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What are we Reading? - Page 2

post #41 of 146
2/21/07 at 8:38pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by midwinter View Post

I said that because if, as you said, Bach and Rand are your "Bibles," you must certainly have a difficult time reconciling Rand's objectivism and effectively 18th-century brand of utterly compassionless laissez-faire capitalism applied to social institutions with Bach's neo-Christian new-agey-ness.

I find they fit together quite nicely, actually. Both talk about how you can accomplish anything you want to if you have the drive to do so.
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post #42 of 146
2/21/07 at 8:38pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by trumptman View Post

Some people need to try decaf, especially since the thread is titled what are we reading and not let me critique what you are reading and tell you why it and possibly you suck.

Nick

Ack.. Sorry.. \
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post #43 of 146
2/21/07 at 8:52pm
Good times all around.
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post #44 of 146
2/22/07 at 3:37pm
Thread Starter 
How about Orson Scott Card, anyone read his stuff? I am reading "Magic Street" right now, and in the past have liked "Speaker for the Dead."
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post #45 of 146
2/22/07 at 6:13pm
I like O.S.Card ... hmmm... never wrote it like that .... OS C ... possibly related to OS X ?
From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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post #46 of 146
2/22/07 at 7:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by turnwrite View Post

How about Orson Scott Card, anyone read his stuff? I am reading "Magic Street" right now, and in the past have liked "Speaker for the Dead."

Read a good bit back in the day. Did you read Xenocide? It came before Speaker. I liked em both in diffferent ways.
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post #47 of 146
2/22/07 at 7:38pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post

Read a good bit back in the day. Did you read Xenocide? It came before Speaker. I liked em both in diffferent ways.

I liked the whole trilogy, really. Think Speaker was first tho..
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post #48 of 146
2/22/07 at 7:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by turnwrite View Post

I liked the whole trilogy, really. Think Speaker was first tho..

D@MN. I hate to say fool things. I ment to reccomend Ender's Game. Thats the one I liked best. (Though Speaker was good.) I was less interested in Xenocide, but it is a cool name for a book, there is no way arround it.
Thanks for the quick correction!
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post #49 of 146
2/22/07 at 7:59pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post

I ment to reccomend Ender's Game. Thats the one I liked best. (Though Speaker was good.)

Yeah, Ender's Game was good too. Apparently there's a movie of it in production. I think it would lend itself rather well to a movie.
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post #50 of 146
2/22/07 at 8:02pm
Just Read:
iCon: Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business
and
iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing it

Now Reading:
The Audacity of Hope

And Politics still isn't my thing, but even though I can't vote in this next election quite yet, I'm 100% behind this guy.

Sebastian
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Þ & þ are called "Thorn" & þey represent þe sound you've associated "th" wiþ since þe 13þ or 14þ century. I'm bringing it back.
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post #51 of 146
2/22/07 at 9:30pm
Just finished:

1984

Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things

Reading:

The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists
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post #52 of 146
2/23/07 at 3:17am
Star Trek: Crucible: McCoy: Provenance of Shadows
Star Trek: Crucible: Spock: The Fire and the Rose
Star Trek: Mirror Universe: Glass Empires
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post #53 of 146
2/23/07 at 6:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slewis View Post

Just Read:
iCon: Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business
and
iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing it

I flipped through iWoz at Barnes & Noble the other day, it seemed mildly entertaining but I wouldn't buy it until it's out in paperback. As for the Steve Jobs book, I haven't read that one, but found "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs" to be an interesting and well-written biography of him.

Not sure about the Audacity of Hope, is it interesting? I don't really know very much about Obama and would be interested to learn more..
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post #54 of 146
2/23/07 at 6:13pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 100mph View Post

Just finished:

1984

Great book. You read Animal Farm?
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post #55 of 146
2/23/07 at 7:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by turnwrite View Post

Great book. You read Animal Farm?

No. I'll check it out. Thanks!
Did you see Notes on Nationalism?
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post #56 of 146
2/24/07 at 6:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin View Post

Apple Mac's Indesign.

It's about time


Now on page 6.

It's hard going!
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post #57 of 146
2/24/07 at 5:39pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin View Post

Now on page 6.

It's hard going!

Is that a book about the basics of InDesign? That's some good software..
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post #58 of 146
2/24/07 at 5:53pm
That's it - this is the Dke McClelland tome with the DVD-Rom.

The self-aggrandissement of his style really wind me up and slows me down as I get hot under the collar putting up with him. Just having his self-portrait on Figure 1 is enough to turn me off it. This is what he says:

Quote:
"Fortunately for us users, the tool [Indesign] with a future just so happens to be really great. No, I take that back. Not really great - outrageously, unbelievably, profanity-inspiringly great. That's why I want you to put this book down for a moment - if not now, well then, when you get amoment - and pat yourself on the back. You made a wise decision the day you decided to take on InDesign."

The fucking moron. What a waste of one whole paragraph! I'd pay an extra £1.00 to edit out such crap! If he could just get on with the tutorials.

Sorry - that was Page 3. I'm over it. Really I am. Page 7 now.

Yes - I like Indesign - it just looks attractive to use. I have Adobe Framemaker (Windows) and Desktop Publisher, but this is my first software for Apple. I'm using Aperture as well with Photoshop and it's so beautifully smooth flicking between screens and Indesign. Just really lovely - no, I take that back. It's really awe-inspiringly profanity wreckingly fantastic! ;P
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post #59 of 146
2/25/07 at 2:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by turnwrite View Post

I flipped through iWoz at Barnes & Noble the other day, it seemed mildly entertaining but I wouldn't buy it until it's out in paperback. As for the Steve Jobs book, I haven't read that one, but found "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs" to be an interesting and well-written biography of him.

Not sure about the Audacity of Hope, is it interesting? I don't really know very much about Obama and would be interested to learn more..

The iWoz book is very entertaining, it's like reading it right inside his mind.

THe Steve Jobs book is highly recommended, and the Second Coming of Steve Jobs was one of it's sources, but all of it's sources can be found at the book of the book if you're interested, and it's the best lesson in business I ever recieved.

The Audacity of Hope, well nothing about Politics excites me so I'm taking my time. But if you're still undecided on a canidate, or you just want a better look at Barack's view on America, then you'll find it worthwhile.

Sebastian
Þ & þ are called "Thorn" & þey represent þe sound you've associated "th" wiþ since þe 13þ or 14þ century. I'm bringing it back.
<(=_=)> (>=_=)> <(=_=<) ^(=_=^) (^=_=)^ ^(=_=)^ +(=_=)+
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post #60 of 146
2/26/07 at 3:48pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin View Post

That's it - this is the Dke McClelland tome with the DVD-Rom.

The self-aggrandissement of his style really wind me up and slows me down as I get hot under the collar putting up with him. Just having his self-portrait on Figure 1 is enough to turn me off it. This is what he says:


The fucking moron. What a waste of one whole paragraph! I'd pay an extra £1.00 to edit out such crap! If he could just get on with the tutorials.

Sorry - that was Page 3. I'm over it. Really I am. Page 7 now.

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post #61 of 146
2/26/07 at 3:55pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Slewis View Post

The Audacity of Hope, well nothing about Politics excites me so I'm taking my time. But if you're still undecided on a canidate, or you just want a better look at Barack's view on America, then you'll find it worthwhile.

It looks like the sort of book that uses a lot of words to say nothing. But I shall probably read in anyway, just to get a clearer picture of what Obama is like. I know very little about him.
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post #62 of 146
2/26/07 at 5:52pm
I'm re-reading The Street Lawyer, and I've just finished We Need To Talk About Kevin (a masterpiece, if you ask me)
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post #63 of 146
2/26/07 at 6:53pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by agent_orange View Post

I'm re-reading The Street Lawyer, and I've just finished We Need To Talk About Kevin (a masterpiece, if you ask me)

John Grisham is good.. What's the other one about?
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post #64 of 146
2/27/07 at 1:34pm
I just finished reading Rumpole and the Primrose Path, a book of stories (fiction) about the London Old Bailey lawyer, Rumpole, written by an Old Bailey lawyer, John Mortimer. These, and many other volumes of his stories, were the basis for the BBC series, now out on DVD. No one else ever seems to like these Rumpole tv/DVD episodes as much as I do. I'm not sure 'why' I like them, but I do.

I liked this book okay, but think I enjoy the DVD portrayals better. They come to life more enjoyably than Mortimer's words on the printed page.

Right now, I'm reading a "further adventure of Sherlock Holmes" called The Italian Secretary, which involves historical underpinnings back to the murder of the Italian aide of Mary, Queen of Scots.

I normally wouldn't even 'pick up' a Holmes story 'not' written by A.C. Doyle, but this one isn't proving to be too bad. I'm only on page 104 though, so I'll have to see what develops. The author, Caleb Carr, is apparently an actual historian. I happened, by chance, to see him being interviewed on a history channel program just yesterday.
Much have I seen and known...yet all experience is an arch, wherethrough gleams that untravelled world whose margin fades forever and forever when I move. - Tennyson
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Much have I seen and known...yet all experience is an arch, wherethrough gleams that untravelled world whose margin fades forever and forever when I move. - Tennyson
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post #65 of 146
3/3/07 at 12:11pm
Thread Starter 
Maimezvous- just finished that book you were talking about, The Prestige. I liked it a lot, but didn't like the supernatural piece with that teleport machine. It didn't seem to fit, somehow.
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post #66 of 146
3/3/07 at 5:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by turnwrite View Post

John Grisham is good.. What's the other one about?

It's a collection of letters a woman has written to her estranged husband a few years after their then 15-year-old son has committed a high school massacre. She examines the most intimate aspects of her life, her marriage and writes in a horrifyingly honest way about how she hated motherhood etc.

In places, it's amusing (given the protagonists' rather caustic and sarcastic remarks and observations) and at other times I was reduced to tears. It also has a totally shocking, devastating twist at the end.

Give it a try.
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post #67 of 146
3/3/07 at 8:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by turnwrite View Post

Maimezvous- just finished that book you were talking about, The Prestige. I liked it a lot, but didn't like the supernatural piece with that teleport machine. It didn't seem to fit, somehow.

That's one reason I kind of like the movie better. The ending to the movie fit better it seemed. Although, I liked both versions. I wonder what the author thinks of the movie.
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post #68 of 146
3/4/07 at 11:52am
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Originally Posted by agent_orange View Post

It's a collection of letters a woman has written to her estranged husband a few years after their then 15-year-old son has committed a high school massacre. She examines the most intimate aspects of her life, her marriage and writes in a horrifyingly honest way about how she hated motherhood etc.

In places, it's amusing (given the protagonists' rather caustic and sarcastic remarks and observations) and at other times I was reduced to tears. It also has a totally shocking, devastating twist at the end.

Give it a try.

Wow, that sounds great. Will look for it next time I visit a bookstore.
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post #69 of 146
3/4/07 at 11:54am
Thread Starter 
Ugh, I just finished "A Child Called It" by David Pelzer. It was a rather brutal description of the abuse he went through as a child. Anyone read it?
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post #70 of 146
3/4/07 at 1:02pm
I'm finishing Neil Stephenson's "Baroque Cycle" and what a journey it was. I'm taking a break from these epic novels and coming back to earth for a while...

Mickey Spillane's "Something's Down There". I have never read any of his work. But a friend recommended this one. I'll let you know as I read it whether it was worth it.
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post #71 of 146
3/4/07 at 1:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by turnwrite View Post

Ugh, I just finished "A Child Called It" by David Pelzer. It was a rather brutal description of the abuse he went through as a child. Anyone read it?

I've been advised for years to read this but I've always avoided because of the horror I imagine it portrays.
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post #72 of 146
3/5/07 at 6:53pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by agent_orange View Post

I've been advised for years to read this but I've always avoided because of the horror I imagine it portrays.

She puts the kid on the stove. It was awful.

The book basically consisted of graphic descriptions of all the crap he has had to endure. It had no character development, which was what I wanted out of it. I wanted to understand why the mom acts the way she does. Why the father just sits by and watches idly, doing nothing to help. But I got none of that out of this book. It was just gross violence.
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post #73 of 146
3/6/07 at 6:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by turnwrite View Post

She puts the kid on the stove. It was awful.

The book basically consisted of graphic descriptions of all the crap he has had to endure. It had no character development, which was what I wanted out of it. I wanted to understand why the mom acts the way she does. Why the father just sits by and watches idly, doing nothing to help. But I got none of that out of this book. It was just gross violence.

Interesting. I've just started a (temporary *groan*) job at a foster care agency and had a chat today with my new collegue Roberta about child abuse and understand MOTIVE more than anything else. Although she's been doing this kind of work for more years than I've been alive, she's no closer to understanding it now than she was in 1980. However, doctors and psychologists think there are many different causes - from conditioning/learned behaviour through to the genetic. It's useful, i think, to remember that catch-all "explanations" are illogical and sometimes even dangerous.

I'm now re-reading The Street Lawyer.
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post #74 of 146
3/6/07 at 7:20pm
Bleh, I just finished a book that could have been good had it not been targeted towards pre-teens/teens. It's called Uglies and it's my Scott Westerfield. It had a great set up for a good story but I think the writing was just too simple. The plot revolves around a future civilization not much unlike Orwell's 1984. The difference when someone turns sixteen they have an operation to make them "pretty". If you are younger than sixteen you are an "ugly" aka normal. This civilization is run by elite people that have been augmented through operations. The point of this operation is to make everyone equal. Really, I'm sure I would have liked this book much more if Orwell had written it. I was severely disappointed in the end when I discovered this is a multipart series. I just wanted it to be over. Now, to find out how it all ends I will have to keep reading.
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post #75 of 146
3/6/07 at 7:24pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maimezvous View Post

Bleh, I just finished a book that could have been good had it not been targeted towards pre-teens/teens. It's called Uglies and it's my Scott Westerfield. It had a great set up for a good story but I think the writing was just too simple. The plot revolves around a future civilization not much unlike Orwell's 1984. The difference when someone turns sixteen they have an operation to make them "pretty". If you are younger than sixteen you are an "ugly" aka normal. This civilization is run by elite people that have been augmented through operations. The point of this operation is to make everyone equal. Really, I'm sure I would have liked this book much more if Orwell had written it. I was severely disappointed in the end when I discovered this is a multipart series. I just wanted it to be over. Now, to find out how it all ends I will have to keep reading.

Yeah, I read that entire trilogy and was duly unimpressed with each book in turn.

The concept was okay, but it fell prey to the same curse which afflicts most of teen literature, in that it was just too simplistic and predictable.
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post #76 of 146
3/6/07 at 7:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by turnwrite View Post

Yeah, I read that entire trilogy and was duly unimpressed with each book in turn.

The concept was okay, but it fell prey to the same curse which afflicts most of teen literature, in that it was just too simplistic and predictable.

I think the concept is more than ok. Really it's just like 1984 but more extreme. It takes the control to a whole new level. The author could have expanded this so much more, and if he had just been more intelligent in his style then it would have been much better. I didn't really mind the plot too much. Although at times it was so cliched I didn't have to read it to know what it was saying. It's just the idea, he didn't elaborate or really even explain it too well. I guess there is a chance that he will in the other books, but I'm very wary about it.
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post #77 of 146
3/6/07 at 7:33pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maimezvous View Post

I think the concept is more than ok. Really it's just like 1984 but more extreme. It takes the control to a whole new level.

Hm, that's an interesting thought, I hadn't considered that.

I dunno though. The scene in 1984 in Room 101 where they are "teaching" him that two plus two equals five, that scene frightened me. The Uglies trilogy didn't have anything that made me think really hard, or scared me like 1984 did.

Though perhaps the Uglies books might have had that if they had been written better..
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post #78 of 146
3/6/07 at 7:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by turnwrite View Post

Hm, that's an interesting thought, I hadn't considered that.

I dunno though. The scene in 1984 in Room 101 where they are "teaching" him that two plus two equals five, that scene frightened me. The Uglies trilogy didn't have anything that made me think really hard, or scared me like 1984 did.

Though perhaps the Uglies books might have had that if they had been written better..

They totally could have. Especially with the surgery. There was one description that had potential. Something about peeling off all your skin and then grinding away at the bones until the were fit for a pretty, and then there was the addition of the plastic. Really, think about that, having surgery done on your whole body, simultaneously, to change you so completely that you would barely recognize yourself. Gives me shivers.
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post #79 of 146
3/6/07 at 7:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by maimezvous View Post

Bleh, I just finished a book that could have been good had it not been targeted towards pre-teens/teens. It's called Uglies and it's my Scott Westerfield. It had a great set up for a good story but I think the writing was just too simple. <snip>
Now, to find out how it all ends I will have to keep reading.

Quote:
Originally Posted by turnwrite View Post

Yeah, I read that entire trilogy and was duly unimpressed with each book in turn.

The concept was okay, but it fell prey to the same curse which afflicts most of teen literature, in that it was just too simplistic and predictable.

I'm not sure I understand this criticism unless you two are teens. These books are marketed as teen books and marketed to teens. How can you criticize them for being too teen-y?

I understand it is possible to write great teen literature, but this stuff makes no pretense of going for that. Besides, some teens need "simple" books to get them interested in reading... And it sells!
Anyway, I haven't read them yet, though I plan to. I also expect to be underwhelmed. Don't expect to complain, though, unless they burn my eyes.
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post #80 of 146
3/6/07 at 7:57pm
Yes I am a teenager, but I certainly don't read at the teen level. Or at least the level these books were written for. When you read them you will see. I'm sure I would have really enjoyed them when I was 12 or 13, but I know there is so much better literature out there.
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