"Recent Reading"

[thekid]

Terrible thing for an English Major to admit but I don't read too much fiction anymore. I tend to read history, historical biography's and science books. Currently reading Steven Ambrose's book on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

[bobsticks]

I like Ambrose. He wrote a good book on Nixon that, to my knowledge, wasn't even plagiarized.

[thekid]

I like Ambrose. He wrote a good book on Nixon that, to my knowledge, wasn't even plagiarized.

Well I guess given some of Ambrose's issues with some of his books you could say I am reading a little fiction.....

[dean_martin]

Flannery O'Connor kils me...I remember his work as being like Hemmingway on thorazine in search of a therapist at a hoorenanny...

It was a cold, cold day on Erskine Bol's farm as he limped through the pain of his wooden appendage. "T'aint but a thing" he growled to no one in particular as he approached the vine encrusted hubble where inside he would find the remembrances of a life long ago lost. Chastity Purehart would never understand the great endeavor, one meaningless year after the next dragging through this impentrable Applachian winter existing the only way he knew, a nameless construct, the details on his mannequin exterior changing with the auburn leaves...

I loll'd...

"The girl had taken the Ph.D. in philosophy and this left Mrs. Hopewell at a complete loss. You could say, 'My daughter is a nurse,' or 'My daughter is a school teacher,' or even, 'My daughter is a chemical engineer.' You could not say, 'My daughter is a philosopher.' That was something that had ended with the Greeks and Romans."

[Worf101]

I'm just getting to the end of this semi-classic. It was first published back in 1995 ...

James W. Loewen: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong




Wherein the author examines twelve popular US high school history textbooks and debunks the flagrant mythology pandering and total lack of insighful analysis of real American history.

After 15+ years it ought to be old news, but judging by the wild ingnorance of the likes of Tea Party and Christian Right, the message has not sunk in.

I read the hell out of this book and loved it immensely.

Worf

[Feanor]

good idea for a thread topic! I don't read as much for pleasure compared to my college days. Used to read John Irving, Robertson Davies, Elmore Leonard, Peter Straub, Carson McCullers, Erskin Caldwell, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, and an assortment of books re: Russian history, UFOs, horror movies, music, bands, pop icons like Edie Sedgwick, Nico, Andy Warhol, Andy Kaufman, pin-up girls/sex symbols from the 50s and 60s, etc.

These days the most intellectually stimulating thing I read is Oxford American - a quarterly mag with well-written articles and short stories. I'm just barely holding onto my luv of lit.

Philistine that I am, I don't read much "literature". Given my deteriorating eyesight I prefer to spend the maximum couple of hours a day I can read, to reading non-fiction.

The last "literature" I read, about six months ago, was ...

Franz Kafka: The Castle {Das Schloß, 1926} translated by Mark Harman

I'm afraid the greatness of this work eludes me, although I did learn the meaning of "Kafkaesque bureaucracy"

[bobsticks]

.
The last "literature" I read, about six months ago, was ...

Franz Kafka: The Castle {Das Schloß, 1926} translated by Mark Harman

I'm afraid the greatness of this work eludes me, although I did learn the meaning of "Kafkaesque bureaucracy"

Forget about the greatness of the literature or the struggle of the urban proletariat against a faceless and debilitating monolith...I'm amazed that Mark Harman had time between filming NCIS and chasing Mindy around Fred's music store to translate the screed from German to English...

[Feanor]

Forget about the greatness of the literature or the struggle of the urban proletariat against a faceless and debilitating monolith...I'm amazed that Mark Harman had time between filming NCIS and chasing Mindy around Fred's music store to translate the screed from German to English...

No, no: not that Mark Harmon, this Mark Harmon.

[LeRoy]

Let us know how you get on with it.

Dawkins and Hitchens no doubt agree with each other. However Dawkins' God Delusion deals with the religious faith as a philosophical/logical issue. Hitchens' God is Not Great tends much more to criticize institutional religion.

I'm the only Atheist that I've ever known and in my experiences it's difficult to speak to anyone of faith without coming across as abrasive. This book has got me to thinking about the psychological makeup and differences between those of faith and those of atheism.

I'm almost done with the second chapter but I do disagree with the author regarding when he called the president of the New Jersey Historical Society of being of intellectual and moral cowardice.

Feanor, I did not know of this book until you were so kind enough to share it with us on the forum. About 4 or 5 years ago I was pondering the faith -vs- atheism polarity and I came home chuckling and smirking...saying they faithful were delusional. So, it was much to my surprise that someone else also found the same description as I had. Now I'm not saying I'm on the same level as Dawkins but I wonder who else amongst us also arrived at the same conclusion.

Your thoughts, anyone?

LeRoy

[Feanor]

I'm the only Atheist that I've ever known and in my experiences it's difficult to speak to anyone of faith without coming across as abrasive. This book has got me to thinking about the psychological makeup and differences between those of faith and those of atheism.

I'm almost done with the second chapter but I do disagree with the author regarding when he called the president of the New Jersey Historical Society of being of intellectual and moral cowardice.

Feanor, I did not know of this book until you were so kind enough to share it with us on the forum. About 4 or 5 years ago I was pondering the faith -vs- atheism polarity and I came home chuckling and smirking...saying they faithful were delusional. So, it was much to my surprise that someone else also found the same description as I had. Now I'm not saying I'm on the same level as Dawkins but I wonder who else amongst us also arrived at the same conclusion.

Your thoughts, anyone?

LeRoy

Dawkins doesn't cut much slack for religionists. Nor does he for "agnostics" whom I think he feels are slightly disingenuous fence-sitters. There are times when he is gratuitously sarcastic and ridiculing.

Too bad about that but on an intellectual level I agree with Dawkins completely -- and, like I said, essentially all his arguments occurred to me decades ago. (I also agree with his assertion that the existence of God can't be disproven but that the rational person ought to accept God's non-existence based on the overwhelming balance of probability.)

You must life a sheltered life not knowing any atheists! I've know quite a few but everywhere we seem to be in the minority.

Let's remember, though, that there are quite a few places in the world where open disbelief is distinctly dangerous to you physical well-being. This is true in South Waziristan for example. There are a great many more places where it is merely bad for your business and social standing. This is true in Bible Belt, U.S.A. Accordingly very many people dissemble religious conviction, support their local church/mosque/temple, etc., despite a basic lack of faith. They are most often successful fooling other people and often fooling themselves too.

I'd be a billionaire if I had a nickel for everytime I heard some one say, "You've got to believe in something!". Personally all I really believe in is skepticism.

[LeRoy]

Yes, I agree. The sarcasm is appreciated and funny too. Ya, no doubt his approach is philosophy driven and while reading his work I can't help but to also think about the bio/psycho/social aspects of the differences between atheists and the faithful.

Na, I don't lead a sheltered life....but close though. I am deliberately the lone wolf kind and three certainly makes me feel a tad crowded. I'm in Texas so I think that's the bible belt, and in my area of the planet, Catholicism, Baptists, Lutherans, and fire and brimstone lot, pretty much are the leaders of the faithful over here.

I've never sought out other atheists but the book got me curious so I did a search for atheist groups in my area and I was surprised to find 3 in my area. I will have check a couple of them out and see what's up with them.

[Feanor]

Yes, I agree. The sarcasm is appreciated and funny too. Ya, no doubt his approach is philosophy driven and while reading his work I can't help but to also think about the bio/psycho/social aspects of the differences between atheists and the faithful.

Na, I don't lead a sheltered life....but close though. I am deliberately the lone wolf kind and three certainly makes me feel a tad crowded. I'm in Texas so I think that's the bible belt, and in my area of the planet, Catholicism, Baptists, Lutherans, and fire and brimstone lot, pretty much are the leaders of the faithful over here.

I've never sought out other atheists but the book got me curious so I did a search for atheist groups in my area and I was surprised to find 3 in my area. I will have check a couple of them out and see what's up with them.

Texas ... hummm ... yes, I see.

Then you might appreciate another book I mentioned above ...

Chris Hedges: American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America

[bobsticks]

Dawkins doesn't cut much slack for religionists. Nor does he for "agnostics" whom I think he feels are slightly disingenuous fence-sitters. There are times when he is gratuitously sarcastic and ridiculing....

Clearly Dawkins has never had anything resembling a spiritual experience.

[Feanor]

Clearly Dawkins has never had anything resembling a spiritual experience.

What is the definition of "spiritual experience"? Can it be typified somehow? I don't think I've had anything like a spiritual experience in many decades; perhaps never.

In any case Dawkins would insist that can't draw concrete conclusions from these experiences since they might be entirely self-delusional.

I had a minor version of a spiritual experience when I attended a performance of G.F. Handel's Messiah during my late high school years. I thought surely there must be a God to have inspired such a magnificent work. Not long afterward I learned that Handel was motivated to write religious oratorios because Italianate operas were going out of style in England and there was more money to be made writing the former.

[Feanor]

I actually read this book a few months ago, but I'm mention it because it discusses a topic not often mention in media such as TV. It made a strong impression on me. It helped me to understand the angst, humiliation, insecurity, and occassional anger I experienced as a working-level "technical professional", (business systems analyst), and that I was far from alone in these feelings. It also helped me to understand than these feeling stemmed from deliberate policies of the large organizations I worked for.

Richard Sennett: The Culture of the New Capitalism

Based on the author's Castle Lectures at Yale, this book is a sociological study of the influence of the New Economy on human relationships. Sennett describes the transformations that have taken place in postmodern capitalism as corporations have become more diffuse, unstable, and decentered. Contrasted with the 'iron cage' bureaucracy described by Weber – those pyramid-like corporate structures in which individuals knew their place and planned their futures – modern corporations provide no long-term stability, benefits, social capital, or interpersonal trust.

Sennett first looks at bureaucracy in early capitalism. Most businesses were short lived and unstable. However, in the latter half of the 19th century, business was modelled on predictable military lines where all roles were defined and career progression could be mapped out. This new model aimed at social inclusion, that is, most would work at the base of the social pyramid, hopefully progressing to the tip.

Modern capitalism looks at this model with disdain – too many superfluous people are employed to remain competitive and people should constantly adapt and prove themselves to be assets. Therefore, in large modern businesses, the majority of workers face uncertainty and find it difficult to conceive of a life narrative. Due to mechanization and the need for upskilling, managers as well as their subordinates face the possibility of obsolescence. Concepts such as craftmanship and getting the job right are seen as wasteful and somewhat obsessive.

The organization I worked for, like many, expected people to "constantly adapt and prove themselves"; this was largely a pretext to offer no job security and treat people like disposable parts -- wear them out and through them away. Note that at same time they provided very little support for the adaptation they wanted; training was very scarce, and latterly as an older worker, I was completely excluded for training and skill-expanding assignments.

I'm afraid global economic competion will further degrade the condition of the majority of workers, not only in North American, but world-wide. It's nice to talk about economic leveling on a nation-to-nation basis, but I foresee that this leveling will not apply to people withing given countries where the poor+middle verus rich spread will continue to grow.

[Feanor]

Can a book about asset-back security tranches, collateralized debt obligations, and credit default swaps be engrossing and fun to read?

Why, yes -- yes it can. Michael Lewis gets inside the minds of a few, eccentric individuals who shorted, (bet against), the subprime mortgage market and all its absurd derivitives, and made 100s of millions of dollars. Smarter than you or me, eh? A page-turner ...


Michael Lewis: The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

[Feanor]

Just finished ...

Robert B. Reich: Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future




... Wherein the author argues that the economic malaise which has effected the US increasingly over the last 1/4 century, is fundamentally cause by the middle class having too little income to sustain the growth of the ecomomy. The middle class' standard of living has only been sustained 'till now by them working more, harder, and longer, and by borrowing. However since the "Great Recession" of 2008-2009, they have essentially reached the limits of what these expedients can provide.

As for the causes, Reich primarily blames reduced taxation and other privileges granted by Congress to the rich. In turn, Reich blames that on the increasing influence of lobbists and campaign contributions bythe rich.

So far I'm in perfect agreement with Robert Reich, but I'm not so sure of the feasibility of the remedies he suggests.

Reich suggests a number of programs; to name the principal ones:

• "Reverse income tax", i.e. actually payout to very low income people, and more or less lower taxes up to $160k of income
• Higher taxes those above that mark, including equal rates on capital gains as on other income
• A "carbon tax"
• Universal Medicare.

I agree that these measures might work if they could be implemented. However they can't be. "Reverse income tax"? Please. Americans believe their country is one of "boundless opportunity" where anyone can make it: the corollary is that if you don't make it you're undeserving of any consideration.

Reich is optimistic that American will see the light and get back to a more sensible course, but I'm not so sure. E.g. he believes that American CEOs will wake up and see that it is ultimately in their interest to support such measures. This is pure daydream. The very rich today see themselvers as global players, no longer reliant on or beholden to their fellow Americans. They simply what to grab as much from the middle class as they can and invest where in the world the can squeeze out a few more basis points of return.

[Poultrygeist]

Half way through "Fight Club" and all I can say is damn!

[Feanor]

Just finished another Reich book ...

Robert B. Reich: Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life

Basically Reich argues that the current political and political malaise of the U.S.A. and increasingly other developed nations is the result of increased captialist competition since the mid-1970's. Technological advances, (many related to the U.S.' military and space efforts), plus emerging nations' advantage caused a major increase in competion amongs old and new corporations. Corporations, overall, have responded vigourously to this competion thereby serving consumers and investors very well -- but people not so well.

Of critical importance, the need to be extremely competitive has encourage the growth of business lobbying of politians at the expense of citizen lobbying. Hence advocates for labour unions, the environment, human rights, and the poor have be marginalized to the deteriment of people as human beings.

... Amazon.com

[Feanor]

This is the best non-fiction I've read in a long time, and that's saying something. It's a really hard-hitting book wherein Prof. Sitlitz addresses the causes of, and responses to, the still-current Great Recession, and also the lessons the ought to have been learned (but mostly have not).

Stiglitz' main focus is the US financial sector whom he severely criticizes and blames for precipitating the Recession. He severely criticizes US Government and Federal Reserve, (i.e. Greenspan, especially, and Bernanke), for permitting the private sector to assume reckless and ultimately self-injurious risk. Whence he goes on to point out emphasis the result has been in effect to "socialized" bank losses while leaving profits in the private hands.

Partisan Republicans can take some comfort in that much harsh criticism is reserved for Obama and his financial team, drawn as it was from the old guard of biased financial insiders.

Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy ~ Joseph E. Stiglitz

[lelan]

recently i have read Girl Friday, Second chance written by Jane Green

[AliceWool]

I've been more keen on listening to audio books than on reading lately. So the last book I listened to was a Book of Horror Stories by Edgar Allan Poe.

[StevenSurprenant]

This is one of the best threads I have seen here. I honestly haven't read a book cover to cover for a very long time, but I have read excerpts and watched a few documentaries along the lines of the books mentioned here. Oddly, I used to read all the time, especially science fiction when I was younger. When I got older I lost interest in fiction except for television. I stayed away from politics and religion because there were too many view points to make sense of.

I'd like to give my 2 cents (from my perspective) on some of the subjects these books address.

As I got older and watched the world be what it was, I strayed away from religion and became atheist. Once this happened, all the oddities in life that were explained away with religion made sense as the natural order of things. For many years, I saw no harm in letting believers follow their own path, but eventually I realized the harm that religion has caused throughout history. I realized that most religious people meant well, but from my newly found perspective, they were spreading misinformation that stood in the way of social, scientific, and moral advancement. It wasn't till Dawkins came along and suggested that the more peaceful religious groups gave credence and support to religious fundamentalist, that I fully realized how dangerous religion was in any form. There was a time when people would not openly admit they were atheist out of fear of some type of persecution. Personally, I believe in live and let live. If someone wants to be a believer, then it's okay with me. Life is too short to think otherwise. When they force their beliefs on others either socially or politically is when I draw the line of acceptability

History is another area that I have had trouble excepting as accurate. There are many ways of seeing the same thing. When we read the history of the United States, we mostly read about Europeans coming hear to escape the religious and political oppression of their native countries and the struggles they had to endure to get to where we are today. If this history had been written by the indigenous population (Indians) that inhabited this land before this European flight began, history would tell a story about a genocidal group of white people invading their land and their homes, bent of stealing what was not rightfully theirs and murdering those who stood in their way.

As for the economy, easy credit has created a society that is living the good life based on future earnings. This is a potentially dangerous situation as the downturn in our economy has proven. Because of this greed, people with money get richer and those that fall into this trap have their standard of living diminished by the amount they pay in interest.

Politics is a very sorted affair. They keep calling this nation a democracy, but our democracy ends at the voting booth. Once we vote, we have no legal say in what our leaders do as long as they don't break the few laws that govern them. Mostly what we learn as children growing up is propaganda and has no resemblance to reality. For instance.. "For the People and by the people" sounds real nice, but is so far displaced from reality that only a fool would believe it, and oddly many of us do.

Nothing I said is new news or revelatory in any way and is far from complete, more along the lines of short thoughts. The people who write these books mentioned by the other members should be praised for their insight and ability to open the minds of their readers.

There are many more subjects written on that haven't been mentioned that are almost unbelievable, but based on fact.

Nothing is as it seems. That's the one thing I have learned in my life.

[Feanor]

Thanks for your comments, Steven. I find myself it pretty substantial agreement with all of them.

On the subject of religion, whatever the personal satisfaction and happiness it may deliver to the individual, I'm completely convinced that it is grossly harmful on the social level. But I'd like to emphasis too that there are other, not strictly relgious but equally groundless, convictions that afflict people: I'm referring to racial, nationalist, and related political superstitions especially.

I think, like Dawkins, that religion is a bad thing on the individual level too, in as much as religion (and other superstitious faiths: see above), offend reason and block our individual (and hence society's) progress toward ideas and actions that can save the human race and the planet. I consider myself a principled atheist; a person who came to that perspective through reason and a belief that empirical observation and experiment are the route to knowledge. Indeed, I was a skeptic even before I acknowledged that I am atheist -- the only thing I really believe in is skepticism.

[RGA]

The God Delusion is much better but if you don't have time his documentary is not too bad. Root of All Evil pt1 - YouTube

I am currently reading Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America and it's quite entertaining.

Before that I also enjoyed "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" and "I'm a Stranger Here Myself"

I have read a few Douglas Coupland novels recently and enjoyed them - J-Pod - though many dislike it I found it rather amusing.

My favorite novel is probably "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole. His Neon Bible is very good and he wrote it at 16.

"The comedy of A Confederacy of Dunces is writ large in and between its many lines: a grand farce of overeducated white trash, corrupt law enforcement, exotic dancing and the nouveau riche in steamy New Orleans. The Pulitzer committee thought highly enough of Toole's comic prowess to give his only novel the Prize posthumously.

Therein lies the tragedy of this huge and hugely funny book: John Kennedy Toole didn't live to see this now-classic novel published. He committed suicide in 1969 at the age of thirty-two. It was his mother who was responsible for bringing his book to public light, pestering the hell out of Walker Percy, who was teaching at Loyola in 1976, to read it until finally that distinguished author relented. In his foreword to A Confederacy of Dunces, Percy laments the body of work lost to the world of literature with the author's death, but rejoices "that this gargantuan tumultuous human tragicomedy is at least made available to a world of readers." A Confederacy of Dunces -- book review