What are you reading?

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

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You like it, the big shaggy book?

I guess I do at that. the font on Atlas Shrugged is tiny and the book is still over 1000 pages. I read a ton but I put off starting this for about a week because I felt intimidated. Like a young school girl.

Andre Agassi's autobiography Open and also Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly. (I'm usually reading 2 books at once, one at work, one at home)

Originally Posted by Wallcloud

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I am 100 pages into Atlas Shrugged. I like it alot.

+1, I'm digging it from page 1.

Originally Posted by Wallcloud

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I guess I do at that. the font on Atlas Shrugged is tiny and the book is still over 1000 pages. I read a ton but I put off starting this for about a week because I felt intimidated. Like a young school girl.
Atlas Shrugged is bloody brilliant, thats what it is. Normally i get tired of books of that size and resort to something new after approx. 600p, but went thorugh AS completely painless, to the point where i started to prioritize it ahead of drinking alcohol. Here's an interesting essay by Nathaniel Branden discussing the benefits and hazards of Objectivism: http://www.nathanielbranden.com/cata...d_hazards.html

Has anyone read the complete series of Proust's In Search of Lost Time, and if so: was it worth it? Ive managed to get halfway through the second book. Been thinking of picking it up again.

Originally Posted by qma

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Has anyone read the complete series of Proust's In Search of Lost Time, and if so: was it worth it? Ive managed to get halfway through the second book. Been thinking of picking it up again.

no im at around where you are. i know it's supposed to be a continuous series but the second book seems less dense, less good than the first

just finished a reread of the big sleep and halfway into the village by david mamet

Originally Posted by qma

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Atlas Shrugged is bloody brilliant, thats what it is. Normally i get tired of books of that size and resort to something new after approx. 600p, but went thorugh AS completely painless, to the point where i started to prioritize it ahead of drinking alcohol. Here's an interesting essay by Nathaniel Branden discussing the benefits and hazards of Objectivism: http://www.nathanielbranden.com/cata...d_hazards.html
I have been prioritizing reading it above several other things. It really is one of the best books I have ever read. Mentally challenging and viscerally entertaining. Thanks for the essay. I am going to bookmark it and read it when I am done with AS. How are Rands other books?

Originally Posted by sunror

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no im at around where you are. i know it's supposed to be a continuous series but the second book seems less dense, less good than the first
Jupp, definitely less good. And the fact that the third one is even thicker than the second doesnt exactly push me further mentally. I want someone to tell me (without lying) that the third is even better than the first.

Originally Posted by Wallcloud

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It really is one of the best books I have ever read.
I concur.

Originally Posted by Wallcloud

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How are Rands other books?
I only started Fountainhead and it is essentially the same but from a more individual perspective. I saw the movie instead since i cant imagine going through the same thing again, even if its good. If only one were to be read I think AS is the better choice. Havent read her earlier fiction (Anthem, We the Living, etc.) but are interested in doing it as soon as i can get a break from my academic litterature. Though I have read her collection of essays in Virtue of Selfishness, which I liked alot. I do find her philosophy (as she herself sees it) to be overly dogmatic but imho she brings a lot of new insights and ideas that essentially are very good for peoples individual development - as long as they dont misinterpret them.

I guess one of the things that draws me to Rands work is her dogmatic pragmatism. I like the idea of things like existence, reason and dignity being concrete values.

I just finished reading A Tale of Two Cities, which inspired me to pick up:

I loved A Tale of Two Cities. I may have to read it again. I read it last in my teenage years. How are you people enjoying Open? I have been considering reading it. I generally find sports biographies to be boring but I have always found Agassi interesting.

Originally Posted by Wallcloud

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I am 100 pages into Atlas Shrugged. I like it alot.

My political values lie in the conflicting side of this spectrum (heavily), and I found the actual writing rather grinding. However, I must admit respect for her obvious passion for the subject, something that can always make a work worth the read.



Right now I'm currently reading a couple Ian Ranking novels from his previous series. Nothing very heavy, yet highly entertaining. I have just finished re-reading the complete Wheel of Time series as well. Quite possibly the best fantasy series out there. (And yes, that includes LoTR and Narnia series').

Originally Posted by L.R.

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My political values lie in the conflicting side of this spectrum (heavily), and I found the actual writing rather grinding. However, I must admit respect for her obvious passion for the subject, something that can always make a work worth the read.
Right now I'm currently reading a couple Ian Ranking novels from his previous series. Nothing very heavy, yet highly entertaining. I have just finished re-reading the complete Wheel of Time series as well. Quite possibly the best fantasy series out there. (And yes, that includes LoTR and Narnia series').

I find Rands writing to be very entertaining. I can see how disagreeing with the philosophy of the book would make reading it a grind.

It is the greatest fantasy series ever. I found the most recent book very entertaining. I think having a fresh writer actually breathed a little life into this series. I finished my 3rd re-read of the series just before The Gathering Storm.

If you're into fantasy, you should check out George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. It's not yet completed, but I like it more than any other fantasy I've read.

Finishing various things previously mentioned, starting Russell's Philosophies of Atomism, Logic and Mathematics, and Denoting from a few volumes. Also, Logicism and the Philosophy of Language - Arthur Sullivan. Not required for a class I'm taking, but I'm a philosophy noob, and as a math student it should be required anyway.

Che Guevara Biography!