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

[Orangedogsrule]

I have a collection of science writing, more focusing on environmental science and science history. Does anyone else collect books of a specific genre?

•Religion: Christian, Islamic, Buddist, Esoteric, New Age

•Mid 20th century engineering books-my wife and I kept all our college texts and have added many more over the years.

Engineering history I particularly like ones from the Manhattan Project era, specifically, "The Making of the Bomb".

•Zane Grey westerns (22)

•Agatha Christie mysterys (8)

•Early Thomas Hardy (3) pastoral novels

•Older science fiction-a bunch-hardback and paperback.

•Irish, Scottish, Danish, English, French Hugonaut, East Tennessee and American Indian (my ancestors) history and historical fiction.

Paperback pulp fiction thrillers.

Before Christmas I got forced to take a couple boxes to MacKay's Used Books. It was a tearful affair. ;(

 

[SamRebel35]

Have you read "The Satanic Verses" by Rushdie?

For those who don't know, Rushdie is one of the most controversial writers of our times. His style has been called "magical realism", and his 1988 book 'Satanic Verses' nearly got him killed by Islamic fatwa and he went into hiding. The Satanic Verses were written by Mohammed to be included in the Quran, but because they prescribe prayer to pagan gods, muslim followers began rejecting what was written by a "prophet of God". To get out of the uproar, it was put forth Mohammed wrotes those verses because he was somehow under the influence of Satan, hence, 'Satanic Verses'.


From Wikipedia:
..."The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters. The title refers to the satanic verses, a group of Quranic verses that allow intercessory prayers to be made to three Pagan Meccan goddesses: Allāt, Uzza, and Manāt.[1] The part of the story that deals with the "satanic verses" was based on accounts from the historians al-Waqidi and al-Tabari.[1]

In the United Kingdom, The Satanic Verses received positive reviews, was a 1988 Booker Prize finalist (losing to Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda) and won the 1988 Whitbread Award for novel of the year.[2] However, major controversy ensued as Muslims accused it of blasphemy and mocking their faith. The outrage among Muslims resulted in a fatwā calling for Rushdie's death issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Supreme Leader of Iran, on 14 February 1989. The result was several failed assassination attempts on Rushdie, who was placed under police protection, and attacks on several connected individuals such as translator Hitoshi Igarashi (leading, in Igarashi's case, to death)"..

I've only read the one. I agree on difficulty of style, but after I got accustomed to the cadence of the translator's work, it's ok.

So Rushdie can and does drill right down to the core of what should be serious social and/or religious issues. Gonna have to try him again.

Will 'Shame' be the book to get?

I enjoy it. It is about Pakistan and the ridiculousness of the shame culture in lands dominated by religious imbeciles and "honorable" folks.

 

[SamRebel35]

Have you read "The Satanic Verses" by Rushdie?

For those who don't know, Rushdie is one of the most controversial writers of our times. His style has been called "magical realism", and his 1988 book 'Satanic Verses' nearly got him killed by Islamic fatwa and he went into hiding. The Satanic Verses were written by Mohammed to be included in the Quran, but because they prescribe prayer to pagan gods, muslim followers began rejecting what was written by a "prophet of God". To get out of the uproar, it was put forth Mohammed wrotes those verses because he was somehow under the influence of Satan, hence, 'Satanic Verses'.


From Wikipedia:
..."The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters. The title refers to the satanic verses, a group of Quranic verses that allow intercessory prayers to be made to three Pagan Meccan goddesses: Allāt, Uzza, and Manāt.[1] The part of the story that deals with the "satanic verses" was based on accounts from the historians al-Waqidi and al-Tabari.[1]

In the United Kingdom, The Satanic Verses received positive reviews, was a 1988 Booker Prize finalist (losing to Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda) and won the 1988 Whitbread Award for novel of the year.[2] However, major controversy ensued as Muslims accused it of blasphemy and mocking their faith. The outrage among Muslims resulted in a fatwā calling for Rushdie's death issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Supreme Leader of Iran, on 14 February 1989. The result was several failed assassination attempts on Rushdie, who was placed under police protection, and attacks on several connected individuals such as translator Hitoshi Igarashi (leading, in Igarashi's case, to death)"..

I've only read the one. I agree on difficulty of style, but after I got accustomed to the cadence of the translator's work, it's ok.

So Rushdie can and does drill right down to the core of what should be serious social and/or religious issues. Gonna have to try him again.

Will 'Shame' be the book to get?

And no I haven't read Satanic verses yet. That's the book I was looking for when I found "Shame" at McKays. I'll keep trying to track it down.

 

[BigOrangeCrush32]

I have book 1 about half finished on my Nook since it came out. Maybe I should pick it up again.

it took me a month after i started reading it to pick it up and finish it. At first, I thought the premise was weird but then i was at work one night and it was slow and I started reading it again and bam, I couldn't put it down. It finished strong and books 2 and 3 blew me away. I literally could not put the books down. The only thing that got me about them was, there was twist after twist. Almost too many were you get frustrated lol. Pick it up again and it will make you happy you did.

 

[PKT_VOL]

I have a collection of science writing, more focusing on environmental science and science history. Does anyone else collect books of a specific genre?

I break it down into four categories:

Philosophy: reference books, original works, secondary commentary

Miscellaneous: economics, history, biographies, comedy, intelligence

Science: reference, original works, secondary commentary

Metaphysics: various scriptures, various myths, reference, theology, religious biographies, secondary commentary

Virtually all non-fiction, all physical books.

 

[Coleslaw]

And no I haven't read Satanic verses yet. That's the book I was looking for when I found "Shame" at McKays. I'll keep trying to track it down.

In stock on thriftbooks.com under $4. Always free shipping on orders $10 or more.

 

[VOLatile]

I break it down into four categories:

Philosophy: reference books, original works, secondary commentary

Miscellaneous: economics, history, biographies, comedy, intelligence

Science: reference, original works, secondary commentary

Metaphysics: various scriptures, various myths, reference, theology, religious biographies, secondary commentary

Virtually all non-fiction, all physical books.

Nice!

 

[zreeves]

Expert Political Judgement - Pretty interesting book written by a psychologist about why people approach politics the way they do and if politicians used good judgement or not in hindsight with a lot of statistics and a generally scientific approach

 

[firestorm]

Expert Political Judgement - Pretty interesting book written by a psychologist about why people approach politics the way they do and if politicians used good judgement or not in hindsight with a lot of statistics and a generally scientific approach

So it's pretty much a improvement book for those that want to change politicians, or to help current politicians or persons that have the career objective to be a politician.

 

[pismonque]

So it's pretty much a improvement book for those that want to change politicians, or to help current politicians or persons that have the career objective to be a politician.

The Joy Of Politix

 

[zreeves]

So it's pretty much a improvement book for those that want to change politicians, or to help current politicians or persons that have the career objective to be a politician.

Here is the google summary more articulate than I am clearly. It also does touch on why experts are often wrong but not often held accountable.

The intelligence failures surrounding the invasion of Iraq dramatically illustrate the necessity of developing standards for evaluating expert opinion. This book fills that need. Here, Philip E. Tetlock explores what constitutes good judgment in predicting future events, and looks at why experts are often wrong in their forecasts.


Tetlock first discusses arguments about whether the world is too complex for people to find the tools to understand political phenomena, let alone predict the future. He evaluates predictions from experts in different fields, comparing them to predictions by well-informed laity or those based on simple extrapolation from current trends. He goes on to analyze which styles of thinking are more successful in forecasting. Classifying thinking styles using Isaiah Berlin's prototypes of the fox and the hedgehog, Tetlock contends that the fox--the thinker who knows many little things, draws from an eclectic array of traditions, and is better able to improvise in response to changing events--is more successful in predicting the future than the hedgehog, who knows one big thing, toils devotedly within one tradition, and imposes formulaic solutions on ill-defined problems. He notes a perversely inverse relationship between the best scientific indicators of good judgement and the qualities that the media most prizes in pundits--the single-minded determination required to prevail in ideological combat.


Clearly written and impeccably researched, the book fills a huge void in the literature on evaluating expert opinion. It will appeal across many academic disciplines as well as to corporations seeking to develop standards for judging expert decision-making.

 

[bignewt]

Just read:

Underworld - Don Delillo
The Heavenly Table - Donald Ray Pollack

Reading:

A Decent Ride - Irvine Welsh

 

[firestorm]

Well I'll be getting a call from the Millard Barnesandnoble when Pray for Darkness arrives after special ordering it at a local Barnesandnoble today.

 

[bigeasy]

I have book 1 about half finished on my Nook since it came out. Maybe I should pick it up again.

You should. I am in the process of reading them for I think the 4th time haha. Red Rising does start a bit slow, but the same can't be said for Books 2 or 3.

Looking forward to the start of his new trilogy. The first book of that series called Iron Gold comes out in Jan 2018.

 

[YankeeVol]

Dixieland Delight by Clay Travis.

I'd like to see a game in every SEC stadium.

 

[YankeeVol]

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

 

[95 Vol Alum]

Dixieland Delight by Clay Travis.

I'd like to see a game in every SEC stadium.

Good read. Agreed.

 

[Tin Man]

I see that a publication date of 11/14/2017 has been set for 'Oathbringer,' the third book in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive.

 

[bignewt]

Reading Lincoln in the Bardo right now...interesting

 

[InVOLuntary]

Reading Lincoln in the Bardo right now...interesting

How are you reading a book and posting on Volnation simultaneously? Impressive!

 

[bignewt]

how are you reading a book and posting on volnation simultaneously? Impressive!

add

 

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

Dixieland Delight by Clay Travis.

I'd like to see a game in every SEC stadium.

I read it a couple years ago. Good read.

 

[InVOLuntary]

add

1+1=2 2+2=4. 6465+1834=8299

 

[bignewt]

1+1=2 2+2=4. 6465+1834=8299

No calculators

 

[jjay2518]

I see that a publication date of 11/14/2017 has been set for 'Oathbringer,' the third book in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive.

!!!!!!