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Sylos
February 11th, 2012, 10:06 AM
So recently I have been labelled as a little odd by work colleagues for the kinds of books I like to read. So I thought I'd see what sorts of literature the rest of the community likes to read when not tapping away on the keyboard.

As this is a tech forum I should probably include literature that is on you kindle or whatever other gadgets maybe holding it. Personally, I like good old fashioned books on a shelf - theres a satisfying element for me in being able to look upon the knowledge I have amassed in one place (even if it never gets to fully reside in my brain).

So yeah, I'll start off then...

I dont read fiction anymore - only the hard facts (or informed conjecture on facts anyway). I have a soft spot for Science based books (particularly physics based), philosophy from through the ages (you can pick up some real bargains in this are at car boot sales), and then a mass of other texts that are subjects that just look interesting.

Currently reading a book on the philosophy of sartre (not one of his original texts). Mind boggling stuff. :)

What does everyone else like?

Supermouse
February 11th, 2012, 01:43 PM
Fiction mainly...

I don't know, I cannot enjoy philosophy, biographies or such, but I can read some scientific books sometimes, and I read a lot of tech literature.

My book pool is really small, I used to borrow from the library a lot before I moved on, so I never bothered to buy books.

- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (All 5)
- The Lord of The Rings Trilogy
- Tales of Fire and Ice
- The Battle of the Apocalipse (approximate translation. Is a fiction book by an Brazilian author about the Demon and Angel battles on the modern times, in a setting pretty much like the RPG In Nomine)
- The Chronicles of Dragonlance
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (my sister had this book, and when I was really young I read a Disney comic story called "The Adventures of Mickey Sawyer", then I had to borrow the book from her to read, and never returned it back. I was 9 at the time)
- The Universe in a Nutshell
- Lots of RPG books
- Lots of tech books

As I'm about to buy a Kindle, my collection may grow up, but this list can give a sample of my tastes.

graabein
February 11th, 2012, 05:23 PM
Currently I'm reading JavaScript Patterns (www.amazon.com/JavaScript-Patterns-Stoyan-Stefanov/dp/0596806752) and The Quiet American (http://www.amazon.com/Quiet-American-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0143039024).

Sylos
February 11th, 2012, 08:46 PM
My book pool is really small, I used to borrow from the library a lot before I moved on, so I never bothered to buy books.



Ah the library - a sadly underused resource these days. I dont live anywhere near one so I dont really feel able to use one anymore.

Hitchikers guide is a classic series - as is the lord of the rings. Its been a while since I read any of them. Reminds me of being young again.........

Mini Evo
February 11th, 2012, 09:01 PM
Just finished reading Tales of Fire and Ice on my Kindle, look forward to the next book in the series.

nothingspecial
February 11th, 2012, 09:17 PM
My bookshelf is mainly full of dvds, wii ganes, toys and trading cards, but I have boys aged nine and ten.

As to what I like reading, I enjoy historical stories. Not so much fiction set in history or biographies of historical characters. More historical stories told as a narrative.

For example

The Ice Master - Jennifer Niven

http://explorenorth.com/library/weekly/aa120800a.htm

or

In The Heart Of The Sea - Nathaniel Philbrick

http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/in-the-heart-of-the-sea-the-tragedy-of-the-whaleship-essex

That sort of stuff.....

winh8r
February 11th, 2012, 09:31 PM
The cat!

everything else is on the floor now.


currently reading "The Diary Of Samuel Marchbanks" by Robertson Davies

y6FgBn)~v
February 11th, 2012, 09:39 PM
Suffice it to say I have many books ;-)

I am currently reading the Millenium trilogy.

standingwave
February 11th, 2012, 10:05 PM
a brief history of time
barnett's manual of bicycle repair
cambridge handbook of physics formulas
demon-haunted world
gödel, escher, bach: an eternal golden braid
hidden order: the economics of everyday life
into thin air
intuitive ic op amps
lonesome dove
microwave and rf design
morrow guide to knots
oxford companion to beer
philip's atlas of the universe
roadside geology of washington state
surely you’re joking, mr. feynman
synergetics
ubuntu complete reference
undaunted courage
zen mind, beginner's mind

the to-be-read stack:


constructing reality: quantum theory and particle physics
how designers think
incomplete nature: how mind emerged from matter
the handmaid's tale

lisati
February 11th, 2012, 10:09 PM
Many books, several with a religious feel, 200+ DVDs, and assorted semi-discarded VHS tapes, phones and other gadgets.

Sylos
February 11th, 2012, 10:11 PM
a brief history of time
barnett's manual of bicycle repair
cambridge handbook of physics formulas
demon-haunted world
gödel, escher, bach: an eternal golden braid
hidden order: the economics of everyday life
into thin air
intuitive ic op amps
lonesome dove
microwave and rf design
morrow guide to knots
oxford companion to beer
philip's atlas of the universe
roadside geology of washington state
surely you’re joking, mr. feynman
synergetics
ubuntu complete reference
undaunted courage
zen mind, beginner's mind

the to-be-read stack:


constructing reality: quantum theory and particle physics
how designers think
incomplete nature: how mind emerged from matter
the handmaid's tale


Haha - theres a selection that would tickle my fancy! A diverse selection of subjects that stimulate my literary taste buds. :D

markp1989
February 11th, 2012, 11:12 PM
Most the books on mine are from uni.

"Management Information Systems" By OZ & Jones
"Objects First with Java a practical introduction" By Barns Kolling
"Operating System Concepts" Shilberschatz
"ProLog Programming for artificial intelligence" By Ivan Bratko
"Database Systems" By Rob Coronel Crockett
"The C Programming Language" Ritchie and Kernigham
"Boost your memory - Brilliant Ideas you won't forget" Darren Bridger
"Improve your handwriting: Teach yourself" by Rosemary Sassoon - books aimed at adults and has really helped me with the legibility of my hand writing.

goldshirt9
February 11th, 2012, 11:29 PM
I have a varied collection but on the shelf by my bed i have -

Arthur Conan Doyle - Sir Nigel / The White Company
Tolkien - various
Michael Scott - The Culai Heritage
Shakespeare - Sonnets
Grumpy Gits way to life :P:P
Steven Pressfield - Gates of Fire currently reading

click4851
February 11th, 2012, 11:39 PM
politics, hard science fiction, philosophy, I've been on an Ayn Rand kick as of late.

wolfen69
February 12th, 2012, 12:00 AM
Nothing, I don't have any books.

Old_Grey_Wolf
February 12th, 2012, 01:30 AM
Books about JAVA and Perl programming, mathematics, statistics, electronics, chemistry, psychology, religious or esoteric material, occult novels, and so fourth. Then non-books; such as, software that I will probably never use again, DVDs of movies, CDs of music, etc.

Bookshelf is about 2 x 4.5 meters.

mmsmc
February 12th, 2012, 01:55 PM
I have many books, which I will honestly admit that I do not read, but the two books that I read over and over again are The Once and Future King and Wild Swans
without a doubt my favorite books

The Cog
February 12th, 2012, 04:47 PM
Linux Complete
An introduction to the analysis and processing of signals - Lynn
Peter Norton programmers guide to the IBM PC
Teach yourself java 1.1 in 21 days
Borland turbo C reference guide
Godel Escher, Bach: An eternal golden braid - Hofstadter (excellent book)
The Origin of Species - Darwin
Relativity - Einstein
In search of Suzy - John Gribbin
In search of the edge of time - Gribbin
In search of superstrings, symmetry and a theory of everything - Gribbin
Schrodinger's kittens - Gribbin
The Cyberiad - Stanislaw Lem
Unix network programming - Stevens
A brief history of time - Hawking

linoseros
February 12th, 2012, 07:39 PM
The Art of Intrusion - Kevin Mitnick
The Art of Deception - Kevin Mitnick
Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker - Kevin Mitnick
The Body Language - Alan Pease
Les Fourmis - Bernard Werber
Le Jour des fourmis - Bernard Werber
La Révolution des fourmis - Bernard Werber

philinux
February 12th, 2012, 08:04 PM
I got 2 Terry Pratchett books for Christmas. I have a lot of his stuff.

BlackRoseReader
February 13th, 2012, 03:49 AM
A bunch of books by Noam Chomsy, tons of cultural anthropology, classic anarchist texts, some Dostoevsky, Richard Dawkins, political philosophy, other philosophy, among other topics. Bookshelf, at last count was around 160, there are a few in the mix I haven't read yet.

Sylos
February 14th, 2012, 01:32 PM
I got 2 Terry Pratchett books for Christmas. I have a lot of his stuff.

Awesome choice! I used to read a lot of discworld back in the day. What did you get?