What are you reading now?

[Kr]

The Wall of the Sky, The Wall of the Eye - Jonathan Lethem (1996)

(Thank you Millefleur for the wonderful birthday present!)

[Animavore]

Reading Dawkins' new book before I give it to my niece. I need to be prepared for the inevitable questions.

[The Red Fox]

Bllue Movie - Terry Southern. One of the funniest books I've read in a long time.

[apophenia]

as for "what you know of Dawkins", what do you know? That he is an advocate for reason over myth, albeit a fervent one, and that makes some people uncomfortable? That he is a nasty man who happily pops peoples woolly minded philosophical bubbles and has no right to? Or do you know of him as one of the leading thinkers on natural selection who has been kinda backed into a corner and now occasionally lashes out? Its a mistake to look at Dawkins science writing and his philosophical writing in exactly the same vein anyway IMO, but one thing you can say about Dawkins is that he is not often wrong. He might not be NICE about it but so fucking what? You wanna start tallying up discomfort and misery ntm screaming cognitive dissonance cause by writing and any one of the revered holy books wins the prize hands down. The God Delusion is a throwaway pamphlet in such a comparison.

Can I take you home with me to meet the 'rents?

[Matty]

sure, will i need a bullet proof vest?

[charlou]

I liked both The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker. I didn't think they were boring at all.

The Selfish Gene is probably one of the most mis-represented titles in publishing history, it's one of those books everyone should read (irrespective of who wrote it).

Don't get me wrong, I'm only talking about the title. If the book had been called, 'Some Observations on Genes', ie more scientific, I might at least have attempted the first chapter. But 'Selfish' is too much of a leap into human ethical philosophy for me to take it seriously enough to part with my money and time in favour of its author. What I know now about him rather confirms my original decision.

Dawkins made it clear from the beginning (ie in the original print) what he meant with the use of 'selfish' in association with genes.

Similarly, with The God Delusion he explained his use of the often pejorative term 'delusion', and from that explanation his premise should be read. But, of course, so often how it is read misinterprets what he meant ...

In fact, as popular as his work may be, it seems very little is actually read first hand by many of those who criticise, let alone understood.

[Matty]

that said even I, am a bit unsure about his touted follow up kids book.

[charlou]

Bring it, I say.

[Tero]

So now I am to 80% read and he reveals the bad guy I already knew. The cop needs to save the captive now. Speed reading to end.

I finished the detective novel. He leaves the victim character injured but with hope of some normalcy in a couple of months, she already has a handicapped sibling. Detective interesting, plot crap. Strike off name from list.

Now reading book on rocks. They are not going to have me crying and I will fall asleep easily.

[Matty]

Bring it, I say.

hmm, thats one that i never played ball with but was able to avoid for for a few years. Our eldest asked of his own volition if Santa was really real or just a story, when he was 5. I told him its just a story.
Avoiding the issue i may do, but outright bullshitting toi my kids is not happening. The other thing that got me before that was when he came home, not long before, all pissed off becssue his two Muslim (much as i hate that tar the kids with the parents brush thing) friends at his daycare, and his Jewish friends "Dont even get presents at Xmas and they are really good and everything" . How early religious divisiveness rears its head, i found it really quite sad.

So did he, so his mum and he made a bunch of cookies for them, that was allowed

That said i dont have anywhere near as much issue, (for some reason, and i dont really know why) with the whole Santa thing, as much as i do the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny. I never even realized that some kids took that (EB) for real until i hopped (heh) the pond. Like Halloween a lot more fuss (and consumption) seem to be almost mandatory at Easter here. Easter for me always meant a school holiday that was invariably spent in a tent, usually in the rain.

[Jason]

The text on the mode=reply page.

[Coito ergo sum]

I started reading God, No! by Penn Jillette, and on deck is Arguably, by C-Hitch. That damn Arguably is nearly 1000 pages long...Holy crap.

[klr]

I started reading God, No! by Penn Jillette, and on deck is Arguably, by C-Hitch. That damn Arguably is nearly 1000 pages long...Holy crap.

As a reader of lengthy history tomes ... meh

[Matty]

Waldo, and Magic Inc. by some retired Navy officer. Name escapes me.

Far from among his best works.

Poul Anderson mentioned the latter as an inspiration for his Operation Chaos stories... But the inspiration was definitely not up to the level of the subsequent work... heck, even that quack Turtledove's Case of the Toxic Spell Dump was better.

i think thats unfair. Waldo in particular i thought was excellent. This one time he was hiding behind the cannon on a pirate ship and it took me fucking AGES to find him.

[apophenia]

I started reading God, No! by Penn Jillette, and on deck is Arguably, by C-Hitch. That damn Arguably is nearly 1000 pages long...Holy crap.

As a reader of lengthy history tomes ... meh

It's a completely different ballgame if you're reading for comprehension.