New Mars Forums

Gennaro

Member

From: Eta Cassiopeiae (no, Sweden re

Registered: 2003-03-25

Posts: 591

Re: Books You've Just Read?

Couldn't find the original 'books you've just read' thread, so I institute a new one.

Got my hands on this one some time ago:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/075967 … e&n=283155

It's really the only book you need to read.

clark

Member

Registered: 2001-09-20

Posts: 6,363

Re: Books You've Just Read?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/884251 … 21?ie=UTF8

This is the only one you need to read. But then, I'm biased.

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Books You've Just Read?

*Recently read (and enjoyed) The Da Vinci Code.  Have a small collection of Gnostic Gospels I'm working through, including an introductory book.

Continue to read various works written by Carl G. Jung.

And last but not least, some lighter-fare summer reading:

Valley of the Dolls by Jaqueline Susann and Once is Not Enough by the same author.

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

noosfractal

Member

From: Biosphere 1

Registered: 2005-10-04

Posts: 824

Website

Re: Books You've Just Read?

*Recently read (and enjoyed) The Da Vinci Code.

Why is this book so popular?  I haven't read it.  Someone told me I would enjoy it, but my impression is that it is a fairly ordinary detective story with a liberal dose of Christian mysticism. 

Some fun books I did read recently were by Studs Terkel - in particular Hard Times and The Good War.  The books are oral history style compilations of interviews with ordinary and not-so-ordinary people about life in 20th century America.  I've never read anything like them before.  Just wonderful.

I also read this book - The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy by Peter W. Huber, Mark P. Mills - which is complete garbage and I want back the hours of my life that I wasted on it.

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Fan of [url=http://www.red-oasis.com/]Red Oasis[/url]

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Books You've Just Read?

I read loads of books, and so of course I eventually laid my hands on a copy of Da Vinci's Code.

I thought it was crap. Read three quarts of it then thought it was just a waste of time, glorified pulp fiction, IMHO....

I later read somewhere all his novels are the same, just different settings, heh. Well anyways he borrowed (rather: plagiarized) the backstory so I could believe it. Sad world when the original writers of the 'theory' go to court only to lose and not even given a small acknowledgement for their work, because the author is so popular, sheesh.

Overhyped book. Not really bad, but not worth all the hubbub, but that's commercialisation to you...

noosfractal

Member

From: Biosphere 1

Registered: 2005-10-04

Posts: 824

Website

Re: Books You've Just Read?

I actually did read Holy Blood Holy Grail some time ago as a kind of Fortean guilty pleasure like Chariot of the Gods or Book of the Damned ("If there is a universal mind, must it be sane?" etc, etc). 

HBHG was a little disturbing in that it refreshes the idea of literal descendents of god living among us - which Christianity (to its credit) has purged.  Reacceptance of the idea pushes us closer to neotheocratic nightmare world ala Handmaid's Tale.  Hopefully the overexposure of Da Vinci Code will help rather than hurt on this front.

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Fan of [url=http://www.red-oasis.com/]Red Oasis[/url]

Josh Cryer

Moderator

Registered: 2001-09-29

Posts: 3,830

Re: Books You've Just Read?

I listened to an audio book of The Da Vinci code awhile ago. Only way to go really.

I did get bored with it about 2/3rds the way through, and I actually didn't like the ending so much, except when the lead guy realized where the "Grail" was actually at. Would've been very disappointed if they ended it with her "family."

Anyway, I'm not reading anything lately. Unless you count technical PDFs for 3d graphics.

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Some useful links while MER are active. [url=http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html]Offical site[/url] [url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Web.html]NASA TV[/url] [url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/]JPL MER2004[/url] [url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/statustextonly.html]Text feed[/url]
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The amount of solar radiation reaching the surface of the earth totals some 3.9 million exajoules a year.

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Books You've Just Read?

*Everyone's taste is different, of course.  Imo The Da Vinci Code is one of the best-written, most clever works of fiction I've read in a long time; it also related well to a bunch of comparative religion reading I did in the 1990s.  I generally don't read much fiction because imo most isn't well written; TDVC is an exception.

Recently picked up Holy Blood, Holy Grail; what the heck, a bit of "history mystery" is enjoyable.

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Books You've Just Read?

*Everyone's taste is different, of course.

Sure is. Case in point: I'm currently re-reading Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars...   

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Books You've Just Read?

Everyone's taste is different, of course.

Sure is. Case in point: I'm currently re-reading Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars...   

*Lol!  Rik, I get the feeling you are neeeeeever going to let me live it down! 

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Books You've Just Read?

Pure coincidence, I swear, but of course too good to let it pass  :twisted:

Josh Cryer

Moderator

Registered: 2001-09-29

Posts: 3,830

Re: Books You've Just Read?

When you get to the bits about Coyote think of me, Rxke.

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Some useful links while MER are active. [url=http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html]Offical site[/url] [url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Web.html]NASA TV[/url] [url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/]JPL MER2004[/url] [url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/statustextonly.html]Text feed[/url]
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The amount of solar radiation reaching the surface of the earth totals some 3.9 million exajoules a year.

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Books You've Just Read?

No problem, I always imagined you as a dreadlocked stowaway 

clark

Member

Registered: 2001-09-20

Posts: 6,363

Re: Books You've Just Read?

with rocks for teeth.

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Books You've Just Read?

and a lopsided grin; a disturbing way of laughing, too!

clark

Member

Registered: 2001-09-20

Posts: 6,363

Re: Books You've Just Read?

I just groked Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein.

It was an entertaining read, but some of the ideas seem a bit dated (written in the 60's, so lots of the counter culture free-love mumbo jumbo makes an apperance)and the style seems more in line with a middle adolescene audience.

Picked it up because it was about the Man from mars, but it is a bit of a farce.

Josh Cryer

Moderator

Registered: 2001-09-29

Posts: 3,830

Re: Books You've Just Read?

Heinlein is something else... heh.

---

Some useful links while MER are active. [url=http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html]Offical site[/url] [url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Web.html]NASA TV[/url] [url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/]JPL MER2004[/url] [url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/statustextonly.html]Text feed[/url]
--------
The amount of solar radiation reaching the surface of the earth totals some 3.9 million exajoules a year.

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Books You've Just Read?

Currently reading Stephenson, Neal - Snow Crash, 1992, so rather old, but oh boy, this is by far the best cyberpunk novel I read in ages.

I'm actually a bit ashamed I'm only reading it now, this sure is a classic...

The word-virus thing, eerily reminiscent of William S. Burroughs... Another William, Gibson clearly found inspiration in this novel for at least one character (the Kourier) yet he gets the crown of cyberpunk-king, but now I've seen the light; Stephenson is the Emperor!

noosfractal

Member

From: Biosphere 1

Registered: 2005-10-04

Posts: 824

Website

Re: Books You've Just Read?

Gibson clearly found inspiration in this novel for at least one character (the Kourier) yet he gets the crown of cyberpunk-king, but now I've seen the light; Stephenson is the Emperor!

Puh-lease.  Neuromancer was 1984.  Gibson had founded, mastered and exhausted the genre before Stephenson knew there was a train to jump on.  Snow Crash has some nice images though.

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Fan of [url=http://www.red-oasis.com/]Red Oasis[/url]

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Books You've Just Read?

:oops: :oops: :oops: Embarrassing...

I'm getting old, I guess... confusing dates and ages... I really thought the one with the bike-courier was one of his more recent novels, but I didn't read them all in chronological order, and well the late 80's, to mid 90's are a bit of a haze in my memory so I have a lot of trouble putting things in chronological order..

I like Gibson's work, no doubt about it, but somehow, I sometimes feel it is lacking somewhere, after reading, i sometimes feel myself thinking: 'in fact it's just another passable detectivestory with a really cool setting...' The plotlines lacking somehow... Or being too similar throughout his work, I dunno, it's just a feeling when I'm feeling cynical...

dicktice

Member

From: Nova Scotia, Canada

Registered: 2002-11-01

Posts: 1,764

Re: Books You've Just Read?

I'm reading "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris. It's a pretty frightening analysis of [quote from back cover blurb] "... the dangers and absurdities of organized religion ..." I'm thinking of starting a thread about the influence that religious faith may have in delaying the development of travel in space, but I can't think of a name for it that won't just start another harangue about religion, instead of space travel. I hope some of you find time to read this book and comment upon it.

Trebuchet

Banned

From: Florida

Registered: 2004-04-26

Posts: 419

Re: Books You've Just Read?

Rxke: If you liked Stephenson's Snow Crash, then read his Cryptonomicon and be amazed.

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Books You've Just Read?

I've been enjoying Star Wars novels since October.

Read Dark Lord:  The Rise of Darth Vader then Darth Bane:  Path of Destruction.  Am currently reading Labyrinth of Evil (immediately predates "Revenge of the Sith").

One of these authors is in the preliminaries of penning a novel about Darth Sidious' mentor, Plagueis.  Will check it out upon publication (slated for early 2008, last I knew).

And no, Rik, I've not yet read Red/Green/Blue Mars!   

Basically I dislike fiction.  But these Star Wars novels are "fun" to get lost in.

Will also mention that a friend of ours looks a lot like this fellow:

http://www.br-online.de/kultur-szene/th … gregor.jpg

Just darken the hair and they're nearly twins.

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Tom Kalbfus

Banned

Registered: 2006-08-16

Posts: 4,401

Re: Books You've Just Read?

I'm reading "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris. It's a pretty frightening analysis of [quote from back cover blurb] "... the dangers and absurdities of organized religion ..." I'm thinking of starting a thread about the influence that religious faith may have in delaying the development of travel in space, but I can't think of a name for it that won't just start another harangue about religion, instead of space travel. I hope some of you find time to read this book and comment upon it.

Religious faith might actually accelerate space travel too. The Pilgrims came to Massachusetts because of Religious faith. Skeptics might question why we spend so much on space travel and seek to cut the budget, thus delaying space travel, they have in the past after all. But some religion that has a Manifest Destiny that it believes is to spread itself throughout the Solar System might push space travel ahead. Religious faiths that want to establish that perfect society according to their doctrine might pass the collection plate and establish their own colonies on Mars, and live according to their own philosophy. Those bean counters might perceive no benefit from space exploration, while the religious cults might find it a change to get away from the "corrupt" influences of the "Global village".

dicktice

Member

From: Nova Scotia, Canada

Registered: 2002-11-01

Posts: 1,764

Re: Books You've Just Read?

Yeah, and it has been suggested that colonies inside rotating miles-long cylinders could create their own individual heavens and hells without messing up planets with their bloody differences. Hallelujah!