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">Aristophanes</a>
  50 </dt>
  51 <dd>
  52 <dl>
  53 <dt>
  54 <a href="#sec9">The Frogs</a>
  55 </dt>
  56 <dt>
  57 <a href="#sec10">The Clouds</a>
  58 </dt>
  59 <dt>
  60 <a href="#sec11">Ecclesiazusae</a>
  61 </dt>
  62 </dl>
  63 </dd>
  64 <dt>
  65 <a href="#sec12">Aristotle</a>
  66 </dt>
  67 <dd>
  68 <dl>
  69 <dt>
  70 <a href="#sec13">Ethics</a>
  71 </dt>
  72 <dt>
  73 <a href="#sec14">Categories</a>
  74 </dt>
  75 <dt>
  76 <a href="#sec15">Poetics</a>
  77 </dt>
  78 <dt>
  79 <a href="#sec16">Rhetoric</a>
  80 </dt>
  81 </dl>
  82 </dd>
  83 <dt>
  84 <a href="#sec17">Marcus Aurelius</a>
  85 </dt>
  86 <dd>
  87 <dl>
  88 <dt>
  89 <a href="#sec18">Meditations</a>
  90 </dt>
  91 </dl>
  92 </dd>
  93 <dt>
  94 <a href="#sec19">William Blake</a>
  95 </dt>
  96 <dd>
  97 <dl>
  98 <dt>
  99 <a href="#sec20">The Four Zoas</a>
 100 </dt>
 101 <dt>
 102 <a href="#sec21">Jerusalem</a>
 103 </dt>
 104 </dl>
 105 </dd>
 106 <dt>
 107 <a href="#sec22">Neil Gaiman</a>
 108 </dt>
 109 <dd>
 110 <dl>
 111 <dt>
 112 <a href="#sec23">The Sandman (series)</a>
 113 </dt>
 114 </dl>
 115 </dd>
 116 <dt>
 117 <a href="#sec24">John Taylor Gatto</a>
 118 </dt>
 119 <dd>
 120 <dl>
 121 <dt>
 122 <a href="#sec25">Underground History of American Education</a>
 123 </dt>
 124 </dl>
 125 </dd>
 126 <dt>
 127 <a href="#sec26">Kahlil Gibran</a>
 128 </dt>
 129 <dd>
 130 <dl>
 131 <dt>
 132 <a href="#sec27">A Tear and a Smile</a>
 133 </dt>
 134 <dt>
 135 <a href="#sec28">The Prophet</a>
 136 </dt>
 137 <dt>
 138 <a href="#sec29">Sand and Foam</a>
 139 </dt>
 140 <dt>
 141 <a href="#sec30">The Madman</a>
 142 </dt>
 143 </dl>
 144 </dd>
 145 <dt>
 146 <a href="#sec31">Homer</a>
 147 </dt>
 148 <dd>
 149 <dl>
 150 <dt>
 151 <a href="#sec32">The Odyssey</a>
 152 </dt>
 153 </dl>
 154 </dd>
 155 <dt>
 156 <a href="#sec33">Aldous Huxley</a>
 157 </dt>
 158 <dd>
 159 <dl>
 160 <dt>
 161 <a href="#sec34">The Doors of Perception</a>
 162 </dt>
 163 <dt>
 164 <a href="#sec35">Heaven and Hell</a>
 165 </dt>
 166 </dl>
 167 </dd>
 168 <dt>
 169 <a href="#sec36">William James</a>
 170 </dt>
 171 <dd>
 172 <dl>
 173 <dt>
 174 <a href="#sec37">The Varieties of Religious Experience</a>
 175 </dt>
 176 <dt>
 177 <a href="#sec38">The PhD Octopus</a>
 178 </dt>
 179 </dl>
 180 </dd>
 181 <dt>
 182 <a href="#sec39">Henry James</a>
 183 </dt>
 184 <dd>
 185 <dl>
 186 <dt>
 187 <a href="#sec40">The Altar of the Dead</a>
 188 </dt>
 189 </dl>
 190 </dd>
 191 <dt>
 192 <a href="#sec41">Gregor Kiczales</a>
 193 </dt>
 194 <dd>
 195 <dl>
 196 <dt>
 197 <a href="#sec42">The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</a>
 198 </dt>
 199 </dl>
 200 </dd>
 201 <dt>
 202 <a href="#sec43">Søren Kierkegaard</a>
 203 </dt>
 204 <dd>
 205 <dl>
 206 <dt>
 207 <a href="#sec44">Sickness Unto Death</a>
 208 </dt>
 209 <dt>
 210 <a href="#sec45">Either/Or</a>
 211 </dt>
 212 <dt>
 213 <a href="#sec46">Fear and Trembling</a>
 214 </dt>
 215 </dl>
 216 </dd>
 217 <dt>
 218 <a href="#sec47">Alan Moore</a>
 219 </dt>
 220 <dd>
 221 <dl>
 222 <dt>
 223 <a href="#sec48">Watchmen</a>
 224 </dt>
 225 <dt>
 226 <a href="#sec49">V for Vendetta</a>
 227 </dt>
 228 </dl>
 229 </dd>
 230 <dt>
 231 <a href="#sec50">Thomas More</a>
 232 </dt>
 233 <dd>
 234 <dl>
 235 <dt>
 236 <a href="#sec51">Utopia</a>
 237 </dt>
 238 </dl>
 239 </dd>
 240 <dt>
 241 <a href="#sec52">Friedrich Nietzsche</a>
 242 </dt>
 243 <dd>
 244 <dl>
 245 <dt>
 246 <a href="#sec53">Beyond Good and Evil</a>
 247 </dt>
 248 <dt>
 249 <a href="#sec54">On the Geneaology of Morals</a>
 250 </dt>
 251 <dt>
 252 <a href="#sec55">Ecce Homo</a>
 253 </dt>
 254 </dl>
 255 </dd>
 256 <dt>
 257 <a href="#sec56">George Orwell</a>
 258 </dt>
 259 <dd>
 260 <dl>
 261 <dt>
 262 <a href="#sec57">1984</a>
 263 </dt>
 264 <dt>
 265 <a href="#sec58">Animal Farm</a>
 266 </dt>
 267 </dl>
 268 </dd>
 269 <dt>
 270 <a href="#sec59">Plato</a>
 271 </dt>
 272 <dd>
 273 <dl>
 274 <dt>
 275 <a href="#sec60">Symposium</a>
 276 </dt>
 277 <dt>
 278 <a href="#sec61">Euthyphro</a>
 279 </dt>
 280 <dt>
 281 <a href="#sec62">Apology</a>
 282 </dt>
 283 <dt>
 284 <a href="#sec63">Crito</a>
 285 </dt>
 286 <dt>
 287 <a href="#sec64">Protagoras</a>
 288 </dt>
 289 </dl>
 290 </dd>
 291 <dt>
 292 <a href="#sec65">Luke Rhinehardt</a>
 293 </dt>
 294 <dd>
 295 <dl>
 296 <dt>
 297 <a href="#sec66">The Dice Man</a>
 298 </dt>
 299 </dl>
 300 </dd>
 301 <dt>
 302 <a href="#sec67">Neal Stephenson</a>
 303 </dt>
 304 <dd>
 305 <dl>
 306 <dt>
 307 <a href="#sec68">Snow Crash</a>
 308 </dt>
 309 <dt>
 310 <a href="#sec69">Cryptonomicon</a>
 311 </dt>
 312 </dl>
 313 </dd>
 314 <dt>
 315 <a href="#sec70">H.G. Wells</a>
 316 </dt>
 317 <dd>
 318 <dl>
 319 <dt>
 320 <a href="#sec71">The Island of Dr Moreau</a>
 321 </dt>
 322 </dl>
 323 </dd>
 324 </dl>
 325 </div>
 326
 327
 328 <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a>
 329 Douglas Adams</h2>
 330
 331
 332
 333 <h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a>
 334 Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (collected)</h3>
 335
 336 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 337
 338
 339
 340
 341
 342 <h3><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a>
 343 The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul</h3>
 344
 345 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••• </span> (6) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 346
 347
 348
 349
 350
 351
 352 <h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a>
 353 Aeschylus</h2>
 354
 355
 356
 357 <h3><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a>
 358 Oresteia</h3>
 359
 360 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 361
 362
 363
 364
 365
 366 <h3><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a>
 367 Prometheus Bound</h3>
 368
 369 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 370
 371
 372
 373
 374
 375 <h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a>
 376 The Persians</h3>
 377
 378 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 379
 380
 381
 382
 383
 384
 385 <h2><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a>
 386 Aristophanes</h2>
 387
 388
 389
 390 <h3><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a>
 391 The Frogs</h3>
 392
 393 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 394
 395
 396
 397
 398
 399 <h3><a name="sec10" id="sec10"></a>
 400 The Clouds</h3>
 401
 402 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 403
 404
 405
 406
 407
 408 <h3><a name="sec11" id="sec11"></a>
 409 Ecclesiazusae</h3>
 410
 411 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 412
 413
 414
 415
 416
 417
 418 <h2><a name="sec12" id="sec12"></a>
 419 Aristotle</h2>
 420
 421
 422
 423 <h3><a name="sec13" id="sec13"></a>
 424 Ethics</h3>
 425
 426 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 427
 428
 429
 430
 431
 432 <h3><a name="sec14" id="sec14"></a>
 433 Categories</h3>
 434
 435 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 436
 437
 438
 439
 440
 441 <h3><a name="sec15" id="sec15"></a>
 442 Poetics</h3>
 443
 444 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 445
 446
 447
 448
 449
 450 <h3><a name="sec16" id="sec16"></a>
 451 Rhetoric</h3>
 452
 453 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 454
 455
 456
 457
 458
 459
 460 <h2><a name="sec17" id="sec17"></a>
 461 Marcus Aurelius</h2>
 462
 463
 464
 465 <h3><a name="sec18" id="sec18"></a>
 466 Meditations</h3>
 467
 468 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••• </span> (6) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 469
 470 <p>I enjoyed reading this collection of meditations on Stoic
 471 philosophy. It is a fairly quick read; I read each of the twelve books
 472 before sleeping over the course of two weeks. Toward the end of the
 473 collection things get a bit topically repetetive (e.g. acting
 474 according to the nature of man is reflected upon over and over), but
 475 each repetition looks at the topic in a slightly different light. A
 476 number of passages I found quite inspiring, and scratched them down in
 477 my notebook to ponder further.</p>
 478
 479
 480
 481
 482 <h2><a name="sec19" id="sec19"></a>
 483 William Blake</h2>
 484
 485 <p class="first">Blake is my <a href="William%20Blake.html">favorite</a> of the English poets. His
 486 unique use of relief etching and watercoloring makes for very
 487 interesting Illuminated works. There is a very high quality
 488 <a href="http://blakearchive.org">complete archive of Blake's works</a> online
 489 with high resolution plate scans and full transcriptions among other
 490 things.</p>
 491
 492 <h3><a name="sec20" id="sec20"></a>
 493 The Four Zoas</h3>
 494
 495 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 496
 497 <p>The unfinished manuscript of Blake's longest apocalypse. The
 498 Four Zoas divide from Albion and rage through the ages of dismal woe
 499 to bring about the end of the cycle of Ulro and restore the cycle of
 500 Beulah.</p>
 501
 502
 503
 504 <h3><a name="sec21" id="sec21"></a>
 505 Jerusalem</h3>
 506
 507 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 508
 509 <p>The finest of Blake's Illuminated works.</p>
 510
 511
 512
 513
 514 <h2><a name="sec22" id="sec22"></a>
 515 Neil Gaiman</h2>
 516
 517
 518
 519 <h3><a name="sec23" id="sec23"></a>
 520 The Sandman (series)</h3>
 521
 522 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 523
 524 <p>Perhaps the best comic book series of all time; I would say <em>The
 525 Sandman</em> as a whole ranks higher than anything even Alan Moore has
 526 written.</p>
 527
 528
 529
 530
 531 <h2><a name="sec24" id="sec24"></a>
 532 John Taylor Gatto</h2>
 533
 534 <p class="first">Former teacher and now author-activist.</p>
 535
 536 <h3><a name="sec25" id="sec25"></a>
 537 Underground History of American Education</h3>
 538
 539 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 540
 541 <p>An interesting <em>underground</em> history of the American education
 542 system. Available
 543 <a href="http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/">online for free</a>.</p>
 544
 545
 546
 547
 548 <h2><a name="sec26" id="sec26"></a>
 549 Kahlil Gibran</h2>
 550
 551 <p class="first">Kahlil Gibran is fairly interesting; his earlier works do not
 552 agree with my æsthetic sense (blah blah), but <em>The Madman</em> onward are
 553 all rather nice. A few of his works are
 554 <a href="http://leb.net/~mira/">online</a>, but I recommend scouting used book
 555 stores for old hardcover editions. The (late 90s onward at least)
 556 <em>hardcover</em> versions from <em>Alfred A. Knopf</em> are in fact permabound
 557 paperbacks with a hardcasing, and are of seriously inferior quality to
 558 the editions from the 50s and 60s (and cost quite a bit more,
 559 naturally).</p>
 560
 561 <h3><a name="sec27" id="sec27"></a>
 562 A Tear and a Smile</h3>
 563
 564 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••</span><span class="rating-bad">••••••• </span> (3) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 565
 566 <p>One of Kahlil Gibran's earlier works, I did not much like <em>A
 567 Tear and a Smile</em> excepting the last poem (&quot;A Poet's Voice&quot;).</p>
 568
 569
 570
 571 <h3><a name="sec28" id="sec28"></a>
 572 The Prophet</h3>
 573
 574 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 575
 576
 577
 578
 579
 580 <h3><a name="sec29" id="sec29"></a>
 581 Sand and Foam</h3>
 582
 583 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 584
 585 <p>An interesting little book of aphorisms.</p>
 586
 587
 588
 589 <h3><a name="sec30" id="sec30"></a>
 590 The Madman</h3>
 591
 592 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 593
 594
 595
 596
 597
 598
 599 <h2><a name="sec31" id="sec31"></a>
 600 Homer</h2>
 601
 602
 603
 604 <h3><a name="sec32" id="sec32"></a>
 605 The Odyssey</h3>
 606
 607 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 608
 609
 610
 611
 612
 613
 614 <h2><a name="sec33" id="sec33"></a>
 615 Aldous Huxley</h2>
 616
 617 <p class="first">Perhaps the most overrated modern writer. Other people have written
 618 everything he has to write better and many years before he got around
 619 to it.</p>
 620
 621 <h3><a name="sec34" id="sec34"></a>
 622 The Doors of Perception</h3>
 623
 624 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> </span><span class="rating-bad">•••••••••• </span> (0) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 625
 626 <p>Huxley stains the name of Blake by naming this horrible
 627 pseudo-scientific and pseudo-poetic essay after a line from <em>The
 628 Marriage of Heaven and Hell</em>. Subjectivity and objectivity are
 629 incommensurable; his attempt and being subjectively objective is
 630 utterly worthless.</p>
 631
 632
 633
 634 <h3><a name="sec35" id="sec35"></a>
 635 Heaven and Hell</h3>
 636
 637 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> </span><span class="rating-bad">•••••••••• </span> (0) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 638
 639 <p>Blah blah LSD blah blah Mushrooms blah blah Peytoe blah blah I'm
 640 Aldous Huxley I'm a pretentious jerk. Don't bother.</p>
 641
 642
 643
 644
 645 <h2><a name="sec36" id="sec36"></a>
 646 William James</h2>
 647
 648
 649
 650 <h3><a name="sec37" id="sec37"></a>
 651 The Varieties of Religious Experience</h3>
 652
 653 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 654
 655 <p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20Varieties%20of%20Religious%20Experience.html">A partially finished extended summary</a></p>
 656
 657
 658
 659 <h3><a name="sec38" id="sec38"></a>
 660 The PhD Octopus</h3>
 661
 662 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 663
 664 <blockquote>
 665 <p class="quoted">
 666 America is thus as a nation rapidly drifting towards a state of things
 667 in which no man of science or letters will be accounted respectable
 668 unless some kind of badge or diploma is stamped upon him, and in which
 669 bare personality will be a mark of outcast estate.  It seems to me high
 670 time to rouse ourselves to consciousness, and to cast a critical eye
 671 upon this decidedly grotesque tendency.  Other nations suffer terribly
 672 from the Mandarin disease.  Are we doomed to suffer like the rest?</p>
 673
 674 </blockquote>
 675
 676 <p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20PhD%20Octopus.html">Full Text</a></p>
 677
 678
 679
 680
 681 <h2><a name="sec39" id="sec39"></a>
 682 Henry James</h2>
 683
 684 <p class="first">The novelist brother of William James; I've not read many (read:
 685 one) of his books, but what I did was decent.</p>
 686
 687 <h3><a name="sec40" id="sec40"></a>
 688 The Altar of the Dead</h3>
 689
 690 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 691
 692 <p>A short novella about a man who maintained an altar in a church
 693 for all of his lost loved ones on the surface, but something a bit
 694 more beneath.</p>
 695
 696
 697
 698
 699 <h2><a name="sec41" id="sec41"></a>
 700 Gregor Kiczales</h2>
 701
 702
 703
 704 <h3><a name="sec42" id="sec42"></a>
 705 The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</h3>
 706
 707 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 708
 709 <p>AMOP is useful as a reference to the CLOS MOP (although less so with
 710 the online MOP spec), but the true value of the book lies in the first
 711 half of the book. It presents the design of the CLOS MOP through a
 712 series of revisions that fix limitations of earlier implementations
 713 and gradually work toward a generic and well designed MOP for
 714 CLOS. Through that process one is made more aware of a few general
 715 object protocol design skills, and gains insight into how to cleanly
 716 make mapping decisions customizable.</p>
 717
 718
 719
 720
 721 <h2><a name="sec43" id="sec43"></a>
 722 Søren Kierkegaard</h2>
 723
 724 <p class="first">Kierkegaard was a master of style and philosophy; his writing is
 725 interesting even if one finds the theistic extentialism espoused
 726 disagreeable.</p>
 727
 728 <h3><a name="sec44" id="sec44"></a>
 729 Sickness Unto Death</h3>
 730
 731 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 732
 733 <p>I purchased this when I was looking through books at a store after
 734 being unable to find the book I really wanted, and I must say that it
 735 was better for me to have found this one.</p>
 736
 737 <p>Contained within is a beautiful analysis of despair in the context of
 738 Christianity (really theism in general). Even if the argument offends,
 739 the presentation cannot. The dialectical nature of despair is
 740 reflected in every aspect of the work, and the method of presentation
 741 forces reflection.</p>
 742
 743
 744
 745 <h3><a name="sec45" id="sec45"></a>
 746 Either/Or</h3>
 747
 748 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 749
 750 <p>Composed of two portions, <em>Either/Or</em> is a rather lengthy but
 751 rewarding read. The first book is a series of essays and a diary of a
 752 young esthetician; the second is a pair of long letters from an older
 753 ethicist friend to this esthetician. You are then left to resolve the
 754 conflict between the views.</p>
 755
 756
 757
 758 <h3><a name="sec46" id="sec46"></a>
 759 Fear and Trembling</h3>
 760
 761 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 762
 763 <p>An interesting dialectical lyric contrasting Despair and Faith.</p>
 764
 765
 766
 767
 768 <h2><a name="sec47" id="sec47"></a>
 769 Alan Moore</h2>
 770
 771
 772
 773 <h3><a name="sec48" id="sec48"></a>
 774 Watchmen</h3>
 775
 776 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 777
 778
 779
 780
 781
 782 <h3><a name="sec49" id="sec49"></a>
 783 V for Vendetta</h3>
 784
 785 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 786
 787
 788
 789
 790
 791
 792 <h2><a name="sec50" id="sec50"></a>
 793 Thomas More</h2>
 794
 795
 796
 797 <h3><a name="sec51" id="sec51"></a>
 798 Utopia</h3>
 799
 800 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 801
 802 <p>I read most of Utopia in high school with the TI-89 ebook reader, but
 803 the way the book was split up made it a bit difficult to grasp the
 804 overall structure. I found a copy at a used book store one day, and so
 805 I read it again, and found it much more comprehensible. It is a quick
 806 read, and decent piece of literature. The interesting social system
 807 espoused resembles resembles state communism (even if perhaps as a
 808 negative ideal), but with an strange blend of 14th century European
 809 social customs.</p>
 810
 811
 812
 813
 814 <h2><a name="sec52" id="sec52"></a>
 815 Friedrich Nietzsche</h2>
 816
 817 <p class="first">A bit acerbic and esoteric, Nietzsche is for me a good <em>secular</em>
 818 counterpart to Kierkegaard's theistic philosophy. Nietzsche's
 819 polemical works raise important questions for anyone who reads works
 820 on ethics. As such it is a shame that he has gotten a bad reputation
 821 by being read by far too many angsty teenagers who see (and relay)
 822 only Nietzsche the asshole rather than Nietzsche the master of the
 823 polemic.</p>
 824
 825 <h3><a name="sec53" id="sec53"></a>
 826 Beyond Good and Evil</h3>
 827
 828 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 829
 830 <p>A somewhat more comprehensible, if a bit less aesthetically
 831 pleasing, presentation of much of the philosophy found in <em>Thus Spoke
 832 Zarathustra</em> in the negative form. The final chapters are very
 833 important (not to detract from the value of the rest of the work) if
 834 one wishes to understand <em>On the Genealogy of Morals</em>.</p>
 835
 836
 837
 838 <h3><a name="sec54" id="sec54"></a>
 839 On the Geneaology of Morals</h3>
 840
 841 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 842
 843 <p><em>On the Geneaology of Morals</em> is a wonderful book of three
 844 polemical essays on the origin of moral/ethic valuations, and the
 845 blindness of modern philosphers whose very thinking is tainted by
 846 these valuations unknowingly.</p>
 847
 848
 849
 850 <h3><a name="sec55" id="sec55"></a>
 851 Ecce Homo</h3>
 852
 853 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 854
 855 <p><em>Ecce Homo</em> is Nietzsche's very strange autobiography and
 856 explanation of his own works. At points it is clear that it could have
 857 used a bit more editing (prevented by Nietzsche ... falling into a
 858 catatonic state and all), but is still a very useful book to read as
 859 Nietzsche explains the overall structure of his works.</p>
 860
 861
 862
 863
 864 <h2><a name="sec56" id="sec56"></a>
 865 George Orwell</h2>
 866
 867
 868
 869 <h3><a name="sec57" id="sec57"></a>
 870 1984</h3>
 871
 872 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 873
 874
 875
 876
 877
 878 <h3><a name="sec58" id="sec58"></a>
 879 Animal Farm</h3>
 880
 881 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 882
 883
 884
 885
 886
 887
 888 <h2><a name="sec59" id="sec59"></a>
 889 Plato</h2>
 890
 891
 892
 893 <h3><a name="sec60" id="sec60"></a>
 894 Symposium</h3>
 895
 896 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 897
 898
 899
 900
 901
 902 <h3><a name="sec61" id="sec61"></a>
 903 Euthyphro</h3>
 904
 905 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 906
 907
 908
 909
 910
 911 <h3><a name="sec62" id="sec62"></a>
 912 Apology</h3>
 913
 914 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 915
 916
 917
 918
 919
 920 <h3><a name="sec63" id="sec63"></a>
 921 Crito</h3>
 922
 923 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 924
 925
 926
 927
 928
 929 <h3><a name="sec64" id="sec64"></a>
 930 Protagoras</h3>
 931
 932 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 933
 934
 935
 936
 937
 938
 939 <h2><a name="sec65" id="sec65"></a>
 940 Luke Rhinehardt</h2>
 941
 942
 943
 944 <h3><a name="sec66" id="sec66"></a>
 945 The Dice Man</h3>
 946
 947 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 948
 949 <blockquote>
 950 <p class="quoted">
 951 And it's his illusions about what
 952 constitutes the real world which are
 953 inhibiting him...
 954 His reality, his reason, his society
 955 ...these are what must be destroyed</p>
 956
 957 </blockquote>
 958
 959 <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
 960 this book; at worst it would be a waste of time. Much reward was found
 961 in this random stab in the dark. The book is framed as an
 962 autobiography of the author as a psychoanalyst, and his progression
 963 through life as a Dice Man after deciding to live his life through
 964 random chance.</p>
 965
 966 <p>The style, plot, and content are equally neurotic; part comedy, part
 967 attack on psychoanalysis, and part deep philosophy. It was often
 968 difficult to put down, and was read in under a week of spare time.</p>
 969
 970
 971
 972
 973 <h2><a name="sec67" id="sec67"></a>
 974 Neal Stephenson</h2>
 975
 976
 977
 978 <h3><a name="sec68" id="sec68"></a>
 979 Snow Crash</h3>
 980
 981 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 982
 983 <p>As one must read the <em>Bible</em> to understand English literature, so one
 984 must read <em>Snow Crash</em> today to be a nerd. In the realm of modern pop
 985 fiction this is one of the better books I've read; it was devoured in
 986 a mere four nights. Neal Stepheson may not be Milton, but he does come
 987 up with enganging tales. <em>Snow Crash</em> has a nice undertone of (quite
 988 accurate) political and social commentary that makes it worth reading
 989 as more than mere cyberpunk fiction.</p>
 990
 991
 992
 993 <h3><a name="sec69" id="sec69"></a>
 994 Cryptonomicon</h3>
 995
 996 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 997
 998 <p>I read <em>Cryptonomicon</em> when it was new, and at the time I thought it was
 999 good. It could have lost a hundred or so pages without detracting from
1000 the plot, but it was easy reading and didn't take very long to
1001 finish. The story was enganging, and the continual switching between
1002 the 1940s and present day slowly unravelled the tale in a nice way.</p>
1003
1004 <p>I'd still have to recommend <em>Snow Crash</em> if one wished to read only one
1005 Stephenson novel.</p>
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010 <h2><a name="sec70" id="sec70"></a>
1011 H.G. Wells</h2>
1012
1013
1014
1015 <h3><a name="sec71" id="sec71"></a>
1016 The Island of Dr Moreau</h3>
1017
1018 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1019
1020
1021
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1048 <p class="cke-footer">No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
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1050 <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
1051     December 14, 2008</p>
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