What are you Reading?

[Kennytar]

I would have never finished Master and Margarita if it wasnt a school assignment. It was boring, IMO.

Last book I read was Jack London's Smoke Bellew (again). I couldnt fall asleep and I was to sleepy to start a new book.

I don't have time to read lately or I haven't find a good book.

[nameless]

the copycat by erica spindler! im not really that in to reading novels but am quite fond of her work!

[randman21]

Im currently reading "night" published by Elie Wiesel a very good novel about the hallocaust.

Kinda late, but this is an awesome book. Probably my third favorite ever. Are you done with it?

[jacknife737]

Just out of interest, since you do political science IIRC, do they already teach or treat constructivism on equal footing with (neo-)realism and liberalism in International Relations theory in Canada? Or is it considered more like the little brother of the 3, or do they teach some other theory as the third one (like marxist inspired ones).

Yeah, constructivism gets its fair share of recognition in my political studies department. Although, some of my proffs haven't been too keen on it. But it defiantly gets covered.

As for Ferguson, i've heard mixed things about the Accent of Money, but it's always good to read opinions for the various sides of the argument. At the very least, he writes well; i've quite enjoyed his other work, even when i found myself disagreeing with him.

[wheelchairman]

Constructivism was on equal footing in my course. But I skipped most of it because by that time I already had an acceptable attendance rate. (yeah I know, wtf?)

Still a big fan of neo-realism, despite it's flaws.

[barangatang]

I just finished reading "Speaker for the dead" I thought it was way better than Ender's game and suggest it to everyone.

[Outerspaceman21]

The Shining by Stephen King

[Mota Boy]

I'm reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, because I hate Ayn Rand, and I want to know exactly why I hate her and I want to know her better than her supporters know her and I want to know exactly how I'll go about destroying such an ideology.

It absolutely amazes me that people take her books seriously. They're very well written and well done - Ayn Rand is an amazing author in terms of pure writing ability as well as the ability to structure her world, but they're romance novels between man and his work. The world that she creates is a pale imitation of reality. In a way, I think it helps me understand conservatism a bit better, perhaps, bringing the two wings - the religious and secular, into one coherent whole. It seems that conservatism in all forms, religious and economic, seem to be based upon the idea of living a world based on what it should be, rather than what it is. This world that is structured is composed of two sides: good or evil, competent or incompetent. Society should be geared towards rewarding the good while punishing the bad.

Of course, in both realms, the "good" is geared towards a potential maximization of human character, which scoffs at the idea of inherent flaws in us that cannot become overcome by pure force of will. It helps devise a mindset of superiority in the "good" and leading to cognitive dissonance in overlooking flaws.

Now, I'm sure liberals can be criticized for the same thing in oversimplifications that ignore a messy reality, but I'm not reading a classic liberal tome at the moment. Anyway, this and Atlas Shrugged should be required reading for any intellectual, if only because of their influence, but should be read with a critical eye. I've had quite a few friends that read them in high school, full of romance and got totally swept up in them purely on Rand and her characters' charisma without applying too much critical thinking to it.

[Mota Boy]

I just finished reading "Speaker for the dead" I thought it was way better than Ender's game and suggest it to everyone.

Warning: the books get progressively worse. I couldn't even finish Children of the Mind.

[T-6005]

I finished Dan Simmons' final Hyperion novel today, Rise of Endymion.

Glad the protagonist got what he wanted, but the general thrust of the novels lost me in Endymion and didn't do much for me in the final book. Hyperion and its accompanying Fall of Hyperion are much better.

I started Ilium today, since I figure it's at least worth reading, and so far it's a shitstorm of characters and no thread.