A little place to just chat about Books.

[McCulloch]

A little place to just chat about Books. What are you reading? Would you recommend it?

[McCulloch]

Last night I picked up The Best American Science Writing 2008. It is part of a series edited by

• 2000 James Gleick
• 2001 Timothy Ferris
• 2002 Matt Ridley
• 2003 Oliver Sacks
• 2004 Dava Sobel
• 2005 Alan Lightman
• 2006 Atul Gawande
• 2007 Gina Kolata

This year it is edited by Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind. I've enjoyed this series. Great reading for the commute.

[Skyler]

I'm reading the Bible. I certainly would recommend it.

I'm also reading Norman Geisler's "Chosen but Free" and I wouldn't recommend it. Not only is it logically unsound and exegetically dishonest, he's a "cheap grace" proponent.

So anyway...

Skyler

[FinalEnigma]

Childe cycle by Gordon R Dickson. First book is called Dorsai!. the series is great. its sci-fi, but its very intellectual, especially the later books. the core of the series is Dorsai, Necromancer, The final encyclopedia, and The Chantry guild, but there's several other books that fit in there as well.

[Homicidal_Cherry53]

I have just finished Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

I too finished that a couple weeks ago. I absolutely loved it.

I'm stuck reading Ethan Frome for school for another week or so at least, so I haven't had a chance to pick up anything else of my choosing.

[OnceConvinced]

I'm reading the Bible. I certainly would recommend it.
Skyler

I've read it. Use to love it. Don't take it so seriously anymore like I used to, but do use it as reference material regularly. The main problem is there are so many different versions of it and it's impossible to find an accurate translation.

[Confused]

I've just put down a rather clever book that seems to be the first of its kind: Radiant Cool A Novel Theory of Consciousness by Dan Lloyd.

Dan Lloyd is Professor of Philosophy at Trinity College in Connecticut, and winner of the first New Perspectives in Functional Brain Imaging Research award, given by the Functional MRI Data Center and the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

The book is in two halves, the first half is a fiction framed as a metaphysical thriller in the noir style. I found it a gripping suspense story worthy of a more experienced author of this kind of material, but Lloyd's professional know-how also comes into play and made my head spin much more than usual. But this story is followed in the second half of the book by Lloyd's professional insights into consciousness studies and in it he sets out his identification of temporality present in fMRI data. This is, I think, a very important discovery for understanding the mind/brain issue.

I swear, you make my IQ drop at least 10 points just describing a darn book. I am all for striving for more knowledge, but I am not sure I will ever reach your caliber QED!!!! But I am glad there are people like you around. It is comforting to know that us simple folk can count on the brainiacs to make things even simpler.

[Confused]

A little place to just chat about Books. What are you reading? Would you recommend it?

I am reading "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. It is a continuation of his "Fooled by Randomness" argument but very good. He takes some of the more complex concepts (that brainiacs like QED sees as simple) and makes them easier to understand while applying them to everyday issues, both current and future possibilities, and the reality of them.

A good reading book as well as educational.

[onefaith]

I just finished reading "Wizards First Rule" by Terry Goodkind. Loved it. Its sci-fi, but the characters are very relatable. The only problem is the author is way too good at making the evil characters evil.

I also like Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia (although they're too easy to read, and short), all books by Ted Dekker and some books by Frank Peretti. Harry Potter and Twilight were good too. Yes, I read Twilight, no, I'm not obsessed with it like most teenage girls are.

If anybody likes thriller books, you should read "Comes a Horseman" by Robert Liparulo. It's long, but amazing. A bit descriptive, so don't read it if you have a weak stomach.

[FinalEnigma]

the sword of truth series(wizards first rule is the first book) is a pretty good series. it takes a far more adult view on magic as opposed to something like harry potter, which has a very childlike view of magic. He doesn't soften things much either, so its definitely not a book for children.

I would like to point out though, that it is fantasy rather than sci-fi. Sci-fi(science fiction) generally refers to books that take place in a technologically advanced setting; If you're in space its sci-fi, if there's elves and magic its fantasy.

[McCulloch]

the sword of truth series(wizards first rule is the first book) is a pretty good series. it takes a far more adult view on magic as opposed to something like harry potter, which has a very childlike view of magic. He doesn't soften things much either, so its definitely not a book for children.

I would like to point out though, that it is fantasy rather than sci-fi. Sci-fi(science fiction) generally refers to books that take place in a technologically advanced setting; If you're in space its sci-fi, if there's elves and magic its fantasy.

I think that there is a new term, Speculative Fiction, that encompasses both and avoids having to decide in cases where something could be in either.