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joytron

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Just finished Pygmalion by Shaw, a few days before that Life in the Iron Mills by Davis; in the meantime Taming of the Shrew and Hamlet have been re-read for the umpteenth time... All for my classes of course wink.gif

I'm currently struggling with Ammaniti's Io non ho paura in the original. Love how my university expects us to read novels in italian after studying the language for one semester. Surprisingly, I understand most of it ohmy.gif Except the bits written in the southern dialect.

Whenever I have some scraps of free time left, I'm read a few odd pages of Kawabata's The Lake here and there. It's gonna be pissing all weekend, so I'm looking forward to starting another re-read of something by Dostoyevski or Bulghakov. In the original, of course, the bloody translations are one great travesty.

Something tells me I'll need glasses soon :/
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Freakonomics-- If you haven't read it yet... do it NOW! I would go to a library and check it out instead of buying it because it's $25, however... if you DO buy it, it's SO worth it. biggrin.gif

Oh and Wow about the comments about 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. I LOVE the book 1984. It really made me think, and with more and more things happening in the recent government, makes me worry. IE. This "converter" box that everyone is supposed to have by February 2009. Maybe to keep tabs on everyone? ;-) Ah, you get where I'm going with that?
Plus, I never read Fahrenheit 451 in school so my boyfriend made me get it from the library. I'm starting it this week. :]
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I thought Freakonomics was a "fun read," not sure if I agree with the views of the authors in everything, but fun to read none the less. Only thing I really hated was the introduction to every chapter where Dubner praises Levitt like he was the reincarnated Christ himself.
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QUOTE (Balthazar @ Sep 28 2008, 04:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I thought Freakonomics was a "fun read," not sure if I agree with the views of the authors in everything, but fun to read none the less. Only thing I really hated was the introduction to every chapter where Dubner praises Levitt like he was the reincarnated Christ himself.


haha Yeah, I've got to agree with you there. I love the book because of the views that I never really correlated together. I cannot say that I agree with all of them either but I enjoyed the book.
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  • 1 month later...
Just finished the Dark Tower series by Stephen King yesterday. A great set of books which I highly recommend to anyone.
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just started Monkey translated by arthur waley, it was a book written a while back by Wu Cheng'en called A journey to the west. The story is a really popular all over asia and so far is really tripping me out.
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  • 3 weeks later...
I just started the complete works of William Shakespeare. I'll be reading that for a while...
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QUOTE (click @ Dec 2 2008, 05:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Finished, Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins.

Realllllly interesting.



I've been wanting to read that book for a while, Anti-Flag introduced me to its existance with their song of the same title, and I've seen interviews with John Perkins.

I'm just Finishing up: The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State by Noah Feldman, very insightful. I'd also reccomend What we Owe Iraq by Noah Feldman. Very good books.

Edit: Link to the Anti-Flag song which is AMAZING --> (As is Anti-Flag PERIOD) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ssbukIZXWM Edited by An1m
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I'll be done with my exams next thursday, so hopefully I'll finally be able to read something not directly related to my studies. My biggest issue is that I have so many unread books that I have no idea where to start. I thought I'd let you guys decide for me, right now it's between the following books:

1) The Trial, Franz Kafka
2) Marx's Ecology, John Bellamy Foster
3) What We Say Goes, Noam Chomsky
4) Power and Terror, Noam Chomsky
5) Understanding Power, Noam Chomsky
6) Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
7) The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein
8) Who Speaks for Islam?, John Esposito
9) Freedom Next Time, John Pilger
10) In Defense of Lost Causes, Slavoj Žižek


These are the ones I picked out, I don't even want to think about how many books I've bought but never found the time to read. If anyone has read any of these, any advice on what to start with?
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I always seem to be reading a book from the dragonlance series, I normally cant stand fantasy, but I am hooked on these. They are a really good read. If you do happen to pick them up, make sure you get books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and preferably start at the beginning with the original Chronicles series.
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QUOTE (Balthazar @ Dec 5 2008, 05:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I'll be done with my exams next thursday, so hopefully I'll finally be able to read something not directly related to my studies. My biggest issue is that I have so many unread books that I have no idea where to start. I thought I'd let you guys decide for me, right now it's between the following books:

1) The Trial, Franz Kafka
2) Marx's Ecology, John Bellamy Foster
3) What We Say Goes, Noam Chomsky
4) Power and Terror, Noam Chomsky
5) Understanding Power, Noam Chomsky
6) Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
7) The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein
8) Who Speaks for Islam?, John Esposito
9) Freedom Next Time, John Pilger
10) In Defense of Lost Causes, Slavoj Žižek


These are the ones I picked out, I don't even want to think about how many books I've bought but never found the time to read. If anyone has read any of these, any advice on what to start with?



Hey man, I got to recommend Crime & Punishment only because Dostoevsky is my favorite writer. Great book, infact all his books I've read are. I'd recommend reading The Idiot by FD as well when you finish Crime & Punishment. I found that was his easiest book to read, His others, are sometimes difficult because the way Russian names are. Name changes depending on who is speaking to who and their relation to each other. The Idiot has got to be my favorite book though.
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I love Russian novels... gotta recommend Bulgakov's Master and Margarita, although I don't know if the translation will do it justice. One of my favourite books of all time. Also Camus' The Stranger has this strange appeal... It's like staring at something terrible and not being able to turn away. And then you realise you're looking into your very soul. Another book worth mentioning is Proust's Finding Time Again. I'll admit that it's the only book from the series that I've read but one day I hope to tackle the others smile.gif On a lighter note you might enjoy The Good Soldier Schweik by Hasek, kind of a lighter take on the theme of World War II. What else? I really enjoy reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez although I have yet to read his magnus opus (100 Years of Solitude)... Right now I can recommend Chronicle of a Death Foretold, king of a shorter read, and Love in the Time of Cholera (don't plan on seeing the movie). Another SA author I really enjoy is Scorza, especially his Drums for Rancas, a really heartbreaking novel for citizens of the developed world. Speaking of depressing authors, I'd recommend Hemmingway. Although I mainly read his short stories, The Sun Also Rises struck a deep note with me.

I also find Japanese fiction very... fresh. Soseki's I am a Cat is amazing in it's ingenuity (the narrator is a cat). There is also Yoshimoto Banana, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, Matsubara Hisako... Anyway Japanese literature is a topic for another post smile.gif
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QUOTE (Big Boss @ Dec 2 2008, 01:02 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I just started the complete works of William Shakespeare. I'll be reading that for a while...


I am re-reading Othello... again.
Seriously I can appreciate Shakespeare but this will be the last Shakespeare course I ever take.
mellow.gif
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Now that break's in full swing here, here's the list:

1) Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, Goethe. For a class next quarter, need to prep.
2) Portrait of a Lady, Henry James. Same Situation.
3) Society of the Spectacle, Guy Debord.
4) the Shahnameh
5) Illuminations, Benjamin. A reread.
6) Lichtenberg Figures, Ben Lerner. If you're into contemporary poetry, check out his first book, Angle of Yaw. Fantastic stuff.
7) Collected Wallace Stevens? If I have time.
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