it's well written, been a while since i read it though. give it another go, it's pretty good

itsallgoodbabyGb · 06-06-2009, 05:38 AM

i've been listening to Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion on audiobook, an atheist's jihad manual. well, not quite, but it is very aggressive and dismissive in tone, which is a shame as that takes away a little from what is an otherwise very interesting and engaging, slowly paced and carefully put together deconstruction of the God hypothesis and the concept of religion. it branches out into areas of speculation on the existence of aliens and our understanding of life, knowledge of the cosmos etc. although unfortunately doesn't dwell there too long, and also goes into an extensive deconstruction of memes and genes and human patterns and behavioural analysis pertaining to an explanation of religion and its purpose and reasons for its widespread practice in the world throughout recorded history. i'm only halfway through and quite enjoying it, to be honest.

a lot of the things they say - it's read by dawkins and some posh stuffy bird - are obvious and many of their points are blinded or blunted by their vociferous dedication to a scientific, atheist mindset but if you can listen to it/read it if you've got the book instead/with an open mind and accept it as simply another point of reference and a worthy side of the argument from the atheist perspective, then it's a good piece of literature, in my opinion anyway. it does borrow heavily from a variety of sources, i should add.

i also tried listening to P.D. James' children of men a while back but only got halfway through that before giving up, largely because it's incredibly depressing and the narrator, our protagonist, is a bit of a twat, as far as i'm concerned. it is interestingly written too, though, and contains much examination of the concept of a fertility cancellation and the subsequent effects on society the world over, with plenty of divergance and examination of interesting sub-subjects.

J A Eyers · 07-01-2009, 06:10 AM

I finally finished A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens on the train this morning. I started reading it a few months ago, found the first half good but nothing especially unmissable, so went off and read a couple of other books. Then I came back to it, thinking I'd got halfway through it so I might as well finish it... and then the French Revolution happened. After that it really took off for me. I didn't see the ending coming until it was happening, but it really finally landed the book on that sparsely populated shelf for truly great books.

For those suitably intrigued, it's a story of injustice and revenge and redemption with the pre-requisite murders, lynchmobs, witchhunts and show trials, betrayals, spies, rescues and escapes, and plenty of guillotining. The two cities are Paris and London in the years just before and during the Revolution in France, and follows a French family living in London. It is headed by a man who was imprisoned for 20 years in the Bastille by the old French regime, and who has become something of a martyr and figurehead for the Revolutionary cause, regardless of having no involvement.

His daughter marries another French expat, Charles Darnay, an ex-noble who disavowed his inheritance and set out into the world to make his own way. When a former servant of his family is arrested in France, he returns to Paris to plead for the man's life - but as a noble (an enemy of the Revolution!) he ends up being arrested and put on trial for his life himself. Cue the rest of the cast coming to HIS rescue.

I can't recommend it enough. It's a quick read, too. Everyone knows the opening sentence ("It was the best of times; it was the worst of times") and the concluding sentence ("It is far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known") but they mean so much more when bookending the rest of the story.

Daemos · 07-01-2009, 06:32 AM

I just finished The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene and I'm impressed. Not as much as I was after The 48 Laws of Power but the book is deliciously amoral and very straight forward (much like 48 Laws). Very informative with lots of historical references, I'll probably read it again to get the point solidified in my brain.

Greyhaven · 07-01-2009, 10:37 PM

Left Behind Series - Iam on book three and so far it is good. Not great but good.

BullpupDFWM · 07-02-2009, 02:03 AM

Finished Serpico by Peter Maas

On to Suttree by Cormac McCarthy

itsallgoodbabyGb · 07-02-2009, 05:12 PM

finished children of men. there are many good things about it that examine infertility, hope, dealing with old age, the animal side of the human condition etc. but the characters are badly flawed and some poor set piece action and hasty twists ruin it slightly. still good.

BullpupDFWM · 07-02-2009, 06:01 PM

I really couldn't finish Children of Men, as hard as I tried.

itsallgoodbabyGb · 07-03-2009, 12:43 AM

not just me then (that found it difficult to at the least) it doesn't help that theo is not a great dude, at least not until the truth of the pregnancy is revealed to him by the 5 fishes (5 fishes? christ) i still found it rather good in plot at least until luke was revealed as the father after the omegas killed him.

J A Eyers · 07-03-2009, 01:43 AM

Doesn't Children of Men (book) blame the infertility on gay marriage or something?

Otherwise, surely the most unlikely book to have been written by an elderly Conservative baroness...

itsallgoodbabyGb · 07-03-2009, 02:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J A Eyers

Doesn't Children of Men (book) blame the infertility on gay marriage or something?

Otherwise, surely the most unlikely book to have been written by an elderly Conservative baroness...

no, that's dealt with quite well actually

'what struck us was not *stuffs to do with planet-wide infertility (i'm not great with quotes)* but our failure to understand the cause'

it's not explained how or why everyone in the world becomes infertile, and the why is explored early on in the book. i think it's one of the positive handlings of the concept. it's like dawn of the dead, alien etc. zombies are eerier and scarier if we don't know what the real cause is, they just are; space jockeys are more mysterious and, well, alien if we don't know anything about them and really why they had a gigantic hold full of alien eggs.

plenty of theories about the infertility are mooted but no conclusive cause is discovered, and the book talks briefly about science, a reliable god and certainly theo's creed and modus operandi, and how it fails to explain the infertility being startling. 'the old gods returned, terrible in their power.'

it is mentioned more then once that gay marriage has become common in the pre-apocalyptic world of the ageing final generation; it's not the cause, thankfully. i didn't know anything about p.d.james besides the name of the author.

J A Eyers · 07-03-2009, 03:04 AM

I had no idea she wrote it until I was sitting in the movie and saw her name come up in the credits. I had to check it was the same one, given she's mostly known for writing the Dalgliesh mysteries. Very odd.

BullpupDFWM · 07-03-2009, 05:38 AM

The book and the movie have very little in common. At least the parts I read. The most interesting difference I noticed, however, was that the movie blames infertility on the women, while in the book it's the men.

Injektilo · 07-03-2009, 05:50 AM

just finished fear & loathing in las vegas. just started das boot.

itsallgoodbabyGb · 07-03-2009, 10:30 AM

yes bullpup, zahn/zann - however it's spelled, i listened to the audio book of it - does say that the kid can be used to impregnate the omega women later, and it's the sperm that's blamed as infertile, although... they do have tests on the women too, so perhaps they became infertile too.

inj, stoned, ripped, twised... good book.

BullpupDFWM · 11-10-2009, 04:31 AM

Oh yeah, this thread.

Almost finished World War Z. Loving it.

Socratis · 11-10-2009, 05:28 AM

starting to read history of madness by michel foucault

Dangerous_D · 11-10-2009, 06:37 AM

started Reading Aliens Music of the Spears again, one I wish they would make a movie of

Greyhaven · 11-10-2009, 07:57 AM

Just finished Wicked.

Half way through Son of a Witch.

Wicked was interesting - Wicked witch of the west gets a bum rap though...much less evil then I wanted her to be.

Damien Stryker · 11-10-2009, 08:21 AM

I'm reading Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash for my sci-fi class. About halfway through, and it's very interesting and well-written. It's eerie how well he predicted something like Second Life as far back as '92.

I've also started David Simon's Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. The Wire got me really interested in more realistic depictions of police work and so I was instantly drawn to the book that inspired it and Homicide: Life on the Street. The real Jay Landsman was really flipping funny.

itsallgoodbabyGb · 11-10-2009, 12:55 PM

hey bullcunt that's also on my to-read list - and it's lovable you say? - along with pride and prejudice and zombies which has possibly the best blurb i've ever read

i've been reading the gospel of the FSM - ARRRRRRGH - which makes a lot of sense and also any human heart by william boyd which a wonderful girl recommended to me and which i'm loving quite simply and finally i'm listening to the shock doctrine by naomi klein on audio and well one more - i've almost finished re-listening to choke by chuck palahniuk which is less remarkable the second time around but is still an excellent story and is quite distinctively read by chuck

Daemos · 11-12-2009, 04:04 AM

Just finished Alen Carr's EASY WAY to quit smoking, inspirational but deeply optimistic. I might have to read it twice or three times to truly absorb its message.

Waiting for The Greatest Show on Earth to get here by Richard Dawkins.

Miss Lucifer · 11-12-2009, 04:22 AM

Perfume: Story of a murdery by Patrick Suskind.

Very good, excellent description.

spike_gta · 11-12-2009, 04:40 AM

As of late I'm pretty much only reading course literature, with this weeks being
"The Problem of Evil" - Adams & Adams. Basically a collection of articles concerning the existence of evil in a religious context, the teodicé problem and such. Immensely enjoyed John Hicks "Soul Making and Suffering". Two more chapters to read; "Natural Evil and the Love of God" by Diogenes Allen and "Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God" by Marilyn Adams.

After reading the word "evil" as much as I have this week I think I need to kick back with something extremely lighthearted and relaxed. Though next week Thomas Anderbergs "Guds Moral - En Essä om Lidandets och Ondskans Problem" awaits, so I suspect I'll be reading the word "evil" (=Ondska) several more times next week as well...

As enlightened as I feel reading all these incredibly smart theologians, philosophers and writers it'll be nice to finish off with Stephen Colberts "I am America and so can you", the first half of which has been hilarious.

Everlong · 11-12-2009, 02:43 PM

Mystery Man by Colin Bateman, it's a funny interesting book. Top banana.

itsallgoodbabyGb · 11-14-2009, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss Lucifer

Perfume: Story of a murdery by Patrick Suskind.

Very good, excellent description.

nearly got this in books etc. because they're doing a stock clearout but i had about 15 other books and i ended up getting about 9 because i couldn't be arsed carrying so many

have you seen the film? i was very impressed by that - the score and the cinematography were incredible - an absolute feast of the senses that captured at least the essence of the intensity of grenouille's world and good cast too - hoffman rickman hurt narrating etc.

Dangerous_D · 11-14-2009, 07:57 AM

Aliens Earth Hive, another greast book written by Steve Perry

Damien Stryker · 11-15-2009, 03:02 PM

Finished Snow Crash. I loved the bits on Sumerian mythology and linguistics--which was to say, most of the novel. Some genuinely funny bits, too. I can't wait to write my essay on it.

Damien Stryker · 12-09-2009, 07:32 PM

Read Martha Ostenso's Wild Geese in one day, in preparation for my Canadian Lit. exam. It's a captivating book about an utter bastard of a praire farmer who effectively holds his own family hostage. Great character study, though one of the primary figures, a schoolteacher, seems utterly idealized in comparison to the humanly flawed family in question.

07-01-2009, 06:32 AM	#665 (permalink)
Daemos GOD OF F*CK Godlike Poster Join Date: May 2001 Location: Judecca Posts: 23,003	I just finished The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene and I'm impressed. Not as much as I was after The 48 Laws of Power but the book is deliciously amoral and very straight forward (much like 48 Laws). Very informative with lots of historical references, I'll probably read it again to get the point solidified in my brain.
	"For you, the day I graced your bed was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

07-01-2009, 10:37 PM	#666 (permalink)
Greyhaven Rat packin Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Nashville, Tennessee Posts: 4,138	Left Behind Series - Iam on book three and so far it is good. Not great but good.
	"I screamed at God for all the starving children, and then I realized that all of the starving children were God screaming at me."

11-10-2009, 08:21 AM	#681 (permalink)
Damien Stryker "IGNORE ME!!!" Forum Officer Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ottawa, ON Posts: 5,736	I'm reading Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash for my sci-fi class. About halfway through, and it's very interesting and well-written. It's eerie how well he predicted something like Second Life as far back as '92. I've also started David Simon's Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. The Wire got me really interested in more realistic depictions of police work and so I was instantly drawn to the book that inspired it and Homicide: Life on the Street. The real Jay Landsman was really flipping funny.
	This is not for you. The poster formerly known as Warrior Alien.

11-12-2009, 04:04 AM	#683 (permalink)
Daemos GOD OF F*CK Godlike Poster Join Date: May 2001 Location: Judecca Posts: 23,003	Just finished Alen Carr's EASY WAY to quit smoking, inspirational but deeply optimistic. I might have to read it twice or three times to truly absorb its message. Waiting for The Greatest Show on Earth to get here by Richard Dawkins.
	Last edited by Daemos; 11-14-2009 at 01:53 AM..

11-12-2009, 04:40 AM	#685 (permalink)
spike_gta I always got love for the homies Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Malmö, Sweden Posts: 5,842	As of late I'm pretty much only reading course literature, with this weeks being "The Problem of Evil" - Adams & Adams. Basically a collection of articles concerning the existence of evil in a religious context, the teodicé problem and such. Immensely enjoyed John Hicks "Soul Making and Suffering". Two more chapters to read; "Natural Evil and the Love of God" by Diogenes Allen and "Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God" by Marilyn Adams. After reading the word "evil" as much as I have this week I think I need to kick back with something extremely lighthearted and relaxed. Though next week Thomas Anderbergs "Guds Moral - En Essä om Lidandets och Ondskans Problem" awaits, so I suspect I'll be reading the word "evil" (=Ondska) several more times next week as well... As enlightened as I feel reading all these incredibly smart theologians, philosophers and writers it'll be nice to finish off with Stephen Colberts "I am America and so can you", the first half of which has been hilarious.
	Something something something...DARK SIDE Something something something...COMPLETE

06-06-2009, 05:38 AM	#663 (permalink)
itsallgoodbabyGb beep street Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2003 Location: london Posts: 4,327	i've been listening to Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion on audiobook, an atheist's jihad manual. well, not quite, but it is very aggressive and dismissive in tone, which is a shame as that takes away a little from what is an otherwise very interesting and engaging, slowly paced and carefully put together deconstruction of the God hypothesis and the concept of religion. it branches out into areas of speculation on the existence of aliens and our understanding of life, knowledge of the cosmos etc. although unfortunately doesn't dwell there too long, and also goes into an extensive deconstruction of memes and genes and human patterns and behavioural analysis pertaining to an explanation of religion and its purpose and reasons for its widespread practice in the world throughout recorded history. i'm only halfway through and quite enjoying it, to be honest. a lot of the things they say - it's read by dawkins and some posh stuffy bird - are obvious and many of their points are blinded or blunted by their vociferous dedication to a scientific, atheist mindset but if you can listen to it/read it if you've got the book instead/with an open mind and accept it as simply another point of reference and a worthy side of the argument from the atheist perspective, then it's a good piece of literature, in my opinion anyway. it does borrow heavily from a variety of sources, i should add. i also tried listening to P.D. James' children of men a while back but only got halfway through that before giving up, largely because it's incredibly depressing and the narrator, our protagonist, is a bit of a twat, as far as i'm concerned. it is interestingly written too, though, and contains much examination of the concept of a fertility cancellation and the subsequent effects on society the world over, with plenty of divergance and examination of interesting sub-subjects.

07-01-2009, 06:10 AM	#664 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	I finally finished A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens on the train this morning. I started reading it a few months ago, found the first half good but nothing especially unmissable, so went off and read a couple of other books. Then I came back to it, thinking I'd got halfway through it so I might as well finish it... and then the French Revolution happened. After that it really took off for me. I didn't see the ending coming until it was happening, but it really finally landed the book on that sparsely populated shelf for truly great books. For those suitably intrigued, it's a story of injustice and revenge and redemption with the pre-requisite murders, lynchmobs, witchhunts and show trials, betrayals, spies, rescues and escapes, and plenty of guillotining. The two cities are Paris and London in the years just before and during the Revolution in France, and follows a French family living in London. It is headed by a man who was imprisoned for 20 years in the Bastille by the old French regime, and who has become something of a martyr and figurehead for the Revolutionary cause, regardless of having no involvement. His daughter marries another French expat, Charles Darnay, an ex-noble who disavowed his inheritance and set out into the world to make his own way. When a former servant of his family is arrested in France, he returns to Paris to plead for the man's life - but as a noble (an enemy of the Revolution!) he ends up being arrested and put on trial for his life himself. Cue the rest of the cast coming to HIS rescue. I can't recommend it enough. It's a quick read, too. Everyone knows the opening sentence ("It was the best of times; it was the worst of times") and the concluding sentence ("It is far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known") but they mean so much more when bookending the rest of the story.

07-02-2009, 02:03 AM	#667 (permalink)
BullpupDFWM I've had my shit PUSHED IN Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 9,794	Finished Serpico by Peter Maas On to Suttree by Cormac McCarthy

07-02-2009, 05:12 PM	#668 (permalink)
itsallgoodbabyGb beep street Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2003 Location: london Posts: 4,327	finished children of men. there are many good things about it that examine infertility, hope, dealing with old age, the animal side of the human condition etc. but the characters are badly flawed and some poor set piece action and hasty twists ruin it slightly. still good.

07-02-2009, 06:01 PM	#669 (permalink)
BullpupDFWM I've had my shit PUSHED IN Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 9,794	I really couldn't finish Children of Men, as hard as I tried.

07-03-2009, 12:43 AM	#670 (permalink)
itsallgoodbabyGb beep street Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2003 Location: london Posts: 4,327	not just me then (that found it difficult to at the least) it doesn't help that theo is not a great dude, at least not until the truth of the pregnancy is revealed to him by the 5 fishes (5 fishes? christ) i still found it rather good in plot at least until luke was revealed as the father after the omegas killed him.

07-03-2009, 01:43 AM	#671 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	Doesn't Children of Men (book) blame the infertility on gay marriage or something? Otherwise, surely the most unlikely book to have been written by an elderly Conservative baroness...

07-03-2009, 03:04 AM	#673 (permalink)
J A Eyers Better ban'd than bland Godlike Poster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Southend, England Posts: 24,315	I had no idea she wrote it until I was sitting in the movie and saw her name come up in the credits. I had to check it was the same one, given she's mostly known for writing the Dalgliesh mysteries. Very odd.

07-03-2009, 05:38 AM	#674 (permalink)
BullpupDFWM I've had my shit PUSHED IN Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 9,794	The book and the movie have very little in common. At least the parts I read. The most interesting difference I noticed, however, was that the movie blames infertility on the women, while in the book it's the men.

07-03-2009, 05:50 AM	#675 (permalink)
Injektilo bleep freak Godlike Poster Tournaments Won: 1 Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: northampton, UK Posts: 22,163	just finished fear & loathing in las vegas. just started das boot.

07-03-2009, 10:30 AM	#676 (permalink)
itsallgoodbabyGb beep street Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2003 Location: london Posts: 4,327	yes bullpup, zahn/zann - however it's spelled, i listened to the audio book of it - does say that the kid can be used to impregnate the omega women later, and it's the sperm that's blamed as infertile, although... they do have tests on the women too, so perhaps they became infertile too. inj, stoned, ripped, twised... good book.

11-10-2009, 04:31 AM	#677 (permalink)
BullpupDFWM I've had my shit PUSHED IN Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 9,794	Oh yeah, this thread. Almost finished World War Z. Loving it.

11-10-2009, 05:28 AM	#678 (permalink)
Socratis Registered User Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 2,154	starting to read history of madness by michel foucault

11-10-2009, 06:37 AM	#679 (permalink)
Dangerous_D I'll Kill You Veteran Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 855	started Reading Aliens Music of the Spears again, one I wish they would make a movie of

11-10-2009, 07:57 AM	#680 (permalink)
Greyhaven Rat packin Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Nashville, Tennessee Posts: 4,138	Just finished Wicked. Half way through Son of a Witch. Wicked was interesting - Wicked witch of the west gets a bum rap though...much less evil then I wanted her to be.

11-10-2009, 12:55 PM	#682 (permalink)
itsallgoodbabyGb beep street Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2003 Location: london Posts: 4,327	hey bullcunt that's also on my to-read list - and it's lovable you say? - along with pride and prejudice and zombies which has possibly the best blurb i've ever read i've been reading the gospel of the FSM - ARRRRRRGH - which makes a lot of sense and also any human heart by william boyd which a wonderful girl recommended to me and which i'm loving quite simply and finally i'm listening to the shock doctrine by naomi klein on audio and well one more - i've almost finished re-listening to choke by chuck palahniuk which is less remarkable the second time around but is still an excellent story and is quite distinctively read by chuck

11-12-2009, 04:22 AM	#684 (permalink)
Miss Lucifer Silencio Forum Officer Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Adelaide, Australia Posts: 6,186	Perfume: Story of a murdery by Patrick Suskind. Very good, excellent description.

11-12-2009, 02:43 PM	#686 (permalink)
Everlong Man up. Have a wank. Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England Posts: 5,616	Mystery Man by Colin Bateman, it's a funny interesting book. Top banana.

11-14-2009, 07:57 AM	#688 (permalink)
Dangerous_D I'll Kill You Veteran Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 855	Aliens Earth Hive, another greast book written by Steve Perry

11-15-2009, 03:02 PM	#689 (permalink)
Damien Stryker "IGNORE ME!!!" Forum Officer Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ottawa, ON Posts: 5,736	Finished Snow Crash. I loved the bits on Sumerian mythology and linguistics--which was to say, most of the novel. Some genuinely funny bits, too. I can't wait to write my essay on it.

12-09-2009, 07:32 PM	#690 (permalink)
Damien Stryker "IGNORE ME!!!" Forum Officer Hardcore Veteran Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ottawa, ON Posts: 5,736	Read Martha Ostenso's Wild Geese in one day, in preparation for my Canadian Lit. exam. It's a captivating book about an utter bastard of a praire farmer who effectively holds his own family hostage. Great character study, though one of the primary figures, a schoolteacher, seems utterly idealized in comparison to the humanly flawed family in question.