- #316
BOAS
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- 19
I am reading "The Fires Of Heaven" by Robert Jordan. Number five in his Wheel Of Time series.
Excellent in my opinion :)
Excellent in my opinion :)
Infinitum said:Hey people,
I believe this would be a good way to find out new(probably good :tongue:) books, so just as it says on the tin, what are you reading now?
I currently alternate between Simon Singh's Fermat's Last Theorem, and Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan. Nearly finished both so I can surely use some suggestions!
Sophia said:E. A. Poe Sounds like a great idea, I might read him.
I am currently on book 5 of Harry Potter series. It was written for children of course, but even adults can find hidden meanings in it. I really enjoy reading it at the age of 28.
My other book is Hunger Games trilogy. I really disliked the first part. I keep reading so that I can write a very long negative review on Goodreads
When you are done try Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. It may be fanfiction but it is one of the most life changing stories I have ever read. The author is an artificial intelligence theorist and uses the story adeptly to teach the reader about the scientific method, rational thinking and cognitive biases. It takes place in an alternate universe where:Sophia said:I am currently on book 5 of Harry Potter series. It was written for children of course, but even adults can find hidden meanings in it. I really enjoy reading it at the age of 28.
Petunia married a biochemist, and Harry grew up reading science and science fiction. Then came the Hogwarts letter, and a world of intriguing new possibilities to exploit. And new friends, like Hermione Granger, and Professor McGonagall, and Professor Quirrell...
Enigman said:When you are done try Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. It may be fanfiction but it is one of the most life changing stories I have ever read. The author is an artificial intelligence theorist and uses the story adeptly to teach the reader about the scientific method, rational thinking and cognitive biases. It takes place in an alternate universe where:
There is a certain amount of suspension of disbelief needed, yes. 'The alternate universe' just refers to an alternate storyline and isn't explicitly mentioned in the story and is perhaps poor phrasing on my part. Also the incongruity of existence of magic is one of the themes explored and Harry James Potter Evans-Verres almost immediately starts experimenting to quantify 'magic' as scientifically as possible (which includes delving into Mendelian inheritance to prove or disprove the claim mudbloods are 'inferior' and exploring why magic completely overlooks laws of conservation.) Here magic is just parts of laws of nature that no one has really delved into scientifically and just taken for granted by wizards like muggles took things falling down to Earth as granted for much of their time on Earth and as most wizards still do.WWGD said:But aren't magic/sorcery and alternate universes considered to be outside of the realm of the Rational , at least at this point?
Yes, that is a good point, there is a difference between the non-Rational, that for which there is still no scientific evidence, and the irrational, that which directly contradicts known science.Enigman said:There is a certain amount of suspension of disbelief needed, yes. 'The alternate universe' just refers to an alternate storyline and isn't explicitly mentioned in the story and is perhaps poor phrasing on my part. Also the incongruity of existence of magic is one of the themes explored and Harry James Potter Evans-Verres almost immediately starts experimenting to quantify 'magic' as scientifically as possible (which includes delving into Mendelian inheritance to prove or disprove the claim mudbloods are 'inferior' and exploring why magic completely overlooks laws of conservation.) Here magic is just parts of laws of nature that no one has really delved into scientifically and just taken for granted by wizards like muggles took things falling down to Earth as granted for much of their time on Earth and as most wizards still do.
There are two other sequels of note- Harry Potter and the Memories of a Sociopath, and Draco Malfoy and the Practice of Rationality. Both however pale against HPMOR.JorisL said:I'm with Engiman, the fanfiction is awesome (I recently read it).
A sequel by another writer is "S1gn1f1cant D1g1t5", it's good so far (read arc 1, waiting for arc 2 to finish and grab the pdf)
C.J. Box... My wife just informed me, she has read all, or, almost all of them (she's not absolutely sure), she reads a great deal, honest!zoobyshoe said:I'm going to recommend the novels of C.J. Box to anyone looking for entertaining reading. He's written about 20.
I'm going to recommend the novels of C.J. Box to anyone looking for entertaining reading.
Pythagorean said:The last intellectually stimulating thing I read that wasn't a textbook, exam, or homework assignment was probably the lyrics to Britney Spears, I Wanna Go.
Yes, Joe Pickett is based in Wyoming, not Montana! His other characters, Cody Hoyt and Cassie Dewell are the ones from Montana.OCR said:C.J. Box... My wife just informed me, she has read all, or, almost all of them (she's not absolutely sure), she reads a great deal, honest!
She also informed me that "Joe" is a Wyoming game warden... I believe she is correct... (really think I couldn't ?) ... lol
Yup... I sure do.WWGD said:Anyone else see it this way?
So we are both have OCD -- a relative of yours (OCD-OCR)?OCR said:Yup... I sure do.
It's basically like watching a movie more than once...
It depends on the book. If it's popular science, if it's almost always good to read it a couple of times. But when I re - read 'normal' books, I tend to like them less than the first time. I may be completely charmed by a book, totally loving it. But than I re-read it some time again and I ask myself wtf? Is this the same book I liked so much or has someone telepathically rewritten it while it was lying on the shelf?WWGD said:Sorry for a sort of "meta" question:
I have become kind of obsessive about getting the most out of a book. Anyone else feel the need to re-read books?
It seems hard at times to fully get the content and ideas from a first read alone. The first read gives you an overview of the structure of the book. Once you know the structure/layout, you can, upon a second reading more easily absorb the actual content, form issues being out of the way.
EDIT: I mean that understanding the context consumes a good chunk of attention/focus away from the actual content, ideas in the book. Anyone else see it this way?
This is quite common ,lot of people do it ,not all books can be understood in one go.WWGD said:Anyone else see it this way?
Monsterboy said:not all books can be understood in one go.
WWGD said:Sorry for a sort of "meta" question:
I have become kind of obsessive about getting the most out of a book. Anyone else feel the need to re-read books?
It seems hard at times to fully get the content and ideas from a first read alone. The first read gives you an overview of the structure of the book. Once you know the structure/layout, you can, upon a second reading more easily absorb the actual content, form issues being out of the way.
EDIT: I mean that understanding the context consumes a good chunk of attention/focus away from the actual content, ideas in the book. Anyone else see it this way?