The Book Thread 2022

[Macdoc]

"The Information" which starts off with Shannon,

Shannon was unknown to me but just introduced in the Bell Labs story of the development of the transistor.
Enjoying the book immensely

[NamelessFaceless]

Audiobooks in Italics

1. Hope of Heaven - John O'Hara
2. Pal Joey - John O'Hara
3. Invitation to a Beheading - Vladimir Nabokov
4. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever - Bill O'Reilly
5. Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie
6. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
7. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie
8. The Innocence of Father Brown - G.K. Chesterton
9. The Lost World - Arthur Conan Doyle
10 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
11. The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
12. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
13. The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoevsky
14. A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle
15. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (a re-read, this time listened)
16. Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Vernes (I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this!)
17. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (another re-read, this time listened)
18. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde (another one I previously read and have now listened)
19. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
20. The Greatest Show on Earth - Richard Dawkins
21. The Forward Collection: The Last Conversation (Paul Tremblay); Emergency Skin (N.K. Jemisin); Summer Frost (Blake Crouch); Ark (Veronica Roth); Randomize (Andy Weir); You Have Arrived at Your Destination (Amor Towles)
22. Beyond Good and Evil - Friedrich Nietzsche
23. Sarah - J.T. LeRoy
24. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
25. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
26. The Arabian Nights - Andrew Lang
27. The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli
28. Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
29. The Europeans - Henry James
30. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Benjamin Franklin

[don't get me started]

1. Cognitive Discourse Analysis: An introduction - Thora Tenbrink
2. Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender And Identity- And Why This Harms Everybody – Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay
3. A History of the World in 12 Maps – Jerry Brotton
4. Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language – Patricia T. O’Connor & Stewart Kellerman
5. Peer Interaction and Second Language Learning - Jenefer Philip, Rebecca Adams & Noriko Iwashita
6. Eugene Onegin - Alexander Pushkin
7. Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms the World - Nataly Kelly & Jost Zetzche
8. English Words: A Linguistic Introduction - Heidi Harley
9. Questions: Formal, Functional and Interactional Perspectives Jan P. de Ruiter (Ed.)
10. Persepolis Rising - James S.A. Corey
11. English Prepositions: Their meanings and uses - R.M.W. Dixon
12. Draußen vor der Tür - Wolfgang Borchert
13. Metonymy: Hidden Shortcuts in Language, Thought and Communication - Jeannette Liitlemore
14. Tiamat's Wrath - James S.A. Corey
15. Leviathan Falls - James S.A. Corey
16. The Horse, the Wheel and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World - David W. Anthony
17. The Unfortunate Traveler and Other Works - Thomas Nashe
18. A Qualitative Approach to the Validation of Oral Language Tests (Studies in Language Testing, Series Number 14) - Anne Lazarton
19. Are Some Languages Better than Others? - R.M.W. Dixon.
20. The Expedition of Humphry Clinker - Tobias Smollet

21. Body Part Terms in Conceptualization and Language Usage - Iwona Kraska-Szlenk (Ed.)

311. pp

A comprehensive overview of the ways that various languages use body part terminology in the areas of metonymy, metaphor and grammaticalization. The underlying view is the notion from cognitive linguistics that we, as humans, are all in possession of a body and that our experience of our bodies in the world colors out ways of perceiving world, self, others, actions and qualities.
For example, the coding of the visual sense (the dominant sensory modality in humans) to refer to understanding ("Oh, I see" in English) is found in language after language around the world.

Different languages around the world locate the seat of emotions in various internal organs. Sometimes the heart, sometimes the stomach, sometimes the guts. Similarly, the seat of intellect can be the brain or the heart or elsewhere. The significance of eyes is also a human universal with expressions such as 'see eye to eye' being widespread across languages, and the body part word 'face' being a source domain for a vast array of metaphorical and metonymic expressions.

The range of languages examined is extensive. There are interesting chapters dealing with such topics as 'eye' in Hungarian, 'mouth, tongue, lips and chin' in Turkish, 'eye' in Hausa, 'head' in Wolof, 'heart' in Chinese, and 'belly/stomach in Kurdish. There is also data from less well known languages such as the Amazonian language Murui.

In addition to the commonalities of human body part linguistic/cognitive expression, there are also some interesting local, cultural variations where body part terminology is used in metaphorical ways that seem unusual to people from other cultures.

Very interesting book with a wealth of really good data.

[UncertainSloth]

1. the long take - robin robertson - 8/10
2. the gatekeeper - russ kane - 5/10
3. dr potter's medicine show - eric scott fischl - 8/10
4. just one damn thing after another - jodi taylor - 8/10 -
5. trinity - louisa hall - 8/10
6. the night ocean - paul la farge - 9/10
7. washington black - esi edugyan - 8/10
8. the monsters of templeton - lauren groff - 8/10
9. hystopia - david means - 6/10
10. the bones of avalon ( dr dee #1) - phil rickman - 9/10
11. in a cottage in the woods - cass green - 7/10 - a quick light thriller - nothing new or exciting but does its job acceptably

[BWE]

So, I am confused by these long book lists. Are these recommended reading or books you've read or what are they?

[Macdoc]

Lists of read books or audio books for the year. New one is started each year.
The What are you reading thread was too quiet.
http://www.rationalskepticism.org/books ... l#p2784933
I think a combined thread is fne - those that want cumulative lists and those that want individual books with comments seems fine to me. IMNSHO.

[UncertainSloth]

it used to be a more active 50 book challenge each year but, with dwindling numbers, has become a more relaxed thread with recommendations and little reviews - some people set their own personal challenges, others just like to record what they've read

the what are you reading thread is more of a 'current' snapshot - to be honest, i've thought for a few years that one thread would probably serve the purpose considering how few of us there are...

[Evolving]

Speak for yourself. I am Legion.

[don't get me started]

Well, happy birthday Evolving.
I hope that you are having a lovely day.

[don't get me started]

it used to be a more active 50 book challenge each year but, with dwindling numbers, has become a more relaxed thread with recommendations and little reviews - some people set their own personal challenges, others just like to record what they've read

the what are you reading thread is more of a 'current' snapshot - to be honest, i've thought for a few years that one thread would probably serve the purpose considering how few of us there are...

Yeah, it's a small sub-community to be sure, and I'm sure that there are members who read prolifically but happen not to post in either of the threads.

But I like the challenge thread for its cumulative nature. I can see what I've read at a glance and it serves as a nice aide mémoire.
There have been a few occasions when I've needed a reference, but can't recall where it was, and a quick scan of a previous year's list has jogged my memory.

I also get inspired by other's reading lists. One as a spur to keep reading when YouTube, Netflix or Reddit beckons and, two for some nice recommendations.

[Evolving]

Well, happy birthday Evolving.
I hope that you are having a lovely day.

Well thank you! Buying a cake for my colleagues on my way into the office. Seriously considering apple tart, there's usually rather a tasty one at the bakery at the shopping centre.

[Blip]

Happy Birthday, Evolving! Apple tart is good for me, thanks

I too like the record-keeping aspect of the thread, and refer to past lists surprisingly frequently. Others' lists are always interesting and often inspire reading ideas.

I know we have more readers than active contributors, no doubt for the same sorts of reasons.

[Macdoc]

sounds good.
Like the narrator.

[UncertainSloth]

1. the long take - robin robertson - 8/10
2. the gatekeeper - russ kane - 5/10
3. dr potter's medicine show - eric scott fischl - 8/10
4. just one damn thing after another - jodi taylor - 8/10 -
5. trinity - louisa hall - 8/10
6. the night ocean - paul la farge - 9/10
7. washington black - esi edugyan - 8/10
8. the monsters of templeton - lauren groff - 8/10
9. hystopia - david means - 6/10
10. the bones of avalon ( dr dee #1) - phil rickman - 9/10
11. in a cottage in the woods - cass green - 7/10
12. the devil's larder - jim crace - 7/10 - i like crace's books and really must read more of them, i'm a big fan of under the skin...this was a collection of short tales, vignettes and modern fables all on the theme of food

[don't get me started]

1. Cognitive Discourse Analysis: An introduction - Thora Tenbrink
2. Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender And Identity- And Why This Harms Everybody – Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay
3. A History of the World in 12 Maps – Jerry Brotton
4. Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language – Patricia T. O’Connor & Stewart Kellerman
5. Peer Interaction and Second Language Learning - Jenefer Philip, Rebecca Adams & Noriko Iwashita
6. Eugene Onegin - Alexander Pushkin
7. Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms the World - Nataly Kelly & Jost Zetzche
8. English Words: A Linguistic Introduction - Heidi Harley
9. Questions: Formal, Functional and Interactional Perspectives Jan P. de Ruiter (Ed.)
10. Persepolis Rising - James S.A. Corey
11. English Prepositions: Their meanings and uses - R.M.W. Dixon
12. Draußen vor der Tür - Wolfgang Borchert
13. Metonymy: Hidden Shortcuts in Language, Thought and Communication - Jeannette Liitlemore
14. Tiamat's Wrath - James S.A. Corey
15. Leviathan Falls - James S.A. Corey
16. The Horse, the Wheel and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World - David W. Anthony
17. The Unfortunate Traveler and Other Works - Thomas Nashe
18. A Qualitative Approach to the Validation of Oral Language Tests (Studies in Language Testing, Series Number 14) - Anne Lazarton
19. Are Some Languages Better than Others? - R.M.W. Dixon.
20. The Expedition of Humphry Clinker - Tobias Smollet
21. Body Part Terms in Conceptualization and Language Usage - Iwona Kraska-Szlenk (Ed.)

22.Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die - Steven Nadler

234 pp.

Now, I have to confess that I am not much of a one for philosophy. The readings that I have done over the years have been more along the lines of 'familiarize myself with the product of high culture' rather than any serious attempt to understand the minutiae of philosophical arguments. I picked this book up after I read an epigram in another book that quoted Spinoza: " I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, nor to scorn human actions, but to understand them." I though this sounded nice and decided that i should at least have some notion of Spinoza's philosophy.

Yeah, same problem I always have with reading philosophy...just can't get through too many paragraphs without my mind wandering off. Anyways, some interesting ideas, some insights and some nice explanations of Spinoza's theory of how to live a good life. Here is a quote that might appeal to many of the membership here.

" The doctrine of the immortality of the soul may be the most pernicious of all irrational ideas that religious authorities and their allies encourage in their followers. The belief in an immortal self leads inexorably to a life governed by the passions of hope and fear: hope for eternal reward in heaven and fear of eternal punishment in hell. [...] A person will do anything - anything!- to earn that divine reward and avoid that divine punishment." (p.179).

An interesting book, but at the end of the day this kind of stuff is not really for me.
The Socratic dictum of 'The unexamined life is not worth living' is true, but I feel that the over-examined life also has it's drawbacks. As the title of the books explains, somewhat counterintuitively, sometimes it is best not to overthink things and just live. Several hundred pages explaining how not to overthink...if I have understood correctly. Which I very well may not have.

[Blip]

1. A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
2. The Expectation Effect by David Robson
3. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
4. Road Ends by Mary Lawson
5. A Brief History of Earth by Andrew H Knoll
6. Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Lois Roth
7. The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
8. The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
9. The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair
10. Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
11. The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair
12. Monsieur Ka by Vesna Goldsworthy
13. The Fire Engine That Disappeared by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
14. Gorski by Vesna Goldsworthy
15. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
16. Murder at the Savoy by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
17. The Abominable Man by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
18. The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
19. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl part translated by Ilse Lasch
20. The Locked Room by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Paul Britten Austin
21. Cop Killer by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Thomas Teal
22. The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
23. The Terrorists by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
24. The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse translated by Damion Searls
25. I Is Another: Septology III-V by Jon Fosse translated by Damion Searls
26. A New Name: Septology VI-VII by Jon Fosse translated by Damion Searls
27. God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
28. A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch
29. The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch
30. Ruth & Pen by Emilie Pine
31. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Ruth, a Japanese Canadian woman living on a remote island off Canada's north western coast finds, washed up on the shore, a schoolgirl's lunchbox containing a diary written by Nao, an alienated Japanese teenager who had moved back to Japan after a childhood in the USA. The text of the diary and Ruth's reactions are intertwined through the narrative with Zen Buddhism, Quantum Mechanics, dreams, ghosts and spirit guides. I enjoyed it immensely, but it won't be everyone's cup of tea.

[Blip]

1. A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
2. The Expectation Effect by David Robson
3. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
4. Road Ends by Mary Lawson
5. A Brief History of Earth by Andrew H Knoll
6. Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Lois Roth
7. The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
8. The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
9. The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair
10. Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
11. The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair
12. Monsieur Ka by Vesna Goldsworthy
13. The Fire Engine That Disappeared by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
14. Gorski by Vesna Goldsworthy
15. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
16. Murder at the Savoy by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
17. The Abominable Man by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
18. The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
19. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl part translated by Ilse Lasch
20. The Locked Room by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Paul Britten Austin
21. Cop Killer by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Thomas Teal
22. The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
23. The Terrorists by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
24. The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse translated by Damion Searls
25. I Is Another: Septology III-V by Jon Fosse translated by Damion Searls
26. A New Name: Septology VI-VII by Jon Fosse translated by Damion Searls
27. God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
28. A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch
29. The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch
30. Ruth & Pen by Emilie Pine
31. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
*My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood

Not long enough to count, a short story free on Prime and unsurprisingly great.

[NamelessFaceless]

Audiobooks in Italics

1. Hope of Heaven - John O'Hara
2. Pal Joey - John O'Hara
3. Invitation to a Beheading - Vladimir Nabokov
4. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever - Bill O'Reilly
5. Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie
6. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
7. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie
8. The Innocence of Father Brown - G.K. Chesterton
9. The Lost World - Arthur Conan Doyle
10 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
11. The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
12. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
13. The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoevsky
14. A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle
15. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (a re-read, this time listened)
16. Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Vernes (I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this!)
17. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (another re-read, this time listened)
18. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde (another one I previously read and have now listened)
19. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
20. The Greatest Show on Earth - Richard Dawkins
21. The Forward Collection: The Last Conversation (Paul Tremblay); Emergency Skin (N.K. Jemisin); Summer Frost (Blake Crouch); Ark (Veronica Roth); Randomize (Andy Weir); You Have Arrived at Your Destination (Amor Towles)
22. Beyond Good and Evil - Friedrich Nietzsche
23. Sarah - J.T. LeRoy
24. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
25. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
26. The Arabian Nights - Andrew Lang
27. The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli
28. Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
29. The Europeans - Henry James
30. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Benjamin Franklin
31. Shirley Jackson: Novels and Stories - Shirley Jackson

[NamelessFaceless]

*My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood

Not long enough to count, a short story free on Prime and unsurprisingly great.

Oh, yes! I read this one too!

[NamelessFaceless]

Audiobooks in Italics

1. Hope of Heaven - John O'Hara
2. Pal Joey - John O'Hara
3. Invitation to a Beheading - Vladimir Nabokov
4. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever - Bill O'Reilly
5. Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie
6. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
7. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie
8. The Innocence of Father Brown - G.K. Chesterton
9. The Lost World - Arthur Conan Doyle
10 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
11. The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
12. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
13. The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoevsky
14. A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle
15. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (a re-read, this time listened)
16. Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Vernes (I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this!)
17. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (another re-read, this time listened)
18. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde (another one I previously read and have now listened)
19. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
20. The Greatest Show on Earth - Richard Dawkins
21. The Forward Collection: The Last Conversation (Paul Tremblay); Emergency Skin (N.K. Jemisin); Summer Frost (Blake Crouch); Ark (Veronica Roth); Randomize (Andy Weir); You Have Arrived at Your Destination (Amor Towles)
22. Beyond Good and Evil - Friedrich Nietzsche
23. Sarah - J.T. LeRoy
24. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
25. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
26. The Arabian Nights - Andrew Lang
27. The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli
28. Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
29. The Europeans - Henry James
30. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Benjamin Franklin
31. Shirley Jackson: Novels and Stories - Shirley Jackson
32. Hush Collection: Snowflakes (Ruth Ware); Treasure (Oyinkan Braithwaite); Slow Burner (Laura Lippman); Buried (Jeffrey Deaver); The Gift (Alison Gaylin); Let Her Be (Lisa Unger)
33. Rachel Ray - Anthony Trollope - I'm sure this was really just a 19th Century version of a"beach read" but I loved it so much for some reason. And I hate that term. I absolutely refuse to read anything referred to as a "beach read."