Now Reading

[Guest Ron Manager]

 

Economic History is mostly about as exciting as watching paint dry.

Hmm, sometimes maybe, other times I find it quite interesting and compelling. Looking at economic explanations for the end of the Roman empire (in the West), for instance, can be fruitful, and certainly provides a useful counterfoil to some of the more traditional arguments (e.g. blaming it on Christianity or barbarians).

 

Personally, I find a lot of European Economic Histories, especially those written by Europeans, to be tedious, racist, and startlingly ignorant of a lot of world history. Also the desire for neo-classical economists to apply market principles to everything is slightly maddening. Because a lot of the times, it was not a goddamned market that drove economics! Also Niall Ferguson should stick to reporting about straight history and leave economic analysis alone, and he really needs to get over the loss of the British Empire, lol.

 

Points absolutely taken about using economics and markets as catch-all explanations - that's ridiculous. I agree there is a lot of anachronism among many prominent economic historians. And Ferguson is a wanker.

 

 

Anyway, now reading Kafka on the Shore by Murakami. He's tended to be a safe pair of hands for me, and this one sounds interesting.

Im also reading (unfortunately, a computer screen pdf of) this book right now. As with other Murakami i've read, there are many more 'i have things i need to do but want to keep reading another chapter' moments than other books. Quite engrossing

 

On the whole I found Kafka quite enjoyable, but pretty mind-boggling. I think I'd like to read it again at some point, but I really liked it and raced through it. Not as good as Wind-Up Bird for me, but a very interesting book nevertheless.

 

A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich, because Byzantium was fucking great.

 

An excellent choice.

 

 

I recently finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy, as it seemed one of those books 'you should have read'. First of his I've tried, and I thought it was very good. Any other works of his in particular anyone can recommend? Now reading Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, which I read about a decade ago in school. It's even better than I remember... a true classic.

[Bob Dylan]

I recently finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy, as it seemed one of those books 'you should have read'. First of his I've tried, and I thought it was very good. Any other works of his in particular anyone can recommend? Now reading Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, which I read about a decade ago in school. It's even better than I remember... a true classic.

 

Blood Meridian. It's a transcendental western of apocalyptic nature.

[dumplings]

Alan Watts: The Book

 

Just figuring out life.

[Guest Iain C]

A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich, because Byzantium was fucking great.

 

An excellent choice.

 

Yeah, I heard it was the best single-volume overview of the empire's history but it moves so fast and seems to gloss over some interesting details - which, to be fair, Mr Norwich mentions in the introduction. I probably should have got the trilogy!

 

 

I recently finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy, as it seemed one of those books 'you should have read'. First of his I've tried, and I thought it was very good. Any other works of his in particular anyone can recommend? Now reading Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, which I read about a decade ago in school. It's even better than I remember... a true classic.

 

 

Cormac McCarthy is great. I've read most of his novels and for my money the best is probably Suttree, especially if you like Faulkner. It's got more of that southern gothic family drama type stuff, some unforgettable characters, and it's also his funniest book.

[Guest Ron Manager]

A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich, because Byzantium was fucking great.

 

An excellent choice.

 

Yeah, I heard it was the best single-volume overview of the empire's history but it moves so fast and seems to gloss over some interesting details - which, to be fair, Mr Norwich mentions in the introduction. I probably should have got the trilogy!

 

 

I recently finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy, as it seemed one of those books 'you should have read'. First of his I've tried, and I thought it was very good. Any other works of his in particular anyone can recommend? Now reading Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, which I read about a decade ago in school. It's even better than I remember... a true classic.

 

 

Cormac McCarthy is great. I've read most of his novels and for my money the best is probably Suttree, especially if you like Faulkner. It's got more of that southern gothic family drama type stuff, some unforgettable characters, and it's also his funniest book.

 

 

Aye, the Empire's extraordinary lifespan makes it hard to do justice in a single volume, but he does such a good job with it. I too have only read the abridgment. Still better than Judith Herren's Byzantium, which is also widely available, although she is nevertheless a very good historian.

 

Regrettably, I've never actually read anything else by Faulkner. I was going to pick up The Sound and the Fury but decided to revisit As I lay Dying first. So I plan on reading more of him, and I'll definitely check out Suttree. McCarthy seems well worth my time... Blood Meridian comes highly recommended by most, so I'll certainly put that on the list too.

[luke viia]

[Nebraska]

 

technically i'm looking @ this book as there is very little to read (the forward and a few essays). it's a pretty hip picture book recalling the late 70s to early 80s period

[Guest happycase]

 

The hardest lols I've had since this afternoon's vegetarian burger disaster (see burger thread)

[hello spiral]

Finished Ulysses over Christmas, which I'd started a month before.

Bewildering in a good way. Really enjoyed the surreal/dada brothel part that was written like a play.

 

Thought it would be more impenetrable but found out when researching afterwards that Finnegan's Wake is the hard one.

 

Will probably want to reread it in about six months, which is how I felt after finishing Gravity's Rainbow (still haven't reread that though). One of those books that's just as fun to read about as it is to read.

 

Since finishing that I've read the Wire published writings on Scott Walker book and The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (both xmas pressies)

 

Now reading 'Everything That Rises Must Converge' by Flannery O'Connor. Very enjoyable so far.

[Guest happycase]

Congratulations dude. Those are impossible works.

[zkom]

I was thinking of reading Dubliners while visiting Ireland soon, but couldn't find a copy in local bookshops back here. Well, I'm guessing it's not hard to find once I get to Dublin.

[hello spiral]

Yeah, I still need to read Dubliners and Portrait of an artist.

 

Seemed to have developed this habit of deciding to read the most formidable of an author's oeuvre first.

 

Same with Gravity's Rainbow. The name kept coming up over the years and I liked the sound of it (the name I mean) so I decided to buy it because I'd almost finished the book I was reading at work and needed something for the commute home.

 

Realised once I'd started that it's not a book you decide to read casually.

 

Still haven't read any more Pynchon but I found Vineland in a charity shop last week so may start on that when I finish the O'Connor.

Edited January 9, 2013 by hello spiral

[zkom]

But beside those I'm also reading this fucker:

 

Hah, finally got to finish this beast yesterday after 7+ months. Wanted to check here how long I had been reading it.

[luke viia]

Worth going all the way through? I've had my eye on that book for a while, but I'm not sure if it's too early in my life to understand a significant chunk of it =P

[jeremymacgregor87]

http://jingreed.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c73fe53ef0147e29bc417970b-800wi

[jeremymacgregor87]

[zkom]

Worth going all the way through? I've had my eye on that book for a while, but I'm not sure if it's too early in my life to understand a significant chunk of it =P

 

It's no way an easy read. Only the subjects on which I already had some understanding about seemed like I could learn anything new, like the algebra parts, Newtonian mechanics, thermodynamics and special relativity, but when it got deep into quantum physics I was hopelessly lost. Then it felt like I was just reading complete gibberish because I didn't have the time and the energy to completely internalize every new concept. When I got over that and into cosmology it felt a little bit easier again.

 

The learning curve is very steep.

[luke viia]

haha, pretty much what I figured but was hoping to hear different. congratulations on making it through that beast! I'll get to a Penrose book someday...

[hello spiral]

Have just started on this (mainly because I like the cover)

 

[geosmina]

But beside those I'm also reading this fucker:

 

Hah, finally got to finish this beast yesterday after 7+ months. Wanted to check here how long I had been reading it.

what is this about? physics?

[zkom]

But beside those I'm also reading this fucker:

 

Hah, finally got to finish this beast yesterday after 7+ months. Wanted to check here how long I had been reading it.

what is this about? physics?

 

It's a guide to the laws of nature and the related mathematics as currently understood by physicists. It basically teaches everything from the very basics up, so in theory you don't need any previous knowledge on the subjects included but the learning curve is absurdly steep.

 

I'm reading this now:

 

Which is kind of nostalgic because I used to read all kinds of hacker books (The Cuckoo's Egg and Cyberpunks come to mind) back when I was a teenager.

[jeremymacgregor87]

[Guest zaphod]

[zkom]

Don DeLillo's Libra.

[Hugh Mughnus]