NationStates Jolt Archive

Well more like when ever I feel like making a thread about a book I have read.

Anyways.
My current book is "The Lexicon of Terror" by Marguerite Feitlowitz

The book covers a period in time in Argentina know as the Dirty war.
special focus is put on the tortures that took place in the country, and how it has changed and shaped the language of Argentina.

I have found this book to be intriguing look at the victims of torture. Perhaps what disturbed me most is they were not torturing for information, just for the sake of torture. Most of the prisoner were drugged and dropped in the Atlantic ocean from plane. Perhaps less then 5% survived, very few trials and convictions have been carried out in Argentina.

The brain that changes itself - Norman Doidge MD

The brain is probably the most exciting area of research and, even if you're not professionally interested, you should be interested in exactly how your brain works in order to understand both yourself and others.

As a primer, one of the best books, oddly, is On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins, who founded Palm and became interested in the inherent difficulties of getting computers to recognise script, he's a neuroscientist as well so he's actually got a very good understanding coupled with a technical but readable style of explaining.

The brain that changes itself - Norman Doidge MD

The brain is probably the most exciting area of research and, even if you're not professionally interested, you should be interested in exactly how your brain works in order to understand both yourself and others.

As a primer, one of the best books, oddly, is On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins, who founded Palm and became interested in the inherent difficulties of getting computers to recognise script, he's a neuroscientist as well so he's actually got a very good understanding coupled with a technical but readable style of explaining.

Actually my book cites Norman Doidge describing the effects of torture.

Mastering VMware Infrastructure 3.

HEY WAKE UP!

I'm currently reading American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. I'm not too far into The Difference Engine yet, but it seems interesting.

No books for me right now.

I'm basically loot ISI Web of Knowledge every few weeks, for articles. I index them by topic and date and keep them in folders on my desktop to read at my leisure, with backup copies on a flash drive in case I lose (another) computer.

Well i recommend this book. Provides a good look at the military governments of Argentina.

Is it more than 100 pages?
Then tl;dr. :tongue:

only about 300 pages

Then that would be a clear case of tl;dr^3. :tongue:

and they wonder why the youth of today is composed of so many idiots. tl;dr

To spice things up here is a question from my book.
Lets say 10-15 years ago a sports field owned by the government was used to burn the bodies and torture people. Now in the 90's Several high school want to use the fields for competitions. If you were a student (possibly having relatives who were tortured/murdered there) would you refuse to compete there?
If you were a parent would you refuse to allow your child to compete there. Again maybe having a relative tortured/murdered there or possibly being a survivor of torture there?

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I've not even finished it yet and it's already one of the best books I've read.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I've not even finished it yet and it's already one of the best books I've read.

It's unfair to comment until you've finished the book alas since I had a major issue with that book.

Right now I'm reading Jingo by Terry Pratchett. Again.

I'm reading Dawins 'The Voyge of the Beagle' at the mo. very, very interesting.

In amongst some dryness, when he gets to pondering and asking why this? and how that? you can really see the groundwork for the idea of evolution, it's almost as if you can see into his mind as the theory plants itself and blossoms.

It's unfair to comment until you've finished the book alas since I had a major issue with that book.

This is true, I'll repost once I finish it (should be by the end of the weekend).

Mastering
HEY WAKE UP!
VM HEY WAKE UP! ware
HEY WAKE UP! Infra HEY WAKE UP! structure HEY WAKE UP! 3.

HEY WAKE UP!
HEY WAKE UP!
HEY WAKE UP!
OMG I THINK HE'S DEAD!!!

Fuxed.

Currently in the middle of ...

The Irregulars (about Roald Dahl and the British spies in the US during WWII)
The Fires of Vesuvius (Pompeii and all that)
Beat To Quarters (the first Hornblower book, though set in the middle of his career, just picked it up off the shelf the other day)

Need to read The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin, about the US Supreme Court of recent years, for our book club. Not looking forward to it somehow.

I'm currently reading American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. I'm not too far into The Difference Engine yet, but it seems interesting.

It starts well. But my personal feeling is that around half-way through, Gibson got the gyp and walked off the job. Or perhaps they BOTH got the gyp and let a ghostwriter hack out the last hundred pages.

Sorry. But if I'm wrong and you love it, no harm done. If I'm right, you won't be so disappointed.

Bathroom reading: re-reading John Shirley's "Traveller" (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/john-shirley/first-you-fight.htm) books (silly post-apocalytic mental junk food)

Light Fiction: Lawrence Watt-Evan's The Wizard Lord (fun brain candy)

Serious fiction: re-reading Kim Stanley Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt (hate his style, love his books)

Non-fiction: Michael Oren's Power, Faith, and Fantasy: American in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present

and they wonder why the youth of today is composed of so many idiots. tl;dr

Indeed.

It starts well. But my personal feeling is that around half-way through, Gibson got the gyp and walked off the job. Or perhaps they BOTH got the gyp and let a ghostwriter hack out the last hundred pages.

Sorry. But if I'm wrong and you love it, no harm done. If I'm right, you won't be so disappointed.

I don't recall coming away from the book thinking that, but it has been quite a while since I read it.

Everything Gibson does will always suffer in comparison to the ZOMG!!11!!! impact of Neuromancer. I think so, anyway.

I'm getting my teeth into Jean-Paul Sartre's "Being and Nothingness".

I'm reading Dawins 'The Voyge of the Beagle' at the mo. very, very interesting.

I hear it's almost as good as Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle. :)

I'm getting my teeth into Jean-Paul Sartre's "Being and Nothingness".

That's a shame. You won't look so pretty without teeth. :p

That's a shame. You won't look so pretty without teeth. :p

Bite. Your. Tongue.:tongue:

I hear it's almost as good as Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle. :)

But 6% shorter. That could be a saving of up to an hour.

Bite. Your. Tongue.:tongue:

Wait a sec while I put my teeth in ... *bites* ... OUCH!

I don't recall coming away from the book thinking that, but it has been quite a while since I read it.

Everything Gibson does will always suffer in comparison to the ZOMG!!11!!! impact of Neuromancer. I think so, anyway.

I generally prefer Sterling over Gibson.

Wait a sec while I put my teeth in ... *bites* ... OUCH!

Just don't shake your cane at me.

It's unfair to comment until you've finished the book alas since I had a major issue with that book.

I'm not sure what you had a problem with, I thought it was a great book all the way through, with only a slight fade off in emotion towards the end (perhaps that was also my state of mind at the time).

I recommend, Stupid Wars (http://www.amazon.com/Stupid-Wars-Invasions-Ridiculous-Revolutions/dp/0061258474)

Funny as hell, and educational to boot, lol...