Return of the Book Thread

[Morat20]

Yeah, he has something about underage sex on the brain. He gets asked pretty regularly in interviews, and he denies it, and when asked specifically about the girl in his mode series and others, he states that he's writing about people who act in a natural fashion, and also says he doesn't feel 18 is an appropriate age for arbitrary legal intimate relationships, and doesn't see anything wrong with younger if the circumstances are approrpriate. Some of this may be slightly wrong, since I'm doing it from memory, unable to pull up the exact interview I'm thinking about.

Also, dear god man. Get thee to a web designer!

Oh, hey, according to wikipedia he finally wrote another mode book in 2001. I guess I should re-read the series, I kinda liked it.

Yeah, I liked his Incarnations stuff, but little else. The first few Xanth books were cute, if brainless, but he should have stopped there. I did LOVE them when I was lik 12, though.

As for sex with kids on the brain -- yeah, no fucking kidding. It's like Jack Chalker's obession with transexuals.

[Johny Cee]

Just finished Tim Powers Three Days to Never.  Very good book.  Speculative fiction set in the late '80s,  focusing on Einstein's secret family and research in time travel.  The family gets involved with the paranormal agents of the Mossad and a private paranormal/spy organization that may have had connections to Nazi Germany at one point.

Powers writes some very interesting post-modern sci-fantasy/speculative fiction. 

Still working on Twenty Years After.  A littlle slow going now,  as D'Artagnion is still assembling his old friends and pulling himself out of a rut in life.  Been picking at Vance's Dying Earth, too.

I'm very envious that Raph got to hobnob with some great (or at least interesting) authors.

[Nevermore]

As for sex with kids on the brain -- yeah, no fucking kidding. It's like Jack Chalker's obession with transexuals.

I thought Chalker's obsession was forcing all his female characters to become prostitutes.

[Morat20]

As for sex with kids on the brain -- yeah, no fucking kidding. It's like Jack Chalker's obession with transexuals.

I thought Chalker's obsession was forcing all his female characters to become prostitutes.

That too. But I can't count the number of times characters change genders or end up she-males (or he-females or whatever the fuck you call it). There's one particularly memorable example of a chick that ends up hot as shit when dressed. It's just that when the clothes come off, she's packing a fully working dong and -- and this is the really fucked up part -- her tongue works like a giant dick. I kid you not.

[NowhereMan]

her tongue works like a giant dick. I kid you not.

That's gotta be awkward first thing in the morning.

[Johny Cee]

New Gaiman collection of short stories out now.  Some pretty good stuff, a fair amount of stories from other compilations.  I can't say enough good things about the man.  The closest we have to a contemporary "master" of speculative/horror fiction.

Of note:  The Shadow (from American Gods) short story that went into the Legends II compilation a couple years back.

There's also a new Kage Baker "Company" novel out now in hardcover.

[Furiously]

her tongue works like a giant dick. I kid you not.

That's gotta be awkward first thing in the morning.

Or when you drink some icewater and suddenly start lisping because shrinkage.

[WayAbvPar]

Back to books. Currently reading 'The One Percent Doctrine" by Ron Suskind. It makes me sad and angry. Even more than I was before.

[murdoc]

On my last Vlad book Issola and am sad. Don't think there was a single book of the nine I've read that I didn't like. Great, great stuff.

[HaemishM]

Currently reading Confronting Iran, a pretty sobering look at the history of relations between Iran and the US.

[Flood]

I'm a zombiephile so I was extremely pumped when Max Brooks realeased his second book:

World War Z

Very good book.  The guys my hero.  Getting paid to write about zombies.

[XboxGod]

I am currently re-reading Harrington on Hold 'em Vol. II. Since poker is my primary source of income for the time being, it's good to keep everything fresh.

[WayAbvPar]

Do you play online? Bet you are a big fan of port security right about now 

[XboxGod]

Do you play online? Bet you are a big fan of port security right about now 

Yes, I play mostly online. I am planning on moving to AC next summer though.  :-D And yeah, Bill Frist is now my arch nemesis.

[Abagadro]

Back to books. Currently reading 'The One Percent Doctrine" by Ron Suskind. It makes me sad and angry. Even more than I was before.

Fiasco is another good read to make your blood boil.

[WayAbvPar]

I have The Robert Greenwald Documentary Collection on the way from Amazon to keep the blood hot for now, but I will check Fiasco out. Also looking forward to Woodward's new book.

I found my copy of Issola the other day, and I realized that I had never actually read it! It is like Christmas morning for me =)

[Johny Cee]

I have The Robert Greenwald Documentary Collection on the way from Amazon to keep the blood hot for now, but I will check Fiasco out. Also looking forward to Woodward's new book.

I found my copy of Issola the other day, and I realized that I had never actually read it! It is like Christmas morning for me =)

Issola is probably my favorite Vlad book.  Over the years, Orca and Issola have risen in my opinion.

I'm working on Suburban Safari,  which is about a woman in Maine observing and getting more information about the plants, creatures, and bugs in her suburban yard.  Light reading, sort of interesting,  and I read almost 3/4 in a couple hours.

Also reading an economic analysis of Europe before the Industrial Revolution.  Interesting if you like that sort of thing.

[murdoc]

Issola was great. I can't imagine if I had read it in 2001 and had to wait 5 years for the next one... oh, I guess I can imagine that feeling thanks to George RR Martin.

I think the only Vlad book I was sorta 'meh' about was the one where Cawti gets involved with the Easterners (since I read them all BANGBANGBANG, sometimes without even looking at the book title, I forget what happens in what book).  Other than that, couldn't get enough. I think this ranks up 2nd to the Game of Thrones stuff as my favorite series.

[Engels]

Anyone here familiar with Robin Hobb aka Megan Lindholm, and her Farseer Trilogy? Or her Soldier's Son series? She's a local-ish author here in Washington State, but she's got quite a following. http://www.robinhobb.com/

[Reg]

Robiin Hobb is great. She's written 3 trilogies so far based in the same world and vaguely connected and I've read them all. Great stories although she does have that female author problem of either making her male characters either Alan Alda clones or rapists.

[WindupAtheist]

I'm a zombiephile so I was extremely pumped when Max Brooks realeased his second book:

World War Z

Very good book.  The guys my hero.  Getting paid to write about zombies.

I'm a complete non-zombiephile.  I don't think I've seen any "_____ of the Living Dead" movie, ever.  Nor have I ever seen the first book from this author.  I didn't even like Resident Evil.  All that aside, this book is fucking awesome.  It's not a novel in the usual sense, it's a collection of fictional interviews with survivors of a worldwide zombie plague.  A doctor from China, a soldier from India, an American housewife, people from every country and walk of life.  Every facet and detail of the story is so believably drawn, all the characters so distinct, that it's surprisingly easy to suspend disbelief when it comes to the zombies.  Once you make that little leap, everything else flows naturally.

[stray]

that it's surprisingly easy to suspend disbelief when it comes to the zombies.

Hmm. Is that really why you generally don't like zombie films? I don't understand. It's fiction. What else are you supposed to do other than suspend disbelief? It's not like Wookies are any easier to suspend disbelief with.


Also, zombie films are not about zombies. It's unnecessary to have to care about or "believe" in that element to enjoy them. Zombie films are about disaster and survival. The actual "zombie" part is just a backdrop to amplify that. All of those elements that you like about this book (about the situations the survivors are going through) is the template for every zombie movie ever. Even the bad ones.


You should watch Dawn of the Dead at least. Remake or original. Your choice. Both are exemplary.

[Ironwood]

I never thought I'd say this, but I prefer the remake.

[WindupAtheist]

Hmm. Is that really why you generally don't like zombie films? I don't understand. It's fiction. What else are you supposed to do other than suspend disbelief? It's not like Wookies are any easier to suspend disbelief with.

It's not that I dislike zombie movies in particular.  It just takes something I really think I'm going to like to get me to sit in front of a screen for two hours, and none of the zombie movies I'm aware of managed to grab me that way.  Nor do I know anyone who's into them.  I did catch that one that takes place in the UK but isn't a comedy, and I thought it was pretty good.  "24 Days Later" or something to that effect.

As for suspension of disbelief, I'm just commenting on the fact that this book makes it really damned easy.  That wasn't measuring it against anything else, zombie-related or otherwise.  /shrug

[Lt.Dan]

Just read part one of Stephen Donaldson's Gap series.  Pretty nice novella and really interesting notes about how the story came together.

Continuing my journey through classic sci-fi with "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K Dick.  Great sci-fi - complex themes, great story, interesting characters, and layers upon layers upon layers.  Bladerunner only really scratched the surface.

[Flood]

I'm a zombiephile so I was extremely pumped when Max Brooks realeased his second book:

World War Z

Very good book.  The guys my hero.  Getting paid to write about zombies.

I'm a complete non-zombiephile.  I don't think I've seen any "_____ of the Living Dead" movie, ever.  Nor have I ever seen the first book from this author.  I didn't even like Resident Evil.  All that aside, this book is fucking awesome.  It's not a novel in the usual sense, it's a collection of fictional interviews with survivors of a worldwide zombie plague.  A doctor from China, a soldier from India, an American housewife, people from every country and walk of life.  Every facet and detail of the story is so believably drawn, all the characters so distinct, that it's surprisingly easy to suspend disbelief when it comes to the zombies.  Once you make that little leap, everything else flows naturally.

Cool, I'm glad you liked it.  I have read the Survival Guide, but I don't personally own it - yet.  Organize before they rise!

I recently re-read (for about the 15th time) Helm by Steven Gould.  Man that is a great book.  That lead me to Deshi which is John Donohue's second book after Sensei, but I liked Sensei better.

I had read all of Modesitt's Recluse Chronicles, but didn't realize he had another storyline set going so I'm reading Darkness right now which I think is like book 2 of 5 or something.

I've been on a zombie high lately and finally figured out that the new King book, Cell, has some zombitude in it.  I'd kind of given up on the old guy after the accident and From a Buick 8, but I'll probably pick it up after I rip through this Corean Chronicle series.

[XboxGod]

I am considering picking up Beyond Good & Evil by Nietzsche. I've been told it's pretty good, has anyone here read it?

[Ironwood]

Just read part one of Stephen Donaldson's Gap series.  Pretty nice novella and really interesting notes about how the story came together.

The Gap Series is AWESOME and, as I've said before in previous book threads, EVERYONE should read it.

It may, however, be offensive to some.

[stray]

I am considering picking up Beyond Good & Evil by Nietzsche. I've been told it's pretty good, has anyone here read it?

I've read pretty much everything by Neitzsche. If you're already familiar with the philosophical thought that preceded him, then go ahead. Otherwise, you're better off starting with other things (Schopenhauer, Hegel, Keirkegaard, Augustinian Christianity, all the way down to Plato's metaphysics). Neitzsche was just as reactive and annotative as he was someone offering his own "original" thoughts. It's not easy to understand what he's talking about or rebelling against taken on his own.

Either way though, it's all very boring. And people who go through the trouble of actually recommending Neitzsche are 18 year old wannabe nihilists who don't know a damn thing about life.

Read old Robert E. Howard Conan stories instead. Conan is narrative, and therefore more fun. He's also the best example of Neitzsche's Ubermensch, if there ever was one.

[edit] Cliffnote version: Neitzsche rebels against absolute interpretations of the world, whether that be absolute reason, absolute views of justice, love, and truth, absolute ideals (as in Plato, general metaphysics, and general religious thought). The only absolute in his mind is Human Will and Ego. The Will and Ego are "truth" and transcend everything. This is what is meant by "Beyond Good and Evil".

[tar]

Just read part one of Stephen Donaldson's Gap series.  Pretty nice novella and really interesting notes about how the story came together.

The Gap Series is AWESOME and, as I've said before in previous book threads, EVERYONE should read it.

It may, however, be offensive to some.

I'll second the Awesomeness of the Gap series and third and possibly forth too the level of potential offensiveness. You won't forget reading these. It's been years since I last read them but Nick, Morn and Angus are still fresh in my mind as characters, which given the usual state of my memory is a pretty amazing accomplishment :)

[bhodi]

Thirded. Way back on page one or two of the thread I recommended it to someone who thought all Stephen R. Donaldson wrote was trash, after hating his white gold wielder books.

He definately can write loathsome characters.

[Strazos]

Heh, don't even get me started on Hegel and Hegelianism and the damn Young Hegelians. It gives me painful flashbacks.

[HaemishM]

I am considering picking up Beyond Good & Evil by Nietzsche. I've been told it's pretty good, has anyone here read it?

Yeah, I've read that one. If you've read other Nietzche, you'll like it. If not, it can be a bit dense.

I've finished Confronting Iran, which ended up being much more history and much less contemporary events, but gave me a decidedly different take on the history of Iranian-US relations than I thought. It glossed over Iran's historical ties with terrorist organizations a bit more than I'm comfortable with, but opened my eyes about some events in the past I'd never critically examined. It's worth reading if only for seeing a different side of the coin than any journalist in this country will offer.

I'm currently reading No God but God by Reza Aslan. It's a critical examination of the history and evolution of Islam from Pre-Islamic Arabia to present day. The author is a smart guy, a professor of comparitive religion (I think). He was on either the Daily Show or Colbert Report a few months ago promoting it. It's a very well-written book, entertaining even for those who aren't into religious scholarship. 

[Engels]

I have to disagree with some of what Stray(!) says about Nietzsche. Although I am one of those who was an "18 year old wannabe nihilists who don't know a damn thing about life", I continued to read him through my 20s and the more I read, the more influential I saw him to be. I'm now 36 and I still think Nietzsche is very very good stuff.

We take a lot of what he said for granted these days; a lot of his attitudes have taken over the modern consciousness and his stuff now doesn't seem all that special.

I also think that Nietzsche is a good starting place for philosophy in general simply because of his use of the aphorism and common parlance to explain concepts. If you start earlier, with Hegel or even Aristotle, you'll find that you have to learn an entire sublanguage just to 'get' what they are on about.

On the other hand, reading Nietzsche as beginning philosophy is like watching the Daily Show to get your world news. Sometimes you may have enough background on the history of the situation to be in on the joke, but if you're an ignorant putz who doesn't bother picking up the paper, 90% of John Stewart's jokes will fly over your head.

Before Beyond Good and Evil I would recommend starting with The Gay Science. It is often considered the first clear beginning of his thought process and sheds light on many of the obscure and inexplicably dark passsages within BGE.

Edit to fix Stray's name!

[stray]

Damn, what's with everyone forgetting my name today? I'm Stray. Not Strazos. I'm Stray. Not Sky.  :-D

That being said, what is there to disagree with? I made no condemnation or affirmation of Nietzsche. I merely described and summed up his philosophy. The comment about nihilists was a joke directed towards people who reccomend his books as casual reading material (think Paul Rudd in Clueless). Not Nietzsche himself.

[edit]

Err...Nevermind. You're saying you disagree with my statement that Beyond Good and Evil isn't a good starting point. Fair enough. :)