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| 13 | <h1>A Not So Fancy Listing of Books</h1> |
| 14 | <div class="contents"> |
| 15 | <dl> |
| 16 | <dt> |
| 17 | <a href="#sec1">Marcus Aurelius</a> |
| 18 | </dt> |
| 19 | <dd> |
| 20 | <dl> |
| 21 | <dt> |
| 22 | <a href="#sec2">Meditations</a> |
| 23 | </dt> |
| 24 | </dl> |
| 25 | </dd> |
| 26 | <dt> |
| 27 | <a href="#sec3">William Blake</a> |
| 28 | </dt> |
| 29 | <dd> |
| 30 | <dl> |
| 31 | <dt> |
| 32 | <a href="#sec4">The Four Zoas</a> |
| 33 | </dt> |
| 34 | <dt> |
| 35 | <a href="#sec5">Jerusalem</a> |
| 36 | </dt> |
| 37 | </dl> |
| 38 | </dd> |
| 39 | <dt> |
| 40 | <a href="#sec6">John Taylor Gatto</a> |
| 41 | </dt> |
| 42 | <dd> |
| 43 | <dl> |
| 44 | <dt> |
| 45 | <a href="#sec7">Underground History of American Education</a> |
| 46 | </dt> |
| 47 | </dl> |
| 48 | </dd> |
| 49 | <dt> |
| 50 | <a href="#sec8">Kahlil Gibran</a> |
| 51 | </dt> |
| 52 | <dd> |
| 53 | <dl> |
| 54 | <dt> |
| 55 | <a href="#sec9">A Tear and a Smile</a> |
| 56 | </dt> |
| 57 | <dt> |
| 58 | <a href="#sec10">The Prophet</a> |
| 59 | </dt> |
| 60 | <dt> |
| 61 | <a href="#sec11">Sand and Foam</a> |
| 62 | </dt> |
| 63 | <dt> |
| 64 | <a href="#sec12">The Madman</a> |
| 65 | </dt> |
| 66 | </dl> |
| 67 | </dd> |
| 68 | <dt> |
| 69 | <a href="#sec13">William James</a> |
| 70 | </dt> |
| 71 | <dd> |
| 72 | <dl> |
| 73 | <dt> |
| 74 | <a href="#sec14">The Varieties of Religious Experience</a> |
| 75 | </dt> |
| 76 | </dl> |
| 77 | </dd> |
| 78 | <dt> |
| 79 | <a href="#sec15">Gregor Kiczales</a> |
| 80 | </dt> |
| 81 | <dd> |
| 82 | <dl> |
| 83 | <dt> |
| 84 | <a href="#sec16">The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</a> |
| 85 | </dt> |
| 86 | </dl> |
| 87 | </dd> |
| 88 | <dt> |
| 89 | <a href="#sec17">Søren Kierkegaard</a> |
| 90 | </dt> |
| 91 | <dd> |
| 92 | <dl> |
| 93 | <dt> |
| 94 | <a href="#sec18">Sickness Unto Death</a> |
| 95 | </dt> |
| 96 | <dt> |
| 97 | <a href="#sec19">Either/Or</a> |
| 98 | </dt> |
| 99 | </dl> |
| 100 | </dd> |
| 101 | <dt> |
| 102 | <a href="#sec20">Thomas More</a> |
| 103 | </dt> |
| 104 | <dd> |
| 105 | <dl> |
| 106 | <dt> |
| 107 | <a href="#sec21">Utopia</a> |
| 108 | </dt> |
| 109 | </dl> |
| 110 | </dd> |
| 111 | <dt> |
| 112 | <a href="#sec22">Luke Rhinehardt</a> |
| 113 | </dt> |
| 114 | <dd> |
| 115 | <dl> |
| 116 | <dt> |
| 117 | <a href="#sec23">The Dice Man</a> |
| 118 | </dt> |
| 119 | </dl> |
| 120 | </dd> |
| 121 | <dt> |
| 122 | <a href="#sec24">Neal Stephenson</a> |
| 123 | </dt> |
| 124 | <dd> |
| 125 | <dl> |
| 126 | <dt> |
| 127 | <a href="#sec25">Snow Crash</a> |
| 128 | </dt> |
| 129 | <dt> |
| 130 | <a href="#sec26">Cryptonomicon</a> |
| 131 | </dt> |
| 132 | </dl> |
| 133 | </dd> |
| 134 | </dl> |
| 135 | </div> |
| 136 | |
| 137 | |
| 138 | <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a> |
| 139 | Marcus Aurelius</h2> |
| 140 | |
| 141 | |
| 142 | |
| 143 | <h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a> |
| 144 | Meditations</h3> |
| 145 | |
| 146 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••••</span> (6) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
| 147 | |
| 148 | <p>I enjoyed reading this collection of meditations on Stoic |
| 149 | philosophy. It is a fairly quick read; I read each of the twelve books |
| 150 | before sleeping over the course of two weeks. Toward the end of the |
| 151 | collection things get a bit topically repetetive (e.g. acting |
| 152 | according to the nature of man is reflected upon over and over), but |
| 153 | each repetition looks at the topic in a slightly different light. A |
| 154 | number of passages I found quite inspiring, and scratched them down in |
| 155 | my notebook to ponder further.</p> |
| 156 | |
| 157 | |
| 158 | |
| 159 | <h2><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a> |
| 160 | William Blake</h2> |
| 161 | |
| 162 | <p class="first">Blake is my favorite of the English poets. His unique use of |
| 163 | relief etching and watercoloring makes for very interesting |
| 164 | Illuminated works. There is a very high quality |
| 165 | <a href="http://blakearchive.org">complete archive of Blake's works</a> online |
| 166 | with high resolution plate scans and full transcriptions among other |
| 167 | things.</p> |
| 168 | |
| 169 | <h3><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a> |
| 170 | The Four Zoas</h3> |
| 171 | |
| 172 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
| 173 | |
| 174 | <p>The unfinished manuscript of Blake's longest apocalypse. The |
| 175 | Four Zoas divide from Albion and rage through the ages of dismal woe |
| 176 | to bring about the end of the cycle of Ulro and restore the cycle of |
| 177 | Beulah.</p> |
| 178 | |
| 179 | |
| 180 | <h3><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a> |
| 181 | Jerusalem</h3> |
| 182 | |
| 183 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
| 184 | |
| 185 | <p>The finest of Blake's Illuminated works.</p> |
| 186 | |
| 187 | |
| 188 | |
| 189 | <h2><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a> |
| 190 | John Taylor Gatto</h2> |
| 191 | |
| 192 | <p class="first">Former teacher and now author-activist.</p> |
| 193 | |
| 194 | <h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a> |
| 195 | Underground History of American Education</h3> |
| 196 | |
| 197 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•</span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
| 198 | |
| 199 | <p>An interesting <em>underground</em> history of the American education |
| 200 | system.</p> |
| 201 | |
| 202 | |
| 203 | |
| 204 | <h2><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a> |
| 205 | Kahlil Gibran</h2> |
| 206 | |
| 207 | <p class="first">Kahlil Gibran is fairly interesting; his earlier works do not |
| 208 | agree with my æsthetic sense (blah blah), but <em>The Madman</em> onward are |
| 209 | all rather nice. A few of his works are |
| 210 | <a href="http://leb.net/~mira/">online</a>, but I recommend scouting used book |
| 211 | stores for old hardcover editions. The (late 90s onward at least) |
| 212 | <em>hardcover</em> versions from <em>Alfred A. Knopf</em> are in fact permabound |
| 213 | paperbacks with a hardcasing, and are of seriously inferior quality to |
| 214 | the editions from the 50s and 60s (and cost quite a bit more, |
| 215 | naturally).</p> |
| 216 | |
| 217 | <h3><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a> |
| 218 | A Tear and a Smile</h3> |
| 219 | |
| 220 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••••••</span> (3) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
| 221 | |
| 222 | <p>One of Kahlil Gibran's earlier works, I did not much like <em>A |
| 223 | Tear and a Smile</em> excepting the last poem ("A Poet's Voice").</p> |
| 224 | |
| 225 | |
| 226 | <h3><a name="sec10" id="sec10"></a> |
| 227 | The Prophet</h3> |
| 228 | |
| 229 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•</span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
| 230 | |
| 231 | |
| 232 | |
| 233 | |
| 234 | <h3><a name="sec11" id="sec11"></a> |
| 235 | Sand and Foam</h3> |
| 236 | |
| 237 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
| 238 | |
| 239 | <p>An interesting little book of aphorisms.</p> |
| 240 | |
| 241 | |
| 242 | <h3><a name="sec12" id="sec12"></a> |
| 243 | The Madman</h3> |
| 244 | |
| 245 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••</span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
| 246 | |
| 247 | |
| 248 | |
| 249 | |
| 250 | |
| 251 | <h2><a name="sec13" id="sec13"></a> |
| 252 | William James</h2> |
| 253 | |
| 254 | |
| 255 | |
| 256 | <h3><a name="sec14" id="sec14"></a> |
| 257 | The Varieties of Religious Experience</h3> |
| 258 | |
| 259 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
| 260 | |
| 261 | <p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20Varieties%20of%20Religious%20Experience.html">A partially finished extended summary</a></p> |
| 262 | |
| 263 | |
| 264 | |
| 265 | <h2><a name="sec15" id="sec15"></a> |
| 266 | Gregor Kiczales</h2> |
| 267 | |
| 268 | |
| 269 | |
| 270 | <h3><a name="sec16" id="sec16"></a> |
| 271 | The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</h3> |
| 272 | |
| 273 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
| 274 | |
| 275 | <p>AMOP is useful as a reference to the CLOS MOP (although less so with |
| 276 | the online MOP spec), but the true value of the book lies in the first |
| 277 | half of the book. It presents the design of the CLOS MOP through a |
| 278 | series of revisions that fix limitations of earlier implementations |
| 279 | and gradually work toward a generic and well designed MOP for |
| 280 | CLOS. Through that process one is made more aware of a few general |
| 281 | object protocol design skills, and gains insight into how to cleanly |
| 282 | make mapping decisions customizable.</p> |
| 283 | |
| 284 | |
| 285 | |
| 286 | <h2><a name="sec17" id="sec17"></a> |
| 287 | Søren Kierkegaard</h2> |
| 288 | |
| 289 | <p class="first">Kierkegaard was a master of style and philosophy; his writing is |
| 290 | interesting even if one finds the theistic extentialism espoused |
| 291 | disagreeable.</p> |
| 292 | |
| 293 | <h3><a name="sec18" id="sec18"></a> |
| 294 | Sickness Unto Death</h3> |
| 295 | |
| 296 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
| 297 | |
| 298 | <p>I purchased this when I was looking through books at a store after |
| 299 | being unable to find the book I really wanted, and I must say that it |
| 300 | was better for me to have found this one.</p> |
| 301 | |
| 302 | <p>Contained within is a beautiful analysis of despair in the context of |
| 303 | Christianity (really theism in general). Even if the argument offends, |
| 304 | the presentation cannot. The dialectical nature of despair is |
| 305 | reflected in every aspect of the work, and the method of presentation |
| 306 | forces reflection.</p> |
| 307 | |
| 308 | |
| 309 | <h3><a name="sec19" id="sec19"></a> |
| 310 | Either/Or</h3> |
| 311 | |
| 312 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••••</span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p> |
| 313 | |
| 314 | <p>Composed of two portions, <em>Either/Or</em> is a rather lengthy but |
| 315 | rewarding read. The first book is a series of essays and a diary of a |
| 316 | young esthetician; the second is a pair of long letters from an older |
| 317 | ethicist friend to this esthetician. You are then left to resolve the |
| 318 | conflict between the views.</p> |
| 319 | |
| 320 | |
| 321 | |
| 322 | <h2><a name="sec20" id="sec20"></a> |
| 323 | Thomas More</h2> |
| 324 | |
| 325 | |
| 326 | |
| 327 | <h3><a name="sec21" id="sec21"></a> |
| 328 | Utopia</h3> |
| 329 | |
| 330 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
| 331 | |
| 332 | <p>I read most of Utopia in high school with the TI-89 ebook reader, but |
| 333 | the way the book was split up made it a bit difficult to grasp the |
| 334 | overall structure. I found a copy at a used book store one day, and so |
| 335 | I read it again, and found it much more comprehensible. It is a quick |
| 336 | read, and decent piece of literature. The interesting social system |
| 337 | espoused resembles resembles state communism (even if perhaps as a |
| 338 | negative ideal), but with an strange blend of 14th century European |
| 339 | social customs.</p> |
| 340 | |
| 341 | |
| 342 | |
| 343 | <h2><a name="sec22" id="sec22"></a> |
| 344 | Luke Rhinehardt</h2> |
| 345 | |
| 346 | |
| 347 | |
| 348 | <h3><a name="sec23" id="sec23"></a> |
| 349 | The Dice Man</h3> |
| 350 | |
| 351 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••</span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
| 352 | |
| 353 | <blockquote> |
| 354 | <p class="quoted"> |
| 355 | And it's his illusions about what |
| 356 | constitutes the real world which are |
| 357 | inhibiting him... |
| 358 | His reality, his reason, his society |
| 359 | ...these are what must be destroyed</p> |
| 360 | |
| 361 | </blockquote> |
| 362 | |
| 363 | <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 |
| 364 | this book; at worst it would be a waste of time. Much reward was found |
| 365 | in this random stab in the dark. The book is framed as an |
| 366 | autobiography of the author as a psychoanalyst, and his progression |
| 367 | through life as a Dice Man after deciding to live his life through |
| 368 | random chance.</p> |
| 369 | |
| 370 | <p>The style, plot, and content are equally neurotic; part comedy, part |
| 371 | attack on psychoanalysis, and part deep philosophy. It was often |
| 372 | difficult to put down, and was read in under a week of spare time.</p> |
| 373 | |
| 374 | |
| 375 | |
| 376 | <h2><a name="sec24" id="sec24"></a> |
| 377 | Neal Stephenson</h2> |
| 378 | |
| 379 | |
| 380 | |
| 381 | <h3><a name="sec25" id="sec25"></a> |
| 382 | Snow Crash</h3> |
| 383 | |
| 384 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">•••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•</span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
| 385 | |
| 386 | <p>As one must read the <em>Bible</em> to understand English literature, so one |
| 387 | must read <em>Snow Crash</em> today to be a nerd. In the realm of modern pop |
| 388 | fiction this is one of the better books I've read; it was devoured in |
| 389 | a mere four nights. Neal Stepheson may not be Milton, but he does come |
| 390 | up with enganging tales. <em>Snow Crash</em> has a nice undertone of (quite |
| 391 | accurate) political and social commentary that makes it worth reading |
| 392 | as more than mere cyberpunk fiction.</p> |
| 393 | |
| 394 | |
| 395 | <h3><a name="sec26" id="sec26"></a> |
| 396 | Cryptonomicon</h3> |
| 397 | |
| 398 | <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good">••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••</span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p> |
| 399 | |
| 400 | <p>I read <em>Cryptonomicon</em> when it was new, and at the time I thought it was |
| 401 | good. It could have lost a hundred or so pages without detracting from |
| 402 | the plot, but it was easy reading and didn't take very long to |
| 403 | finish. The story was enganging, and the continual switching between |
| 404 | the 1940s and present day slowly unravelled the tale in a nice way.</p> |
| 405 | |
| 406 | <p>I'd still have to recommend <em>Snow Crash</em> if one wished to read only one |
| 407 | Stephenson novel.</p> |
| 408 | |
| 409 | |
| 410 | |
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| 437 | <p class="cke-footer"> So play today |
| 438 | Go make your hay beneath a warm sun shining |
| 439 | But bear in mind one day you'll find the silver cloud's dark lining |
| 440 | </p> |
| 441 | <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified: |
| 442 | July 29, 2008</p> |
| 443 | </body> |
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