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Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?
- Thread starter Huntn
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I must say I like the look of it. The cover alone is deeply appealing.
You must tell us whether or not it is worth reading, and what you think of it. Mind you, the price would seem to indicate that it might have been published during the 'First Wave' of Modern Feminism (i.e. late 60s, early 70s).
The cover is fantastic and very modern given its age. I really like 2/3rds of the book—Montagu's format is as follows: enumerate and criticize traditional ideas of misogyny and male superiority (✓), cite scientific studies and general statistics that disprove these ideas (✓), and then contrive some new, lightly misandristic alternative ideas (X).
I guess I cannot say that it fails to deliver what it advertises, it's just that I notice a distinct lack of citations or appeals to logos when he gets to the last third. When there is a citation in these sections, it's often referencing his own work, and I find that the superiority of women he posits is as flimsy (in some areas) as the superiority of men he tears down.
As for the writing style, it requires a reader's engagement but doesn't always inspire it. He's very gifted in the art of repetition and run-on sentence creation. Relative clauses are frequently interjected that leave me gasping for mental air by the time I finish a paragraph. In spite of this, I would recommend the book. It's very interesting to use as a sort of gauge of progress, to see what traditions are still carried on, and what societal expectations sound completely foreign today.
I just finished The Fault In Our Stars. Excellent, and planning on going to see the movie soon.
I think the next one is going to be Bag of Bones by Stephen King.
I'm headed to the beach next weekend, and I like King on the beach. He makes for great passive reading
I think the next one is going to be Bag of Bones by Stephen King.
I'm headed to the beach next weekend, and I like King on the beach. He makes for great passive reading
I just finished, "I'll Take You There" by Joyce Carol Oates last night. It was a pleasure to read, albeit not my favorite book. Oates' writing is distinct, powerful, and very sensory. I would recommend this to people above the age of 20.. It is reminiscent of college, and probably isn't quite "graspable" by those in high school or in college now. Overall, I enjoyed it, and I will continue to read more from Oates.
I read the first story in a collection of Ray Bradbury also last night ($2 at Half Price Books clearance!!!!) And it was also good, but in a different way. I like to read all genres, and I'm new the Bradbury, but I'm quite excited about him
I read the first story in a collection of Ray Bradbury also last night ($2 at Half Price Books clearance!!!!) And it was also good, but in a different way. I like to read all genres, and I'm new the Bradbury, but I'm quite excited about him
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Back in the late 1980s, when the USSR was still the USSR, I visited the city that was then called Leningrad, possibly the most elegant city in Russia, and certainly, the only one which could be called "European" in terms of its cultural orientation and heritage.
The city is magnificent, with an extraordinary atmosphere; it is also a place haunted by ghosts, artists, Tsars, citizens, revolutionaries, and of the ghosts of revolutions past and present. And of course, the siege, the siege of approximately 900 days, which lasted from autumn 1941 until January 1944.
It was a deeply moving experience to visit the enormous cemeteries where many of those who died during the almost 900 day siege are buried. And these are mass graves, unlike war graves in western Europe, where, instead, one tends to find war graves where individuals lie at rest.
While there, I also visited the museums, many of them, about revolution
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Hm.
Yes, well, there are occasions where a small degree of sanity, ought, perhaps, to prevail. And I write that as someone whose concept of civilisation s several room with floor to ceiling bookcases to books which are (mostly) read.
Re the Siege of Leningrad, another detail which lodged in my memory were the attempts by the Soviets to build (ice) roads - along with sign posts, junctions - over the frozen Lake Ladoga (near Leningrad) in order to transport food and other vital goods to the besieged cit; the photographs of these roads are astonishing.
Needless to say, the German sent in dive bombers (Stukas and the like) to bomb the frozen lake, thereby destroying the lines of communications and roads over the ice, in order to disrupt communication lines while the Russians frantically attempted to re-open these roads .and the lines of communication - and food - to the besieged city.
I'm going to try to start some Thomas Pynchon. I want to read Gravity's Rainbow, but I've heard that I should start with V first.
Fascinating. Tell me what you think of it, whether it is well written & researched, and whether you would recommend it.
As a naval commander he was outstanding, and, as a man, he seems to have been a much more appealing character than either the Duke of Wellington, or, for that matter, Napoleon Bonaparte.
The Lord of the Flies.
A Terrific book for anyone, and especially a terrific gateway book into more mature reading.
A Terrific book for anyone, and especially a terrific gateway book into more mature reading.
So far, I am liking it. I'm about 25% through the book. I find it very interesting, though it is a little hard to follow. The author doesn't always go into enough detail when talking about people and events. It is like he assumes that you have a good knowledge of British and European history. I have some knowledge but find myself wondering what is happening a little too often.
An excellent, if bleak and disturbing book.
Ah, yes. I see. So more of a tome for enthusiasts and specialists, then, rather than the 'general reader' or 'educated layman'? Still, as I rather like Horatio Nelson, (and detest Mr Bonaparte, while disliking the Duke of Wellington), I may take a look at it when opportunity allows.
I've finished the first two books of "The Infinity Ring". They aren't great, but I'm really excited about the concept, although dystopian societies are getting old.
Anyone have any recommendations for really scary books? Anyone read anything by Stephen King? I've only read 11/22/63 about 2 years ago, but it's not a horror book. I'm in the mood to read some horror
I love Stephen King's earlier work. I would recommend:
The Dead Zone, The Stand, Firestarter, Carrie, Nightshift (short stories), Different Seasons (novellas), Cujo, Pet Sematary, Skeleton Crew (short stories), It, Misery.
I would also recommend a couple that King wrote under a pseudonym Richard Bachmann:
Rage, The Long Walk, Road Work, Thinner, The Running Man.
Thank you! I totally forgot that I've read Carrie. It was the sort of book that keeps you reading because you want to know what happens but it was OK. Those are a lot of recommendations! If you had to recommend only one, which would it be? It has to be one of his scary novels though. I've heard people say IT and Salem's Lot are the scariest. What do you say?