What are you reading?

[Conner Macleod]

Originally posted by thenewscientist:

Holy Crap! Conner, I just finished 57 minutes ago, American Gods, I found it a fantastic beautiful and brutal book, as I don't have much experience of AMerica perhaps I missed some nuances, but I know a lot of the classic history of gods so hopefully I did not miss a trick there.

I finished it awhile ago and I must say I echo your thoughts. It really goes through a range of emotions and keeps pulling the reader in for more. The ending was surprisingly good. One thing that still puzzles me about the book is who was the god that Wednesday and Shadow talked to in Las Vegas, the dark, mysterious man who Shadow could never remember anything about? Intriguing to say the least.

Right now I'm reading 'A Book of Five Rings' by Miyamoto Musashi. Fascinating autobiography by one of the greatest philosophers and samurais of Japan.

[SePhO_zO]

Originally posted by Conner Macleod
Right now I'm reading 'A Book of Five Rings' by Miyamoto Musashi. Fascinating autobiography by one of the greatest philosophers and samurais of Japan.

Not to mention perhaps the most skilled swordsman in recent history (or all time if I could be so bold), or atleast the most skilled in the way of the Japanese sword. I believe he's the only swordsmen to develop a truly effective two-sword fighting style. I've thought of reading it for some time, but I would hear what others think of it before I invest the time. Since yours is an opinion I respect, I would gladly like to know your thoughts on it so far, if it's not to much to ask.

Gamer tidbit: The main character and nemesis in the Squaresoft game, Brave Fencer Musashi, "Musashi" and "Kojiri" are inspired by Miyamoto Musashi and Sasake Kojiro, with whom Musashi had perhaps his most famous duel.

[BullpupDFWM]

I have commenced reading the autobiography of the Dalai Lama, and Im already impressed by the way he tells his story. Its hard to describe, but it almost feels as though your sitting next to him having a chat over tea or something, or sharing a pint at the pub.... and you've asked him how he grew up, and he just says: "Well...." and your immediately wrapt...

[J A Eyers]

If I was in a pub and I saw the Dalai Lama, the first question I'd ask him is WTF is he doing in a pub? And the second question would probably be a slurred gag about llamas that would fall completely flat.

[Conner Macleod]

Originally posted by Sepho_Zo:
Not to mention perhaps the most skilled swordsman in recent history (or all time if I could be so bold), or atleast the most skilled in the way of the Japanese sword. I believe he's the only swordsmen to develop a truly effective two-sword fighting style. I've thought of reading it for some time, but I would hear what others think of it before I invest the time. Since yours is an opinion I respect, I would gladly like to know your thoughts on it so far, if it's not to much to ask.

Not a problem, Sepho The book deals quite a bit with Confucianism, Shintoism, Buddhism, very deep, thought provoking ideas. It's the type of book that one has to read countless times in order to get its full meaning. Much like the tradition of ancient Chinese proverbs, what Musashi says must be digested and contemplated for a life time. The answers and meanings of what Musashi says isn't obvious at first, even though it may appear as such. Perhaps the most intriguing underlying message of the book is that the concepts Musashi speaks of can be applied to any avenue in life, such as business, art, music, etc., it doesn't necessarily apply to warfare. These are universal concepts that Musashi deals with, and once fully learned, will allow a person to achieve balance in one's life. I might be able to add a little more once I finish it, but that's more or less the gist of it. I'll say this, there is far more to it than meets the eye, of course that's an inherent part of Asian philosophy and religion.

[BullpupDFWM]

Originally posted by J A Eyers
If I was in a pub and I saw the Dalai Lama, the first question I'd ask him is WTF is he doing in a pub? And the second question would probably be a slurred gag about llamas that would fall completely flat.

Yeah, Id be much the same.
But thats like the kind of relaxed atmosphere (for want of a better description) that this book gives off.
Its not like he's talking at you, or lecturing or anything, its like your a couple of buddies having a chat.

[BorderCollie-san]

Forgot about this until I started reading another book by the same author as the one I was reading when I started the thread.

This one is a short story collection.

The Distracted Preacher and Other Tales by Thomas Hardy.

Thomas Hardy?s short stories reveal a literary persona, a creative intelligence and an imaginative vision uniquely and unmistakably his own. Those contained within this volume are among his finest and most representative and include The Withered Arm, one of his best known and most gripping; Barbara of the House of Grebe, said by T.S. Eliot to portray ?a world of pure evil?; The Son?s Veto, regarded by Hardy as his best story; and, of course, The Distracted Preacher, possibly the most flawless of all. Like the novels, the short stories reveal Hardy?s preoccupation with affairs of the heart, with love requited and frustrated, fulfilled or doomed. They contain many of his most powerful portraits of women; they are streaked with the grotesque, the macabre and bizarre; and they are permeated by the atmosphere, narrative power, and vivid sense of place and its intimate relation to character which are the essentials of Hardy?s genius.

This stuff is all I read now. I?ve been going to a used book store near my university campus and taking away small boxes of second-hand Penguin classics. I can?t believe I wasted so much time as a kid reading Tom Clancy.

[Skibadee]

Anthony Burgess's 'A Clockwork Orange'. The movie is good, but the book is better, since the movie changed quite a few things. But they're both awesome nonetheless.

Get it next time you're in a bookshop. It will probably have a glass of milk on the front of it, or a kid with a top hat and a knife or cane.

[Innominata]

I just started "Invisible Monsters" (another Palahniuk book, I'm starting to become a huge fan of his). It's this very dark satire on vanity. A supermodel who has a boyfriend, a career, and a best friend loses everything after a car accident disfigures her (her entire jawbone is broken away and destroyed). It's like something out of Se7en...very funny though.

[Everlong]

I'm reading Bolivian Diary at the moment, the diary of Che Guevara while he was fighting the Bolivian government, also Vintage War Stories (edited) by Sebastian Faulks and Jorg somebody and I found Mr Nice recently, I mislaid it a while ago. I'm getting through them, just slowly.

[Harryz]

Currently reading Stephen King's The Shawshank Redemption (Different Seasons). I'm only 60 pages in, since I purchased the book today - its pretty good. I just wish I didn't see the movie before I read the book.

[J A Eyers]

The film is a very literal adaptation.

Whilst you've got your hands on that book, don't miss the chance to read The Body, another novella in the collection, and the best thing Stephen King ever wrote. The film Stand By Me was based upon it.

I'm also currently reading Stephen King, and am about 30 pages from the end of "It". I remember the TV mini-series ending quite dodgily, but this book has just jumped the shark, as they say. King was definitely in his cocaine stage when he wrote the ending. Not only have we had a giant turtle pop up and promptly die, but now it's revealed the kids defeat It the first time - by having group sex! Laughable. At least the mini-series was scary, even if the dodgy giant spider finale was pants.

[Harryz]

Originally posted by J A Eyers
The film is a very literal adaptation.

Yeah, there are very minor differences between the book and the film. The majority of the events that have happened in the movie have already happened, which is suprising (which I also expected to happen later on).

Originally posted by J A Eyers

Whilst you've got your hands on that book, don't miss the chance to read The Body, another novella in the collection, and the best thing Stephen King ever wrote. The film Stand By Me was based upon it.

Thank you J A Eyers! I was looking for the movie Stand By Me in my local video shop, but couldn't find it. I didn't even know it was based on a Stephen King book, its definently my next purchase.

[J A Eyers]

Yeah, SBM is a great movie, King's own favourite adaptation. He says it's the only one where someone else has adapted his work and actually improved on it. Again, it's a very literal adaptation, and most of the dialogue is lifted straight from the book. There's just a very subtle difference in the ending, which changes the dynamics of the story. Well worth reading after Shawshank.

[Cthulhu0Dreaming]

I'm currently reading "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian" by Robert E. Howard. Good stuff so far, this guy was a cohort of Lovecraft and they were published in the same magazine way back when. It's a collection of all of Howard's stories based on Conan the Cimmerian (Barbarian). I really need to read more...

I'm also currently writing a screenplay for a movie I'm going to hopefully film in August. I also wrote a Predator fan film screenplay me and my buddies will hopefully film in December, if the suit gets done in time.

[Mishra]

I'm still reading the bible. If I have to give a brief synopsis of the blot, you really should get out more.

[J A Eyers]

I have just started reading Naked Lunch by William Burroughs. A really, really crazy mindfuck of a novel, about the world seen through the haze of heroin addiction. I can only take it in 20-page doses. Way stranger than Requiem For A Dream, but also quite funny, in a very, very black way.

[Instinct]

Originally posted by Conner Macleod
Right now I'm reading 'A Book of Five Rings' by Miyamoto Musashi. Fascinating autobiography by one of the greatest philosophers and samurais of Japan.

I recently finished Eiji Yoshikawa's Mushashi, excellent story I highly recommend it. I must say I've never heard of this "A book of Five Rings", so it's a real autobiography of Musashi and not one of his decsiples writings?

[SM]

Currently on Hornblower and the Atropos and Cosmos by Carl Sagan.

[J A Eyers]

Nearly done with Burroughs' Naked Lunch now. If you can get your head round the weirdness, I fully recommend it for some rather unique laughs. And I quote:

BENWAY: Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? This man worked for a carnival, and to start with it was like a novelty ventriloquist act. Real funny, too, at first. After a while the ass started talking on its own. Then it developed sort of teeth-like little raspy incurving hooks and started eating. He thought it was cute at first and built an act around it, but the asshole would eat its way through his pants and start talking on the street, shouting out it wanted equal rights. Finally it talked all the time day and night, you could hear him for blocks screaming at it to shut up, and beating it with his fist, and sticking candles up it, but nothing did any good and the asshole said to him: "It's you who will shut up in the end. Not me. Because we don't need you around here any more. I can talk and eat and shit."

[theVampyrlestat]

Rigth now I am in the middle of Anne Rice's "The Vampire Chronicles". I'm reading "Queen of The Damned" right now. Awesome books. I loved "The Vampire Lestat" and now lestat is one of my favorite characters ever.

[( . Y . )]

im reading a garfield comic book

[Conner Macleod]

Originally posted by Instinct:
I recently finished Eiji Yoshikawa's Mushashi, excellent story I highly recommend it. I must say I've never heard of this "A book of Five Rings", so it's a real autobiography of Musashi and not one of his decsiples writings?

Yes, Musashi wrote this autobiography in 1645 while living in a cave called Reigendo, 2 weeks before his death. The book, original title Go Rin No Sho, was addressed to his pupil Teruo Nobuyuki, so his teachings could be passed on to future generations. The book is now the head of all Kendo bibliographies, considered as the true way of the sword and strategy. It won't be understood by one reading, it must be meditated upon, digested over a life time.

My favorite part of the book was the final book, The Book of the Void. Even though the final part of the book is only one page, it is infinite in its wisdom. To quote a few excerpts:

"What is called the spirit of the void is where there is nothing. It is not included in man's knowledge. Of course the void is nothingness. By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist. That is the void."

....When your spirit is not in least clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment clear away, there is the true void."

....Then you will come to think of things in a wide sense and, taking the void as the Way, you will see the Way as void.
In the void is virtue, and no evil. Wisdom has existence, principle has existence, the way has existence, spirit is nothingness."

The other books are book of fire, book of water, book of wind and book of ground, all of which make up The Way.

On an unrelated note, getting back on the topic of this thread, I'm currently reading 'Timeline' by Michael Crichton, which I've almost completed. I put it down a long time ago when I was close to being done with it but now I've resumed where I left off. Fascinating book losely based on real world technology.

[AlienSlayer666]

last line of books i read was Animorphs. It was about an alien race which crawls in your ear and takes over your brain and these other creatures they captured and were raging a secret war on earth. It was pretty good but then one day i just stopped reading

[J A Eyers]

I'm currently reading The Basketball Diaries by the poet/musician/junkie Jim Carroll. It is about his formative years in New York, and whilst it's funny, I think it's unsubtly obvious that it is the diary of kid, re-edited by an adult.

[Conner Macleod]

Originally posted by J A Eyers:
I'm currently reading The Basketball Diaries by the poet/musician/junkie Jim Carroll. It is about his formative years in New York, and whilst it's funny, I think it's unsubtly obvious that it is the diary of kid, re-edited by an adult.

Not sure if you know this or not, but that was made into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and some suspect it was part of the inspiration for the Columbine shooters. There's a dream sequence in which DiCaprio's character goes on a shooting spree at his high school.

[J A Eyers]

Yeah, I saw the movie years ago (possibly pre-Columbine), but I don't remember much about it, apart from DiCaprio getting sucked off in a public bathroom, and jumping into some river. I also remember a scene with the real Jim Carroll. I don't, however, remember this shooting spree, so it's possible they showed a re-edited version of the movie. Well, it was network television.

[Palyer]

"Tried & True Object Development: Industry-Proven Approaches with UML" and "Introducing Software Testing" :/

I am soon starting working on my graduation project and thought these might give some perspective in designing it.

[SM]

Just finished CS Forresters fifth Hornblower book, The Happy Return. Easily the best in the series so far. Great sexual tension between Hornblower and Lady Barbara Wellesly, and a sea battle more gripping and blood drenched than anything from Master and Commander.

Now onto book six - A Ship of the Line. Pretty good so far.

[SAM i AM]

I just finished a satirical memoir on David Sedaris; a pro-nudist homosexual who enjoys hitchhiking with handicapped girls.. It was called ' Naked'.. and it was HILARIOUS. I'm now reading his other book " Me Talk Pretty One Day" and it's equally as amusing.

For English, I'm reading Benito Cereno.. that is terrible. Blerg.