Author Topic: New Dawn goes literary!  (Read 31310 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline New Dawn

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 90
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 21.0 Firefox 21.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #45 on: June 27, 2013, 09:33:53 AM »
Since my last post I've also read Neuromancer by William Gibson. It pictures a dark, futuristic world where the protagonist, Case - a computer hacker and drug addict - is persuaded to help an AI to merge with another AI to become a greater 'consiousness'. The book is featuring cybernetic implants, memories and consiousnesses from people caught in ROMs or RAMs and speaking AIs.

I know that I have a long time ago read the 'sequels' to this book - Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive - but I don't remember them at all. This was the first time i read the first book in the series. The book caught lot of attention when it came and made cyberpunk a more accepted branch of science fiction but I cannot say I liked it myself.

Now I'm jumping (at least temporarily) to something completely differently namely 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel.

Offline Sir Osis of Thuliver

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 63
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 21.0 Firefox 21.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #46 on: June 29, 2013, 04:01:57 AM »
Neuromancer was a good one...

My recent reads:

Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
American Pastoral - Philip Roth - highly, highly recommended
Into the Wild - John Krakauer - perhaps even more highly recommended...

Now a quick stopover with Che Guevara's Motorcycle Diaries, then onto either Anna Karenina, or if I haven't worked up the courage for that, a Timothy Leary biography.

Offline New Dawn

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 90
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 22.0 Firefox 22.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #47 on: July 05, 2013, 06:23:12 AM »
I haven't read any of those books (or anything by those authors at all). The first one is actually a play, isn't it. How different is it reading a play from a book?

About Anna Karenina - the summer is long :-)

Speaking about summer - have you had any of this heat wave affecting California?

Offline Sir Osis of Thuliver

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 63
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 22.0 Firefox 22.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #48 on: July 06, 2013, 03:17:32 AM »
Yeah, it's been hot here, but no moreso than normal... We usually have a mild June and then the very end of June into July the temps jump big time... Last Sunday it was 113 out at my dad's house out towards the desert... that was fun...

The Krakauer one is a nonfiction book that was turned into a movie of the same name...

And yes, Death of a Salesman is a play... I'd rather see the play than read it, but reading a play is fun, especially with all the stage direction included by the playwright, so you get to envision the action in your mind...

Offline New Dawn

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 90
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 22.0 Firefox 22.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #49 on: July 07, 2013, 05:00:56 PM »
Imagine 113 degrees.. That's 45C. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Sweden is 38C.(100F) Three summers ago we had almost 34 and that was intense hot...

I've been away, though, on trips to the Mediterranean and experienced temperatures between 40 and 45 in Turkey and Greece and that was hard to endure. But I knew that it was only for a short time and I didn't need to work - just relax.

Offline Sir Osis of Thuliver

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 63
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 22.0 Firefox 22.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #50 on: July 09, 2013, 03:59:15 AM »
Death Valley ain't that far from my house.... three hours, maybe four...

Highest recorded temperature ever: 57C, 134F... During the heat wave that produced that record, there were five consecutive days over 129F...

In 2001, it reached at least 100F there for 154 consecutive days.

On July 12, 2012, the lowest recorded temperature of the day was 107F or 42C!

The average high in July in Death Valley is 116 (47F) with the average low of 88 (31C).

Now that's hot.

Offline Sir Osis of Thuliver

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 63
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 22.0 Firefox 22.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #51 on: July 09, 2013, 06:36:42 AM »
And, fwiw, on the completely uninteresting topic of weather, today is one of the great type of southern California days of summer weather... it was hot today, but not exactly blistering... got up into the mid 90s maybe, but then it just never really cooled down... driving home from work at 730pm it was still 91F and even now, 1130 pm, is still in the mid80s, with just a little gust of warm wind every now and then... sitting on the back patio, getting some work done, slipping into the pool every hour or so to cool off for a bit... yeah, this is the kind of day that only happens a few times every year...

Offline New Dawn

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 90
  • OS:
  • Windows XP Windows XP
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 22.0 Firefox 22.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #52 on: July 10, 2013, 04:17:13 PM »
I am aware of the heat in Death Valley - it has recently taken over the official record as the hottest place on earth as the record from the previous holder (in Libya, Africa) were discarded last year. I am also aware that there is a race that goes by foot, is 135 miles long and starts in Badwater in Death Valley, Californa and ends on Mt Whitney. It will start for the 36th time this coming Monday (July 15), And no, I am not participating. But I am unsure whether I should awe or ridicule the participants.

Back to weather: I can understand that for people used to have good weather (almost) every day it is not interesting to talk about weather. If the weather isn't good one day it will be the next day instead.

For us up in the north it is a bit different though. If you want to have a party of some kind you want it to be on a day with nice weather. Some summers here can have maybe 5 days of good weather. You don't want to sit inside if there are just a few of them. On the other hand , some sommers can have maybe 30 days of good weather. It's hard to know in advance. That's why I and many people around me talk about weather and follow the forecasts (short and long) to know when there is the best chance for good weather.

But we got light! Nowadays it is light from very early in the morning and to 10pm and it doesn't get really dark in the night at all.

Offline Sir Osis of Thuliver

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 63
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 22.0 Firefox 22.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #53 on: July 11, 2013, 03:16:32 AM »
Yeah, that Badwater ultramarathon or whatever... In-freaking-sane.

Offline New Dawn

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 90
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 23.0 Firefox 23.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #54 on: September 03, 2013, 09:49:11 AM »
Back to topic again. :-)

I have made a short jump-away from science-fiction and I have now read Emily Brontë's 'Wuthering Heights'. A dark, tragic story about love and hate. For some reason it became famous. I can't say I liked it very much but it was interesting to read a book I have heard about so many times and finally realizing what it was about.

Offline Sir Osis of Thuliver

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 63
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 23.0 Firefox 23.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #55 on: September 07, 2013, 05:32:55 AM »
Hated it.

Offline New Dawn

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 90
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 27.0 Firefox 27.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #56 on: February 27, 2014, 07:48:25 PM »
Time for an update regarding my quest. Since my last post I have read: (Haven't I been busy, say? :-)

H G Wells   War of the Worlds               A real Science Fiction classic that should be a must for all those that likes SF.
Robert A Heinlein   Starship Troopers   
Orson Scott Card   The Speaker for the Dead    The sequel of Ender's Game. I loved it.
Ursula K Le Guin   The Left Hand of Darkness
Kurt Vonnegut   Slaughterhouse 5   

Charles Dickens   A Tale Of Two Cities       Is said to be one of the worlds most read books but I had heard very little about it before I read it.
PD James   Death comes to Pemberly   A crime story as if written by Jane Austen. Not worth reading according to me.
Selma lagerlöf   Gösta Berlings saga     My first book by her even if she is Swedish (Nobel prize winner)
Edgar Allen Poe   The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum and a few more

I am currently reading:
Neal Stephenson   Cryptonomicon  (This is some heavy stuff for cryptonerds)

(Sorry for the bad layout of the post)

Offline Sir Osis of Thuliver

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 63
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 28.0 Firefox 28.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #57 on: April 03, 2014, 06:41:24 AM »
I've always wanted to read Cryptonomicon, but that takes dedication and I've got a stack of books lined up that I've got to get to first...

Of that last bunch, I've read War of the Worlds, Slaughterhouse Five, A Tale of Two Cities and most of that Poe stuff. Vonnegut is one of my favorites...

On the summer reading list I've got a couple basketball books lined up first, then:

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 - Hunter S. Thompson
The Plot Against America - Philip Roth
The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick
The Death of Sweet Mister - Daniel Woodrell
San Miguel - T.C. Boyle
American Psycho - Brett Easton Ellis
He is Legend: An Anthology Celebrating Richard Masterson

and I'd like to work a classic of some kind in there... Maybe Last of the Mohicans? I've never read that one...

Offline Sir Osis of Thuliver

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 63
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 31.0 Firefox 31.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #58 on: August 11, 2014, 05:44:54 AM »
have we lost New Dawn?...

My recent recommendations:

The Death of Sweet Mister was phenomenal... Not just a great story, but the use of language here alone is worth a nod. Dude can write.

For that matter, I read Cloud Atlas after that and that book is a work of genius... Something like four or five separate  and distinct stories woven together perfectly with different narrators in different styles and different eras. The sheer tightrope-walking of the author is insane.

The Book of Fame deserves mention as well.. Quick easy read detailing the New Zealand All-Black Rugby team's first European and North American tour. Written more as a prose poem than anything else. Highly, highly recommended.

And, just started Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. Literally just started it this morning and I'm more than halfway through. And it is just jaw-dropping. I've read a lot of great stuff this summer, but this thing is above and beyond. Story of a soldier in the Iraq war back stateside for a hero's tour, before being shipped back overseas for another tour. Pretty expertly derides American war culture without ever getting preachy. Just a look inside a soldier's life, with all of the earnestness and cynicism inherent therein mixed up and spit back out. Probably required reading.

Offline New Dawn

  • Subscribers
  • Jr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 90
  • OS:
  • Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
  • Browser:
  • Firefox 31.0 Firefox 31.0
    • View Profile
Re: New Dawn goes literary!
« Reply #59 on: September 10, 2014, 02:24:34 PM »
No, you haven't lost me :-) Sorry for not getting back earlier. But this will be quite a large post instead.

Your post was interesting and I will add those books you mention to my ever increasing pile of books to read.

I have not been idle since my last post. Here are what I've read (with or without comments)

I was reading Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon when I made my last post. It is a 'heavy' book to read but I enjoyed it very much. It's a good example of a book where different parallel stories are woven together in the end. And of course a lot of crypto talk.

In the genre Science Fiction:

I've read some more Edgar Allen Poe (Ligeia, The Raven)

Two books by Isaac Asimov 'Caves of steel', 'The stars, Like Dust'

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
I've seen a movie made from this book a long time ago but I noticed I didn't remember much of it.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons   
6 different stories all in some way centering around the more or less impossible planet called Hyperion. I liked it very much. Especially the story about a girl whose life started to go backwards.

Jurassic Park

John Wyndham   The Day of the Triffids
I've only seen it as a movie on TV before. It was interesting to read the original.

Ray Bradbury   Fahrenheit 451

And also some 'Classics'
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Nevil Shute   A Town like Alice
Ken Kesey   One flew over the cuckoo's nest
Emma by Jane Austen
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres   

And to that some Swedish/Nordic Novels/crime stories in between

I would like to mention and recommend this book:
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.
In spite of its weird title its a very funny tall-tale about a (Swedish) man who gets involved in many of the important happenings all over the world during the 20th century. Highly recommended.

Phew...