What are you currently reading?

Started by facehugger, April 07, 2007, 12:36:10 AM

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Bogey

Quote from: op.110 on May 29, 2007, 09:48:08 PM


A great book. Every other line, or every line, is an aphorism. Wilde is so wise and logical. And look... it's Liszt on the cover!

Great book!  It was our book club selection.  The discussion our group had was incredible.  The introduction was a book onto itself and worth the purchase.

Quote from: Florestan on May 29, 2007, 10:27:22 PM
Agreed about the book. But I wonder what's Liszt go to do with it?  ???

I thought the same thing as this is the printing I read.  The only connection I could come up with George was that Liszt I believe hung out with Chopin a bit and Chopin is mentioned a number of times in the novel.  Weak, but there you have it:

At a gathering one day, Franz Liszt asked Frederic Chopin to play in complete darkness as he had on a previous occasion. After extinguishing the lights and drawing the curtains, however, he intercepted Chopin on his way to the piano and whispered something in his ear. He then sat at the piano and played the same composition which Chopin had planned; the listeners were captivated.
After the performance, Liszt lighted the candles on the piano, revealing himself to his stupefied audience. "What do you say?" Liszt asked, turning to his rival. "I say what everyone says," Chopin replied. "I too believed it was Chopin!"

There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Florestan

Quote from: Bogey on June 04, 2007, 08:03:54 PM
At a gathering one day, Franz Liszt asked Frederic Chopin to play in complete darkness as he had on a previous occasion. After extinguishing the lights and drawing the curtains, however, he intercepted Chopin on his way to the piano and whispered something in his ear. He then sat at the piano and played the same composition which Chopin had planned; the listeners were captivated.
After the performance, Liszt lighted the candles on the piano, revealing himself to his stupefied audience. "What do you say?" Liszt asked, turning to his rival. "I say what everyone says," Chopin replied. "I too believed it was Chopin!"



Nice one!  :)
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

George

Quote from: Harvested Sorrow on June 04, 2007, 07:35:24 PM
I'm currently finishing up the Dune series (reading Heretics of Dune now), Faust, and getting a bit side-tracked by the Tao Te Ching and books on various aspects of Buddhism.

Which books on Buddhism?

I am currently reading "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Suzuki.

Harvested Sorrow

Quote from: George on June 05, 2007, 05:20:40 AM
Which books on Buddhism?

Primarily material on meditation, although one of them couldn't technically be called 'Buddhist' as it deals with meditation of all forms, including methods more focused around Hinduism.

To be more specific: Ananda Maitreya's translation of the Dhammapada (second reading) followed by Gil Fronsdal's translation, along with Thich Nhat Hanh's The Long Road Turns To Joy: A Guide to Walking Meditation, Ram Dass' Journey of Awakening: A Meditator's Handbook and Chogyam Trungpa's Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior.

George

Quote from: Harvested Sorrow on June 05, 2007, 07:51:52 AM
Primarily material on meditation, although one of them couldn't technically be called 'Buddhist' as it deals with meditation of all forms, including methods more focused around Hinduism.

To be more specific: Ananda Maitreya's translation of the Dhammapada (second reading) followed by Gil Fronsdal's translation, along with Thich Nhat Hanh's The Long Road Turns To Joy: A Guide to Walking Meditation, Ram Dass' Journey of Awakening: A Meditator's Handbook and Chogyam Trungpa's Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior.

Thich Nhat Hanh is an excellent guide for the westerner. And that last one is of course a classic.  :)

Harvested Sorrow

Indeed.  I'm a bit....iffy about the whole 'use of magic' sections in there, however, I'm sure that'll be a fun read at least and the rest should be useful. :)

Not to mention, it's a pocket edition so I can take it anywhere quite easily. ;D

George

Quote from: Harvested Sorrow on June 05, 2007, 08:55:45 AM
Indeed.  I'm a bit....iffy about the whole 'use of magic' sections in there, however, I'm sure that'll be a fun read at least and the rest should be useful. :)

Not to mention, it's a pocket edition so I can take it anywhere quite easily. ;D

Yeah, that's the one my g/f has. I've been meaning to borrow it form her.

E d o

Life of Pi by Yann Martel. It's very good. I think it got a Booker prize too.

Robert

Donna Tartt

A secret History

great......

Harry

#269
I am currently re-reading "'Oscar Wilde" by Richard Ellmann.
A fascinating book, about a fascinating man.

Florestan

Quote from: Harry on June 11, 2007, 03:00:13 AM
I am currently re-reading "'Oscar Wilde" by Richard Ellmann.
A fascinating book, about a fascinating man.

You'd better read the libretto of Boris Godunov:D
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Harry

Quote from: Florestan on June 11, 2007, 03:16:32 AM
You'd better read the libretto of Boris Godunov:D

Is not in my possession! ;D ;D

Steve

More Proust, I'm reading the Cambridge Companion at the moment.

George



It's good, just not quite as accessible as Joko Beck's books.  :)

rockerreds


bwv 1080

Quote from: George on June 11, 2007, 05:20:16 AM


It's good, just not quite as accessible as Joko Beck's books.  :)

If Zen is all about personal experience and being in the present rather than doctrine or theory, then how come there are so many damned books on it?

karlhenning

Well, Steve, you might just as well ask how a publication could be "informal talks" . . . .

Danny

The poetry of Neruda, Burns, and Hopkins.

jwinter

Been reading a lot with eReader for my Palm Tungsten E2.  There's nothing quite so amusing as reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on a small, digital, hand-held device -- now if I could just find a "Don't Panic" sticker... ;D

Besides that, I've recently been perusing Don Quixote, Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, and Christopher Hitchens' God is not Great, all on the Palm.  I've always been curious about ebooks, and I have to say that it's a nifty concept.  The screen is nice and clear, customizable fonts & colors, provides it's own light, easy to use, and I can carry 1,000 books in my shirt pocket.  It's even got a built-in dictionary, so I can click on a word and look it up.  I've had it almost 2 months, and the "geek's latest toy" fascination still hasn't worn off -- this one's a keeper, I think.  And it plays solitaire too. 

Oh, and the strategy guide for Civilization IV, I just got a new laptop ;D
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.

-- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice