Books

[Bluto10]

Reference books of what?

 

That's what the thread is for.

 

Giving recommendations.

 

 

300 beers to try before you die.

 

100 must drink belgian beers.

 

what the victorians did for us.

 

history books.

 

travel books

 

sql

 

awk and nawk

 

unix system admin.

[The Boofon]

Good work Mods. I did do a search but couldn't find a relevant thread. :thumbs:

 

I'll scan the whole thread now.

[amancalledbuck]

On the go, at the mo';

 

Philip Pullman - The Good Man Jesus And The Scoundrel Christ

 

Richard Mabey - Food For Free

 

Will Hodgkinson - Guitar Man

 

I'm rereading Electric Eden by Rob Young and I've got At The Loch Of The Green Corrie by Andrew Greig to read before I hit the Highlands next month.

[Foster14]

Currently reading "Super Sad True Love Story" by Gary Shteyngart.

 

In short, it is about a not so distant future where online social networking has taken over in the world and illiteracy is at its worst. Social status is governed by credit status and attractiveness/healthiness etc. America is fucked and China holds all their credit.

 

 

Still early doors but it hasn't grabbed me yet. Hope it does in the near future.

 

Last book before that was "Stalin's Nemesis: The Exile and Murder of Leon Trotsky". A good read, a bit of an easy read to start off my delving in to the development of Communism in Russia, something that intrigues me for no real reason at all. Anyone got any other books on the topic that are a good read?

 

Also got 1984 and an autobiography from Howard Marks sitting waiting to be read.

[StandFree1982]

i'm more into reference books.

Dictionaries? Thesauruses? Maps?

 

Riveting stuff

[The Boofon]

Dictionaries? Thesauruses? Maps?

 

Riveting stuff

 

 

I think you'll find this is riveting stuff.

 

Building the Titanic.

[phoenix]

ok, looking for some help as im the first to admit i dont know anything about authors of the kind of books i am interested in so any advice on authors/actual books on the below topics would be much appreciated

 

1) Human Psychology - Why we do things...

 

2) Human Behaviours - things like giving thumbs up, or nodding to show approval...reasons for these

 

3) Dreams...inception and the likes, the lucid dreaming thing

 

genuinely would appreciate tips, thanks

 

 

 

 

I widnae buther Mt...just read...anything and everything...most stuff is somebody else's opinion.....including psychology , where you find argument and counter-argument. There's more fun to be had learning psychology via astrology , imo.

 

 

I'm a big fan of this guy and you can download the first chapter of his new book as a sample...if you download the Kindle App first( you don't need a Kindle )....you'll learn a bit about the founding Fathers of America( many of British descent ) and how Christopher Hitchins waves the flag for Uncle Sam as he informs - history too is psychology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three saving graces combine to rescue Hitchens's status as the most readable journalist of his times.

 

The first is that Hitchens is a reporter as well as an opinion-monger, and a brave, supremely evocative reporter at that. He can recall what he has seen with coruscating vividness and urgency, fusing precise detail with polemical passion, as in a brilliant and terrible essay on the continuing effects of the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam. Crucially, he is too good a reporter to suppress realities that hurt his own case. Thus an optimistic report on Afghanistan from 2004 has a coda in a devastating critique of the farcical 2009 elections which admits the possibility that the western intervention may become "a humiliating debacle". Instead of arguing the niceties of what constitutes torture, he has himself subjected to water-boarding and names it for what it is: torture.

 

Hitchens's second guardian angel is his disdain for all guardian angels. A good neocon is supposed to attack Islamic fundamentalism while keeping quiet about the Christian variety. Hitchens has too much pride to play this game. He is an equal opportunities debunker of religious cant, who won't shut up about the deism of the Founding Fathers and can't banish the thought that naked proselytism in the US army might mean a holy war "where we will not be able to say that only the other side is dogmatic and fanatical".

 

Finally, there is the style. Orwell suggested that just as bad politics produces bad language, things might also work the other way around

[StandFree1982]

I think you'll find this is riveting stuff.

 

Building the Titanic.

Ah the Titanic, the most celebrated failure of the 20th Century!

[robbojunior]

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - by Robert M. Pirsig

 

Best book i've ever read.

[StandFree1982]

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - by Robert M. Pirsig

 

Best book i've ever read.

Joking aside, I bought the Road Bike one....

 

Not quite found a use for it yet, but I am planning on getting a new fork and frame etc so it might actual be of interest then!

[Betty Swallicks]

bought Joe Navarro: Psychology of Body Language - gonna give that a bash

 

EXCELLENT how its literally one click on the pc and within 20 seconds its on my kindle

 

very impressed so much

 

 

[robbojunior]

Joking aside, I bought the Road Bike one....

 

Not quite found a use for it yet, but I am planning on getting a new fork and frame etc so it might actual be of interest then!

 

eh?

 

just to be clear, this book is less about bikes and more about zen.

[robbojunior]

 

what's not to understandbly comprehdableness?

[StandFree1982]

eh?

 

just to be clear, this book is less about bikes and more about zen.

 

I was thinking you meant this book

 

I'll admit it, i'm a retard!

[Chrisyboy81]

My favourite book of all time is Trainspotting, I've read over and over. I just think it's so well written. I'll read just about anything to be honest. This is pretty funny.

Once you pick this up you will not put it down, it's unbelievable

I did this for my RPR at school many years ago, I still remember it an excellent book

All worth reading depending on what mood you are in.

[dazzy_deff]

Im a big fan of my Kindle, so glad I bought one. Im currently reading Fire In the Night: The Piper Alpha disaster. Nae the best idea when you are offshore. But its a great read. Unbelievable how poor the paperwork system was back then which allowed this disaster to happen. About a third of the way through.

[dazzy_deff]

the kindle experience has been brilliant

 

bought the 50 quid leather cover with the extending LED light, powered by the kindle itself...great for not annoyin the mrs.

 

fact i could finish a book and effortlessly and quickly browse other books, recommended books etc and dwload them within seconds was great

 

thought the prices would be a bit less though to be honest!

Aye the newer books are not that cheap but you quite often find a gem when you check out the recommended books. Some of them are only a quid or two.

[Henry]

Whatever happened to good, old fashioned books?

[dazzy_deff]

Whatever happened to good, old fashioned books?

They are soooooooooooo last decade!!

[phoenix]

 

only problem is, it didnt make me tired, it woke me up thinking about it all which defeated one of the purposes of readin it late at night...thought it made u sleepy!?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aye.....that often happens Mt.....but you'll still have been well rested. Your first three to four hours are your N-REM sleep( non rapid eye movement ) when your are DEEP in the arms of Morpheus ie nae dreamin' . The next three or four hours are your REM sleep( rapid eye movement ) , when you are in and out of sleep , a bittie restless and dreaming a lot....or thinking about Life , the Universe and Everything. It can be very useful , stimulating and often deals with what is uppermost on our minds - don't knock it , we are not supposed to be in a deep sleep for seven or eight hours at a time. If we remain in bed for longer than this , it's a waste of the time we've got here.

 

 

 

 

Amazon also allows us to request books that have not yet been made available for download. I flatter masel' that I got this een made available after reading the hard copy...local hero James McBey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's a new Kindle available for

[Bluto10]

my favourite book is the bible.

[Betty Swallicks]

well, had my first opportunity to use the Kindle last night and got to say....great!

 

got a Joe Navarro book about body language and the way our brain(s) use our body to transmit non-verbal comms ALL the time

 

explained how our brain is really split into 3 sections and explained how they all worked

picked up loads from it and cant wait to get another book!

 

only problem is, it didnt make me tired, it woke me up thinking about it all which defeated one of the purposes of readin it late at night...thought it made u sleepy!?

 

 

The brain in an interesting subject as so little is known about it even in this day and age.

[phoenix]

 

tell me books you recommend phoenix!!

 

 

 

 

 

Well that's mighty kind of you , young feller. Food for the head or food for the heart?

 

I have an affection for the Beat Generation writers who were the young soul rebels of their day , still valid and who offer the combination of both head and heart - Kerouac , Ginsburg , Burroughs and Corso being the most well known but there are many others who were influential.

 

Seems to me that you are more interested in 'head' matters , than affairs of the heart. So , to generalise , you'll be one of these astrological types - Libra , Gemini or Aquarius ? But I usually get it wrong.

 

 

 

 

Click the link to hear Kerouac reading from his novel 'Lonesome Traveller' on this guy's blog :

 

http://matthewasprey.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/jack-kerouac-from-october-in-the-railroad-earth/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And don't forget Christopher Hitchens for head and heart matters also...can't have one without the other.

 

 

 

 

I'll come back with more in time if you wish , Mt - I am a slow reader( and eater ) in general and the old processor in my brain( an early Pentium model , born too early to be dual core ) gets slower with age.

 

 

[StandFree1982]

I can't get into e-books. The kindle can't replace the great feeling of satisfaction you get once you are nearing the last page of your book, finish it and then close it with a satisfying thump! Starting a new book is also satisfying, especially if it's from an author you know. Also, why are ebooks only slightly cheaper than the paperback editions? surely the biggest cost of paperbacks is the materials and the cost of overheads and shipping etc?

 

I do like the idea, however, of not having to carry 3 books on holiday! That is definitely a massive selling point.

[Betty Swallicks]

 

Seems to me that you are more interested in 'head' matters , than affairs of the heart. So , to generalise , you'll be one of these astrological types - Libra , Gemini or Aquarius ? But I usually get it wrong.

 

 

 

 

Phoenix, our very own Russell Grant.

[StandFree1982]

Phoenix, our very own Russell Grant. Mystic Meg

[phoenix]

I can't get into e-books. The kindle can't replace the great feeling of satisfaction you get once you are nearing the last page of your book, finish it and then close it with a satisfying thump! Starting a new book is also satisfying, especially if it's from an author you know. Also, why are ebooks only slightly cheaper than the paperback editions? surely the biggest cost of paperbacks is the materials and the cost of overheads and shipping etc?

 

I do like the idea, however, of not having to carry 3 books on holiday! That is definitely a massive selling point.

 

 

 

 

I still prefer paperbacks SF82 , the Kindle is a very handy add on to the reading experience tho' , the onboard dictionary is good to have , just aline the cursor in front of the word you need to know and the answer appears at the top of the screen. If we need to know more about the word , press the return key to get a full page description.

 

 

Jeff Bezos was born on the same day as my wife , NOT the same year , of course , therefore a Capricorn. Russel Grant is always nice about Pisceans but the wrong sexual persuasion and Mystic Meg , the wrong sex so I'd rather be a Dane Rhudhyar or Michael Meyer , altho' I'm still a beginner at Astrology. It is a useful 'tool for Life' but I have too much else that interests me more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Betty Swallicks]

I still prefer paperbacks SF82 , the Kindle is a very handy add on to the reading experience tho' , the onboard dictionary is good to have , just aline the cursor in front of the word you need to know and the answer appears at the top of the screen. If we need to know more about the word , press the return key to get a full page description.

 

 

Jeff Bezos was born on the same day as my wife , NOT the same year , of course , therefore a Capricorn. Russel Grant is always nice about Pisceans but the wrong sexual persuasion and Mystic Meg , the wrong sex so I'd rather be a Dane Rhudhyar or Michael Meyer , altho' I'm still a beginner at Astrology. It is a useful 'tool for Life' but I have too much else that interests me more.

 

 

 

Funny cos I think its a pile o shite.

Much like mumbojumbo religion but each to their own.

[phoenix]

 

 

 

 

Funny cos I think its a pile o shite.

Much like mumbojumbo religion but each to their own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's not scientific , like religion , it's an imaginary( man made ) approach developed over thousands of years. You are as well to avoid if you think it a waste of time , I would if I thought so.

 

I suspect however that you have not given it a fair trial nor are likely to do so , BS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tup]

You read those books yet Phoen?

 

Fit aboot your home help doctor, has he read Dirac?