BF3s Book Club

2009-11-15 06:09:38

#201

Uzique: dasein.; +2,865|6672

Dispatches - Michael Herr

"The best book I have ever read on men and war in our time" - John Le Carré (front-cover quote)

"Having read Dispatches, it is difficult to convey the impact of total experience as all the facades of patriotism, heroism and the whole colossal fraud of American intervention fall away to the bare bones of fear, war and death" - William S. Burroughs

"We have all spent ten years trying to explain what happened to our heads and our lives in the decade we finally survived - but Michael Herr's Dispatches puts all the rest of us in the shade" - Hunter S. Thompson

It's a pretty kickass (semi) journalistic book about the Vietnam War, really well written. Poetic and musical in places; a great style. Highly recommend, I knew only the basic history of the Vietnam War before reading this - as well as the typical Apocalypse Now mainstream-culture perceptions, and this book totally rehashed a lot of that and provided quite a lot of education as well, considering it's meant to be a novel and not a history textbook. Extremely vivid and captivating prose.

_{libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual}. _{http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/}

2009-11-19 14:12:53

#202

Jenspm: penis; +1,716|6934|St. Andrews / Oslo

If anybody wants to taste a bit of major Norwegian (and European) literary history, I'll recomend Henrik Ibsen's "The Lady from the Sea". It is a play, mind, but a great read. I don't know if any of you have heard of him, Uzique probably has - he's one of the greatest playwriters in European history. It's ~100 pages, and a great piece of 19th century realism.

I truely loved it, brilliant piece, yet not one of his most popular. Read it! (If you can find it)

https://static.bf2s.com/files/user/26774/flickricon.png

2009-11-19 23:41:56

#203

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7012|Nårvei

"A dollhouse" by Ibsen was better imo ... the underlying conflicts and dogmas flourishes in that book ...

Currently reading a book by another Norwegian, Extremistan by Aslak Nore ... it's about the impact of immigration for better and worse and how the author himself grew up in a multicultural community, how he meets and "digest" the same cultures/religion both at home in Norway, on his travels around the world and as a soldier in different NATO operations ...

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

2009-11-22 13:44:14

#204

rdx-fx: ...; +955|6793

Dilbert_X wrote:
FEOS wrote:
elitist self-declared "literary illuminati".
You mean twats like Salman Rushdie?

Or Neal Stephenson, in The Baroque Cycle or Anathem.

Pretentious literary twats, who's work reads like the literary equivalent of a Bjork album;
Technical exercises on the bleeding fringe of their "art", but unapproachable and off-putting to their presumed audience.

This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly.
It should be thrown with great force.
—Dorothy Parker

2009-11-22 16:30:53

#205

Pochsy: Artifice of Eternity; +702|5745|Toronto

David Foster Wallace- Infinite Jest. You'll rage hard, JhonG@lt.

Here's a sample of what his work is like:

There are actually 2 short essays there, both of which are hilarious and fit your description of 'a pile of rubbish on the floor'.

Tell me if you like it- it's certainly art for no purpose, or at least no set purpose.

The shape of an eye in front of the ocean, digging for stones and throwing them against its window pane. Take it down dreamer, take it down deep. - Other Families

2009-11-26 16:13:50

#206

Macbeth: Banned; +2,444|5787

Last two things I read really aren't books but short Philosophy essays.

Rousseau's Discourse on the Arts and Sciences
and
Kant's Idea for a Universal History from a Cosmopolitan Point of View

I liked Rousseau better. But I now have to write 10 pages comparing the two view points presented from each essay.

2009-11-27 06:44:58

#207

Uzique: dasein.; +2,865|6672

the crying of lot 49 - thomas pynchon

holy shiiiiiiiiiiit

_{libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual}. _{http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/}

2009-11-29 20:11:07

#208

Uzique: dasein.; +2,865|6672

The Essential Acker - 8/10

a riveting read; "holy shit" in the most commendable of ways; particularly joyous in its prose-style and positively transcendent in its message.

_{libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual}. _{http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/}

2009-11-30 19:25:18

#209

FEOS: Bellicose Yankee Air Pirate; +1,182|6612|'Murka

After all the teeth-knashing here about The Lost Symbol...I just had to read it. I'm about 2/3 of the way through it right now.

Really not that bad. And not that shallow, if you bother to use it as a jumping-off point to research some of the topics that he brings up in the book...all of which are based in fact, if spun in a bit of whimsy to meet his plotline.

10 minutes to get from Metro Center to King Street Station on the Blue Line? Give me a fucking break! That's 30 minutes on a good day...

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein
Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular

2009-12-01 00:42:26

#210

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7012|Nårvei

FEOS wrote:
After all the teeth-knashing here about The Lost Symbol...I just had to read it. I'm about 2/3 of the way through it right now.

Really not that bad. And not that shallow, if you bother to use it as a jumping-off point to research some of the topics that he brings up in the book...all of which are based in fact, if spun in a bit of whimsy to meet his plotline.

10 minutes to get from Metro Center to King Street Station on the Blue Line? Give me a fucking break! That's 30 minutes on a good day...

That was my initial point about the book also ... he blends in facts brilliantly thus making the plot more believable, he must have used quite some time on research and double checking and triple checking to get it right ... small errors like the amount of minutes it takes from Metro Center to King Street Station will always be found in books like these ... Ken Follet prides himself in making atleast one such mistake in each book, not sure if Dan Brown does the same ...

The villain part however is described in such an exaggerated manor to underline the point of it being fiction ... I read that in an interview with the author ...

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

2009-12-01 08:55:48

#211

Superior Mind: (not macbeth); +1,755|6894

An Enchanted Modern
Gender and Public Piety in Shi'i Lebanon

Lara Deeb

Great study on Al'Dahiyya and the role of women's groups, Hezbollah, and piety in Leb.

Last edited by Superior Mind (2009-12-01 08:56:14)

x

2009-12-03 21:39:01

#212

M.O.A.B: 'Light 'em up!'; +1,220|6424|Escea

Just finished reading Fist of God by Frederick Forsyth. Intriguing book, although the ending seemed to tail off a little quickly. I'm more into action thrillers, but it was a good read nonetheless. Bit more interesting than The Afghan too.

Edit - Danke for post reinstatement

Last edited by M.O.A.B (2009-12-05 13:22:11)

2009-12-15 08:48:10

#213

Iconic Irony: Bare Back Rough Rider; +189|5478|San Angelo, TX

Recommend:

A Dog Called Kitty

http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Called-Kitty- … 0671770810

Amazon wrote:
Bill Wallace's story (Holiday, 1980) of the bonding between a boy and a dog is not to be missed. This presentation, read by L.J. Ganser, is so softly dramatic that it not only captures the essence of gentle emotion but essentially transports readers to the Oklahoma farm where Ricky exhibits courage beyond belief. Ricky is terrified by dogs because as a toddler he was mercilessly mauled by a rabid dog and left to die. Sixty-three stitches later with no anesthesia, Ricky is scarred with the emotional and physical memories that constantly recall his tragedy. The softness of Ganser's voice reflects the softness of Ricky's heart when a puppy is left to starve because he responds with a litter of kittens for food but is rejected. Hence, the name Kitty. Ricky musters all his courage and feeds the puppy, building a closeness that only friends realize and conquering his all-consuming fear. With Ricky, readers suffer the loss and feel the anguish when Kitty is accidentally killed at an oil rig. Hope, however, still prevails and happiness does come through sorrow. Ganser brings life and emotion to a powerful story with his dramatic rendition. This touching and encouraging story add a further dimension to the significance of boy and dog relationships, and should be high on public and school library priority lists.

2009-12-16 06:03:41

#214

Dilbert_X: The X stands for; +1,813|6307|eXtreme to the maX

Winning - Jack Welch
http://www.amazon.com/Winning/dp/006124 … amp;sr=1-3
If you plan to work and want to succeed read this book.
Decades of experience and received advice condensed into one book, well worth reading if you want to make a success of work, sport, politics, whatever.

Many of the examples match my experience of industry, finding an executive as capable as this guy is as rare as a blue moon sadly.
Unfortunately his approach does not work everywhere, the trick is to find somewhere it does.
I thought his treatment of people is harsh, but he backs up his arguments well.

Fuck Israel

2009-12-21 13:09:43

#215

jay_courage: Alive in a sea of mediocre; +131|6161|Carnoustie

recomended-The Ice Man: Confessions of a mafia contract killer

fatastic look into one of Americas most notorious Assassins, a stunning look into Richard Kuklinski as he juggled a double life. One as a loving, doting father, the other as an assassin who's cold hearted intensity earned him the nickname "The Ice Man"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.html/ref= … 0312349289

I Friggin Love The Nhs

2009-12-21 17:07:28

#216

Dilbert_X: The X stands for; +1,813|6307|eXtreme to the maX

I don't like psycopath worship like the above book and the Crime Channel, for example.
Why we glorify this stuff is beyond me.
'Fantastic' 'stunning' 'cold hearted intensity' seriously WTF is this?

Fuck Israel

2009-12-21 17:24:17

#217

M.O.A.B: 'Light 'em up!'; +1,220|6424|Escea

Dilbert_X wrote:
I don't like psycopath worship like the above book and the Crime Channel, for example.
Why we glorify this stuff is beyond me.
'Fantastic' 'stunning' 'cold hearted intensity' seriously WTF is this?

Curiosity?

2009-12-21 20:48:34

#218

Dilbert_X: The X stands for; +1,813|6307|eXtreme to the maX

Its waaaaay more than curiosity.

Fuck Israel

2009-12-22 03:58:09

#219

jay_courage: Alive in a sea of mediocre; +131|6161|Carnoustie

Dilbert_X wrote:
I don't like psycopath worship like the above book and the Crime Channel, for example.
Why we glorify this stuff is beyond me.
'Fantastic' 'stunning' 'cold hearted intensity' seriously WTF is this?

I suppose I liked it because I studied that kind of thing at uni, I just thought it was an in depth look at how twisted a human mind can be, nothing more nothing less

I Friggin Love The Nhs

2009-12-22 09:37:00

#220

Uzique: dasein.; +2,865|6672

Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History - James A. Morone (Yale UP, 2003).

a good book for all you american D&ST regulars. a really good tracing and analysis of american history, socially/politically/culturally. the blurb states (although the book has a much wider scope than this, really): "this extraordinary retelling of american history shows that - despite the clear separation of church and state - religion lies at the heart of American politics". dont confuse it for one of the drab anti-religion polemics... it's a really well-studied, academic history book. im using it a lot for my course on american satire and the 19th/20th century american novel. a lot of valuable references!

_{libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual}. _{http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/}

2009-12-25 15:07:22

#221

cl4u53w1t2: Salon-Bolschewist; +269|6674|Kakanien

arthur schnitzler - traumnovelle

you might know kubricks "adaption" (eyes wide shut)

it's a short read (~ 100 pages) but nevertheless very powerfull

go read it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2oh3h3DvY0

2009-12-28 15:02:53