Official Book Thread - What You're Reading & Everything Book Related (merged)

#729
#729
Just started the second part of Frances' Kamm's Ethics for Enemies, "Terrorism and Intending Evil". Interesting so far, however, it is hard to read it without hearing her own Yiddish drawl in my head.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guyBWVPw6Bs[/youtube]
 
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#730
#730
Kamm's section on terrorism was quite interesting. She argues that if killing is morally permissible in war and civilian casualties are morally permissible then there is nothing about terrorism that is inherently morally impermissible.
 
#731
#731
I finished a storm of swords monday. now on to a feast for crows. before that i read the Stieg Larson trilogy.
 
#734
#734
Just started Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, I’ve literally just started it tonight - I bought it on a recommendation from a professor of mine.

I just finished Michael Lewis’ The Big Short…interesting insight from a former Wall St guy
 
#737
#737
I'm about to finish up A Separate Peace. I forgot how much I liked it. Next up is Rainbow Six. I'll probably go with East of Eden after that.
 
#739
#739
Recently discovered a British author of a few decades back and just finished 3 of his:
Geoffrey Household. Sabres on the Sand an excellent story.
 
#745
#745
Currently working through David Hume's The History of England, Vol. I, and reading Herman Hesse's The Glass Bead Game for fun.

The History of England is fantastic stuff.
 
#746
#746
Man I thought this thread was history! Thanks for keeping it alive trUT, now lets kick it back into gear! :rock:

I am finally finishing the 850 page behemoth that is Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness by James H Austin that I've been reading off and on since June. The author is a neurologist who has spent much of his life devoted to the science of the brain and to the discipline of Zen meditation. If you have ever been fascinated by the brain and how it relates to consciousness or how the brain reacts when in various cognitive states then consider this book the bible. It is a bit dense, and truthfully sometimes a bit too scholarly and wordy for my reading tastes, but nonetheless it managed to keep my interest for over 6 months -- which is saying something! This is not your normal new age show either. It is a massive study bringing together the various mental and physiological developments and stages that occur or can occur when in a state of meditation and / or when in a heightened, altered brain state. It attempts to bridge hard neuroscience with Buddhist meditation / teachings and spirituality ; and it sounds like a nearly impossible task to do so objectively . . . but somehow, the author manages to do the impossible here. A very fascinating read and groundbreaking research.
 
#747
#747
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business [Hardcover]
Charles Duhigg (Author)

Very interesting insight into how our habits influence our lives.


51JmeSTbsfL._AA300_.png
 
#748
#748
Currently listening to Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon. One of the books that helped define the genre. Written in '37 - and far ahead of its time.

The novel is one of the most highly acclaimed in science fiction. Its admirers at the time of first publication saw it as one of the most brilliant, inventive, and daring science fiction books. Among its more famous admirers were H. G. Wells, Virginia Woolf, Jorge Luis Borges, Brian Aldiss and Doris Lessing.[citation needed] Borges wrote a prologue for a 1965 edition and called it "a prodigious novel". Lessing wrote an afterword for a UK edition. Freeman Dyson was also a fan, admitting to basing his concept of Dyson spheres on a section of the book, even calling "Stapledon sphere" a better name for the idea.[1] Among SF writers, Arthur C. Clarke has been most strongly influenced by Stapledon.
Click to expand...

Star Maker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
#749
#749
YorkVol said:
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business [Hardcover]
Charles Duhigg (Author)

Very interesting insight into how our habits influence our lives.


51JmeSTbsfL._AA300_.png
Click to expand...

On that same note, you may also find The Willpower Instinct and the Neurobiology of 'We' interesting.
 
#750
#750
Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami. My first Murakami book. I've got 1Q84 waiting in the wings. Might read something else before though.
 
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