The Books/Reading Thread

[zabu of nΩd]

Man, i really thought this would be one of the few multi-page debates on this forum worth reading. I want my time back

 

[Dak]

Man, i really thought this would be one of the few multi-page debates on this forum worth reading. I want my time back

I think both Pat and I were trying to prevent it from derailing the thread.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

Meh, it wasn't just the two of you this time. That was one reason i checked it out.

 

[Einherjar86]

I wanted to respond to the challenges issued; we could always move this discussion elsewhere.

 

[Cronopio]

Maybe a philosophy thread is in order. Wait, isn't there already one?

 

[Dak]

monoxide child and his ilk have destroyed the actual Philosophy subforum.

 

[voilenoir]

Just won Game Of Thrones box set on ebay for $20, I can't wait to get it and read it!

 

[Dak]

They are already making box sets for a series that isn't finished?

I hope Martin turns the ship around. I did not like Dance with Dragons much.

 

[voilenoir]

Yeah they are hahahaha!

 

[Vimana]

I just found this book while looking through r/atheism.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Early-History-God-Biblical-Resource/dp/080283972X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331091655&sr=1-1[/ame]


If my library doesn't have it, I'm going to buy it. I've been looking for a comprehensive guide for the transition of the polytheism to monotheism amongst the people that would eventually be the origin of Abrahamic religion.

 

[Einherjar86]

I just found this book while looking through r/atheism.

http://www.amazon.com/Early-History...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331091655&sr=1-1

That author's full name is Mark Stratton John Matthew Smith.

Amen.

 

[Dak]

I'm always suspicious of books that claim "textual analysis". I read "The Dying God" and was quite unimpressed with the hopping around, stretching, and pulling single verses completely out of context to mash them with other verses out of context. It only works for someone who isn't already quite familiar with the text/context.

 

[Einherjar86]

I'm looking to get a book on physics; specifically quantum and string/M-theory. Books that deal explicitly with the effects of black holes and the characteristics of event horizons are a plus. I know Stephen Hawking is considered the resident expert on this stuff, but I was hoping for a good work from another author.

I've been looking at texts like The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene, but I was hoping someone on this forum with maybe a bit more experience in the subject could offer some advice. This is not my area of study, and I would like to find something relatively accessible to a layman. Of course, I would love to get my hands on The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time (which is authored in part by Hawking, actually), but I have a feeling this might be out of my intellectual range.

So, any tips?

 

[skeptik]

Writers such ad Michio Kaku and Neil DeGrasse Tyson strive to make complex science accessible to the layman. The only work I've read from either though is Visions from Kaku, and even that was 11-12 years ago, so it's far from the most recent work on the matter.

 

[Einherjar86]

Cool, I'll look into their stuff. Thanks!

 

[Einherjar86]

Well, I figured I'd post an update for myself.

I've made way too many purchases in literature lately, but I guess I'll get to them all eventually.

I finished Robert Charles Wilson's Spin and immediately bought the next two books in the trilogy. It was a fantastic story, and well-written. Furthermore, I think there's plenty in it to potentially study come graduate courses...

So, I'll begin the second book soon, hopefully. In addition, I've added these to my repertoire:

 

[viewerfromnihil]

I just ordered Murray Rothbard's Conceived in Liberty, I'm looking forward to learning the details of the American colonial history that were skimmed over in my history course.

 

[Dak]

I just ordered Murray Rothbard's Conceived in Liberty, I'm looking forward to learning the details of the American colonial history that were skimmed over in my history course.

I've just waded into that on pdf. Think I'm going to need it in print.

 

[Zephyrus]

 

[Einherjar86]

^Great book.