Poll: Your Favorite Books

[suselinux]

As We Know It: Coming to Terms with an Evolved Mind
--by Marek Kohn (The BEST book I have ever had the pleasure of reading.  I couldn't put it down finished it in like a week.  Really interesting, he sites a study saying that Canada is a safer place compared to the States because of universal healthcare.  Life makes a little more sense after reading this book, its basically about sociobiology, and why we think the way do, because we are just animals in the end)

Stephen Hawking's books are really good, he knows who he's writing for, so they are really easy to read.

A Brief History of Time, and every other book by
-- Stephen Hawking
 
The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism  
-- by Fritjof Capra

Buddhism Plain and Simple
--by Steve Hagen   (this like my bible, if you can defanitley read this book it will change your life, for the better of course)

Atheism: The Case Against God
--by George H. Smith  (you've got to be careful who you tell when you say you read stuff like this, so I'm not forcin' views on anyone here OK)

The Satanic Verses
-- by Salman Rushdie  (frankly I never figured out what all the kafuffel was about, but I know almost nothing about Islam)

and some others I can't remeber the names of I'll look em up on Amazon if I'm not too lazy

[slvadcjelli42]

Yeah!! Douglas Adams!! Had to say that. So, basically, anything by him (except, I haven't read that salmon one, sorry.) The "Hitchhiker's Guide" Series... Of course, the "Dirk Gently" pair    Yeah, it sucks that he's dead      

Also: 1984, The Stand, EVERY "Dark Tower" book, The Hot Zone, Catch-22, Signal to Noise, Fahrenheit 451, Logan's Run... I could go on, but I won't...

[Pissed_Macman]

quote:Originally posted by Zardoz:


No. What is it about??? (in no less than 200 words)

The Salmon of Doubt was supposed to be the title of the Dirk Gently book he was working on when he died. No one knows what the title means though. The Salmon of Doubt book they put out after he died is a collection of some of his writings from magazines and interviews with him, some very interesting stuff (I found out he was a Mac dude    ) and the last part of it is what he was in the process of working on for the real Salmon of doubt, which was very good even though there's not much of it. A terrible tragedy he never was able to finish it because it would have been a great book.

[Fett101]

quote:Originally posted by Macman: pimpin da streets o seattle:
A terrible tragedy he never was able to finish it because it would have been a great book.

As would the HGTTG movie. Goodness knows what limbo it's in now.

[jasonlane]

I shall read it, it's now officially on my list. cool  

[slvadcjelli42]

THAT'S what the Salmon of Doubt is/was/(is/was) supposed to be??? I've got to get that! I don't know why I haven't already. Wow...

Oh! and that movie! I've seen that! Well, let's put it this way, I've seen a movie which had that title and was incredibly similar to the book, lol, because it looks like you might be thinking of something different from what i'm thinking of. The movie i saw, though, was terrible in my opinion. It was extremely similar to the text (except for the huge chunks that are missing) yet, in my opinion, awful. I don't know how that is, but it is.  :confused:

[jasonlane]

Always the way though, something deep inside of always thinks it's wrong to compare books to films and visa versa. It's like comparing and oil painting to a water colour....Now that's not cricket.

[ July 21, 2003: Message edited by: Zardoz ]

[jasonlane]

quote:Originally posted by suselinux:
As We Know It: Coming to Terms with an Evolved Mind
--by Marek Kohn (The BEST book I have ever had the pleasure of reading.  I couldn't put it down finished it in like a week.  Really interesting, he sites a study saying that Canada is a safer place compared to the States because of universal healthcare.  Life makes a little more sense after reading this book, its basically about sociobiology, and why we think the way do, because we are just animals in the end)

Stephen Hawking's books are really good, he knows who he's writing for, so they are really easy to read.

A Brief History of Time, and every other book by
-- Stephen Hawking
 
The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism  
-- by Fritjof Capra

Buddhism Plain and Simple
--by Steve Hagen   (this like my bible, if you can defanitley read this book it will change your life, for the better of course)

Atheism: The Case Against God
--by George H. Smith  (you've got to be careful who you tell when you say you read stuff like this, so I'm not forcin' views on anyone here OK)

The Satanic Verses
-- by Salman Rushdie  (frankly I never figured out what all the kafuffel was about, but I know almost nothing about Islam)

and some others I can't remeber the names of I'll look em up on Amazon if I'm not too lazy

Visions - Michio Kaku.

Interesting book very sciency (overly sometimes), what the human race can achieve in the next 10, 20 ,50 & 100 years kind of deal. A lot of nano tech stuff. Can't ever recall M$ being part of the picture, apparently in 100 years computers will actually work!
     

A Brief History of Time - excellent what bit's I've read. Should finish it!

[ July 21, 2003: Message edited by: Zardoz ]

[Fett101]

quote:Originally posted by Dirk Gently:
The movie i saw, though, was terrible in my opinion.

Probbaly the BBC mini-series thing. Very low budget. Out on DVD now.

[Pissed_Macman]

I just read a short story called Lobsters by Charles Stross (From the Year's Best Sci-Fi 19) where the entire future is open source and the main character actually makes his living making other people rich for free. The only people to still use Microsoft was communist Russia and they were uploading lobsters to the internet. It was a very strange story.

[Fett101]

quote:Originally posted by Macman: pimpin da streets o seattle:
and they were uploading lobsters to the internet. It was a very strange story.

What were they smoking?

[Pissed_Macman]

The population was also down because intercourse was out of fashion and everyone was into bondage and stuff.

[slvadcjelli42]

quote:Originally posted by Fett101:

Probbaly the BBC mini-series thing. Very low budget. Out on DVD now.

Ooh, yeah that sounds like it (definitely low budget    ). was strung together like a movie, though, had me fooled. oh well.

[worker201]

Fiction:
"Infinite Jest" - David Foster Wallace
"Microserfs" - Douglas Coupland
"Invisible Monsters" - Chuck Palahniuk
"Youth in Revolt" - CD Payne
"Random Acts of Senseless Violence" - Jack Womack

Nonfiction:
"Skipping Towards Gomorrah" - Dan Savage
"Fast Food Nation" - Eric Schlosser
"All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic Avenger" - Lloyd Kaufman
"Fight the Power" - Chuck D
"Faster" - James Gleick
"Culture Jam" - Kalle Lasn

and of course Tolkien, Adams, Fitzgerald & Hemingway