What books should everyone read?

[kyser_soze]

Well there is since it's taken several posts for you to explain what you meant...

 

[rutabowa]

Well there is since it's taken several posts for you to explain what you meant...

that doesn't even make sense

 

[danny la rouge]

something like Ulysses does that.

It's a good choice. It's up there on all the "important books" lists, for sure. I'm not sure I'd say it's something everyone should read, but I can see why people would say it is.

 

[Belushi]

that doesn't even make sense

It makes mroe sense than your posts tbh

 

[danny la rouge]

that doesn't even make sense

The subject of his sentence is in yours.

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

It's a good choice. It's up there on all the "important books" lists, for sure. I'm not sure I'd say it's something everyone should read, but I can see why people would say it is.

If i was on a desert island, i'd probably take Ulysses to concentrate on getting thru the whole damn thing - cos every other time i've had a go at it, i get so far and then other things distract me - i can see why its regarded as a classic but fuck me is it hard work to follow.

 

[rutabowa]

The subject of his sentence is in yours.

why would the fact that i've taken several posts to explain something mean that it could be reduced to a "basically" point? maybe i needed to take that long to explain it.

 

[rutabowa]

It makes mroe sense than your posts tbh

could you remind me of your contribution?

 

[danny la rouge]

why would the fact that i've taken several posts to explain something mean that it could be reduced to a "basically" point? maybe i needed to take that long to explain it.

I'm not necessarily agreeing with him, just explaining how his post made sense.

 

[kyser_soze]

why would the fact that i've taken several posts to explain something mean that it could be reduced to a "basically" point? maybe i needed to take that long to explain it.

Well I managed to boil about 4 paragraphs down to a single sentence which explains what you were saying, I'd call that a 'basically' point.

 

[rutabowa]

I'm not necessarily agreeing with him, just explaining how his post made sense.

I was pointing out the false logic it contained.

 

[danny la rouge]

I was pointing out the false logic it contained.

Ah; I thought you were saying you couldn't understand it.

 

[rutabowa]

Well I managed to boil about 4 paragraphs down to a single sentence which explains what you were saying

no, you didn't. It is patronising to assume you did do.

for a start i was only talking about types of fiction, i wasn't discussing non fiction at all (in the post you were replying to)

 

[Wolveryeti]

"Rich is Beautiful" by Richard D. North

Get past the horrible self-help style title and you have a very thoughtfully argued piece on why many of the shibboleths of the Left (Stiglitz, Hutton, Klein, Monbiot) are wrong. I don't agree with all of what he says, but I found it a very interesting piece of work.

 

[kyser_soze]

i think most books people have been recommending have been books of ideas rather than books of the soul.

it was a bit of a clumsy phrase i was just trying to think of something that meant "not of ideas". like with books of ideas it's a writer starting out with some set thing he wants to communicate and fits the book around that, whereas what i more interested in is books where things like plot, philosophy and politics are secondary to having characters that behave truthfully to life. and by "truthfully to life" i don't necessarily mean realistically, but truthful in that they might make give whoever's reading a shock of recognition, and best of all it might be something they hadn't ever realised about themselves before.

well yes shakespeare would be a perfect example of what i was talking about. (ok i have read him from your OP). and i wasn't saying that a book couldn't have any political ideas or historical background etc, just that i would prefer if these were secondary to/sprung from a human truthfulness. I don't think i ever suggested it would need to be written in a cultural void either, the opposite really! It would ideally take in every bit of human experience to be as truthful as possible. something like Ulysses does that.

So basically you're saying you prefer well written fiction with high-end sensibilities rather than tracts, treatise and essays that only talk about philosophy. history etc?

I've been wracking for anything else I'd take along, I see this as a 'desert island books' kinda thing...others for me would be Hitchhikers, cos it reliably makes me laugh and says a lot about the human condition in a very accessible fashion...Chaos by James Gleick cos it explains patterns in randomness in an easy way...

no, you didn't. It is patronising to assume you did do.

for a start i was only talking about types of fiction, i wasn't discussing non fiction at all (in the post you were replying to)

Well perhaps when you use a phrase like 'books of ideas' you should make it clear that you're referring to fiction then? Indeed, perhaps before you post you should think about the clarity of what you're going to write instead of the wooly crap you've posted here.

 

[Belushi]

could you remind me of your contribution?

Clear and concise; no ones scratching their heads wondering what half baked, half understood nonsense I'm wittering on about.

 

[rutabowa]

Well perhaps when you use a phrase like 'books of ideas' you should make it clear that you're referring to fiction then? Indeed, perhaps before you post you should think about the clarity of what you're going to write instead of the wooly crap you've posted here.

What is up with you today?

 

[rutabowa]

Clear and concise; no ones scratching their heads wondering what half baked, half understood nonsense I'm wittering on about.

i don't really understand why you guys seem so pissed off. I just wrote some stuff, is that it?

 

[kyser_soze]

I'm in a bad mood generally ATM, but as I've said many, many times, waffle in this forum especially gets my back up.

 

[butchersapron]

I'd suggest ian Kershaw's two volume biography of Hitler/Germany because there's not a better book about the subject - it does everything you need, a straight narrative, an investigation of the most recent scholarly work, an original interpretation, psychological insight, clearly written and argued and so on.

 

[rutabowa]

I'm in a bad mood generally ATM, but as I've said many, many times, waffle in this forum especially gets my back up.

I was having a discussion with someone and you butted in, why not just ignore what i was saying if you didn't get it/it was waffle

 

[kyser_soze]

Because it's a message board, I'm subscribed to the thread, and I'm free to comment, and I hate waffle.

 

[Belushi]

i don't really understand why you guys seem so pissed off. I just wrote some stuff, is that it?

I'm not pissed off, I simply responded to your pissy little post.

 

[rutabowa]

well i will know better than to contribute to this forum in future.

 

[fractionMan]

is this thread about books or what?

 

[rutabowa]

is this thread about books or what?

it was until the intellectual big kids started jumping on me

 

[kyser_soze]

well i will know better than to contribute to this forum in future.

Hey, it's a robust discussion forum, stand your ground and fight for your wordiness and waffle!!!!

 

[Belushi]

well i will know better than to contribute to this forum in future.

 

[danny la rouge]

is this thread about books or what?

Books.

 

[ViolentPanda]

I'm going to try to avoid recommending "tomes" in favour of "good reads", so:

"Stasiland" by Anna Funder - For a primer on why totalitarianism should be avoided at all costs.

"The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists" by Robert Tressell - Because the picture it presents of a divided working class is still relevant today.

"Five Past Midnight in Bhopal" by Dominique LaPierre and Javier Moro - To illustrate why Capital and it's apologists can't be trusted. Ever.

"Estates: An Intimate History" by Lynsey Hanley - For a primer on where and why social housing policy in the post-war UK went wrong, and how the problems that were caused might be ameliorated.

I'd also recommend Charlie Fletcher's "Stone Heart" just because I love it.