'Tortilla Flat' is a very easy read, maybe 230 pages at mostQuote:
Originally Posted by Batman
Printable View
'Tortilla Flat' is a very easy read, maybe 230 pages at mostQuote:
Originally Posted by Batman
I'm reading Tim Tebow's "Shaken"...he autographed it as my Christmas present.
Finished True Grit this morning, going to be starting this one next
https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1...610l/11989.jpg
I've never heard of it before quite looking forward to it.Quote:
A gripping tale of human unrelieved horror, of survival and resilience, and of the ways in which humankind confronts death, The Plague is at once a masterfully crafted novel, eloquently understated and epic in scope, and a parable of ageless moral resonance, profoundly relevant to our times. In Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, the plague begins as a series of portents, unheeded by the people. It gradually becomes a omnipresent reality, obliterating all traces of the past and driving its victims to almost unearthly extremes of suffering, madness, and compassion.
I readQuote:
Originally Posted by Batman
The Black Death: Natural and Human Disater in Medieval Europe
by Robert Steven Gottfried
It's nonfiction so I guess that isn't your style, but it was rather interesting. Amazing how quickly things got out of control and how entire towns were wiped out....it wasn't just 1 disease it was famine AND the Bubonic Plague, Septicemic Plague, and Pneumonic Plague each deadlier than the last.
Actually sounds like something I'd enjoy (the book not the actual plague) I might keep that in mind for the future
It's a tiny book, short read.Quote:
Originally Posted by Batman
William Manchester's 'A World Lit Only By Fire' is quality too
https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1...610l/11989.jpg
finished this morning
not bad, very wordy and the story suffers for it sometimes, characters all seemed to blend into one another.
Camus has been described as existential and I'd agree, I've also heard comparisons to Kafka but on the basis of this book I'd say that Kafka is a superior author.
I don't think it's one that I'll be revisiting.
I'm going to start Of Mice and Men today, that should only take me a day or so to read and I might pop down to waterstones and pick up In Cold Blood by Truman Capote later on today.
Mein Kampf
I've always wanted to read Mein Kempf, my mate said it took him fucking ages to get through and it was one of the hardest slogs he's ever had with a book
just been out and bought
https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1...36l/168642.jpg
https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1...189l/89724.jpgQuote:
On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.
As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.
https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1...17l/248787.jpgQuote:
Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods—until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiosity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp.
oh and on a side note El Kabong, I asked them if they had The Black Death by Robert Steven Gottfried and they couldn't find it at all on their system so I'll have to browse amazon for itQuote:
If human beings disappeared instantaneously from the earth, what would happen? How would the planet reclaim its surface? What creatures would emerge from the dark and swarm? How would our treasured structures--our tunnels, our bridges, our homes, our monuments--survive the unmitigated impact of a planet without our intervention? In his revelatory, bestselling account, Alan Weisman draws on every field of science to present an environmental assessment like no other, the most affecting portrait yet of humankind's place on this planet.
I too have wanted to read 'Mein Kempf' just because you hear everyone refer to it so often and I know of exactly 0 people who have actually read it. The psychology nut I am I think it would provide insight into the person Adolf Hitler and not the image or figure of him...perhaps a clearer picture can be formed, it's also possible that the person could muddy the waters a bit as well. I most certainly understand how it could be a slog to get through as I attempted to make my way through 'Triumph of the Will' (it would fucking take one to finish that in one sitting....whoa boy what a bore) several times....which allowed me to see Hitler give speeches, have them translated, and then to process them while attempting to understand how life was in post World War I Germany....it's a big ask. I watched that not because I'm a Nazi or a Hitler-phile, but because I wanted to see with my own eyes hear with my own ears, and attempt to grasp at what point did everyone collectively go "Oh, this is a fucking mad man talking to us right now"Quote:
Originally Posted by Batman
Yeah Amazon has 'The Black Death' it's a neat little book very insightful....imagine entire towns turned into ghost towns....easy to imagine in America's wild west when the gold runs out or a railway cuts your town out of the movement of people, but just entire towns in Europe left like people had been raptured, horses, cattle, and dogs gone feral. Grass left to grow up high....had to be very spooky out there if you traveled (many in that age did not).
Yeah its a bit like when I read The Clansman (the book that inspired birth of a nation) it wasn't because I was a sympathiser or agreed with any part of the book, more because I wanted to see how they thought and how long it would take me to think ''Oh, this is a fucking mad man talking to me right now''Quote:
Originally Posted by El KabongI too have wanted to read 'Mein Kempf' just because you hear everyone refer to it so often and I know of exactly 0 people who have actually read it. The psychology nut I am I think it would provide insight into the person Adolf Hitler and not the image or figure of him...perhaps a clearer picture can be formed, it's also possible that the person could muddy the waters a bit as well. I most certainly understand how it could be a slog to get through as I attempted to make my way through 'Triumph of the Will' (it would fucking take one to finish that in one sitting....whoa boy what a bore) several times....which allowed me to see Hitler give speeches, have them translated, and then to process them while attempting to understand how life was in post World War I Germany....it's a big ask. I watched that not because I'm a Nazi or a Hitler-phile, but because I wanted to see with my own eyes hear with my own ears, and attempt to grasp at what point did everyone collectively go "Oh, this is a fucking mad man talking to us right now"Quote:
Originally Posted by Batman
I imagine that Mein Kempf would be a helluva struggle and I get the feeling it would be one I never managed to finish, I can't image that I'd get away with reading it on the bus either
Mein Kampf
Really?Quote:
Originally Posted by El KabongI too have wanted to read 'Mein Kempf' just because you hear everyone refer to it so often and I know of exactly 0 people who have actually read it. The psychology nut I am I think it would provide insight into the person Adolf Hitler and not the image or figure of him...perhaps a clearer picture can be formed, it's also possible that the person could muddy the waters a bit as well. I most certainly understand how it could be a slog to get through as I attempted to make my way through 'Triumph of the Will' (it would fucking take one to finish that in one sitting....whoa boy what a bore) several times....which allowed me to see Hitler give speeches, have them translated, and then to process them while attempting to understand how life was in post World War I Germany....it's a big ask. I watched that not because I'm a Nazi or a Hitler-phile, but because I wanted to see with my own eyes hear with my own ears, and attempt to grasp at what point did everyone collectively go "Oh, this is a fucking mad man talking to us right now"Quote:
Originally Posted by Batman
What a complete surprise
:-\:-X;D:p
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...03d34d5e7a.gifQuote:
Originally Posted by Beanz
I was gunna go out on the piss today but I've decided to stay in and get this finished, I've only got about 70 or 80 pages left, I've been pretty underwhelmed by it to be honest, after high expectations it's fell a little flat. I think I was hoping to have it more from the investigation point of view although it is nice to read something which focuses mainly on the criminals perspective.Quote:
Originally Posted by Batman
Also a bird at work has recently got into reading and she bought a load of Ian Rankin books online, they delivered them twice to her so she gave the second lot to me for free
http://i.imgur.com/NmWYaAl.jpg
I'm actually looking forward to reading a bog standard crime thriller so I might actually get started on one of these later
Finished In Cold Blood, I wasn't exactly thrilled by it, I found large parts of it pretty drab, I might revisit it at some point in the future because I kind of get the feeling I'll enjoy it more second time around but as for now, yeah I was pretty underwhelmed.
Anyways, I'll be starting this tomorrow.
I'm looking forward to a good old fashioned bog standard crime thriller, I used to read a lot of James Patterson and Jeffrey Deaver when I was younger but I got sick of them, hopefully this will be a nice throwback
https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1...l/16107925.jpg
Quote:
And in Edinburgh, of all places, I mean, you never think of that sort of thing happening in Edinburgh, do you...?
That sort of thing is the brutal abduction and murder of two young girls. And now a third is missing, presumably gone to the same sad end. Detective Sergeant John Rebus, smoking and drinking too much, his own young daughter spirited away south by his disenchanted wife, is one of the many policemen hunting the killer. And then the messages begin to arrive: knotted string and matchstick crosses - taunting Rebus with pieces of a puzzle only he can solve.
This is what I am reading at the moment.
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/...20160707141606
I have never been keen on Capote either. In fact I don't really see the point in fiction anymore. I am acutely aware of the limits of my time here on earth and I am desperately trying to read up on the lives of people that have always interested me, but didn't get around to reading about them properly. I'm looking for knowledge and connection. I am a very limited and disconnected person. I am looking for threads and all there are are broken strings.Quote:
Originally Posted by Batman
You don't like fiction? That's a shame, some great works are out there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gandalf
I'm not big on reading fiction. In fact I'm not big on reading at all. I prefer to have someone sum up a book to me in a couple of sentences, that's good enough for me usually.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gandalf
I understand its value and read a lot of fiction as a youth, but for instance having read the fiction of Satre as a young man I find that I want to know more about Satre the man as I get older. It's all well and good hearing fantasy stories in the Bible, but I want to know about the life of Jesus from a historical perspective. I want to understand the tortured lives of people like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. The reality is often far more intriguing than the stories, music or film that they were involved with. The life becomes the ultimate story. The people I read about are usually quite tragic people who didn't work out how to have a happy life. Jesus, bless him, was likely a bit of a terrorist who ended up on a cross, so he didn't have all the answers either.Quote:
Originally Posted by vidgilI'm not big on reading fiction. In fact I'm not big on reading at all. I prefer to have someone sum up a book to me in a couple of sentences, that's good enough for me usually.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gandalf
Shut up milesQuote:
Originally Posted by GandalfI understand its value and read a lot of fiction as a youth, but for instance having read the fiction of Satre as a young man I find that I want to know more about Satre the man as I get older. It's all well and good hearing fantasy stories in the Bible, but I want to know about the life of Jesus from a historical perspective. I want to understand the tortured lives of people like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. The reality is often far more intriguing than the stories, music or film that they were involved with. The life becomes the ultimate story. The people I read about are usually quite tragic people who didn't work out how to have a happy life. Jesus, bless him, was likely a bit of a terrorist who ended up on a cross, so he didn't have all the answers either.Quote:
Originally Posted by vidgilI'm not big on reading fiction. In fact I'm not big on reading at all. I prefer to have someone sum up a book to me in a couple of sentences, that's good enough for me usually.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gandalf
I know you are sensitive about Jesus, but he was not adverse to using violence to achieve his objectives. He was a bit of a Che Guevara type.
https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...-for-extremism
Tossing the money changers out of the temple =/= Che GuevaraQuote:
Originally Posted by Gandalf
as for your link: "But as Reza Aslan has made plain in his bestseller Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, "
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9RmAo6XVAA
Reza Aslan is a liar SIR!
Dude, the biggest lies are in the Bible and the strangest thing is that people fall for the hocus pocus fairy story in the manner in which they do. Jesus was not what the Bible says and the reality was most likely very different. I would say more but I would hurt the feelings of those who like to delude themselves.
Reza Aslan is an assholeQuote:
Originally Posted by Gandalf
I couldn't care less about Resa Aslan. There are other sources of information out there all far more logical than a book of propaganda. Can you imagine if they had Castro performing magic tricks and returning from the dead? People would have a field day! Yet off to church they go lapping it all up while ignoring the genocides carried out in their names. Hypocrites.
The Bible and the Quran are the biggest works of fiction in our history, all complete gobshiteQuote:
Originally Posted by Gandalf
I think there is some truth in there, but all written long after the events and spun into something akin to Lord of the Rings for various reasons.
Ya you guys are obviously right and the billions of Christians are wrong, how are you gonna break it to them there are a lot of churches to take down
I'm not looking to take down any churches personally. People are free to believe what they like, but by the same token people are also free to point out the obvious absurdities in the ancient Harry Potter chronicles.
Ya Harry Potter right, good logic you got going on are you convinced yetQuote:
Originally Posted by Gandalf
Well, when you have a bloke performing miracles, claiming to be the son of God, and then returning from the dead it does sound a bit far fetched doesn't it? If they had only kept it rational and not used it to murder and oppress over the years I would have more time for it.
Oh ok glad u got it all figured out palQuote:
Originally Posted by Gandalf
I'm on such a different level it's hard for me to humour you
Well, the Bible is a pretty good start! On that note I should probably reread The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. ;D
Dawkins was straight up ZOG he said life here started by aliens putting humans here so even that is intelligent life idiot but he doesn't know who made the aliens beautiful rightQuote:
Originally Posted by Gandalf
The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls. It told me I was a fucking faggot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gandalf
Paul Simon said you were gAy, aren't u both ZOGQuote:
Originally Posted by vidgilThe words of the prophets are written on the subway walls. It told me I was a fucking faggot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gandalf
first rule of zog is dont talk about zog (2nd rule is control the world at all times)Quote:
Originally Posted by walrus