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#1 |
expwy. to yr skull
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,855
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Recommend some non-fiction books that you like.
Here are some from me: Paul Griffiths - Modern Music and After Alasdair MacIntyre - After Virtue Donald Kroodsma - The Singing Life of Birds Roger Scruton - The Aesthetics of Music Douglas R. Hofstadter - Godel, Escher, Bach Daniel C. Dennett - Consciousness Explained |
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#2 |
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Thucydides - History of the Peloponnesian War
Any Greek or Roman historical accounts. Extremely entertaining. |
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#3 |
little trouble girl
Join Date: Mar 2006
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Just finished reading A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
loved it actually any Oprah book of the month is good reading. You can't go wrong with Hitler's Mein Kampf either. ![]() |
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#4 |
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Location: Arrived in Smoke, Arrived in Gold
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haha
my girlfriend actually bought a million little pieces... and i actually read about a third of it... it's not completely terrible... pretty trite but strangely enjoyable... like watching bad TV whilst mindnumbingly bored.... i'm reading a philosophy of boredom just now which isn't bad but not great... some interesting stuff but some irrevelevant waffle as well.... has anyone read guns, germs and steel? i got it a little while ago, haven't got round to it yet... it seems quite interesting.... |
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#5 | |
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Quote:
I will say, you can actually get some entertaining novels from Oprah's Book Club. She has Joyce Carol Oates in there a lot, who I tend to like (but sometimes hate). |
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#6 |
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Another fantastic book (these are probably of only the remotest interest to people who give a shit about Roman history): Livy's The Early History of Rome. (I decided to observe the formal rules of book titles for once, instead of just putting them in quotes.)
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#7 |
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I almost bought that History of the Peloponnesian War book not so long ago. But damned if I can recall which book shop I saw it in.
Jerry Manders 'Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television' is a good one. It's not as angry and confrontational as the title suggests. He writes in a pretty level headed and balanced way. I liked Ray Kurzweils 'The Age of Spiritual Machines' a lot. Although I'm not really sure I totally agree with his stance. (That it's inevitable that machines will one day exceed human intelligence). |
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#8 |
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death be not proud.
A journalist wrote it about his sons life after he died of some disease. |
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#9 | |
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Quote:
Didn't that book turn out to be not all that non-fiction...
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KALOPSIA |
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#10 |
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David Foster Wallace's Consider The Lobster is a good read.
Anything by Chuck Klosterman is good, too.
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fuck i'm frustrated, freaking out something fierce, would you help me? i'm hungry and i stuffer and i startle, i struggle and i stammer til i'm up to my ears in miserable quote unquote "art" |
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#11 |
stalker
Join Date: Mar 2006
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i've read guns germs and steel. it's fucking fantastic
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#12 |
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One of my prized possessions is a copy of Oliver Cromwell; A History by Samuel HArden Church, Litt. D, A.M. It's the 1899 edition, celebrating the 300th anniversary of Cromwell's birth, and was limited to 600 copies, each hand-signed and numbered. Mine is number 487. So I have to say that as one.
Other non-fiction books I'm most fond of include: Synchronicity by C G Jung, Wally Hammond: The Reasons Why by David Foot, A Mirrror of Witchcraft by Christina Hole, The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer, and two books about my local area, both late 19th century, by Hilda Gamlin; namely 'Twixt Mersey and Dee and Chronicles or Memories of Birkenhead
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#13 |
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Whaaaaa? 1899 edition. Ltd to 600? That must be worth a shitload. There must also be a good story as to how a book such as that came into your posession. And there I was salivating over a 1st edition of Philip K Dicks Ubik in a bookshop window just the other day.
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#14 | |
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Not much of a story; I'm a Cromwell fan, and I love antiquarian books. I spend so much time in antiquarian bookshops that occaisionally something special comes my way (that's exactly why I spend quite so much time there). And the dealers know me, thyey'll keep stuff for me to see, and give me a discount. That's how the book world works, it's nice.
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#15 | |
empty page
Join Date: Mar 2006
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Quote:
I never buy valuable editions of books, because there's no hope of me keeping them in good condition. I'm one of those people who dog-ear books, drop them in the tub, spill tea on them, bend the covers, etc. Same with vinyl - I could NEVER leave an album unopened in its original packaging. I could never resist the satanic pull to play it. |
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#16 |
expwy. to yr skull
Join Date: Mar 2006
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Rotton-The John Lydon autobiography was pretty good.
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#17 |
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I liked that, LifeD. In sort of the same vein, Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil is a good read too.
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fuck i'm frustrated, freaking out something fierce, would you help me? i'm hungry and i stuffer and i startle, i struggle and i stammer til i'm up to my ears in miserable quote unquote "art" |
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#18 |
expwy. to yr skull
Join Date: Mar 2006
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pretty funny how oprah went horseshit on frey, i wasnt really interested in it at all previously. now that everyone hates him and its not all the non-fiction its sparked my interest and im gonna be reading that.
right now im reading a heartbreaking work of staggering genius by dave eggers and its pretty good. bob dylans book was good i cant really think, but ill post more as they come to me... OH YEAH i night by elie wiesel was really good, my mom bought it for me after she saw it on oprah |
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#19 |
children of satan
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: helltown, ohio
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bruce chatwin- what am i doing here?
(travels the world, meets amazing people, one of the best writers i've ever read)
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>>>Thrustin' More<<< ![]() |
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#20 | |
expwy. to yr skull
Join Date: Mar 2006
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Quote:
I am exactly the same way - I coonsume books and shit them out. But in my experience, people who are interested in Greek and Roman history keep their books in pristine condition.... |
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