December was a good month for getting some reading done. January has been so far but somehow I don't think it will continue
Books finished/read in December:
Discipline - Paco Ahlgren
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
I am Legend - Richard Matheson
Siddhartha - Herman Hesse
Books Read in January:
The Man in the High Castle - Phillip K. Dick (from 4 Novels from the 1960s)
Books Currently Reading:
Tour de Life - Saul Raisin w/ Dave Shields
Fugitives and Refugees - Chuck Pahlaniuk
Essays - George Orwell
Books on Deck:
Phillip K. Dick - the Rest of 4 Novels of the 1960s
Rant - Chuck Pahlaniuk
High Fidelity - Nick Horby
Other Items Read/Reading:
Rouleur Issue Seven (Subscription was one of my fav xmas gifts)
Believer Issue 50 (just got my last issue in the mail-no good)
Showing posts with label read any good books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label read any good books. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Thursday, August 16, 2007
surviving the city
I just finished reading The Art of Cycling by Robert Hurst a couple nights ago and it was a pretty interesting read.
It is basically an overview of his view of how to ride a bike in an urban setting in the safest manner possible so it includes info on navigating in traffic, common obstacles in the street, and a few other topics.
Though it borrows very heavily from John Forester's principle's of vehicular cycling, it differs in an important way that I tend to agree with.
The vehicular cycling crowd will tell you that bicyclists fare best when they act and are treated as vehicles with the same rights and responsibilities that motorists have. Hurst however argues that the problem with this view is that you are putting responsibility on motorized vehicle drivers for your safety, and that a small mistake on their part can have massive consequences for cyclists up to and including death. His solution is one of taking all responsibility for your safety when on the road. How do you do this? Through a combination of vehicular cycling, altering your route to include roads with less traffic when possible, utilizing bike paths when convenient, and even being ready to bail onto the sidewalk if necessary.
In addition, he goes over common hazards in the roadway (form potholes to railroad tracks) and how best to avoid rapid introductions to pavement of any kind. He also discusses topics as wide ranging as the effects of air pollution on cyclist and how best to mitigate.
The ultimate message however is to take control of your fate when riding and PAY ATTENTION (he argues that getting distracted from the task at hand is a large factor in bike accidents).
I don't know if I would reccomend buying this but definitely worth getting form a friend or the library.
Next up is The Book of Dave.
On the nightstand currently:
Book of Dave (in progress)
Essays – George Orwell
Ulysses
It is basically an overview of his view of how to ride a bike in an urban setting in the safest manner possible so it includes info on navigating in traffic, common obstacles in the street, and a few other topics.
Though it borrows very heavily from John Forester's principle's of vehicular cycling, it differs in an important way that I tend to agree with.
The vehicular cycling crowd will tell you that bicyclists fare best when they act and are treated as vehicles with the same rights and responsibilities that motorists have. Hurst however argues that the problem with this view is that you are putting responsibility on motorized vehicle drivers for your safety, and that a small mistake on their part can have massive consequences for cyclists up to and including death. His solution is one of taking all responsibility for your safety when on the road. How do you do this? Through a combination of vehicular cycling, altering your route to include roads with less traffic when possible, utilizing bike paths when convenient, and even being ready to bail onto the sidewalk if necessary.
In addition, he goes over common hazards in the roadway (form potholes to railroad tracks) and how best to avoid rapid introductions to pavement of any kind. He also discusses topics as wide ranging as the effects of air pollution on cyclist and how best to mitigate.
The ultimate message however is to take control of your fate when riding and PAY ATTENTION (he argues that getting distracted from the task at hand is a large factor in bike accidents).
I don't know if I would reccomend buying this but definitely worth getting form a friend or the library.
Next up is The Book of Dave.
On the nightstand currently:
Book of Dave (in progress)
Essays – George Orwell
Ulysses
Monday, August 06, 2007
Catching up
Haven't checked in in a few days as I have been in NYC on vacation. It was my first time there and it was a good time. The only thing I am bummed about is that I didn't get to check out any music shops, but you can read about the rest of Liane and my adventures here
In other news I finally finished The End of Poverty and within a couple days finished The Polysyllabic Spree
The End of Poverty is a great book that makes a good case for the reasons certain countries cannot get out of the trap of extreme poverty (living with less than $1 a day). Jeffrey Sachs make some very good arguments for what needs to be done to solve these issues and why the west, and especially the US, needs to make the investments he calls for. He is a firm advocate in the idea that capitalism can help everyone provided they are helped onto the lower rungs of the ladder that leads upwards out of poverty.
The Polysyllabic Spree is a completely different kind of book but that should go without saying. It is a collection of Nick Hornby's monthly essays for Believer Magazine which were an influence in my checking out the magazine in the first place. I have found that I tend to like his prose a little better than his fiction but I will be giving High Fidelity a chance here in the upcoming months (provided it doesn't keep getting bumped down the list).
On the nightstand currently
The Art of Cycling (in progress)
Book of Dave
Essays – George Orwell
Ulysses
In other news I finally finished The End of Poverty and within a couple days finished The Polysyllabic Spree
The End of Poverty is a great book that makes a good case for the reasons certain countries cannot get out of the trap of extreme poverty (living with less than $1 a day). Jeffrey Sachs make some very good arguments for what needs to be done to solve these issues and why the west, and especially the US, needs to make the investments he calls for. He is a firm advocate in the idea that capitalism can help everyone provided they are helped onto the lower rungs of the ladder that leads upwards out of poverty.
The Polysyllabic Spree is a completely different kind of book but that should go without saying. It is a collection of Nick Hornby's monthly essays for Believer Magazine which were an influence in my checking out the magazine in the first place. I have found that I tend to like his prose a little better than his fiction but I will be giving High Fidelity a chance here in the upcoming months (provided it doesn't keep getting bumped down the list).
On the nightstand currently
The Art of Cycling (in progress)
Book of Dave
Essays – George Orwell
Ulysses
Friday, July 06, 2007
long and winding road
I just finished reading The Road and though many other people have sung it’s praises (it’s an Oprah book club selection after all), I have to add my 2 cents as well because it’s been a while since I was so taken with a novel and could barely put it down. Due to my school, work, and biking schedules I don’t have a lot of free time to read but I made time for this book staying up way later than advisable to finish it in 4 days (fast when most books of similar length take 3-4 weeks usually).
What I found fascinating is that when you boil it down, it is a simple timeless story of a father trying to understand his son and raise him the best he can. It reminded me of the relationship that I have with my own father in a way or at least the relationship.
When I finished high school I seemed destined for the standard path of a college degree before I knew what I really wanted in life and then some job and probably a house in the ‘burbs, but at the last minute I veered off that path. Convinced my parents to let me attend school for recording engineering which wasn’t really what I wanted to do but was closer and seemed like a good option. I then began to get a little more serious about DJing and trying to make a go at that. All this time my relationship with my father went from mediocre to rocky. Once I wasn’t in school he kept trying to convince me to get a job that would pay me good money but wouldn’t necessarily leave time to pursue a DJ career. His view was that you needed to work hard and make money first and then if you had time or energy you could pursue “fun” stuff.
From my view, it was important to follow your passion and to not settle for something because you were afraid to fail. Though we did have fights over this, since I rarely saw him it really just made us drift apart even more and I found less and less time for him which only exacerbated it.
What does this have to do with a novel about a father and son struggling to survive in a post-nuclear holocaust landscape? I guess I just connected with the father doing what he knew how to do—survive and keep his son safe. This while his son gives people the benefit of the doubt despite everything he has seen. The father thinks his son is just being naive about people but it may be that his son is looking at life in the only way that can bring people together instead of tearing them apart even more.
Beyond that I found Cormac McCarthy’s descriptions of the landscape and the people within it to be both breathtakingly and heartbreakingly real. I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to read this when it came out last year and when I did put it on my amazon list finally, the following week it was announced as the next Oprah Book Club selection and that made me rethink it, but I figured that she had selected quite a few other good books, so what the hell. Very glad that I did read it and if you haven’t I HIGHLY recommend it.
My current book queue:
The End of Poverty (in progress)
The Polysyllabic Spree (in progress – balances the dry second half of End of Poverty)
Book of Dave
Essays – George Orwell
Nightwatch
Ulysses
What I found fascinating is that when you boil it down, it is a simple timeless story of a father trying to understand his son and raise him the best he can. It reminded me of the relationship that I have with my own father in a way or at least the relationship.
When I finished high school I seemed destined for the standard path of a college degree before I knew what I really wanted in life and then some job and probably a house in the ‘burbs, but at the last minute I veered off that path. Convinced my parents to let me attend school for recording engineering which wasn’t really what I wanted to do but was closer and seemed like a good option. I then began to get a little more serious about DJing and trying to make a go at that. All this time my relationship with my father went from mediocre to rocky. Once I wasn’t in school he kept trying to convince me to get a job that would pay me good money but wouldn’t necessarily leave time to pursue a DJ career. His view was that you needed to work hard and make money first and then if you had time or energy you could pursue “fun” stuff.
From my view, it was important to follow your passion and to not settle for something because you were afraid to fail. Though we did have fights over this, since I rarely saw him it really just made us drift apart even more and I found less and less time for him which only exacerbated it.
What does this have to do with a novel about a father and son struggling to survive in a post-nuclear holocaust landscape? I guess I just connected with the father doing what he knew how to do—survive and keep his son safe. This while his son gives people the benefit of the doubt despite everything he has seen. The father thinks his son is just being naive about people but it may be that his son is looking at life in the only way that can bring people together instead of tearing them apart even more.
Beyond that I found Cormac McCarthy’s descriptions of the landscape and the people within it to be both breathtakingly and heartbreakingly real. I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to read this when it came out last year and when I did put it on my amazon list finally, the following week it was announced as the next Oprah Book Club selection and that made me rethink it, but I figured that she had selected quite a few other good books, so what the hell. Very glad that I did read it and if you haven’t I HIGHLY recommend it.
My current book queue:
The End of Poverty (in progress)
The Polysyllabic Spree (in progress – balances the dry second half of End of Poverty)
Book of Dave
Essays – George Orwell
Nightwatch
Ulysses
Sunday, April 15, 2007
On the nightstand
Just finished reading Perfume. Not quite sure what so many people see in it. Just didn't do much for me I guess.
Next Up: The End of Poverty - Jeffrey Sachs
Next Up: The End of Poverty - Jeffrey Sachs
Thursday, December 28, 2006
dysfunction junction
Just for sake of full disclosure I thought that I shoudl mention that I am probably a Henry Rollins fanatic owning pretty much everyhting he has released music, spoken word, and books. Have watched a number of his films just because he was in them. So everytime I get an email newsletter that mentions something new I immediately order it and thus received the new spoken word DVD and book "A Dull Roar" a little over a week before Christmas.
Well I just finished A Dull Roar and kind of have some mixed feelings. As opposed to Roomanitarian and some other recent books, this one goes back to the journal format and is about the recent Rollins Band tour and the events leading up to it. Now typically his journal books have all been my favorites, beginning with "Smile, You're Traveling," and of course "Get in the Van."
ADR just has a different feel though. It's feels more self-conscious, maybe because he planned to release these jouirnals from the beginning as opposed to how the others feel. Though I can't remember if he planned to publish "Broken Summers," his journal for the making of and touring for the West Memphis Three album, from the beginning. ADR also is a little more reminiscent of his earlier writings in which he appears a little more damaged as a person. IT seems as if the past few years where he seemed to becoming a little more comfortable with who he was and his relations with other human beings have taken a setback and he has gone back in time a little.
I don't mean to sound as if I didn't like the book though because I still like it and I know that I will go back to it like I have done with all his books, but if you are unfamiliar with his writings I probably wouldn't suggets beginning here.
Well I just finished A Dull Roar and kind of have some mixed feelings. As opposed to Roomanitarian and some other recent books, this one goes back to the journal format and is about the recent Rollins Band tour and the events leading up to it. Now typically his journal books have all been my favorites, beginning with "Smile, You're Traveling," and of course "Get in the Van."
ADR just has a different feel though. It's feels more self-conscious, maybe because he planned to release these jouirnals from the beginning as opposed to how the others feel. Though I can't remember if he planned to publish "Broken Summers," his journal for the making of and touring for the West Memphis Three album, from the beginning. ADR also is a little more reminiscent of his earlier writings in which he appears a little more damaged as a person. IT seems as if the past few years where he seemed to becoming a little more comfortable with who he was and his relations with other human beings have taken a setback and he has gone back in time a little.
I don't mean to sound as if I didn't like the book though because I still like it and I know that I will go back to it like I have done with all his books, but if you are unfamiliar with his writings I probably wouldn't suggets beginning here.
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