Book List.html

   1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
   2 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
   3     "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
   4 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
   5   <head>
   6     <title>A Not So Fancy Listing of Books</title>
   7     <meta name="generator" content="muse.el" />
   8     <meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
   9           content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
  10     <meta name="viewport"
  11           content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
  12     <link href="https://feeds.unknownlamer.org/rss/site-updates"
  13           rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Updates Feed" />
  14
  15 <link rel="stylesheet" href="default.css" />
  16   </head>
  17   <body>
  18     <h1>A Not So Fancy Listing of Books</h1>
  19    <div class="contents">
  20 <dl>
  21 <dt>
  22 <a href="#sec1">Douglas Adams</a>
  23 </dt>
  24 <dd>
  25 <dl>
  26 <dt>
  27 <a href="#sec2">Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (collected)</a>
  28 </dt>
  29 <dt>
  30 <a href="#sec3">The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul</a>
  31 </dt>
  32 </dl>
  33 </dd>
  34 <dt>
  35 <a href="#sec4">Aeschylus</a>
  36 </dt>
  37 <dd>
  38 <dl>
  39 <dt>
  40 <a href="#sec5">Oresteia</a>
  41 </dt>
  42 <dt>
  43 <a href="#sec6">Prometheus Bound</a>
  44 </dt>
  45 <dt>
  46 <a href="#sec7">The Persians</a>
  47 </dt>
  48 </dl>
  49 </dd>
  50 <dt>
  51 <a href="#sec8">John Allison</a>
  52 </dt>
  53 <dd>
  54 <dl>
  55 <dt>
  56 <a href="#sec9">Looks, Brains and Everything</a>
  57 </dt>
  58 <dt>
  59 <a href="#sec10">Blame the Sky</a>
  60 </dt>
  61 <dt>
  62 <a href="#sec11">Skellington</a>
  63 </dt>
  64 <dt>
  65 <a href="#sec12">The Retribution Index</a>
  66 </dt>
  67 <dt>
  68 <a href="#sec13">Great Aches</a>
  69 </dt>
  70 <dt>
  71 <a href="#sec14">Ahoy Hoy!</a>
  72 </dt>
  73 <dt>
  74 <a href="#sec15">Heavy Metal Hearts and Flowers</a>
  75 </dt>
  76 <dt>
  77 <a href="#sec16">Ghosts</a>
  78 </dt>
  79 </dl>
  80 </dd>
  81 <dt>
  82 <a href="#sec17">Anonymous</a>
  83 </dt>
  84 <dd>
  85 <dl>
  86 <dt>
  87 <a href="#sec18">Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz</a>
  88 </dt>
  89 </dl>
  90 </dd>
  91 <dt>
  92 <a href="#sec19">Aristophanes</a>
  93 </dt>
  94 <dd>
  95 <dl>
  96 <dt>
  97 <a href="#sec20">The Frogs</a>
  98 </dt>
  99 <dt>
 100 <a href="#sec21">The Clouds</a>
 101 </dt>
 102 <dt>
 103 <a href="#sec22">Ecclesiazusae</a>
 104 </dt>
 105 </dl>
 106 </dd>
 107 <dt>
 108 <a href="#sec23">Aristotle</a>
 109 </dt>
 110 <dd>
 111 <dl>
 112 <dt>
 113 <a href="#sec24">Ethics</a>
 114 </dt>
 115 <dt>
 116 <a href="#sec25">Categories</a>
 117 </dt>
 118 <dt>
 119 <a href="#sec26">Poetics</a>
 120 </dt>
 121 <dt>
 122 <a href="#sec27">Rhetoric</a>
 123 </dt>
 124 </dl>
 125 </dd>
 126 <dt>
 127 <a href="#sec28">Marcus Aurelius</a>
 128 </dt>
 129 <dd>
 130 <dl>
 131 <dt>
 132 <a href="#sec29">Meditations</a>
 133 </dt>
 134 </dl>
 135 </dd>
 136 <dt>
 137 <a href="#sec30">William Blake</a>
 138 </dt>
 139 <dd>
 140 <dl>
 141 <dt>
 142 <a href="#sec31">The Four Zoas</a>
 143 </dt>
 144 <dt>
 145 <a href="#sec32">Jerusalem</a>
 146 </dt>
 147 </dl>
 148 </dd>
 149 <dt>
 150 <a href="#sec33">Mike Carey</a>
 151 </dt>
 152 <dd>
 153 <dl>
 154 <dt>
 155 <a href="#sec34">Lucifer (series)</a>
 156 </dt>
 157 </dl>
 158 </dd>
 159 <dt>
 160 <a href="#sec35">Confucius</a>
 161 </dt>
 162 <dd>
 163 <dl>
 164 <dt>
 165 <a href="#sec36">Analects</a>
 166 </dt>
 167 </dl>
 168 </dd>
 169 <dt>
 170 <a href="#sec37">Neil Gaiman</a>
 171 </dt>
 172 <dd>
 173 <dl>
 174 <dt>
 175 <a href="#sec38">The Sandman (series)</a>
 176 </dt>
 177 <dt>
 178 <a href="#sec39">Good Omens</a>
 179 </dt>
 180 </dl>
 181 </dd>
 182 <dt>
 183 <a href="#sec40">John Taylor Gatto</a>
 184 </dt>
 185 <dd>
 186 <dl>
 187 <dt>
 188 <a href="#sec41">Underground History of American Education</a>
 189 </dt>
 190 </dl>
 191 </dd>
 192 <dt>
 193 <a href="#sec42">Kahlil Gibran</a>
 194 </dt>
 195 <dd>
 196 <dl>
 197 <dt>
 198 <a href="#sec43">A Tear and a Smile</a>
 199 </dt>
 200 <dt>
 201 <a href="#sec44">The Prophet</a>
 202 </dt>
 203 <dt>
 204 <a href="#sec45">Sand and Foam</a>
 205 </dt>
 206 <dt>
 207 <a href="#sec46">The Madman</a>
 208 </dt>
 209 </dl>
 210 </dd>
 211 <dt>
 212 <a href="#sec47">Homer</a>
 213 </dt>
 214 <dd>
 215 <dl>
 216 <dt>
 217 <a href="#sec48">The Odyssey</a>
 218 </dt>
 219 </dl>
 220 </dd>
 221 <dt>
 222 <a href="#sec49">Aldous Huxley</a>
 223 </dt>
 224 <dd>
 225 <dl>
 226 <dt>
 227 <a href="#sec50">The Doors of Perception</a>
 228 </dt>
 229 <dt>
 230 <a href="#sec51">Heaven and Hell</a>
 231 </dt>
 232 </dl>
 233 </dd>
 234 <dt>
 235 <a href="#sec52">William James</a>
 236 </dt>
 237 <dd>
 238 <dl>
 239 <dt>
 240 <a href="#sec53">The Varieties of Religious Experience</a>
 241 </dt>
 242 <dt>
 243 <a href="#sec54">The PhD Octopus</a>
 244 </dt>
 245 </dl>
 246 </dd>
 247 <dt>
 248 <a href="#sec55">Henry James</a>
 249 </dt>
 250 <dd>
 251 <dl>
 252 <dt>
 253 <a href="#sec56">The Altar of the Dead</a>
 254 </dt>
 255 </dl>
 256 </dd>
 257 <dt>
 258 <a href="#sec57">Gregor Kiczales</a>
 259 </dt>
 260 <dd>
 261 <dl>
 262 <dt>
 263 <a href="#sec58">The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</a>
 264 </dt>
 265 </dl>
 266 </dd>
 267 <dt>
 268 <a href="#sec59">Søren Kierkegaard</a>
 269 </dt>
 270 <dd>
 271 <dl>
 272 <dt>
 273 <a href="#sec60">Sickness Unto Death</a>
 274 </dt>
 275 <dt>
 276 <a href="#sec61">Either/Or</a>
 277 </dt>
 278 <dt>
 279 <a href="#sec62">Fear and Trembling</a>
 280 </dt>
 281 <dt>
 282 <a href="#sec63">Repetition</a>
 283 </dt>
 284 </dl>
 285 </dd>
 286 <dt>
 287 <a href="#sec64">Alisa Kwitney</a>
 288 </dt>
 289 <dd>
 290 <dl>
 291 <dt>
 292 <a href="#sec65">Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold</a>
 293 </dt>
 294 </dl>
 295 </dd>
 296 <dt>
 297 <a href="#sec66">David Lamkins</a>
 298 </dt>
 299 <dd>
 300 <dl>
 301 <dt>
 302 <a href="#sec67">Successful Lisp</a>
 303 </dt>
 304 </dl>
 305 </dd>
 306 <dt>
 307 <a href="#sec68">Mencius</a>
 308 </dt>
 309 <dd>
 310 <dl>
 311 <dt>
 312 <a href="#sec69">Mencius</a>
 313 </dt>
 314 </dl>
 315 </dd>
 316 <dt>
 317 <a href="#sec70">Walter Miller</a>
 318 </dt>
 319 <dd>
 320 <dl>
 321 <dt>
 322 <a href="#sec71">A Canticle for Leibowitz</a>
 323 </dt>
 324 </dl>
 325 </dd>
 326 <dt>
 327 <a href="#sec72">Alan Moore</a>
 328 </dt>
 329 <dd>
 330 <dl>
 331 <dt>
 332 <a href="#sec73">Watchmen</a>
 333 </dt>
 334 <dt>
 335 <a href="#sec74">V for Vendetta</a>
 336 </dt>
 337 </dl>
 338 </dd>
 339 <dt>
 340 <a href="#sec75">Thomas More</a>
 341 </dt>
 342 <dd>
 343 <dl>
 344 <dt>
 345 <a href="#sec76">Utopia</a>
 346 </dt>
 347 </dl>
 348 </dd>
 349 <dt>
 350 <a href="#sec77">Friedrich Nietzsche</a>
 351 </dt>
 352 <dd>
 353 <dl>
 354 <dt>
 355 <a href="#sec78">Beyond Good and Evil</a>
 356 </dt>
 357 <dt>
 358 <a href="#sec79">On the Geneaology of Morals</a>
 359 </dt>
 360 <dt>
 361 <a href="#sec80">Ecce Homo</a>
 362 </dt>
 363 </dl>
 364 </dd>
 365 <dt>
 366 <a href="#sec81">George Orwell</a>
 367 </dt>
 368 <dd>
 369 <dl>
 370 <dt>
 371 <a href="#sec82">1984</a>
 372 </dt>
 373 <dt>
 374 <a href="#sec83">Animal Farm</a>
 375 </dt>
 376 </dl>
 377 </dd>
 378 <dt>
 379 <a href="#sec84">Plato</a>
 380 </dt>
 381 <dd>
 382 <dl>
 383 <dt>
 384 <a href="#sec85">Symposium</a>
 385 </dt>
 386 <dt>
 387 <a href="#sec86">Euthyphro</a>
 388 </dt>
 389 <dt>
 390 <a href="#sec87">Apology</a>
 391 </dt>
 392 <dt>
 393 <a href="#sec88">Crito</a>
 394 </dt>
 395 <dt>
 396 <a href="#sec89">Phaedo</a>
 397 </dt>
 398 <dt>
 399 <a href="#sec90">Protagoras</a>
 400 </dt>
 401 </dl>
 402 </dd>
 403 <dt>
 404 <a href="#sec91">Luke Rhinehardt</a>
 405 </dt>
 406 <dd>
 407 <dl>
 408 <dt>
 409 <a href="#sec92">The Dice Man</a>
 410 </dt>
 411 </dl>
 412 </dd>
 413 <dt>
 414 <a href="#sec93">Neal Stephenson</a>
 415 </dt>
 416 <dd>
 417 <dl>
 418 <dt>
 419 <a href="#sec94">Snow Crash</a>
 420 </dt>
 421 <dt>
 422 <a href="#sec95">Cryptonomicon</a>
 423 </dt>
 424 </dl>
 425 </dd>
 426 <dt>
 427 <a href="#sec96">Bjarne Stroustrup</a>
 428 </dt>
 429 <dd>
 430 <dl>
 431 <dt>
 432 <a href="#sec97">The C++ Programming Language (3rd edition)</a>
 433 </dt>
 434 </dl>
 435 </dd>
 436 <dt>
 437 <a href="#sec98">JRR Tolkien</a>
 438 </dt>
 439 <dd>
 440 <dl>
 441 <dt>
 442 <a href="#sec99">The Lord of the Rings</a>
 443 </dt>
 444 <dt>
 445 <a href="#sec100">The Silmarillion</a>
 446 </dt>
 447 <dt>
 448 <a href="#sec101">The Lost Tales</a>
 449 </dt>
 450 </dl>
 451 </dd>
 452 <dt>
 453 <a href="#sec102">H.G. Wells</a>
 454 </dt>
 455 <dd>
 456 <dl>
 457 <dt>
 458 <a href="#sec103">The Island of Dr Moreau</a>
 459 </dt>
 460 </dl>
 461 </dd>
 462 </dl>
 463 </div>
 464
 465
 466 <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here -->
 467 <h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a>
 468 Douglas Adams</h2>
 469
 470
 471
 472 <h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a>
 473 Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (collected)</h3>
 474
 475 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 476
 477
 478
 479
 480
 481 <h3><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a>
 482 The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul</h3>
 483
 484 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••• </span> (6) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 485
 486
 487
 488
 489
 490
 491 <h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a>
 492 Aeschylus</h2>
 493
 494
 495
 496 <h3><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a>
 497 Oresteia</h3>
 498
 499 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 500
 501
 502
 503
 504
 505 <h3><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a>
 506 Prometheus Bound</h3>
 507
 508 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 509
 510
 511
 512
 513
 514 <h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a>
 515 The Persians</h3>
 516
 517 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 518
 519
 520
 521
 522
 523
 524 <h2><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a>
 525 John Allison</h2>
 526
 527 <p class="first">The author of the rather amazing <a href="http://scarygoround.com">Scary Go Round</a>.
 528 I highly recommend procuring the printed collections; the printing
 529 quality is superb (full color on glossy paper), and the long story
 530 arcs are much easier to read.</p>
 531
 532 <h3><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a>
 533 Looks, Brains and Everything</h3>
 534
 535 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 536
 537
 538
 539
 540
 541 <h3><a name="sec10" id="sec10"></a>
 542 Blame the Sky</h3>
 543
 544 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 545
 546
 547
 548
 549
 550 <h3><a name="sec11" id="sec11"></a>
 551 Skellington</h3>
 552
 553 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 554
 555
 556
 557
 558
 559 <h3><a name="sec12" id="sec12"></a>
 560 The Retribution Index</h3>
 561
 562 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 563
 564
 565
 566
 567
 568 <h3><a name="sec13" id="sec13"></a>
 569 Great Aches</h3>
 570
 571 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 572
 573
 574
 575
 576
 577 <h3><a name="sec14" id="sec14"></a>
 578 Ahoy Hoy!</h3>
 579
 580 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 581
 582
 583
 584
 585
 586 <h3><a name="sec15" id="sec15"></a>
 587 Heavy Metal Hearts and Flowers</h3>
 588
 589 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 590
 591
 592
 593
 594
 595 <h3><a name="sec16" id="sec16"></a>
 596 Ghosts</h3>
 597
 598 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 599
 600
 601
 602
 603
 604
 605 <h2><a name="sec17" id="sec17"></a>
 606 Anonymous</h2>
 607
 608
 609
 610 <h3><a name="sec18" id="sec18"></a>
 611 Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz</h3>
 612
 613 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 614
 615
 616
 617
 618
 619
 620 <h2><a name="sec19" id="sec19"></a>
 621 Aristophanes</h2>
 622
 623
 624
 625 <h3><a name="sec20" id="sec20"></a>
 626 The Frogs</h3>
 627
 628 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 629
 630
 631
 632
 633
 634 <h3><a name="sec21" id="sec21"></a>
 635 The Clouds</h3>
 636
 637 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 638
 639
 640
 641
 642
 643 <h3><a name="sec22" id="sec22"></a>
 644 Ecclesiazusae</h3>
 645
 646 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 647
 648
 649
 650
 651
 652
 653 <h2><a name="sec23" id="sec23"></a>
 654 Aristotle</h2>
 655
 656
 657
 658 <h3><a name="sec24" id="sec24"></a>
 659 Ethics</h3>
 660
 661 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 662
 663
 664
 665
 666
 667 <h3><a name="sec25" id="sec25"></a>
 668 Categories</h3>
 669
 670 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 671
 672
 673
 674
 675
 676 <h3><a name="sec26" id="sec26"></a>
 677 Poetics</h3>
 678
 679 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 680
 681
 682
 683
 684
 685 <h3><a name="sec27" id="sec27"></a>
 686 Rhetoric</h3>
 687
 688 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 689
 690
 691
 692
 693
 694
 695 <h2><a name="sec28" id="sec28"></a>
 696 Marcus Aurelius</h2>
 697
 698
 699
 700 <h3><a name="sec29" id="sec29"></a>
 701 Meditations</h3>
 702
 703 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••••• </span> (4) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 704
 705 <p>At the time, I enjoyed reading this collection of meditations on
 706 Stoic philosophy, and it was a fairly quick read (fifteen minutes a
 707 day over the course of two weeks for me). Nowadays I've read
 708 Epictetus, and I suggest reading his <em>Discourses</em> instead.</p>
 709
 710
 711
 712
 713 <h2><a name="sec30" id="sec30"></a>
 714 William Blake</h2>
 715
 716 <p class="first">Blake is my <a href="William%20Blake.html">favorite</a> of the English poets. His
 717 unique use of relief etching and watercoloring makes for very
 718 interesting Illuminated works. There is a very high quality
 719 <a href="http://blakearchive.org">complete archive of Blake's works</a> online
 720 with high resolution plate scans and full transcriptions among other
 721 things.</p>
 722
 723 <h3><a name="sec31" id="sec31"></a>
 724 The Four Zoas</h3>
 725
 726 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 727
 728 <p>The unfinished manuscript of Blake's longest apocalypse. The
 729 Four Zoas divide from Albion and rage through the ages of dismal woe
 730 to bring about the end of the cycle of Ulro and restore the cycle of
 731 Beulah.</p>
 732
 733
 734
 735 <h3><a name="sec32" id="sec32"></a>
 736 Jerusalem</h3>
 737
 738 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 739
 740 <p>The finest of Blake's Illuminated works.</p>
 741
 742
 743
 744
 745 <h2><a name="sec33" id="sec33"></a>
 746 Mike Carey</h2>
 747
 748
 749
 750 <h3><a name="sec34" id="sec34"></a>
 751 Lucifer (series)</h3>
 752
 753 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••• </span> (6) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 754
 755 <p>Of the <em>Sandman</em> spinoffs, <em>Lucifer</em> stands out as the best for
 756 the first half, but then the writer appears to take on far too great a
 757 task, and, with the introduction of some disagreeable character
 758 relations, fails to execute the story as well as it could have
 759 been. Still, it was worth reading to the end even though most of the
 760 stories after issue 35 or so were merely ok. If you like Kierkegaard I
 761 suggest issues 2, 3, and 62&mdash;they show the form of the incommensurable
 762 relation of the single individual to the absolute perfectly.</p>
 763
 764
 765
 766
 767 <h2><a name="sec35" id="sec35"></a>
 768 Confucius</h2>
 769
 770
 771
 772 <h3><a name="sec36" id="sec36"></a>
 773 Analects</h3>
 774
 775 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 776
 777
 778
 779
 780
 781
 782 <h2><a name="sec37" id="sec37"></a>
 783 Neil Gaiman</h2>
 784
 785
 786
 787 <h3><a name="sec38" id="sec38"></a>
 788 The Sandman (series)</h3>
 789
 790 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 791
 792 <p>Perhaps the best comic book series of all time; I would say <em>The
 793 Sandman</em> as a whole ranks higher than anything even Alan Moore has
 794 written.</p>
 795
 796
 797
 798 <h3><a name="sec39" id="sec39"></a>
 799 Good Omens</h3>
 800
 801 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 802
 803 <p>A friend of a friend decided one evening that I needed to read
 804 so-called <em>normal people books</em>, and so she lent me <em>Good Omens</em>. It
 805 was an enjoyable read and unearthed vague memories of comic book
 806 magazines I read when I was small and the name <em>Sandman</em>; thus through
 807 one book I found something far greater.</p>
 808
 809
 810
 811
 812 <h2><a name="sec40" id="sec40"></a>
 813 John Taylor Gatto</h2>
 814
 815 <p class="first">Former teacher and now author-activist.</p>
 816
 817 <h3><a name="sec41" id="sec41"></a>
 818 Underground History of American Education</h3>
 819
 820 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 821
 822 <p>An interesting <em>underground</em> history of the American education
 823 system. Available
 824 <a href="http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/">online for free</a>.</p>
 825
 826
 827
 828
 829 <h2><a name="sec42" id="sec42"></a>
 830 Kahlil Gibran</h2>
 831
 832 <p class="first">Kahlil Gibran is fairly interesting; his earlier works do not
 833 agree with my æsthetic sense (blah blah), but <em>The Madman</em> onward are
 834 all rather nice. A few of his works are
 835 <a href="http://leb.net/~mira/">online</a>, but I recommend scouting used book
 836 stores for old hardcover editions. The (late 90s onward at least)
 837 <em>hardcover</em> versions from <em>Alfred A. Knopf</em> are in fact permabound
 838 paperbacks with a hardcasing, and are of seriously inferior quality to
 839 the editions from the 50s and 60s (and cost quite a bit more,
 840 naturally).</p>
 841
 842 <h3><a name="sec43" id="sec43"></a>
 843 A Tear and a Smile</h3>
 844
 845 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••</span><span class="rating-bad">••••••• </span> (3) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 846
 847 <p>One of Kahlil Gibran's earlier works, I did not much like <em>A
 848 Tear and a Smile</em> excepting the last poem (&quot;A Poet's Voice&quot;).</p>
 849
 850
 851
 852 <h3><a name="sec44" id="sec44"></a>
 853 The Prophet</h3>
 854
 855 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 856
 857
 858
 859
 860
 861 <h3><a name="sec45" id="sec45"></a>
 862 Sand and Foam</h3>
 863
 864 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 865
 866 <p>An interesting little book of aphorisms.</p>
 867
 868
 869
 870 <h3><a name="sec46" id="sec46"></a>
 871 The Madman</h3>
 872
 873 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 874
 875
 876
 877
 878
 879
 880 <h2><a name="sec47" id="sec47"></a>
 881 Homer</h2>
 882
 883
 884
 885 <h3><a name="sec48" id="sec48"></a>
 886 The Odyssey</h3>
 887
 888 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 889
 890
 891
 892
 893
 894
 895 <h2><a name="sec49" id="sec49"></a>
 896 Aldous Huxley</h2>
 897
 898 <p class="first">Perhaps the most overrated modern writer. Other people have written
 899 everything he has to write better and many years before he got around
 900 to it.</p>
 901
 902 <h3><a name="sec50" id="sec50"></a>
 903 The Doors of Perception</h3>
 904
 905 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> </span><span class="rating-bad">•••••••••• </span> (0) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 906
 907 <p>Huxley stains the name of Blake by naming this horrible
 908 pseudo-scientific and pseudo-poetic essay after a line from <em>The
 909 Marriage of Heaven and Hell</em>. Subjectivity and objectivity are
 910 incommensurable; his attempt and being subjectively objective is
 911 utterly worthless.</p>
 912
 913
 914
 915 <h3><a name="sec51" id="sec51"></a>
 916 Heaven and Hell</h3>
 917
 918 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> </span><span class="rating-bad">•••••••••• </span> (0) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 919
 920 <p>Blah blah LSD blah blah Mushrooms blah blah Peyote blah blah I'm
 921 Aldous Huxley I'm a pretentious jerk. Don't bother.</p>
 922
 923
 924
 925
 926 <h2><a name="sec52" id="sec52"></a>
 927 William James</h2>
 928
 929
 930
 931 <h3><a name="sec53" id="sec53"></a>
 932 The Varieties of Religious Experience</h3>
 933
 934 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 935
 936 <p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20Varieties%20of%20Religious%20Experience.html">A partially finished extended summary</a></p>
 937
 938
 939
 940 <h3><a name="sec54" id="sec54"></a>
 941 The PhD Octopus</h3>
 942
 943 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 944
 945 <blockquote>
 946 <p class="quoted">
 947 America is thus as a nation rapidly drifting towards a state of things
 948 in which no man of science or letters will be accounted respectable
 949 unless some kind of badge or diploma is stamped upon him, and in which
 950 bare personality will be a mark of outcast estate.  It seems to me high
 951 time to rouse ourselves to consciousness, and to cast a critical eye
 952 upon this decidedly grotesque tendency.  Other nations suffer terribly
 953 from the Mandarin disease.  Are we doomed to suffer like the rest?</p>
 954
 955 </blockquote>
 956
 957 <p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20PhD%20Octopus.html">Full Text</a></p>
 958
 959
 960
 961
 962 <h2><a name="sec55" id="sec55"></a>
 963 Henry James</h2>
 964
 965 <p class="first">The novelist brother of William James; I've not read many (read:
 966 one) of his books, but what I did was decent.</p>
 967
 968 <h3><a name="sec56" id="sec56"></a>
 969 The Altar of the Dead</h3>
 970
 971 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 972
 973 <p>A short novella about a man who maintained an altar in a church
 974 for all of his lost loved ones on the surface, but something a bit
 975 more beneath.</p>
 976
 977
 978
 979
 980 <h2><a name="sec57" id="sec57"></a>
 981 Gregor Kiczales</h2>
 982
 983
 984
 985 <h3><a name="sec58" id="sec58"></a>
 986 The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</h3>
 987
 988 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 989
 990 <p>AMOP is useful as a reference to the CLOS MOP (although less so with
 991 the online MOP spec), but the true value of the book lies in the first
 992 half of the book. It presents the design of the CLOS MOP through a
 993 series of revisions that fix limitations of earlier implementations
 994 and gradually work toward a generic and well designed MOP for
 995 CLOS. Through that process one is made more aware of a few general
 996 object protocol design skills, and gains insight into how to cleanly
 997 make mapping decisions customizable.</p>
 998
 999
1000
1001
1002 <h2><a name="sec59" id="sec59"></a>
1003 Søren Kierkegaard</h2>
1004
1005 <p class="first">Kierkegaard was a master of style and philosophy; his writing is
1006 interesting even if one finds the theistic extentialism espoused
1007 disagreeable.</p>
1008
1009 <h3><a name="sec60" id="sec60"></a>
1010 Sickness Unto Death</h3>
1011
1012 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1013
1014 <p>I purchased this when I was looking through books at a store after
1015 being unable to find the book I really wanted, and I must say that it
1016 was better for me to have found this one.</p>
1017
1018 <p>Contained within is a beautiful analysis of despair in the context of
1019 Christianity (really theism in general). Even if the argument offends,
1020 the presentation cannot. The dialectical nature of despair is
1021 reflected in every aspect of the work, and the method of presentation
1022 forces reflection.</p>
1023
1024
1025
1026 <h3><a name="sec61" id="sec61"></a>
1027 Either/Or</h3>
1028
1029 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1030
1031 <p>Composed of two portions, <em>Either/Or</em> is a rather lengthy but
1032 rewarding read. The first book is a series of essays and a diary of a
1033 young esthetician; the second is a pair of long letters from an older
1034 ethicist friend to this esthetician. You are then left to resolve the
1035 conflict between the views.</p>
1036
1037
1038
1039 <h3><a name="sec62" id="sec62"></a>
1040 Fear and Trembling</h3>
1041
1042 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1043
1044 <p>An interesting dialectical lyric contrasting Despair and Faith.</p>
1045
1046
1047
1048 <h3><a name="sec63" id="sec63"></a>
1049 Repetition</h3>
1050
1051 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1052
1053 <p>He who despairs of esthetic repetition gets none; he who despairs
1054 of ethical repetition receieves the esthetic. Is it true then that no
1055 repetition exists? Is transition all one can hope for?</p>
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060 <h2><a name="sec64" id="sec64"></a>
1061 Alisa Kwitney</h2>
1062
1063
1064
1065 <h3><a name="sec65" id="sec65"></a>
1066 Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold</h3>
1067
1068 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075 <h2><a name="sec66" id="sec66"></a>
1076 David Lamkins</h2>
1077
1078
1079
1080 <h3><a name="sec67" id="sec67"></a>
1081 Successful Lisp</h3>
1082
1083 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1084
1085 <p>After learning Scheme, I read <em>Successful Lisp</em> and was able to
1086 pick up Common Lisp fairly easily.</p>
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091 <h2><a name="sec68" id="sec68"></a>
1092 Mencius</h2>
1093
1094
1095
1096 <h3><a name="sec69" id="sec69"></a>
1097 Mencius</h3>
1098
1099 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106 <h2><a name="sec70" id="sec70"></a>
1107 Walter Miller</h2>
1108
1109
1110
1111 <h3><a name="sec71" id="sec71"></a>
1112 A Canticle for Leibowitz</h3>
1113
1114 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1115
1116
1117
1118
1119
1120
1121 <h2><a name="sec72" id="sec72"></a>
1122 Alan Moore</h2>
1123
1124
1125
1126 <h3><a name="sec73" id="sec73"></a>
1127 Watchmen</h3>
1128
1129 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1130
1131
1132
1133
1134
1135 <h3><a name="sec74" id="sec74"></a>
1136 V for Vendetta</h3>
1137
1138 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1139
1140
1141
1142
1143
1144
1145 <h2><a name="sec75" id="sec75"></a>
1146 Thomas More</h2>
1147
1148
1149
1150 <h3><a name="sec76" id="sec76"></a>
1151 Utopia</h3>
1152
1153 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1154
1155 <p>I read most of Utopia in high school with the TI-89 ebook reader, but
1156 the way the book was split up made it a bit difficult to grasp the
1157 overall structure. I found a copy at a used book store one day, and so
1158 I read it again, and found it much more comprehensible. It is a quick
1159 read, and decent piece of literature. The interesting social system
1160 espoused resembles resembles state communism (even if perhaps as a
1161 negative ideal), but with an strange blend of 14th century European
1162 social customs.</p>
1163
1164
1165
1166
1167 <h2><a name="sec77" id="sec77"></a>
1168 Friedrich Nietzsche</h2>
1169
1170 <p class="first">A bit acerbic and esoteric, Nietzsche is for me a good <em>secular</em>
1171 counterpart to Kierkegaard's theistic philosophy. Nietzsche's
1172 polemical works raise important questions for anyone who reads works
1173 on ethics. As such it is a shame that he has gotten a bad reputation
1174 by being read by far too many angsty teenagers who see (and relay)
1175 only Nietzsche the asshole rather than Nietzsche the master of the
1176 polemic.</p>
1177
1178 <h3><a name="sec78" id="sec78"></a>
1179 Beyond Good and Evil</h3>
1180
1181 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1182
1183 <p>A somewhat more comprehensible, if a bit less aesthetically
1184 pleasing, presentation of much of the philosophy found in <em>Thus Spoke
1185 Zarathustra</em> in the negative form. The final chapters are very
1186 important (not to detract from the value of the rest of the work) if
1187 one wishes to understand <em>On the Genealogy of Morals</em>.</p>
1188
1189
1190
1191 <h3><a name="sec79" id="sec79"></a>
1192 On the Geneaology of Morals</h3>
1193
1194 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1195
1196 <p><em>On the Geneaology of Morals</em> is a wonderful book of three
1197 polemical essays on the origin of moral/ethical valuations, and the
1198 blindness of modern philosphers whose very thinking is tainted by
1199 these valuations unknowingly.</p>
1200
1201
1202
1203 <h3><a name="sec80" id="sec80"></a>
1204 Ecce Homo</h3>
1205
1206 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1207
1208 <p><em>Ecce Homo</em> is Nietzsche's very strange autobiography and
1209 explanation of his own works. At points it is clear that it could have
1210 used a bit more editing (prevented by Nietzsche ... falling into a
1211 catatonic state and all), but is still a very useful book to read as
1212 Nietzsche explains the overall structure of his works.</p>
1213
1214
1215
1216
1217 <h2><a name="sec81" id="sec81"></a>
1218 George Orwell</h2>
1219
1220
1221
1222 <h3><a name="sec82" id="sec82"></a>
1223 1984</h3>
1224
1225 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1226
1227
1228
1229
1230
1231 <h3><a name="sec83" id="sec83"></a>
1232 Animal Farm</h3>
1233
1234 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
1235
1236
1237
1238
1239
1240
1241 <h2><a name="sec84" id="sec84"></a>
1242 Plato</h2>
1243
1244
1245
1246 <h3><a name="sec85" id="sec85"></a>
1247 Symposium</h3>
1248
1249 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
1250
1251
1252
1253
1254
1255 <h3><a name="sec86" id="sec86"></a>
1256 Euthyphro</h3>
1257
1258 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
1259
1260
1261
1262
1263
1264 <h3><a name="sec87" id="sec87"></a>
1265 Apology</h3>
1266
1267 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1268
1269
1270
1271
1272
1273 <h3><a name="sec88" id="sec88"></a>
1274 Crito</h3>
1275
1276 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
1277
1278
1279
1280
1281
1282 <h3><a name="sec89" id="sec89"></a>
1283 Phaedo</h3>
1284
1285 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1286
1287
1288
1289
1290
1291 <h3><a name="sec90" id="sec90"></a>
1292 Protagoras</h3>
1293
1294 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
1295
1296
1297
1298
1299
1300
1301 <h2><a name="sec91" id="sec91"></a>
1302 Luke Rhinehardt</h2>
1303
1304
1305
1306 <h3><a name="sec92" id="sec92"></a>
1307 The Dice Man</h3>
1308
1309 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1310
1311 <blockquote>
1312 <p class="quoted">
1313 And it's his illusions about what
1314 constitutes the real world which are
1315 inhibiting him...
1316 His reality, his reason, his society
1317 ...these are what must be destroyed</p>
1318
1319 </blockquote>
1320
1321 <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
1322 this book; at worst it would be a waste of time. Much reward was found
1323 in this random stab in the dark. The book is framed as an
1324 autobiography of the author as a psychoanalyst, and his progression
1325 through life as a Dice Man after deciding to live his life through
1326 random chance.</p>
1327
1328 <p>The style, plot, and content are equally neurotic; part comedy, part
1329 attack on psychoanalysis, and part deep philosophy. It was often
1330 difficult to put down, and was read in under a week of spare time.</p>
1331
1332
1333
1334
1335 <h2><a name="sec93" id="sec93"></a>
1336 Neal Stephenson</h2>
1337
1338
1339
1340 <h3><a name="sec94" id="sec94"></a>
1341 Snow Crash</h3>
1342
1343 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1344
1345 <p>As one must read the <em>Bible</em> to understand English literature, so one
1346 must read <em>Snow Crash</em> today to be a nerd. In the realm of modern pop
1347 fiction this is one of the better books I've read; it was devoured in
1348 a mere four nights. Neal Stepheson may not be Milton, but he does come
1349 up with enganging tales. <em>Snow Crash</em> has a nice undertone of (quite
1350 accurate) political and social commentary that makes it worth reading
1351 as more than mere cyberpunk fiction.</p>
1352
1353
1354
1355 <h3><a name="sec95" id="sec95"></a>
1356 Cryptonomicon</h3>
1357
1358 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1359
1360 <p>I read <em>Cryptonomicon</em> when it was new, and at the time I thought it was
1361 good. It could have lost a hundred or so pages without detracting from
1362 the plot, but it was easy reading and didn't take very long to
1363 finish. The story was enganging, and the continual switching between
1364 the 1940s and present day slowly unravelled the tale in a nice way.</p>
1365
1366 <p>I'd still have to recommend <em>Snow Crash</em> if one wished to read only one
1367 Stephenson novel.</p>
1368
1369
1370
1371
1372 <h2><a name="sec96" id="sec96"></a>
1373 Bjarne Stroustrup</h2>
1374
1375
1376
1377 <h3><a name="sec97" id="sec97"></a>
1378 The C++ Programming Language (3rd edition)</h3>
1379
1380 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
1381
1382 <p>Once upon a time I was fifteen and I read this book. It was more
1383 or less what taught me how to write programs just large enough to do
1384 useful things, and so shall forever be remembered by me. A year and a
1385 half later I stumbled upon a little language called Scheme and fell
1386 down the rabbit hole.</p>
1387
1388
1389
1390
1391 <h2><a name="sec98" id="sec98"></a>
1392 JRR Tolkien</h2>
1393
1394
1395
1396 <h3><a name="sec99" id="sec99"></a>
1397 The Lord of the Rings</h3>
1398
1399 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1400
1401
1402
1403
1404
1405 <h3><a name="sec100" id="sec100"></a>
1406 The Silmarillion</h3>
1407
1408 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1409
1410
1411
1412
1413
1414 <h3><a name="sec101" id="sec101"></a>
1415 The Lost Tales</h3>
1416
1417 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1418
1419
1420
1421
1422
1423
1424 <h2><a name="sec102" id="sec102"></a>
1425 H.G. Wells</h2>
1426
1427
1428
1429 <h3><a name="sec103" id="sec103"></a>
1430 The Island of Dr Moreau</h3>
1431
1432 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1433
1434
1435
1436   <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse ends here -->
1437
1438   <p class="cke-buttons">
1439     <!-- validating badges, any browser, etc -->
1440     <a href="https://validator.w3.org/check/referer"><img
1441         src="https://www.w3.org/Icons/valid-xhtml10"
1442         alt="Valid XHTML 1.0!" /></a>
1443
1444     <a href="https://www.anybrowser.org/campaign/"><img
1445         src="img/buttons/w3c_ab.png" alt="[ Viewable With Any Browser
1446         ]" /></a>
1447
1448     <a href="https://www.debian.org/"><img
1449         src="img/buttons/debian.png" alt="[ Powered by Debian ]" /></a>
1450
1451     <a href="https://hcoop.net/">
1452       <img src="img/buttons/hcoop.png"
1453         alt="[ Hosted by HCoop]" />
1454     </a>
1455
1456     <a href="https://www.fsf.org/register_form?referrer=114">
1457       <img src="img/buttons/fsf_member.png"
1458         alt="[ FSF Associate Member ]" />
1459     </a>
1460   </p>
1461
1462 <p class="cke-footer">&lt;captain_krunk&gt; ntk is currently using "telnet fyodor 25" to send email
1463 </p>
1464 <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
1465     May  9, 2019</p>
1466   </body>
1467 </html>