Ziegenbartami wrote:

Will you be reading Faust in English or German? Because even I found it hard to read in German

Even you, eh? Well, then it MUST be hard I was thinking of trying the German version, but now I`m not so sure. Maybe I`ll stick to short stories for time being...

Anyone read Christopher Moore?

I actually just finished reading the first part of Goethe's Faust. It's not that difficult to understand. Having an idea as to what's going on prior to reading it definitely helps. I tried reading Marlowe's version and it just went straight over my head.

Yasmin wrote:

I actually just finished reading the first part of Goethe's Faust. It's not that difficult to understand. Having an idea as to what's going on prior to reading it definitely helps. I tried reading Marlowe's version and it just went straight over my head.

But did you read it in German or English?

For Goethe, I read a really good English translation. Marlowe is so olde tymie English I really need to focus to read it.

We have another girl on our forum

Ahmedeus wrote:

We have another girl on our forum

...Last person to join was Matt Moss. Thats a dude. Unless you're referring to Yasmin who's been an (ir)regular for a fair while...

Yasmin wrote:

For Goethe, I read a really good English translation. Marlowe is so olde tymie English I really need to focus to read it.

For Goethe, all you need are the Snooky Larson translations.

I just bought the "Idylls of the King", a collection of poetic versions of the King Arthur tales by Alfred Tennyson from the 1800's. It is very awesome and the cover and the illustrations are beautiful. I really am proud of this buy.

Thinking about reading Divine Comedy in ma vacation.

Christmas Break reading list:
Charles Darwin - Origin of Species
NY Times - The Pentagon Papers (technically re-reading, but it's been a while)
...and if I still have any time...
Günther Grass - Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum)

Ziegenbartami wrote:

Christmas Break reading list:
Charles Darwin - Origin of Species
NY Times - The Pentagon Papers (technically re-reading, but it's been a while)
...and if I still have any time...
Günther Grass - Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum)

Charles Darwin - Origin of Species I'd like to read that too, by the way I think the real name is On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, but that's just retarded long.

Peter wrote:

Ziegenbartami wrote:

Christmas Break reading list:
Charles Darwin - Origin of Species
NY Times - The Pentagon Papers (technically re-reading, but it's been a while)
...and if I still have any time...
Günther Grass - Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum)

Charles Darwin - Origin of Species I'd like to read that too, by the way I think the real name is On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, but that's just retarded long.

This fall some people were handing out free copies on the sidewalks on campus, and I wasn't about to turn down some free schwag
Lots of scientific works up until the 20th century had long titles that were often shortened to just a few words, like Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica which today is known simply as Principia Mathematica.

Ziegenbartami wrote:

Christmas Break reading list:
Charles Darwin - Origin of Species
NY Times - The Pentagon Papers (technically re-reading, but it's been a while)
...and if I still have any time...
Günther Grass - Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum)

And an exquisite list it is. Bravo. I have to read Origin some time, too (and Faust as I've mentioned). But first I'll have to finish Idylls of the King and then How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker. I love reading up on biology so I can annoy the fundi's who always disrupt the evolution parts of the biology lessons at our school. Oh, observing their broken spirits after the application of sound facts to their pseudo-debates is a tasty past-time indeed

I'd really like to read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, has anyone read it, opinions?

Melodude wrote:

I'd really like to read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, has anyone read it, opinions?

If you like communism, then its good. If not, you probably won't like it.

Sign of the Black Mark wrote:

Melodude wrote:

I'd really like to read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, has anyone read it, opinions?

If you like communism, then its good. If not, you probably won't like it.

Yea, I'm fairly interested in communism which is why I wanted to read it, thanks for the feedback

Sign of the Black Mark wrote:

Melodude wrote:

I'd really like to read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, has anyone read it, opinions?

If you like communism, then its good. If not, you probably won't like it.

It's not so much whether you 'like' communism or not, so much as how much one is interested in political/economic theory. If economics is something you enjoy, even if you disagree with the principles of communism, you may nonetheless find it an enjoyable, or at least engaging, read.

I am currently reading Lost Horizon by James Hilton and I am loving it.

Ziegenbartami wrote:

Sign of the Black Mark wrote:

Melodude wrote:

I'd really like to read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, has anyone read it, opinions?

If you like communism, then its good. If not, you probably won't like it.

It's not so much whether you 'like' communism or not, so much as how much one is interested in political/economic theory. If economics is something you enjoy, even if you disagree with the principles of communism, you may nonetheless find it an enjoyable, or at least engaging, read.

I suppose, it is an interesting book, I just haven't really read it since I kind of gave up on communism. Its actually surprising how much of his basic platform for a communist state has become pretty commonplace today, like the progressive income tax and public schooling.

Melodude wrote:

I'd really like to read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, has anyone read it, opinions?

One of the best books I've ever read. Marxist theory is fascinating, and it's really impossible to understand the 20th century without understanding Marx(and Nietzsche for that matter). Don't listen to those that say you have to be a Communist to read this or any of that garbage, "Communism" in this book is nothing like what has been put into practice.

son_ov_hades wrote:

Melodude wrote:

I'd really like to read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, has anyone read it, opinions?

One of the best books I've ever read. Marxist theory is fascinating, and it's really impossible to understand the 20th century without understanding Marx(and Nietzsche for that matter). Don't listen to those that say you have to be a Communist to read this or any of that garbage, "Communism" in this book is nothing like what has been put into practice.

I have read some of Nietzsche's The Gay Science which was a great read Imo, and I've learned about the true Communism of Marx and I want to learn more about it, because at its root Communism seems the ideal way to run society.

Melodude wrote:

son_ov_hades wrote:

Melodude wrote:

I'd really like to read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, has anyone read it, opinions?

One of the best books I've ever read. Marxist theory is fascinating, and it's really impossible to understand the 20th century without understanding Marx(and Nietzsche for that matter). Don't listen to those that say you have to be a Communist to read this or any of that garbage, "Communism" in this book is nothing like what has been put into practice.

I have read some of Nietzsche's The Gay Science which was a great read Imo, and I've learned about the true Communism of Marx and I want to learn more about it, because at its root Communism seems the ideal way to run society.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra is definitely Nietzsche's best work imo, you should check it out if you're interested. Him and Marx have had their ideas twisted so much in the popular eye that its interesting to see how what they actually thought differs so much from how it turned out in practice.

Just picked up The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose. It discusses math, physics, cosmology, psychology, philosophy, and how all these things interact to make strong AI an impossibility.

Melodude wrote:

I'd really like to read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, has anyone read it, opinions?

It's really not Marx's most complete work. Das Kapital is a longer (and according to some more fulfilling read.)

I haven't read too much, but the Manifesto is really only the beginning. There's so much else that Marx did - commodity fetishism, alienation, etc.

But recommended for sure, whether you agree or not.