Reading It, by Stephen King, its going very slow but he's kept me going back and back because the world he has created is fascinating. If its not Pennywise trying to ruin your life, its your parents, your husband, your mum etc, its really gripping in a way because I want to see what happens to Bowers, his mates, etc. I do hope when the guts start spilling more, it gets even better. I'll be watching the movie after i've finished it too.
Books The BOOK thread
- Thread starter Livvie
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Wittgenstein's Mistress: Kate, the protagonist, is the last person on Earth, and the book is her experience in a tractatised world. The prose is monotonous and pedestrian, but it starts leaving a mark after a while. Non-linear and lacks a plot. It took me some 20 pages to get the feel, and it was a breeze after that.
I highly recommend it.
I highly recommend it.
I loved Child 44 and went straight out and bought the sequels. I really enjoyed The Secret Speech but struggled with Agent 6. I should probably have read a few in between reading them. Sometimes I find reading them one after another isn't the best approach.
Has anyone read Chavs by Owen Johnson?
They're making Child 44 into a film with Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman.
You have no literary sensibility whatsoever and are politically an idiot.
You mean Owen Jones?
You're being too kind! Use stronger words, he likes both of them!
Yes!
The writing in both books is what I enjoy, what is her philosophy all about ?
Objectivism. Our goal is to be as happy as possible and it's only achievable under complete liberty achieved under laissez-faire capitalism where the government's sole job is to notarize contracts. Or something even more stupid.
I have heard that her prose is quite bad too.
I have Kalooki Nights lined up...anyone here who's read it?
Are you Jewish? I read the intro on Amazon and it looks very difficult to identify with unless you're one.
The Holocaust was very terrifying, I can't imagine being able to "get it" because you saw a movie. As in get the trauma it inflicted in an entire race. I like works like these for this reason, they help me realise another aspect of the Holocaust and in this case those afflicted by it.
Christ I thought you were going to say Tom Hanks. Phew, that was close!
Her writing is appalling and she ended her life on benefits (when according to her fascist lights she should have gone to the wall with the rest of the 'weak').
Her philosophy is too extreme, and I agree it's not that interesting from a literary point of view, but I still think it's too easy to just completely reject Atlas Shrugged as a whole, there are some interesting ideas in there.
At the moment I'm re-reading 100 years of Solitude that I read when I was younger, and am enjoying it even more than the first time around. Fantastic story and very well written, despite it being translated. I'll be following with Neil Gaiman's American Gods afterwards, really looking forward to it after loving Neverwhere.
At the moment I'm re-reading 100 years of Solitude that I read when I was younger, and am enjoying it even more than the first time around. Fantastic story and very well written, despite it being translated. I'll be following with Neil Gaiman's American Gods afterwards, really looking forward to it after loving Neverwhere.
I'm about halfway through Shantaram right now, anyone else read it? Fantastic book so far, it's giving me a massive travel itch.
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Who are the best/your favourite writers ?
It's not so much 'parts I like', it's more to do with the fact that even when there's a philosophy I disagree with, there are elements of it that I think can be interesting, if only to test them against your own beliefs. It's a book that's influenced millions of people, I'm not saying it's the bible by any means, but I find it a bit hard to just dismiss it as a whole.
The characters are superhuman, well John Galt is anyway, but then again when you uphold a philosophy, it seems pretty obvious that characters that live by those principles, in the novel exposing your ideas, are going to appear as flawless, that's the whole point. I just think that if you approach this book with an open mind, and you're clever enough to see what's wrong with it, you can get certain interesting ideas out of it.
The characters are superhuman, well John Galt is anyway, but then again when you uphold a philosophy, it seems pretty obvious that characters that live by those principles, in the novel exposing your ideas, are going to appear as flawless, that's the whole point. I just think that if you approach this book with an open mind, and you're clever enough to see what's wrong with it, you can get certain interesting ideas out of it.
Trying to remember a book I had to read in high school so long ago, but my half-ass Google searches turned up nothing
It centered around a Jewish kid who was going to high school, I think, could in fact be primary school. He begins to get bullied for being Jewish and a number of his friend turn on him. His life becomes a living hell and the school is rampant with anti-semitism. Principle, teachers find out about this, assembly is called and students are forced to watch a documentary about the Holocaust. They're guilt tripped into liking the Jewish kid. Except for the (hero) who persists in his bullying at the end of the book
Anyone remember the name of this book? I think it was the main character's last name, and I seem to remember the title ending in "witz".
It centered around a Jewish kid who was going to high school, I think, could in fact be primary school. He begins to get bullied for being Jewish and a number of his friend turn on him. His life becomes a living hell and the school is rampant with anti-semitism. Principle, teachers find out about this, assembly is called and students are forced to watch a documentary about the Holocaust. They're guilt tripped into liking the Jewish kid. Except for the (hero) who persists in his bullying at the end of the book
Anyone remember the name of this book? I think it was the main character's last name, and I seem to remember the title ending in "witz".
'Hero'?Wittmann45 said:
Just finished Freedom by Jonathan Franzen last night. Excellent book. As is The Corrections, the other of his books I have read. I would highly recommend them both.
I finished It, too long, but a good read. Better than the film when it comes to explaining stuff in depth, and better characterisation, plus much better gore, horror elements etc. But that love triangle...horrible. I am now starting A Game of Thrones!
Like what?
Well the philosophy of work ethic, of self improvement and sticking to your principles on an individual basis isn't uninteresting, I thought.
As far as her ideas about government go, how competition is a self regulator and so on, I don't necessarily agree with her stance (which is, as I said, too extreme), but I found it interesting how she challenged the idea of an intervening state.
But I get the feeling you really hate the book, so I doubt I'll be convincing you of anything!
As far as her ideas about government go, how competition is a self regulator and so on, I don't necessarily agree with her stance (which is, as I said, too extreme), but I found it interesting how she challenged the idea of an intervening state.
But I get the feeling you really hate the book, so I doubt I'll be convincing you of anything!
I have never seen social welfare as the state intervening into someones life, its a safety net that one pays into and can dip into if times are hard or they are ill.
For those interested, here's a very interesting comic strip that Activate did on Ayn Rand. It's pretty long but it's way more entertaining than anything she ever wrote.
http://activatecomix.com/162-1-1.comic
http://activatecomix.com/162-1-1.comic
The philosophy of the work ethic etc is just basic protestantism. Her more high-falutin objectivism reads like a parody of Nietzsche. And she can't write.
Yep. "The Proletarian Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism," by Weber shows how the maxims of "work-hard and bullshit" are straight from protestant beleifs. Or read the autobiography of Ben Franklin to see the philosophy of work ethic in action.
And no, RIP, competition is not the best self regulator even if it's one. Even if it regulated certain things, things that don't affect us in the short-run would be affected. Under a regulation free dystopia we'd have hunted rhinos and tigers out to extension. And that shit is irreversible.
A PS: God I hate neoliberals and objectives and all the milton friedman/heyek/von mises/murray rothbard following crowd. arghh.
I have a copy lying around and never get to read it. Do you like Don Delelio?
Just finished Down and Dirty Pictures by Peter Biskind. It's a terrific look at the Weinstein brothers and the Sundance Film Festival and how they influenced independent film in the late 80s and 90s.
I didn't say it was!
I preferred his Easy Riders Raging Bulls, but Down and Dirty was very interesting. The Weinsteins are complete wackjobs!
Never read anything of his. Why, similar to Franzen?
Palace Council by Stephen L. Carter was a good read for me.
A political thriller chock full of conspiracy theories and shady dealings, but told from the perspective of Harlem's upper crust in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. While I consider myself fairly well educated, being white and a native Iowan did not provide me with the best insight into African-American life during the mid-1900s. The world Carter describes is fascinating, and the characters are well-developed and intricate. So while he may be covering some old historical ground, the lens through which it's viewed is completely fresh, and probably long overdue (at least in the political thriller sense).
Despite a few shortcomings, the book does what good books are supposed to do - it compels you to turn the page, because you absolutely have to know what happens next. Carter's specilaity is
A political thriller chock full of conspiracy theories and shady dealings, but told from the perspective of Harlem's upper crust in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. While I consider myself fairly well educated, being white and a native Iowan did not provide me with the best insight into African-American life during the mid-1900s. The world Carter describes is fascinating, and the characters are well-developed and intricate. So while he may be covering some old historical ground, the lens through which it's viewed is completely fresh, and probably long overdue (at least in the political thriller sense).
Despite a few shortcomings, the book does what good books are supposed to do - it compels you to turn the page, because you absolutely have to know what happens next. Carter's specilaity is
Not read any Franzen. But DD is American too and I think one of the best American writers of the 80s.
Complete dickheads. I've just started his Seeing is Believing which is about American cinema in the 50s.I didn't say it was!
I preferred his Easy Riders Raging Bulls, but Down and Dirty was very interesting. The Weinsteins are complete wackjobs!
The Perfect Prince (aka Perkin)
By Ann Wroe
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Perfect-Prince-Ann-Wroe/dp/0812968115/ref=pd_sim_b_43
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perkin_Warbeck
By Ann Wroe
Amazing book, and a really intriguing mystery.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Perfect-Prince-Ann-Wroe/dp/0812968115/ref=pd_sim_b_43
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perkin_Warbeck
Re-reading All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy - beautiful book
I have been bought loads of biographies for crimbo, gonna have to work my through em!