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    Originally posted by DeadParrot View Post
    I've also got my reading order muddled up so missed why we sleep and homo dues and went straight to Factfulness by Hans Rosling based on recommendations here by Keane
    I actually just finished that totally unexpectedly last night. If you are reading on the Kindle beware - about 25% of the book is acknowledgements, bibliography etc. It's simply a book that everyone ought to read.

    In the meantime I'm sailing through the Putin book. It's very interesting and surprisingly easy to follow despite the huge array of names I would have had no familiarity with previously.

    I started Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain the other night as well. I'm taken aback by how well written it is. 10% of the way in and it seems like it's going to be an enjoyable read.

    I'm really trying to read a broad scope of things at the moment as probably comes across. Anyone with any suggestions for books that are a good layman's jumping off point into interesting topics I would be interested to hear them, along the lines of AI Superpowers mentioned by Hitch earlier. I've also added The Codebreakers to my list as it is meant to be an accessible intro to cryptology and its history.

    Comment


      Originally posted by Keane View Post
      I actually just finished that totally unexpectedly last night. If you are reading on the Kindle beware - about 25% of the book is acknowledgements, bibliography etc. It's simply a book that everyone ought to read.

      In the meantime I'm sailing through the Putin book. It's very interesting and surprisingly easy to follow despite the huge array of names I would have had no familiarity with previously.

      I started Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain the other night as well. I'm taken aback by how well written it is. 10% of the way in and it seems like it's going to be an enjoyable read.

      I'm really trying to read a broad scope of things at the moment as probably comes across. Anyone with any suggestions for books that are a good layman's jumping off point into interesting topics I would be interested to hear them, along the lines of AI Superpowers mentioned by Hitch earlier. I've also added The Codebreakers to my list as it is meant to be an accessible intro to cryptology and its history.
      I don't know about jumping off point but The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch might be a new contender for best book I'veread or at least the most thought provoking. He has a decent pod with Sam Harris. I have the book and Audio book as some of it is so nuanced I find it even harder to grasp over audio but it's excellent.

      It discusses the differences between meanings of Infinity between mathematical concepts being abstract and those of physics, moral philosophy. It centers on the bounds of human knowledge, the multiverse. It's a lot to be honest and I'll need to read it again but it's brilliant.

      Comment


        Originally posted by brady23 View Post
        I don't know about jumping off point but The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch might be a new contender for best book I'veread or at least the most thought provoking. He has a decent pod with Sam Harris. I have the book and Audio book as some of it is so nuanced I find it even harder to grasp over audio but it's excellent.

        It discusses the differences between meanings of Infinity between mathematical concepts being abstract and those of physics, moral philosophy. It centers on the bounds of human knowledge, the multiverse. It's a lot to be honest and I'll need to read it again but it's brilliant.
        That sounds excellent, thanks for the recommendation.

        Comment


          Another one I have on my coffee table to knock off a few pages every now and again is Exactly: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World which I thought would be a good fit for this polymathy mission I've given myself. I'm not very far into it but so far it has briefly discussed the LIGO experiment, the Antikythera mechanism and the steam engine, so suitably broad!

          Comment


            Originally posted by Keane View Post

            I started Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain the other night as well. I'm taken aback by how well written it is. 10% of the way in and it seems like it's going to be an enjoyable read.

            It's a simply wonderful book.

            I've a habit of revisiting books that I enjoy. A mental pair of slippers if you will.
            This is on that list.
            A cooks tour is also great, his love of food comes to the fore and I learned how to drink vodka like a Russian
            People say I should be more humble I hope they understand, they don't listen when you mumble
            Get a shiny metal Revolut card! And a free tenner!
            https://revolut.com/referral/jamesb8!G10D21

            Comment


              Originally posted by Keane View Post
              I actually just finished that totally unexpectedly last night. If you are reading on the Kindle beware - about 25% of the book is acknowledgements, bibliography etc. It's simply a book that everyone ought to read.

              In the meantime I'm sailing through the Putin book. It's very interesting and surprisingly easy to follow despite the huge array of names I would have had no familiarity with previously.

              I started Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain the other night as well. I'm taken aback by how well written it is. 10% of the way in and it seems like it's going to be an enjoyable read.

              I'm really trying to read a broad scope of things at the moment as probably comes across. Anyone with any suggestions for books that are a good layman's jumping off point into interesting topics I would be interested to hear them, along the lines of AI Superpowers mentioned by Hitch earlier. I've also added The Codebreakers to my list as it is meant to be an accessible intro to cryptology and its history.
              Yeah Bourdain was amazing. I remember coming across his original New Yorker article years ago and picking up his books straight after.


              Maybe Bill Brysons short history of everything? It's a long time since I read it but he gives insight into a wide range of topics.

              Comment


                Any recommendations for historical audio books. Looking to take advantage of commute to/from work and exercise and audio books would be the job, any pms with guidance on best places to look would be top notch.
                Go big or go homeless.

                Comment


                  Originally posted by Denny Crane View Post
                  Maybe Bill Brysons short history of everything? It's a long time since I read it but he gives insight into a wide range of topics.
                  I had that on audio years ago and thought it was brilliant. It's one I might dig out again alright.

                  I'm not necessarily after individual books with broad scopes, more a list of books that are decent primers across a broad scope of topics. It's just a bit of a hobby I'm pursuing at the moment.

                  I'll give a list of examples I have either read or have been recommended. Not saying they are the essential works in any particular field just good books on diverse topics.

                  Investing - A Random Walk Down Wall Street
                  Money Management - Your Money or Your Life
                  Totalitarianism - 1984
                  Soccer - Inverting the Pyramid
                  Atheism - God is not Great
                  History of Science - A Brief History of Nearly Everything
                  Sports Statistics - Moneyball
                  Evolution - The Blind Watchmaker
                  Roman Empire - Rubicon
                  Apollo Program - A Man on the Moon
                  Mormonism - Under the Banner of Heaven
                  Restaurant Industry - Kitchen Confidential
                  String Theory - An Elegant Universe
                  US Imperialism - The Essential Chomsky
                  War on Drugs - Chasing the Scream
                  The Financial Crisis - The Big Short
                  Relativity - A Brief History of Time
                  Zen - The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
                  History of Humanity - Sapiens
                  Cryptology - The Codebreakers
                  Artificial Intelligence - AI Superpowers
                  Technological Change - The Second Machine Age
                  Overcoming Adversity - Man's Search for Meaning
                  How to Think About the World - Factfulness
                  Productivity - Getting Things Done
                  Bullshit - Bad Science
                  Middle East Geopolitics - The Great War for Civilisation
                  US Civil War - Team of Rivals
                  Mathematics - God Created the Integers
                  Thinking Outside the Box - Freakonomics
                  Alternative Medicine - Trick or Treatment
                  Obviously a fairly scattered and random list - feel free to add to it.

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by mdoug View Post
                    Any recommendations for historical audio books. Looking to take advantage of commute to/from work and exercise and audio books would be the job, any pms with guidance on best places to look would be top notch.
                    You might consider History of Rome and Hardcore History - both are podcasts rather than books but are ridiculously good. The Hardcore History of WW1 is probably the greatest series of podcasts ever done.

                    Comment


                      There's a bunch of 'hourly history' kindle books available for free on amazon at the moment:



                      They are probably shite but free is pretty cheap so...

                      Comment


                        ...
                        "We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil

                        Comment


                          ...
                          "We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil

                          Comment


                            Quick update on Ulysses. Just over half way through now (thoughts of my original November 1 deadline are long gone) and have been amazed again and again how modern it is and relevant to my own life and these times we live in.

                            A couple of examples stand out. One of the many recurring motifs examined in great depth is Stephan Dadalus' (the thinly veiled Joyce character) mother and how the anti-religious Daedalus refused her request to pray over her dying body and the subsequent mocking of Dedalus by his friends for not honouring the request of a dying woman, his own mother, and his subsequent guilt over this.

                            When my own mother found out she was terminally ill, not long after i started reading the book, she made a similar request for novenas and lighted candles and the like and Dedalus' dilemma suddenly seemed very real and helped inform my approach to the situation.

                            Just this week my home place, a small largely unremarkable market town right in the middle of the north, was mentioned. Joyce named it as the place from where a poet called Louis J. Walsh hailed. A bit of research shows Walsh was at college with Joyce and was also mentioned in Portrait of the Artist. His family hailed from a nearby village and still have businesses there. His grandson was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement in the late 60s which my father was a part of and he'd have known the family.

                            During the summer I noticed from the top floor of the 123 bus that two bars on Dame street had been renamed with references to the book - Mulligan and Haines (used to be Sweeney's or The Sweeney Mongrel) characters who are friends (sort of) of Dedalus and Hely's, part of the Mercantile Bar renamed to reflect the print works and stationary supplier who operated out of the address in the book.

                            Quare stuff indeed.
                            Last edited by BennyHiFi; 13-10-18, 21:41.

                            Comment


                              @Benny I got the usual promo emails the other day and notice Folio Society's issue https://www.foliosociety.com/ulysses.html rated as their No1 book of all time.

                              I'm off my own reading target for the year but I'm hoping to get close with the audiobooks.
                              I plan on being a little more strategic by reading multiple books on a given topic so I'm going to read everything by Dan Dennett before moving on.

                              I read Waking Up by Sam Harris last week, it's basically an overview of secular spirituality, consciousness and meditation. I didn't get much insight from it particularly but the illusion of "I" and the self is interesting.

                              Comment


                                Originally posted by brady23 View Post
                                @Benny I got the usual promo emails the other day and notice Folio Society's issue https://www.foliosociety.com/ulysses.html rated as their No1 book of all time.
                                Nice! Sadly i already have a collecting addiction and unfortunately books are a black hole i can't afford to go down. Lovely looking edition, mine cost a fiver from Swenys, 1 Lincoln Place.

                                Co-incidentally i was looking at some of Louis J Walsh's books online (as they are long out of print) and noticed this story about a letter from Michael Collins to Walsh in 1922 which was auctioned in 2003 and expected to fetch e8000.

                                It was described as "... the most important individual piece of Michael Collins correspondence that's come to light."

                                Comment


                                  I got a request to join the IPB Goodreads group from someone called 'Mowgli' - did anyone here request to join?

                                  Comment


                                    ...
                                    "We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil

                                    Comment


                                      Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View Post
                                      Tar applied a while ago. (and Mowgli rings a general IPB bell)
                                      I let Tar in already. I suppose there's no harm to accepting even if it turns out to be a randomer, I was just wondering who it might be.

                                      Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View Post
                                      Thats a class list and it should be stickied somewhere (think I've read about 90% of it)
                                      Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View Post
                                      Thought Simon Singh's The Code Book was a brilliant intro to cryptology. Amazingly well told.

                                      A book I read last year springs to mind as an obviously brilliant one to read to fit in that list of 'random topics': Masters of Doom: essentially the history of how computer games were developed. Never been so rapted reading a book in recent years!
                                      Thanks for the vote of confidence! I'll add your two suggestions to the list and copy the list into the OP on this thread. I'm sure I have Masters of Doom on a list somewhere as well. Almost picked it up in the bookshop on Saturday but went for Bad Science and A Crack In Creation which is meant to be a great treatment on CRISPR - this technique they have invented for modifying genetic code that can potentially be used for anything from curing disease to designer babies to ending aging.

                                      Again, anyone with any other suggestions please chime in.

                                      Investing - A Random Walk Down Wall Street
                                      Money Management - Your Money or Your Life
                                      Totalitarianism - 1984
                                      Soccer - Inverting the Pyramid
                                      Atheism - God is not Great
                                      History of Science - A Brief History of Nearly Everything
                                      Sports Statistics - Moneyball
                                      Evolution - The Blind Watchmaker
                                      Roman Empire - Rubicon
                                      Apollo Program - A Man on the Moon
                                      Mormonism - Under the Banner of Heaven
                                      Restaurant Industry - Kitchen Confidential
                                      String Theory - An Elegant Universe
                                      US Imperialism - The Essential Chomsky
                                      War on Drugs - Chasing the Scream
                                      The Financial Crisis - The Big Short
                                      Relativity - A Brief History of Time
                                      Zen - The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
                                      History of Humanity - Sapiens
                                      Cryptology - The Codebreakers; The Code Book
                                      Artificial Intelligence - AI Superpowers
                                      Technological Change - The Second Machine Age
                                      Overcoming Adversity - Man's Search for Meaning
                                      How to Think About the World - Factfulness
                                      Productivity - Getting Things Done
                                      Bullshit - Bad Science
                                      Middle East Geopolitics - The Great War for Civilisation
                                      US Civil War - Team of Rivals
                                      Mathematics - God Created the Integers
                                      Thinking Outside the Box - Freakonomics
                                      Alternative Medicine - Trick or Treatment
                                      CRISPR/Gene Editing - A Crack in Creation
                                      History of Game Development - Masters of Doom

                                      Comment


                                        Applied to join the group...
                                        People say I should be more humble I hope they understand, they don't listen when you mumble
                                        Get a shiny metal Revolut card! And a free tenner!
                                        https://revolut.com/referral/jamesb8!G10D21

                                        Comment


                                          Originally posted by DeadParrot View Post
                                          Applied to join the group...
                                          Denied under new diversification rules.

                                          Comment


                                            Finished the Selfish Gene, excellent book. Currently in the middle of the whole Sherlock Holmes catalogue and Mythos still.

                                            Started a book club in work today, one book a month apart from my normal reading. First book was chosen was Shantaram which is a 900 page monster that people seem to have very differing opinions on so looking forward to reading that and arguing about it.

                                            Comment


                                              Originally posted by Tar.Aldarion View Post
                                              Finished the Selfish Gene, excellent book. Currently in the middle of the whole Sherlock Holmes catalogue and Mythos still.

                                              Started a book club in work today, one book a month apart from my normal reading. First book was chosen was Shantaram which is a 900 page monster that people seem to have very differing opinions on so looking forward to reading that and arguing about it.
                                              Absolutely loved Shantaram. very disappointed by the follow up though.

                                              Comment


                                                Originally posted by Tar.Aldarion View Post
                                                Finished the Selfish Gene, excellent book. Currently in the middle of the whole Sherlock Holmes catalogue and Mythos still.

                                                Started a book club in work today, one book a month apart from my normal reading. First book was chosen was Shantaram which is a 900 page monster that people seem to have very differing opinions on so looking forward to reading that and arguing about it.
                                                I'm just finished The Greatest Show on Earth, it's worth a read as a follow up. Deutsch references his Unweaving the Rainbow quite a lot in the audio book I'm listening to atm.

                                                I read Kind of Minds by Dennett recently which I suspect would interest you, it talks about the anthropomorphism we attribute to animals, distinctions between pain and suffering as a concept and how they may differ between animals and humans.
                                                The intentionalality stance is interesting to distinguish between extensionality and intensionality, our ability to distinguish as a result of language. I'd imagine you would enjoy it.
                                                Last edited by Guest; 30-10-18, 15:28.

                                                Comment


                                                  All of those books sound excellent. You've given me some good stuff to get through previously that I haven't been able to get to. I'll definitely read the latter book although AFAIK Dennett's views I had read before seemed to go against the newer Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness and displayed some cognitive dissonance regarding the Yulin dog festival, so it may be good to read about what he says in more detail as it was just a snippet of his views, and it would be nice to see what I get out of it. Of the four horsemen I only know of two (Harris and Dawkins) of their views regarding my area of interest and their still weakness around following their own logic and I'd like to read of the other two. I have a particular interest in things that people believe to be right, yet they do not follow through on their own beliefs, often rationalising that with a new tertiary belief (paraphrasing; Harris: "Logically I should be vegan but I found I needed more protein so I eat meat", Dawkins: "As a Darwinian I should be vegan but eating meat is a tradition like christmas"), I can find I do it myself and love self analysis of things like that. It's kind of funny because the most rational people all have a weakness in rationality, and when you find it they act and react quite like the people they argue against. Nothing brings this to light like participation in it, if you do something you justify that thing. Anyway, enough digression.
                                                  Last edited by Tar.Aldarion; 30-10-18, 16:13.

                                                  Comment


                                                    Originally posted by Tar.Aldarion View Post
                                                    All of those books sound excellent. You've given me some good stuff to get through previously that I haven't been able to get to. I'll definitely read the latter book although AFAIK Dennett's views I had read before seemed to go against the newer Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness and displayed some cognitive dissonance regarding the Yulin dog festival, so it may be good to read about what he says in more detail as it was just a snippet of his views, and it would be nice to see what I get out of it.
                                                    I'm very new to the concepts so I'd have little to compare them to but my interest is definitely growing.

                                                    I'm going to read a couple more on Dennett and I've got the Ego Tunnel by Thomas Metzinger too. If you come across any others on the topic, put them up.

                                                    Quoted before the edit, I tend to agree with you. I have a friend and a sister who are vegan and I have discussed my thoughts with them on it recently. It's odd because they think I have thought more deeply on the subject than they have. Dennett makes an argument for not adhering to veganism briefly in that book which you'll see.

                                                    I have thought about the morality of meat vs dairy recently and I intuitively think the dairy industry must be morally more unjust than meat. That said, perhaps there is an argument for death is the most morally unjust of all. I'd need to read some more but it's all very interesting.

                                                    Did anyone read that Clean Meat book after?

                                                    BTW Hitchens is the best to read out of 4 horsemen as a writer imo. Although flawed at times i think, he's interestin and controversial, anti-abortion for example.
                                                    Last edited by Guest; 30-10-18, 16:18.

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                                                      This is a handy addition to the forum, have returned to reading recently so I was looking for something interesting. My previous few years have been sports autobiographies on holidays so I wanted something more interesting.

                                                      I’d recommend “this is going to hurt”, by Adam Kay about a junior doctor in the UK and all that entails, very funny and yet very realistic.

                                                      Also read The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis which was a quick read about the institutions behind government and how Trump hasn’t appointed people, or where he has they’ve been inappropriate. More balanced than the usual Trump
                                                      Bad, We good rubbish I’ve read recently.

                                                      About to start Hillbilly Elegy on a recommendation and also I’m half way through an old Siobhan Creaton written book about the fraud in AIB’s US subsidiary in the 90s, she always writes so well.

                                                      Comment


                                                        Originally posted by brady23 View Post
                                                        I'm just finished The Greatest Show on Earth, it's worth a read as a follow up. Deutsch references his Unweaving the Rainbow quite a lot in the audio book I'm listening to atm.

                                                        I read Kind of Minds by Dennett recently which I suspect would interest you, it talks about the anthropomorphism we attribute to animals, distinctions between pain and suffering as a concept and how they may differ between animals and humans.
                                                        The intentionalality stance is interesting to distinguish between extensionality and intensionality, our ability to distinguish as a result of language. I'd imagine you would enjoy it.
                                                        I’d consider myself relatively educated but I’m quite certain I don’t understand 20% of those words!

                                                        Comment


                                                          Welcome to the thread GL2M.

                                                          Whenever anyone mentions sports biographies I feel compelled to mention The Game by Ken Dryden. I don't read very many sports books and have no knowledge of or interest in hockey, but this book is out of this world.

                                                          Widely acknowledged as the best hockey book ever written and lauded by "Sports Illustrated" as one of the Top 10 Sports Books of All Time, "The Game" is a reflective and thought-provoking look at a life in hockey. Intelligent and insightful, former Montreal Canadiens goalie and former President of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ken Dryden captures the essence of the sport and what it means to all hockey fans. He gives us vivid and affectionate portraits of the characters -- Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard, and coach Scotty Bowman among them -- that made the Canadiens of the 1970s one of the greatest hockey teams in history. But beyond that, Dryden reflects on life on the road, in the spotlight, and on the ice, offering up a rare inside look at the game of hockey and an incredible personal memoir. This commemorative edition marks the 20th anniversary of "The Game's" original publication. It includes black and white photography from the Hockey Hall of Fame and a new chapter from the author. Take a journey to the heart and soul of the game with this timeless hockey classic. (less)
                                                          I've heard the Montreal Canadians team he played for compared to the all-conquering Kilkenny team of the early part of the century for a bit of context.

                                                          Comment


                                                            Originally posted by Keane View Post
                                                            Welcome to the thread GL2M.

                                                            Whenever anyone mentions sports biographies I feel compelled to mention The Game by Ken Dryden. I don't read very many sports books and have no knowledge of or interest in hockey, but this book is out of this world.



                                                            I've heard the Montreal Canadians team he played for compared to the all-conquering Kilkenny team of the early part of the century for a bit of context.
                                                            Have you got a copy of it to share or is it audio for you?

                                                            Comment


                                                              Originally posted by shrapnel View Post
                                                              Have you got a copy of it to share or is it audio for you?
                                                              I think that was an Audible one for me but it's on Library Genesis.

                                                              Comment


                                                                Originally posted by Keane View Post
                                                                I think that was an Audible one for me but it's on Library Genesis.
                                                                I'm sure I'll find it. Was being lazy

                                                                Comment


                                                                  Originally posted by brady23 View Post
                                                                  I'm very new to the concepts so I'd have little to compare them to but my interest is definitely growing.

                                                                  I'm going to read a couple more on Dennett and I've got the Ego Tunnel by Thomas Metzinger too. If you come across any others on the topic, put them up.

                                                                  Quoted before the edit, I tend to agree with you. I have a friend and a sister who are vegan and I have discussed my thoughts with them on it recently. It's odd because they think I have thought more deeply on the subject than they have. Dennett makes an argument for not adhering to veganism briefly in that book which you'll see.

                                                                  I have thought about the morality of meat vs dairy recently and I intuitively think the dairy industry must be morally more unjust than meat. That said, perhaps there is an argument for death is the most morally unjust of all. I'd need to read some more but it's all very interesting.

                                                                  Did anyone read that Clean Meat book after?

                                                                  BTW Hitchens is the best to read out of 4 horsemen as a writer imo. Although flawed at times i think, he's interestin and controversial, anti-abortion for example.
                                                                  Can make the argument either way re lifelong injustice + eventual killing (say a factory farm life + mourning their offspring taken from them every year for their whole life and then they are killed) vs killing outright at a younger age (and humane killing being an oxymoron), but I'd find that hard to come down on even though it's certainly this kind of thing that I have thought about a lot.

                                                                  Which Clean Meat book? Paul Shapiro's?

                                                                  Hitchens sounds like he has balls, sounds good to me. I used to flip flop on abortion a lot when I was a kid thinking about it.

                                                                  Comment


                                                                    +1 for greatest show on earth, brilliantly informative. I gave it to my Dad a few years back and he refused to read it as it contradicted "the truth" (the bible ).

                                                                    Listened to Sapiens on Audible recently and it was excellent. Has anyone read the follow up Homo Deus yet?

                                                                    Been listening to JRE and blindboy podcasts a lot recently on my commute. Roddy Doyle and David McWilliams live interviews with blindboy were very interesting.

                                                                    Comment


                                                                      How so, evolution is accepted by the Catholic church and the pope.

                                                                      There's a new book after Homo Deus to read as well, 21 lessons for the 21st century.

                                                                      Comment


                                                                        Originally posted by Tar.Aldarion View Post
                                                                        How so, evolution is accepted by the Catholic church and the pope.

                                                                        There's a new book after Homo Deus to read as well, 21 lessons for the 21st century.
                                                                        You just assumed his religion bro Nah he's a JW and there's no talking to him - everyone is an apostate apparently.

                                                                        Comment


                                                                          Originally posted by coillcam View Post
                                                                          You just assumed his religion bro Nah he's a JW and there's no talking to him - everyone is an apostate apparently.
                                                                          I listened to this: https://samharris.org/podcasts/what-is-christianity/ the other day.

                                                                          The guest is currently a professor in New Testament studies who was previously a fundamentalist Christian. Hes now an atheist but continues to lecture. It's quite interesting, questions such as what is the single most compelling argument for Christianity etc. Blatant contradictions between the gospels among other things

                                                                          Comment


                                                                            Originally posted by Keane View Post
                                                                            Welcome to the thread GL2M.

                                                                            Whenever anyone mentions sports biographies I feel compelled to mention The Game by Ken Dryden. I don't read very many sports books and have no knowledge of or interest in hockey, but this book is out of this world.



                                                                            I've heard the Montreal Canadians team he played for compared to the all-conquering Kilkenny team of the early part of the century for a bit of context.
                                                                            Thanks for that, will look out for it. I’ve found in the past that in sports books you need to have some understanding of the sport otherwise it can go over your head. Ball Four the legendary baseball book was like that for me.

                                                                            Jut bought legacy by James Kerr about the NZ rugby team which I’ll report on after.

                                                                            Comment


                                                                              Originally posted by coillcam View Post
                                                                              You just assumed his religion bro Nah he's a JW and there's no talking to him - everyone is an apostate apparently.
                                                                              Did the door-2-door people get him or was it the sign of the four, how did that happen?

                                                                              Comment


                                                                                Originally posted by Tar.Aldarion View Post
                                                                                Did the door-2-door people get him or was it the sign of the four, how did that happen?
                                                                                That was the Mormons.

                                                                                Comment


                                                                                  Originally posted by Tar.Aldarion View Post
                                                                                  Did the door-2-door people get him or was it the sign of the four, how did that happen?
                                                                                  Not sure, would have been when I was a youngster. Obviously I was confirmed as an RC like rest of us before losing interest in religion completely. I actually went to some of their study groups out of curiosity as a teen a few times. Thought it was a load of nonsense, the elder person (like a priest I guess and always male) would ask a question, then answer or correct it and everyone nods along in groupthink. Everything had a finite outcome with zero dissent or critical analysis allowed.

                                                                                  JW's are generally incredibly nice and helpful people from my experience, though the sect has had an enormous amount of bad press over the years. Justifiably so tbf. The ould lad is still bang on and he never really pushed it on us growing up.

                                                                                  Comment


                                                                                    Originally posted by Keane View Post
                                                                                    That was the Mormons.
                                                                                    I had no idea they were different things even. I know nothing about JW's apart from they want to talk to me about my soul and all my Mormon teaching is from a musical by the people who make south park.

                                                                                    Comment


                                                                                      Originally posted by Tar.Aldarion View Post
                                                                                      I had no idea they were different things even. I know nothing about JW's apart from they want to talk to me about my soul and all my Mormon teaching is from a musical by the people who make south park.
                                                                                      Funny enough I actually have a book recommendation about Mormons as well



                                                                                      A multilayered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, savage violence, polygamy, and unyielding faith. This is vintage Krakauer, an utterly compelling work of nonfiction that illuminates an otherwise confounding realm of human behavior.

                                                                                      Jon Krakauer’s literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. In Under The Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, he shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders. At the core of his book is an appalling double murder committed by two Mormon Fundamentalist brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a revelation from God commanding them to kill their blameless victims. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this "divinely inspired" crime, Krakauer constructs a multilayered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, savage violence, polygamy, and unyielding faith. Along the way, he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America’s fastest-growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.

                                                                                      Krakauer takes readers inside isolated communities in the American West, Canada, and Mexico, where some forty-thousand Mormon Fundamentalists believe the mainstream Mormon Church went unforgivably astray when it renounced polygamy. Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the leaders of these outlaw sects are zealots who answer only to God. Marrying prodigiously and with virtual impunity (the leader of the largest fundamentalist church took seventy-five "plural wives," several of whom were wed to him when they were fourteen or fifteen and he was in his eighties), fundamentalist prophets exercise absolute control over the lives of their followers, and preach that any day now the world will be swept clean in a hurricane of fire, sparing only their most obedient adherents.

                                                                                      Weaving the story of the Lafferty brothers and their fanatical brethren with a clear-eyed look at Mormonism’s violent past, Krakauer examines the underbelly of the most successful homegrown faith in the United States, and finds a distinctly American brand of religious extremism. The result is vintage Krakauer, an utterly compelling work of nonfiction that illuminates an otherwise confounding realm of human behavior. (less)
                                                                                      I found this to be as 5* a book as could be.

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                                                                                        where's the link to the goodreads book club? wanna join

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                                                                                          https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/83085-ipb
                                                                                          Low fee Euro/UK money transfer, 1st transfer free through my referral
                                                                                          https://transferwise.com/u/bfa0e

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                                                                                            I just finished 'Unsung Hero' which is the story of the exploits of the great Tom Crean in Antarctica. While the editing was a bit ropey in parts I couldn't praise the book highly enough.

                                                                                            Absolutely compulsive, hair-raising reading about one of the most remarkable people the country ever produced. Seven thumbs up.

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                                                                                              I got through The Power of Habit this week, it's an easy listen on my commute.
                                                                                              Lots of anecdotal stories demonstrating how cues, routines & rewards create habits, it was pretty long tbh.

                                                                                              I'm reading Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Principles by Ray Dalio atm

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                                                                                                Originally posted by Keane View Post
                                                                                                I just finished 'Unsung Hero' which is the story of the exploits of the great Tom Crean in Antarctica. While the editing was a bit ropey in parts I couldn't praise the book highly enough.

                                                                                                Absolutely compulsive, hair-raising reading about one of the most remarkable people the country ever produced. Seven thumbs up.
                                                                                                great read surely. What a man,the book is well named.

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                                                                                                  Algorithms to Live By & The Better Angels of our Nature are 0.99p today

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                                                                                                    Currently reading Echoes of the Fall series by Adrain Tchaikovsky. Only on book one, but very enjoyable so far. Taking a while to read as so busy with work, but enjoying it the more for that. Very promising.
                                                                                                    No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity, but I know none, therefore am no beast.

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                                                                                                      ...
                                                                                                      "We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil

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                                                                                                        Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View Post
                                                                                                        Algorithms to Live By is class. For very surprised by it, on the upside. All about fancy optimisation techniques.
                                                                                                        I added that Hofstader one mentioned on BBV. Pinkers How the Mind Works .99p today, if it's anything like Enlightenment Now, it's worth a read.
                                                                                                        I worked my way through Factfulness last week, such a digestible book, I really enjoyed it. Quite similar to Enlightenment Now and The Rational Optimist.

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                                                                                                          ...
                                                                                                          "We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil

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                                                                                                            Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View Post
                                                                                                            Couldn't find Hofstadter on Kindle. Did you find it?
                                                                                                            No just the hard copy, it's surprising after I read a little about it because it seems very well thought of.

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                                                                                                              Just back from two weeks vacation so may be time for an update. I've now gotten through 51 out of a revised target of 52 books for the year. Only nineteen of the 52 were actually read from text with the rest on audible, which seems like a bit of a cheat - although I have seen some suggestions that audiobooks are a fairly decent alternative. For the most part the audiobooks have been the more pulpy stuff like the Dresden Files and Sherlock Holmes books anyway, so probably not too bad.

                                                                                                              Anyway, since my last proper update as mentioned I read Unsung Hero about Tom Crean which was brilliant.

                                                                                                              I also finished Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential which I liked a lot. Not really very much happens in it I guess but it's a bunch of enlightening anecdotes about what goes on at the other side of the pass on a daily basis. The bit towards the end where he visits Japan stands out the most. He seemed like a really cool guy, a shame how it finished up for him.

                                                                                                              I read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead after seeing it pop up on Denny's Goodreads timeline as it's nice and short. For those who haven't heard of it this is like a side plot to Hamlet following his eponymous hapless mates, ostensibly going on at the same time as the main action. I really enjoyed the parts where it actually intersected with the original Shakespeare but these moments were few and far between. The ruminations on the futility of life and the wordplay that made up most of the rest of it left me a little bit cold, but I find written puns always miss the mark with me a bit. I guess I would enjoy this a lot more if I actually saw a production of it.

                                                                                                              I finished the Broken Earth series with The Stone Sky. I think this book was maybe just slightly weaker than the first two, but this is an excellently conceived and executed fantasy series. The quality of the writing is much better than most of what you find in the genre, and the editor didn't allow the author to disappear up her own arse and take 2,000 pages for something that could have been banged out as a short story like you often get. Worthwhile read for fans of the genre.

                                                                                                              I read The Three-Body Problem which is the first of three sci-fi books by a Chinese author, these are apparently wildly popular in China. It's not sci-fi in the Star Trek sense, rather it's set on Earth with parts of the story taking place during the Cultural Revolution and parts in more or less the present day, but with some sci-fi elements introduced on that backdrop. I liked this - it was a pretty decent page-turner and had some interesting background info on the Cultural Revolution itself. The sci-fi element was clever and intriguing. I think I will probably pick up the second book.

                                                                                                              Finally, I read The Bloodied Field by Michael Foley. This is the story of the lead-up to, the events, and the aftermath of Bloody Sunday (the one in Croke Park). It is told to some extent from a GAA point of view, as it intertwines the stories of the Tipperary and Dublin teams that were playing that day with the actions of the IRA - which many were party to - and the reactions of HMG and the Tans/RIC/Auxies. This was a very good read on an important topic.

                                                                                                              I'm currently somehow reading nine different books however I've managed to get myself into this situation. The one that is exercising me the most is Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass by Theodore Dalrymple, which again Denny praised highly. I'm not a huge way through it so far and I expected to have some issues with it, and I am finding it quite frustrating and unconvincing so far. The writing to be fair is very good, but he has a way of asserting impressions - not to say facts - that don't seem credible without giving any source, stats or backup for them.

                                                                                                              He also uses anecdotes of things prisoners and patients have said to him to illustrate his idea that modern liberal thought is enabling and perpetuating criminal behaviour by absolving criminals of personal responsibility. He acknowledges that the quotes he's giving are the same as quotes you would hear from criminals in the time of Shakespeare or Homer, quotes Tolstoy etc., before merrily carrying on about how modern liberal ideas are a large contributor or even the main contributor to the problem. He also seems to be one of these Patricia Casey type psychiatrists who doesn't really believe in mental health and seems to be suggesting that psychopathology is more or less just a cod to keep psychopathologists in work.

                                                                                                              I can tell he has perspectives and ways of looking at social problems that will be interesting but a lot of it at the moment reads like everything he sees and hears is to be taken as confirmation of the theories he has decided are correct. Hopefully it will settle down a bit as it progresses.
                                                                                                              Last edited by Keane; 26-11-18, 14:39.

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                                                                                                                Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View Post
                                                                                                                Couldn't find Hofstadter on Kindle. Did you find it?
                                                                                                                i've got the epub version if you like. you can then convert to mobi

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                                                                                                                  Originally posted by brady23 View Post
                                                                                                                  No just the hard copy, it's surprising after I read a little about it because it seems very well thought of.
                                                                                                                  Oddly, considering the subject matter is computer science, it is not a book that will play well on a digital version because a lot of what he is doing relies on diagrams and typography.
                                                                                                                  Turning millions into thousands

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                                                                                                                    Originally posted by Strewelpeter View Post
                                                                                                                    Oddly, considering the subject matter is computer science, it is not a book that will play well on a digital version because a lot of what he is doing relies on diagrams and typography.
                                                                                                                    I have found it an issue on Kindle paperwhite before but I ordered a Kindle Fire the other day because I assume it will be similar to Kindle app on desktop which I find fine for diagrams.
                                                                                                                    That said, I made the mistake of listening to Enlightment Now which has quite a few diagrams so I've checked before purchasing any audiobooks since that.

                                                                                                                    Midway through Ray Dalios Life & Work Principles, he narrates too, it's well worth a read/listen

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                                                                                                                      Originally posted by brady23 View Post
                                                                                                                      I have found it an issue on Kindle paperwhite before but I ordered a Kindle Fire the other day because I assume it will be similar to Kindle app on desktop which I find fine for diagrams.
                                                                                                                      That said, I made the mistake of listening to Enlightment Now which has quite a few diagrams so I've checked before purchasing any audiobooks since that.

                                                                                                                      Midway through Ray Dalios Life & Work Principles, he narrates too, it's well worth a read/listen
                                                                                                                      Is there any particular way to check how diagram heavy a book is before buying the audio or is it just general googling?

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                                                                                                                        Originally posted by Keane View Post
                                                                                                                        Is there any particular way to check how diagram heavy a book is before buying the audio or is it just general googling?
                                                                                                                        Not that I'm aware of to be honest. Just general googling, I forgot the other day and I bought one with 17 pages of graphs, though most are maps

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                                                                                                                          ...
                                                                                                                          "We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil

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