What Are You Reading?

[sozamora]

Laurie Penny and Molly Crabapple - Discordia: Six Days in Crisis Athens

Lauren Beukes - Moxyland

[Jazzooo]

The Contortionist's Handbook by Clevinger.

[BeBop]

Recently finished fourth Bud Powell bio (Pullman's) and am now on Kelly's Monk bio.

[Harry]

A must for Jazz fans

"The Baroness: The Search for Nica, the Rebellious Rothschild" by Hannah Rothschild

"In the early 1950s Nica heard “’Round Midnight” by the jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk and, as if under a powerful spell, abandoned her marriage and moved to New York to find him. She devoted herself to helping Monk and other musicians: she bailed them out of jail, paid their bills, took them to the hospital, even drove them to their gigs, and her convertible Bentley could always be seen parked outside downtown clubs or up in Harlem. Charlie Parker would notoriously die in her apartment in the Stanhope Hotel. But it was Monk who was the love of her life and whom she cared for until his death in 1982.

Hannah Rothschild has drawn on archival material and her own interviews in this quest to find out who her great-aunt really was and how she fit into a family that, although passionate about music and entomology, was reactionary in always favoring men over women. Part musical odyssey, part love story, The Baroness is a fascinating portrait of a modern figure ahead of her time who dared to live as she wanted, finally, at the very center of New York’s jazz scene."

[steve(thelil)]

Garcia: An American Life, by Blair Jackson. Excellent, serious bio of the Head Dead/Deadhead.

[jwaggs]

Almost halfway through Jonathan Franzen's Freedom and haven't yet figured out why it's a good book.

[DoTheNeedful]

The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli.

[Dr Dave]

A novel about being at the end of your rope at the end of the American Age. Very well done, but almost unbearably sad.

[stonemonkts]

That looks right up my alley.

[uli]

I have started to read this. I really don't know why I never read this before. some good stuff

[drumsolo]

I've been hearing about this book as being some kinda of instant comedy classic and after 100 pages or so I tend to agree. It concerns a group of infantry men just off some heroic mission in Iraq and getting the star treatment by being invited to the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving game.

[sozamora]

David Hume - An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

[timoleon]

A novel about being at the end of your rope at the end of the American Age. Very well done, but almost unbearably sad.

is it a new one from eggers?
i liked some of his previous stuff.

i read right now one of the greatest american writers,annie proulx-bad dirt vol.2.

[Monte Smith]

David Hume - An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

Might I inquire as to what you understand concerning Hume?

[sozamora]

David Hume - An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

Might I inquire as to what you understand concerning Hume?

Very little, I must admit. It's definitely worth reading. I don't read a lot of philosophy, so I don't have a good basis for affirming this, but this short book was not only extremely readable, it was also very engaging and lucid. Ideas aside, Hume is a terrific and very modern writer. With minor changes, I would mistake it for an early 20th century text.

I really liked that before he gets going with the stuff, Hume takes on philosophy as a practice and basically tells philosophers to cut the bullshit. It's either overly simplistic and mundane good ol' fashion horse sense, or it's overly abstruse mumbo jumbo lost in a sea of mystical nonsense. Neither type of philosophy, he claims, is very useful for making meaningful discoveries about our world. I imagine in his day, a clear-headed application of both reason and understanding of human behavior as motive for action and thought through an empirical lens was not that common, but it's clear in retrospect that Hume influenced the way we see the world today.

Hume argues that we infer matters of fact through the relationship between cause and effect, and that the repeated observation of this inferred relationship leads to our understanding of the world. This is as good an explanation of empiricism as I've ever read. He adds, however, that we do most of this not through reason directly but through sentiment and instinct.

He offers a very humble view of the role of philosophy, and dismisses attempts to affirm the divine through reason as pointless. He's ambiguous on his own religious beliefs, but he concludes that belief in a Deity can only come from faith. I suspect there's a bit of CYA going here, but I don't know.

[Mr. Met]

The History of the New York Mets

The Mets of Memphis

The Year The Mets Lost Last Place

I Am The Greatest -- Mike Piazza

[Monte Smith]

Sergio, thanks for answering my enquiry concerning Hume understanding. What I recall most from my studies is that Hume could out consume Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, as plainly he has done in this undated photograph of the great Scottish drinker wearing panties on his head. Cinco de Mayo? Difficult to say.

[jaka]

Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey

The Kubrick's movie is among favorites but I hadn't read the book before. Found a left behind paperback at a recording session yesterday during a break, and enjoyed the 30-40 pages I had time to go through.
Any advice about the following books in the series, worth a shot?

[Monte Smith]

Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey

The Kubrick's movie is among favorites but I hadn't read the book before. Found a left behind paperback at a recording session yesterday during a break, and enjoyed the 30-40 pages I had time to go through.
Any advice about the following books in the series, worth a shot?

Jaka, I read the series a few years ago. I thought the first book was wonderful and each sequel a degraded step down until the the finale was reached in a complete POS.

[jaka]

Thanks Monte, thanks Scott.
I'll proceed carefully then, one at a time.

POS stands for Pile Of Shit, right?
If I ever get to the the fourth, sure hope it's only disappointing in comparison.

[Mr. Met]

I took a course on Hume in college. The best thing about it was the girl who sat next. to me.

[Mr. Met]

My biggest issue with 2001? No baseball.

[BeBop]

Leo Tolstoy, ­Childhood (1852)· ­Boyhood (1854)·­Youth (1856)·

[A. Kingstone]

I hadn't read Charles Bukowski in about 25 years and just thoroughly enjoyed Ham On Rye.

[jaka]

Huh. I wasn't aware, or had forgotten, there was a 2001: A Space Odyssey book. I remember the flick, and as a rule, books are much better for carrying the story and stuff...I'll have to pick up the book. thanks

I'll try to thank (for both of us) the sound engineer who forgot his copy of the book on the mixing desk at the venue.