Books motherfuckers, do you read them?

[A. Crow]

I read that in the 3rd grade.

I just finished Making Money this morning.  I was actually kinda disappointed, don't get me wrong, it was good, just i was expecting something different.  Next up, Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky, and Wintersmith.

[Surf314]

I read that in the 3rd grade.

I just finished Making Money this morning.  I was actually kinda disappointed, don't get me wrong, it was good, just i was expecting something different.  Next up, Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky, and Wintersmith.

The Tiffany Aching stories are great.  But the absolute best stories are the night watch stories, followed by the death stories.

[Surf314]

I just got Prelude to Foundation to check out Asimov and Rendevous with Rama to check out Clarke.  Also I got Neal Stephenson's new book because the premise sounded awesome.  It's about like if instead of a large catholic church running everything in the past what if it was a big science...church thing.  Instead of taking a vow of poverty and worshiping I think they take a vow of poverty and do math and physics.

[Surf314]

I am really enjoying Anathem but I'm still trying to get a handle on the world presented in it.  From what I can tell it's sort of like a church but for pure thought.  They don't allow any technology and debate and discuss ideas with only pen and paper or public discussion.  Outside the walls the people are pretty much idiots.  I think they eat genetically modified food to keep them happy.  Also most cannot read, it's sort of like the type of place in Diamond Age it seems with modern Heiroglyphs, like logos but with more meaning.  It's really interesting.

The intellectual world centers on this compound where they have a series of doors that open at different intervals: every year, decade, century and millennium.  The way it works is that it is the degree of interaction with the outside world.  When the doors open they freely exchange information with the outside world, also promising intellectuals will move up to the next longest interval area.  Of course they believe that the outside world has nothing to offer but promising young minds and that in exchange they have to share some of the knowledge they have learned.  The less interaction with the outside world the better, which is why the brilliant minds move up in the intervals.

[Surf314]

Anathem has eaten me, I spent from the time I got home (5:30) to the time I went to sleep (12:00) reading except for an hour for The Daily Show and Colbert Report off DVR while making and eating dinner (it's all about efficiency).

[Eschatos]

Anathem has eaten me, I spent from the time I got home (5:30) to the time I went to sleep (12:00) reading except for an hour for The Daily Show and Colbert Report off DVR while making and eating dinner (it's all about efficiency).

No more vidja games?

[Surf314]

[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=1145.msg42480#msg42480 date=1222968258]
Anathem has eaten me, I spent from the time I got home (5:30) to the time I went to sleep (12:00) reading except for an hour for The Daily Show and Colbert Report off DVR while making and eating dinner (it's all about efficiency).

No more vidja games?
[/quote]

I haven't even made it halfway through its a monster.  And the debate ate up all my reading time.  I have a very obsessive personality when it comes to books.  Ask my wife, I read while making dinner, I bring it to the toilet, if I can get away with it I'll read while eating.  Once I was so impatient I read at stoplights, but so you don't freak out I was in a very low populated area.

[Luinbariel]

Reading on the can isn't so uncommon.

I also read in the tub, no distractions.

[Squishy3]

Reading on the can isn't so uncommon.

I read in the tub, no distractions.

[ScottyGrayskull]

Reading on the can isn't so uncommon.

Damn right. I read half of the LotR trilogy while dropping a deuce.

[Greatbacon]

Bump for Literacy.

I just finished A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.  I've got to say it's the best book I've read in any of my school's English classes and is now probably in my top 3 favorite books overall. 

[ScottyGrayskull]

I'm reading the book by the guy who started the Goodlife Fitness clubs (if you go in for a consultation about a membership they give it to you). Really more of a self motivation book than anything else, it does have some nice stories of personal experiences.

[Surf314]

Bump for Literacy.

I just finished A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.  I've got to say it's the best book I've read in any of my school's English classes and is now probably in my top 3 favorite books overall. 

I liked this book, my wife made me read it.  Also I finished Anathem and I would recommend it to everyone.  And I read Rendezvous with Rama in a couple of days.  Short book but pretty good.  Although TBH I don't see why it is considered so amazing and ground breaking.  Although thinking about it its probably because the ideas were new when it was written.  I guess that's the problem with hard sci-fi it doesn't have the same effect when the ideas become commonplace.

[Tragic Hero]

If you want a easy yet  interesting read I would pick up "Water for Elephants".  Forgot who the author is (its still early in the morning for me) but you should be able to search for it rather easily. 

[x]

I guess that's the problem with hard sci-fi it doesn't have the same effect when the ideas become commonplace.

I think that applies to pretty much any medium. Just to keep up my habit of citing it in every post, a whole load of what was so ground-breaking about Blade Runner at the time might now be considered clichéd.

[Surf314]

[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=1145.msg44358#msg44358 date=1224080378]
I guess that's the problem with hard sci-fi it doesn't have the same effect when the ideas become commonplace.

I think that applies to pretty much any medium. Just to keep up my habit of citing it in every post, a whole load of what was so ground-breaking about Blade Runner at the time might now be considered clichéd.
[/quote]

But on the other hand that is also part of what makes it so awesome.  Sci-fi predicted subs and artificial satellites.  Sci-fi coined the term cyberspace.  Part of what is cool is going back and seeing what they got right.  It's like when I was reading neuromancer, everything seemed commonplace and near future type stuff but it kept nagging me how small the RAM they mentioned was.  Then I looked up when it was written (early 80s).  Mind was blown.

I guess it works both ways.

[bjlsurfer]

[quote author=Arnie's Right Bicep link=topic=1145.msg44410#msg44410 date=1224097723]
[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=1145.msg44358#msg44358 date=1224080378]
I guess that's the problem with hard sci-fi it doesn't have the same effect when the ideas become commonplace.

I think that applies to pretty much any medium. Just to keep up my habit of citing it in every post, a whole load of what was so ground-breaking about Blade Runner at the time might now be considered clichéd.
[/quote]

But on the other hand that is also part of what makes it so awesome.  Sci-fi predicted subs and artificial satellites.  Sci-fi coined the term cyberspace.  Part of what is cool is going back and seeing what they got right.  It's like when I was reading neuromancer, everything seemed commonplace and near future type stuff but it kept nagging me how small the RAM they mentioned was.  Then I looked up when it was written (early 80s).  Mind was blown.

I guess it works both ways.
[/quote]
Superfantastic book, and I agree, the RAM thing bothered me- but to imagine how visionary and completely original that book would've been at the time it was written is staggering.

Just finished The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde for english class.  Witty little play.

[Luca Shoal]

idk if I've ever posted in this thread...but I've been reading the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. I'm nearly done with Jingo (reading them in order of release date, from Discworld through what I'm up to.)

I also read cookbooks, in particular Thomas Keller's "The French Laundry Cookbook." Keller is like, the biggest name in American cooking...and he was also the culinary consultant for the film Ratatouille to make sure they got everything accurate. He also created the ratatouille (correctly titled confit biyaldi) recipe they used for the climax of the film.

[Greatbacon]

We just finished Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad this week in my AP Lit class.  Holy shit is this book packed with all sorts of symbolism and hidden meanings.  If you enjoy analyzing what you read, be sure to pick this one up, if not, well it makes a fairly short and interesting read.

I've also started reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.  Compared to when I started reading Atlas Shrugged last year, I'm finding this book a lot easier to get into.  For some reason I like the characters of this book quite a bit more.

[Surf314]

idk if I've ever posted in this thread...but I've been reading the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. I'm nearly done with Jingo (reading them in order of release date, from Discworld through what I'm up to.)

I also read cookbooks, in particular Thomas Keller's "The French Laundry Cookbook." Keller is like, the biggest name in American cooking...and he was also the culinary consultant for the film Ratatouille to make sure they got everything accurate. He also created the ratatouille (correctly titled confit biyaldi) recipe they used for the climax of the film.

Naked Chef?