What are you reading?

Just finished Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett and was going to start reading A Storm of Swords by G R R Martin before I realised I've forgotten most of the first two books.  I'll probably start reading the Dune trilogy.

I'm half way through Barack Obama's book: TheAudacity of Hope.

It's a pretty decent read.

I have recently finished reading The Return of the King in English (I've read the trilogy only in Greek which is 10 times inferior to Tolkien's amazing language and type of writing). Now I'm looking forward to buying the Silmarillion and the rest of the trilogy in English (The Two Towers, The Fellowship of the Ring). If you guys like myths, legends and like reading books with archaic-like language and epic tone then I totally suggest LotR.

I also have Beowulf in Anglo-Saxon, but I cannot read it, I only use it for my own linguistic interests.

Now I want to find the Modern English translation of Beowulf. :)

I have recently finished reading The Return of the King in English (I've read the trilogy only in Greek which is 10 times inferior to Tolkien's amazing language and type of writing). Now I'm looking forward to buying the Silmarillion and the rest of the trilogy in English (The Two Towers, The Fellowship of the Ring). If you guys like myths, legends and like reading books with archaic-like language and epic tone then I totally suggest LotR.

I also have Beowulf in Anglo-Saxon, but I cannot read it, I only use it for my own linguistic interests.

Now I want to find the Modern English translation of Beowulf. :)

Teenaged

Make sure you don't miss The Children of Hurin by Tolkien also -- it's fantastic.MetalGear_Ninty

[QUOTE="MetalGear_Ninty"]Make sure you don't miss The Children of Hurin by Tolkien also -- it's fantastic.Teenaged

I've read all of Tolkein's works multiple times, my head's a veritable encyclopedia for Middle-Earth.

And I'm currently reading Alamut by Vladimir Bartol, it's excellent.

[QUOTE="Teenaged"][QUOTE="MetalGear_Ninty"]Make sure you don't miss The Children of Hurin by Tolkien also -- it's fantastic.Stryder1212

I've read all of Tolkein's works multiple times, my head's a veritable encyclopedia for Middle-Earth.

Only Gothmog and Durin's Bane, leader of Morgoth's elite unit and the Balrog who brought about the destruction of Kazad-Dum were mentioned with wings of some sort, though there is still no defenitive answer as they could be a metaphor. Either way I don't believe they do.

The only thing no one seems to know is: What the **** is Tom Bombadil?!

[QUOTE="Stryder1212"]

[QUOTE="Teenaged"][QUOTE="MetalGear_Ninty"]Make sure you don't miss The Children of Hurin by Tolkien also -- it's fantastic.Teenaged

I've read all of Tolkein's works multiple times, my head's a veritable encyclopedia for Middle-Earth.

If I can give my thoughts. Two quotes suggest that the Balrog (at Moria anyway) 'did' have wings - 

"His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings."

"… suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall … "

Earlier versions of the Balrog however, are significantly different from the one which fought Gandalf at Moria. Tolkein's conceptions of the Balrog were ever-changing. :)

Only Gothmog and Durin's Bane, leader of Morgoth's elite unit and the Balrog who brought about the destruction of Kazad-Dum were mentioned with wings of some sort, though there is still no defenitive answer as they could be a metaphor. Either way I don't believe they do.

The only thing no one seems to know is: What the **** is Tom Bombadil?!

Stryder1212

Good job! That's the correct answer: no one really knows whether Tolkien intended for them to have actual wings or not (whereas it only says "wings of shadow" in FotR). *claps hands* :D

Also true. Although generally a spirit, I remember that even Elrond didn't know how old he might be or what exactly he is. Very good!!! :D

[QUOTE="Teenaged"][QUOTE="Stryder1212"]

[QUOTE="Teenaged"][QUOTE="MetalGear_Ninty"]Make sure you don't miss The Children of Hurin by Tolkien also -- it's fantastic.Lansdowne5

I've read all of Tolkein's works multiple times, my head's a veritable encyclopedia for Middle-Earth.

If I can give my thoughts. Two quotes suggest that the Balrog (at Moria anyway) 'did' have wings - 

"His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings."

"… suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall … "

Earlier versions of the Balrog however, are significantly different from the one which fought Gandalf at Moria. Tolkein's conceptions of the Balrog were ever-changing. :)

Oh, and currently I'm reading:

The God Delusion

Neuromancer

Basic Writings of Nietzsche

The Selfish Gene

and I just bought Ender's Game after hearing so many people praise it.

I just bought Ender's Game after hearing so many people praise it.

Forerunner-117

That book is genius.

Im currently reading World War Z, bought it Saturday and about half way through it, so far its a great book. Im also reading The Great Gatsby for my English class, I really hope it gets improves because so far it is boring and Im sick of having to read crappy books for the class.Ingenemployee

World War Z is a cute, funny romp through zombie-related fiction. And the Great Gatsby was an excellent read in my opinion, but you've really got to focus on the characters' interactions with one another. The theme of the book is American hegemony after all. And yes, it does get more action-oriented about half-way through.

With Christmas just having passed, I've got a nice pile of books to read.  :P

• The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  (all of the books rolled into one package)
• What Dreams May Come
• A Scanner Darkly
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 
• The Hellbound Heart
• The Zombie Survival Guide
• And the Holy Bible (which I've been reading for a while now)

I also want to pick up Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. 

With Christmas just having passed, I've got a nice pile of books to read.  :P

• The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  (all of the books rolled into one package)
• What Dreams May Come
• A Scanner Darkly
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 
• The Hellbound Heart
• The Zombie Survival Guide
• And the Holy Bible (which I've been reading for a while now)

 

I also want to pick up Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. 

Dark_Knight6

I only saw the movie and absolutely loved it!

Red: That was a book??? :o

 

I only saw the movie and absolutely loved it!

Teenaged

Yes, it is.  I was written by Richard Matheson, who also wrote I Am Legend.  The movie was amazing but, sadly, I have yet to really dive into the book.  

With Christmas just having passed, I've got a nice pile of books to read. :P

• The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (all of the books rolled into one package)
• What Dreams May Come
• A Scanner Darkly
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
• The Hellbound Heart
• The Zombie Survival Guide
• And the Holy Bible (which I've been reading for a while now)

I also want to pick up Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.

Dark_Knight6

A word of warning, by the time you reach Young Zaphod Plays It Safe in the Hitchhiker's Guide it becomes so nonsensical and non-linear, that the book becomes a real challenge to finish.

The Zombie Survival is fun book to read, your head'll be full of useless information by the end of it though.

Ah, yes Dante's work is.. Hard to describe. The Old English may be trying at times, and it's rather a morbid read. But the story-telling is magnificent, and overall a very memorable poem on Christian mythology.

A word of warning, by the time you reach Young Zaphod Plays It Safe in the Hitchhiker's Guide it becomes so nonsensical and non-linear, that the book becomes a real challenge to finish.

The Zombie Survival is fun book to read, your head'll be full of useless information by the end of it though.

Ah, yes Dante's work is.. Hard to describe. The Old English may be trying at times, and it's rather a morbid read. But the story-telling is magnificent, and overall a very memorable poem on Christian mythology.

Stryder1212

Yeah, I've heard that about it, unfortunately.  I'm only on The Restaurant at the End of the Universe and so far, I've loved it.  This is the first time I've found myself laughing aloud while reading a book. 

What I love about the Zombie Survival Guide is how matter-of-fact it is.  Brooks has a dead serious tone throughout.  :P 

My friend recently bought The Divine Comedy and has yet to stop talking about how good it is.  That, combined with my increasing obsession with the afterlife has pretty much sold me, at this point. 

Some literature that might be a bit more on-topic is The Hidden Face of God. I haven't read it myself, but my chemistry teacher (a somewhat devout Christian, but not an evolution-denying Young Earth Creationist) highly recommends it. He's actually lost and repurchased it four times if that says anything about it.

Apparently it's very science-oriented, particularly biology. Judging from the title though, I'd say there's some mention of God in there. I don't know the author's name or any of the specifics, and it's about 11:40 here and I've got two tests tomorrow to finish studying for, so I probably shouldn't look it up (or be here :p). I guess that's what Google's for if any of you are interested.

Just finished Infidel, again.  Every woman should read it, men as well.  I'm not sure what to start next.  It's been a few years since I read A History Of God by Karen Armstrong, or maybe just finish the Queen Elizabeth I bio I started.btaylor2404

Is Karen Armstrong the one that wrote The Battle for God? I hated that book with passion.

[QUOTE="btaylor2404"]Just finished Infidel, again.  Every woman should read it, men as well.  I'm not sure what to start next.  It's been a few years since I read A History Of God by Karen Armstrong, or maybe just finish the Queen Elizabeth I bio I started.Genetic_Code

Is Karen Armstrong the one that wrote The Battle for God? I hated that book with passion.

Yes, it's tedious I admit, but I liked it the first time around.  Removed your Obama sig? 

Yes, it's tedious I admit, but I liked it the first time around.  Removed your Obama sig? 

btaylor2404

Yes, it caused too much attention that I decided to remove it.

[QUOTE="btaylor2404"]

Yes, it's tedious I admit, but I liked it the first time around.  Removed your Obama sig? 

Genetic_Code

Yes, it caused too much attention that I decided to remove it.

May have been a losing battle, probably a good choice.  What about the book?  Why did you hate it?

May have been a losing battle, probably a good choice.  What about the book?  Why did you hate it?

btaylor2404

Weird. I thought I posted a response to this. I was waiting for you to reply, but you would be replying to a post that didn't exist! :o We can't have that on the Atheism Union.

Anyway, I didn't like her characterizations of people who upheld literal interpretations of the Qu'ran, Christianity, and Judaism together. As I've mentioned in another thread, I think that the evil done by religion is a weak argument against religion. I didn't get too far in the book though.

There seemed to be a liberal stigma in her writing additionally.

As I've mentioned in another thread, I think that the evil done by religion is a weak argument against religion. I didn't get too far in the book though.

There seemed to be a liberal stigma in her writing additionally.

Genetic_Code

Really, I would consider it a worthwhile argument. No better justification for punishment and isolation of others than with a set of so called absolute truths and values. Although, I would consider it false for someone to propose that the world would be rid of evil if it was rid of religion. 

I am reading two books atm, The Brothers Karamazov and The Gulag Archipelago. Even though I am on university holidays from November until March, I am still getting through them rather slowly.

[QUOTE="btaylor2404"]

May have been a losing battle, probably a good choice.  What about the book?  Why did you hate it?

Genetic_Code

Weird. I thought I posted a response to this. I was waiting for you to reply, but you would be replying to a post that didn't exist! :o We can't have that on the Atheism Union.

Anyway, I didn't like her characterizations of people who upheld literal interpretations of the Qu'ran, Christianity, and Judaism together. As I've mentioned in another thread, I think that the evil done by religion is a weak argument against religion. I didn't get too far in the book though.

There seemed to be a liberal stigma in her writing additionally.

I remember some of that as well, maybe I will skip it.  Everyone who reads this, if you haven't already read Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.  It is the best book I've read in years.  It is especially uplifting for women, but from a man's prospective it gave me strength, to see what she has gone thru.  I have loaned it to people of all faiths (Islam not included) and all but one reread it.  Incredible, simply written book about determination.

[QUOTE="Genetic_Code"]

As I've mentioned in another thread, I think that the evil done by religion is a weak argument against religion. I didn't get too far in the book though.

There seemed to be a liberal stigma in her writing additionally.

dallbowl

Really, I would consider it a worthwhile argument. No better justification for punishment and isolation of others than with a set of so called absolute truths and values. Although, I would consider it false for someone to propose that the world would be rid of evil if it was rid of religion.

Welcome to the union dallbowl. I haven't seen you around before.

The problem I have with it is that by getting rid of religion, there still will be religion. Atheists criticize religious hypocrisy as though atheists were saints, but the truth is further than that. Atheists are just as capable of evil as any misguided and brainwashed jihadist.

[QUOTE="dallbowl"][QUOTE="Genetic_Code"]

As I've mentioned in another thread, I think that the evil done by religion is a weak argument against religion. I didn't get too far in the book though.

There seemed to be a liberal stigma in her writing additionally.

Genetic_Code

Really, I would consider it a worthwhile argument. No better justification for punishment and isolation of others than with a set of so called absolute truths and values. Although, I would consider it false for someone to propose that the world would be rid of evil if it was rid of religion.

Welcome to the union dallbowl. I haven't seen you around before.

The problem I have with it is that by getting rid of religion, there still will be religion. Atheists criticize religious hypocrisy as though atheists were saints, but the truth is further than that. Atheists are just as capable of evil as any misguided and brainwashed jihadist.

I agree wholeheartedly G_C, but with less religion we would not see the hypocrisy, IMO, that makes so many of us cringe.

I agree wholeheartedly G_C, but with less religion we would not see the hypocrisy, IMO, that makes so many of us cringe.

btaylor2404

I disagree. I believe lieing is wrong, but if I were to lie as I did regarding my signature, that would make me a hypocrite.

I agree wholeheartedly G_C, but with less religion we would not see the hypocrisy, IMO, that makes so many of us cringe.

btaylor2404

Yeah, it's not the actual evil committed in religion's name that makes us cringe so much as the hypocrisy involved in it. Sure, atheists are capable of evil. Nobody is denying that, G_C, but why the whole "evil done by religion" argument is brought up is because of the pure hypocrisy. 

That book is genius.

Genetic_Code

Good to hear! I'm pretty excited to start on it, haha.

[QUOTE="dallbowl"][QUOTE="Genetic_Code"]

As I've mentioned in another thread, I think that the evil done by religion is a weak argument against religion. I didn't get too far in the book though.

There seemed to be a liberal stigma in her writing additionally.

Genetic_Code

Really, I would consider it a worthwhile argument. No better justification for punishment and isolation of others than with a set of so called absolute truths and values. Although, I would consider it false for someone to propose that the world would be rid of evil if it was rid of religion.

Welcome to the union dallbowl. I haven't seen you around before.

The problem I have with it is that by getting rid of religion, there still will be religion. Atheists criticize religious hypocrisy as though atheists were saints, but the truth is further than that. Atheists are just as capable of evil as any misguided and brainwashed jihadist.

Thanks, and hi to everyone.  I do agree with you there. People will always be intolerant and/or will do bad things regardless of religions existence. 

Yeah there is a fair bit of hypocrisy though, preach goodness and kindness; then voilate it and mistreat the people that do not agree with you.

Basic Writings of Nietzsche

Forerunner-117

Ahh Nietzsche, quite thought provoking and witty. Hope you enjoy that one. 

Ahh Nietzsche, quite thought provoking and witty. Hope you enjoy that one. 

dallbowl

Yep, so far it has been! Thanks. :)

[QUOTE="dallbowl"]

Ahh Nietzsche, quite thought provoking and witty. Hope you enjoy that one. 

Forerunner-117

Yep, so far it has been! Thanks. :)

Hey I've got that one sitting on the shelf, worth reading?  Wife and I take monthly trips to the bookstore and buy insane amounts of books that I gradually go thru.