BOOKS THREAD

Might have to read all these. Thanks for the tips.

How come? Bad, uninteresting book? Too hard to read? Couldn't relate? I'm just curious.

I'm just curious. What do you do when you're interested in something, or want to know about something? I'm doing something stupid when I actually read about things that are of current interest?

Why don't you knock it off with the useless, trolling posts? Or, just go away. Unless you've been to North Korea and know everything about it, of course. If that's the case, well, then, please, share.

 

I laugh at myself several times every day.

Others are incapable of it and I need to keep it in mind more often.

 

It's not trolling. I think Dick's point (which I agree with) is that if you truly want to learn about Islam you should add to your reading list someone who espouses the beliefs of Islam and explains why. Using as your only source someone who has rejected Islam will give you a skewed view, I think.

 

Jonathan Gould's new bio of Otis Redding is tremendous

 

You do? I'd sure never know that. But never mind.

 

Then you don't pay attention to my posts. At all.

 

Yeah, it just didn't draw me in. If you can't do that after 100 pages, I'm out. Didn't have to do with setting or culture described. One of the best series I ever read was the Cairo Trilogy by Naghuib Mafhouz, which is about as foreign as it gets for a white American. But I loved it and tell everyone to read it.

I don't give a shit about an award the book has won (like the Pulitzer) or whether it was written by a supposed genius like Thomas Pynchon. Gravity's Rainbow is garage IMHO. Just unreadable dreck, and I've tried to get into it more than once. Hell, the Goldfinch won the Pulitzer and so did Oscar Wao, and I preach against the values of reading either book. I'll try to read almost anything; and thanks to lending libraries, it's easy to sample things for free -- and to not give a shit if you want to abandon something that isn't engaging. Too much good stuff out there.

 

I'm willing to bet I know more about Islam than many people here, because I've attempted to inform myself. I read enough about it from people who espouse it in the news to care too much about more of the same. Someday, I'll get to reading a couple of the ones Dick trolled on his post about that a while back, just, as you say, for the sake of seeing something else about it. But I've had enough of it -- and again, more than most people -- for now.

I have to say, though, that the reason I read the books I did was simple. I find it much more interesting to know how and why people who had always lived and loved their faith/religion, who are clearly knowledgeable about it but not necessarily fanatical, and who still love people who live it and love it, would leave said faith/religion.

To me, that is very powerful, and says something, because I don't know that there's anything that would ever get me to leave my faith. There must be a reason for it, and that's what I found compelling, and also, kind of contrarian and not just standard religious reading or a politically correct stance. I truly believe others would find it interesting and informative, as well. Which is why I post about them on here. That's what this thread is for.

 

You had a preconceived notion about Islam.

You sought books from sources that would confirm your preconceived notions about Islam.

Then you bragged on here about how open-minded you were.

 

This made me chuckle a little, as I've had the same experience with some of the supposed "best" books out there.

 

People really need to learn the difference between having a dry sense of humor and "trolling."

"Troll" is the most overused word in the English language right now.

 

Oh, shut up, DW. I just told you what attracted me to them, and I don't think you can argue the point that it's a compelling point or reason for reading. You just need to let everyone know how morally superior you are because you pretend you don't have any preconceived notions or biases.