What's currently on your bookshelf and in your stereo?

[shrunkenhead]

Next up Brothers Karamazov. After that Thomas Pynchon's V.

 

 

Great books, both. Ya might want to take a shot at the Pevear & Volokhonsky translation of Brothers K. If I'm not mistaken, it deservedly won a few awards a couple of years back.

[shrunkenhead]

Hey, don't knock the Potter books until you've read one. The books have more imaginative ideas in each page than most networks come up with in an entire season. They're well written fantasy. Not just kid stuff.

 

I have read them. As far as fantasy books meant for kids but enjoyed by adults, Lloyd Alexander and Susan Cooper beat Rowling by a landslide.

 

Best "kid fantasy" I've come across in recent years is Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. Draws heavily from Milton's epics, gnostic theology, and cabalistic material in a very sincere way. Very heady stuff for books typically consigned to the young adult's section of B&N.

[october]

Hey, don't knock the Potter books until you've read one. The books have more imaginative ideas in each page than most networks come up with in an entire season. They're well written fantasy. Not just kid stuff.

 

I have read them. As far as fantasy books meant for kids but enjoyed by adults, Lloyd Alexander and Susan Cooper beat Rowling by a landslide.

 

Best "kid fantasy" I've come across in recent years is Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. Draws heavily from Milton's epics, gnostic theology, and cabalistic material in a very sincere way. Very heady stuff for books typically consigned to the young adult's section of B&N.

 

The Golden Compass? I have heard really good things about that series. My friend read them a few years back and raved.

[shrunkenhead]

My prophets are Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, and Isaac Newton.

 

Betcha didn't know that Isaac Newton was a major proponent of alchemy.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...7158035-6515846

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/det...=glance&s=books

[the_Greatest]

Re-reading Ridley Pearson's "Probable Cause"

 

 

and trying to get this song out of my head.

 

Snow Patrol's "Run"

[howardhallis]

On the shelf: Books by Robert Anton Wilson, Tim Leary, Neil Gaiman, JK Rowlings, Aleister Crowley, Colin Wilson, Nick Cave, Douglas Rushkoff, Alan Moore, HP Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, Anne Rice, Ayn Rand, Carl Jung, James Joyce, William Gibson, Alex Hayley, Manly P. Hall, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Thomas Pynchon, JD Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Carlos Castaneda, Terence Mckenna, Ken Kesey, Paul Krassner, Aldous Huxley, Frank Miller, William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsberg, Andre Breton, Dan Brown, Phillip K. , Judy Blume, William Golding, Edward Gorey, and art books about classic video games, surrealism, comic books, tiki and modern pop culture.

 

Reading now: Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell by Susanna Clarke, which is GREAT!

 

On the stereo: Tom Waits, Ween, Bauhaus, Joy Division, The Dead Hensons (they do Muppet and Sesame Street covers: http://www.deadhensons.com), The Warlocks (the new band: http://www.thewarlocks.com), Dandy Warhols, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Love and Rockets, Karaoke CDs, LCD Soundsystem, Le Tigre, Chicks on Speed, Martin Denny, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, The Velvet Underground, Beastie Boys, Legendary Pink Dots, Operation Ivy, The Mentors, Westside Connection, Syd Barrett, early Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, David Bowie, Dead Kennedys, Nirvana, Stone Roses, Ramones, Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins, GranDaddy, Skeeter Truck, Nurse With Wound, Britney Spears, Beck, Low, Slowdive, Ride, Mazzy Star, Jesus and Mary Chain, Mudhoney, Echo and The Bunnymen, Negativland, Yaz,

Sex Pistols, Queen, Germs, Cramps, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Les Baxter, Frank Sinatra, Radiohead, Dresden Dolls, Dukes of Stratosphear, Gary Numan, Kraftwerk, Senor Coconut, Nick Cave, Grateful Dead, Rudimentary Peni, Crass, Subhumans, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and PJ Harvey.

[rob_react]

My prophets are Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, and Isaac Newton.

 

Betcha didn't know that Isaac Newton was a major proponent of alchemy.

 

 

Read Neal Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle and you'll never forget it...

[rob_react]

 

Reading now: Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell by Susanna Clarke, which is GREAT!

 

I really enjoyed that.

[shrunkenhead]

The Baroque cycle, eh? Thanks for the tip! Sounds like I have a new summer read.

[Foolkiller]

Recent Reads:

 

Constitutional Chaos by Andrew P. Napolitano

 

Sacraments and Sacramentality by Bernard Cooke

 

A reread of Truman by David McCollough

 

The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud debate God, Love, Sex and the Meaning of Life by Armand M. Nicholi, Jr.

 

In terms of comics: reading Fantastic Four Marvel Masterworks vol. 8.

 

For music:

 

I generally either have Mike and the Maddog sports talk radio from WFAN in NY (the best sports talk radio show in the country), some form of classical on, but more likely than not typical pop/rock rotation on including my old stand bys of 10,000 Maniacs, Natalie Merchant as a solo artist, James Taylor, Billy Joel, R.E.M., U2, the Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain or Nirvana amongst others.

[rob_react]

The Baroque circle, eh? Thanks for the tip! Sounds like I have a new summer read.

 

"Baroque Cycle Volume 1:

Quicksilver

In this wonderfully inventive follow-up to his bestseller Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson brings to life a cast of unforgettable characters in a time of breathtaking genius and discovery, men and women whose exploits defined an age known as the Baroque.

 

Daniel Waterhouse possesses a brilliant scientific mind -- and yet knows that his genius is dwarfed by that of his friends Isaac Newton, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and Robert Hooke. He rejects the arcane tradition of alchemy, even as it is giving birth to new ways of understanding the world.

 

Jack Shaftoe began his life as a London street urchin and is now a reckless wanderer in search of great fortune. The intrepid exploits of Half-Cocked Jack, King of the Vagabonds, are quickly becoming the stuff of legend throughout Europe.

 

Eliza is a young woman whose ingenuity is all that keeps her alive after being set adrift from the Turkish harem in which she has been imprisoned since she was a child.

 

Daniel, Jack, and Eliza will traverse a landscape populated by mad alchemists, Barbary pirates, and bawdy courtiers, as well as historical figures including Samuel Pepys, Ben Franklin, and other great minds of the age. Traveling from the infant American colonies to the Tower of London to the glittering courts of Louis XIV, and all manner of places in between, this magnificent historical epic brings to vivid life a time like no other, and establishes its author as one of the preeminent talents of our own age.

 

BUY THIS BOOK

 

Visit BaroqueCycle.com

"

[Red Hook]

Hey, don't knock the Potter books until you've read one. The books have more imaginative ideas in each page than most networks come up with in an entire season. They're well written fantasy. Not just kid stuff.

 

I have read them. As far as fantasy books meant for kids but enjoyed by adults, Lloyd Alexander and Susan Cooper beat Rowling by a landslide.

 

Best "kid fantasy" I've come across in recent years is Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. Draws heavily from Milton's epics, gnostic theology, and cabalistic material in a very sincere way. Very heady stuff for books typically consigned to the young adult's section of B&N.

 

The Golden Compass? I have heard really good things about that series. My friend read them a few years back and raved.

 

I've heard the same. Will put them on my list.

[Red Hook]

 

I generally either have Mike and the Maddog sports talk radio from WFAN in NY (the best sports talk radio show in the country).

 

Unfortunately Mike is a Yankee suckup and Maddog is a Giants fan. Perfect for the Mets flagship station!

[Smokinghawk]

Reading:

 

1. What's the Matter with Kansas?

2. God's Politics

3. Why does He Do That?

 

Listening:

 

1. Depeche Mode "Stripped"

2. Skinny Puppy "Rodent"

3. Anti-Flag "911 for Peace"

[buttock]

The Baroque circle, eh? Thanks for the tip! Sounds like I have a new summer read.

 

"Baroque Cycle Volume 1:

Quicksilver

In this wonderfully inventive follow-up to his bestseller Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson brings to life a cast of unforgettable characters in a time of breathtaking genius and discovery, men and women whose exploits defined an age known as the Baroque.

 

Daniel Waterhouse possesses a brilliant scientific mind -- and yet knows that his genius is dwarfed by that of his friends Isaac Newton, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and Robert Hooke. He rejects the arcane tradition of alchemy, even as it is giving birth to new ways of understanding the world.

 

Jack Shaftoe began his life as a London street urchin and is now a reckless wanderer in search of great fortune. The intrepid exploits of Half-Cocked Jack, King of the Vagabonds, are quickly becoming the stuff of legend throughout Europe.

 

Eliza is a young woman whose ingenuity is all that keeps her alive after being set adrift from the Turkish harem in which she has been imprisoned since she was a child.

 

Daniel, Jack, and Eliza will traverse a landscape populated by mad alchemists, Barbary pirates, and bawdy courtiers, as well as historical figures including Samuel Pepys, Ben Franklin, and other great minds of the age. Traveling from the infant American colonies to the Tower of London to the glittering courts of Louis XIV, and all manner of places in between, this magnificent historical epic brings to vivid life a time like no other, and establishes its author as one of the preeminent talents of our own age.

 

BUY THIS BOOK

 

Visit BaroqueCycle.com

"

 

Good stuff, I've only gotten through the 1st book. However, his prior book, Cryptonomicon is probably the best read - for sheer entertainment value - I've read in years.

[s-man]

Bookshelf...

 

Havent had time to read anything other than computer text books (studying for my A+ Cert... )

 

Stereo...

 

Classic Rock (Zep, AC/DC, Floyd...the ususal stuff )

[rob_react]

 

Good stuff, I've only gotten through the 1st book. However, his prior book, Cryptonomicon is probably the best read - for sheer entertainment value - I've read in years.

 

Cryptonomicon is great stuff. I love that book.

 

I think the scale of the Baroque Cycle is amazing and I'm completely fascinated by the subject matter, so at this point I lean more towards that in terms of my "favorite" Stephenson. I'm going to read them all again over the summer, so we'll see how they sit after that...

[PovertyRow]

Currently Reading:

Men Of Tomorrow

The Immediate Experience (Movies, Comics, Theater and Other Aspects Of Pop Culture)

Incubus Dreams (the latest Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novel by Laurell K. Hamilton)

 

Listening To:

Assorted blues pieces

Assorted New Oreans Jazz pieces

Assorted Kate Bush pieces

[tth2]

As far as fantasy books meant for kids but enjoyed by adults, Lloyd Alexander and Susan Cooper beat Rowling by a landslide.

I`ve read the Taran Wanderer and Dark is Rising series so many times, and I still find something new with each reading.

 

I would also add the Earthsea Trilogy (except I guess it`s 4 volumes now) by Ursula K. LeGuin, which I believe was her effort at writing fantasy books for kids. Great stuff.

[tth2]

Betcha didn't know that Isaac Newton was a major proponent of alchemy.

 

 

Read Neal Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle and you'll never forget it...

Aargh, you beat me to it, Rob. Quicksilver is the book that I listed above as being on my bookshelf. The thought of people ingesting mercury and phosphorus for fun and medicinal purposes just makes me cringe. Amazing that a whole generation of children wasn`t born among the nobility with major birth defects.