Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Fletcher
Trad climber
from the place of breath
|
|
The potty! I should have thought of that... such a moron am I. :-)
Speaking of Russians: Years ago, I actually did plow through (and it was like plowing your own road across Siberia) Solhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago. I think the drudgery and massiveness of the book was supposed to be a literary device that gave you a feel for the Gulag system.
A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is much shorter, more engaging and a great read. It accomplishes some of what he wanted to do in the Gulag A in a much better manner.
Thanks DMT for saving me from Atlas Shrugged. I've always felt I should check it out to see what all the fuss is about, but it sounds like Wikipedia will suffice. Instead, I can spend that time drinking quality cheap wine and reading Tami's stuff in the potty (maybe not at the same time). Much better use of time. har har.
Eric
|
|
Spider Savage
Mountain climber
SoCal
|
|
"Defeated by" books:
Origin of Species, Charles Darwin, I may yet give it a go.
Voyage of the Beagle is Awesome
Story of Civilization by Will Durant, Good stuff, but undone
Tibetan Book of the Dead, read the whole thing but can't remember what it said (at age 18).
|
|
Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
|
|
I have a thing for old books and especially old books on history of the Western US. This is one that has been collecting dust on the shelf a while. It has some great fold out maps and tons of etchings of Fremont's explorations.
Fremont was also the first Republican Presidential candidate and also penned an emancipation proclamation during the Civil War for his Western area of command, this act pushed Lincoln to do the same later.
|
|
bergbryce
Mountain climber
Oakland
|
|
hmmm, let me find something really deep.... ;-)
Ecotopia or any other dystopian 70s book. Man people were down on the future then. GD Ehrlich.
|
|
scuffy b
climber
Three feet higher
|
|
Ophiolites, Arcs and Batholiths.
It'll be a while until I get around to this.
Meanwhile, it's in a box for Dingus. He can have first shot, if he doesn't
have it yet.
|
|
Mark Rodell
Trad climber
Bangkok
|
|
The Recognitions by William Gadis. Two stabs and well past seven hundred pages both times.It is one you cannot put down for long because you loose the feel - the glue that holds it together.
|
|
Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
|
|
I've read about 2/3rds on nutjob's list. Classics. Got to get to those Russians. They are awesome.
Mine are:
The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann. That's become an albatross.
The Red and the Black, by Stendhal.
Greg Mortenson's second book.
Working my way through Cadillac Desert. A great read about water and the West.
City of Quartz, by Mike Davis.
David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens. Read a ton of Dickens, like him but keep getting pulled in different directions.
I know there are a ton I'm forgetting but those are the ones that jump to mind.
|
|
jogill
climber
Colorado
|
|
"Mathematicians under the Nazis", Princeton Press, by S. Segal
This book has been called "magisterial" and I was overwhelmed by the number of facts and anecdotes and the density of the presentation (and the small compacted type). Segal was not only a member of the math dept at his university, but a fellow in the history department as well, and his book is a disciplined piece of academic historical research, and as such may be more attractive to a fellow historian. He juggles two themes: one anecdotal and the other philosophical, and the odd interplay was enough to convince me to return it to the library having read only bits and pieces. On the other hand, maybe I'm just too old and tired to care!
|
|
steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
|
|
Got a few new guidebooks that need to be cataloged and placed in the library...
|
|
MisterE
Social climber
Bouncy Tiggerville
|
|
I got "The Bounty Trilogy" sitting on my bedside table. It's looking pretty thick!
|
|
Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
|
|
MisterE
The Bounty Trilogy is on my top 10 list of favorite reads. You should also put
Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana on your list.
Another I have to recommend is Up and Down California by Brewer. Oh and Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada by Clearance King, I could go on and on.
|
|
Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
|
|
Far From The Madding Crowd by Hardy
Gentlemen Of The Road by Chabon
Brothers K by Dostoyevsky. I've started this a few times. I'll get it this year. Sort of a promise to myself.
Snow Crash by Stephenson...A plum waiting to be picked.
The Structure Of Evolutionary Theory by Gould. This is kind of cool. Someone found out I was waiting to find this used and they sent it to me anonymously. How great is that!
Ladder Of The Years by Tyler
The Polish Officers by Furst
Actually I have a lot more waiting to be read including the second book in Neebee's Jake series.
Life is good when you have a lot of books to get to.
I read Vinland by Pychon recently, now I want to read Gravity’s Rainbow. The comparison to James is apt. It takes a lot of concentration to read Pychon. I started The Crying Of Lot 49 about 20 years ago. Couldn’t do it then. I’m ready for another go though.
Read on!
Zander
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
hey there zander.... say, i was just stepping in to suggest someone buy my series, for a nice SHELF presentiona, if the reckon to
"aquire books, for reading later" :))
and you slid in to base, just a few days? hours? before me, as to mention
"a neebee book" :)
here you go folks, some very neat, special and definately different books for your "later collectoin"
say, NICE books in all... will look VERY NICE on your ol' shelf!
and... the short stories (five vols) actually
CAN be read, "stand alone" though you will miss choice "gems thoughts"
however... but they still have some special magic... :)
http://stores.lulu.com/neebeeshaabookwayreadjakeanddonate
:)
they are shiney black, and have a nice green name on the side:
...that being the book title... and: ...by neebeeshaabookway...
:)
|
|
mike m
Trad climber
black hills
|
|
A climbers guide to Iowa.
|
|
craig mo
Trad climber
L.A. Ca.
|
|
Decision Points
i started this in the can
found i was out of paper
maybe its out on tape
|
|
Branscomb
Trad climber
Lander, WY
|
|
Finnegan's Wake--don't seem to have the mental acuity for it anymore and Swann's Way by Proust....I simply can't stomach Proust...what a wimp. Supposedly if you can read Proust you are soooooo soooo sophisticated and intellectually coolcool. Guess I'll never make the grade there.
|
|
nutjob
Trad climber
Berkeley, CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2010 - 01:05pm PT
|
I remember seeing a diagram a Proust sentence, with 950+ words in it. Pretty funny! Who has enough stack memory in their brain to be able to push and pop that?
|
|
Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
|
|
Proust is OK, but maybe start with Swann's Way, and if you can deal with that then you can dive into the other volumes.
I feel like I should read Finnegan's Wake since I was such an avid admirer of Joyce as a English major. It's really more of a word puzzle though than what one might traditionally consider a novel. Plus there's so much more immediate gratification in Portrait of the Artist...
Ars longa, vita brevis.
|
|
Fletcher
Trad climber
from the place of breath
|
|
Lots of good suggestions here to add to the acquired but unread pile!
Eric
|
|
Fletcher
Trad climber
from the place of breath
|
|
I am about 2/3 of the way through Greg Mortensen's second book, Stones into Schools. I've been read it for g-d knows how long, a page or two at a time at lunch usually. This is what can happen when you start having a bunch of kids! I started reading it as part of a ST book club round that never seemed to get off the ground. It's good and moving in parts. I think it helps to have read Three Cups of Tea first.
Cadillac Desert is a great book. For perspective, don't skip over Riesner's epilogue. It balances out some of the things he wrote earlier and shows how his perspective evolved. As a companion, check out my namesake Colin Fletcher's "River". Another story of a great journey.
Eric
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!