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Everyday Zen: Love and Work (Plus) by Charlotte J. Beck

Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West by Donald S. Lopez Jr.

Roman Civilization: Selected Readings: The Empire (Records of Civilization Sources & Study) (vol. 2) by Naphtali Lewis

The Sociological Imagination by C. Wright Mills

St. John of the Cross: An Appreciation (Suny Series in Latin American and Iberian Thought and Culture) by Daniel A. Dombrowski

Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

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Member: lilbrattyteen

CollectionsYour library (707), Currently reading (12), All collections (745)

Reviews42 reviews

Tagsfinished (312), read 2012 (160), read 2013 (54), college books (26), partially finished (17), Hebrew (17), coursera (15), bought in Nepal (13), RT: Vatican II 2012 (11), Buddhism (11) — see all tags

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Recommendations3 recommendations

About meWhen I joined LT I was 17 and the username applied. Now I am 22 and it doesn't. I left this site for a few years and now I'm back.

In fiction I tend towards graphic novels, sci-fi and books that interest the religious imagination, especially mythology and religious allegory. I also read a lot of books at the intersection of religion, philosophy, and psychology. At 19 I became Catholic - I'm still becoming. I attend Santa Clara University for religious studies and ancient Greek. I'm hoping to go to graduate school and immerse myself in Biblical Studies and Tibetan-Christian comparative theology and interreligious dialogue.

My reading journal.
My 2013 13 in 13 Category Challenge.

"One can always reason with reason." -Henri Bergson

About my libraryI used to have a rather large collection of college English textbooks. Then I realized that I didn't want to lug those around the rest of my life.

A friend told me recently that when one does the math on every book ever published, for every book one reads one is passing up dozens (if not hundreds) of others. This keeps me avoiding too much fluff.

When I mark a book as "finished," it just means I've spent some time with the book, including having read it for a class. So if I read half the articles in an anthology, I might read the rest later, but for now I'm finished with it. Of course some books (like Bibles and dictionaries) are never "finished."

My library is only in spots and patches. I mostly enter in only the books I've read, as those give a better reflection of my reading zeitgeist than what I've bought.

Also, I count textbooks for courses towards my annual reading quota.

January 2013:
1. The Roman Empire and the New Testament: An Essential Guide (Essential Guides) by Warren Carter
2. The World is Charged: The Transcendent with Us by Francis R. Smith
3. The Critical Meaning of the Bible by Raymond E. Brown
4. The Anome by Jack Vance
5. The Christians as the Romans Saw Them by Robert Louis Wilken
6. An Introduction to Theology in Global Perspective by Stephen B. Bevans
7. The Sandman, Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman

February 2013:
8. The Giver by Lois Lowry
9. The Book of Daniel (Cambridge Bible Commentaries on the Old Testament) by Raymond Hammer
10. Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West by Donald S. Lopez Jr.
11. The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius
12. Megillat Esther by JT Waldman
13. Space Opera by Jack Vance

March 2013:
14. The British Discovery of Buddhism by Philip C. Almond
15. Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism by Miranda Shaw
16. King David by Kyle Baker
17. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
18. Saints and Society: The Two Worlds of Western Christendom, 1000-1700 by Donald Weinstein
19. Autobiography of Charles Darwin

April 2013
20. My Life with the Saints by James Martin, S.J.
21. On Justice, Power, and Human Nature: The Essence of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides
22. The Clouds by Aristophanes
23. Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts by Reb Anderson
24. The Unconscious Christian: Images of God in Dreams (Jung and Spirituality) by James A. Hall
25. The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton
26. The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain
27. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
28. The Life of Blessed Francis by Thomas of Celano
29. The Life of St. Francis of Assisi by St. Bonaventure
30. Lives of Roman Christian Women (Penguin Classics) by Carolinne White
31. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott
32. Minding God: Theology and the Cognitive Sciences by Gregory R. Peterson
33. Naturalism, Theism and the Cognitive Study of Religion: Religion Explained? by Aku Visala
34. The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin (read parts)

May 2013

35. How to Cook Your Life: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment by Eihei Dogen
36. Lilith, A Romance by George MacDonald
37. On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century by Jorge Mario Bergoglio and Abraham Skorka
38. Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine by Bart D. Ehrman
39. Daring to Cross the Threshold: Francis of Assisi Encounters Sultan Malek al-Kamil by Kathleen A. Warren
40. Saint Francis and the Sultan: The Curious History of a Christian-Muslim Encounter by John V. Tolan (partially read)
41. Collected Public Domain Works of H. P. Lovecraft by H. P. Lovecraft
42. Love's Executioner & Other Tales of Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom
43. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

Groups1001 Books to read before you die, 2013 Category Challenge, A Pearl of Wisdom and Enlightenment, Amazon's Kindle, Ancient History, Arthurian Legends, Author Theme Reads, Beowulf, Biblical History, Books that made me think —show all groups

Favorite authorsRobert Alter, Beowulf poet, Karen Armstrong, Peter L. Berger, Raymond E. Brown, Shūsaku Endō, Neil Gaiman, Hermann Hesse, William James, Carl Jung, H. P. Lovecraft, George MacDonald, J. David Pleins, Jack Vance, Elie Wiesel (Shared favorites)

VenuesFavorites | Visited

Favorite bookstoresBookBuyers - Mountain View, Feldman's Books, Fitz-Gerald Manor Shop, Friends of the Palo Alto Library Bookstore at Cubberley Community Center, Jim Reed Books / Museum of Fond Memories, Leigh's Favorite Books, Pilgrims Book House, Recycle Book Store - San Jose

Favorite librariesFoothill College Library, Mountain View Public Library, Santa Clara County Library - Los Altos Library, Santa Clara University Library, Sunnyvale Public Library

Real nameJonathan

LocationCalifornia, USA

Account typepublic, lifetime

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/lilbrattyteen (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/lilbrattyteen (library)

Member sinceJul 9, 2007

Currently readingThe New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version by Michael D. Coogan
Introduction to Greek, 2/e by Cynthia W Shelmerdine
The Sandman Companion by Hy Bender
Studying the Life of Saint Francis of Assisi: A Beginner's Workbook (Second Edition) by William Hugo
When a Woman Becomes a Religious Dynasty: The Samding Dorje Phagmo of Tibet by Hildegard Diemberger
show all (12)

Change your profile pic, it's creepy since you're 8 years older now

posted by Branola at 5:46 pm (EST) on May 17, 2013

I've never heard any scientific criticism of Richard Dawkins - but keep in mind that he's mostly an evolutionary theororist, and I'm a biomedical scientist. I think a lot of scientists view evolutionary biology as a softer science because it's mostly theory rather than hard, provable science. But as far as evolutionary biologists go, he's perfectly respectable.

What I don't like about him (and I imagine there are a lot of scientists who feel the same way) is how arrogant he is. He gives scientists a bad name by setting himself up on a ivory tower and looking down upon the lesser beings (composed mainly of "believers") with scorn and sarcasm. Instead of trying to make himself approachable by answering questions honestly, he simply acts as if any question is stupid if it comes from a believer. Thus, he's making the rift between believers and scientists wider rather than closing the gap by demonstrating how science is not incompatible with religion. So: As a scientist I respect him but as a representative of popular science he really makes me cringe.

I've never read a full book by him, though. I've heard him speak and I've read essays and excerpts. I think it's about time that I actually read one of his books - since they get such good ratings. I'm curious to know what his science is really like.

posted by The_Hibernator at 11:34 am (EST) on May 11, 2013

I seem to recall that you're busy in May, but I thought you might want to know about this anyway: http://www.friendsalamedafreelibrary.org/book_sales.html

posted by _Zoe_ at 6:27 pm (EST) on Apr 26, 2013

YES please fill me in! I love discussion books, and those groups sound fun! :)

posted by Branola at 11:42 pm (EST) on Apr 6, 2013

Yup, that one I actually own. Thanks!

posted by _Zoe_ at 8:59 pm (EST) on Mar 29, 2013

Ooh, thanks for the link! I can read German only very, very slowly, but it should improve over the next couple of years.

posted by _Zoe_ at 8:35 am (EST) on Feb 5, 2013

Well--I guess we missed each other. Did you post your note to me at 1:00 p.m.? I was on the road then, and by the time I found a parking place and got to the store it was about 1:15. I sure thought you'd hang around for a little while, so I looked around and waited. I told the folks at the desk I was there to meet someone, browsed the store, and looked for anyone who resembled someone in one of the pictures on the meetup thread, but no luck. Finally I left a little before 2:00.

Sorry this didn't work out. I would have liked to meet up with you. We didn't have a fallback plan, but we should have, especially since Zoe's phone number didn't work.

posted by Meredy at 6:40 pm (EST) on Jan 12, 2013

Okay, that works for me! Thanks. What train station is best?

I don't know where Shelley (staffordcastle) lives or how she's getting there, but do you have room in your car if she ends up coming by train as well? I remember you saying it was small.

Also, we should post the plan on the thread at some point, in case anyone else happens to be around. I know there's at least one other LT-er in the south bay.

posted by _Zoe_ at 8:56 am (EST) on Jan 6, 2013

P.S. What time?

posted by staffordcastle at 9:28 pm (EST) on Jan 5, 2013

Thanks! Looking forward to meeting you.

posted by staffordcastle at 9:21 pm (EST) on Jan 5, 2013

Looking at the map, it seems that the Caltrain station is very close to the bookstore, so I can also just walk if that's easier.

posted by _Zoe_ at 10:02 am (EST) on Jan 2, 2013

I can certainly understand the full inbox, though I never seem to make it to the cleaning frenzy part ;)

1:00 on the 12th is good. I'll be coming by public transit, so if you could pick me up at the Caltrain station, that would be great. Are we planning to have lunch in the area, or should I bring food with me? I imagine I'll have to leave home before 11:30, so eating beforehand probably isn't going to happen.

See you soon!

posted by _Zoe_ at 9:58 am (EST) on Jan 2, 2013

Hi, lilbrattyteen

I'm not that familiar with the area, so no particular suggestions. Please send me the address of the rendezvous point, and I'll see you there!

posted by staffordcastle at 3:24 pm (EST) on Jan 1, 2013

And Merry Christmas and a good New Year to you.

I understand your weariness from some of the LTReligion talks. I tend to leave the discussions after the first couple dozen comments - not planned that way, but that is about how long before I grow weary of the tone.

Just FYI, I am in the middle of a Coursera course on astronomy.

Did you join in the Ancient Greek Mythology course? I have an Ancient Greek history one coming up in a couple months.

posted by richardbsmith at 2:39 pm (EST) on Jan 1, 2013

Were we potentially planning to meet up tomorrow? I think we had talked about it in the past but never actually made any concrete plans.

posted by _Zoe_ at 7:12 pm (EST) on Dec 8, 2012

I learned Croatian on my mother's lap and English by some sort of osmotic first-language acquisition (between watching Sesame Street on the TV and starting Junior Kindergarten?). I had to learn French in school, and continued doing so far longer than I had to, though I've forgotten an awful lot. I learned German for roughly my middle school years outside of school because I got bored with just learning French, though all that's stuck is enough broken German to order in restaurants or buy train tickets. I then squirreled in as much Latin and Greek in undergrad as I could, though I've forgotten almost all my Greek whilst my Latin's plateaued at a not terribly impressive level. And that, I think, is just about it.

posted by Branimir at 5:04 am (EST) on Dec 5, 2012

Sorry for the delay in responding; my plans were a bit up in the air, since I had been planning to go to LA with one of my friends that weekend. But we had made no progress in actually purchasing tickets and such, so it seems that we won't be going after all. The upside is that I should now be free on the 9th :)

It's too bad that there's no good history of the Jesuits book either. I somehow imagined that as being a larger topic and more likely to have good books, as opposed to my super-obscure ancient astronomy. But I suppose these things are all relative ;). We did end up working mostly from primary sources, anyway.

Offhand I don't know any good books about divination etc. in the Bible, but I'll definitely let you know if I come across anything. I did read an article a couple of days ago that you might like, though, so I'll email you that.

posted by _Zoe_ at 12:39 am (EST) on Dec 3, 2012

Sure, Sunday afternoon would be great! What time?

There was actually a period in my life when I was taking biblical Hebrew on the side, so I don't think it's masochistic at all.

The two main books that we're using for the course are Aaboe's Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy and Evans' The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy, but we didn't follow either of them too closely. I think there's still a need for another basic history of astronomy book that's short enough to use for an introductory course and more accessible to people without a science background. Maybe I'll write one someday ;)

posted by _Zoe_ at 11:43 am (EST) on Nov 27, 2012

Do you have one? (I wish we could edit comments the way we can Talk posts...)

posted by jjmcgaffey at 9:12 pm (EST) on Nov 25, 2012

http://www.librarything.com/topic/134517 - I update it in chunks. I do try to track within my library (reading dates, and reviews) - but that's harder to read.

posted by jjmcgaffey at 9:11 pm (EST) on Nov 25, 2012

I can't remember--did you say when you're expecting to arrive at the fair? I'm going to get there around 10:30, I think.

posted by _Zoe_ at 10:16 am (EST) on Nov 24, 2012

Jonathan, I took a Hebrew class probably about 20 years ago. My goal was to be able to sound out the words in the Hebrew prayerbook,and understand some of them, and at the time I accomplished that. I'm afraid in the intervening years I've forgotten most of what I learned, so I think you're probably way ahead of me by now! Rebecca

posted by rebeccanyc at 7:14 am (EST) on Nov 14, 2012

Thank you for your positive comments on my review. My marathon is going very well, except that I've almost become addicted to reading and I sometimes have to force myself to quit and focus on other responsibilities :) I'm having a lot of fun with it. It's a lot better than watching mindless drivel on TV.

posted by Texsain at 4:28 pm (EST) on Nov 4, 2012

P.S. I would caution you that reading the Greek Fathers in Greek is not something to be tried lightly -- I had two years of university Greek and would not have attempted it even then. You'd be better served, I think, reading your way through the New Testament instead. (And the Nestle-Aland edition of the Greek New Testament is quite readily available in several different versions from Amazon -- though not to brag, but my copy was bought from the wonderful bookstore in the last building on your left as you enter St. Peter's Square.)

Best,

Nathaniel

posted by nathanielcampbell at 10:09 am (EST) on Oct 30, 2012

Frankly, I'm not sure there *are* readily accessible editions of the original texts of the early Greek Fathers -- though Tim Spalding might be the better person to ask (my expertise is almost exclusively in Latin Christianity). If I recall correctly, the Greek volumes in the series Sources Chretiennes (run by French Jesuits) and the Corpus Christianorum Series Graece (CCSG) out of Brepols (the same folks who do the Corpus Christianorum Series Latina for the Latin Fathers and the Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Medievalis for medieval texts -- the CCSG is, I believe, published with green covers rather than the red/orange of the Latin series; you can find the complete catalogue at their website: http://www.corpuschristianorum.org/home.html ) are considered the best modern replacements for the PG -- but of course, those will only have the original language text. If it doesn't appear in the Loeb or the Oxford series you mentioned, you're unlikely to find a text in bilingual editions.

Your university library should have the Sources Chretiennes and the Corpus Christianorum series -- and if not, if you dig around on WorldCat and find the appropriate volume information, you should be able to order them via ILL. (Having access to a university library is pretty much essential to do this kind of work.)

There's also the sticky issue that for some of these authors--especially Origen--we don't necessarily have the Greek originals. For Origen, at least, some of his writings only survive in Latin translation.

I hope this helps!

Best,

Nathaniel

posted by nathanielcampbell at 10:00 am (EST) on Oct 30, 2012

I've read most of Chaim Potok's books but a long time ago. Have you read any of Marek Halter's books? Still going on the Grossman, I've been trying to clear some graphic memoirs off my tbr pile.

posted by avatiakh at 4:46 am (EST) on Sep 18, 2012

Hi Jonathan - love your review of Lion honey, I've just started it. I haven't read the Saramago book, which one is it exactly(?) and my library hasn't got Jabotinsky's 'Sansom' and it seems to be incredibly scarce. I'd probably be more interested in reading a bio of Jabotinsky anyway. The David Maine book sounds interesting but I just saw his author pic on goodreads and not sure now, he looks a little...weird?
I have a Religion in fiction category in my 12 in 12 challenge and before the end of the year intend to read one of Michel Tournier's novels (The Four Wise Men) as I loved his 'Friday or the other island'. I also have CK Stead's My name was Judas & Not wanted on the voyage by Timothy Findley on my list to read. I'm interested in more from the Canongate myth series, probably Philip Pullman's one.

Kerry

posted by avatiakh at 6:43 am (EST) on Sep 16, 2012

Excellent. A teaching career is one I can respect, although it's not necessarily a full life, as you say, both for academic-political reasons (although maybe it'll be better in your field than in some? Better esprit de corps?) and just because it's cool to apply knowledge in some way as well. Really that's the dynamic I've been negotiating as well over the past few years--I'm an MA student in English "language and literature" at the University of British Columbia, a program that for me has involved a lot of weird oscillation between lit, experimental phonetics, speech-language pathology, and philosophy of language; I seem now to have settled into a groove (at least as long as it takes to finish my thesis) where I'm looking at the history of philosophy of language (the emergence of empirical linguistics out of rationalist and Christian thought on language in the 17th and 18th centuries), placing me weirdly in between four fields. Which I like. Meanwhile, definitely decided against teaching except perhaps in a desultory way, 90% decided in favour of doing a PhD anyway, and working as an academic editor with a firm based in Mumbai, basically doing all the cleanup and fixing-the-English stuff for our clients, who are mostly professors, research labs, and NGOs, and then consulting with them on the higher-level goals of their documents--discussing problems with their argument, issues with their research design, other work that I feel should be reflected or things that I think they may have misunderstood. It's a great job because it's 100% portable, because I get to read stuff that's relevant to my own academic interests, and because I get to step into the stream of language. I think I'll be happy to do it while I complete my PhD, and indeed I am thinking of tailoring the PhD to expand the fields I can edit in (currently I do lit and linguistics, but I think it's plausible that I can design a project that will also allow me to credibly work with people in history, philosophy, and theology).

So that's the current status of things. Good luck with school and thanks for your continued contributions to the Bible read--I'm excited about jumping back on board now that I'm home.

posted by MeditationesMartini at 4:32 pm (EST) on Sep 3, 2012

I've just read The Helmet of Horror from the same series which is about Theseus and the Labyrinth in the internet age so Lion's honey will be a good match for me as well!
Kerry

posted by avatiakh at 4:28 pm (EST) on Sep 2, 2012

Thanks Jonathan. We are very excited about the new grandbaby.
Richard

posted by richardbsmith at 6:37 pm (EST) on Aug 31, 2012

Ha ha, "Jill." Copy and paste, like I said.

posted by MeditationesMartini at 7:32 am (EST) on Aug 28, 2012

Hey buddy! I will admit that this is copypasted from the last person I told, since I have to catch a plane. But it's been a great project, and I have high hopes for it. Cheers/talk soon!
__________________
I was consulting with a group called TASO (The AIDS Support Organization) on a revamp of their "memory book" program--these are books for clients (people with HIV/AIDS) to record information that they'd like to pass on to their children after they're gone, such as family history, stories, photos, hopes for the child's future, and also hard-informational things like contact info for extended family and friends, naming a guardian, naming an executor, assets like land and bank account numbers (people are weird about writing wills here, so any sneaky way we can trick parents into doing these last two things is good for the child's future), medical history of the child and the family, stuff about the child's clan and totem that is important for marriage here, and basically all the things an orphaned kid might wish their parents were around to tell them ("We love you.").

Other organizations have had a lot of success with memory work, and TASO has had a lot of interest but poor completion rates, and we are producing "recommendations" (by which in practice it turns out they envisioned redesigning the program from the ground up) to address the many issues that have hampered the program. It's been so fascinating. I'd be happy to tell Jill anything else she'd like to know.

posted by MeditationesMartini at 7:31 am (EST) on Aug 28, 2012

A sample:
http://mail.cnsproductions.com/pdf/LaBarre.pdf

Introduction in GHOST DANCE is worth it alone

posted by Porius at 8:42 pm (EST) on Aug 21, 2012

many years ago you asked about my cognitive science and science fiction course- I noticed your penchant for textbooks. Recently you popped up on 'recently added' - I see you have found the 'very short introduction' series... excellent stuff.

posted by PeterKein at 6:29 pm (EST) on Aug 21, 2012

I'll do what I can tomorrow.

posted by Porius at 12:05 am (EST) on Aug 21, 2012

Thank you for sharing your thoughtful and lovely prayer.

posted by jwhenderson at 5:45 am (EST) on Aug 20, 2012

I agree with PK. Here's a book I think you'd like THE GHOST DANCE by Weston La Barre.

posted by Porius at 3:26 pm (EST) on Aug 16, 2012

You seem to have come into your own .. it is wonderful to see.

posted by PeterKein at 1:44 pm (EST) on Aug 16, 2012

Thanks for the suggestion about Gaiman, Jonathan. I actually have the Absolute Death edition, but have yet to read it. A friend bought it for me a while back, but I just haven't gotten around to it.

posted by dmsteyn at 4:55 am (EST) on Aug 8, 2012

The Heart Sutra! Of the books I have about the Heart Sutra, the only ones I would not recommend would be those by Donald Lopez. Those are nice if you want a PhD in Buddhist Studies, but otherwise not among the first half dozen to read in the beginning. Yes, read lots of books on the Heart Sutra. Roll it around in your mind and taste it, absorb it, thoroughly!

posted by kukulaj at 9:38 pm (EST) on Jul 26, 2012

That is so great that you can be there and meet such a master face to face and be a part of the community! May the seeds you are planting blossom gloriously and yield fruit that nourishes richly!

posted by kukulaj at 4:07 pm (EST) on Jul 26, 2012

I certainly am a big fan of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, but I have never met him. I did a 3 yr retreat in the Karma Kagyu, so that is my home base. Mostly though I have just been buying and reading Dharma books for thirty-some years and they do pile up!

posted by kukulaj at 7:33 am (EST) on Jul 24, 2012

There is this group for Hebrew.
http://www.librarything.com/groups/hebrewliterature

The last topic was a question from me about a verse in Isaiah, back in 2009.

We could easily start a reading of Genesis, or one of the books you mentioned.

I just do not think there will be any interest other than from you and me, maybe someone else would jump in.

posted by richardbsmith at 5:30 pm (EST) on Jul 23, 2012

Thanks for your comment on my review of The Intellectual Life. I enjoy reading books about the life of the mind and found this book via a recommendation in James V. Schall's Another Sort of Learning. His book is filled with wonderful reading lists including "Six Books on Learning and Teaching" which included the one by Sertillanges along with two others that I admire, How to Read a Book by Adler and The House of Intellect by Jaques Barzun. I write about my reading, music and other interests at The Frugal Chariot. (http://frugalchariot.blogspot.com/)

Jim

posted by jwhenderson at 10:18 am (EST) on Jul 23, 2012

We can also begin a group read of the Hebrew bible. My Hebrew is suffering badly from lack of practice.

There is just so much to read about. I am not reading cell biology, and am just fascinated how complex the cell structure and functions are.

posted by richardbsmith at 7:35 am (EST) on Jul 23, 2012

Thanks for the compliment. I am newly motivated to get my collection organized. I have probably discarded 2000 less interesting books, that have overwhelmed my garage. And my tag system is stupid, so I am contemplating how it should be improved.

My true hope is that I will eventually know what books I have and ,equally important, I will be able to access them easily.

Look over the Corinthians topic. I tried to link to subjects in the OP, but that did not work so well. Probably best to start a new discussion with a new topic, only to limit it to a few chapters. Then start a continuation topic after 100 or so comments.

I will be happy look at your reading journal. Where is it?

Richard

posted by richardbsmith at 7:23 am (EST) on Jul 23, 2012

Ahh, yes, Donne! Such a great original. To answer your question, I'm trying to be as capacious as possible, though I only have about 150 pages with which to work. Any suggestions that might be a bit more obscure?

posted by dmsteyn at 4:30 pm (EST) on Jul 16, 2012

Thank you for your gracious comments, Jonathan. Your reading looks very interesting and ambitious; good luck with everything. I have actually started with the MA, but I'm keeping it a bit hush-hush at the moment, as my topic hasn't been finalised yet. I'm thinking of doing it on anthropomorphic representations of Death in English literature. Morbid, no?

posted by dmsteyn at 1:03 pm (EST) on Jul 15, 2012

Can't help being curious: why did you decide to contact me?

posted by Esta1923 at 12:15 pm (EST) on Jul 9, 2012

I haven't read Brief History of Everything, though remember, that book is in essence his explanation of how Integral Theory works, so there's going to be a bit of what you describe. There's still some of that in spirituality and psychology, but, at least for me, it seemed like there was more to it than that. However, its been a while since I've read either of them.

posted by DeusExLibrus at 5:31 pm (EST) on Jul 8, 2012

Thank you, Jonathan, for the reading journal link. With a few writing deadlines, I'm behind at the moment but hoping to catch up in a week or so. I'll definitely be sending a note and keeping in touch.

Meanwhile, wishing you well in your many endeavors,

Gene

posted by GeneRuyle at 9:27 am (EST) on Jun 30, 2012

Greetings -- I've added yours to my Interesting library list. I'd say your off to a fine start and well down the road of your goal of becoming "overeducated." Like you, when I started, I too read mainly non-fiction (especially if philosophy counts as nonfiction, which was mostly where I started!). It took me far longer than you to fix literature firmly on my horizon; so if Jung did that for you so soon, that's a most worthy plus to credit his writings for. I commend you for your boundless ambition and the zeal with which you are pursuing it. I'll be returning to glean and take in more from your library and postings.

With kindest thoughts and continuing best wishes,
Gene

posted by GeneRuyle at 10:05 am (EST) on Jun 27, 2012

Hi lilbratty! What a wonderful name. I do SO love brats! I've just read and enjoyed the conversation RichardbSmith and would like to follow your library, so have sent a friend request to both of you. Wonderful topics!

Merrikay

posted by mkboylan at 10:19 am (EST) on Jun 25, 2012

Hi Jonathan,

I'm sorry I'm just getting around to answering your questions about Robin Hood, but since it's not at all my area of expertise, I wanted to be careful just throwing something out there. (As you will find if you spend any time exploring the Middle Ages, it's a big thousand-year world.) Anyway, I ran across this today from a medieval listserv I'm subscribed to and thought I'd pass it along: http://www.medievalists.net/2012/06/12/shooting-arrows-through-myth-and-history-...

Hope this gives you somewhere to start!

Best,

Nathaniel

posted by nathanielcampbell at 1:48 pm (EST) on Jun 13, 2012

hi this is "crookedfingers" from LiveJournal-I also have a LibraryThing site user name "bookmountain"-peace

posted by bookmountain at 8:40 pm (EST) on Dec 24, 2009

I added some information to my profile, including a photo and link to a 3D tour of my reading room.

I've heard it said that you are what you eat, but given my diet I'd rather be what I read.

Here's a link to the books I've read since June 1st this year.
http://www.librarything.com/topic/66004

Pursuing wisdom through the accumulation of knowledge has long been my goal in life.

posted by infopump at 8:35 pm (EST) on Aug 29, 2009

I saw you added Gilgamesh: A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell. This translation by Stephen Mitchell is awesome. I tried for decades to read Gilgamesh before reading this version and being able for the first time to feel the power of the story being told.

I borrowed his translation of the Bhagavad Gita from the library, enjoyed reading it, and now have it wishlisted so that I can obtain a copy to ponder.

I see you also have his translation of Tao Te Ching which I haven't read yet but do have wishlisted.

I've recently BookMooched copies of Genesis: A New Translation of the Classic Bible Stories and Meetings with the Archangel but have yet to read them.

He's a great translator, but you can safely skip his poetry.

posted by infopump at 8:12 pm (EST) on Aug 28, 2009

I can count on one hand the number of people on whose weighted list of "members with your books" my library appears. Generally, my collection has too many different parts to make it onto anyone's list. I discovered this about our libraries when looking for owners of books that are a focus of a new group I recently started. One of those is Maps of Time by David Christian.

I sent you an invitation. Perhaps you'll have a look?

posted by stellarexplorer at 1:45 am (EST) on Apr 2, 2009

Jonathan,
I noticed you added a copy of The True Believer. I have had the book for a long time. I remember seeing Eric Hoffer in a television interview when he was in his seventies. He had worked as a longshoreman for most of his life and continued that work after he began writing. (I remembered some of his story but checked the Wikipedia to be sure.) I think his concept of the true believer fits people from religious fanatics to communists. A small book that packs a lot of punch. I see you adding books all the time. If you keep going you will have a 10,000 volume library by the time you're 40. Good for you.
Bill

posted by wildbill at 1:20 pm (EST) on Sep 21, 2008

Hello Jonathan,
You and I are the only members of LT with the Modern Library edition of "The Philosophy of William James". I have a number of James' titles including the two volumes from Library of America and his volume in Britannica's Great Books. He is probably my favorite philosopher. I looked through the books we share and added yours to my list of interesting libraries. We seem to share an interest in buying used books. Next door to my office is a used book store with about 35,000 volumes. I also use ABE books for specific titles. I like the idea of buying a used hardcover for $8.00 when new paperbacks are $15.00. A lot of the used books I buy are in very good condition. I invite you to check out my library and leave a comment. LT is a good site for the readers of the world to get acquainted and share their thoughts.
Bill Rucker (wildbill)

posted by wildbill at 11:21 am (EST) on Apr 11, 2008

I love how eclectic your library is. And from the looks of it, you really know how to take advantage of library book sales! :)

posted by wellred2 at 9:22 am (EST) on Mar 8, 2008

Oh, and I see you have quite a few of the Harvard Classics. I'm collecting the Harvard Classics as I find them at library sales and used book stores, so before long we'll have some books in common after all :)

posted by waterlibris at 4:25 pm (EST) on Dec 16, 2007

You're library is great though, and there's nothing wrong with having a bunch of books you haven't read. It's like survival preparedness- if you're ever snowed in, trapped in your house due to zombie insurrection or are short on cash for a month- at least you'll still have plenty to read (^-^)

I love books on writing and literature as well, though my favorite genre is nature writing. I used to have a larger collection of literature but we moved so many times I ended up giving most of my fiction books away. Now that we bought a house, the collection is growing again- much to my husbands dismay LOL

If you like books on writing, I bet you'd also like Annie Dillard's "The Writing Life" and Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris. Well, the latter is more about books and reading than writing. But it's gold, pure gold!

Love you're library!

posted by waterlibris at 4:21 pm (EST) on Dec 16, 2007

Most of those textbooks are ones from my wife's college days that I wish she'd get rid of. A few of them are mine from college which I think might still be useful some day. I've had some doubts about the textbook tag since a lot of the technical books could be assigned in a college course, and indeed for some of my wife's technical books I'm not sure if she got them in college or later. I've been thinking of just using a reference tag.

As for 2001, I liked it very much when I read it but that was when I was a teenager 25 years ago.

posted by jjwilson61 at 10:12 am (EST) on Nov 11, 2007

Another lover of book smell! My mom taught me to sniff books at an early age. I am a lot older now. I still do it.

posted by slickdpdx at 10:04 pm (EST) on Nov 5, 2007

Thanks for the kind comments - I have, over the years, had an article or two published but for the most part my writing was limited to what I wrote in connection with my work as a diplomat and thus not for publication. I am working on a couple of projects right now, having attempted some graduate work and given up in the face of modern educrats. However, I am still pursuing the reading, research, and writing program that I laid out for my graduate work. I am in the process of shutting down my old website (combatic.com) and preparing a new militaryphilosopher.com website that will host some of the stuff I have already written in various guises.

Robert A. Mosher

posted by RobertMosher at 4:08 pm (EST) on Nov 4, 2007

I am a little foggy this morning, but the best I can recollect is that I found you while exploring the Web 2.0 group. Your book addiction and overall enthusiasm about books--even your textbook fetish, which I do not share, but I buy and stack books in piles that lean against the wall and go over my head.

posted by Darrol at 5:38 am (EST) on Oct 31, 2007

O Bratty One,

First up: didja notice that "LibraryThing Author" bug on my Profile? Yes, I'm a published author, with two books to my credit and another one on the way. Don't you feel honored being my acquaintance. (No, I wouldn't either...)

Re the Friends Sale: I guess after eight-plus years of buying and selling books for a living, I just look at the whole enterprise in pecuniary terms. Too, I lack the acquisitive, pack-rat mentality of the collector, although I am quite good at *catering* to it. And my own personal reading tastes tend to run towards either stuff that I'm researching for writing purposes, or really mindless entertainment (mystery and horror rule OK!)

I'm planning to do my usual Sunday visit to PA in November. With any luck, there will be some saleable stuff in Religion/Metaphysics left after you and the others have grubbed through them.

See ya soon...

posted by Mikal9000 at 12:50 am (EST) on Oct 31, 2007

How am i like Wilde? Reading the collection of Oscar Wilde The Critic i recognized someone who is hyperlogical, as was Twain, and the Chinese novelist+essaist Li Yu. By hyperlogical, i mean he pushes logic in ways most writers don't, no, he applies it on more things than most do, and doing that comes up with things that seem outrageous at a glance but are really only logical. One recalls Burke re Paine (i love both) complaining that logic carried to far is insanity. Well, it is and it isn't and, if written with the right touch hyperlogic becomes humor, for even though it may say something true, it reads like hyperbole. i doubt i got that just right but, at any rate, you will probably find kinship in the way logic takes me to outrageous places.

posted by keigu at 12:19 pm (EST) on Oct 30, 2007

Thank you for reminding me how much I too like Reference work, compilations, and specifically, our DICTIONARY OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS. Your interest in Ideas will be deeply rewarded - but always be kind to those who are devoted to the Un-Thought: The Cults, Personalities, and Things of the world. Perhaps they cannot help it. Certainly for myself, I can stifle my thinking and desire, but not my love of Ideas.

posted by keylawk at 2:02 pm (EST) on Oct 28, 2007

Right now...
I'm still reading Reading Lolita in Tehran, but only because we have a "set pace" in school.
I'm also reading a book that deals with the history of the Renaissance. Kinda dry, really.
What are you reading?

posted by Always_Reading at 4:28 pm (EST) on Oct 27, 2007

Mikal, back at'cha (finally!)

Re the library sale: I was actually rather disappointed. The best scores in the Bargain Room were a battered but saleable copy of Rodney Collin's Gurdjieffian THE MIRROR OF LIGHT in the original UK hardcover, and a set of "Seth Speaks" cassette tapes by Jane Roberts. Still, it's nice to be able to buy a grocery bag full of books -- for resale or personal use -- for a mere five clams.

See ya at the November Sunday sale?

posted by Mikal9000 at 1:08 am (EST) on Oct 21, 2007

jonathon, just left a long comment on the influential books page that might interest you -- in partic. a prescription for ayn rand though i doubt you need it, others you know might = seing oscar wilde with your favorites, i think you might like my books, so please drop by paraverse.org. i do not think i have any readers under 30 or 40, so any comments you would give will be weighted and awaited eagerly. the newbooks page has all the books i've written in english and all are new (from 2003-right-now-in-press) keigu

posted by keigu at 9:25 am (EST) on Oct 20, 2007

Hey...
You asked how [Reading Lolita in Tehran] was. It is so good, and let me warn you, it's not a light read. It's very insightful on how Tehran is functioning. Even though you are a guy, you'll still like it.
-AR

posted by Always_Reading at 10:59 pm (EST) on Oct 18, 2007

Hey Jonathan,
You have a fantastic collection of books! I love it when people have a load of maths or science books as well as literary ones. I also really liked 'The Master and Margarita'. You'd probably enjoy Salman Rushdie, who does the same sort of thing: magical realism and historical allegory. 'The Satanic Verses' has more in common with Bulgakov's work, but 'Midnight's Children' is undeniably better (it was awarded the Booker of Bookers), and safer to read in public.

Your love of old textbooks is much understood- I garner old, yellowed books on classics. I should make a tag group of them...yes, you must come back and check that out ;) . I've heard/read good things about 'Cancer Ward', and I rate 'The Gulag Archipelago' very highly, so that's why I want it. Yeah, not just want to read it, I musst haves it.

Let us know about the Management System when it's up and running.

posted by rebyonak at 11:42 am (EST) on Sep 22, 2007

Hi Jonathan,

The reading list really changes on my whim:) I dont limit myself to science fiction or cognitive science if I don't want to. For the 'cognitive science' part, I mainly use articles from Scientific American, Nature, Science etc. Short rather easily digestible articles used to spur *questions* on the part of students rather than attempting to provide 'answers' (which we don't have anyway, even when we think we 'are close'). For the science fiction, I do not have a set list either, but usual suspects are having them watch The Matrix, Blade Runner, Memento, Gattaca, some Star Trek TNG and Twilight Zone episodes. They read PK Dick stories, I, Robot, various Stan Lem, and other stories that fit the particular class topic (I try to let the class steer towards subject matter as much as is reasonable). I plan on teaching it next Fall, and am always looking for any new material. (I am going to post a new thread for it shortly).

posted by PeterKein at 10:42 am (EST) on Sep 8, 2007

This is an awesome website, yep! The reason I list books I want to read rather than books I have is because I need somewhere where I can clearly see what to read next, and motivate myself to read and read and read. And it might also help me find new books to read - I was about to ask you a question about one of the books you have, but it's slipped my mind now. :p

I thought about Amazon but I didn't like it quite as much.

posted by sceptreofmypassion at 1:29 pm (EST) on Sep 6, 2007

Hi Jonathan,
Thank you for responding. I don't get much time for surfing web, but when I can manage it, I like to look up 'friends' most of all.
Librarything is an ingenious concept, esp for bookworms (and sad souls like me who don't have a life outside printed page)though I can tell from your livejournal you are not one of the second (hopefully the first).
I notice you catalogue Solzhenitsyn's Cancer Ward and Tolstoy's Ivan Illich (my favourites of theirs) though I'm more into Dostoievsky, Gogol, Zoschenko, and Kharms, on the Russian front.
Anyone who has read (and listed)Elie Wiesel has my undivided support.
Science and Technology, alas, leave me comatose, though I know enough to appreciate your witty cartoon about Schrodinger, and to enjoy mathematical paperbacks (Kline, say, or Ian Stewart).
I must say I'm impressed by the wide variety of interests you list on your homepage. Like you, I'd consider myself 'liberal' politically, though I'd lean to the left of that,rather than the right. How come you're reading Ayn Rand, for pity's sake, when you could be drooling (with me) over Susan Sontag or Hannah Arendt?

posted by reuchlin at 11:26 am (EST) on Aug 25, 2007

agreeable profile.
In was impressed by your sensible comment on Talk group "Happy Heathen" "Gods Warriors" (message 2) (though I have to add that BOTH phrases in inverted commas strike me as self-contradictory).
mazel tov
R.

posted by reuchlin at 11:39 am (EST) on Aug 24, 2007