Ever read any Andre Bazin? I really liked that guy.

I would be. Pasolini is an interesting character and sure had a dramatic ending.

Hi all

Im starting The Confessions of Zeno by Italo Svevo. Its very funny, especially if your a smoker. (the first chapter)

Gauss found Ceres and did a lot of work on astronomy, but it is not true that it took most of his time. Mathematicians of that time and before would do lots of things in astronomy and physics besides Mathematics. Gauss was also interested in languages and spoke fluently in over 12 languages (including unusual languages for Europeans like Sanskrit). Everybody has hobbies besides their profession, Gauss kept doing mathematics for all his life, it wasn't like Newton who quit Mathematics/Physics to be in the government (by quit I mean he stopped pursuing the scientific questions and stopped publishing), or Pascal who quit science to pursue religion. Gauss kept doing Mathematics and publishing monumental works until his dying age.

Fantastic book. You're going to love it.

And yes, I'm a smoker.

I just finished The Emperor's Children. While I did enjoy reading it, I thought the author tried too hard to turn a comedy of manners into something more relevant via the inclusion of the events of September 11, 2001.

Next on the list is The F--- - Up by Arthur Nersesian. I've read it once but wanted to go back and revisit a quick and funny read.

TH

Ken,

I slogged through House of Leaves recently and just couldn't get past the layout and overall gimmicky nature of the printed edition. In fact, the annoyance had me skimming some parts of the novel as well.

I won't spoil the ending for you, of course.

TH

this is awesome. I think I have more studying to do. I am just starting in this history. It sounds like Music of the Primes will be a blah blah blah *yawner for you!!

Next week: The equation for....

This is all so fascinating. When you think of math, do you see it all in a graphical way? I wonder how you think when you think of a math problem.

Just started the "Great Gatsby". It's great so far (I tried reading "This side of Paradise" a while ago and hated it.) The only problem is that it's a library copy, and is littered with notes and spoilers. Oh well, I suppose.

Also, does anyone know the best place to start with Nietzsche's work? I tried reading "Thus Spoke Zarathusthra" but, frankly, I feel like a lot of it is going over my head. I figured it might be a good idea to start somewhere else and work my way up to TSZ.

Some areas of math I have to see it graphically, some areas of math I have to think of them in terms of some abstract symbols that I am comfortable with. When you see a new area in math it is not easy to understand the material in an intuitive way, so one has to think about it in terms of other things one understands, but then after a year or two it becomes part of thought process.

I have seen countless talks about the Riemann Zeta function, I have read several expository articles, so a lot of that book would probably be not new to me, but I doubt it would be a yawner as I like that area of math a lot. The fact that some strange abstract function can be so connected to primes is remarkable.

I may be wrong, but I think The Will to Power is Nietzsche's most well-known work - and it's all about 'Superman'.

I know there is a common printing of Beyond Good and Evil and The Anti-christ printed together, I'd recommend that. They are both fairly accessible and cogent, and also pretty representative of his work.

EDIT: It was Twilight of the Idols and Anti-Christ, link http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Idols...sim_b_title_16. Twilight of the Idols is better anyway.

The Walter Kaufmann translations are by far superior. They have excellent footnotes(not endnotes) throughout which help enormously putting things into context. Kaufmann also has a fantastic biography of Neitzsche out, as well as some interesting works of his own, including one I especially enjoyed, From Shakespeare to Existentialism. I've had his Tragedy and Philosphy in my queue for ages but haven't gotten to it yet.

Much of Nietzsche translations are written by people either with a grudge against him(Jesuit priests) or people trying to drag his name through the mud to their own ends(Heidegger, for the Nazis).

I found Thus Spake Zarathustra to be the least interesting of the Nietzsche works by a wide margin. On the Geneology of Morals and The Gay Science were two of my favorites, while Beyond Good and Evil, Ecce ****, and On the Geneology of Morals were all wonderful, and The Anti-Christ was very good too. The Birth of Tragedy was his first work, and especially interesting too for anyone into dramatic arts. But it's discussion of the division of spirit into the Dionysian and Apollinian is echoed throughout Neitzsche's later thought. The link points to a Kaufmann translation. Be warned that Amazon's book description is completely inane. (And a hint of the odd and difficult way Nietzsche has always been presented to the public.) The Will to Power is a collection of his notes that is also quite compelling and readable.

I would hold off buying any of Nietzsche unless you get it in the Kaufmann translations. Nietzsche has been too opportunistically translated by people with one or another angle to shoot, for too long, to settle for less than the best now.

Today I started reading "The Choice" by Nicholas Sparks and also started "The Tibetan Art of Living" by Christopher Hansard.

At the same time I'm still working on Dr. Dean Hamer's "The God Gene", "Farha on Omaha", Thomas Harris's "Hannibal Rising", "The Tao of Daily Life" by Derek Lin, "The Road Less Travelled" by M. Scott Peck, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Short Meditations", "Living Buddha, Living Christ" by Thich Nhat Hanh, "Life Coaching for Dummies", Daniel Goleman's "Working With Emotional Intelligence" and a few others.

Some very interesting choices. I'd like to hear your reviews of some of the philosphically-oriented ones.

I fairly regularly read Taoist-oriented stuff myself. I've enjoyed some Buddhist stuff a lot, too, and would like to read more.

So I did a bit of looking around and settled on "Basic Writings of Nietzsche" as edited and translated by Walter Kaufman (I looked for the "Twilight of the Idols and Anti-Christ" but they didn't appear to have it.) It contains "The Birth of Tragedy", "Beyond Good and Evil", "On the Genealogy of Morals", "The Case of Wagner", "Ecco ****" (lol censors) and a collection of aphorisms; so it should keep me busy for a while. I've only just made it through the maze of introductions but they were very interesting. It is kind of sad to read about all the ways in which people pruned and warped his work to fit their personal agendas (his sister among the worst of them), presumably without ever approaching it honestly and with an open mind.

Anyway, thanks to all for the recommendations

Sounds like a good choice. Hopefully it has his extensive footnotes, which are so interesting and do so much to round out the works and put them in perspective.

It does indeed, as well as introductions for each book/section.

You know what Blarg if you like Japanese literature of which I only have limited knowledge there is a very interesting novel you might like to read. In Japanese its called Kagi or The Key. It was the most provocative psychological novel. Not more than 150 to 200 pages long if I remember right. Just thinking about it makes me want to read it again. A real page turner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jun%27ichir%C5%8D_Tanizaki

Other than this novel the only 2 other novels dealing with Japan that I have read are Shogun (of course written by a non-Japanese person) and Memoirs of A Geisha. They were both pretty good reads too. I liked all the descriptiveness and characterizations in Memoirs of a Geisha plus the way the plot unfolded at the end. Shogun was an incredible read, particularly, to see all the complex political machinations of Toranaga-sama even if the machinations were pure fiction.

I might have to buy some more novels of Tanizaki. The Key was such a good read.

I've read several of King's books and I think he's a good writer when he sticks to horror. I tried to read one of his fantasy books, I think it was The Green Mile and for some reason I couldn't get into it. For some people though King's horror might be a bit too scary.

I think the best novels of his that I've read are Pet Sematery and the other one I forget the name but its about a family that gets stranded in a ghost town out west after getting pulled over by this insane cop. Probably The Shining belongs in the group too.

Pet Semetery gave a whole new meaning to spooky and I'd say wasn't for the faint of heart.

Thanks for the recommendation! I have read very little by Japanese writers, only The Book of Rings, a few poems here and there, and one novel a long time ago, I don't even remember the name. Of course Shogun but that doesn't count.

Blarg,

how much do you read daily? do you have the tv on when you read? do you watch much tv?

Cool, this forum is a much better place for your blog.

BTW I get what you mean about his horror being better than his fantasy (although I personally disagree) you should try reading The Stand, his best work. I dont know if you'd call if fantasy but it isnt exactly horror.

I've already The Stand the story of the 4 little boys. It was a pretty good read it just didn't have the graphic shock value of Pet Sematery.

I don't know why I'd be blogging here any more than you are vhawk01. Be careful to pull those claws back in.

I cycle on and off regarding t.v. This last half year I've been watching way, way too much. Reading, maybe an hour or so a day. Most of my heavy lifting regarding reading was done a long time ago. I've been working six days a week and into the early evenings, sometimes 7, for a couple years now, and that is taking away a lot of the time and energy I used to use for reading.

I'll often have the t.v. on just for some noise when reading, but really low if it's on.

Blarg, do you read with your eyes opened or closed?