Ok for the high brow crowd what books you are reading

[big nasty kcnut]

I'm reading The New American Revolution by tammy bruce. She is a great thinker and funny.

[TrickyNicky]

Originally Posted by irishjayhawk

Any recommendations for another fantasy series in the vein of Golden Compass? And I don't think Wheel of Time will be adequate given the number of people not just on here but elsewhere who say it's a bit of a circle that doesn't go anywhere.

Mentioned earlier, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is quality with the second due out in the first half of 2010. The hard part is reading GRRM first, nothing quite compares afterward.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Let's see...on my night stand are the following that are in the various stages of getting read:

Even Brook Trout Get the Blues by John Gierach
The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi
A Short History of the World by J.M. Roberts
Sexopedia by Anne Hooper
The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer (and other less well know Rombauers)

Nothing too deep at the moment.

I'm going to get back on my goal of reading all of the Pulitzer prize fiction winners in January.

Like Gierach. Good fishing writer.

[NewChief]

Read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It's gotten something of a bad rap as an Oprah chick type book, but it's pretty damned good. Not anything terribly high brow, but definitely entertaining and moving. Think A Thousand Splendid Suns set in Jackson, Miss. in the sixties.

[Fairplay]

Just Read

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

The Kennedy Assassination--24 Hours After : Lyndon B. Johnson's Pivotal First Day as President

Manhunt : The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer

[irishjayhawk]

I've heard very good things about Water for Elephants, and it's on my to read list for the near future. The Kite Runner is excellent. It's one of those books that will stick with you, and it makes you feel like you've really read something meaningful once you finish it. The Subtle Knife was a disappointment to me, as I was so in love with the world of the GC that I hated the broader scope that the second two books took on as they moved into alternate worlds in expanding the story.

So I finished the trilogy. Overall, the more I think about it, the more I love the philosophy, the story, and the creativity. In fact, the only thing I disliked was the ending. Not because of what happened to Lyra and Will but because there were so many loose-ends not tied up or forgotten. (ie. What happened with respect to the War? Was the Authority killed like his guardian Metatron?) Admittedly, it took me a good amount of reflection to find out how Mary played the serpent but I ended up liking the subtlety.

There's just so much I like about the world and the invention of the daemons and the philosophy behind the story that I can overlook some of the flaws I saw throughout the trilogy. (One was why Will's dad would automatically have a daemon when he enters Lyra's world but Will didn't. Or that the ending seemed rushed.)

Bottom-line: the more I think about it, the more I loved it.

[irishjayhawk]

I finished Food Matters by Mark Bittman. Ultimately, I felt that this was the book Michael Pollan should have turned in for In Defense of Food. Namely, the inclusion of a meal plan / recipes. IDoF was much more scholarly rather than journalistic than FM but FM makes up for it with the easy reading and meal plans.

Gotta copy the recipes before I return it to the library.


My reads:


Reading:
Going to decide soon.

On Deck:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Racing

In the hole:
House of Good Hope


Waiting on the bench:
The Art of Racing in the Rain
The Greatest Show on Earth
Superfreakonomics (Maybe, and dwindling fast.)
World War Z


Wanting to read:
Catch 22
Child 44
iWoz
The Innocent Man
What's the Matter with Kansas

Finished:
His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman
Food Matters by Mark Bittman

[JohninGpt]

Originally Posted by Fairplay

Just Read

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

The Kennedy Assassination--24 Hours After : Lyndon B. Johnson's Pivotal First Day as President

Manhunt : The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer

Me too. My brother-in-law is a fulll blooded Creek and, understandably, absolutely hates Jackson and had convinced me that I should too. But after reading this I don't particularly hate him, but I don't like him either.
His times were more complicated than I had imagined and he was a product of his times.

[irishjayhawk]

Originally Posted by irishjayhawk

So I finished the trilogy. Overall, the more I think about it, the more I love the philosophy, the story, and the creativity. In fact, the only thing I disliked was the ending. Not because of what happened to Lyra and Will but because there were so many loose-ends not tied up or forgotten. (ie. What happened with respect to the War? Was the Authority killed like his guardian Metatron?) Admittedly, it took me a good amount of reflection to find out how Mary played the serpent but I ended up liking the subtlety.

There's just so much I like about the world and the invention of the daemons and the philosophy behind the story that I can overlook some of the flaws I saw throughout the trilogy. (One was why Will's dad would automatically have a daemon when he enters Lyra's world but Will didn't. Or that the ending seemed rushed.)

Bottom-line: the more I think about it, the more I loved it.

Did some poking around with respect to the Amber Spyglass and the ending and definitely missed things. That's what I get when I read too fast and distractedly.

For example this Amazon review points out something I was confused about when I read it but makes perfect sense:

Spoiler!

I just finished the final book in the trilogy. I am in seminary now (I'm a Humanist, however) and found that the way Pullman handled "The Authority" in The Amber Spyglass was brilliant. It was very clear that Asriel wasn't going to "kill God" as he says in the novel but rather his intentions were to "free God" by "killing" our image of "Him".
**Spoiler**
If you remember Lyra and Will break open the crystal (or whatever it was) that The Authority was locked away in and Lyra is instantly overcome with a sort of pity for what Pullman describes as an old, terrified, and possibly senile man with a long white beard. She tenderly releases him from his prison and he smiles at her before his atoms are broken up and blown away by the first gust of wind. What a beautiful metaphor for how humanity has captured the idea of "God" and held it hostage whilst imprinting their own beliefs, desires (and even assumed physical appearance) upon "Him". Of course this is made more obvious by the image of Metatron using The Authority to gain his own personal power over humanity.
In this respect Asriel is not intent on destroying God, as he knew that God was never anything more than a human projection, but rather freeing humanity to live in a manner free of the illusion of God. One that is open to appreciate the present rather than live for the hereafter, think for themselves instead of being caught in the perpetual "group think" mentality some assume accompanies subscription to organized religion, not blindly trust authority, seek rational answers to the questions of the universe instead of leaving it all "up to God" or pulling the "we can never know everything about God" card, etc. Pullman's goal seems to be showing humanity that through knowledge, courage, hope, and yes, of course love, we can overcome our own self-inflicted naivety and become a more contented, gentle, and rational world.
I think he succeeds.

[RJ]

I just bought two books - the new Larry Bird/Magic Johnson When the Game Was Ours and that book about zombie wars that got boffo reviews in another thread. I should be able to finish both in about 3 months.

Highbrow? No, not exactly.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

[Easy 6]

I finished 'Dispatches' by Michael Herr 2 weeks ago, the most stolen from & conceptualized for film, book about the Vietnam war.

Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Apocalypse Now... each one its own take on that book. Herr's poetic prose is so immitated its crazy

In a different way every bit as insightful into the true & human cost of war as 'About Face' by Col. David Hackworth.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

I thought FMJ was a retelling of "The Short Timers"?

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

I thought FMJ was a retelling of "The Short Timers"?

I've never heard of that one & some of it may be as far as i know.

But entire scenes for FMJ were ripped straight from Dispatches... eliminate the basic training scenes, flip a war correspondent into a young recruit reporter for 'Stars & Stripes' like Modine & its basically the entire book.

'How do you kill women & children?'... 'Its easy, ya just dont lead'em sa much', that entire scene alone is completely ripped from Dispatches.

[JohninGpt]

Originally Posted by scott free

I finished 'Dispatches' by Michael Herr 2 weeks ago, the most stolen from & conceptualized for film, book about the Vietnam war.

Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Apocalypse Now... each one its own take on that book. Herr's poetic prose is so immitated its crazy

In a different way every bit as insightful into the true & human cost of war as 'About Face' by Col. David Hackworth.

I think I should read this one. I am fascinated by stories about the avarage fighting man, but suspect of an author who attempts to give "true meaning" to war

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by JohninGpt

I think I should read this one. I am fascinated by stories about the avarage fighting man, but suspect of an author who attempts to give "true meaning" to war

I definitely agree that only those who fight wars can begin to understand them, but Herr really put himself out in the bush in remote firebases & all kinds of other tough spots to get the story. He really did live it with our soldiers at times, as much as any reporter has ever dared to anyway.

Pick it up at the library sometime, you'll see just how much of this book is blatantly ripped off by Hollywood. He doesnt have the truth, but its a good true story IMO.