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 <dt>
 216 <a href="#sec47">Repetition</a>
 217 </dt>
 218 </dl>
 219 </dd>
 220 <dt>
 221 <a href="#sec48">Alan Moore</a>
 222 </dt>
 223 <dd>
 224 <dl>
 225 <dt>
 226 <a href="#sec49">Watchmen</a>
 227 </dt>
 228 <dt>
 229 <a href="#sec50">V for Vendetta</a>
 230 </dt>
 231 </dl>
 232 </dd>
 233 <dt>
 234 <a href="#sec51">Thomas More</a>
 235 </dt>
 236 <dd>
 237 <dl>
 238 <dt>
 239 <a href="#sec52">Utopia</a>
 240 </dt>
 241 </dl>
 242 </dd>
 243 <dt>
 244 <a href="#sec53">Friedrich Nietzsche</a>
 245 </dt>
 246 <dd>
 247 <dl>
 248 <dt>
 249 <a href="#sec54">Beyond Good and Evil</a>
 250 </dt>
 251 <dt>
 252 <a href="#sec55">On the Geneaology of Morals</a>
 253 </dt>
 254 <dt>
 255 <a href="#sec56">Ecce Homo</a>
 256 </dt>
 257 </dl>
 258 </dd>
 259 <dt>
 260 <a href="#sec57">George Orwell</a>
 261 </dt>
 262 <dd>
 263 <dl>
 264 <dt>
 265 <a href="#sec58">1984</a>
 266 </dt>
 267 <dt>
 268 <a href="#sec59">Animal Farm</a>
 269 </dt>
 270 </dl>
 271 </dd>
 272 <dt>
 273 <a href="#sec60">Plato</a>
 274 </dt>
 275 <dd>
 276 <dl>
 277 <dt>
 278 <a href="#sec61">Symposium</a>
 279 </dt>
 280 <dt>
 281 <a href="#sec62">Euthyphro</a>
 282 </dt>
 283 <dt>
 284 <a href="#sec63">Apology</a>
 285 </dt>
 286 <dt>
 287 <a href="#sec64">Crito</a>
 288 </dt>
 289 <dt>
 290 <a href="#sec65">Protagoras</a>
 291 </dt>
 292 </dl>
 293 </dd>
 294 <dt>
 295 <a href="#sec66">Luke Rhinehardt</a>
 296 </dt>
 297 <dd>
 298 <dl>
 299 <dt>
 300 <a href="#sec67">The Dice Man</a>
 301 </dt>
 302 </dl>
 303 </dd>
 304 <dt>
 305 <a href="#sec68">Neal Stephenson</a>
 306 </dt>
 307 <dd>
 308 <dl>
 309 <dt>
 310 <a href="#sec69">Snow Crash</a>
 311 </dt>
 312 <dt>
 313 <a href="#sec70">Cryptonomicon</a>
 314 </dt>
 315 </dl>
 316 </dd>
 317 <dt>
 318 <a href="#sec71">H.G. Wells</a>
 319 </dt>
 320 <dd>
 321 <dl>
 322 <dt>
 323 <a href="#sec72">The Island of Dr Moreau</a>
 324 </dt>
 325 </dl>
 326 </dd>
 327 </dl>
 328 </div>
 329
 330
 331 <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a>
 332 Douglas Adams</h2>
 333
 334
 335
 336 <h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a>
 337 Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (collected)</h3>
 338
 339 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 340
 341
 342
 343
 344
 345 <h3><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a>
 346 The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul</h3>
 347
 348 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••• </span> (6) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 349
 350
 351
 352
 353
 354
 355 <h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a>
 356 Aeschylus</h2>
 357
 358
 359
 360 <h3><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a>
 361 Oresteia</h3>
 362
 363 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 364
 365
 366
 367
 368
 369 <h3><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a>
 370 Prometheus Bound</h3>
 371
 372 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 373
 374
 375
 376
 377
 378 <h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a>
 379 The Persians</h3>
 380
 381 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 382
 383
 384
 385
 386
 387
 388 <h2><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a>
 389 Aristophanes</h2>
 390
 391
 392
 393 <h3><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a>
 394 The Frogs</h3>
 395
 396 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 397
 398
 399
 400
 401
 402 <h3><a name="sec10" id="sec10"></a>
 403 The Clouds</h3>
 404
 405 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 406
 407
 408
 409
 410
 411 <h3><a name="sec11" id="sec11"></a>
 412 Ecclesiazusae</h3>
 413
 414 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 415
 416
 417
 418
 419
 420
 421 <h2><a name="sec12" id="sec12"></a>
 422 Aristotle</h2>
 423
 424
 425
 426 <h3><a name="sec13" id="sec13"></a>
 427 Ethics</h3>
 428
 429 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 430
 431
 432
 433
 434
 435 <h3><a name="sec14" id="sec14"></a>
 436 Categories</h3>
 437
 438 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 439
 440
 441
 442
 443
 444 <h3><a name="sec15" id="sec15"></a>
 445 Poetics</h3>
 446
 447 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 448
 449
 450
 451
 452
 453 <h3><a name="sec16" id="sec16"></a>
 454 Rhetoric</h3>
 455
 456 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 457
 458
 459
 460
 461
 462
 463 <h2><a name="sec17" id="sec17"></a>
 464 Marcus Aurelius</h2>
 465
 466
 467
 468 <h3><a name="sec18" id="sec18"></a>
 469 Meditations</h3>
 470
 471 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•••• </span> (6) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 472
 473 <p>I enjoyed reading this collection of meditations on Stoic
 474 philosophy. It is a fairly quick read; I read each of the twelve books
 475 before sleeping over the course of two weeks. Toward the end of the
 476 collection things get a bit topically repetetive (e.g. acting
 477 according to the nature of man is reflected upon over and over), but
 478 each repetition looks at the topic in a slightly different light. A
 479 number of passages I found quite inspiring, and scratched them down in
 480 my notebook to ponder further.</p>
 481
 482
 483
 484
 485 <h2><a name="sec19" id="sec19"></a>
 486 William Blake</h2>
 487
 488 <p class="first">Blake is my <a href="William%20Blake.html">favorite</a> of the English poets. His
 489 unique use of relief etching and watercoloring makes for very
 490 interesting Illuminated works. There is a very high quality
 491 <a href="http://blakearchive.org">complete archive of Blake's works</a> online
 492 with high resolution plate scans and full transcriptions among other
 493 things.</p>
 494
 495 <h3><a name="sec20" id="sec20"></a>
 496 The Four Zoas</h3>
 497
 498 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 499
 500 <p>The unfinished manuscript of Blake's longest apocalypse. The
 501 Four Zoas divide from Albion and rage through the ages of dismal woe
 502 to bring about the end of the cycle of Ulro and restore the cycle of
 503 Beulah.</p>
 504
 505
 506
 507 <h3><a name="sec21" id="sec21"></a>
 508 Jerusalem</h3>
 509
 510 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 511
 512 <p>The finest of Blake's Illuminated works.</p>
 513
 514
 515
 516
 517 <h2><a name="sec22" id="sec22"></a>
 518 Neil Gaiman</h2>
 519
 520
 521
 522 <h3><a name="sec23" id="sec23"></a>
 523 The Sandman (series)</h3>
 524
 525 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 526
 527 <p>Perhaps the best comic book series of all time; I would say <em>The
 528 Sandman</em> as a whole ranks higher than anything even Alan Moore has
 529 written.</p>
 530
 531
 532
 533
 534 <h2><a name="sec24" id="sec24"></a>
 535 John Taylor Gatto</h2>
 536
 537 <p class="first">Former teacher and now author-activist.</p>
 538
 539 <h3><a name="sec25" id="sec25"></a>
 540 Underground History of American Education</h3>
 541
 542 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 543
 544 <p>An interesting <em>underground</em> history of the American education
 545 system. Available
 546 <a href="http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/">online for free</a>.</p>
 547
 548
 549
 550
 551 <h2><a name="sec26" id="sec26"></a>
 552 Kahlil Gibran</h2>
 553
 554 <p class="first">Kahlil Gibran is fairly interesting; his earlier works do not
 555 agree with my æsthetic sense (blah blah), but <em>The Madman</em> onward are
 556 all rather nice. A few of his works are
 557 <a href="http://leb.net/~mira/">online</a>, but I recommend scouting used book
 558 stores for old hardcover editions. The (late 90s onward at least)
 559 <em>hardcover</em> versions from <em>Alfred A. Knopf</em> are in fact permabound
 560 paperbacks with a hardcasing, and are of seriously inferior quality to
 561 the editions from the 50s and 60s (and cost quite a bit more,
 562 naturally).</p>
 563
 564 <h3><a name="sec27" id="sec27"></a>
 565 A Tear and a Smile</h3>
 566
 567 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••</span><span class="rating-bad">••••••• </span> (3) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 568
 569 <p>One of Kahlil Gibran's earlier works, I did not much like <em>A
 570 Tear and a Smile</em> excepting the last poem (&quot;A Poet's Voice&quot;).</p>
 571
 572
 573
 574 <h3><a name="sec28" id="sec28"></a>
 575 The Prophet</h3>
 576
 577 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 578
 579
 580
 581
 582
 583 <h3><a name="sec29" id="sec29"></a>
 584 Sand and Foam</h3>
 585
 586 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 587
 588 <p>An interesting little book of aphorisms.</p>
 589
 590
 591
 592 <h3><a name="sec30" id="sec30"></a>
 593 The Madman</h3>
 594
 595 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 596
 597
 598
 599
 600
 601
 602 <h2><a name="sec31" id="sec31"></a>
 603 Homer</h2>
 604
 605
 606
 607 <h3><a name="sec32" id="sec32"></a>
 608 The Odyssey</h3>
 609
 610 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 611
 612
 613
 614
 615
 616
 617 <h2><a name="sec33" id="sec33"></a>
 618 Aldous Huxley</h2>
 619
 620 <p class="first">Perhaps the most overrated modern writer. Other people have written
 621 everything he has to write better and many years before he got around
 622 to it.</p>
 623
 624 <h3><a name="sec34" id="sec34"></a>
 625 The Doors of Perception</h3>
 626
 627 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> </span><span class="rating-bad">•••••••••• </span> (0) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 628
 629 <p>Huxley stains the name of Blake by naming this horrible
 630 pseudo-scientific and pseudo-poetic essay after a line from <em>The
 631 Marriage of Heaven and Hell</em>. Subjectivity and objectivity are
 632 incommensurable; his attempt and being subjectively objective is
 633 utterly worthless.</p>
 634
 635
 636
 637 <h3><a name="sec35" id="sec35"></a>
 638 Heaven and Hell</h3>
 639
 640 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> </span><span class="rating-bad">•••••••••• </span> (0) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 641
 642 <p>Blah blah LSD blah blah Mushrooms blah blah Peytoe blah blah I'm
 643 Aldous Huxley I'm a pretentious jerk. Don't bother.</p>
 644
 645
 646
 647
 648 <h2><a name="sec36" id="sec36"></a>
 649 William James</h2>
 650
 651
 652
 653 <h3><a name="sec37" id="sec37"></a>
 654 The Varieties of Religious Experience</h3>
 655
 656 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 657
 658 <p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20Varieties%20of%20Religious%20Experience.html">A partially finished extended summary</a></p>
 659
 660
 661
 662 <h3><a name="sec38" id="sec38"></a>
 663 The PhD Octopus</h3>
 664
 665 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 666
 667 <blockquote>
 668 <p class="quoted">
 669 America is thus as a nation rapidly drifting towards a state of things
 670 in which no man of science or letters will be accounted respectable
 671 unless some kind of badge or diploma is stamped upon him, and in which
 672 bare personality will be a mark of outcast estate.  It seems to me high
 673 time to rouse ourselves to consciousness, and to cast a critical eye
 674 upon this decidedly grotesque tendency.  Other nations suffer terribly
 675 from the Mandarin disease.  Are we doomed to suffer like the rest?</p>
 676
 677 </blockquote>
 678
 679 <p><a href="William%20James%20-%20The%20PhD%20Octopus.html">Full Text</a></p>
 680
 681
 682
 683
 684 <h2><a name="sec39" id="sec39"></a>
 685 Henry James</h2>
 686
 687 <p class="first">The novelist brother of William James; I've not read many (read:
 688 one) of his books, but what I did was decent.</p>
 689
 690 <h3><a name="sec40" id="sec40"></a>
 691 The Altar of the Dead</h3>
 692
 693 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 694
 695 <p>A short novella about a man who maintained an altar in a church
 696 for all of his lost loved ones on the surface, but something a bit
 697 more beneath.</p>
 698
 699
 700
 701
 702 <h2><a name="sec41" id="sec41"></a>
 703 Gregor Kiczales</h2>
 704
 705
 706
 707 <h3><a name="sec42" id="sec42"></a>
 708 The Art of the Metaobject Protocol</h3>
 709
 710 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 711
 712 <p>AMOP is useful as a reference to the CLOS MOP (although less so with
 713 the online MOP spec), but the true value of the book lies in the first
 714 half of the book. It presents the design of the CLOS MOP through a
 715 series of revisions that fix limitations of earlier implementations
 716 and gradually work toward a generic and well designed MOP for
 717 CLOS. Through that process one is made more aware of a few general
 718 object protocol design skills, and gains insight into how to cleanly
 719 make mapping decisions customizable.</p>
 720
 721
 722
 723
 724 <h2><a name="sec43" id="sec43"></a>
 725 Søren Kierkegaard</h2>
 726
 727 <p class="first">Kierkegaard was a master of style and philosophy; his writing is
 728 interesting even if one finds the theistic extentialism espoused
 729 disagreeable.</p>
 730
 731 <h3><a name="sec44" id="sec44"></a>
 732 Sickness Unto Death</h3>
 733
 734 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 735
 736 <p>I purchased this when I was looking through books at a store after
 737 being unable to find the book I really wanted, and I must say that it
 738 was better for me to have found this one.</p>
 739
 740 <p>Contained within is a beautiful analysis of despair in the context of
 741 Christianity (really theism in general). Even if the argument offends,
 742 the presentation cannot. The dialectical nature of despair is
 743 reflected in every aspect of the work, and the method of presentation
 744 forces reflection.</p>
 745
 746
 747
 748 <h3><a name="sec45" id="sec45"></a>
 749 Either/Or</h3>
 750
 751 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 752
 753 <p>Composed of two portions, <em>Either/Or</em> is a rather lengthy but
 754 rewarding read. The first book is a series of essays and a diary of a
 755 young esthetician; the second is a pair of long letters from an older
 756 ethicist friend to this esthetician. You are then left to resolve the
 757 conflict between the views.</p>
 758
 759
 760
 761 <h3><a name="sec46" id="sec46"></a>
 762 Fear and Trembling</h3>
 763
 764 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 765
 766 <p>An interesting dialectical lyric contrasting Despair and Faith.</p>
 767
 768
 769
 770 <h3><a name="sec47" id="sec47"></a>
 771 Repetition</h3>
 772
 773 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 774
 775 <p>He who despairs of esthetic repetition gets none; he who despairs
 776 of ethical repetition receieves the esthetic. Is it true then that no
 777 repetition exists? Is transition all one can hope for?</p>
 778
 779
 780
 781
 782 <h2><a name="sec48" id="sec48"></a>
 783 Alan Moore</h2>
 784
 785
 786
 787 <h3><a name="sec49" id="sec49"></a>
 788 Watchmen</h3>
 789
 790 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 791
 792
 793
 794
 795
 796 <h3><a name="sec50" id="sec50"></a>
 797 V for Vendetta</h3>
 798
 799 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 800
 801
 802
 803
 804
 805
 806 <h2><a name="sec51" id="sec51"></a>
 807 Thomas More</h2>
 808
 809
 810
 811 <h3><a name="sec52" id="sec52"></a>
 812 Utopia</h3>
 813
 814 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 815
 816 <p>I read most of Utopia in high school with the TI-89 ebook reader, but
 817 the way the book was split up made it a bit difficult to grasp the
 818 overall structure. I found a copy at a used book store one day, and so
 819 I read it again, and found it much more comprehensible. It is a quick
 820 read, and decent piece of literature. The interesting social system
 821 espoused resembles resembles state communism (even if perhaps as a
 822 negative ideal), but with an strange blend of 14th century European
 823 social customs.</p>
 824
 825
 826
 827
 828 <h2><a name="sec53" id="sec53"></a>
 829 Friedrich Nietzsche</h2>
 830
 831 <p class="first">A bit acerbic and esoteric, Nietzsche is for me a good <em>secular</em>
 832 counterpart to Kierkegaard's theistic philosophy. Nietzsche's
 833 polemical works raise important questions for anyone who reads works
 834 on ethics. As such it is a shame that he has gotten a bad reputation
 835 by being read by far too many angsty teenagers who see (and relay)
 836 only Nietzsche the asshole rather than Nietzsche the master of the
 837 polemic.</p>
 838
 839 <h3><a name="sec54" id="sec54"></a>
 840 Beyond Good and Evil</h3>
 841
 842 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 843
 844 <p>A somewhat more comprehensible, if a bit less aesthetically
 845 pleasing, presentation of much of the philosophy found in <em>Thus Spoke
 846 Zarathustra</em> in the negative form. The final chapters are very
 847 important (not to detract from the value of the rest of the work) if
 848 one wishes to understand <em>On the Genealogy of Morals</em>.</p>
 849
 850
 851
 852 <h3><a name="sec55" id="sec55"></a>
 853 On the Geneaology of Morals</h3>
 854
 855 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 856
 857 <p><em>On the Geneaology of Morals</em> is a wonderful book of three
 858 polemical essays on the origin of moral/ethic valuations, and the
 859 blindness of modern philosphers whose very thinking is tainted by
 860 these valuations unknowingly.</p>
 861
 862
 863
 864 <h3><a name="sec56" id="sec56"></a>
 865 Ecce Homo</h3>
 866
 867 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 868
 869 <p><em>Ecce Homo</em> is Nietzsche's very strange autobiography and
 870 explanation of his own works. At points it is clear that it could have
 871 used a bit more editing (prevented by Nietzsche ... falling into a
 872 catatonic state and all), but is still a very useful book to read as
 873 Nietzsche explains the overall structure of his works.</p>
 874
 875
 876
 877
 878 <h2><a name="sec57" id="sec57"></a>
 879 George Orwell</h2>
 880
 881
 882
 883 <h3><a name="sec58" id="sec58"></a>
 884 1984</h3>
 885
 886 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad"> </span> (10) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 887
 888
 889
 890
 891
 892 <h3><a name="sec59" id="sec59"></a>
 893 Animal Farm</h3>
 894
 895 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 896
 897
 898
 899
 900
 901
 902 <h2><a name="sec60" id="sec60"></a>
 903 Plato</h2>
 904
 905
 906
 907 <h3><a name="sec61" id="sec61"></a>
 908 Symposium</h3>
 909
 910 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 911
 912
 913
 914
 915
 916 <h3><a name="sec62" id="sec62"></a>
 917 Euthyphro</h3>
 918
 919 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 920
 921
 922
 923
 924
 925 <h3><a name="sec63" id="sec63"></a>
 926 Apology</h3>
 927
 928 <p><em>Nonfiction</em></p>
 929
 930
 931
 932
 933
 934 <h3><a name="sec64" id="sec64"></a>
 935 Crito</h3>
 936
 937 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 938
 939
 940
 941
 942
 943 <h3><a name="sec65" id="sec65"></a>
 944 Protagoras</h3>
 945
 946 <p><em>Fiction</em></p>
 947
 948
 949
 950
 951
 952
 953 <h2><a name="sec66" id="sec66"></a>
 954 Luke Rhinehardt</h2>
 955
 956
 957
 958 <h3><a name="sec67" id="sec67"></a>
 959 The Dice Man</h3>
 960
 961 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 962
 963 <blockquote>
 964 <p class="quoted">
 965 And it's his illusions about what
 966 constitutes the real world which are
 967 inhibiting him...
 968 His reality, his reason, his society
 969 ...these are what must be destroyed</p>
 970
 971 </blockquote>
 972
 973 <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
 974 this book; at worst it would be a waste of time. Much reward was found
 975 in this random stab in the dark. The book is framed as an
 976 autobiography of the author as a psychoanalyst, and his progression
 977 through life as a Dice Man after deciding to live his life through
 978 random chance.</p>
 979
 980 <p>The style, plot, and content are equally neurotic; part comedy, part
 981 attack on psychoanalysis, and part deep philosophy. It was often
 982 difficult to put down, and was read in under a week of spare time.</p>
 983
 984
 985
 986
 987 <h2><a name="sec68" id="sec68"></a>
 988 Neal Stephenson</h2>
 989
 990
 991
 992 <h3><a name="sec69" id="sec69"></a>
 993 Snow Crash</h3>
 994
 995 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">• </span> (9) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
 996
 997 <p>As one must read the <em>Bible</em> to understand English literature, so one
 998 must read <em>Snow Crash</em> today to be a nerd. In the realm of modern pop
 999 fiction this is one of the better books I've read; it was devoured in
1000 a mere four nights. Neal Stepheson may not be Milton, but he does come
1001 up with enganging tales. <em>Snow Crash</em> has a nice undertone of (quite
1002 accurate) political and social commentary that makes it worth reading
1003 as more than mere cyberpunk fiction.</p>
1004
1005
1006
1007 <h3><a name="sec70" id="sec70"></a>
1008 Cryptonomicon</h3>
1009
1010 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> ••••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">•• </span> (8) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1011
1012 <p>I read <em>Cryptonomicon</em> when it was new, and at the time I thought it was
1013 good. It could have lost a hundred or so pages without detracting from
1014 the plot, but it was easy reading and didn't take very long to
1015 finish. The story was enganging, and the continual switching between
1016 the 1940s and present day slowly unravelled the tale in a nice way.</p>
1017
1018 <p>I'd still have to recommend <em>Snow Crash</em> if one wished to read only one
1019 Stephenson novel.</p>
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024 <h2><a name="sec71" id="sec71"></a>
1025 H.G. Wells</h2>
1026
1027
1028
1029 <h3><a name="sec72" id="sec72"></a>
1030 The Island of Dr Moreau</h3>
1031
1032 <p><em>Rating:</em> <span class="rating-good"> •••••••</span><span class="rating-bad">••• </span> (7) / <em>Fiction</em></p>
1033
1034
1035
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1061
1062 <p class="cke-footer">Corinne: this is why we should have designated bath buddies
1063 Corinne: to get places you cant reach because youre slippery and in
1064          case you get a lil tooo slippery and crack your head open
1065          someone can call the coast guard and save you
1066 </p>
1067 <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
1068     December 30, 2008</p>
1069   </body>
1070 </html>