enderzero 0 Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Wow Slow - you are reading Ishmael? How did you come across that book? It was very interesting when I read it years ago. Anyone else read that sucker? There is a sequel called My Ishmael too I think. I gave up on Gaijin after 400 pages. I am so sick of Clavell's redundant literary devices and it really bothered me the way there was no real central character. I am reading Cryptonomicon by Neil Stephenson now...but at the rate I am goin I will be done around 2013. Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 I haven't been reading novels for a long time now. I seem to be too busy, but I used to read lots of books. Someone recently loaned me biographies on Sting and Madonna to read. They were both interesting reads, though of course you have to take them with a grain of salt, as there are bound to be inaccuracies in them, being unauthorized. Current train reading is The Millionaire Next Door and Time Management from the Inside Out (I'm hopelessly unorganised!) and Recording Magazine (subscription) And lots of stuff on the net - such as non-mainstream news sites, a really cool art site/forum called wetcanvas.com, various Mac/computer related sites and forums, and music equipment/software sites and forums, and lately I've been reading and finding out quite a lot about the growth of the online indie music scene, and how online music and the internet is totally changing the face of the music scene and helping good music be heard again. Indie music is flourishing and so are indie sites. Apple's iTunes music store is on the verge of selling Indie Music, alongside all the majors. It's all being in the process of being set up at the moment and this should be a boon for the Indies. Things are looking very interesting on that front. Other competing online music stores are set to open and iTunes will be available for Windows probably in the fall. The internet has really been great for music - allowing new life to be breathed into the industry. And it will only get better..... There are also predictions that RIAAs lawsuits will backfire on them. I hope so. Today on the net I was reading about Pilates exercise. It looks really interesting and there's a place in Tokyo doing it so I'm going to try some classes. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Quote: How did you come across that book? Ishmael was Ryuichi Sakamoto's favorite. He told about this book in a magazine. But it was already out of print and I've almost given up! I think this is very interesting book but translation isn't good. I'll get a better understanding by English edition. I think somebody else translate this book again, could be more popular in Japan. How about this idea ,Ocean? Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Might be a good idea, slow. I'm sure it would sell better than the book on Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramics that I'm currently translating... Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 soon to be reading KELLY SLATERS new book, Pipe Dream - A Surfers Journey Link to post Share on other sites
neversummer 0 Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Confessions of a Dangerous mind. the autobiography of Chuck Barris.he's some famous US talk show host/game show host guy who was really a CIA agent travelling the world killing people in the US best interest. interesting read Link to post Share on other sites
frannyo 2 Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Got a few throwaway novels (Grisham, Crighton) to keep me "busy" (yeah, right!) on my flight home. Here's hoping it'll go fast. Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Just picked up a new book. The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 Unfortunately, my only reading these couple of years during my leisure time is either books on Music Theory or Japanese language. Link to post Share on other sites
Dokumanju 0 Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 Video night in Kathmandu by Pico Iyer - about the impact of toursim in asia. The naked and the dead by Norman Mailer - a novel about the pacific war. just bumping this thread back up to the top with what I've been reading lately. Interesting to see what people are reading - giving me ideas on what to read next. = ) Am i like the only person who reads 2 books at the same time??? Link to post Share on other sites
dancing_barefoot 0 Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 I have difficulty with 1, never mind 2 at the same time Link to post Share on other sites
mikazooki 0 Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 i got on the go keith delvin - language of mathematics nazli choucri - global accord gerry bates - environmental law in austaralia they are all really good. the first and last more readable than the middle. Link to post Share on other sites
MistaSparkle 0 Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 Almost done with Shogun. Enjoying it tremendously. The DVD box set of the 1980 miniseries is coming out in september. It's 9 hours total, and i've read it's pretty good and true to the book. I'm psyched for that! Link to post Share on other sites
zebedee 1 Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 Anyone watched that? Any good? Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 I have seen it. It is very good. Richard Chamberlain as Pilot Major Blackthorne and Toshirou Mifune as Toranaga-sama. Not to mention the breathtaking Youko Shimada as Mariko. It was the first mini-series ever. Such a great book deserved 9 hours. Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 The Millionaire Next Door. Very interesting read. Link to post Share on other sites
nagoid 4 Posted August 3, 2003 Share Posted August 3, 2003 Just about to start that, glad to hear its good Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted August 3, 2003 Share Posted August 3, 2003 It's a real eye opener. I wish I'd read it years ago. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted August 3, 2003 Share Posted August 3, 2003 I have taken a break from my usual academic and try hard epistemology kind of books and am trying, yet again, to read and understand a little of Interzone, a parrallel universe in The Naked Lunch , by everyones favourite now dead but formerly overt homosexual opium addict, William Burroughs. Link to post Share on other sites
r45 4 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Robin Cook medical thriller. Only just started it but it's quite interesting actually. Link to post Share on other sites
amandanism 0 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 im reading ski the world by arnie wilson. i bought it for $3.99 in the bargain box. its going ok. Link to post Share on other sites
MistaSparkle 0 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 db - Have you read A New Kind of Science by Stephen Wolfram?? I read a bit about his book in a wired article a few months back, and it seems like it would fit in well with the kind of books you said you've been reading... here's a link to the wired article which is worth a read in and of itself: The Man Who Cracked the Code to Everything... Link to post Share on other sites
mikazooki 0 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 i've only heard bad things about that book. wolfram is undoubtedly an amazing guy (his program mathematica has been invaluable to many working with maths), but this long book is said to be little more than blatant self glorification. he is now somewhat removed from the scientific community, running his own institute based around mathematica. i'm sure his work is very revolutionary, but he definitely isnt running the show. (that article looks a little like the propoganda u get thru the wolfram research site) His topic is of interest to me. There have been plenty of other really interesting books that look at a similar area. complexity by mitchell waldrop is very good. ian stewart writes about choas (closely related to complexity) in does god play dice? Kauffman's investigation is an interesting read. and brian goodwin writes very good books about biology and complexity (see signs of life). and there are some more technical books on complex adaptive systmes. also more biological capra's web of life, and lovelock's gaia theory books. these books may lead u to look into networks where linked by barabasi and six dergrees by aussie, duncan watts, offer new and interesting insights into this new science. i also have hidden order by john holland, but havent started it yet. Link to post Share on other sites
MistaSparkle 0 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Apparently Wolfram is quite a controversial character in academia, and the reviews of his book range from accusations of plagiarism, to claims of sheer genius. The wired article about him and his book is, in true wired fashion, a bit propagandized, but worth a read. What seemed most interesting though, is Wolfram's attempt to use complexity, and cellular automata to explain every kind of science and phenomenon in the universe. Link to post Share on other sites
mikazooki 0 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 mmmm, chris langton was also working on cellular automata by the mid 80's... the results are indeed quite amazing, and there is surely something to be foumd in them to explain complex phenomonen, but the answer to everything seems a bit bold. but thats wolframs character... Link to post Share on other sites
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