What Book Are You Reading? Issue.8
- Thread starter Abaddon
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flyingchicken
Deity
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I have almost finished an abridged version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (for my pleasure), and plan to read bits of the thousand tales of terrorist nights (for school).
Room service by Gary Schwartz; stories by a reporter for Svensken Dagbladet from Vienna and Istria, mostly about his Balkan trips.
Taffeh, a book on the transfer of the Taffeh temple prior to the building of the Aswan dam to Leyden, excavations, as well as an account of (Northern) Nubia through the ages.
Taffeh, a book on the transfer of the Taffeh temple prior to the building of the Aswan dam to Leyden, excavations, as well as an account of (Northern) Nubia through the ages.
Integral
Can't you hear it?
Ooh, fun.
----
I'm reading a lot of boring stuff.
- Data Analysis Using Stata, 2nd Ed. I've found it highly useful and teachable. Covers all of the basic data analysis topics (descriptive stats, hypothesis testing, graphical techniques, comparing distributions, linear and logistic regression, etc) with Stata procedures integrated throughout.
- The Little SAS Book, 3rd Ed. It's good, but somewhat lacking, particularly if you have prior experience in another statistical package; I guess it would be useful if SAS were one's first stat package. What I really need is a comprehensive Stata-to-SAS guide...
- Data Analysis Using Regression and Multilevel/Hierarchical Models, by Andrew Gelman (Gah. Good book, though. Uses the R statistical package heavily in the examples.)
- Mostly Harmless Econometrics, by Joshua Angrist. Excellent coverage of instrumental-variable regression and panel data methods.
Then again, Tyler Cowen's new book (Create Your Own Economy) is on the way.
I'm also re-reading Bertrand Russell's The Problems of Philosophy, because I didn't really appreciate it enough the first time through.
Mowque
Hypermodernist
Oops. I thought you were branching out into Special Ops there for a minute Integral.
Cheezy the Wiz
Socialist In A Hurry
Easily my favorite novel.
Still reading Trotsky's History of the Russian Revolution. Its very long (1200 pages), but fantastically interesting. I've just finished the part about Kerensky's plot to become dictator and General Kornilov's brief attempt at insurrection, and how the two coincided and helped each other fail.
Finished "The Knife of Dreams"
now I'll have to move on to other books until the next one is released, so I started with "The Blade Itself" the first Book from the "The First Law" trilogy.
so far, I enjoy it quite a bit.
now I'll have to move on to other books until the next one is released, so I started with "The Blade Itself" the first Book from the "The First Law" trilogy.
so far, I enjoy it quite a bit.
Godwynn
March to the Sea
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- May 17, 2003
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Easily my favorite novel.
That's good to hear. I finished The Taming of the Shrew and didn't like it at all. So I think I will work on Bertie Russell's book and start The Brothers Karamazov. I don't know if I can read multiple books at once, I've never tried it before.
Pokurcz
Emperor
Putins Russia, by Anna Politkovskaja.
Shocking revelations about the inner workings of modern Russia. What is evident is that it is a mongrel of Soviet beurocracy and Mafia like use of force. I never realised that it was this bad, a society as rotten as can be under the guile of some sort of uneasy order.
As I read it my guts twist in to knots of revulsion pared with disbeliefe and the soothing realisation that I am lucky enough not to live there.
Words fail me.
Shocking revelations about the inner workings of modern Russia. What is evident is that it is a mongrel of Soviet beurocracy and Mafia like use of force. I never realised that it was this bad, a society as rotten as can be under the guile of some sort of uneasy order.
As I read it my guts twist in to knots of revulsion pared with disbeliefe and the soothing realisation that I am lucky enough not to live there.
Words fail me.
As I read it my guts twist in to knots of revulsion pared with disbeliefe and the soothing realisation that I am lucky enough not to live there.
Sounds a good read. Couple years ago there was an article in Helsingin Sanomat involving FSB, high rise bombings allegedly performed by Chechenians and some weird pistol constructed in secret laboratory. What I read was so strange that I doubted my sanity and can't repeat it, because it sounds too unbelieveable once written down.
Deeper by Jeff Long
A sequel to The Descent which was in my opinion rather mediocre novel lacking depth especially on character department. Well, the sequel is a step down from the first book. While it has some recurring characters is doesn't feel like a continuation to its prequel. Story-wise it focuses on the weakest themes of the first book and the transition of the world between the books seems illogical.
A large portion of the book is filled with pointless dialogues with the Angel which seem like desperate attempts to build up some kind of mystical atmosphere. In the end this whole part of the story is left meaningless. Just like the first book the sequel would have worked better by being more science fiction and less fantasy.
I rated The Descent 2/5 and it may have been too harsh. So here are the updated ratings for both of these:
The Descent 2½
Deeper 1½
A sequel to The Descent which was in my opinion rather mediocre novel lacking depth especially on character department. Well, the sequel is a step down from the first book. While it has some recurring characters is doesn't feel like a continuation to its prequel. Story-wise it focuses on the weakest themes of the first book and the transition of the world between the books seems illogical.
A large portion of the book is filled with pointless dialogues with the Angel which seem like desperate attempts to build up some kind of mystical atmosphere. In the end this whole part of the story is left meaningless. Just like the first book the sequel would have worked better by being more science fiction and less fantasy.
I rated The Descent 2/5 and it may have been too harsh. So here are the updated ratings for both of these:
The Descent 2½
Deeper 1½
Pokurcz
Emperor
Having written such a book, revealing the perpetrators of uninmaginable injustice, from the mafia, the Olgiarchs, the military system, Putins own involvement and protection of people perverting and stealing from Russian society, it is no wonder that Politkovskaja got murdered.
Mowque
Hypermodernist
I hope you grow out of it soon
Don't listen to him
. Sirens of Titan is a great book.
Japanrocks12
tired of being a man
Genet's Funeral Rites, Spark's Symposium, Allende's Stories of Eva Luna...
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