Your latest book purchases.

[Malia]

What an interesting find! And to have a signed copy, too. You'll have to post a "dram" of his work on the forum so we can get an idea of his style (and see, perhaps, how much --or how little-- it is influenced by Keats).

[Saturn]

Yes I shall give it a good read and see if his favourite subject's work bleeds into his own work.

[Malia]

Here's a book I recently purchased from amazon.com and have been reading with great interest. My brother and sister-in-law swear I'm the only person they know who'd read a book about illness for "fun," but I stand by this book:



It is fascinating study--written by an M.D. (who happens to write *very* well and in a totally accessible manner)--of the history of Dr./Patient relations in the 20th Century, using "celebrity" patients as his focus. These celebrities range from sports figures, such as Lou Gherig, Brian Piccolo, and Arthur Ashe, to people who became celebrities because of their illnesses--such as Barney Clarke, the first recipient of an artificial heart. It is almost a sociological study and a history, really, of how we've moved from seeing the Doctor as a paternalistic figure who makes all the decisions and often keeps patients in the dark about their situation (such as was the case with Lou Gherig) to the rise of patients' rights and the growing autonomy of patients to decide their own fate. He also discusses how the publicity surrounding famous patients' illnesses and life decisions have affected more everyday patients' beliefs and decisions. It is really an intriguing study. I know folks on this board might be more inclined toward fiction, but if you want to read an interesting piece of non-fiction, this is a great book.

[Heaven/Hell]

I recently bought a collection of Oscar Wilde's short stories, a really old copy bought from an antiquarian bookshop which was first printed in 1923. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a story to behold in its original form. Slightly yellowed pages, musty smell, archaic text font, it really takes you back a few decades when you read it.

I dislike these tarted-up 'contemporary' Penguin issues, with a pretty little picture on the front cover having NOTHING at all to do with the content (the old adage 'Never judge a book by its cover' must have been first attributed someone who bought a Penguin 'classic') and a pointless introduction. Anyways, rant over.

[Heaven/Hell]

...actually, no it's not (time's dragging at work, I pass the time when it's not so busy by thinking too much about trivial things).

Why is there always a tedious introduction in modern reprints of the classics by some dull professor whose only ambition in life is to suck the soul out of some great reading? Doesn't it strike them that maybe we the readers are perfectly AWARE of the content, hence the reason we're buying it? Must they try and influence our freedom of opinion by giving us THEIR 'professional' viewpoint? The whole sodding reason I read is for the liberty to interpret the book however I wish, creating my own scenery and 'reality' in my own mind. The reader experiencing unexplored territories in the mind are what make literature and poetry great. So let's end this mind-numbing drivel which blights our enjoyment. If I wanted an essay or dissertation I would still be in school.

[Malia]

...actually, no it's not (time's dragging at work, I pass the time when it's not so busy by thinking too much about trivial things).

Why is there always a tedious introduction in modern reprints of the classics by some dull professor whose only ambition in life is to suck the soul out of some great reading? Doesn't it strike them that maybe we the readers are perfectly AWARE of the content, hence the reason we're buying it? Must they try and influence our freedom of opinion by giving us THEIR 'professional' viewpoint? The whole sodding reason I read is for the liberty to interpret the book however I wish, creating my own scenery and 'reality' in my own mind. The reader experiencing unexplored territories in the mind are what make literature and poetry great. So let's end this mind-numbing drivel which blights our enjoyment. If I wanted an essay or dissertation I would still be in school.

You know, I've never had a problem with introductions written by professors. Sure, some essays come straight out of the writer's arse, but a lot of the time, they can be interesting and compell the reader to see things in a new way. The reader does *not* have to AGREE with the professor/intro writer. I guess I'm just one of those people who believes that, in many cases, a personal interpretation can often be enhanced by other interpretations. The more "angles" we have on a particular work, the more fully we can see the work, itself. No one has a corner on the market when it comes to understanding and interpreting literature (or anything else, for that matter). I say, the more interpretations you have, the more fully you can assess the work. But you don't have to agree with everything you read in order to be informed and enlightened by it.

[Brave Archer]

Picked up Joeseph Conrads 'The Secret Agent' and i'm finding it pretty hard to put down. It starts off slow ( I think) but eventually it pulls you in.

[Heaven/Hell]

You know, I've never had a problem with introductions written by professors. Sure, some essays come straight out of the writer's arse, but a lot of the time, they can be interesting and compell the reader to see things in a new way. The reader does *not* have to AGREE with the professor/intro writer. I guess I'm just one of those people who believes that, in many cases, a personal interpretation can often be enhanced by other interpretations. The more "angles" we have on a particular work, the more fully we can see the work, itself. No one has a corner on the market when it comes to understanding and interpreting literature (or anything else, for that matter). I say, the more interpretations you have, the more fully you can assess the work. But you don't have to agree with everything you read in order to be informed and enlightened by it.

It's like, have you ever seen the movie Dead Poets Society? One of the key points in that is where Robin Williams' teacher John Keating (wonder where they got the name from ) asks them to read the Introduction in a book about poetry. He then tells them to rip the introduction out, as it is frivolous and pedantic and really takes the enjoyment out of poetry - "Schools of Academics going forward, MEASURING poetry. NO!"
This is what I mean, let the reader judge for themselves - that is how the Imagination is shaped, by forming your own opinions and ideas. The only interpretation that counts is my own.

[Malia]

Although I have a huge amount of reading material for my classes, I've been purchasing and reading books that have *nothing to do* with Organizational Leadership to put on my nightstand as "before bed" reading. I've been really into biographies lately--and, strange for someone like me who's not generally into sports, I've been really gung-ho for the bios of historical sports figures. Here's my latest purchase. . .I've read reviews that say it is an awesome bio--and you don't even need to understand baseball to appreciate it It's all about the life of Lou Gehrig, a sports figure I've been meaning to learn more about.

[Heaven/Hell]

I have to quote Denis Leary:

"Ah, Lou Gehrig, God bless Lou Gehrig. Died of Lou Gehrig's disease, how didn't he see that one coming?"

[Saturn]

[Sir Nevis]

Just bought 'Dombey and Son' a few days ago: one of the two Dickens novels I've yet to read (the other is 'Barnaby Rudge'.)

I've started reading it, but i think it'll take me a while. I've reverted to my old bad habit of juggling several books at a time, including a re read of 'Pickwick' (which Dickens wrote at 23...clearly he was as early a bloomer as Keats!)

[Saturn]

Dickens was certainly a boy wonder

I've never understood the reading more than one book at once thing - I've never done it, couldn't do it

I'm not very good at multi--tasking...

[Malia]

I hear that multi-tasking is entirely over-rated. In fact, people do better work and are more efficient if they complete tasks one at a time. Thank god for that because I am not a multi-tasking kinda gal, myself.

[Saturn]

I thought the female of the species were the best multi-taskers