News:

And we're back!

Main Menu

Grand unified books thread

Started by Syt, March 16, 2009, 01:52:42 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

celedhring

Quote from: Ed Anger on January 05, 2017, 11:05:13 AM
Chick writers suck.

You will be overjoyed to learn that one of the book's big ideas is that the narrator's language doesn't have gender differentiation so everybody in the book, and I mean everybody, is referred as "she/her"  :lol:

Valmy

Quote from: celedhring on January 05, 2017, 11:34:22 AM
Quote from: Ed Anger on January 05, 2017, 11:05:13 AM
Chick writers suck.

You will be overjoyed to learn that one of the book's big ideas is that the narrator's language doesn't have gender differentiation so everybody in the book, and I mean everybody, is referred as "she/her"  :lol:

OMG. Do the sad puppies know about this?

Actually I have no particular problem with that. Sure beats they/their.
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

celedhring

#3242
Quote from: Valmy on January 05, 2017, 11:47:36 AM
Quote from: celedhring on January 05, 2017, 11:34:22 AM
Quote from: Ed Anger on January 05, 2017, 11:05:13 AM
Chick writers suck.

You will be overjoyed to learn that one of the book's big ideas is that the narrator's language doesn't have gender differentiation so everybody in the book, and I mean everybody, is referred as "she/her"  :lol:

OMG. Do the sad puppies know about this?

Actually I have no particular problem with that. Sure beats they/their.

I was being flippant, it's actually a quite cool gimmick. Mostly because the gender of every single character is thus obscured and it totally fucks with how you mentally construct the story as you read.

But that's the trilogy's biggest idea and otherwise the narrative - while entertaining - isn't anything memorable. I have yet to finish the last book, though.

CountDeMoney

Quote from: celedhring on January 05, 2017, 11:34:22 AM
Quote from: Ed Anger on January 05, 2017, 11:05:13 AM
Chick writers suck.

You will be overjoyed to learn that one of the book's big ideas is that the narrator's language doesn't have gender differentiation so everybody in the book, and I mean everybody, is referred as "she/her"  :lol:

Pronounx.

Ed Anger

Quote from: celedhring on January 05, 2017, 11:34:22 AM
Quote from: Ed Anger on January 05, 2017, 11:05:13 AM
Chick writers suck.

You will be overjoyed to learn that one of the book's big ideas is that the narrator's language doesn't have gender differentiation so everybody in the book, and I mean everybody, is referred as "she/her"  :lol:

I tried the first book. Donated to a park bench.
Stay Alive...Let the Man Drive

Gups

Quote from: celedhring on January 05, 2017, 11:55:24 AM
Quote from: Valmy on January 05, 2017, 11:47:36 AM
Quote from: celedhring on January 05, 2017, 11:34:22 AM
Quote from: Ed Anger on January 05, 2017, 11:05:13 AM
Chick writers suck.

You will be overjoyed to learn that one of the book's big ideas is that the narrator's language doesn't have gender differentiation so everybody in the book, and I mean everybody, is referred as "she/her"  :lol:

OMG. Do the sad puppies know about this?

Actually I have no particular problem with that. Sure beats they/their.

I was being flippant, it's actually a quite cool gimmick. Mostly because the gender of every single character is thus obscured and it totally fucks with how you mentally construct the story as you read.

But that's the trilogy's biggest idea and otherwise the narrative - while entertaining - isn't anything memorable. I have yet to finish the last book, though.

Yeah, I read the first one. I enjoyed it fine but not enough to bother picking up the sequels.

Best sci-fi book I've read recently was Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

The Minsky Moment

#3246
2016 review (b/c cant be bothered to report in real time)

Worlds of Arthur, Guy Halsell - despite title this is a relatively serious history of post-Roman Britain.  Gives a good idea of the types of sources and their relative strength.  Also has speculative reconstruction based on interesting reading of the timeline in Gildas.
Political Order and Decay, Francis Fukuyama: 2d volume of his "political order" series.  Interesting and cogently argued as always but much longer than needed to be.
Transformation of the World, Juergen Osterhammel.  Very long but very good single volume history of the "19th" century (he often goes back to 1750s and up ahead as far as WW2).  Would definitely recommend  over Bayly if you have to choose one. 
Misbehaving[/b] Richard Thaler, chatty history of behavioral economics, decent intro to this field.  But if time is limited do Kaheman's Fast and Slow instead.
Meursault Investigation, Kamel Daoud. Camus Stranger told from the other side.  Nice short little book.  Not essential but definitely worth it if you are a fan of the original.  Read in translation.
Gilead[/b] Marilynne Robinson.  Read to see if holds up to the hype.  It does.  Beautifully written.
Strategy of Conflict[/b] and Micromotives and Macrobehavior, both by Thomas Schelling.  Both read a few months before his recent death.  Classic works but dense reading.  For this audience I would suggest first Arms and Influence which is a more coherent presentation focused on strategy in the nuclear age.
Age of Confucian Rule [/I] Dieter Kuhn - Conventional general history of China during Song period, part of series of histories of imperial China.  Not the most exciting read but learned a lot about a region and period I knew very little about.
Terroir and Other Myths of Winemaking[/b] - Mark Mathews - provocative title for marketing purposes - in reality this is discussion of recent thinking in viticulture and vinicultural science on a few selected issues.
Rendez vous des civilizations[/b] Emnanuel Todd and Y Courbage - using Todd's scheme of civilizational development, speculates that the Islamic world in gradually converging with the West.  topical but not best introduction to Todd's work.
Rue des BOutiques Obscures Patrick Modiano - classic work by 2014 nobelist.
SPQR Mary Beard.  Idiosyncratic history of Rome up to Commodus.  IMO strongest in the early pre-Second Punic War period.
Seeing Jose Sarmago.  He's got style but the lack of punctuation gimmick and the heavy-handed political messaging wears thin.  Read in translation.
Blitzkrieg Legend Karl-Heinz Frieser: detailed account of 1940 campaign in France.  Probably not much news to lots of folks here but I learned some from it.
Les Carolingians Pierre Rouche.  Somewhat old school history but told from a kind of Crusder Kings 2 approach - i.e. he is very heavy on the complex family relationships and their impact on politics.  Book includes only a few crappy maps, but dozens of genealogical charts. 
Inheritance of Rome Chris Wickam.  Good general history of late antiques/early medieval Western Europe.
White Guard Bulgakov - found out later this was originally a play and it reads that way.  Worth it for die hard Bulgakov fans but not up there with M&M.  Read in translation.
1177 BC -EH Cline: Does not, as the marketing suggests, provide a definitive explanation of the Bronze Age collapse.  But does provide a very readable survey of the written and archaeological evidence of the period and is worth reading for that.
Before European Hegemony Janet Abu Lughod - History focusing on international trade and commerce c. 1250-1350 in the Wallerstein mode.  Very interesting stuff.
Evolution of the International Economic Order W Arthur Lewis.  Short (<100p) and readable account of world economic development since the Industrial Revolution, densely packed with ideas.  Though parts a little dated (1978) still a worthwhile read.
Oxford History of Ancient Egypt and Rise and Fall of ancient Egypt - Two different books covering roughly the same ground but in very different ways.  The Oxford History as expected is scholarly cautious and dry.  Rise and Fall is a lot more lively and speculative, sometime perhaps too much for its own good.  Together they make decent complements if you are prepared to invest that much time.



The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.
--Joan Robinson

garbon

"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

The Brain

Women want me. Men want to be with me.

The Minsky Moment

The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.
--Joan Robinson

garbon

"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

crazy canuck

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on January 06, 2017, 04:44:41 PM
2016 review (b/c cant be bothered to report in real time)

Worlds of Arthur, Guy Halsell - despite title this is a relatively serious history of post-Roman Britain.  Gives a good idea of the types of sources and their relative strength.  Also has speculative reconstruction based on interesting reading of the timeline in Gildas.
Political Order and Decay, Francis Fukuyama: 2d volume of his "political order" series.  Interesting and cogently argued as always but much longer than needed to be.
Transformation of the World, Juergen Osterhammel.  Very long but very good single volume history of the "19th" century (he often goes back to 1750s and up ahead as far as WW2).  Would definitely recommend  over Bayly if you have to choose one. 
Misbehaving[/b] Richard Thaler, chatty history of behavioral economics, decent intro to this field.  But if time is limited do Kaheman's Fast and Slow instead.
Meursault Investigation, Kamel Daoud. Camus Stranger told from the other side.  Nice short little book.  Not essential but definitely worth it if you are a fan of the original.  Read in translation.
Gilead[/b] Marilynne Robinson.  Read to see if holds up to the hype.  It does.  Beautifully written.
Strategy of Conflict[/b] and Micromotives and Macrobehavior, both by Thomas Schelling.  Both read a few months before his recent death.  Classic works but dense reading.  For this audience I would suggest first Arms and Influence which is a more coherent presentation focused on strategy in the nuclear age.
Age of Confucian Rule [/I] Dieter Kuhn - Conventional general history of China during Song period, part of series of histories of imperial China.  Not the most exciting read but learned a lot about a region and period I knew very little about.
Terroir and Other Myths of Winemaking[/b] - Mark Mathews - provocative title for marketing purposes - in reality this is discussion of recent thinking in viticulture and vinicultural science on a few selected issues.
Rendez vous des civilizations[/b] Emnanuel Todd and Y Courbage - using Todd's scheme of civilizational development, speculates that the Islamic world in gradually converging with the West.  topical but not best introduction to Todd's work.
Rue des BOutiques Obscures Patrick Modiano - classic work by 2014 nobelist.
SPQR Mary Beard.  Idiosyncratic history of Rome up to Commodus.  IMO strongest in the early pre-Second Punic War period.
Seeing Jose Sarmago.  He's got style but the lack of punctuation gimmick and the heavy-handed political messaging wears thin.  Read in translation.
Blitzkrieg Legend Karl-Heinz Frieser: detailed account of 1940 campaign in France.  Probably not much news to lots of folks here but I learned some from it.
Les Carolingians Pierre Rouche.  Somewhat old school history but told from a kind of Crusder Kings 2 approach - i.e. he is very heavy on the complex family relationships and their impact on politics.  Book includes only a few crappy maps, but dozens of genealogical charts. 
Inheritance of Rome Chris Wickam.  Good general history of late antiques/early medieval Western Europe.
White Guard Bulgakov - found out later this was originally a play and it reads that way.  Worth it for die hard Bulgakov fans but not up there with M&M.  Read in translation.
1177 BC -EH Cline: Does not, as the marketing suggests, provide a definitive explanation of the Bronze Age collapse.  But does provide a very readable survey of the written and archaeological evidence of the period and is worth reading for that.
Before European Hegemony Janet Abu Lughod - History focusing on international trade and commerce c. 1250-1350 in the Wallerstein mode.  Very interesting stuff.
Evolution of the International Economic Order W Arthur Lewis.  Short (<100p) and readable account of world economic development since the Industrial Revolution, densely packed with ideas.  Though parts a little dated (1978) still a worthwhile read.
Oxford History of Ancient Egypt and Rise and Fall of ancient Egypt - Two different books covering roughly the same ground but in very different ways.  The Oxford History as expected is scholarly cautious and dry.  Rise and Fall is a lot more lively and speculative, sometime perhaps too much for its own good.  Together they make decent complements if you are prepared to invest that much time.

I liked Cline's book.  The lecture he gave at the Oriental Institute about the book is worth watching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyry8mgXiTk
He also makes the point that it is more interesting to know what collapsed than how it collapsed.  He also makes fun of the marketing for the book  :)

Thanks for the recommendation for Inheritance of Rome  :thumbsup:

11B4V

"there's a long tradition of insulting people we disagree with here, and I'll be damned if I listen to your entreaties otherwise."-OVB

"Obviously not a Berkut-commanded armored column.  They're not all brewing."- CdM

"We've reached one of our phase lines after the firefight and it smells bad—meaning it's a little bit suspicious... Could be an amb—".

CountDeMoney


Jacob

I'll pick up the Age of Confucian Rule once it's in soft-cover. I've found the series pretty decent so far.