Books and Literature

[Barkof]

I just read it myself for college last semester, and there's one particular edition I recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Plato/dp/0872207366/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

The major difference is that instead of presenting the text in prose form like the original, ("That's true," he said. "It is indeed, " said I. "But I have another question...") it presents it like the dialogue in a play or a screenplay, ala:

CEPHALUS: That's true.
SOCRATES: Indeed, it is. But tell me something else...

I think it makes the book flow way better. It's far more orderly and clear, not just long jumbled paragraphs of "I said," "He said," where you can barely tell who's talking. Plus it's a good translation and has notes throughout the book. After reading it I liked it so much I got my brother a copy for Christmas. It's got some really fascinating and challenging social concepts in it. Also, "lol the Greeks were all pedos."

Ah, I already got one from my brother who has yet to read it I think. He chose that one cause it's the most recent and complete translation, with a lot of notes(in French, that is). I actually noticed it was in prose and I was surprised. The other dialogues I read (Meno, Gorgias and Crito) were actually like plays as well. I agree, it makes them very easy to read, as well as leaving more space on the sides to take notes yourself...

Also, "lol the Greeks were also all homosexuals."

[Dorian White]

I recently got my own solid copy of Critique of Pure reason, so I don't have to use a library copy.

Hooray.

And you understand it? I tryed to read the Critique of Practical Reason and I had a lot of troubles to understand Kant's "18th-century-legalese-german".

That remind me that I still need to finish Either/Or.

[trancehime]

Right now, I'm re-reading The Aeneid, written by, as most of you would know, Virgil.

This is probably one of the reasons why I'm so in love with this stuff~

[Menorah Jams, Pham]

Just got really into Philip Roth.  He's a Pulitzer winner who writes mostly about Jewish-American assimilation in fiction, and honestly, it's like he's writing about my entire life.

Anyone who wants to know why I'm so jacked up in the head or having needs to read Portnoy's Complaint.

[Fightest]

I read a Russian translation of Le Petit Prince recently (de Saint Exupery). Wonderful read, it really is very humanistic, although I'd have liked it to have gone on for a bit longer.

[Toasty]

And you understand it? I tryed to read the Critique of Practical Reason and I had a lot of troubles to understand Kant's "18th-century-legalese-german".

That remind me that I still need to finish Either/Or.

At first, i was confused by his use of the word 'priori'. Until i got out the dictionary.

[Jam-Kiske]

I read a Russian translation of Le Petit Prince recently (de Saint Exupery). Wonderful read, it really is very humanistic, although I'd have liked it to have gone on for a bit longer.

That is a fantastic read.

Read it in original French for French class 2 years back.
I need to get an English translation to make Jan eat it...

[Helion]

I'm reading The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, gentleman which is pretty much the only interesting English literature from the 17th century.

Yes, I'm an embarassment to teenagers.  :V

[Toasty]

I'm reading The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, gentleman which is pretty much the only interesting English literature from the 17th century.

Yes, I'm an embarassment to teenagers.  :V

The fact that I envy you for simply posessing that book, let alone having the time to read it, is a sure sign that your statement applies to the both of us.

:V

[Helion]

The fact that I envy you for simply posessing that book, let alone having the time to read it, is a sure sign that your statement applies to the both of us.

:V

Who said I had the time? I've so much to do in a day I can barely afford an evening read before sleep. 

[HakureiSM]

I read a Russian translation of Le Petit Prince recently (de Saint Exupery). Wonderful read, it really is very humanistic, although I'd have liked it to have gone on for a bit longer.

One of the first books I read in my life.

I finished book 1 of The Parsifal Mosaic. Dammit it's amazing.

[Tengukami]

Reading "Outlet" by Randy Taguchi. Disturbing and hilarious, and just pitch perfect.

[Kinzo the Astro Curious]

I'm stalled at halfway through reading a book called "Half-safe" which is really bloody rare, published in the 1950's. Always found the story of what the guy did inspiring, although I havent read the entire book getting halfway through with how little i read is an accomplishment to me lol.

I will finish it at some point!

[Flibble!?]

While not rare, I finally bothered to get a copy of Dracula the other day. I'm enjoying reading it, and I'm really liking how it's written.

[Alfred F. Jones]

While not rare, I finally bothered to get a copy of Dracula the other day. I'm enjoying reading it, and I'm really liking how it's written.

The first part (Jonathan Harker's journal) is just fantastic. The second part is great. The third part is... eh, I won't spoil it, but I'd like to hear your reaction to it once you're done.

[Toasty]

Reading "Symmetry through the eyes of a chemist".

Alright for complex math to illustrate amazingly simple concepts.

[Fetch()tirade]

After reading Gatsby, I finished Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. I have no more faith in the world.

[Tengukami]

AFTA bored me to tears.

[Xijiy]

I've been reading Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz.

I've just gone a few chapters in but I'm going to guess that I'll be sucked into it this weekend when I don't have to work.

[einhorn303]

AFTA bored me to tears.

I read "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and absolutely loved it. Then I read "A Farewell to Arms" and absolutely loved it. Then I read "The Sun Also Rises" and it bored me to tears. I guess that's where my threshold is...well, then again, I was still in high school.

Hemingway is such a manly writer :gar:

[Helion]

Has anyone read The Count of Monte Cristo?

[Tengukami]

I read "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and absolutely loved it. Then I read "A Farewell to Arms" and absolutely loved it. Then I read "The Sun Also Rises" and it bored me to tears. I guess that's where my threshold is...well, then again, I was still in high school.

Hemingway is such a manly writer :gar:

What bothered me about Hemingway is he could take a subject like World War One and make it mind-numbingly boring. I understand he used word economy, and pared his fiction down to the barest essence, but for him this process sucked all the life out of the story. Whereas with other writers who also like word economy, such as Fitzgerald, it works.

I think this because of which words - or rather, which details - the writer chooses to leave in. for Fitzgerald, he emphasized much more the intangible aspects of his characters. With Hemingway, he would chop a story down and hack away at it until it had all the charm of a shopping list.

[Yamachanadu]

Has anyone read The Count of Monte Cristo?

Thanks for reminding me to go grab that from the Library.  The most recent books I have read are books 1 and 2 of the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larson (Fantastic mystery stories) and Catch-22 (Damnit Yossarian!).  Finally, I'm planning on hunting down a copy of "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair, and probably some of Orwell's earlier works too.

[theshirn]

Finished Warbreaker last week.  Lightsong is one of the most entertaining characters I've ever come across.  WRITE FASTER SANDERSON

[JoonK]

The Stranger by Albert Camus. It's... eye-opening, if anything. The part where Monsieur Perez desperately chases the funeral carriage carrying his mother freaked the hell outta me.

Read The Myth of Sisyphus after to get a better understanding of what the hell Camus means.

[Aoshi-shi]

Right now I'm reading A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, and I really got to say, it seems odd to me. It's divided into three parts, each with someone else's P.O.V. in the story. I only finished the first part though, and I have to finish the second part by Thursday for school. I dunno why I don't like it, it doesn't seem to hold on to my attention for that long.
And I really hate that Father Tom character.

[Fetch()tirade]

The Stranger by Albert Camus

I know that book. Have you finished? 'cause I just the remembered the whole

Spoiler:

shooting some random guy five times because the sun was in his eyes

part.

[JoonK]

yeah I did, and I have to write an essay for school about it. don't forget the dude he shot was a danged Arab  :V

it's a good book, I definitely agree with Camus' idea that the absurdity of the universe should simply be subverted with personal goals and ideals. its really dry though, that's kind of a turn off to a lot of people. what did you think?

[Yamachanadu]

Loved the stranger when I read it this summer.  I also started reading "The Black Death" although his account of a plague outbreak in Algeria was somewhat less compelling.

[Jam-Kiske]

The Stranger is sweet. Read that for English last year and will probably eventually nerd it up and read the original version~