Knowledge is Power

BossArky

I try to read a book a week. I managed 53 in 2006. Lost my excel log during a laptop crash in 2007. Below is what I can remember having read so far this year. Haven't had as much time as I would have liked.

1) The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat And Other Clinical Tales - Oliver Sacks

2) Total Immersion The Revolutionary Way to Swim Better, Faster, and Easier - Terry Laughlin, John Delves

3) Dubliners - James Joyce

4) The Dice Man - George Cockcroft

[In Progress] Don Quixote - Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra

[In Progress] The Third Policeman - Flann OBrien

Valmont

I was wondering when you try to read a book a week, do you have to stick to relatively small or easy material? I'd imagine trying to read Don Quixote or Atlas Shrugged in a week would be painful.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is fantastic. I read it for a tutorial a few months ago. I still can't believe some of the case studies he has in there. My favourite was the guy who obtained super smelling abilities for a short period of time, it reminded me of Patrick Suskind's Perfume.

BossArky

Valmont wrote: »

I was wondering when you try to read a book a week, do you have to stick to relatively small or easy material? I'd imagine trying to read Don Quixote or Atlas Shrugged in a week would be painful.

I try to average a book a week. If Don Quixote takes 3 weeks then I'll try and squeeze 3 other books into the last week of the month. It dosen't always work out but I use it as a general goal.

Yes, some of those stories in "The Man Who Mistook, etc..." are bizarre. It reminds you how fragile our brains really are.

eclectichoney

Actually Atlas Shrugged is pretty readable in a week - it's pretty compellin and you can fly through chunks of it (Tho I'm a bit of an Ayn Rand junkie )

I've been meaning to read that Oliver Sacks for ages now so will definitely get around to it during the summer after hearing such praise here!

BossArky

Just remembered some others which I need to add here.

5) Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore

[In Progress] Chi Running by Danny Dreyer.

BossArky

6) Chi Running - Danny Dreyer

I just finished reading "Chi-Running" by Danny Dreyer. The book is about 220 pages. The middle 40 of these relate to running technique, whilst the first and last 90 are pure waffle where he comes across as a puppet of his T'ai Chi master.

He's constantly goes off on a tangent and comes across as a bit of a nut. It reminds me of a line from a Metallica song, Master of Puppets "Obey your Master"! The book is definetly aimed at an older American audience, like 40+.

His advice on diet is a bit off the wall too. i.e. 2.5 meals per day = Breakfast and dinner separated by 12 hours and a "light lunch" in between.

I'm going to try out his tips on "leaning"... don't hold your breath for any radical improvements in my running.

"Total Immersion", a book by Terry Laughlin actually did help my swimming a bit (similar style book to "Chi Running" but refreshingly without the failed attempts at philioshopical brain washing).

Killme00

BossArky wrote: »

Just remembered some others which I need to add here.

5) Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore
.

Great book, simply the best. the detail this guys goes into covers every nuance needed for accomplished lifting, no matter what weight you are using. I havent had it long (2-3 months) but it has changed my lifting completely, i find i am no longer sacraficing form to achieve heavier lifts. I know i can be patient and lift properly and the results will keep rolling in. :cool:

Highly recommended by a former non-lifter.

5/5

pvt.joker

Killme00 wrote: »

Great book, simply the best. the detail this guys goes into covers every nuance needed for accomplished lifting, no matter what weight you are using. I havent had it long (2-3 months) but it has changed my lifting completely, i find i am no longer sacraficing form to achieve heavier lifts. I know i can be patient and lift properly and the results will keep rolling in. :cool:

Highly recommended by a former non-lifter.

5/5

Where can this book be bought in Dublin?

Killme00

pvt.joker wrote: »

Where can this book be bought in Dublin?

I ordered it directly from the Aasgaard Company

http://www.aasgaardco.com/store/store.php?crn=199&rn=312&action=show_detail

BossArky

7) Flashman in the Great Game - George McDonald Fraser.

BossArky

8) The Economic Naturalist (Why Economics Explains Almost Everything) - Robert H Frank.

BossArky

9) The Third Policeman - Flann O'Brien.

I didn't enjoy the first half of the book as my reading was interrupted with real life. I then took a few months break before finishing it off. The twist at the end is pretty neat. The 200 or so pages before it were a bit tiresome. It made the ending I suppose.

stink_fist

Whats your opinion on dubliners? I've been having trouble with ulysess lol

BossArky

Just had to search for a refresher from wiki. I think I enjoyed the writing more so than the actual stories. It seems like years since I read it but it must have been less than 6 months.

Ulysess took ages to get through. I'd recommend following a guide like this. Read the chapter notes from the guide, then read the chapter from the book itself.... then when you are really confused go back and read the chapter notes again. I probably missed lots of things by not doing this.

BossArky

10) The Deportees - Roddy Doyle.

BossArky

11) Teach yourself the History or Ireland - Finbar Madden.

Great book on the history of Ireland. I was a bit suprised with some of the pieces they don't teach you at school!

BossArky

12) An Utterly Impartial Histroy of Britain (or 2000 years of upper class idiots in charge) - John O'Farrell

This is probably the best book I've read so far this year. Similar in ways to "A short history of nearly everything" but with a focus on the history of Britain from 55 BC to 1945 AD. Written in an comic fashion, this is full of nuggets of info and well explained pathways through the history of Europe / the World as Britain was so involved. The pages whizz by.

BossArky

13) The French Revolution - Joceyln Hunt

Not was I was looking for. This was aimed at people who already had a strong background knowledge in the events of the French revolution. Probably good for someone studying a degree or masters in French History, but a bit too in depth for a casual read.

BossArky

14) Hitler and Nazism - Dick Geary

A good high level overview of the workings of the German state during Hitlers reign. Pretty short at 71 pages.

BossArky

15) Introducing Psychoanalysis - Ivan Ward and Oscar Zarate.

An overview of the topic focusing predominantly on the theories of Sigmund Freud.

BossArky

16) The Second World War - Alan Farmer.

A comprehensive overview.

unknownlegend

Hi,

just wondering, do you buy all the books you read? Or use a library? I tend to use the library, but for books I really want (after either reading reviews, reading the book, or being a fan of the author) I'll buy the book. If I bought everything I read I'd have no space whatsoever.

BossArky

unknownlegend, I used to buy my books on ebay and then resell the ones I wasn't keen on.

Recently I joined a local library which allows loans of 15 books for 3 weeks for free!

BossArky

17) The MotorCycle Diaries - Ernesto (Che) Guevara

Pretty bad. A bland diary account of a road trip that would probably not have made it to press if the author hadn't made it as an iconic figure of the 20th century.

BossArky

18) Wriiting Short Stories - Ailsa Cox.

Lots of short practical examples helped to flesh out various ideas. Kinda interesting.

BossArky

19) The Cold War - Lawrence Freedman

A good overview of world affairs post WW2 to 1990's, covering the Cuban missle crisis, the 1st Gulf War, the USSR in Afghanistan, the Korean Wars, China vs. Taiwan, and various bits and pieces in Africa and South American, plus the Falklands war.

I'm not some kind of military buff by the way! Recently I just wanted to get down to the detail behind lots of current world affairs and decided to go back over Irish histroy, then UK, French and German before reading up on general world history.

BossArky

20) Don Quixote - Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra

At last!

I have been reading this since January on and off with other books. THe first half dragged immensely as the main characters keep waffling on about minor tales and bits and pieces that have no bearing on the main narrative.

I probably read the second half in the last two weeks and was suprised that I got dragged in.

The ending is sad

BossArky

21) The Invisible Century: Einstein, Freud, and the Search for Hidden Universes - Richard Panek.

Not the greatest science book. Struggled to keep my concentration.

BossArky

22) The Return of History and the End of Dreams - Robert Kagan.

This is a great book. More here:

Kagan argues that the world is not divided by religion or race as Samuel Huntingdon's 'clash of civilizations' theory suggests and the modern trouble with Islam/West seems to vindicate. Rather he argues the real division in modern geopolitics is between democracies and autocracies, with places like the USA, Europe and Japan on one side, and countries like China, Russia and Iran on the other.

BossArky

23) The Encloypedia of Body Building - Arnold Schwarznegger

Excellent book from the man himself on diet / nutrition / training. Highly recommended if you are interested in general fitness and how your body both works and is put together.

BossArky

24) Look to Windward - Ian Banks

Not too impressed to be honest. The start dragged, the middle picked up, whilst the end bombed. This was part of "the Culture" series.

BossArky

25) Thunderball - Ian Flemming

This is the first 007 James Bond that I've read. Nice pacey story with simple catchy writing. I'll read a few more.

BossArky

26) Back from the Brink - Paul McGrath

The Irish central defender of yesteryear tells his story. It's a sad one. The book had me wondering if it was only written to fund his next binge.

BossArky

So, I managed 26 books in 2008, only half of the 52 I had aimed for. I was pretty busy with other stuff.

I enjoyed the historical books most. Roll on 2009 where I'll again aim for 52.

BossArky

2009 :

1) The Spy Who Loved Me - Ian Fleming

Another James Bond novel. This one was told from the perspective of the main female character. I found it a bit girly to be honest! :pac: Thunderball was much better.

BossArky

2) State of the Art - Iain M.Banks

Excellent collection of short stories. Highly recommended. Some are sci-fi, some not.

BossArky

3) How to fossilize your hamster & other amazing experiments for the armchair scientist - Mick O'Hare

Pop science. Some interesting nuggets of info.

BossArky

4) Against A Dark Background - Iain M.Banks.

Rubbish. Avoid this book. Terrible plot, bland characters. Had to spent ages forcing myself through the 500 pages.

BossArky

5) How Long Is a Piece of String? - Rob Eastaway & Jeremy Wyndham

Interesting analysis of mathematics in everyday situations. I liked this.

BossArky

6) Starting Strength (2nd edition) - Mark Rippetoe

Great book on barbell training. I read the first edition last year.

BossArky

7) Living and Working in Australia - David Hampshire

Skim read this. Way to detailed for what I wanted. This would be a great reference if actually in Australia for day to day issues. I was looking for more of a general overview.

BossArky

8) A short history of tractors in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka

Enjoyed this. An easy, funny & quick 300 page read. The main character, an auld fellow, falls in love with a Ukrainian divorcee less than half his age. The book goes on to outline the conflict between the family and new found glamour/gold-digging wife.

"She exploded into our lives like a pinky fluffy hand-grenade". Lol :pac:

The bit about tractors is an interesting factual history of agriculture and the rise of the tractor interwoven with the fictional family feud.

7/10. I docked a few points as sometimes the story seemed to go around in circles e.g. everyone getting on far too well over meals directly after bitter court battles.

BossArky

9) On her Majesty's Secret Service (a James Bond 007 novel) - Ian Flemming

Enjoyed this.

I was shocked with the following:

He got married!

BossArky

10) The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (a trilogoly in 5 parts) - Douglas Adams.

The first two books (from a trilogoy of 5 ) were both laugh out loud hilarious. I found the last three dragged a bit. I wasn't really expecting the ending!

It had been sitting on my shelf for the past few years so glad I got around to reading it.

BossArky

11) Origin of Species - Charles Darwin.

How many times can he say the one thing? I seriously struggled getting through this. I read the first half properly, then started skimming.

BossArky

12) 5/3/1 The simplest & most effective training system for Raw Strength - Jim Wendler

I'll report back in 6 months as to the claim in the title.

BossArky

13) Night Train - Martin Amis

Fictional novel about a suicide being investigated by a female cop called Mike. Quick read.

BossArky

14) Steve & Me. My life with Steve Irwin - Terri Irwin.

An interesting account of the man and his life. I found the ending pretty sad where the young son is crying in the bath asking where his Daddy is.

BossArky

15) The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition - Anita Bean

Great book. Just what I was looking for.

BossArky

16) Mindstar Rising - Peter F.Hamilton

This guy is my favourite sci-fi author. Much better than Iain Banks. Mindstar Rising is his very first book, written when he was 27.

Enjoyable sci-fi.

BossArky

17) Shakespeare - Bill Bryson.

A good overview. Enjoyed it.