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Author Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading?  (Read 396849 times)
The world will shine with light in our nightmare
Just Passion Through
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« Reply #850 on: October 25, 2013, 12:33:10 PM »

I decided to put down A Theology for the Social Gospel for a little while and focus on books that are more academic, though I certainly got a lot out of what I read of that book.  Next is Foundations of Wesleyan-Arminian Theology by Mildred Bangs Wynkoop, along with a couple other books on Methodist belief that came to my mailbox today.
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minionofmidas
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« Reply #851 on: October 26, 2013, 05:05:26 AM »



(in German, though.)
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Atlas Has Shrugged
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« Reply #852 on: October 26, 2013, 05:14:56 PM »

Just got The Private Life of Chairman Mao and The Power Broker-Robert Moses and the fall of New York from the library.
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Dave from Michigan
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« Reply #853 on: October 27, 2013, 02:32:24 PM »

Currently  rereading A Farewell to Arms

I also got The Great Gatsby which I have read before. I actually wished I had reread it before I saw the movie. I didn't think the movie was all that good but I haven't read the book in over 5 years.
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Gustaf
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« Reply #854 on: October 29, 2013, 07:52:55 AM »

Murakami's always felt a little same-y to me, in that he's more influenced than influential and cosmopolitan in a way that seems (for me, and this is entirely subjective) bland rather than cultured. He also can't write women to save his life. He's got really good instincts for imagery and mood, though.

I mostly agree with this. What's weird though is this: why do women love him so much?

Most women I know who are into literature like Murakami. Most men don't. But to me that's odd.
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Peeperkorn
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« Reply #855 on: October 30, 2013, 07:03:50 PM »

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Gustaf
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« Reply #856 on: November 03, 2013, 07:26:22 PM »

Finished Wind-Up Bird. Good read actually!

Now I guess I will move on to that Penguin book by Anatole France if I can find it again.
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World politics is up Schmitt creek
Nathan
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« Reply #857 on: November 04, 2013, 04:43:42 AM »

Murakami's always felt a little same-y to me, in that he's more influenced than influential and cosmopolitan in a way that seems (for me, and this is entirely subjective) bland rather than cultured. He also can't write women to save his life. He's got really good instincts for imagery and mood, though.

I mostly agree with this. What's weird though is this: why do women love him so much?

Most women I know who are into literature like Murakami. Most men don't. But to me that's odd.

Now that you mention it, this is true among people who I know as well. I don't know why that might be and I don't particularly feel qualified to theorize about it. It's definitely strange. Murakami's women have always struck me as very female-as-baffling-other-as-seen-by-self-absorbed-straight-male, especially in Sputnik Sweetheart, which one might think wouldn't have this problem but which, if it was intended not to, backfired horribly.
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Јas
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« Reply #858 on: November 04, 2013, 06:51:05 AM »

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Beet
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« Reply #859 on: November 04, 2013, 04:23:38 PM »


Really? It seemed rather dated to me.
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Gustaf
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« Reply #860 on: November 04, 2013, 05:21:30 PM »

Murakami's always felt a little same-y to me, in that he's more influenced than influential and cosmopolitan in a way that seems (for me, and this is entirely subjective) bland rather than cultured. He also can't write women to save his life. He's got really good instincts for imagery and mood, though.

I mostly agree with this. What's weird though is this: why do women love him so much?

Most women I know who are into literature like Murakami. Most men don't. But to me that's odd.

Now that you mention it, this is true among people who I know as well. I don't know why that might be and I don't particularly feel qualified to theorize about it. It's definitely strange. Murakami's women have always struck me as very female-as-baffling-other-as-seen-by-self-absorbed-straight-male, especially in Sputnik Sweetheart, which one might think wouldn't have this problem but which, if it was intended not to, backfired horribly.

Yeah, I agree totally on all of that.
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Lurker
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« Reply #861 on: November 05, 2013, 03:34:58 PM »

Now that you mention it, this is true among people who I know as well. I don't know why that might be and I don't particularly feel qualified to theorize about it. It's definitely strange. Murakami's women have always struck me as very female-as-baffling-other-as-seen-by-self-absorbed-straight-male, especially in Sputnik Sweetheart, which one might think wouldn't have this problem but which, if it was intended not to, backfired horribly.

I haven't read Murakami myself, but I also know many women who love his books. Could the answer be that Murakami actually understands women better than you think (or, understand them better than you do?)? Obviously, that may be totally wrong - and not having read his books I can't tell - but I kind of doubt that a writer with such a poor understanding of women could have such a large female fan base.
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World politics is up Schmitt creek
Nathan
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« Reply #862 on: November 05, 2013, 04:54:22 PM »
« Edited: November 05, 2013, 05:00:41 PM by asexual trans victimologist »

I guess it's conceivably possible that Murakami Haruki understands women better than I do but that implies unsettling enough things about my relationships with the women in my life that I'd prefer to look for other explanations. I'd be willing to concede the notion that perhaps most of the women Murakami spends time with think and behave way different to most of the women I spend time with for whatever reason.

Thinking that he has problems handling female characters isn't just a quixotic opinion of mine; it's a frequent criticism of his work. I should point out that the majority of people in the circles I run in who are familiar with Murakami admit, regardless of gender, that this is a problem with his writing, even people who like it otherwise.

(The other issue that I have with Murakami is that, to paraphrase Flannery O'Connor, his writing doesn't feel like it's from anywhere; this isn't meant to echo the pat criticism in his own country's literary establishment that his writing is not 'purely Japanese' enough; it's a broader issue than that. Even when images and moods are arresting and well-communicated, I've never felt like a had a good understanding of the general intended milieu of any of his fiction, except maybe Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, which is probably my favorite of his novels that I've read but which still didn't make as much of an impression on me as, I [Inks] you not, an experimental fantasy anime that's strongly derivative of it. His nonfiction is better about this, as indeed it is about most things. Underground is a genuinely great and important book.)

(Anyway there's really no reason to focus on Murakami when Takahashi Gen'ichirō is still alive, except that far more of Murakami's work has been translated.)

Also I'm thinking of starting Mann's Doctor Faustus at some point, probably after I manage to work my way through Yukiguni and Nijūshi no hitomi in the original.
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Lurker
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« Reply #863 on: November 05, 2013, 05:38:21 PM »
« Edited: November 05, 2013, 05:40:10 PM by Lurker »

Interesting. I really should read some Murakami.

Extremely impressive that you can understand the original versions of Japanese litterature, Nathan - how did you learn the language so well?

Also, I have to say this thread is quite impressive too. Seems like the Atlas is very high-brow when it comes to litterature, to put it mildly (not that I would have expected many Dan Brown or El James fans to show up here).
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© tweed
Miamiu1027
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« Reply #864 on: November 06, 2013, 03:36:13 PM »


he's a freshman in college, not everyone brushes up on economic historiography at age 12.
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World politics is up Schmitt creek
Nathan
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« Reply #865 on: November 06, 2013, 04:55:18 PM »

Interesting. I really should read some Murakami.

I can recommend Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World without too many reservations, and Underground and after the quake with none.

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It's my major and I'm a senior! Thank you for the compliment but I actually can't read it all that well; I've read Snow Country and Twenty-four Eyes in English before and this will be my first attempt to read original 'serious literature' (junbungaku) longer than an Akutagawa story.
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Miamiu1027
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« Reply #866 on: November 09, 2013, 12:59:43 AM »

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TJ in Oregon
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« Reply #867 on: November 09, 2013, 08:47:01 PM »

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The world will shine with light in our nightmare
Just Passion Through
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« Reply #868 on: November 09, 2013, 09:04:44 PM »



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Miles
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« Reply #869 on: November 12, 2013, 04:14:16 AM »

I'm just wrapping up The Syria Dilemma for a Middle East class:



The book itself consists of multiple news columns by professors and pundits. It was a quick and generally easy read, but the book was published before the Congressional debate on Syrian intervention, so some parts were a bit dated.
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World politics is up Schmitt creek
Nathan
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« Reply #870 on: November 12, 2013, 05:31:59 AM »

I just finished John McGahern's The Dark. I'm not quite sure what I thought of it yet.
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Gustaf
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« Reply #871 on: November 12, 2013, 07:00:17 AM »

Now that you mention it, this is true among people who I know as well. I don't know why that might be and I don't particularly feel qualified to theorize about it. It's definitely strange. Murakami's women have always struck me as very female-as-baffling-other-as-seen-by-self-absorbed-straight-male, especially in Sputnik Sweetheart, which one might think wouldn't have this problem but which, if it was intended not to, backfired horribly.

I haven't read Murakami myself, but I also know many women who love his books. Could the answer be that Murakami actually understands women better than you think (or, understand them better than you do?)? Obviously, that may be totally wrong - and not having read his books I can't tell - but I kind of doubt that a writer with such a poor understanding of women could have such a large female fan base.

That's a harsh but fair point. I should add that I do know a number of women who also criticize this aspect of Murakami, so it's not just us. But to me it's more his attitude towards them that is odd than him not getting them.

I finished Penguin Island. Weird book and poorly translated, a fair bit of fun all the same.

Now I'm reading Down and Out in Paris and London
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Mopsus
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« Reply #872 on: November 13, 2013, 04:07:32 PM »

Candide

I feel that the novella suffered for its brevity, rather than benefited from it; the rapidity with which the central characters moved from tragedy to tragedy was sometimes too much to take. Still, I found the conclusion satisfying enough, and Martin did have some great lines.
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TheDeadFlagBlues
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« Reply #873 on: November 14, 2013, 05:23:23 PM »
« Edited: November 14, 2013, 05:26:57 PM by TheDeadFlagBlues »



If the views in this book form the basis for the PPE program at Oxford, I need to transfer ASAP. The approaches revealed in this work are so similar to how I approach the social sciences and I feel as if I found the reason why I feel vaguely dissatisfied with my econ/poli sci courses: they lack a foundation in philosophy, ethics and the humanities. Strange to think when I entered undergrad that I only craved classes focused on empirics and now I tend to shy away from it.



The discussion of the cross-influences of the sentimentalist philosophers and non-conformist protestant theologians was really great but Friedman's view of growth is a little too centrist/neo-liberal/Davos/World Bank for my tastes. That being said, he is correct in stating that economic growth engenders tolerance and strong democratic institutions but I don't think he cares about whether this growth is equally diffused which is a view I can't tolerate.
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #874 on: November 14, 2013, 05:27:23 PM »

PPE is basically an apprenticeship degree for aspiring political hacks.
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