On Reading
I like to have several books on the go. Even though it means you have to distribute time and thinking over several plots, or trains of thought, it means you can pick up whichever book matches your current thinking, whether it be escapism, reality, or whatever.
Desired Readings
Life-changing Books
Previous Readings
In some kind of reverse chronological order...
Umberto Eco - How to Travel with a Salmon
Bertrand Russell - Why I am Not a Christian and other essays
Mario Livio - The Golden Ratio
Related: Fractals.
David Boyle - Funny Money
Very good. Related: Economics.
Jostein Gaarder - The Christmas Mystery
Philip Reeve - Mortal Engines
Steampunk makes its comeback.
William Gibson - Virtual Light
Good, fantastically written, but still prefer Stephenson's stuff, I think.
Haruki Murakami - Dance, Dance, Dance
Looking forward to reading "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles"...
Chuang Tzu, translated by Burton Watson
Read it. (Taoism)
Neal Stephenson - Cryptonomicon
Michel Foucault - This is Not a Pipe (translation) [thoughts]
Jeff Noon - Automated Alice
Second Noon book I've read, the amazing "Needle in the Groove" being the first. This one is completely different, however - a FU Alice in Wonderland that plays with language and roles in a similar style to Jostein Gaarder.
Jostein Gaarder - The Solitaire Mystery
Wow. Like Sophie's World, only a bit more accessible for those who don't want to know all about philosophical history...
Mark Haddon - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Donna Tartt - The Secret History
Alan Watts - The Watercourse Way
(Taoism)
Neil Gaiman - The Sandman: Endless Nights
Alan Watts - The Wisdom of Insecurity
Read it. (Taoism)
Charles E. O. Carter - An introduction to Political Astrology
Dr. Seuss - The Cat in the Hat
Just read it. Out loud. On a train.
Michel Foucault - Fearless Speech
A study of the role of freedom and "courageousness" of speaking openly, in Greek times. Foucault uses a variety of resources to highlight the different attitudes the Greeks had towards the word 'parrhesia' - the ability to speak what one thinks, or believes, rather than what the listener necessarily wants to hear. Much of it takes into account the parties involved, i.e. the relative roles and status of the speaker/listener, or the Grecian society's attitude towards the character, either as a cultural expectation, or as a judgement of an individual's personal ability to cope with the truth.
Some very interesting thoughts to a non-greek-scholar, in particular the different methods they had to look at how best to live their lives ("harmony").
[on Michel Foucault]
Nietzsche - Thus Spoke Zarathustra (translated by Walter Kaufmann)
my thoughts
Alissa Quart - Branded
This was OK, I guess. It was touted in the blurb as follow-up to No Logo, but was much less.. academic, and read more like a large weekend paper article. Much of the book is either the author's subjective reminiscence, or anecdotal material that describes the current trend of branding teenagers. I was expecting a lot more on the subject, such as the impact that for-profitcompanies are having on youth, education, et al, but it turned out to be mostly just tales of America's youth, with little discussion as to the causes, impacts, courses of action or conclusion. The last few chapters, dealing with alternatives and the DIY scenes that are being established in opposition to a corporated lifestyle, are the most interesting, but the book abruptly ends at this point.
Paul Rabinow - The Foucault Reader - [on Michel Foucault]
Lawrence Lessig's first book, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. His blog's worth checking out, too.
(See also: The Advent Of Literature More Than Just Books Ceci NEst Pas Une Pipe )
