Book List.html

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  16     <h1>A Not So Fancy Listing of Books</h1>
  17    <div class="contents">
  18 <dl>
  19 <dt>
  20 <a href="#sec1">Douglas Adams</a>
  21 </dt>
  22 <dd>
  23 <dl>
  24 <dt>
  25 <a href="#sec2">Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (collected)</a>
  26 </dt>
  27 <dt>
  28 <a href="#sec3">The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul</a>
  29 </dt>
  30 </dl>
  31 </dd>
  32 <dt>
  33 <a href="#sec4">Aeschylus</a>
  34 </dt>
  35 <dd>
  36 <dl>
  37 <dt>
  38 <a href="#sec5">Oresteia</a>
  39 </dt>
  40 <dt>
  41 <a href="#sec6">Prometheus Bound</a>
  42 </dt>
  43 <dt>
  44 <a href="#sec7">The Persians</a>
  45 </dt>
  46 </dl>
  47 </dd>
  48 <dt>
  49 <a href="#sec8">John Allison</a>
  50 </dt>
  51 <dd>
  52 <dl>
  53 <dt>
  54 <a href="#sec9">Looks, Brains and Everything</a>
  55 </dt>
  56 <dt>
  57 <a href="#sec10">Blame the Sky</a>
  58 </dt>
  59 <dt>
  60 <a href="#sec11">Skellington</a>
  61 </dt>
  62 <dt>
  63 <a href="#sec12">The Retribution Index</a>
  64 </dt>
  65 <dt>
  66 <a href="#sec13">Great Aches</a>
  67 </dt>
  68 <dt>
  69 <a href="#sec14">Ahoy Hoy!</a>
  70 </dt>
  71 <dt>
  72 <a href="#sec15">Heavy Metal Hearts and Flowers</a>
  73 </dt>
  74 <dt>
  75 <a href="#sec16">Ghosts</a>
  76 </dt>
  77 </dl>
  78 </dd>
  79 <dt>
  80 <a href="#sec17">Anonymous</a>
  81 </dt>
  82 <dd>
  83 <dl>
  84 <dt>
  85 <a href="#sec18">Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz</a>
  86 </dt>
  87 </dl>
  88 </dd>
  89 <dt>
  90 <a href="#sec19">Aristophanes</a>
  91 </dt>
  92 <dd>
  93 <dl>
  94 <dt>
  95 <a href="#sec20">The Frogs</a>
  96 </dt>
  97 <dt>
  98 <a href="#sec21">The Clouds</a>
  99 </dt>
 100 <dt>
 101 <a href="#sec22">Ecclesiazusae</a>
 102 </dt>
 103 </dl>
 104 </dd>
 105 <dt>
 106 <a href="#sec23">Aristotle</a>
 107 </dt>
 108 <dd>
 109 <dl>
 110 <dt>
 111 <a href="#sec24">Ethics</a>
 112 </dt>
 113 <dt>
 114 <a href="#sec25">Categories</a>
 115 </dt>
 116 <dt>
 117 <a href="#sec26">Poetics</a>
 118 </dt>
 119 <dt>
 120 <a href="#sec27">Rhetoric</a>
 121 </dt>
 122 </dl>
 123 </dd>
 124 <dt>
 125 <a href="#sec28">Marcus Aurelius</a>
 126 </dt>
 127 <dd>
 128 <dl>
 129 <dt>
 130 <a href="#sec29">Meditations</a>
 131 </dt>
 132 </dl>
 133 </dd>
 134 <dt>
 135 <a href="#sec30">William Blake</a>
 136 </dt>
 137 <dd>
 138 <dl>
 139 <dt>
 140 <a href="#sec31">The Four Zoas</a>
 141 </dt>
 142 <dt>
 143 <a href="#sec32">Jerusalem</a>
 144 </dt>
 145 </dl>
 146 </dd>
 147 <dt>
 148 <a href="#sec33">Mike Carey</a>
 149 </dt>
 150 <dd>
 151 <dl>
 152 <dt>
 153 <a href="#sec34">Lucifer (series)</a>
 154 </dt>
 155 </dl>
 156 </dd>
 157 <dt>
 158 <a href="#sec35">Confucius</a>
 159 </dt>
 160 <dd>
 161 <dl>
 162 <dt>
 163 <a href="#sec36">Analects</a>
 164 </dt>
 165 </dl>
 166 </dd>
 167 <dt>
 168 <a href="#sec37">Neil Gaiman</a>
 169 </dt>
 170 <dd>
 171 <dl>
 172 <dt>
 173 <a href="#sec38">The Sandman (series)</a>
 174 </dt>
 175 </dl>
 176 </dd>
 177 <dt>
 178 <a href="#sec39">John Taylor Gatto</a>
 179 </dt>
 180 <dd>
 181 <dl>
 182 <dt>
 183 <a href="#sec40">Underground History of American Education</a>
 184 </dt>
 185 </dl>
 186 </dd>
 187 <dt>
 188 <a href="#sec41">Kahlil Gibran</a>
 189 </dt>
 190 <dd>
 191 <dl>
 192 <dt>
 193 <a href="#sec42">A Tear and a Smile</a>
 194 </dt>
 195 <dt>
 196 <a href="#sec43">The Prophet</a>
 197 </dt>
 198 <dt>
 199 <a href="#sec44">Sand and Foam</a>
 200 </dt>
 201 <dt>
 202 <a href="#sec45">The Madman</a>
 203 </dt>
 204 </dl>
 205 </dd>
 206 <dt>
 207 <a href="#sec46">Homer</a>
 208 </dt>
 209 <dd>
 210 <dl>
 211 <dt>
 212 <a href="#sec47">The Odyssey</a>
 213 </dt>
 214 </dl>
 215 </dd>
 216 <dt>
 217 <a href="#sec48">Aldous Huxley</a>
 218 </dt>
 219 <dd>
 220 <dl>
 221 <dt>
 222 <a href="#sec49">The Doors of Perception</a>
 223 </dt>
 224 <dt>
 225 <a href="#sec50">Heaven and Hell</a>
 226 </dt>
 227 </dl>
 228 </dd>
 229 <dt>
 230 <a href="#sec51">William James</a>
 231 </dt>
 232 <dd>
 233 <dl>
 234 <dt>
 235 <a href="#sec52">The Varieties of Religious Experience</a>
 236 </dt>
 237 <dt>
 238 <a href="#sec53">The PhD Octopus</a>
 239 </dt>
 240 </dl>
 241 </dd>
 242 <dt>
 243 <a href="#sec54">Henry James</a>
 244 </dt>
 245 <dd>
 246 <dl>
 247 <dt>
 248 <a href="#sec55">The Altar of the Dead</a>
 249 </dt>
 250 </dl>
 251 </dd>
 252 <dt>
 253 <a href="#sec56">Gregor Kiczales</a>
 254 </dt>
 255 <dd>
 256 <dl>
 257 <dt>
 258 <a href="#sec57">The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</a>
 259 </dt>
 260 </dl>
 261 </dd>
 262 <dt>
 263 <a href="#sec58">Søren Kierkegaard</a>
 264 </dt>
 265 <dd>
 266 <dl>
 267 <dt>
 268 <a href="#sec59">Sickness Unto Death</a>
 269 </dt>
 270 <dt>
 271 <a href="#sec60">Either/Or</a>
 272 </dt>
 273 <dt>
 274 <a href="#sec61">Fear and Trembling</a>
 275 </dt>
 276 <dt>
 277 <a href="#sec62">Repetition</a>
 278 </dt>
 279 </dl>
 280 </dd>
 281 <dt>
 282 <a href="#sec63">Alisa Kwitney</a>
 283 </dt>
 284 <dd>
 285 <dl>
 286 <dt>
 287 <a href="#sec64">Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold</a>
 288 </dt>
 289 </dl>
 290 </dd>
 291 <dt>
 292 <a href="#sec65">David Lamkins</a>
 293 </dt>
 294 <dd>
 295 <dl>
 296 <dt>
 297 <a href="#sec66">Successful Lisp</a>
 298 </dt>
 299 </dl>
 300 </dd>
 301 <dt>
 302 <a href="#sec67">Mencius</a>
 303 </dt>
 304 <dd>
 305 <dl>
 306 <dt>
 307 <a href="#sec68">Mencius</a>
 308 </dt>
 309 </dl>
 310 </dd>
 311 <dt>
 312 <a href="#sec69">Walter Miller</a>
 313 </dt>
 314 <dd>
 315 <dl>
 316 <dt>
 317 <a href="#sec70">A Canticle for Leibowitz</a>
 318 </dt>
 319 </dl>
 320 </dd>
 321 <dt>
 322 <a href="#sec71">Alan Moore</a>
 323 </dt>
 324 <dd>
 325 <dl>
 326 <dt>
 327 <a href="#sec72">Watchmen</a>
 328 </dt>
 329 <dt>
 330 <a href="#sec73">V for Vendetta</a>
 331 </dt>
 332 </dl>
 333 </dd>
 334 <dt>
 335 <a href="#sec74">Thomas More</a>
 336 </dt>
 337 <dd>
 338 <dl>
 339 <dt>
 340 <a href="#sec75">Utopia</a>
 341 </dt>
 342 </dl>
 343 </dd>
 344 <dt>
 345 <a href="#sec76">Friedrich Nietzsche</a>
 346 </dt>
 347 <dd>
 348 <dl>
 349 <dt>
 350 <a href="#sec77">Beyond Good and Evil</a>
 351 </dt>
 352 <dt>
 353 <a href="#sec78">On the Geneaology of Morals</a>
 354 </dt>
 355 <dt>
 356 <a href="#sec79">Ecce Homo</a>
 357 </dt>
 358 </dl>
 359 </dd>
 360 <dt>
 361 <a href="#sec80">George Orwell</a>
 362 </dt>
 363 <dd>
 364 <dl>
 365 <dt>
 366 <a href="#sec81">1984</a>
 367 </dt>
 368 <dt>
 369 <a href="#sec82">Animal Farm</a>
 370 </dt>
 371 </dl>
 372 </dd>
 373 <dt>
 374 <a href="#sec83">Plato</a>
 375 </dt>
 376 <dd>
 377 <dl>
 378 <dt>
 379 <a href="#sec84">Symposium</a>
 380 </dt>
 381 <dt>
 382 <a href="#sec85">Euthyphro</a>
 383 </dt>
 384 <dt>
 385 <a href="#sec86">Apology</a>
 386 </dt>
 387 <dt>
 388 <a href="#sec87">Crito</a>
 389 </dt>
 390 <dt>
 391 <a href="#sec88">Phaedo</a>
 392 </dt>
 393 <dt>
 394 <a href="#sec89">Protagoras</a>
 395 </dt>
 396 </dl>
 397 </dd>
 398 <dt>
 399 <a href="#sec90">Luke Rhinehardt</a>
 400 </dt>
 401 <dd>
 402 <dl>
 403 <dt>
 404 <a href="#sec91">The Dice Man</a>
 405 </dt>
 406 </dl>
 407 </dd>
 408 <dt>
 409 <a href="#sec92">Neal Stephenson</a>
 410 </dt>
 411 <dd>
 412 <dl>
 413 <dt>
 414 <a href="#sec93">Snow Crash</a>
 415 </dt>
 416 <dt>
 417 <a href="#sec94">Cryptonomicon</a>
 418 </dt>
 419 </dl>
 420 </dd>
 421 <dt>
 422 <a href="#sec95">Bjarne Stroustrup</a>
 423 </dt>
 424 <dd>
 425 <dl>
 426 <dt>
 427 <a href="#sec96">The C++ Programming Language (3rd edition)</a>
 428 </dt>
 429 </dl>
 430 </dd>
 431 <dt>
 432 <a href="#sec97">JRR Tolkien</a>
 433 </dt>
 434 <dd>
 435 <dl>
 436 <dt>
 437 <a href="#sec98">The Lord of the Rings</a>
 438 </dt>
 439 <dt>
 440 <a href="#sec99">The Silmarillion</a>
 441 </dt>
 442 <dt>
 443 <a href="#sec100">The Lost Tales</a>
 444 </dt>
 445 </dl>
 446 </dd>
 447 <dt>
 448 <a href="#sec101">H.G. Wells</a>
 449 </dt>
 450 <dd>
 451 <dl>
 452 <dt>
 453 <a href="#sec102">The Island of Dr Moreau</a>
 454 </dt>
 455 </dl>
 456 </dd>
 457 </dl>
 458 </div>
 459
 460
 461 <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a>
 462 Douglas Adams</h2>
 463
 464
 465
 466 <h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a>
 467 Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (collected)</h3>
 468
 469 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 470
 471
 472
 473
 474
 475 <h3><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a>
 476 The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul</h3>
 477
 478 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••• </span> (6) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 479
 480
 481
 482
 483
 484
 485 <h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a>
 486 Aeschylus</h2>
 487
 488
 489
 490 <h3><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a>
 491 Oresteia</h3>
 492
 493 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 494
 495
 496
 497
 498
 499 <h3><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a>
 500 Prometheus Bound</h3>
 501
 502 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 503
 504
 505
 506
 507
 508 <h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a>
 509 The Persians</h3>
 510
 511 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 512
 513
 514
 515
 516
 517
 518 <h2><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a>
 519 John Allison</h2>
 520
 521 <p class="first">The author of the rather amazing <a href="http://scarygoround.com">Scary Go Round</a>.
 522 I highly recommend procuring the printed collections; the printing
 523 quality is superb (full color on glossy paper), and the long story
 524 arcs are much easier to read.</p>
 525
 526 <h3><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a>
 527 Looks, Brains and Everything</h3>
 528
 529 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 530
 531
 532
 533
 534
 535 <h3><a name="sec10" id="sec10"></a>
 536 Blame the Sky</h3>
 537
 538 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 539
 540
 541
 542
 543
 544 <h3><a name="sec11" id="sec11"></a>
 545 Skellington</h3>
 546
 547 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 548
 549
 550
 551
 552
 553 <h3><a name="sec12" id="sec12"></a>
 554 The Retribution Index</h3>
 555
 556 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 557
 558
 559
 560
 561
 562 <h3><a name="sec13" id="sec13"></a>
 563 Great Aches</h3>
 564
 565 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 566
 567
 568
 569
 570
 571 <h3><a name="sec14" id="sec14"></a>
 572 Ahoy Hoy!</h3>
 573
 574 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 575
 576
 577
 578
 579
 580 <h3><a name="sec15" id="sec15"></a>
 581 Heavy Metal Hearts and Flowers</h3>
 582
 583 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 584
 585
 586
 587
 588
 589 <h3><a name="sec16" id="sec16"></a>
 590 Ghosts</h3>
 591
 592 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 593
 594
 595
 596
 597
 598
 599 <h2><a name="sec17" id="sec17"></a>
 600 Anonymous</h2>
 601
 602
 603
 604 <h3><a name="sec18" id="sec18"></a>
 605 Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz</h3>
 606
 607 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 608
 609
 610
 611
 612
 613
 614 <h2><a name="sec19" id="sec19"></a>
 615 Aristophanes</h2>
 616
 617
 618
 619 <h3><a name="sec20" id="sec20"></a>
 620 The Frogs</h3>
 621
 622 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 623
 624
 625
 626
 627
 628 <h3><a name="sec21" id="sec21"></a>
 629 The Clouds</h3>
 630
 631 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 632
 633
 634
 635
 636
 637 <h3><a name="sec22" id="sec22"></a>
 638 Ecclesiazusae</h3>
 639
 640 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 641
 642
 643
 644
 645
 646
 647 <h2><a name="sec23" id="sec23"></a>
 648 Aristotle</h2>
 649
 650
 651
 652 <h3><a name="sec24" id="sec24"></a>
 653 Ethics</h3>
 654
 655 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 656
 657
 658
 659
 660
 661 <h3><a name="sec25" id="sec25"></a>
 662 Categories</h3>
 663
 664 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 665
 666
 667
 668
 669
 670 <h3><a name="sec26" id="sec26"></a>
 671 Poetics</h3>
 672
 673 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 674
 675
 676
 677
 678
 679 <h3><a name="sec27" id="sec27"></a>
 680 Rhetoric</h3>
 681
 682 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 683
 684
 685
 686
 687
 688
 689 <h2><a name="sec28" id="sec28"></a>
 690 Marcus Aurelius</h2>
 691
 692
 693
 694 <h3><a name="sec29" id="sec29"></a>
 695 Meditations</h3>
 696
 697 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••••• </span> (4) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 698
 699 <p>At the time, I enjoyed reading this collection of meditations on
 700 Stoic philosophy, and it was a fairly quick read (fifteen minutes a
 701 day over the course of two weeks for me). Nowadays I've read
 702 Epictetus, and I suggest reading his <em>Discourses</em> instead.</p>
 703
 704
 705
 706
 707 <h2><a name="sec30" id="sec30"></a>
 708 William Blake</h2>
 709
 710 <p class="first">Blake is my <a href="William%20Blake.html">favorite</a> of the English poets. His
 711 unique use of relief etching and watercoloring makes for very
 712 interesting Illuminated works. There is a very high quality
 713 <a href="http://blakearchive.org">complete archive of Blake's works</a> online
 714 with high resolution plate scans and full transcriptions among other
 715 things.</p>
 716
 717 <h3><a name="sec31" id="sec31"></a>
 718 The Four Zoas</h3>
 719
 720 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 721
 722 <p>The unfinished manuscript of Blake's longest apocalypse. The
 723 Four Zoas divide from Albion and rage through the ages of dismal woe
 724 to bring about the end of the cycle of Ulro and restore the cycle of
 725 Beulah.</p>
 726
 727
 728
 729 <h3><a name="sec32" id="sec32"></a>
 730 Jerusalem</h3>
 731
 732 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 733
 734 <p>The finest of Blake's Illuminated works.</p>
 735
 736
 737
 738
 739 <h2><a name="sec33" id="sec33"></a>
 740 Mike Carey</h2>
 741
 742
 743
 744 <h3><a name="sec34" id="sec34"></a>
 745 Lucifer (series)</h3>
 746
 747 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••• </span> (6) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 748
 749 <p>Of the <em>Sandman</em> spinoffs, <em>Lucifer</em> stands out as the best for
 750 the first half, but then the writer appears to take on far too great a
 751 task, and, with the introduction of some disagreeable character
 752 relations, fails to execute the story as well as it could have
 753 been. Still, it was worth reading to the end even though most of the
 754 stories after issue 35 or so were merely ok. If you like Kierkegaard I
 755 suggest issues 2, 3, and 62&mdash;they show the form of the incommensurable
 756 relation of the single individual to the absolute perfectly.</p>
 757
 758
 759
 760
 761 <h2><a name="sec35" id="sec35"></a>
 762 Confucius</h2>
 763
 764
 765
 766 <h3><a name="sec36" id="sec36"></a>
 767 Analects</h3>
 768
 769 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 770
 771
 772
 773
 774
 775
 776 <h2><a name="sec37" id="sec37"></a>
 777 Neil Gaiman</h2>
 778
 779
 780
 781 <h3><a name="sec38" id="sec38"></a>
 782 The Sandman (series)</h3>
 783
 784 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 785
 786 <p>Perhaps the best comic book series of all time; I would say <em>The
 787 Sandman</em> as a whole ranks higher than anything even Alan Moore has
 788 written.</p>
 789
 790
 791
 792
 793 <h2><a name="sec39" id="sec39"></a>
 794 John Taylor Gatto</h2>
 795
 796 <p class="first">Former teacher and now author-activist.</p>
 797
 798 <h3><a name="sec40" id="sec40"></a>
 799 Underground History of American Education</h3>
 800
 801 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 802
 803 <p>An interesting <em>underground</em> history of the American education
 804 system. Available
 805 <a href="http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/">online for free</a>.</p>
 806
 807
 808
 809
 810 <h2><a name="sec41" id="sec41"></a>
 811 Kahlil Gibran</h2>
 812
 813 <p class="first">Kahlil Gibran is fairly interesting; his earlier works do not
 814 agree with my æsthetic sense (blah blah), but <em>The Madman</em> onward are
 815 all rather nice. A few of his works are
 816 <a href="http://leb.net/~mira/">online</a>, but I recommend scouting used book
 817 stores for old hardcover editions. The (late 90s onward at least)
 818 <em>hardcover</em> versions from <em>Alfred A. Knopf</em> are in fact permabound
 819 paperbacks with a hardcasing, and are of seriously inferior quality to
 820 the editions from the 50s and 60s (and cost quite a bit more,
 821 naturally).</p>
 822
 823 <h3><a name="sec42" id="sec42"></a>
 824 A Tear and a Smile</h3>
 825
 826 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••</span><span class="rating-bad">••••••• </span> (3) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 827
 828 <p>One of Kahlil Gibran's earlier works, I did not much like <em>A
 829 Tear and a Smile</em> excepting the last poem (&quot;A Poet's Voice&quot;).</p>
 830
 831
 832
 833 <h3><a name="sec43" id="sec43"></a>
 834 The Prophet</h3>
 835
 836 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 837
 838
 839
 840
 841
 842 <h3><a name="sec44" id="sec44"></a>
 843 Sand and Foam</h3>
 844
 845 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 846
 847 <p>An interesting little book of aphorisms.</p>
 848
 849
 850
 851 <h3><a name="sec45" id="sec45"></a>
 852 The Madman</h3>
 853
 854 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 855
 856
 857
 858
 859
 860
 861 <h2><a name="sec46" id="sec46"></a>
 862 Homer</h2>
 863
 864
 865
 866 <h3><a name="sec47" id="sec47"></a>
 867 The Odyssey</h3>
 868
 869 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 870
 871
 872
 873
 874
 875
 876 <h2><a name="sec48" id="sec48"></a>
 877 Aldous Huxley</h2>
 878
 879 <p class="first">Perhaps the most overrated modern writer. Other people have written
 880 everything he has to write better and many years before he got around
 881 to it.</p>
 882
 883 <h3><a name="sec49" id="sec49"></a>
 884 The Doors of Perception</h3>
 885
 886 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> </span><span class="rating-bad">•••••••••• </span> (0) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 887
 888 <p>Huxley stains the name of Blake by naming this horrible
 889 pseudo-scientific and pseudo-poetic essay after a line from <em>The
 890 Marriage of Heaven and Hell</em>. Subjectivity and objectivity are
 891 incommensurable; his attempt and being subjectively objective is
 892 utterly worthless.</p>
 893
 894
 895
 896 <h3><a name="sec50" id="sec50"></a>
 897 Heaven and Hell</h3>
 898
 899 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> </span><span class="rating-bad">•••••••••• </span> (0) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 900
 901 <p>Blah blah LSD blah blah Mushrooms blah blah Peytoe blah blah I'm
 902 Aldous Huxley I'm a pretentious jerk. Don't bother.</p>
 903
 904
 905
 906
 907 <h2><a name="sec51" id="sec51"></a>
 908 William James</h2>
 909
 910
 911
 912 <h3><a name="sec52" id="sec52"></a>
 913 The Varieties of Religious Experience</h3>
 914
 915 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 916
 917 <p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20Varieties%20of%20Religious%20Experience.html">A partially finished extended summary</a></p>
 918
 919
 920
 921 <h3><a name="sec53" id="sec53"></a>
 922 The PhD Octopus</h3>
 923
 924 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 925
 926 <blockquote>
 927 <p class="quoted">
 928 America is thus as a nation rapidly drifting towards a state of things
 929 in which no man of science or letters will be accounted respectable
 930 unless some kind of badge or diploma is stamped upon him, and in which
 931 bare personality will be a mark of outcast estate.  It seems to me high
 932 time to rouse ourselves to consciousness, and to cast a critical eye
 933 upon this decidedly grotesque tendency.  Other nations suffer terribly
 934 from the Mandarin disease.  Are we doomed to suffer like the rest?</p>
 935
 936 </blockquote>
 937
 938 <p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20PhD%20Octopus.html">Full Text</a></p>
 939
 940
 941
 942
 943 <h2><a name="sec54" id="sec54"></a>
 944 Henry James</h2>
 945
 946 <p class="first">The novelist brother of William James; I've not read many (read:
 947 one) of his books, but what I did was decent.</p>
 948
 949 <h3><a name="sec55" id="sec55"></a>
 950 The Altar of the Dead</h3>
 951
 952 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 953
 954 <p>A short novella about a man who maintained an altar in a church
 955 for all of his lost loved ones on the surface, but something a bit
 956 more beneath.</p>
 957
 958
 959
 960
 961 <h2><a name="sec56" id="sec56"></a>
 962 Gregor Kiczales</h2>
 963
 964
 965
 966 <h3><a name="sec57" id="sec57"></a>
 967 The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</h3>
 968
 969 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 970
 971 <p>AMOP is useful as a reference to the CLOS MOP (although less so with
 972 the online MOP spec), but the true value of the book lies in the first
 973 half of the book. It presents the design of the CLOS MOP through a
 974 series of revisions that fix limitations of earlier implementations
 975 and gradually work toward a generic and well designed MOP for
 976 CLOS. Through that process one is made more aware of a few general
 977 object protocol design skills, and gains insight into how to cleanly
 978 make mapping decisions customizable.</p>
 979
 980
 981
 982
 983 <h2><a name="sec58" id="sec58"></a>
 984 Søren Kierkegaard</h2>
 985
 986 <p class="first">Kierkegaard was a master of style and philosophy; his writing is
 987 interesting even if one finds the theistic extentialism espoused
 988 disagreeable.</p>
 989
 990 <h3><a name="sec59" id="sec59"></a>
 991 Sickness Unto Death</h3>
 992
 993 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 994
 995 <p>I purchased this when I was looking through books at a store after
 996 being unable to find the book I really wanted, and I must say that it
 997 was better for me to have found this one.</p>
 998
 999 <p>Contained within is a beautiful analysis of despair in the context of
1000 Christianity (really theism in general). Even if the argument offends,
1001 the presentation cannot. The dialectical nature of despair is
1002 reflected in every aspect of the work, and the method of presentation
1003 forces reflection.</p>
1004
1005
1006
1007 <h3><a name="sec60" id="sec60"></a>
1008 Either/Or</h3>
1009
1010 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1011
1012 <p>Composed of two portions, <em>Either/Or</em> is a rather lengthy but
1013 rewarding read. The first book is a series of essays and a diary of a
1014 young esthetician; the second is a pair of long letters from an older
1015 ethicist friend to this esthetician. You are then left to resolve the
1016 conflict between the views.</p>
1017
1018
1019
1020 <h3><a name="sec61" id="sec61"></a>
1021 Fear and Trembling</h3>
1022
1023 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1024
1025 <p>An interesting dialectical lyric contrasting Despair and Faith.</p>
1026
1027
1028
1029 <h3><a name="sec62" id="sec62"></a>
1030 Repetition</h3>
1031
1032 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1033
1034 <p>He who despairs of esthetic repetition gets none; he who despairs
1035 of ethical repetition receieves the esthetic. Is it true then that no
1036 repetition exists? Is transition all one can hope for?</p>
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041 <h2><a name="sec63" id="sec63"></a>
1042 Alisa Kwitney</h2>
1043
1044
1045
1046 <h3><a name="sec64" id="sec64"></a>
1047 Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold</h3>
1048
1049 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056 <h2><a name="sec65" id="sec65"></a>
1057 David Lamkins</h2>
1058
1059
1060
1061 <h3><a name="sec66" id="sec66"></a>
1062 Successful Lisp</h3>
1063
1064 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1065
1066 <p>After learning Scheme, I read <em>Successful Lisp</em> and was able to
1067 pick up Common Lisp fairly easily.</p>
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072 <h2><a name="sec67" id="sec67"></a>
1073 Mencius</h2>
1074
1075
1076
1077 <h3><a name="sec68" id="sec68"></a>
1078 Mencius</h3>
1079
1080 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1081
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087 <h2><a name="sec69" id="sec69"></a>
1088 Walter Miller</h2>
1089
1090
1091
1092 <h3><a name="sec70" id="sec70"></a>
1093 A Canticle for Leibowitz</h3>
1094
1095 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1096
1097
1098
1099
1100
1101
1102 <h2><a name="sec71" id="sec71"></a>
1103 Alan Moore</h2>
1104
1105
1106
1107 <h3><a name="sec72" id="sec72"></a>
1108 Watchmen</h3>
1109
1110 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
1116 <h3><a name="sec73" id="sec73"></a>
1117 V for Vendetta</h3>
1118
1119 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1120
1121
1122
1123
1124
1125
1126 <h2><a name="sec74" id="sec74"></a>
1127 Thomas More</h2>
1128
1129
1130
1131 <h3><a name="sec75" id="sec75"></a>
1132 Utopia</h3>
1133
1134 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1135
1136 <p>I read most of Utopia in high school with the TI-89 ebook reader, but
1137 the way the book was split up made it a bit difficult to grasp the
1138 overall structure. I found a copy at a used book store one day, and so
1139 I read it again, and found it much more comprehensible. It is a quick
1140 read, and decent piece of literature. The interesting social system
1141 espoused resembles resembles state communism (even if perhaps as a
1142 negative ideal), but with an strange blend of 14th century European
1143 social customs.</p>
1144
1145
1146
1147
1148 <h2><a name="sec76" id="sec76"></a>
1149 Friedrich Nietzsche</h2>
1150
1151 <p class="first">A bit acerbic and esoteric, Nietzsche is for me a good <em>secular</em>
1152 counterpart to Kierkegaard's theistic philosophy. Nietzsche's
1153 polemical works raise important questions for anyone who reads works
1154 on ethics. As such it is a shame that he has gotten a bad reputation
1155 by being read by far too many angsty teenagers who see (and relay)
1156 only Nietzsche the asshole rather than Nietzsche the master of the
1157 polemic.</p>
1158
1159 <h3><a name="sec77" id="sec77"></a>
1160 Beyond Good and Evil</h3>
1161
1162 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1163
1164 <p>A somewhat more comprehensible, if a bit less aesthetically
1165 pleasing, presentation of much of the philosophy found in <em>Thus Spoke
1166 Zarathustra</em> in the negative form. The final chapters are very
1167 important (not to detract from the value of the rest of the work) if
1168 one wishes to understand <em>On the Genealogy of Morals</em>.</p>
1169
1170
1171
1172 <h3><a name="sec78" id="sec78"></a>
1173 On the Geneaology of Morals</h3>
1174
1175 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1176
1177 <p><em>On the Geneaology of Morals</em> is a wonderful book of three
1178 polemical essays on the origin of moral/ethic valuations, and the
1179 blindness of modern philosphers whose very thinking is tainted by
1180 these valuations unknowingly.</p>
1181
1182
1183
1184 <h3><a name="sec79" id="sec79"></a>
1185 Ecce Homo</h3>
1186
1187 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1188
1189 <p><em>Ecce Homo</em> is Nietzsche's very strange autobiography and
1190 explanation of his own works. At points it is clear that it could have
1191 used a bit more editing (prevented by Nietzsche ... falling into a
1192 catatonic state and all), but is still a very useful book to read as
1193 Nietzsche explains the overall structure of his works.</p>
1194
1195
1196
1197
1198 <h2><a name="sec80" id="sec80"></a>
1199 George Orwell</h2>
1200
1201
1202
1203 <h3><a name="sec81" id="sec81"></a>
1204 1984</h3>
1205
1206 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1207
1208
1209
1210
1211
1212 <h3><a name="sec82" id="sec82"></a>
1213 Animal Farm</h3>
1214
1215 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
1216
1217
1218
1219
1220
1221
1222 <h2><a name="sec83" id="sec83"></a>
1223 Plato</h2>
1224
1225
1226
1227 <h3><a name="sec84" id="sec84"></a>
1228 Symposium</h3>
1229
1230 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
1231
1232
1233
1234
1235
1236 <h3><a name="sec85" id="sec85"></a>
1237 Euthyphro</h3>
1238
1239 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
1240
1241
1242
1243
1244
1245 <h3><a name="sec86" id="sec86"></a>
1246 Apology</h3>
1247
1248 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1249
1250
1251
1252
1253
1254 <h3><a name="sec87" id="sec87"></a>
1255 Crito</h3>
1256
1257 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
1258
1259
1260
1261
1262
1263 <h3><a name="sec88" id="sec88"></a>
1264 Phaedo</h3>
1265
1266 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1267
1268
1269
1270
1271
1272 <h3><a name="sec89" id="sec89"></a>
1273 Protagoras</h3>
1274
1275 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
1276
1277
1278
1279
1280
1281
1282 <h2><a name="sec90" id="sec90"></a>
1283 Luke Rhinehardt</h2>
1284
1285
1286
1287 <h3><a name="sec91" id="sec91"></a>
1288 The Dice Man</h3>
1289
1290 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1291
1292 <blockquote>
1293 <p class="quoted">
1294 And it's his illusions about what
1295 constitutes the real world which are
1296 inhibiting him...
1297 His reality, his reason, his society
1298 ...these are what must be destroyed</p>
1299
1300 </blockquote>
1301
1302 <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
1303 this book; at worst it would be a waste of time. Much reward was found
1304 in this random stab in the dark. The book is framed as an
1305 autobiography of the author as a psychoanalyst, and his progression
1306 through life as a Dice Man after deciding to live his life through
1307 random chance.</p>
1308
1309 <p>The style, plot, and content are equally neurotic; part comedy, part
1310 attack on psychoanalysis, and part deep philosophy. It was often
1311 difficult to put down, and was read in under a week of spare time.</p>
1312
1313
1314
1315
1316 <h2><a name="sec92" id="sec92"></a>
1317 Neal Stephenson</h2>
1318
1319
1320
1321 <h3><a name="sec93" id="sec93"></a>
1322 Snow Crash</h3>
1323
1324 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1325
1326 <p>As one must read the <em>Bible</em> to understand English literature, so one
1327 must read <em>Snow Crash</em> today to be a nerd. In the realm of modern pop
1328 fiction this is one of the better books I've read; it was devoured in
1329 a mere four nights. Neal Stepheson may not be Milton, but he does come
1330 up with enganging tales. <em>Snow Crash</em> has a nice undertone of (quite
1331 accurate) political and social commentary that makes it worth reading
1332 as more than mere cyberpunk fiction.</p>
1333
1334
1335
1336 <h3><a name="sec94" id="sec94"></a>
1337 Cryptonomicon</h3>
1338
1339 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1340
1341 <p>I read <em>Cryptonomicon</em> when it was new, and at the time I thought it was
1342 good. It could have lost a hundred or so pages without detracting from
1343 the plot, but it was easy reading and didn't take very long to
1344 finish. The story was enganging, and the continual switching between
1345 the 1940s and present day slowly unravelled the tale in a nice way.</p>
1346
1347 <p>I'd still have to recommend <em>Snow Crash</em> if one wished to read only one
1348 Stephenson novel.</p>
1349
1350
1351
1352
1353 <h2><a name="sec95" id="sec95"></a>
1354 Bjarne Stroustrup</h2>
1355
1356
1357
1358 <h3><a name="sec96" id="sec96"></a>
1359 The C++ Programming Language (3rd edition)</h3>
1360
1361 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1362
1363 <p>Once upon a time I was fifteen and I read this book. It was more
1364 or less what taught me how to write programs just large enough to do
1365 useful things, and so shall forever be remembered by me. A year and a
1366 half later I stumbled upon a little language called Scheme and fell
1367 down the rabbit hole.</p>
1368
1369
1370
1371
1372 <h2><a name="sec97" id="sec97"></a>
1373 JRR Tolkien</h2>
1374
1375
1376
1377 <h3><a name="sec98" id="sec98"></a>
1378 The Lord of the Rings</h3>
1379
1380 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1381
1382
1383
1384
1385
1386 <h3><a name="sec99" id="sec99"></a>
1387 The Silmarillion</h3>
1388
1389 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1390
1391
1392
1393
1394
1395 <h3><a name="sec100" id="sec100"></a>
1396 The Lost Tales</h3>
1397
1398 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1399
1400
1401
1402
1403
1404
1405 <h2><a name="sec101" id="sec101"></a>
1406 H.G. Wells</h2>
1407
1408
1409
1410 <h3><a name="sec102" id="sec102"></a>
1411 The Island of Dr Moreau</h3>
1412
1413 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1414
1415
1416
1417   <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse ends here -->
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1442
1443 <p class="cke-footer">                     How can you accept social supression
1444                       This weak state of mind in our time
1445                         I demand release from hypocrisy
1446                  I'd rather die than be held down, forced down
1447
1448 </p>
1449 <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
1450     January  9, 2009</p>
1451   </body>
1452 </html>