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14 | </head> |
15 | <body> |
16 | <h1>A Not So Fancy Listing of Books</h1> |
17 | <div class="contents"> |
18 | <dl> |
19 | <dt> |
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20 | <a href="#sec1">Marcus Aurelius</a> |
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21 | </dt> |
22 | <dd> |
23 | <dl> |
24 | <dt> |
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25 | <a href="#sec2">Meditations</a> |
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26 | </dt> |
27 | </dl> |
28 | </dd> |
29 | <dt> |
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30 | <a href="#sec3">William Blake</a> |
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31 | </dt> |
32 | <dd> |
33 | <dl> |
34 | <dt> |
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35 | <a href="#sec4">The Four Zoas</a> |
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36 | </dt> |
37 | <dt> |
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38 | <a href="#sec5">Jerusalem</a> |
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39 | </dt> |
40 | </dl> |
41 | </dd> |
42 | <dt> |
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43 | <a href="#sec6">John Taylor Gatto</a> |
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44 | </dt> |
45 | <dd> |
46 | <dl> |
47 | <dt> |
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48 | <a href="#sec7">Underground History of American Education</a> |
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49 | </dt> |
50 | </dl> |
51 | </dd> |
52 | <dt> |
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53 | <a href="#sec8">Kahlil Gibran</a> |
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54 | </dt> |
55 | <dd> |
56 | <dl> |
57 | <dt> |
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58 | <a href="#sec9">A Tear and a Smile</a> |
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59 | </dt> |
5e4e370e |
60 | <dt> |
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61 | <a href="#sec10">The Prophet</a> |
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62 | </dt> |
5e4e370e |
63 | <dt> |
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64 | <a href="#sec11">Sand and Foam</a> |
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65 | </dt> |
66 | <dt> |
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67 | <a href="#sec12">The Madman</a> |
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68 | </dt> |
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69 | </dl> |
70 | </dd> |
71 | <dt> |
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72 | <a href="#sec13">William James</a> |
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73 | </dt> |
74 | <dd> |
75 | <dl> |
76 | <dt> |
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77 | <a href="#sec14">The Varieties of Religious Experience</a> |
78 | </dt> |
79 | <dt> |
80 | <a href="#sec15">The PhD Octopus</a> |
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81 | </dt> |
82 | </dl> |
83 | </dd> |
84 | <dt> |
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85 | <a href="#sec16">Henry James</a> |
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86 | </dt> |
87 | <dd> |
88 | <dl> |
89 | <dt> |
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90 | <a href="#sec17">The Altar of the Dead</a> |
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91 | </dt> |
92 | </dl> |
93 | </dd> |
94 | <dt> |
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95 | <a href="#sec18">Gregor Kiczales</a> |
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96 | </dt> |
97 | <dd> |
98 | <dl> |
99 | <dt> |
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100 | <a href="#sec19">The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</a> |
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101 | </dt> |
102 | </dl> |
103 | </dd> |
104 | <dt> |
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105 | <a href="#sec20">Søren Kierkegaard</a> |
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106 | </dt> |
107 | <dd> |
108 | <dl> |
109 | <dt> |
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110 | <a href="#sec21">Sickness Unto Death</a> |
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111 | </dt> |
112 | <dt> |
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113 | <a href="#sec22">Either/Or</a> |
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114 | </dt> |
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115 | </dl> |
116 | </dd> |
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117 | <dt> |
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118 | <a href="#sec23">Thomas More</a> |
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119 | </dt> |
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120 | <dd> |
121 | <dl> |
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122 | <dt> |
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123 | <a href="#sec24">Utopia</a> |
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124 | </dt> |
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125 | </dl> |
126 | </dd> |
127 | <dt> |
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128 | <a href="#sec25">Friedrich Nietzsche</a> |
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129 | </dt> |
130 | <dd> |
131 | <dl> |
132 | <dt> |
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133 | <a href="#sec26">Beyond Good and Evil</a> |
134 | </dt> |
135 | <dt> |
136 | <a href="#sec27">On the Geneaology of Morals</a> |
137 | </dt> |
138 | <dt> |
139 | <a href="#sec28">Ecce Homo</a> |
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140 | </dt> |
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141 | </dl> |
142 | </dd> |
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143 | <dt> |
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144 | <a href="#sec29">Luke Rhinehardt</a> |
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145 | </dt> |
146 | <dd> |
147 | <dl> |
148 | <dt> |
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149 | <a href="#sec30">The Dice Man</a> |
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150 | </dt> |
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151 | </dl> |
152 | </dd> |
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153 | <dt> |
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154 | <a href="#sec31">Neal Stephenson</a> |
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155 | </dt> |
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156 | <dd> |
157 | <dl> |
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158 | <dt> |
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159 | <a href="#sec32">Snow Crash</a> |
160 | </dt> |
161 | <dt> |
162 | <a href="#sec33">Cryptonomicon</a> |
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163 | </dt> |
164 | </dl> |
165 | </dd> |
166 | </dl> |
167 | </div> |
168 | |
169 | |
170 | <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a> |
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171 | Marcus Aurelius</h2> |
172 | |
173 | |
174 | |
175 | <h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a> |
176 | Meditations</h3> |
177 | |
178 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••• </span> (6) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
179 | |
180 | <p>I enjoyed reading this collection of meditations on Stoic |
181 | philosophy. It is a fairly quick read; I read each of the twelve books |
182 | before sleeping over the course of two weeks. Toward the end of the |
183 | collection things get a bit topically repetetive (e.g. acting |
184 | according to the nature of man is reflected upon over and over), but |
185 | each repetition looks at the topic in a slightly different light. A |
186 | number of passages I found quite inspiring, and scratched them down in |
187 | my notebook to ponder further.</p> |
188 | |
189 | |
190 | |
191 | |
192 | <h2><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a> |
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193 | William Blake</h2> |
194 | |
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195 | <p class="first">Blake is my <a href="William%20Blake.html">favorite</a> of the English poets. His |
196 | unique use of relief etching and watercoloring makes for very |
197 | interesting Illuminated works. There is a very high quality |
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198 | <a href="http://blakearchive.org">complete archive of Blake's works</a> online |
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199 | with high resolution plate scans and full transcriptions among other |
200 | things.</p> |
201 | |
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202 | <h3><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a> |
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203 | The Four Zoas</h3> |
204 | |
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205 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
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206 | |
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207 | <p>The unfinished manuscript of Blake's longest apocalypse. The |
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208 | Four Zoas divide from Albion and rage through the ages of dismal woe |
209 | to bring about the end of the cycle of Ulro and restore the cycle of |
210 | Beulah.</p> |
211 | |
212 | |
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213 | |
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214 | <h3><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a> |
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215 | Jerusalem</h3> |
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216 | |
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217 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
218 | |
219 | <p>The finest of Blake's Illuminated works.</p> |
220 | |
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221 | |
222 | |
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223 | |
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224 | <h2><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a> |
225 | John Taylor Gatto</h2> |
226 | |
227 | <p class="first">Former teacher and now author-activist.</p> |
228 | |
229 | <h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a> |
230 | Underground History of American Education</h3> |
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231 | |
b57daac1 |
232 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
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233 | |
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234 | <p>An interesting <em>underground</em> history of the American education |
235 | system. Available |
236 | <a href="http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/">online for free</a>.</p> |
237 | |
238 | |
239 | |
240 | |
241 | <h2><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a> |
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242 | Kahlil Gibran</h2> |
243 | |
244 | <p class="first">Kahlil Gibran is fairly interesting; his earlier works do not |
245 | agree with my æsthetic sense (blah blah), but <em>The Madman</em> onward are |
246 | all rather nice. A few of his works are |
247 | <a href="http://leb.net/~mira/">online</a>, but I recommend scouting used book |
248 | stores for old hardcover editions. The (late 90s onward at least) |
249 | <em>hardcover</em> versions from <em>Alfred A. Knopf</em> are in fact permabound |
250 | paperbacks with a hardcasing, and are of seriously inferior quality to |
251 | the editions from the 50s and 60s (and cost quite a bit more, |
252 | naturally).</p> |
253 | |
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254 | <h3><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a> |
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255 | A Tear and a Smile</h3> |
256 | |
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257 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••</span><span class="rating-bad">••••••• </span> (3) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
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258 | |
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259 | <p>One of Kahlil Gibran's earlier works, I did not much like <em>A |
260 | Tear and a Smile</em> excepting the last poem ("A Poet's Voice").</p> |
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261 | |
262 | |
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263 | |
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264 | <h3><a name="sec10" id="sec10"></a> |
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265 | The Prophet</h3> |
266 | |
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267 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
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268 | |
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269 | |
270 | |
271 | |
272 | |
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273 | <h3><a name="sec11" id="sec11"></a> |
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274 | Sand and Foam</h3> |
275 | |
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276 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
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277 | |
278 | <p>An interesting little book of aphorisms.</p> |
279 | |
280 | |
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281 | |
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282 | <h3><a name="sec12" id="sec12"></a> |
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283 | The Madman</h3> |
284 | |
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285 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
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286 | |
287 | |
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288 | |
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289 | |
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290 | |
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291 | |
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292 | <h2><a name="sec13" id="sec13"></a> |
293 | William James</h2> |
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294 | |
295 | |
296 | |
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297 | <h3><a name="sec14" id="sec14"></a> |
298 | The Varieties of Religious Experience</h3> |
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299 | |
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300 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
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301 | |
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302 | <p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20Varieties%20of%20Religious%20Experience.html">A partially finished extended summary</a></p> |
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303 | |
5e4e370e |
304 | |
5e4e370e |
305 | |
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306 | <h3><a name="sec15" id="sec15"></a> |
307 | The PhD Octopus</h3> |
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308 | |
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309 | <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
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310 | |
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311 | <blockquote> |
312 | <p class="quoted"> |
313 | America is thus as a nation rapidly drifting towards a state of things |
314 | in which no man of science or letters will be accounted respectable |
315 | unless some kind of badge or diploma is stamped upon him, and in which |
316 | bare personality will be a mark of outcast estate. It seems to me high |
317 | time to rouse ourselves to consciousness, and to cast a critical eye |
318 | upon this decidedly grotesque tendency. Other nations suffer terribly |
319 | from the Mandarin disease. Are we doomed to suffer like the rest?</p> |
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320 | |
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321 | </blockquote> |
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322 | |
b57daac1 |
323 | <p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20PhD%20Octopus.html">Full Text</a></p> |
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324 | |
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325 | |
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326 | |
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327 | |
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328 | <h2><a name="sec16" id="sec16"></a> |
329 | Henry James</h2> |
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330 | |
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331 | <p class="first">The novelist brother of William James; I've not read many (read: |
332 | one) of his books, but what I did was decent.</p> |
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333 | |
b57daac1 |
334 | <h3><a name="sec17" id="sec17"></a> |
335 | The Altar of the Dead</h3> |
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336 | |
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337 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
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338 | |
b57daac1 |
339 | <p>A short novella about a man who maintained an altar in a church |
340 | for all of his lost loved ones on the surface, but something a bit |
341 | more beneath.</p> |
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342 | |
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343 | |
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344 | |
345 | |
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346 | <h2><a name="sec18" id="sec18"></a> |
347 | Gregor Kiczales</h2> |
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348 | |
349 | |
350 | |
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351 | <h3><a name="sec19" id="sec19"></a> |
352 | The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</h3> |
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353 | |
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354 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
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355 | |
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356 | <p>AMOP is useful as a reference to the CLOS MOP (although less so with |
357 | the online MOP spec), but the true value of the book lies in the first |
358 | half of the book. It presents the design of the CLOS MOP through a |
359 | series of revisions that fix limitations of earlier implementations |
360 | and gradually work toward a generic and well designed MOP for |
361 | CLOS. Through that process one is made more aware of a few general |
362 | object protocol design skills, and gains insight into how to cleanly |
363 | make mapping decisions customizable.</p> |
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364 | |
365 | |
366 | |
367 | |
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368 | <h2><a name="sec20" id="sec20"></a> |
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369 | Søren Kierkegaard</h2> |
370 | |
371 | <p class="first">Kierkegaard was a master of style and philosophy; his writing is |
372 | interesting even if one finds the theistic extentialism espoused |
373 | disagreeable.</p> |
374 | |
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375 | <h3><a name="sec21" id="sec21"></a> |
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376 | Sickness Unto Death</h3> |
377 | |
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378 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
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379 | |
380 | <p>I purchased this when I was looking through books at a store after |
381 | being unable to find the book I really wanted, and I must say that it |
382 | was better for me to have found this one.</p> |
383 | |
384 | <p>Contained within is a beautiful analysis of despair in the context of |
385 | Christianity (really theism in general). Even if the argument offends, |
386 | the presentation cannot. The dialectical nature of despair is |
387 | reflected in every aspect of the work, and the method of presentation |
388 | forces reflection.</p> |
389 | |
390 | |
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391 | |
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392 | <h3><a name="sec22" id="sec22"></a> |
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393 | Either/Or</h3> |
394 | |
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395 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
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396 | |
397 | <p>Composed of two portions, <em>Either/Or</em> is a rather lengthy but |
398 | rewarding read. The first book is a series of essays and a diary of a |
399 | young esthetician; the second is a pair of long letters from an older |
400 | ethicist friend to this esthetician. You are then left to resolve the |
401 | conflict between the views.</p> |
402 | |
403 | |
404 | |
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405 | |
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406 | <h2><a name="sec23" id="sec23"></a> |
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407 | Thomas More</h2> |
408 | |
409 | |
410 | |
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411 | <h3><a name="sec24" id="sec24"></a> |
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412 | Utopia</h3> |
413 | |
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414 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
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415 | |
416 | <p>I read most of Utopia in high school with the TI-89 ebook reader, but |
417 | the way the book was split up made it a bit difficult to grasp the |
418 | overall structure. I found a copy at a used book store one day, and so |
419 | I read it again, and found it much more comprehensible. It is a quick |
420 | read, and decent piece of literature. The interesting social system |
421 | espoused resembles resembles state communism (even if perhaps as a |
422 | negative ideal), but with an strange blend of 14th century European |
423 | social customs.</p> |
424 | |
425 | |
426 | |
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427 | |
b57daac1 |
428 | <h2><a name="sec25" id="sec25"></a> |
429 | Friedrich Nietzsche</h2> |
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430 | |
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431 | <p class="first">A bit acerbic and esoteric, Nietzsche is for me a good <em>secular</em> |
432 | counterpart to Kierkegaard's theistic philosophy. Nietzsche's |
433 | polemical works raise important questions for anyone who reads works |
434 | on ethics. As such it is a shame that he has gotten a bad reputation |
435 | by being read by far too many angsty teenagers who see (and relay) |
436 | only Nietzsche the asshole rather than Nietzsche the master of the |
437 | polemic.</p> |
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438 | |
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439 | <h3><a name="sec26" id="sec26"></a> |
440 | Beyond Good and Evil</h3> |
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441 | |
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442 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
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443 | |
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444 | <p>A somewhat more comprehensible, if a bit less aesthetically |
445 | pleasing, presentation of much of the philosophy found in <em>Thus Spoke |
446 | Zarathustra</em> in the negative form. The final chapters are very |
447 | important (not to detract from the value of the rest of the work) if |
448 | one wishes to understand <em>On the Genealogy of Morals</em>.</p> |
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449 | |
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450 | |
451 | |
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452 | <h3><a name="sec27" id="sec27"></a> |
453 | On the Geneaology of Morals</h3> |
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454 | |
b57daac1 |
455 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
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456 | |
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457 | <p><em>On the Geneaology of Morals</em> is a wonderful book of three |
458 | polemical essays on the origin of moral/ethic valuations, and the |
459 | blindness of modern philosphers whose very thinking is tainted by |
460 | these valuations unknowingly.</p> |
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461 | |
462 | |
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463 | |
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464 | <h3><a name="sec28" id="sec28"></a> |
465 | Ecce Homo</h3> |
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466 | |
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467 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
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468 | |
b57daac1 |
469 | <p><em>Ecce Homo</em> is Nietzsche's very strange autobiography and |
470 | explanation of his own works. At points it is clear that it could have |
471 | used a bit more editing (prevented by Nietzsche ... falling into a |
472 | catatonic state and all), but is still a very useful book to read as |
473 | Nietzsche explains the overall structure of his works.</p> |
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474 | |
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475 | |
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476 | |
477 | |
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478 | <h2><a name="sec29" id="sec29"></a> |
479 | Luke Rhinehardt</h2> |
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480 | |
54a817d4 |
481 | |
54a817d4 |
482 | |
b57daac1 |
483 | <h3><a name="sec30" id="sec30"></a> |
484 | The Dice Man</h3> |
54a817d4 |
485 | |
b57daac1 |
486 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
54a817d4 |
487 | |
b57daac1 |
488 | <blockquote> |
489 | <p class="quoted"> |
490 | And it's his illusions about what |
491 | constitutes the real world which are |
492 | inhibiting him... |
493 | His reality, his reason, his society |
494 | ...these are what must be destroyed</p> |
54a817d4 |
495 | |
b57daac1 |
496 | </blockquote> |
54a817d4 |
497 | |
b57daac1 |
498 | <p>A quotation from one of my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughter_of_the_Soul">favorite metal songs</a> inspired me to grab |
499 | this book; at worst it would be a waste of time. Much reward was found |
500 | in this random stab in the dark. The book is framed as an |
501 | autobiography of the author as a psychoanalyst, and his progression |
502 | through life as a Dice Man after deciding to live his life through |
503 | random chance.</p> |
54a817d4 |
504 | |
b57daac1 |
505 | <p>The style, plot, and content are equally neurotic; part comedy, part |
506 | attack on psychoanalysis, and part deep philosophy. It was often |
507 | difficult to put down, and was read in under a week of spare time.</p> |
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508 | |
54a817d4 |
509 | |
54a817d4 |
510 | |
54a817d4 |
511 | |
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512 | <h2><a name="sec31" id="sec31"></a> |
513 | Neal Stephenson</h2> |
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514 | |
515 | |
516 | |
b61362db |
517 | <h3><a name="sec32" id="sec32"></a> |
b57daac1 |
518 | Snow Crash</h3> |
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519 | |
b57daac1 |
520 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
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521 | |
b57daac1 |
522 | <p>As one must read the <em>Bible</em> to understand English literature, so one |
523 | must read <em>Snow Crash</em> today to be a nerd. In the realm of modern pop |
524 | fiction this is one of the better books I've read; it was devoured in |
525 | a mere four nights. Neal Stepheson may not be Milton, but he does come |
526 | up with enganging tales. <em>Snow Crash</em> has a nice undertone of (quite |
527 | accurate) political and social commentary that makes it worth reading |
528 | as more than mere cyberpunk fiction.</p> |
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529 | |
530 | |
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531 | |
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532 | <h3><a name="sec33" id="sec33"></a> |
b57daac1 |
533 | Cryptonomicon</h3> |
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534 | |
b57daac1 |
535 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
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536 | |
b57daac1 |
537 | <p>I read <em>Cryptonomicon</em> when it was new, and at the time I thought it was |
538 | good. It could have lost a hundred or so pages without detracting from |
539 | the plot, but it was easy reading and didn't take very long to |
540 | finish. The story was enganging, and the continual switching between |
541 | the 1940s and present day slowly unravelled the tale in a nice way.</p> |
542 | |
543 | <p>I'd still have to recommend <em>Snow Crash</em> if one wished to read only one |
544 | Stephenson novel.</p> |
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545 | |
546 | |
547 | |
548 | <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse ends here --> |
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573 | |
09c17a15 |
574 | <p class="cke-footer">unknownlamer: Hail Satan |
575 | unknownlamer: And do drugs |
576 | urbanbohemiac: are you wearing underwear |
023ad63c |
577 | </p> |
578 | <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified: |
54a817d4 |
579 | September 28, 2008</p> |
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580 | </body> |
581 | </html> |