The long-awaiteds books reviews (say it like Yosemite Sam)

Here is my current reading list of books I am reading bookishly (VERY Antisocial):


This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature by Steven Pinker

Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday (Probably the most antisocial asocial sociopath the world has produced. I mean, what a nutcase cold-blooded ruthless murderer. What kind of jerk and idiot carries out genocide on his own people? And beyond all that: he had zero class.)

Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson

The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe by Roger Penrose

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality by Brian Greene

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick

No, seriously, I am reading them all concurrently. I'm really on a physics kick lately, trying to decode the macroverse, while a parallel exploration of the human mind is taking place as well.
How do they all weave together? Cosmically. And with very strange dreams of string theory and transcontinental voyages at speeds approaching the speed of light with pilgrims aging more slowly than Chinese warlords greedy for the secrets of the atom. And, of course, everyone is singing.

I am also reading in the Old Testament, now in the home stretch and up to The Book of Daniel (King James Bible by Various), not to be confused with The Book of David by David Steinberg, which I have read. It's an odd book, pseudoautobiographical, and an interesting look at the life of a comedian. Much more interesting was Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin. That guy has a fascinating story. His career has produced works of genius and works of pure dreck, but his memoirs were a great read. Speaking of memoirs, the best I've read come from Gordon Sumner (Broken Music by Sting). His writing is gripping, and not just because I'm a foaming at the mouth rabid Police fan. All the stories are from childhood up to the time The Police became a band. Then you have the band's Second Violinist with a pretty good efffffort. (Extra fff's for all the f-words) with his memoirs (excuse me, "Memoir"), One Train Later: A Memoir by Andy Summers. Stewart Copeland just video-documented everything with The Police - Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out ~ Terry Chambers, Ian Copeland, Miles A. Copeland III, and Stewart Copeland.

OK, I've given Amazon enough free press here, so I'll end on this note:

(I'll Be Watching You: Inside the Police, 1980-83 by Andy Summers)

Anti-social is the new Asocial

I, like many of you, embrace this new haven for the technohermit in all of us. There is nothing more refreshing than virtually rubbing shoulders at arm's length with others who don't enjoy all the Internet socializing. It just feels right. And now, if you will excuse me, I've got to pop back in my cave for some morning self-mortification. Long live antisocial security benefits!

All the best stories...

Here are some of my favorites so far:
-The Screwtape Letters (C.S.Lewis)
-The Official SAT Study Guide (the College Board) <--What is this? Some sort of plank of intelligence? Why would it write a book?
-Modern Physics (Cutnell and Johnson)
-Horseradish (Lemony Snicket)

Not all of them are available on Amazon.

More About Posts

Just so you know, posting book reviews is good evidence that you belong to this blog. There is nothing more antisocial than reviewing and commenting about a book. The only way to improve on reading one book is to read more than one, concurrently, and then confusing them when commenting about them.

I'm reading two books about food, 2 books about WWII, 2 books about business, a book about family history, a book about strange weather,and a book about a climber who helps build schools in central Asia. Just imagine the possibilities!

Posting Guidelines for the Antisocial Masses

I'm sure you are wondering what should be posted to this blog. Well, we don't want to get too formal about this but I decided to make some suggestions.

First, dont' post stuff that's really dumb. Only post things that aren't really dumb. If you have something that's partially dumb you should seriously consider how stupid you'll look when someone more arrogant decides your post is mostly, if not completely, dumb.

Second, we are encouraging the use of large words. It is important to remember that large words are the root of all worthy causes. However, it won't help anyone if you actually explain what you mean so please simply encourage the use of a dictionary as a part of your post. We'll attempt to provide a link or embedded search tool specifically for looking up big words.

Third, we like stuff that is not standard fare. We are a bit snobbish about food, science and music. So, please don't bore us with anything mundane in these topics unless you have something really insightful to say. :)

Fourth, we like lots of numbered lists and bullet points. Please include these as a core element in your posts. If you can't number or bullet-point what you are talking about it makes us question whether you've really thought about what you are trying to write.

Goldenfleece