kni Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 Fresh in from amazon - Heinrichs introduction to the three volumes of capital; Harveys - Limits of Capital; and Kliman's failure of capitalist production. Starting to look a bit biased in my book choices at the moment, maybe should read some hayek next for some balance Try some Roger Scruton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrD Posted November 29, 2013 Report Share Posted November 29, 2013 am actually at some point going to do that. apparently he made some hegelian case against homosexuality at one point of his career! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewarty Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 an excellent background to preparing me for tackling Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Ah, the justification of synthetic a priori knowledge. Read it years ago and stil bear the psychological scars. It's bloody murder, as he makes up new terms as he goes along. My advice would be to hunt out one of the glossaries that can be found on the web. It'll prove invaluable, trust me. Capital is a breeze compared to this one. For me only Witgenstein and Hegel have proven more difficult than TCOPR. Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra was a pain too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrD Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Ah, the justification of synthetic a priori knowledge. Read it years ago and stil bear the psychological scars. It's bloody murder, as he makes up new terms as he goes along. My advice would be to hunt out one of the glossaries that can be found on the web. It'll prove invaluable, trust me. Capital is a breeze compared to this one. For me only Witgenstein and Hegel have proven more difficult than TCOPR. Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra was a pain too. Agreed. have to confess to only getting about a fifth of the way through the book before giving up on it Yeah capital is pretty straightforward if read slowly enough and if its done with a reading guide too. It was actually after reading Lockes An Essay Concerning Human Understaning that i managed to get the strength to go through capital. had to do the locke book for a course i was taking, it wasnt that the ideas where so difficult to take in, it was more down to the turgid style and the fact he ceaselessly repeated himself in the text. IIRC, he actually apologies in advance to the reader in the introduction saying that it will likely be littered with repititions, owing to him not editing it, but begged the reader to bear with him. Way i look at it, if he couldn't be arsed to proof-read the manuscript, why does he think the reader should be arsed to read his text! ho hum...Hear you with wittgenstein, in fact, id say most analytic philosophy is brutal as **** to get through, the amount of times ive taken to go over deceptivly wee journal articles to end up with no comprehension at the end of the pain, is pretty staggering. thankfully i no longer do any philosophy anymore.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewarty Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 I agree about Locke; 'nonsense on stilts' as Bentham put it (not that his felicific calculus was much better). Sadly not many philosophers are particularly readable. Plato is an enjoyable (The Last Days of Socrates) if at times frightening (The Republic) read and I have a soft spot for whiny old Rousseau. Anyway, getting away from philosophy for a bit, I finally got round to reading Arthur C. Clarke's The City and the Stars over the festive period. What an amazing imagination the man had. Thoroughly recommended, even for those not normally enamoured with science fiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozjag Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I've just finished reading my Xmas present - Alex Ferguson' Autobiography. A fun , funny and interesting read. And I am NOT a Man U fan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted February 21, 2014 Report Share Posted February 21, 2014 I picked up a freebie yesterday: "Back Flat Four", by Andy Gray. Anybody read it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) Yeah read it but years ago, can't remember except I think it was an OK read. Bit dated now but some interesting bits in it. (Not sure how reliable the last comment is as I don't remember it at all, just based on a 'feeling'). Read 2 vols of Churchill's History of World War II (out of 6) and quite readable. The first more so as in the 2nd he throws in lots of papers, tables to prove points. (If all you want is a good read skip these). Some interesting insights and info I didn't have before, though occasionally his own prejudices filter through. Took a break by reading another (lighter) World War II book - Popski's Private Army. An odd kind of book though it does give some idea of the kind of odd guys who fought behind enemy lines. Might look at a book on David Stirling later for a more gung-ho version of this. Then later relax with a crime or fantasy novel: I've got several old-school 'tec books I haven't read yet and have recently bought a book by Avram Davidson, The Phoenix and the Mirror. Edited March 4, 2014 by Mr Bunny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrD Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 Louis Althusser on ideology; Marx and Engels the german ideology sounds wanky i know, but for the (wanky) dissertation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Long time no posts but thought it worth adding a new one. Used to read kids author years ago called Henry Treece. Out of print long time but came across 2nd-hand copy of The Burning of Njal. It's a re-telling of one of the classic Icelandic Sagas. An odd title until you realise that the saga is about blood-feuds and at a key moment Njal and his family get trapped in a house and their enemies set it on fire. Quite bloodthirsty for what was then a book aimed at least partly at kids. There's a kind of grim humour in the book too. When a character has his arm sliced off by an axe he says "Ah well, that arm was getting old and craggy; perhaps it needed pruning." Given me an interest in digging up some of the other sagas. Read a few books since last post but only ones that stand out much are The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (The Devil and witches in Communist Russia) and Templar. The latter is a proper graphic novel - as opposed to a collection of comic stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 (edited) I seem to be the only guy on this book thread these days but just finished reading Robin Jenkins' The Thistle and the Grail. No not our Thistle but a Junior team from an obscure Lanarkshire village which has a miracle year and makes its way to the Scottish Junior Cup final. It's really about the characters in the village but the football plays an important part in the story and you get the feeling the writer really had an interest in (and went to) football. Published 1954 by the way and reads sometimes like the story takes place some years earlier. There's a mention in the book of a meeting at "the shell" in the middle of Central Station - anyone out there old enough to remember when that was a regular meeting point? Edited June 7, 2015 by Mr Bunny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 (edited) Just to see if anyone's paying attention I'm recommending this book. The real gem in this is "The Menace of Superman's Pet": anyone who's seen Futurama may recognise this creature (well, sort of). Edited June 16, 2015 by Mr Bunny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewarty Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 It's a while since I've been on this thread. I'm about a quarter of the way through Consider Phlebas, the first in Iain Banks' 'The Culture' series. It's pretty good so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Currently enjoying "Catching Fire," by Richard Wrangham. He argues that what really separates humans from other apes (and other animals) is that our anatomy, physiology and behaviour all went through rapid evolutionary changes after we discovered the energetic benefits of cooking food, as opposed to eating raw food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 (edited) Just to stop this dying out. Nothing outstanding since last post but speaking of last post, this was an interesting book: The Darkest Days: The Truth Behind Britain's Rush to War, 1914 Until recently the line had been pushed that there was no way we could have avoided the 1st World War and that we were obliged to join in anyway1. This is is one from a new generation of historians who argue the opposite case. Only other book worth mentioning (and not really a book) is I came across a character I'd never heard of but who's been around for a couple of decades: Usagi Yojimbo (the Rabbit Ronin). No really. It's much better than it sounds. Comics book but proper stories. Not that I've any reason to be prejudiced in his favour of course. 1Yes I know in the immediate aftermath of WW1 many were critical of what had happened but later and especially after WW2 and the feeling that we had been heroic in that war, the attitudes of many historians changed. Edited November 10, 2015 by Mr Bunny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robphil Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 'billy lynn's long half-time walk...' possibly the best anti-war book since 'catch 22...' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robphil Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 a suggested book for christmas (and a shameless exercise in self-promotion) for the sports fan in your family. described by the daily mail as 'a fine collection of tributes, anecdotes and old stories brilliantly told...' - ahem! - may i offer 'scottish sporting legends'. words by me, foreward by sir alex ferguson and available on amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome on the Bing Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Just finished Solar by Ian McEwan, which was decent enough. Now reading Ringworld by Larry Niven. It's my aim to have read all of the SF Masterworks series by the end of 2016. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 (edited) I finally got round after a good number of years to reading The Bruce. Not finished it yet and don't expect to for a bit as it's slow going since I'm trying to read it in original language not translation. Interesting read and I'm learning a lot re history (there is annotation which tells you where he - John Barbour - gets things wrong or is putting a spin on events) and the language of the time. For instance the rhymes can tell you that it wasn't yet full-blown Scots as we know it when it was written. Kind of middle English moving towards the Scots of the later centuries Won't bore you with detail, you can read it yourself if that kind of thing interests you. Among the various things I've learned is that folk used a primitive compass in these days and Bruce was pursued at one point by "sleuth-hunds". Think that's a great phrase. Edited September 30, 2016 by Mr Bunny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 Lanark by Alisdair Gray. One of the greatest books by a Scottish Author. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted November 3, 2016 Report Share Posted November 3, 2016 ^^^ Yeah. Must re-read it one day. I've got a copy recently of a volume of stories by James Kennaway. Planning to read one of them over Christmas, not sure which one. Probably not Tunes of Glory as I've seen the movie a few times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggy Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 Lanark by Alisdair Gray. One of the greatest books by a Scottish Author. I'll give it a go. I read a lot and do like Scottish aiuthors, I've read all Rankin, Brookmyre, Welsh and Lindsay, plus others like Alex Gray, Craig Robertson, James Oswald, Mark Wilson and even our own Willie McGuires effort as well as Robert Mitchell (The main character is a jag apparently but doesn't go much) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robphil Posted February 18, 2017 Report Share Posted February 18, 2017 have no idea what the movie,will be like but 'billy Lynn's long half-time walk' is a modern classic. Am halfway through kurt hanuff's trilogy - an overused word but absolute 'genius...' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) Just finished "Fatal Passage," by Ken McGoogan. Highly interesting biography about John Rae, from Orkney, without doubt the most accomplished Arctic explorer of his generation, and undeniably the man who completed the charting of the Northwest Passage. It was also he who discovered that Sir John Franklin's earlier attempt had ended in tragedy, with everybody freezing or starving to death, and some of them resorting to cannibalism. But of course the latter revelation was totally hushed up/flatly denied by the British Establishment, led by by Lady Jane Franklin and aided and abetted by people like Charles Dickens; they relentlessly denigrated Rae; and maps were re-drawn deliberately to show that one of the Establishment naval men, and not Rae, had discovered the final stretch of the Passage. We now know that Rae was indeed the discoverer, and that his information about cannibalism was true; yet even today, some charts and books wrongly deny him his true place in history. Highly recommended. Edited June 15, 2017 by Jaggernaut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted June 28, 2018 Report Share Posted June 28, 2018 Just finished "A Whisper of Espionage," about a famous German psychologist (Wolfgang Koehler) who spent most of his career in the USA, moving there when the nazis came to power in Germany. Famous for his studies of a group of chimpanzees in an enclosure in Tenerife during the First World War; made some pioneering discoveries about them. However, he was almost certainly spying on allied ship movements in the Canary Islands, and transmitting the information to Germany so that their submarines could sink the ships.... which they did, hundreds of them. Fascinating, but could have been written in one or two chapters instead of an entire book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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