Books

[mirth]

I've recently got a kick to read some classics of human writing. I thought this list would be dumb; but it's actually pretty good. I've read about 15 of these so far time to hit up some more. I kind of got burnt out on reading with engineering stuff however now I'm feeling back in the spirit of it all.

Working on Slaughterhouse 5 now which I'm thoroughly enjoying! Will probably finish tomorrow. I don't know what to pick next.

Anyone tackle many of these books? I like that there's stuff like the "boyscouts manual" and Political books and others that aren't just fiction.

So here's the list:

artofmanliness.com/2008/05/14/100-must-read-books-the-essential-mans-library/

[chrissh]

WHoa-ho! 'The Art of Manliness'? ;D

Yes, pretty good essentials list, though for godsake ditch the Carnegie and Rand. Or keep them in serious critical context.

[chrissh]

I loved 'Bluebeard' too, good rail against the old debate of art as either formal mimetic vs. expressive, iirc.

Thoreau was fun at a certain age, but I felt 'Civil Disobedience' was an important historical companion, to frame his perspective.

Bulgakov and Kafka too, a special kind of "fun". Think of Gilliam's 'Brazil'.

I don't know the Roosevelt. Hemingway is important for his influence on language of the last century.

[chrissh]

Jeez, I see other pages of this. They sure did pick all the hallmarks of stereotypical western masculinity, irrespective of ideology. It's good to familiarize broadly, but damn. As many of these as I might agree with, man ... what a shitty context. Pun intended.

[mirth]

I agree, haha. I thought the list would be terrible, but aside from being obviously male influenced and Americanized, it is better than I thought. Most of these lists only list fiction, which I need a break from just about every other book.

I actually don't mind Rand from a reading intellectual side of things, not that I necessarily agree with her. Some are definitely cheesy male macho variety, but probably only take hour to read.

[brucestevens]

Some of my faves on there - The Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye (I read it every few years), 1984, Slaughterhouse 5, Picture of Dorian Grey, Grapes of Wrath (probably my favorite book), East of Eden, Confederacy of Dunces (the first thing I think of when New Orleans is mentioned), Cannery Row (in case you can't tell I am a big Steinbeck fan).

I would replace the Hemingway with The Old Man and the Sea and The Sun Also Rises. I also find Travels with Charley an interesting bit of Steinbeck - it is a non-fiction travel book about a road trip with his poodle. Just my $0.02.

Also, my wife swears by Lonesome Dove.

Bruce

[Infinite Ego]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_books

[mirth]

IE, that is a serious list of books, haha, but exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. I like how it's from "How to Read a Book" I imagine anyone finishing all that material would know a lot more than how to read a book.

Thanks for the list. Hmm, 2 year goal to knock out both of these lists? haha, okay maybe 10 year goal?

[mirth]

After relooking...maybe a 50 year goal, if I make it that far.


Interesting that only the Bible is in there. I would think the Koran or books like the Bhagavad Gita would be on there too.

[Infinite Ego]

There are various versions of that GB list. With constant effort it would be a 20year project, more or less

[mirth]

There are definitely some of read on that list, but most could go for a re-read aside from the bible...I've had my fill. I guess I should get cracking!

[dasein]

Yeah, skip Ayn Rand. Without getting into her politics (which you could spend hours picking apart), she's a pretty bad writer and "Atlas Shrugged" is a slog of a book, including a speech that lasts over 100 pages.

“The most depraved type of human being … (is) the man without a purpose.”

I'd actually argue the opposite... it's the man with the Purpose that can reach the greatest depth of depravity... quote Lacan (paraphrasing Dostoevsky) "If God exists, then everything is permitted."

"The Wealth Of Nations" is fine for what it is... hope you like detailed descriptions of 18th century silver extraction techniques. It might be worth reading side-by-side with an undergrad macroeconomics book just for the surprise of seeing that Smith actually disagrees with a lot of things that came about during the turn towards "marginal utility." Really, most economists have never read this book.

Rest of the list looks fine, I guess... a bit too much Teddy Roosevelt for my taste, but whatever.

I don't know if there's a reason to read the entire Bible cover to cover unless you're a scholar. A 'greatest hits' of sorts would probably serve you fine. Book of Job is one of my favorites... Zizek's reading of it is phenomenal.

And of course, there's always "Capital"...

[mirth]

Read the bible cover to cover twice. It's the primary reason I'm now an atheist, haha.

[Infinite Ego]

Yeah, if you're looking to ancient texts as a life-guide then you're pretty much hosed. A lot of it is beautiful and all of it is interesting when you keep in mind what it is.

But when the cult of man in the abstract became Christ Inc. with the Church what was beautiful and progressive was turned into a mountain of regressive shit. The Catholic Church is probably the most corrupt and harmful institution in history

[Infinite Ego]

another list I found useful

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Monde%27s_100_Books_of_the_Century