On Your Bookshelf - What Are You Reading?

[rodsmith3]

Lisa, you might like this one: "Entwined with you" by Sylvia Day. (the guys might find parts of it hot too, very graphic) Let me know who likes what.

Also: "The girl with a clock for a heart" by Peter Swanson

[LisaSkinnoble]

Lisa, you might like this one: "Entwined with you" by Sylvia Day. (the guys might find parts of it hot too, very graphic) Let me know who likes what.

Also: "The girl with a clock for a heart" by Peter Swanson

Thanks for the referral. Not sure I'm a fan of the erotic romance genre though. There's seldom a murder to solve in those books.

Nice to see the thread still going with avid readers.

I haven't had a chance to read in a while because work has been so busy. But I have waiting for me, "A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman. According to reviews it is lighthearted, uplifting, funny, moving and will leave you with a spring in your step. It's about a grumpy old(er) man who the reader comes to love.

[JohnSmeton]

Havent read nothing recently, except online forums, and stuff. Last book i read is wishes fullfilled bY DR Watyne Dyer and changed my life forever.

[Paradosis]

- Are Video Games Art?, by Marc Ryan

- The Septuagint as Christian Scripture: Its Prehistory and the Problem of Its Canon, by Martin Hengel

- The 'Hellenization' of Judaea in the First Century after Christ, by Martin Hengel

[ElrondHubbard]

One yes, One no:

Yes -- Thirty Tomorrows, by Milton Ezrati. A look at how the world economy of the next few decades is shaping up, with some interesting perspectives on some of the trends that are making political news nowadays. Some of the stuff is not to worry about, some of it is going to be impossible to avoid due to changing demographics, so we'd better be ready to adapt. Definitely makes you think.

No -- The Moral Landscape, by Sam Harris. I'd heard a lot of pros and cons about Harris himself, but never read any of his stuff before. The premise of this book, that human morality is something that can actually be studied and discovered scientifically, resonated with me, because I've been making a similar argument for a long time. So I wanted to like this book. It was horrible. Poor use of logic, self-serving egotism, assuming the conclusion, and no actual science was seen. It's a repetitive, boring polemic that did not advance the premise.

I still think the premise is sound, but Harris' treatment didn't help it any.

[Paradosis]

One yes, One no:
No -- The Moral Landscape, by Sam Harris. I'd heard a lot of pros and cons about Harris himself, but never read any of his stuff before. The premise of this book, that human morality is something that can actually be studied and discovered scientifically, resonated with me, because I've been making a similar argument for a long time. So I wanted to like this book. It was horrible. Poor use of logic, self-serving egotism, assuming the conclusion, and no actual science was seen. It's a repetitive, boring polemic that did not advance the premise.

When you say that morality can be studied/discovered scientifically, are you thinking along the lines of examining sociological/psychological thoughts, actions and motives, but doing so with standards and methods used by harder sciences, or are you speaking of moral principles actually embedded in nature, perhaps emerging in a similar way to how consciousness is said to have emerged (such that some moral concepts are just as 'fixed' or 'real,' or at the very least is something that is open to [naturalist] scientific investigation)? Or something else entirely?

[whatevergirl]

Left religion, but have found some eastern philosophies to be applicable for everyday life. I'm currently reading ''Zen Mind, Strong Body,'' by Al Kavadlo, and enjoying it so far.

[ElrondHubbard]

When you say that morality can be studied/discovered scientifically, are you thinking along the lines of examining sociological/psychological thoughts, actions and motives, but doing so with standards and methods used by harder sciences, or are you speaking of moral principles actually embedded in nature, perhaps emerging in a similar way to how consciousness is said to have emerged (such that some moral concepts are just as 'fixed' or 'real,' or at the very least is something that is open to [naturalist] scientific investigation)? Or something else entirely?

I'm thinking that basic ethical principles arise naturally out of our common humanity and group bonding. Any child who's well socialized is going to absorb a very similar system of ethics -- the idea of fair play and sharing are pretty much natural urges among humans within a peer group. The discovery aspect is to find out where these natural tendencies are extended into larger social contexts outside of the home, family, or tribe, and why such extensions might be justified in some cases but not others.

My own premise -- but not Sam Harris's -- is that ethical behavior is the underlying foundation of all healthy human interaction. It transcends culture, and is a universal tendency among all humans. Morality, on the other hand, is what our local culture tells us is right or wrong: marriage rules, property and social traditions, power structures, dress codes, religious beliefs, etc.

A scientific approach should lead to local moralities being informed by and based upon ethical universals, rather than moral standards resulting in massively unethical behaviors: for example, the bloody human sacrifices of the Aztecs, who by all accounts were a very "moral" people with respect to their religion and beliefs.

That wasn't what I got from reading Harris, though. He expected that a scientific approach to morality would simply be a way to justify things he'd already accepted as moral. That was the impression I got throughout the book.

[sydney_boy]

[kgrrl]

Dostoevsky's Poetics, by Mikhail Bakhtin

Nice. His work on Rabelais is one of the most rewarding I've read in literary theory.


And to answer the question: right now I'm shamelessly enjoying the Outlander series. Still not finished, but put aside for a while: Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch and the autobiography of Morrissey.

[JRT6]

http://smile.amazon.com/Fold-Novel-P...d+peter+clines

Been a long time since I read a book that kept me up at night reading it.

[Marius_Ursus]

Unbroken...my G-d, what those boys went through.

[PiperBill]

Forbidden Archeology. Pretty solid evidence showing that humans have existed for millions of years and how this is suppressed by the powers that be. It's a huge book that I read when I'm at sea on weekends.

[grubman]

I read a lot, almost every genre, so don't think I'm silly when I say I'm currently reading The Chronicles of Conan #11. This is a series of trade paperbacks compiling all of the Marvel Conan comics from #1 (each contains about 6 issues). I have 27 of those to make my way through before I start The Savage Sword of Conan (I have 1-16 and those are about 600 pages each).

Comics were great when they actually had a story to read with the art.

[JRT6]

Read all those Conan books when I was a kid. The graphic comic books too.

[Paradosis]

Nice. His work on Rabelais is one of the most rewarding I've read in literary theory.

Thanks for mentioning it, I'll be getting it after I finish Gargantua and Pantagruel...

[dashbreak]

Started 'On The Road' a while back - making slow, slow progress but it's just making me want to travel.

[grubman]

Read all those Conan books when I was a kid. The graphic comic books too.

I read many of them too...but I saw this HUGE lot on ebay a while back and the nostalgia bug bit.

[BluesPreacher]

Hi! Noob here. Hope you don't mind me jumpin' in.

Right now I'm working on Zola's Germinal. I got it as a free download on my Kindle. It takes me a page or two, especially if I've been away from it for a few days, to get back into it, but I'm enjoying it.

The last book I REALLY had fun reading was The Troop by Nick Cutter (a pen name). Creepy-scary!

I read The Turn of the Screw by James (another Kindle free download). I confess, I had a LOT of trouble following and understanding it. I need to read it again.

[Paradosis]

Maya History and Religion, by J.E.S. Thompson

[Bando]

On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City

Assigned for a Graduate class, a white girl studying for her PhD. moves into "the hood" in Philadelphia for her dissertation research. A lot of controversy about the whole project but I'm not supposed to look at that until I finish the book. Great read and I'm joining the digital age by reading it on a tablet which I have resisted, but it's not bad at all.

[waco]

Missing 411 Books, Eastern, Western, and The devils in the details. By Davis Paulides. Very creepy facts that's going on in our National Parks and Forests.

[ElrondHubbard]

The World Until Yesterday, by Jared Diamond. Based on studies of traditional, pre-state societies from all over the world, what they have to teach us about ourselves.

Seems there are a few things we could take from those societies that would make our own lives better, but in many ways, I'm so much happier we don't live that way any more.

[Paradosis]

The Last Wish: Introducing The Witcher, by Andrzej Sapkowski
Origen: Scholarship in the Service of the Church, by Ronald E. Heine

[WillBrink]

Gents (and lurking ladies), Navy SEAL Commander (ret) Mark Divine reviews my Novella Vacation Gone South via NavySEALs.com. Please check it out!

"Vacation Gone South, is about a couple of SOF buddies from a Special Mission Unit who take some down time in Panama. Things “go south” when one goes missing and things spiral out of control. Will is attentive to small and important details of tradecraft that authors in this genre often miss, and he writes without a Rambo-esque bravado or non-stop, incredulous action. It’s realistic and engaging."

Full Review HERE

[bhujerban]

What an interesting topic! Never mind it's a few years old...

I'm reading an obscure book. "Mercenaries, Vol. 1" by Marquesate & Vashtan. It's the third in a series of five of Special Forces novels. Dan McFadyden (SAS) meets Vadim Krasnorada (Spetznaz, Vympel) during the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and they have a f*cked-up relationship. What starts out as intense hatred grows into crazy lust, and finally love. The story covers twenty-five years of their lives.

In "Mercenaries Vol. 1", Vadim has been taken by the KGB and held in the Lubyanka prison for treason. When he is finally released, he is a broken man. He and Dan go to combat in the Gulf War of 1991, and try to put him back together. It's a good story, but a little long-winded and repetitive. I wasn't impressed much when I first read this four years ago, and enough time has passed that I can give it a second go. It's better this second time, but a little exhausting sometimes.

[WillBrink]

What an interesting topic! Never mind it's a few years old...

I'm reading an obscure book. "Mercenaries, Vol. 1" by Marquesate & Vashtan. It's the third in a series of five of Special Forces novels. Dan McFadyden (SAS) meets Vadim Krasnorada (Spetznaz, Vympel) during the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and they have a f*cked-up relationship. What starts out as intense hatred grows into crazy lust, and finally love. The story covers twenty-five years of their lives.

In "Mercenaries Vol. 1", Vadim has been taken by the KGB and held in the Lubyanka prison for treason. When he is finally released, he is a broken man. He and Dan go to combat in the Gulf War of 1991, and try to put him back together. It's a good story, but a little long-winded and repetitive. I wasn't impressed much when I first read this four years ago, and enough time has passed that I can give it a second go. It's better this second time, but a little exhausting sometimes.

So a gay SOF merc love story?

[saligia]

Currently reading Crossroads of Twilight, book 10 of the Wheel of Time series, by Robert Jordan

The Last Wish: Introducing The Witcher, by Andrzej Sapkowski
Origen: Scholarship in the Service of the Church, by Ronald E. Heine

The kiddo's been reading The Witcher series the last few months and really likes them. After glancing at the last couple I picked up for him, I briefly considered "holding" them until I could read them first.

[bhujerban]

So a gay SOF merc love story?

You could say that, but it's hardly a love story. This gets pretty twisted sometimes.

[WillBrink]

You could say that, but it's hardly a love story. This gets pretty twisted sometimes.

Think I'm gonna pass on that one.