Tell us which book(s) you are currently reading, and maybe even why and how they are so far.



I am currently reading:

Vegetarian Nutrition (Modern Nutrition Series) by Joan Sabate (Ed.)
Book description:
This book contains expert summaries of various aspects of plant-based, or meatless, diets. It provides not only ethical, moral, and religious viewpoints from different periods of history but also modern perspectives on health promotion and disease prevention.

Blameworthy Belief: A Study in Epistemic Deontologism (Synthese Library 338) by Nikolaj Nottelmann
Book description:
Believing the wrong thing may sometimes have drastic consequences. The question as to when a person is not only ill-guided, but genuinely at fault for holding a particular belief is an important one: It touches upon the roots of our understanding of such notions as criminal negligence and moral responsibility.

The answer to this question may influence the extent to which we are willing to submit each other to punishments ranging from mild resentment to harsh prison terms.

This book presents an extensive effort to shed light on the conditions under which we may appropriately deem someone blameworthy for holding a particular belief. It regiments and unifies several debates within contemporary epistemology, ethics and legal scholarship. Finally, the book brings a new philosophical look on issues like our power to control beliefs and the extent and nature of foresight.

I Was Wrong: The Meanings of Apologies by Nick Smith
Book description:
Apologies pervade our news headlines and our private affairs, but how should we evaluate these often vague and deceptive rituals? Discussing numerous examples from ancient and recent history, I Was Wrong: On The Meanings of Apologies argues that we suffer from considerable confusion about the moral meanings and social functions of these complex interactions. Rather than asking whether a speech act “is or is not” an apology, Smith offers a nuanced theory of apologetic meaning. Smith leads us with a clear voice though a series of rich philosophical and interdisciplinary questions, arguing that apologies have evolved from a confluence of diverse cultural and religious practices that do not translate easily into pluralistic secular discourse. After describing several varieties of apologies between individuals, Smith turns to collectives. Although apologies from corporations, governments, and other groups can be profoundly significant, Smith guides readers to appreciate the kinds of meaning that collective apologies often do not convey and warns of the dangers of collective acts of contrition that allow individual wrongdoers to obscure their personal blame.

Write to the Top!: How to Become a Prolific Academic by W. Brad Johnson, Carol A. Mullen
Book description:
This concise guide to writing is designed to help any academic become not only productive but truly prolific. It is a pithy, no-nonsense, no-excuses guide to maximizing the quality and quantity of scholarly output. Johnson and Mullen offer an accessible overview of the art of writing efficiently and effectively, provide a one-stop source for the nuts and bolts of success in getting things written and into print, and advise academics on how to navigate the turbulent waters of professional stress along the way. This is the first book that explicitly summarizes the key elements of prolific productivity in academic settings.

CompTIA Security+ Deluxe Study Guide: SY0-201 by Emmett Dulaney

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Collapse by Jared Diamond.

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You like music, yes? I made some for you.

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. I've been plugging away at it for a long time, since I've been in more of a writing than a reading mood lately. I plan on putting forth a concentrated effort on getting through a chunk of it this week-end.

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Daughter of Fortune, by Isabel Allende. About a quarter of the way through it. It's okay, but her prose style kind of annoys me. It's very descriptive, and light on dialogue.

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You like music, yes? I made some for you.

Did you finish it yet? I really enjoyed it (later I read Guns, Germs and Steel but liked Collapse better). It was filled with so much stuff I'd never even thought or considered before. Most of the time I only read fiction, so I liked how he used science in a narrative to tell the stories of these extinct civilizations, and how their collapse relates in tangible ways to the modern world.

Currently I'm reading Terry Pratchet's "The Light Fantastic". It's part of the satirical fantasy "Discworld" series. The only other Discworld novel I've read is "The Color of Magic", which I liked better than this one.

Started reading it about a week ago and I'm still in the boring part (the first section, on Montana). I'm looking forward to the more historical bits - it's kind of slow going, because I mostly read it on the bus to and from work (so that's only about 30 mins per day).
I saw the documentary based on Guns, Germs and Steel, it was very good.

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You like music, yes? I made some for you.

The Thomas Paine Collection (I've only just started it, so it's too soon to comment on it yet), "The Aquitaine Progression" by Robert Ludlum (after my dad recommended it to me. I'm about half-way through now & the story's pretty good, but the dialogue isn't. ), "Moonheart" by Charles de Lint (after somebody brought it up over on infpgc. Read about a third so far, and it's decent enough but he seems to be trying way too hard to make his characters "quirky" and "different from the norm" or something.), aaaand I've just finished "The Wee Free Men" by Terry Pratchett (which I liked a lot, even if Tiffany got on my nerves from time to time), so I'll be moving onto the next book in the series "A Hat Full of Sky" after I've made my way through some more of Mr. Paine's material.

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What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet. - Gerard Manley Hopkins

Currently reading:

Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore - One of the funniest novelists I've read, if not the funniest.

Don't Know Much About Mytholgoy - Kenneth C. Davis. I've been on a mythology kick lately. This is a pretty fun read, covering myths of major cultures from around the world.

Mythology of Native North America by Leeming and Page. Haven't read much of this one yet, but so far so good. Seems to avoid new agieness that some books on Native People mythology can get into.

I'd read more, but I'm a slow enough reader as it is.

"The Helldiver's Rodeo" by Humberto Fontova.

I read a review comparing this to Hunter S. Thompson, so I was interested in reading it. When I read books, I prefer non-fiction to fiction, but at the same time, this is an adventure book. The basic idea is that it's a true story about people who dive off of oil rigs in Louisiana and use spears to hunt huge predatory fish 200 ft. underwater as a sport and a competition. How cool is that? Too bad I'm too cowardly to ever try it.

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"It is a melancholy fact that massive works of the intellect do not spring from the abstract workings of the brain and the imagination; they are deeply rooted in the personality." -Paul Johnson

INFP, 4w5 sx/sp

I just finished "Shake Hands With the Devil" by Romeo Dallaire. Dallaire was the United Nations Force commander during the Rwanda Civil War/genocide. This is one of the most engaging books I've read in a long time.

It's bit biography - he spends a little time on his childhood and early career - but the bulk of the book is about his experience in Rwanda. U.N. forces were in the country initially in order to facilitate the peace process between the government and the rebel forces, but unfortunately the situations devolved into the continuing civil war, marked by the emergence of extremists on the government side which, in part, lead to the targeting of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.

Dallaire is damning of pretty much everyone involved, including some well-meaning aid organizations and Western nations who chose not to become involved other than in an obstructionist way. He includes some pretty graphic details about his first-hand experience with the massacres and what he witnessed.

Highly recommended.

Still reading a few of the last books, and also reading:

Running and Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind (Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture) by Michael W. Austin (ed.)

A unique anthology of essays exploring the philosophical wisdom runners contemplate when out for a run. It features writings from some of America’s leading philosophers, including Martha Nussbaum, Charles Taliaferro, and J.P. Moreland.

Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Memoir by Norman Malcolm with G. H. von Wright

Ludwig Wittgenstein remains one of the most powerful influences on contemporary philosophy, yet he shunned publicity and was an extremely private man. His friend Norman Malcolm (himself an eminent philosopher) wrote this remarkably vivid personal memoir of Wittgenstein--first published in 1958 to wide acclaim for its moving and truthful portrait of the gifted yet difficult man. And, although much has been published about Wittgenstein since his death, nothing brings us closer to the philosopher himself than this modest classic. Now in a new edition, it includes the complete text of the fifty-seven letters that Wittgenstein wrote to Malcolm over a period of eleven years, revealing how friendship deeply mattered to Wittgenstein: he advises, warns, jokes, and is grateful and affectionate. The volume also features a concise biographical sketch by Georg Henrik von Wright, another leading philosopher and friend of Wittgenstein.

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Bit of a Blur by Alex James. First book I've read in ages thats not a self-help book or for an institution.

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I have just finished Knots and Crosses and Hide and Seek by Ian Rankin.

Crime novels, and good ones at that. I'm going to try to read the whole series, have book three on order now.

I am rereading Pride and Prejudice. It's even better than I remember (although I expect that this is just because I'm an older reader now ).

I'm trying to get through "The Time Traveler's Wife" but it's not as compelling as I thought it would be.

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There's reason to be afraid, and reason to open your heart. ~ Seal

Refreshment for your ears: www.kexp.org

For some reason I find the name Niffenegger hilarious (it even made me laugh to type it)

Pride & Prejudice is making me want to call all my friends named Elizabeth either Lizzy or Miss Eliza.

I got about two-thirds of the way through but couldn't finish it. Either I or it ran out of steam, which is too bad, because I did enjoy it for the most part.

I just finished reading My Father's Notebook by Kader Abdollah. It is one of the most haunting books I've ever read. I couldn't put it down. Moving, passionate, funny, lyrical, informative. Like reading the diary of a poet. One of those rare books that it feels like a privilege to be able to read.

The narrator is, I'm pretty sure, an Iranian-exile INFP. He's obsessed with learning, meaning, doing the right thing, caring for those he loves. It's interesting to see inside a culture from a perspective I haven't seen before. Instead of rants at the shah or mullahs, there's some of the beauty and joy of the rural culture.

Now I'm on to Alice Springs, recommended by Pipster. It's good so far.

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Fiction is just like real life, only truer.

Currently reading: The Tipping Point, by Malcom Gladwell. Interesting so far. He talks about epidemics (which is meant for anything that spreads quickly, and not just diseases, such as fashion trends or bestsellers) and how they work. Relevant to this board, part of his equation includes some personality types he calls Mavens, Connectors, and Salesmen who are responsible for spreading epidemics. My gut feeling is that these types can be correlated to MBTI types in some way.

I've also been reading Colin Bateman books. Finished two, Orphus Rising and Maid of the Mist, and thought they were both excellent page-turners. Although I think it's unfair to pigeonhole a genre for these books I suppose I can say they're basically humorous crime novels with questionable supernatural elements. I like his writing style - it's very simple an engaging. He somewhat reminds me of Christopher Moore.

"The Strain" by Guillermo del Toro (AKA the book that will save vampires from "Twilight")

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"The god of my unbelief is magnificent."
-Yankev Glatshteyn