What are you reading at the moment?

[Guest MattP]

On 01/04/2020 at 11:37, swanlee said:

...."the earth is a medium-sized planet orbiting around an average sized star in the outer suburbs of an ordinary spiral galaxy, which is itself only one of about a million million galaxies in the observable universe" ......

 

A lovely distraction in these troubling times. Trying to get an understanding of the science & principles Hawkings outlines has offered a kind of reverie. And I've also really enjoyed leafing through this well presented book and looking at all the neat diagrams.

Started this today. Hoping to finish it, many don't by the sounds of it.

[Nick]

12 minutes ago, MattP said:

Started this today. Hoping to finish it, many don't by the sounds of it.

 

At school I was fortunate enough to be highly gifted in artistic subjects (apart from art) and less fortunate to be considered to have the very lowest ability in science and maths. 
 

I was at a shit party in Long Eaton and wandered into an out of bounds area which I reckon was the girls parents lounge. I ‘happened’ to be carrying a bottle of red and sat down on an armchair next to a reading lamp. On the table was a Hawkins book. (May have been the summary one - A brief history in a nutshell one?)

 

I was about 20 years old. I opened this Hawkins book and started reading. As a kid my teachers of science knew me by the feel of my lapels... the next couple of hours was like some kind of enlightenment. I realised I wasn’t thick. I did get it. But nobody had ever bothered to explain it to me in a way which I understood it. Later in life I became a lecturer and learning styles which I employed were at the heart of my teaching - mainly because of him and that book and that shit party. These days I’m an editor and when I read copy for the newspaper, I always do it a few times and out loud imagining reading it from the different learning styles of the audience.

 

Stick with it.
 

It might change your life!

[Otis]

3 hours ago, The Blur said:

 

 

That is the latest one ain't it?   Always have rated his books expect for Promise Falls Trilogy which was quite good but bit too out there.  

Yeah, this one has a new set of charactors. Loved the trilogy, been a fan of his for years.

[swanlee]

19 hours ago, MattP said:

Started this today. Hoping to finish it, many don't by the sounds of it.

I hope you enjoy. In the past I've been put off by the reputation it had of being a little unfathomable. I certainly struggled with some parts, the section on particle physics for example. I plan to do further reading with regards this subject.

 

And as @Swan Lesta stated, we all learn differently. If there are any areas you do struggle with, the internet is a great learning resource. There's plenty of further discussion online, including talks & video presentations, that will help clarify any areas you find a little incomprehensible.

[The Bear]

If you think Brief History Of Time can be tough, you ought to try The Elegant Universe which is a similar book by Brian Greene about string theory. Now that's confusing! 

[David Guiza]

About a third of the way through The Rise and Fall of New Labour by Andrew Rawnsley. Really funny in parts, particularly Blair getting changed in a hurry when he realised that Bush was wearing a more casual outfit than himself. New found admiration of Chirac so far over the Iraq war too. 

[swanlee]

'Like sex, plate tectonics depends on rigidity.'

 

Steamy stuff huh?

 

And the clue being in the very raunchy title, the book explores the many varied historical theories and arguments around plate tectonics. 

 

Geophysists / geologists, it seems, are never in agreement. And Livermore takes great delight in mocking US geologists with this regard. Many in the US were 'fixists'. The irony being that it was the development of American 'cold-war' technology that finally validated the 'mobilist' argument. 

 

I did find the subject matter very interesting. However for what was supposed to be a non-technical book, the reader will be presented with a vast array of geological terminology. To the uninitiated, the lengthy descriptions of the chemical composition of various rock types, along with the presentation of argument & counter-argument, will at times seem a little tedious and somewhat superfluous to the geological concepts being presented.

 

These issues aside, an educational and insightful read outlining the current thinking with regards the inner workings of our planet and the impact this motion has upon the environment we inhabit. 

 

Edited 25 May 2020 by swanlee

[ozleicester]

[foxile5]

Just picked up Naked Lunch by Burroughs and good god above is it utter shit. 

 

Semi incomprehensible garbage, poorly written. 

 

The beat generation were always absolute crap but this is next level. An embarrassing read. 

Edited 12 June 2020 by foxile5

[foxile5]

The more I read the worse this gets yet I've seen the term 'masterpiece' applied to it by a reputable publishing house. 

 

Has anyone on here read it? Am I going mad? 

[Nick]

8 hours ago, foxile5 said:

The more I read the worse this gets yet I've seen the term 'masterpiece' applied to it by a reputable publishing house. 

 

Has anyone on here read it? Am I going mad? 

 No you are not mad. I had a go some 20 odd years ago but it seemed to me was written in slang and I didn’t understand half of the references. I didn’t finish it - just found it frustrating!

[murphy]

11 hours ago, foxile5 said:

The more I read the worse this gets yet I've seen the term 'masterpiece' applied to it by a reputable publishing house. 

 

Has anyone on here read it? Am I going mad? 

Yeah, I read it, in my younger days,  Mostly cus I thought it was cool to do so, I'm ashamed to say.

 

It is crap. 

 

 

[grobyfox1990]

Re-read Anne Frank's diary and Animal farm, both excellent and timeless. Just finished Homo Deus which had an explosive start then petered off. Started Narconomics which is very informative so far

[foxile5]

1 hour ago, murphy said:

Yeah, I read it, in my younger days,  Mostly cus I thought it was cool to do so, I'm ashamed to say.

 

It is crap. 

 

 

Its billed by penguin as a masterpiece. Its the fevered mind of a elderly drug describing his sexual fantasies. 

 

I wouldn't object quite so much but it's written so poorly it's definitely a case of emperors new clothes. Same as all the 'beats' - a load of shit. 

 

I'm going to read it all because I've paid for

After that I'm going to find every message board discussion I can and tell them how ****ing shit it is. 

 

I'm seething at this. It's great. 

[murphy]

1 hour ago, foxile5 said:

Its billed by penguin as a masterpiece. Its the fevered mind of a elderly drug describing his sexual fantasies. 

 

I wouldn't object quite so much but it's written so poorly it's definitely a case of emperors new clothes. Same as all the 'beats' - a load of shit. 

 

I'm going to read it all because I've paid for

After that I'm going to find every message board discussion I can and tell them how ****ing shit it is. 

 

I'm seething at this. It's great. 

I tend to agree.  Bukowski is plain depressing.  Kerouac's OK but I fail to see why 'On The Road' is so lionised.  Perhaps it's a zeitgeist thing?

 

In a similar vein Under Milkwood and Ulysses are two impenetrable volumes of jibberish that are major classics.  I always assumed that I'm not clever enough to 'get it' which is highly probable.  A bit like some modern art.

 

 

Edited 13 June 2020 by murphy

[foxile5]

2 hours ago, murphy said:

I tend to agree.  Bukowski is plain depressing.  Kerouac's OK but I fail to see why 'On The Road' is so lionised.  Perhaps it's a zeitgeist thing?

 

 

I think that On The Road was at the forefront of the first major literary movement of 'New America'. It was going to succeed regardless.

 

Honestly, I have never really rated most 'Great' American literature. Pahlinuk is okay. A few classics which most cultures have but stuff like Pynchon is just rubbish elevated beyond its means. 

 

 

 

 

[ozleicester]

This...chgallenging

 

[surrifox]

I re-read Max Hastings “Secret War” 

 

If your perception of Churchill is a few decent rousing speeches to keep us onside with the struggle , check this out . His clarity of thought and analysis of covert intelligence and his strategic vision is almost superhuman . Talk about “ cometh the hour” 

Edited 13 June 2020 by surrifox

[swanlee]

On 12/06/2020 at 21:56, foxile5 said:

The more I read the worse this gets yet I've seen the term 'masterpiece' applied to it by a reputable publishing house. 

 

Has anyone on here read it? Am I going mad? 

No .... I had the same issue. It was a long time ago I read it. But recall I didn't really get it / get on with it.

 

The other 'hip' alt-lit US classic I didn't get on with was The Catcher in the Rye. Just wanted to punch the main protagonist in that - hated the knob!

[foxile5]

6 minutes ago, swanlee said:

No .... I had the same issue. It was a long time ago I read it. But recall I didn't really get it / get on with it.

 

The other 'hip' alt-lit US classic I didn't get on with was The Catcher in the Rye. Just wanted to punch the main protagonist in that - hated the knob!

Holden Caufield - belligerent dick. 

[swanlee]

On 13/06/2020 at 11:29, murphy said:

I tend to agree.  Bukowski is plain depressing.  Kerouac's OK but I fail to see why 'On The Road' is so lionised.  Perhaps it's a zeitgeist thing?

 

In a similar vein Under Milkwood and Ulysses are two impenetrable volumes of jibberish that are major classics.  I always assumed that I'm not clever enough to 'get it' which is highly probable.  A bit like some modern art.

 

 

Sacrilegious ..... Bukowski depressing. The man lived his art. Love all his stuff.

 

But I have never got round to Ulysses. And that's because of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Pretty impenetrable and what's it about? A strict catholic upbringing, and the conflicting delights of masturbation & alcohol! What an effort.

 

With Kerouac I think it's the stylistic nature of his writing. Impromptu & innovative, it was the first time US literature had been written in that way. Also the subject matter, drugs, dropouts, jazz.

 

That said, I read it years ago, when I was a teenager, and wasn't overly impressed. Like you say zeitgeist and passable. 

 

Edited 14 June 2020 by swanlee

[Finnaldo]

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

 

Pretty apt for the time, I’ve been reading it since March but only a chapter here and there. Will look to get it finished by end of July.

[FerrisBueller]

Just read Leonard Cohen's 'Book of Longing' - which is excellent if you're in to sad poems about an old bloke's cock.

[swanlee]

On 04/04/2020 at 14:51, Kopfkino said:

 

Just finishing this up now. I've really enjoyed it - thanks for sharing 

 

Growing up as a kid in the 70's, the book provides a background to the headlines that featured on the news bulletins of that era. Additionally, it shines a light into some of the darker corners of the region that our MSM has not reported on in detail. Very interesting.   

 

Edited 16 June 2020 by swanlee

[murphy]

On 15/06/2020 at 16:13, FerrisBueller said:

Just read Leonard Cohen's 'Book of Longing' - which is excellent if you're in to sad poems about an old bloke's cock.

Oh...I am

 

Thanks for the recommendation.

 

I'm very partial to a sad poem about an old man's cock.  Cheers.