Ten Books

[Philboid Studge]

Everyone in this forum must have a bookshelf nearby. Look at the row of books nearest you, and list the first ten books in that row. I'm curious to see if and how they reflect on the characters in here. Here are mine:

1. Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms
2. Marijuana: The Connoisseur's Handbook
3. The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Substances
4. The Throwing Madonna: Essays on the Brain
5. A Pocket Book of Short Stories
6. Taking Wing: Archaeopteryx and the Evolution of Bird Flight
7. The Case of the Missing Neutrinos and Other Curious Phenomena of the Universe
8. The Bible (KJV)
9. The Koran
10. Neurotica: Jewish Writers on Sex

[Evil_Mage_Ra]

1. An Introduction to Genetic Analysis
2. Biology
3. Biology of the Invertebrates
4. Cell: A Molecular Approach
5. The World of the Cell
6. How Things Work Today
7. Principles of Economics
8. Microbiology
9. Finding Darwin's God
10. The Beak of the Finch

I was a bio minor in college.

[Sir Sin-O-Lot]

1. Capitalism and Freedom
2. The Communist Manifesto
3. The Spirit of Laws
4. On Liberty and Other Writings
5. The Prince
6. The Federalist Papers
7. Stalin: Court of the Red Tsar
8. The Rights of Man
9. Media Control
10. Candide

[Tenspace]

Ten of the books above my desk:

1. The Feynman Processor, Gerard Milburn
2. Religion Explained, Pascal Boyer
3. The Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, FAA
4. A Twist of the Wrist, Keith Code
5. Sport Riding Techniques, Nick Ienatsch
6. The Fabric of Reality, David Deutsch
7. The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene.
8. Mostly Harmless, Douglas Adams
9. To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
10. The Reality Dysfunction, Peter Hamilton

My current reading stack contains:

1. Phantoms In The Brain, V.S. Ramachandran
2. The Evolution of Consciousness, Robert Ornstein
3. Ki In Daily Life, Koichi Tohei
4. What Evolution Is, Ernst Mayr

Then there's the living room bookcase... :)

Tenspace

[ocmpoma]

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/87/3075/640/One%20Shelf.jpg

http://geocities.com/ocmpoma/Biblio-File.mdb

[Metman07]

1. "How to Prepare for the MCAT"
2. "MCAT Physics"
3. "Organic Chemistry"
4. "Chemistry"
5. "Campbell's Biology"
6. "Kaplan's MCAT Preparation guide"
7. "Concentration: A Guide to Mental Mastery"
8. "Schaum's outlines, College Physics, Ninth Edition"
9. "University Physics, 11th Edition"
10. "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People"

My dad gave me the last book. Number 7 is mine. And the rest are mostly being used in preparation for the MCAT this coming August.

[Philboid Studge]

6. The Fabric of Reality, David Deutsch
This looks like something that would interest me. I checked out chap 1 online and it looks promising. Is it? I have a probably slightly-better-than-average grounding in science and I don't want to get quagged down in something way out of my depth.

[Lundie]

1. A short history of nearly everything. Bryson, B.
2. The LOTR. Tolkien
3. Timeline. Crichton, M.
3. Robot visions. Asimov, I.
4. Dune. Herbert, F.
5. A brief history of time. Hawking, S.
6. 1984. Orwell, G.
7. Animal farm. Orwell, G.
8. A house for Mr. Biswas. Naipaul, V.S.
9. My Side of History. Chin Peng.
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey. Clarke, A.

What can I say? I love my fiction. :)

[schemanista]

The Practice of Poetry, Mary Kinzie
Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry, John Frederick Nims
Sound and Sense, An Introduction to Poetry, Lawrence Perrine and Thomas A. Arp
Core Python Programming 2 ed., Wesley Chun
Scheme and the Art of Computer Programming, Matthias Felliesen
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, Harold Abelson and Gerald Jay Sussman with Julie Sussman
The Great Code: The Bible and Literature, Northrop Frye
The Oxford Canadian Dictionary
Whitfield University Rhyming Dictionary
Traveller: The Classic Books, Marc W. Miller et. al.

[Tenspace]

6. The Fabric of Reality, David Deutsch
This looks like something that would interest me. I checked out chap 1 online and it looks promising. Is it? I have a probably slightly-better-than-average grounding in science and I don't want to get quagged down in something way out of my depth.
Excellent book, though some of his ideas are stretched pretty far. If you made it through The Elegant Universe or A Brief History of Time, this one should be a good challenge. It's an excellenet primer into Everett's Many Worlds Theorem, and does quite well investigating multiverses.

Ten

[Tenspace]

1. A short history of nearly everything. Bryson, B.
2. The LOTR. Tolkien
3. Timeline. Crichton, M.
3. Robot visions. Asimov, I.
4. Dune. Herbert, F.
5. A brief history of time. Hawking, S.
6. 1984. Orwell, G.
7. Animal farm. Orwell, G.
8. A house for Mr. Biswas. Naipaul, V.S.
9. My Side of History. Chin Peng.
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey. Clarke, A.

What can I say? I love my fiction. :)
If you like Sci-Fi, check out, "The Reality Dysfunction", by Peter Hamilton. It's in the Space Opera genera, but has a much richer plot than Star Wars or the like.

And, it intertwines religion with science. Humanity in the future has split into two groups - Adamists and Edenists. Adamists are conventional, god-fearing humans who run our corner of the galaxy, but won't accept genetic modifications beyond the mainstream. Edenists are equipped with an "affinity gene" which allows telepathic communication. Even their spaceships and habitats are sentient. Not to mention servitor chimps, affinity-bonded eagles (for scouting), etc.

Then the fabric of reality is ripped, allowing the souls of the dead to possess the living. :)

Good stuff.

Ten

[PanAtheist]

"Whitfield University Rhyming Dictionary"
I fancy getting a rhyming dictionary.
A happy way to experience words. methinks!

Here is the book shelf next to me:
1. Positional Release Therapy (D'Ambrogio & Roth)
2. Anatomy & Physiology, (Thibodeau & Patton)
3. Melloni's Illustrated Medical Dictionary (Cox, Melloni, Eisner, & Melloni)
4. Atlas of Human Anatomy (Anatomical Chart Co.)
5. Wolf-Heideger's "Atlas of Human Anatomy" Volume 1. (Petra Kofp-Maier)
6. Wolf-Heideger's "Atlas of Human Anatomy" Volume 2. (Petra Kofp-Maier)
7. Sobotta's "Anatomy" Volume 1.
8. Sobotta's "Anatomy" Volume 2.
9. Grant's "Atlas of Anatomy" (Agur Lee)
10. Blueprint for Life (TimeLife)

You get the picture!
Frankly, I hardly read.
The vast majority of my books are picture books!
And many of them, like "Sobotta" and "Wolf-Heideger" contain artwork (of the anatomical variety) which is truly AWESOME.
The folk who produce such images are truly extra-ordinary people, to which the world owe's a debt.

[alaspooryorick]

Well, this is opening a can of worms for me...only 10? Here's the last ten things I bought/read/looked at:

1. The Iliad, Homer
2. Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
3. Ulysses, James Joyce
4. Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett
5. Poetry, Language Thought, Martin Heidegger
6. The Journals of Jack Kerouac
7. Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman
8. Nine Stories, JD Salinger
9. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky
10. Pale Fire, Vladimir Nabokov

*Shrugs* That is the shelf of an English major. But religion-wise, I do have a handful of Bibles and "Touchdown Jesus" (despite the funny title, it's not exactly about Notre Dame football, but the mixing of sacred and secular).

[ocmpoma]

Ah, last ten books read... I like that notion:

The Sandman: Brief Lives
The Sandman: Fables & Reflections
The Sandman: World's End
The Unending Mystery: A Journey Through Labyrinths and Mazes
The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History
Fries's Rebellion: The Enduring Struggle for the American Revolution
Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the
Future of the Cosmos
Curious Life of Robert Hooke, The: The Man Who Measured London
First Idea, The: How Symols, Language, and Intelligence Evolved From Our
Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans
Iron Tears: America's Battle for Freedom, Britain's Quagmire, 1775-1783

And right now I'm working on The Reformation, by MacCulloch

[Evil_Mage_Ra]

The Sandman series is friggin' awesome. Pretty much anything by Neil Gaiman, I like.

[Viole]

Sometimes I wonder why I bother coming to this place at all. Then I realize it's because physics and other sciences have never been an educational priority of mine... and I'm learning more about them here than I have since high school. Ha!

My literary collection consists of books about the various Red revolutions, plus theory from Trotsky, Marx, Lenin and others--though many of the later are electronic--and the rest is a mixture of fantasy and sci-fi that none of you have likely heard of. I try and stay away from the popular stuff(and the absolute crap).

[whoneedscience]

1. On the Origin of Species
2. The Elegant Universe
3. A Brief History of Time
4. The Swiss Family Robinson
5. Programming in C++
6. The Last of the Mohigans
7. Founding Brothers
8. Field Guide to Eastern Trees
9. Field Guide to Eastern Birds (and evidently orioles are back in the northeast, I saw one this morning :))
10. Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy

Actually, I don't think I have any more than that anywhere. That's what libraries are for.

[ghoulslime]

Here is my list. These are the first ten books in the bookcase next to me. And I am being totally objective here. I have about 1500 books downstairs in bookcases – mostly poetry and literature, and at least 30 Asimov books. I have a small bookcase on the end of the table which serves as my computer desk in my bedroom. The books that happen to be there are not necessarily representative of what I am reading. They just happen to be there.

1. William Shakespeare, Complete Works
2. Walt Whitman, Poetry and Prose
3. Wisps, By Daniel F Mitchell (Poetry)
4. Thoreau, Walden
5. Byron, Keats, & Shelly – Select Works
6. Japanese The Fast and Easy Way
7. King James Version Bible – Leather Bound (Belonged to my Grandfather)
8. Asimov, Forward The Foundation
9. E.E. Cummings, 100 Selected Poems
10. The Buddha In Your Mirror. – The only one of these books that I haven’t read cover to cover. (My girlfriend thinks she will make me into a good Buddhist.)


Yes, Ghoulslime is a sissy reader of poetry. Fuck you, in advance. ;)

[BuzzKill]

1. Stranger in a Strange Land - Rabert A Heimlein
2. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
3. We, The Living, Atlas Shrugged
4. On the Road - Jack Kerouac
5. A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
6. Time Enough for Love - Robert A. Heinlein
7. Marriage and Morals - Bertrand Russel
8. The Door Into Summer - Robert A. Heinlein

And some other stuff which I am a little too drunk to read, and WAY too drunk to stand up on a chair and pull off af the shelf. These damn dorm rooms have crappy bookshelves.

- Jason

[Lundie]

1. Stranger in a Strange Land - Rabert A Heimlein
2. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
3. We, The Living, Atlas Shrugged
4. On the Road - Jack Kerouac
5. A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
6. Time Enough for Love - Robert A. Heinlein
7. Marriage and Morals - Bertrand Russel
8. The Door Into Summer - Robert A. Heinlein

And some other stuff which I am a little too drunk to read, and WAY too drunk to stand up on a chair and pull off af the shelf. These damn dorm rooms have crappy bookshelves.

- Jason
Greetings, fellow Heinlein fan! :)

[schemanista]

Yes, Ghoulslime is a sissy reader of poetry. Fuck you, in advance. ;)
Hey, there's nothing sissy about poetry. For years, I've been using it to get laid!

Nice to see another cummings fan. Which other poets float your boat?

[Rhinoqulous]

Last Ten Books Read:

1- Mindscan, Robert Sawyer
2- Flatterland, Ian Stewart
3- Philosophy of Time, Oxford Readings in Philosophy
4- Sunstorm, Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter
5- Blue Books, Wittgenstein
5- American Gods, Neil Gaiman
6- Man in a High Castle, Phillip K. Dick
7- Fabric of the Cosmos, Brian Greene
8- Time's Eye, Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter
9- The Complete Stories Vol. 1, Isaac Asimov
10- Word and Object, W.V.O. Quine

I highly recommend Mindscan for any Sci-fi fans. Great book about personal identity, and robots. Robots are cool. :D

And yes, Neil Gaiman rocks.

Rhinoq

[Philboid Studge]

The last ten I read? How the hell am I supposed to remember that? Bear in mind the first three on my shelf are how-to guides on memory wiping. What was I saying?

[Tenspace]

The last ten I read? How the hell am I supposed to remember that? Bear in mind the first three on my shelf are how-to guides on memory wiping. What was I saying?
But isn't it fun to read the same book over and over, yet each time is like the first? ;)

Ten

[Evil_Mage_Ra]

Let's see, last 10 *read*:

1. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
2. Terminal Man by Michael Crichton
3. The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
4. The Stranger by Albert Camus
5. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
6. The Gunslinger by Stephen King
7. 1984 by George Orwell
8. Beowulf (trans. by Seamus Heaney)
9. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
10. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Currently reading "The Science of Good and Evil" by Michael Shermer. Up next is "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Greene.

[Lurker]

I found these books on my front porch today. I'll post reviews after I read them all. :D

Why I created the Universe - by God
The Top 10,000 Questions Finally Answered - by God (this one is pretty thick)
Creation 101 for Mortals - by God
In the Beginning – Me! - by God
Holy Smokes – The Mystery of the Burning Bush Unlocked - by God
Evil Explained - by God
Hiding In Plain Sight - by God
The Illustrated Guide to Heaven - by God
Omniscient God, Omnipotent God - by God
I’m God and You’re Not – Why I Do What I Do - by God

[HMS Beagle]

Because they are next to my desk, where I write, and because (cough, cough) I haven't been well, they are:

1. The Columbia University Complete Home Medical Guide
2. Nutrition Almanac
3. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
4. Webster's New World Thesaurus
5. Webster's 10th Dictionary
6. The Oxford Book of Death
7. The Writer's Quotation Book
8. Fowler's Modern English Usage
9. A Viewer's Guide to Art: A Glossary of Gods, People, and Creatures
10. Strunk & White's Elements of Style

I'd contribute to the last ten books read, but that implies finished, and as I tend to be midway through dozens of books at a time and I finish very few (I read likea bee pollinates), it would be misleading. The last book I finished completely was The Swiss Family Perelman (flawless comic prose).

[Amazonis]

1) Ancient Civilizations
2) Rainforestof the World
3) The Oxford Australian Dictionary (1990 Edition)
4) The Oxford Australian Thesorus (2000 Edition)
5) The Evolution of Atheism
6) Environmentally Sustainable Economics
7) Religions long gone
8) Battle for the Tarkine
9) Explore Australia 2005
10) Explore Australia 2002

[lee]

1. Abarat (Not finished with it yet, but so far it ain't good.)
2. Golem's eye (Must read!)
3. Amulet of Samarkand( Must read also!)
4. The whole Sandman series (Gaiman is GOD!!)
5. Witches Abroad Discworld series
6. can't remember the rest....

[Rhinoqulous]

Let's see, last 10 *read*:

1. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
2. Terminal Man by Michael Crichton
3. The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
4. The Stranger by Albert Camus
5. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
6. The Gunslinger by Stephen King
7. 1984 by George Orwell
8. Beowulf (trans. by Seamus Heaney)
9. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
10. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Currently reading "The Science of Good and Evil" by Michael Shermer. Up next is "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Greene.
Ender's Game is one of the best sci-fi book's I've ever read. The sequel, Speaker for the Dead, is a great book too.

[Rhinoqulous]

I found these books on my front porch today. I'll post reviews after I read them all. :D

Why I created the Universe - by God
The Top 10,000 Questions Finally Answered - by God (this one is pretty thick)
Creation 101 for Mortals - by God
In the Beginning – Me! - by God
Holy Smokes – The Mystery of the Burning Bush Unlocked - by God
Evil Explained - by God
Hiding In Plain Sight - by God
The Illustrated Guide to Heaven - by God
Omniscient God, Omnipotent God - by God
I’m God and You’re Not – Why I Do What I Do - by God
Why can't you share what your real reading material is? Could it be that you aren't reading? Shame on you, lurker.

[Lurker]

Why can't you share what your real reading material is? Could it be that you aren't reading? Shame on you, lurker.
Right now I read a lot of articles/reports/columns and not too many books. I don't enjoy reading fantasy or sci-fi. I enjoy factual/helpful/business books more. I'd rather read a textbook on thermodynamics or material science than the latest Stephen King novel. It's the engineer in me I guess. Right now I'm reading "Think a Second Time" by Dennis Prager.

[Evil_Mage_Ra]

It's the engineer in me I guess.
It seems like there are more theists in engineering than in any other branch of science. At the very least, whenever I watch "evidence of creation" shows on the Catholic channel, the scientific expert they bring on to comment is an engineer 90% of the time. I wonder if there are any statistics to back up this hunch of mine.

[Philboid Studge]

It's the engineer in me I guess.
It seems like there are more theists in engineering than in any other branch of science. At the very least, whenever I watch "evidence of creation" shows on the Catholic channel, the scientific expert they bring on to comment is an engineer 90% of the time. I wonder if there are any statistics to back up this hunch of mine.
Maybe some projection is taking place: "I'm an engineer, so the universe must have one too." Man creates God in his own image . . .

[Lurker]

Maybe some projection is taking place: "I'm an engineer, so the universe must have one too." Man creates God in his own image . . .
Now you guys are really reaching for straws here. It's (semi) entertaining - I'll give you that much.

[Evil_Mage_Ra]

Maybe some projection is taking place: "I'm an engineer, so the universe must have one too." Man creates God in his own image . . .
Now you guys are really reaching for straws here. It's (semi) entertaining - I'll give you that much.
I don't think it's that much of a stretch, if my theory is true (again, this is just a first impression......I don't have statistics). They had a NASA engineer on the Catholic channel a while back. He was showing a creationist a bowl he made out of pieces of interlocked wood. They pointed out that that bowl could not have just been made by chance, since it was so complex. So if something as simple as a bowl could be complex enough to require a designer, how much more would something as complex as life require a supreme intelligence? I think a lot of theists buy into this analogy.

[schemanista]

It seems like there are more theists in engineering than in any other branch of science. At the very least, whenever I watch "evidence of creation" shows on the Catholic channel, the scientific expert they bring on to comment is an engineer 90% of the time. I wonder if there are any statistics to back up this hunch of mine.
I think it's more that the Engineer, having had applied scientific training, has the veneer of scientific respectibility. People have been carefully trained to go into dumb mode when a "scientist" is speaking, even if that "scientist" is an engineer who is not discussing his or her area of expertise.

What's telling to me is that they don't have any biologists come on the show to champion Intelligent Design. Why is that, do you think? ;)

Maybe it's because those shows are trying to do nothing more than reinforce what their audience already "knows"? They're certainly not out to reach the 14-or-so percent of the population which identifies as atheist or agnostic.

[Lurker]

You seem to be arguing that engineers are wrong about god, but offer no proof. You worship at the feet of science, yet you go on and on about silly anecdotal stuff like this. Whatever :rolleyes:

[Evil_Mage_Ra]

You seem to be arguing that engineers are wrong about god, but offer no proof. You worship at the feet of science, yet you go on and on about silly anecdotal stuff like this. Whatever :rolleyes:
This isn't proof for the existence or non-existence of God, just an observation. Let's say for a minute that there is an intelligent designer--what type of evidence would lead me to believe in its existence? I just think that engineers would focus more on the "designs" than any other line of evidence/reasoning you might take.

[whoneedscience]

Maybe some projection is taking place: "I'm an engineer, so the universe must have one too." Man creates God in his own image . . .
Now you guys are really reaching for straws here. It's (semi) entertaining - I'll give you that much.
For once I agree with Lurker. Engineers are, if anything, the most atheistic group of people I know, next to scientists, and I should know. The thinking is more like, "I'm an engineer and I can create almost anything, what need do I have for some lame God". Engineering is learning how to think effectively; although I'll grant you that most engineers don't need to know anything about cosmology or biology, mainly mechanics and math.

But if you want to make conclusions on engineers from one theist, then piss off.

[Philboid Studge]

But if you want to make conclusions on engineers from one theist, then piss off.
My comment was at the very most half-serious, which I think Lurker realized, as he says he was semi-entertained. But for the half that was serious, let me just say it was not much of a "conclusion" (I prefaced it with "maybe" fer chrissake) and that it never would have been posed based on one engineer-theist. Evil_Mage_Ra's comment was about an indeterminate number of engineers who prop up theism 90% of the time. "Hunch" based on anecdotal evidence + 1/2assed "therory" = (semi)entertainment. I wouldn't take it too seriously ...

On the other hand, maybe God planted engineers (in His own inage) on Earth to give the rest of us both a shot at both salvation and some kick-ass bridges. I say rock on, Lurker!

[WITHTEETH]

A Man In A High Castle - Philip K Dick
Ender's Game books - OSC
A Brief History Of Time - Stephen Hawkins
Fabric of The Cosmos - Brian Green
The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins
1984 - George Orwell
Origin Of Species - Darwin
The Prince - Mackiaveli
Voices Of Wisdom - Kessler
Ishmael - D. Quinn

[Evil_Mage_Ra]

But if you want to make conclusions on engineers from one theist, then piss off.
My comment was at the very most half-serious, which I think Lurker realized, as he says he was semi-entertained. But for the half that was serious, let me just say it was not much of a "conclusion" (I prefaced it with "maybe" fer chrissake) and that it never would have been posed based on one engineer-theist. Evil_Mage_Ra's comment was about an indeterminate number of engineers who prop up theism 90% of the time. "Hunch" based on anecdotal evidence + 1/2assed "therory" = (semi)entertainment. I wouldn't take it too seriously ...

On the other hand, maybe God planted engineers (in His own inage) on Earth to give the rest of us both a shot at both salvation and some kick-ass bridges. I say rock on, Lurker!
Maybe I should've added a disclaimer: "No engineers were harmed in this wild speculation" :lol:

[whoneedscience]

On the other hand, maybe God planted engineers (in His own image) on Earth to give the rest of us both a shot at both salvation and some kick-ass bridges.
I kinda like that...

Christianity: so stupid a civil engineer can believe it.:D

I did catch a few minutes of one of those crazy UFO Bible shows on History Channel where some cracked up priest based his argument that space aliens inspired some prophet by quoting an engineer's reading of a Bible passage.

anyway... books anyone?

[Philboid Studge]

8. Field Guide to Eastern Trees
9. Field Guide to Eastern Birds
Are those Peterson or Audubon guides, or something else? I'm sure it will be a shock to learn I've got a 20+ year old, well-used Audubon Guide to North American Mushrooms ...

[whoneedscience]

8. Field Guide to Eastern Trees
9. Field Guide to Eastern Birds
Are those Peterson or Audubon guides, or something else? I'm sure it will be a shock to learn I've got a 20+ year old, well-used Audubon Guide to North American Mushrooms ...
Audubon. I like the size and the pictures. Most other guides have just paintings, which are fine to try to distinguish between flycatcher subspecies or obscure shrubs, but you don't really know any species until you see it firsthand, and I don't get that kind of variety anywhere near me.

20+ years? :o

Mushrooms? :/

[Philboid Studge]

20+ years?
Yep. Since 1981. http://ravingatheist.com/forum/img/uploads/goofyeyes.gif

Mushrooms?
Yep. Since 1978. http://ravingatheist.com/forum/img/uploads/eyeswide.gif

[Daniel]

Here are the last 10 books I've read (or am reading). If I listed the ones on the bookshelf next to me it wouldn't give a good glimpse of my reading habits as my fiancee insists on alphabetizing all our books.

1. A History of Narrative Film by David A. Cook (2nd ed.) [almost finished]
2. Emma by Jane Austen [almost finished]
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
4. The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830 by Paul Johnson
5. Lennon in America by Geoffrey Giuliano
6. Charles Bukowski: Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life by Howard Sounes
7. Moby Dick by Herman Melville (2nd time)
8. The Road to Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
9. Grant by Jean Edward Smith
10. The Odes of Horace by Horace (tr. James Michie)

By the way ghoulslime, I myself am a sissy reader of poetry and a sissy writer of poetry (ah Keats!).

[Downslide]

The last 10 I've read get pretty boring when you realize they are mostly work related: so the 10 that I've got handy ...

1) The Dali Lama's Little Book of Wisdom (reading at a relaxed pace)
2) The Stress of Her Regard - Tim Powers
3) Mercator, The Man Who Mapped the Planet - Nicholas Crane
4) Love's Labor's Lost - Shakespeare (edited by Peter Holland)
5) Shakespear on Love - Poems & quotations.
6) Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah - Richard Bach
7) Blue Dog Man - George Rodrigue (though, that's not really reading)
8) The Sorcerer - Eric Ericson
9) The Will to Power - Friedrich Nietzsche
10) The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

[Daniel]

Ah Nietzsche, my favorite philosopher!

I see you're reading "The Will to Power." You should also check out Nietzsche's last notebooks edited by R.J. Hollingdale. Both books are taken from the same sources but I believe Hollingdale left it as is instead of trying to make it into a "book."

[Cap'n Awesome]

1)Atlas Shrugged- Ayn Rand
2)The Human Record: Sources of Global History- Andrea Overfield
3)The Complete Sherlock Holmes- A Conan Doyle
4)1984- George Orwell
5) Colditz, The Definitive History- Henry Chancellor
6) Catch 22- Joseph Heller
7) Coping with Difficult People- Robert M. Bramson
8) Genghis Khan or the Emperor of All Men- Harold Lamb
9) Slaughter House-Five- Kurt Vonnegut
10) The Bible- Various Authors

[muss]

1) Thus Spoke Zarathustra - Friedrich Nietzsche (I love his books and philosophy)
2) When Nietzsche Wept - Irvin D. Yalom (great book and easy read)
3) Demian - Herman Hess (the novel that changed my life)
4) The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky (Monumental novel)
5) Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
6) 1984 - George Orwell (comments not needed)
7) Evolution of Cooperation - Robert Axelrod (currently reading)
8) The History of God - Karen Armstrong (currently reading)
9) The End of Faith - Sam Harris (currently reading)
10) The Outsider - Albert Camus (amazing classic)

I also read some Sci-Fi and others that are too many to mention.

[Stargazer]

My top 10, in no particular order:

1. The Illiad by Homer
2. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
4. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
5. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
6. Relativity by Albert Einstein
7. Beyond Good and Evil: A Genealogy of Morals by Frederich Nietzsche
8. The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels
9. Hyperspace by Michio Kaku
10. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell

[Wakkun]

Ooh lists. Seem to have missed this one. By the way, Muss, be prepared to be asked if you are Griggsy :). You're not Griggsy are you?

Keeping strictly to Mr Studge's rules, the 1st 10 books on the nearest shelf are:

Sabriel - Garth Nix
Exodus - Julie Bretagna
Abhorsen - Garth Nix
Antichrista - Amélie Nothomb
Fear and Trembling - Amélie Nothomb
The Mind Made Flesh - Nicholas Humphrey
Neither Here Nor There - Bill Bryson
Reason and Persons - Derek Parfitt
The Book of Thoth - Aleister Crowley
Brilliance of the Moon - Lian Hearn

(I see this thread has mutated into "Top 10 Books", well these are not my top 10, they are somewhat random, in accordance to Philboid's original plan. I can't do top 10s anyway.)

[Lily]

Ooh lists. Seem to have missed this one. By the way, Muss, be prepared to be asked if you are Griggsy :). You're not Griggsy are you? Somebody already did ask that!

First ten titles on the nearest bookshelf:

Das Nibelungenlied -- some damned Kraut
Der Nibelunge Not-- some other damned Kraut
Kudrun-- ditto
Der arme Heinrich-- Hartmann von Aue
Parzival-- Wolfram von Eschenbach
Tristan--Gottfried von Strassburg
Das Hausbuch: Bilder aus dem deutschen Mittelalter-- anon. (and misplaced)
Heinrich von Kempten--Konrad von Wuerzburg
Erec--Hartmann von Aue
Des Minnesangs Fruehling--poetry compilation

Ha! Not very enlightening. Too bad my computer isn't near the good stuff.

This is light years away from the stuff I am currently reading for pleasure. Unfortunately, most of what I read nowadays is for various research purposes, which, while fairly interesting, is of very limited general interest.

[Stargazer]

My top 10, in no particular order:

1. The Illiad by Homer
2. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
4. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
5. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
6. Relativity by Albert Einstein
7. Beyond Good and Evil: A Genealogy of Morals by Frederich Nietzsche
8. The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels
9. Hyperspace by Michio Kaku
10. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell

Yes these are all on a bookshelf beside my desk.

[Wakkun]

Ha! Not very enlightening. Too bad my computer isn't near the good stuff.

This is light years away from the stuff I am currently reading for pleasure. Unfortunately, most of what I read nowadays is for various research purposes, which, while fairly interesting, is of very limited general interest.
I think "the first ten books picked up of the floor" would have been more representative of what I've actually been reading. *Looks on the floor* A Latin Dictionary - Lewis & Short. Hmm, perhaps not, when was the last time I tidied this room?? 1890 if that book's anything to go by. :)

[Choobus]

People who write lists of the books they are reading never seem to list the trash, even though the trash is what sells the most. Funny that. It's like porno, a billion dollar indistry that nobody admits to. As one representative from the porn industry said "it ain't a thousand guys spending a million dollars each every year".

Stop padding your phony book lists you pretentious tossers

[Stargazer]

People who write lists of the books they are reading never seem to list the trash, even though the trash is what sells the most. Funny that. It's like porno, a billion dollar indistry that nobody admits to. As one representative from the porn industry said "it ain't a thousand guys spending a million dollars each every year".

Stop padding your phony book lists you pretentious tossers

Which trash books are you reading now?

I admit to the last Harry Potter book, which I am just finishing. However, since I left it out in my car, it was not on the bookshelf just now.

[Choobus]

Which trash books are you reading now?
.

I just read "I hope they serve beer in hell" by an unbelievable asshole called tucker max. (literally unbelievable, I think it's all made up). mega trash

[calpurnpiso]

Ah Nietzsche, my favorite philosopher!

I see you're reading "The Will to Power." You should also check out Nietzsche's last notebooks edited by R.J. Hollingdale. Both books are taken from the same sources but I believe Hollingdale left it as is instead of trying to make it into a "book."
AHH if you love Nietzsche you'll admire Hume and Schoppenhauer. Awesome brains.

[Lily]

People who write lists of the books they are reading never seem to list the trash, even though the trash is what sells the most. Funny that. It's like porno, a billion dollar indistry that nobody admits to. As one representative from the porn industry said "it ain't a thousand guys spending a million dollars each every year".

Stop padding your phony book lists you pretentious tossers

Speak for yourself, you sanctimonious limey import! There is neither trash (though trash may be in the eye of the beholder) nor porn in my house. If I pick up what is on the floor by my bed (i.e. what I am currently reading or trying to read), I have "Twilight of Atheism" (McGrath), "Ascent of Science" (B. Silver) "Ava's Man" (Rick Bragg), and a couple of others.

Stargazer, I love Harry Potter and do not reckon those books to be trash, though I don't consider them great literature, either. I cannot bring myself to condemn any book that is just plain fun to read.

[Wakkun]

OK, I will put my hands up. Here's what's really on that shelf (and I suspect Lily's eye conveniently flicked past her collection of bodice-rippers too):

A Dog, A Horse and a Heart - Barbara Cartland
Afraid - Barbara Cartland
Again This Rapture - Barbara Cartland
Against the Stream - Barbara Cartland
All's Right that Ends Right - Barbara Cartland
Alone and Afraid - Barbara Cartland
Alone in Paris - Barbara Cartland
An Adventure of Love - Barbara Cartland
An Angel from Heaven - Barbara Cartland
An Angel in Hell - Barbara CartlandAnd all in alphabetical order too!

[Wakkun]

AHH if you love Nietzsche you'll admire Hume and Schoppenhauer. Awesome brains.

Mmm, brains.

http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/halloween-candy06/33a.jpg

[Lily]

OK, I will put my hands up. Here's what's really on that shelf (and I suspect Lily's eye conveniently flicked past her collection of bodice-rippers too):

:blush: No, I keep them under the bed and out of sight-- along with the livers of all my past lovers.

[Choobus]

Speak for yourself, you sanctimonious limey import!

Being called sanctimonious by you is like Goatse telling me I have a big arsehole.

Methinks the "lady" doth protest too much. I reckon you are a big barbara cartland and jackie collins fan.

[psychodiva]

Understanding crime Data- Coleman / Moynihan
Criminal Justice Act 2003- HMSO
British National Formulary
Children & Violence - Gulbenkian Foundation papers
The caged virgin- Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Forensic Psychology- a guide to practice- Godjunsson & Haward
A modern herbal- Grieve
Eats, shites and leaves- A Parody
Derek Jarman's Garden- Derek Jarman
Madness and Civilisation- Foucault

[psychodiva]

Speak for yourself, you sanctimonious limey import! There is neither trash (though trash may be in the eye of the beholder) nor porn in my house. If I pick up what is on the floor by my bed (i.e. what I am currently reading or trying to read), I have "Twilight of Atheism" (McGrath), "Ascent of Science" (B. Silver) "Ava's Man" (Rick Bragg), and a couple of others.

Stargazer, I love Harry Potter and do not reckon those books to be trash, though I don't consider them great literature, either. I cannot bring myself to condemn any book that is just plain fun to read.


I have to admit that what is by my bed is different from what is on the shelf- i havre the most recent 'DEXTER' novel, a collection of essays about frredom of speech, 'The Historian' and an Adolescent Psychiatry textbook - I have also read all the HP books and I love the Phillip Pulman books :)

[Lily]

I have to admit that what is by my bed is different from what is on the shelf- i havre the most recent 'DEXTER' novel, a collection of essays about frredom of speech, 'The Historian' and an Adolescent Psychiatry textbook - I have also read all the HP books and I love the Phillip Pulman books :)

Oh, I see you have Ayaan Hirsi Ali on your list! I have been wanting to read her. Have you actually gotten to it yet? If so, do you recommend it?

[psychodiva]

Oh, I see you have Ayaan Hirsi Ali on your list! I have been wanting to read her. Have you actually gotten to it yet? If so, do you recommend it?

yes and yes- but be prepared to move rapidly between anger and distress and crying your eyes out when reading it