Latest Gene Wolfe book you read (1-10 scale)

[neckbeard]

that;s the one with teh guy with the broke weener and they go to the bull fights right?

[father of lies]

nearly a decade ago we got him to do movie reviews for a 'zine my friend shane and i were working on. interesting dude, in letters at least.

How friendly was he?

[ibn Horowitz]

that cover for the sun also rises is excellent
at first you're like, its a fire, then, oh it is a bullfight
then you realize that there are bullfights in the book

[Gookstorm]

Death of the Liberal Class
7/10, too much whining and complaining rather than a calculated breakdown more befitting of a book over, say, a bunch of blog articles.

Not sure where I'll go from here, probably Oxford or Cambridge University Press tomes instead of pop garbage I've been hoarding. My attention span tends to match the pacing of the author's so it would do me some good to go into academic reading mode for a while.

[EEEOOOEEEOOOEEEOOO]

Death of the Liberal Class
7/10, too much whining and complaining rather than a calculated breakdown more befitting of a book over, say, a bunch of blog articles.

Not sure where I'll go from here, probably Oxford or Cambridge University Press tomes instead of pop garbage I've been hoarding. My attention span tends to match the pacing of the author's so it would do me some good to go into academic reading mode for a while.

On what sort of a topic? I tried to think of something that would be similar to the death of the liberal class book you posted but I can't think of anything. I'm sure there are some good histories of unions out there.

[riley-o]

that cover for the sun also rises is excellent
at first you're like, its a fire, then, oh it is a bullfight
then you realize that there are bullfights in the book

This is a terrible thing to say.

no that was a fucking awesome thing to say. good job ibn, i bn missing you pal

[Gookstorm]

On what sort of a topic? I tried to think of something that would be similar to the death of the liberal class book you posted but I can't think of anything. I'm sure there are some good histories of unions out there.

I'm looking to revisit my math and into algebraic theory while beefing up on some numerical algorithms for some work I want to do on the side. Nothing requiring less ADDing than math I figure, not to mention I should know this stuff anyway if I ever have a chance at a PhD program later on.

[Brut]

Serpico - 7/10 - I have a sweet tooth for nonfiction. Easy read but not enough details.

[riley-o]

i've always been at least part faggot

just ask smegma

conan the valiant - 9.5/10

[neckbeard]

i've always been at least part faggot

just ask smegma

conan the valiant - 9.5/10

what is this??

[riley-o]

it's the one where

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

the wizard is using a jewel to transform people into monsters, and conan teams up with a woman sorceress and some other broad to go stop him

[neckbeard]

Come Out My People. God's call out of empire in the Bible and beyond. Wes Howard-Brook - 10

[altars of radness]

it's the one where

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

the wizard is using a jewel to transform people into monsters, and conan teams up with a woman sorceress and some other broad to go stop him

And you only gave it a 9.5?

Just finished Zinn's A People's History. Great, but ultimately depressing. Why not just call it "Resistance Is Futile"? 8/10

On to Moby Dick.

[ibn Horowitz]

Operation Shylock - Philip Roth - 5/10
This one seemed good but after this and Portnoy's Complaint I'm beginning to think Roth just isn't for me. In both books I read through most of it thinking it was about one thing (or group of things), then I got to the end and it turned out to be about something else. Certainly going to give him a few more tries though.

Death in the Andes - Mario Vargas Llosa - 8/10
This one gets better the more I think about it. He has this thing where a flashback or story from one of the characters is interspersed with comments from the present of the narrative and it works wonderfully.

The Face That Must Die - Ramsey Campbell - 6/10
Good character development but ultimately a little bland and under-ambitious. The Children of Dynmouth by William Trevor does this kind of thing much better and more maturely.

[John Jr.]

Future Shock - Alvin Toffler

pretty fucking clairvoyant for 1970 / 10

[neckbeard]

speaking of clairvoyance

Have any of you philosophy book reading guys read anything on the subject of technique? I'm reading the Technological Society by Jacques Ellul. It was written in 1956 and it's like... whoa. I can't write right now.

[altars of radness]

I'm beginning to think Roth just isn't for me.

Definitely don't give up on him. I liked Portnoy's Complaint a lot, but mostly because it was so different from his more serious, Bellow-esque work. Read Sabbath's Theatre. If that book doesn't completely trample you, then you'll know Roth isn't for you.

[neckbeard]

will you read blud meridian after moby dick?

[altars of radness]

will you read blud meridian after moby dick?

Sorry, man. I'm too hungover to decide if that's a legit question or a barely legit pun. I was planning on re-reading it sometime soon, but I bought another stack of decent shit the other day that'll put off any re-reads for a while.

Moby Dick is fucking awesome so far.

[neckbeard]

I meant The Crossing. Enjoy Moby Dick

[Hotchka!]

I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert - 7

very quick read and one trick pony of course which lost enough steam towards the end that I'm tempted to go down to 6 but the laughs in the first half were good and plenty so I'll stay at 7

[ibn Horowitz]

I'm beginning to think Roth just isn't for me.

Definitely don't give up on him. I liked Portnoy's Complaint a lot, but mostly because it was so different from his more serious, Bellow-esque work. Read Sabbath's Theatre. If that book doesn't completely trample you, then you'll know Roth isn't for you.

I'm willing to read Sabbath's Theatre, American Pastoral, and the Human Stain(because I have an old copy) before I give up.

The Siege of Krishnapur - JG Farrell - 9/10
A sort of comic, sort of tragic novel about the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Tempted to say this is a ten. Grapples with contemporary issues as well as 19th c. theological and medical debates, all with complete confidence. Characters are eccentric without being unbelievable or parodic, though apparently the entire book is itself a parody of the genre of 'Mutiny novels' that came out in the 1860s.

[The Real MPD]

A Clash of Kings - 9.5

third time through, gang. shut up.

[father of lies]

Phil Imbrogno - Files From The Edge - 7

Overall, it's a decent collection of related paranormal jazz, but it's written for morons and seems pretty jumbled. It seems like it may have been hastily composed from previously written stories, because he repeats himself a LOT, but a few of the stories are so damn entertaining that it was enjoyable anyway. THANKS SECRET SATIN

[Ghost Dad]

Bad Science- 8/10. It's basically a grand (and well flushed out) introduction to research studies and their implication to evidence-based medicine. Actually, I could have just read this book and saved 2100$ on my research class, because I learned just as much from the book. It goes on to debunk homeopathy and shoots a lot of holes in complementary alternative medicine and nutritionism (or rather, it calls out the bullshit that these practices produce). Lastly, it provides an explanation for how the pharmaceutical industry tortures statistics to death to skew research in their favor. It's a pretty quick read, and I think anyone who's even remotely interested in science would get a kick out of it. It's also pretty funny.