Which Book Are You Reading Now? Volume XII

[Traitorfish]

God's War was recommended by somebody here, possibly @Ajidica, and jumped to the front of my too-read queue because it tickled my curiosity and I have the self-discipline of a collapsed souffle.

I acquired a small pile of lesser-appreciated Vonnegut titles (i.e. that aren't Slaughterhouse Five or Breakfast of Champions) a while back, so I'm working through that. It's good. Interesting counter-point to Slaughterhouse, in that the protagonist frequently calls back to his experiences in the Vietnam War, but seems to regard them with embarrassment more than horror, and repeatedly expresses his wish to have fought in a "meaningful" war like the Second World War.

 

[Ajidica]

God's War was recommended by somebody here, possibly @Ajidica, and jumped to the front of my too-read queue because it tickled my curiosity and I have the self-discipline of a collapsed souffle.

Fair warning, I found the book to be an absolute doorstop. I didn't find Tyerman to be that strong of a writer and in many places the book just dragged. Not as good as Halsall or Heather in my opinion.
(Heather's book on The Goths I found to be excellently written and it comes Dachs recommended, which is why I find it so surprising how bad his book on the fall of the Roman Empire was. In The Goths Heather goes to great length to explain how the Roman Empire continued in the west after 476 and how much Odoacer and Theoderic emphasized their Roman-ness; while in his fall of the Roman Empire book, he ends it at 476 like some sort of light switch went off.)

Anyhow, currently working my way through Barbarians at the Gates: The Fall of RJR Nabisco, all about 1980s corporate raiders.

 

[Mouthwash]

It was recommended by Masada. I think the problem is that it tries to cover every topic. I opened it looking for a description of Outremer society, and instead was greeted with a long overview of Christian militarism in the centuries before the Crusade. So I skipped past it, and around page 200 found what I was looking for.

I'd recommend the book as a reference, not any kind of self-contained narrative.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Up thread someone mentioned Brian McClellan's books. He writes hefty tomes of low key fantasy set in an earth-like, 19th c world that is very well crafted. I finished one three book series (Sins of Empire) and have started another (Powder Mage trilogy). Excellent and original. The Powder Mage series takes place first and it would be helpful to read those books first.

 

[sophie]

It was recommended by Masada. I've only just started, and I think the problem is that it tries to cover every topic. I opened it look for a description of Outremer society, and instead was greeted with a long overview of Christian militarism in the centuries before the Crusade. So I skipped past it, and around page 200 found exactly what I was looking for.

I'd recommend the book as a reference, not any kind of self-contained narrative.

Disagree. The book is a veritable page-turner

 

[Mouthwash]

Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed - James C Scott

I think the detailed synopsis of this book on SlateStarCodex is all you need if you're not actually studying how states/corporations interact with society. I came to the book already familiar with the main points of the argument and was quickly bored to tears. James Scott is a good writer, but he just gives example after example to illustrate each segment and it feels highly redundant to readers only casually interested in his ideas.

Hyperion - Dan Simmons

Halfway through, and it's a fantastic read despite the horribly impenetrable prologue. Was recommended to me by a friend who called it "life-changing". We shall see. EDIT: It was not. Might have been at a younger age. Would still highly recommend.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

How to Read Modern Buildings by Will Jones purports to be "A Crash Course in the Architecture of the Modern Era". It starts with an overview of 20th century architectural styles, from Renaissance Revival to Modern and then Postmodern styles and beyond (e.g. Fusion). It then examines buildings by type such as Homes, Work, Leisure, etc. to see how these styles have been used. It has appendices that include locations for the examples of architecture listed in the book and a glossary of architectural terms (brise soleil is a fancy term you can use for shutters).

----

The Hammer of God is an Arthur C. Clarke novel about an asteroid heading for Earth and the attempts to stop it by a spacecraft. The early 22nd century setting is introduced by a short overview of the early life of the spacecraft captain protagonist interspersed with technological and societal infodumps on how humanity has progressed to having colonies on the Moon and Mars. I enjoy such exposition, but some may differ. At least they're not too long. Once the setup is finished, the suspense builds to a satisfying climax.

The only thing I really didn't like was some of the world-building. There's a whole plot about a hybrid Chrislam (origin: Desert Storm veterans were apparently so impressed by Islam. In camps in the desert.) religion that could have easily been excised without affecting the book much. There's also a sentence about the USSR being "neither a union, nor socialist, nor a republic" in grasping imitation of that canard about the Holy Roman Empire. Even certain scientific concepts are laughable nowadays such as cold fusion apparently working and superoxide enzymes being the key to long life. Also, "spacefaxes".

 

[Traitorfish]

Fair warning, I found the book to be an absolute doorstop.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed - James C Scott

I think the detailed synopsis of this book on SlateStarCodex is all you need if you're not actually studying how states/corporations interact with society.

The High Modernists claimed to be about figuring out the most efficient and high-tech way of doing things, but most of them knew little relevant math or science and were basically just LARPing being rational by placing things in evenly-spaced rectangular grids.

Hey, for sure this guy doesn't have any axes to grind.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Information Doesn't Want to be Free is a book by Cory Doctorow on copyright in the digital age. It can be summarized in Doctorow's Three Laws:

1. Any Time Someone Puts a Lock on Something That Belongs To You and Won't Give You the Key, That Lock Isn't There for Your Benefit.
2. Fame Won't Make You Rich, But You Can't Get Paid Without It.
3. Information Doesn't Want to be Free, People Do.

I put emphasis on the major thesis of the book, that copyright regulation should serve individuals, not industries. The traditional approach doesn't deter pirates and only harms consumers. Creators should get used to a world that makes copying easy, adopting the reproductive strategy of the dandelion over that of a typical mammal (i.e. r over K). These concepts are explained in simple language and interesting metaphors.

It is also interesting to contrast the copyright issue of restricting access to information to privacy issues of too much access to information.

 

[Dachs]

I mentioned to a colleague today that I had never read The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway. He said that he had a copy of it in his classroom and that it was a quick read, and I elected to burn off a chunk of my planning period to read it.

The book had come up in conversation because of my colleague's stated interest in teaching it to some of his freshmen instead of the very scattershot way in which we teach the Odyssey and Greek mythology now, on the understanding that if we're not going to do it well, we shouldn't do it at all (a sentiment I frankly agree with). He thought it was ideal for freshmen because it is very, very straightforward. It is difficult to mess up the themes and symbols. This intrigued me, because I like straightforward (see my previous comments on Lord of the Flies; I have also taught Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird along the same lines); having come up in history, I never really had adequate training in sussing out literary hogwash.

So I read it, and it was indeed as advertised. Hemingway hits you over the head with a two-by-four (or an oar, I suppose). I'm aware that some people disagree with the blatantly obvious interpretation of the story, which I suppose is fine (I leave it up to the literary hogwash brigade) but to me, Hemingway's message seems fairly clear.

 

[Lexicus]

I'm aware that some people disagree with the blatantly obvious interpretation of the story,

The author is dead, and we have killed him

 

[EnglishEdward]

Finished last night:

Firefall

by

Peter Watts

which was a great book.

 

[sophie]

I mentioned to a colleague today that I had never read The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway. He said that he had a copy of it in his classroom and that it was a quick read, and I elected to burn off a chunk of my planning period to read it.

The book had come up in conversation because of my colleague's stated interest in teaching it to some of his freshmen instead of the very scattershot way in which we teach the Odyssey and Greek mythology now, on the understanding that if we're not going to do it well, we shouldn't do it at all (a sentiment I frankly agree with). He thought it was ideal for freshmen because it is very, very straightforward. It is difficult to mess up the themes and symbols. This intrigued me, because I like straightforward (see my previous comments on Lord of the Flies; I have also taught Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird along the same lines); having come up in history, I never really had adequate training in sussing out literary hogwash.

So I read it, and it was indeed as advertised. Hemingway hits you over the head with a two-by-four (or an oar, I suppose). I'm aware that some people disagree with the blatantly obvious interpretation of the story, which I suppose is fine (I leave it up to the literary hogwash brigade) but to me, Hemingway's message seems fairly clear.

My town's 9th grade Advanced English teacher assigned Old Man and the Sea every year for summer reading (it was that and All Quiet on the Western Front). I remember finding the book unbelievably tedious to read and much preferred All Quiet, a rather controversial opinion at the time, as Old Man was shorter by a good 200 pages. I remember appreciating it more once we actually covered it in class; it was the first book where I seriously had to contemplate symbolism and extended metaphor. My sister, on the other hand, despised the book. Raised in an atheist household, the Christian references and symbolism flew completely over her head, even after the teacher explained them (I think after awhile she just dug in and started being intentionally obtuse). She thought it was unfair that the teacher had assigned a book that expected her to come in with background knowledge in Christian mythology which she neither had nor had any interest in acquiring.

 

[Arakhor]

Which book has the Christian symbolism? (I haven't read either of them.)

 

[Takhisis]

He's talking about Old Man and the Sea.

 

[Dachs]

The author is dead, and we have killed him

how shall we console ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?

My town's 9th grade Advanced English teacher assigned Old Man and the Sea every year for summer reading (it was that and All Quiet on the Western Front). I remember finding the book unbelievably tedious to read and much preferred All Quiet, a rather controversial opinion at the time, as Old Man was shorter by a good 200 pages. I remember appreciating it more once we actually covered it in class; it was the first book where I seriously had to contemplate symbolism and extended metaphor. My sister, on the other hand, despised the book. Raised in an atheist household, the Christian references and symbolism flew completely over her head, even after the teacher explained them (I think after awhile she just dug in and started being intentionally obtuse). She thought it was unfair that the teacher had assigned a book that expected her to come in with background knowledge in Christian mythology which she neither had nor had any interest in acquiring.

Everything is tedious for a freshman to read. I have struggled to get some students to care about fast-paced action-oriented short stories like "The Most Dangerous Game" and "The Sniper".

Honestly, the Christian symbolism isn't central to the text. It's relevant, but you could go into the book knowing nothing about Christianity and understand Hemingway's main point reasonably well. It's not like, say, Lord of the Flies, where interaction with Christianity is basically unavoidable.

Which book has the Christian symbolism? (I haven't read either of them.)

Most Western books do. I know it's in The Old Man and the Sea: Santiago receives stigmata and carries his mast on his back as though he were traversing the Stations of the Cross.

 

[Cutlass]

Everything is tedious for a freshman to read. I have struggled to get some students to care about fast-paced action-oriented short stories like "The Most Dangerous Game" and "The Sniper".

When I was young I had a friend who's mother taught English to the remedial students at a highschool in a neighboring town. What she believed was that what worked was to use fantasy and science fiction novels. Certainly nothing qualifying as literature. Stuff like Conan. Her theory was that it didn't matter what they read, what mattered was that they read. Once the habits and skills of reading were acquired, time enough then for stuff with more substance.

 

[sophie]

Honestly, the Christian symbolism isn't central to the text. It's relevant, but you could go into the book knowing nothing about Christianity and understand Hemingway's main point reasonably well. It's not like, say, Lord of the Flies, where interaction with Christianity is basically unavoidable.

Yeah, but I loved reading. Just, not, y'know some old dude bellyaching about how nasty dolphin meat tastes and how he wished he had some salt for 50 pages.

 

[Dachs]

When I was young I had a friend who's mother taught English to the remedial students at a highschool in a neighboring town. What she believed was that what worked was to use fantasy and science fiction novels. Certainly nothing qualifying as literature. Stuff like Conan. Her theory was that it didn't matter what they read, what mattered was that they read. Once the habits and skills of reading were acquired, time enough then for stuff with more substance.

That's why I mentioned those two stories. They're not really what most people think of as "literature".

One of them is the source of the infamous meme of the rich evil genius on an island who hunts people for sport and as such is basically just a scene in a James Bond movie with hunting and action.

The other one is a brief tale about a sniper on a roof during the Irish Civil War who takes some potshots at some people and then has a duel with another sniper. Sniper duels are cool!

Also, both of them are short stories. They are very low-time-investment things to read.

...and they still don't grab some people. More specifically, they don't grab the kind of person who plays PUBG Mobile and the other Battle Royales and who is quite happy to talk to me about spending ten minutes waiting in a bush for unsuspecting people fleeing the circle, and who, you'd think, would be the perfect target for those two stories.

I will say, however, that my students continually surprise me by what they're interested in and how they think about stories. Sometimes that's a bad surprise, but more often it's a good one. I've had some clever comments from kids that I stereotypically wouldn't have expected them from. I learned some lessons last year and I'm glad I did.

 

[Ajidica]

The other one is a brief tale about a sniper on a roof during the Irish Civil War who takes some potshots at some people and then has a duel with another sniper. Sniper duels are cool!

When you mentioned The Sniper in the earlier post I was trying to remember whether or not I read that back in 9th grade, and when you mentioned the Irish Civil War I remembered that I did read it but I didn't get it at the time.

I suppose it could very well have been that my English teacher gave us absolutely no context for the story beyond it was a sniper duel. Heck, I'm not even sure I knew about the Irish Civil War at the time so the story really didn't mean anything.

Though I do remember in my English literature class we covered Beowulf and Y Gododdin which I enjoyed.