Books: Book(s) you are Currently Reading | Part 3

[illegalsmile]

Nowhere near as beautifully poetic as Pimp, but still a raw, essential read

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Nowhere near as beautifully poetic as Pimp, but still a raw, essential read

That's exactly what I got from the first twenty pages. It's still good and you can still tell it's Iceberg Slim but lacks that incomparable lyricism and rhythm infused into the street slang that Pimp has. But I think Pimp is just one of the greatest books of the 20th century, period.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Think I've read this before, but still picked it up from the library this week. It's a pretty gentle assessment of (Biblical) Hell. I like Ehrman, but I think he conveniently omits some of the Biblical passages that describe brutal versions of Hell. And he states 'there is certainly nothing to fear' in death.. which is a comforting take.. but I don't think anyone is qualified to declare. The book has a quick pace & is a well organized, chronological history of ancient Greece thru New Testament beliefs.

 

[illegalsmile]

That's exactly what I got from the first twenty pages. It's still good and you can still tell it's Iceberg Slim but lacks that incomparable lyricism and rhythm infused into the street slang that Pimp has. But I think Pimp is just one of the greatest books of the 20th century, period.

Couldn't agree more... Pimp is one of the most important books of the 20th century, certainly from a sociology perspective. It's most definitely an important piece of American literature.

 

[Babe Ruth]

This is an old one, detailing exploration via the North Atlantic (before and after Columbus).

 

[Babe Ruth]

Account of a New York City high school football rivalry c. 1959. A lot of backstory on the opposing coaches, and the culture of Staten Island in that era.

 

[Hippasus]

A Student's Guide to Fourier Transforms: with applications in physics and engineering, by J.F. James

A Student's Guide to Fourier Transforms: With Applications in Physics and Engineering (Student's Guides): James, J. F.: 9780521176835: Amazon.com: Books

Buy A Student's Guide to Fourier Transforms: With Applications in Physics and Engineering (Student's Guides) on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders

www.amazon.com

Fourier analysis deals intimately with trigonometric functions and calculus. This is more of a concise prose introduction to this important topic of applied mathematics. There are not many problems and examples, but some rapid-fire conceptual exposition. I think it is meant for advanced undergraduates. It's way over my head and very technical, but I'm almost halfway done already. I'm just trying to get the drift, look at the pictures and formulae etc. Some of the practical examples include signal processing, electrical currents, diffraction, spectrometry, servomechanism, etc. Thankfully, it is quite short. Fourier analysis is a topic I have heard a lot about, but have not really studied yet. This book is supposed to be a bit of an appetizer for me.

Differential Equations and their Applications: an introduction to applied mathematics, by Martin Braun

Amazon.com

This is another important topic in applied mathematics. It is a bit longer and even tries to tie-in linear algebra and Fourier analysis at the end (see the books below and above, respectively). It, like the book above, has tons of practical examples of how mathematics can describe the real world. Differential equations is a special topic in calculus that is often used in scientific modelling of natural and human phenomena. Some of the applications: radioactive dating to determine if an artwork is a forgery, battle strategies in WWII, the population of sharks and other predatorial fish in the Mediterranean Sea during WWI, human and other population modelling, atomic waste disposal, the spread of technological innovations, tumor growth, a mathematical analysis of the Tacoma Bridge disaster, a mathematical verification of Darwin's theory, etc.

Introduction to Linear Algebra, by Gilbert Strang

Introduction to Linear Algebra (Gilbert Strang) 5th Edition 5, Strang, Gilbert - Amazon.com

Introduction to Linear Algebra (Gilbert Strang) 5th Edition - Kindle edition by Strang, Gilbert. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Introduction to Linear Algebra (Gilbert Strang) 5th...

www.amazon.com

Linear algebra is like the context of geometry (e.g. three-dimensional space) explained in the language of algebra. The author contends that since a lot of what we experience in the real world is discrete and not continuous, linear algebra is the mathematical language to learn as primary, rather than calculus. In my opinion, this is an interesting and very bold claim. Personally, I think it's more of a both-and than an either-or. This book gets into linear equations, vector spaces, matrices, determinants, and more advanced topics in the subject of linear algebra. There is even a section on differential equations. Professor Strang also has a lot of videos on Youtube.com, which are supposed to be based off this text. His enthusiasm for the subject is palpable.

 

[Babe Ruth]

'Spiteful Mutants', a harsh but insightful book/theory by Edward Dutton. He's an evolutionary psychologist analyzing the evolutionary weaknesses of political extremism in the West (mostly, but not exclusively, the political Left). Going in to the deepest, inner/primal minds of childless cat-ladies & social justice warriors.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Kind of put Trick Baby aside until I'm more in the mood for it and been reading Alice Munro short stories. The last two I read were sublime: Material and Royal Beatings. What a perceptive and talented artist.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Good biography, with a lot of cool vintage pics.

 

[Ouroboros]

 

[Babe Ruth]

Biography of John Brown (& the Harper's Ferry raid).

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

'Spiteful Mutants', a harsh but insightful book/theory by Edward Dutton. He's an evolutionary psychologist analyzing the evolutionary weaknesses of political extremism in the West (mostly, but not exclusively, the political Left). Going in to the deepest, inner/primal minds of childless cat-ladies & social justice warriors.

Far right crackpot conjuring baseless pseudoscientific theories to justify his prejudices and attack everyone he doesn't like. Disingenuous at best, contributing more BS conspiracy and bigotry to the idiocratic populist wave at worst.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Far right crackpot conjuring baseless pseudoscientific theories to justify his prejudices and attack everyone he doesn't like. Disingenuous at best, contributing more BS conspiracy and bigotry to the idiocratic populist wave at worst.

It's not 'baseless' that people who profess far Left politics marry less, and have fewer children than self-identified Conservatives. That's the point of his book.. which political worldview (Left vs Right wings) is a stronger genetic survival strategy. There's no conspiracy theory to this book, so I assume you haven't read it (?)
It kills me how hostile (and spiteful <see what i did there) some posters in this thread can be about other people's book choices (especially if you haven't read the book). It's bizarre and lame. And forgive me if you have read it.. but what is the specific conspiracy theory you gleaned from reading it?

 

[EXTRAS]

Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo

Gabriel Garcia Marquez inspiration for getting into magical realism. Mexican novella thats rather beautiful.

 

[Babe Ruth]

1929 biography of John Brown.

 

[Thucydides]

 

[kingsfan28]

Heat II-Audiobook

Vincent Hanna on the prowl. Who ha!

 

[Babe Ruth]

History of some of LA's wealthiest neighborhoods. I've been reading it during commercial breaks of Bills-Rams season opener.

 

[Thucydides]

 

[Babe Ruth]

Brief accounts from 'Pam' & 'Angela'. A lot of behind the scenes Office memories and photos..

 

[Thucydides]

 

[Spring in Fialta]

 

[Babe Ruth]

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If you get a chance, share your opinion on this one. I remember hearing good reviews for years.. its unique storytelling, its importance in American/Southern literature etc. But I remember being completely lost because of its convoluted style and timeline..

 

[Spring in Fialta]

If you get a chance, share your opinion on this one. I remember hearing good reviews for years.. its unique storytelling, its importance in American/Southern literature etc. But I remember being completely lost because of its convoluted style and timeline..

Can't lie, the first chapter is giving me Mrs Dalloway flashbacks. It's inventive but so goddamn boring.