h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

That reminds me; I have to get my copy of the Cryptonomicon back from my neighbor. I'm going on holiday this weekend (to a desert island as it is...)
See you when I get back!

Marv -

Great list.

Bumblebee -

Have fun at the island, take plenty of sunblock

Courtesy

Favourite book... Oh no, too difficult. But I keep going on and on and turning over and over in my head a book I read about a year and a half ago, so in terms of impact I think that one wins the prize at the moment. It's called Humanity by Jon somebody.

Desert Island books? Hmmm. Tricky. I'll have to think about it...

I'm going to have to get around to Dune, aren't I? Oh dear...

Lordy, so many to choose from, Sorry for the brief posting but I shall have to dwell on my top ten faves for a desert island for quite some time. I shall return with a list.

Also - because it ties in with the learned behaviour / genetic traits conversation I am having over on a Have Humans Stopped Evolving thread has anyone apart from me, the bloke that lent me it and the friends I have forced to read it , read 'Knowledge of Angels'?

Wasn't that painful actually -
Shakespeare collected works
Hugh Cook - Dark Ages saga
Terry Pratchett - Discworld series
Iain Banks - the Culture books
Jean-Paul Sartre - Being and Nothingness
Jane Gaskell - Atlan Saga
Riso/Hudson - Personality Types
Robert Pirsig - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Love in the time of Cholera
A collection of my fave poems including the likes of Wendy Cope, John Fuller, Christina Rossetti, Phillip Larkin, WH Auden, Hilaire Belloc.

Sol -

Welcome and thanks for the book idea, I will have to see if I can find it on-line.

Fate -

I'm sorry, but I have never even heard of that book.

Great list, Shakespeare is a great idea.

courtesy

I've never heard of that book either... Still, sounds interesting. Oh for a good library near me...

Still haven't come up with a list of desert island books, but here are the ones I took when I was stuck in a village with no TV and nothing to do except dig the garden for a month. I should point out that I took them cos otherwise I'd never have gotten around to them...

Portrait of a Lady: H James.
Hitler and Stalin: By some historian.
A Peoples' Tradgedy: Orlando Fides.
Cancer Ward and August 1917 (or 1914?? can't remember): Solshanitsin.
Three Muskateers: Dumas.
Dangerous Liasons: Whatsit.
Moby Dick, which as it happens even the village couldn't make me get past the first couple of chapters.

I think I would go for Shakespere too, as I probably will never get round to Macbeth otherwise, and some other things like Marx or Mein Campf and some of those Ancient Philosopher types, as well as people like Hemmingway and such on the same principle.

Jill paton Walsh wrote Knowledge of Angels, very good book - set in an ancient greek island (or is it) setting and a man is washed up who claims to be from another civilisation (but there aren't any others ) and he doesn't be;live in God (hanging offence). In order to be sure he is killed legitimatly, ie be sure he rejects God and so has to be killed they do a test - meanwhile a girl has been found raised by wolves, they don't teach her anything, they want to see if knowledge of God is intrinsic to our humanity. that's the start anyway. I recommend it to everyone. It fits into the nature vs nurture debate and that's why I mentioned it.

I know I cheated outrageously on my book list as regards putting down thing like the Discworld series. But Hey!

Also - I too do the 'must read the classics' thing. I must be one of the few people who actually liked Moby Dick.

This summer I shall be reading The Upanishads and Jane eyre (again, it was so many years since I read it that I can't remember it at all)

The main thing about the classics is that if I took something I'd actually enjoy, it would take me all of an afternoon to devour...

I agree with reading the classics also. Just last year I finally read The Republic by Plato, and am now working my way through the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

I highly recommend the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire if you have a desire to learn why the American Constitution is written the way it is. I found that the first 150 pages mapped almost directly to the constitution, and Decline and Fall was first published in 1776.

Fate - I also cheated by including the "all works" tag on books that I know are separate

Courtesy

Courtesy -
The Republic - This is a much A levelled subject topic that I thought I'd throw at you - Is Plato a Feminist?

Plato a feminist?

I had never thought of that.

I'm not sure we can apply modern labels to a person who lived 2500 years ago. I think that the culture back then had a definite split, where the men were both more masculine and more feminine.

Courtesy

I have not read Plato's Republic as I have been concentrating on asian philosophy of late. Perhaps I should dig up a copy and read it eh?

I found the Republic a bit of a disappointment, I'm not sure what I was really expecting, but it didn't seem to live up to what I expected.

I have found much more information and enjoyment in the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

Speaking of Asian Philosophy, what books have you been reading? I'm in the middle of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the Tao Te Ching, and the Analects of Confucious. I find that I read one or two pages out of one of the books, then think about it for several days.

Courtesy

Courtesy,

I am reading Go Rin No Sho or The Book of Five Rings by Myiamoto Mushashi. It is a strategy book for sword play that is considered one of the cannonical books for Japanese business, I am also reading The Art of War by Sun Tzu, but I have not completed it. Go Rin No Sho is a good book to read a chapter and then meditate on it for a while. That is more or less how I have had to read it. The concepts take a while for me to absorb. I have not started any other Asian philosophy but I am looking for good titles.

The Book of Five Rings is fantastic, I've read it about 3 times and get more out of it every time.

The Art of War was fun, I think I need to reread it about 20 more times to fully absorb the information.

If you are looking for some books, I highly recommend Everyday Zen, Everyday Tao, and The Three Pillars of Zen. All great books, with the first two being Tao Te Ching esqe

I'll have to go through my books, I have about 25 on the subjects of eastern philosphies.

Courtesy

I thought about that list and came to the conclusion that I'm not capable of making a list of ten of my dearest/most useful books. Besides, the best book I've read, William Styron's Sophie's Choice, couldn't even go on the list; what's the use of taking a book you can never read again on a desert island? Now that I know what her choice was, I can never go back.

liekki -

Welcome to the Book Nook, no worries on the list, it's more of a conversation starter and I use it as a way to get new book ideas.

I didn't even know that Sophie's Choice was a book, what made it so great? Was it the characterization, plot?

Courtesy the curious

Courtesy, I am quite interested in any eastern philosophy titles for the budding student. Thanks for the titles you have already given me. I will look for them this weekend.

Marv -

I'm glad that your interest has been piqued, I think that the eastern philosophies have so much to show us, especially in the western world.


might I suggest you stop by the Zen Garden & Tea House


If you are starting in the eastern philosophies, I would highly recommend the Tao of Pooh, it is a great introduction to Taoist philosophy, and the use of Pooh as a reference really helps.

Courtesy