What are you reading right now?

Oriphiel · 11-01-2018, 10:11 AM

Maybe later

innerspaceboy · 11-05-2018, 05:07 PM

I was lying in bed trying to conceive my next project and the title of a book manifested in my mind - I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas R Hofstadter. I never made it through his epic 1979 tome, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid as I am not equipped with the necessary mathematical knowledge to grasp it, (specifically propositional calculus), but Strange Loop's exploration of the nature of consciousness seemed like it might be more palatable for me.

Strange Loop opens with a proposed Socratic dialog Hofstadter drafted as a teen, and I was instantly captivated. This should be a rewarding read.

OccultHawk · 11-05-2018, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerspaceboy

I was lying in bed trying to conceive my next project and the title of a book manifested in my mind - I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas R Hofstadter. I never made it through his epic 1979 tome, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid as I am not equipped with the necessary mathematical knowledge to grasp it, (specifically propositional calculus), but Strange Loop's exploration of the nature of consciousness seemed like it might be more palatable for me.

Strange Loop opens with a proposed Socratic dialog Hofstadter drafted as a teen, and I was instantly captivated. This should be a rewarding read.

Do you ever enjoy reading things you don’t understand

like Joyce or whatever - like this insanity is spewing out but you’re only catching a small fraction of it but like who cares?

Sometimes I’m reading something and I’m like wtf I’m so ****ing lost!!!!But then when I’m finished I read about what I just read and it turns out I understood more than I thought.

You seem like the type that would really want to fully understand whatever you read. Sometimes I’m just reading lazily and then I get lost or miss something important, obviously that’s a bad reading habit but I also think you can go too far the other way. As in being overly meticulous about understanding.

~~[MERIT]~~ · 11-05-2018, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerspaceboy

I was lying in bed trying to conceive my next project and the title of a book manifested in my mind - I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas R Hofstadter. I never made it through his epic 1979 tome, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid as I am not equipped with the necessary mathematical knowledge to grasp it, (specifically propositional calculus), but Strange Loop's exploration of the nature of consciousness seemed like it might be more palatable for me.

Strange Loop opens with a proposed Socratic dialog Hofstadter drafted as a teen, and I was instantly captivated. This should be a rewarding read.

What an amazing book that is! If you like it, I would recommend Thomas W. Campbell's "My Big T.O.E." trilogy.

Damn it, for all the sh*t that I get around here [mainly from OccultHawk], my website had ~ 3,500 PDF's that people could read and download for free. Books that were hard to find and woth while.

innerspaceboy · 11-05-2018, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Do you ever enjoy reading things you don’t understand

like Joyce or whatever - like this insanity is spewing out but you’re only catching a small fraction of it but like who cares?

Sometimes I’m reading something and I’m like wtf I’m so ****ing lost!!!!But then when I’m finished I read about what I just read and it turns out I understood more than I thought.

You seem like the type that would really want to fully understand whatever you read. Sometimes I’m just reading lazily and then I get lost or miss something important, obviously that’s a bad reading habit but I also think you can go too far the other way. As in being overly meticulous about understanding.

I appreciate the response! There are indeed times when I enjoy swimming into the deep waters of the unknown. Finnegans Wake is one of my all-time favorite challenges. I had a difficult time with Roger Scruton's treatise on the aesthetics of music, and Alex Ross' The Rest Is Noise was similarly challenging, each simply because I lack a fundamental education in the history of classical music. I've tried various informational resources but none of them have really grabbed me as of yet.

I'm hopeful that this latest read will resonate with me, and if it does perhaps I'll give the mathematical logic of GEB another shot.

innerspaceboy · 11-05-2018, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [MERIT]

What an amazing book that is! If you like it, I would recommend Thomas W. Campbell's "My Big T.O.E." trilogy.

Awesome! I appreciate the recommendation. Thank you!

rostasi · 11-05-2018, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerspaceboy

I was lying in bed trying to conceive my next project and the title of a book manifested in my mind - I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas R Hofstadter. I never made it through his epic 1979 tome, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid as I am not equipped with the necessary mathematical knowledge to grasp it, (specifically propositional calculus), but Strange Loop's exploration of the nature of consciousness seemed like it might be more palatable for

I’ve been a fan of Hofstadter since the age of 20.
G, E, B: was the first book I recommended to my, now, wife as a deep intro to the way I think.
Saying that, I think there are better books by him than ...Strange Loop: Metamagical Themas... and The Mind’s I being two.

As for the ...Wake, have you tried joining a reading group that’s devoted to either it, in particular, or Joyce in general?
I’ve unfortunately gained a bit of a celebrity status at the monthly F. W. one that I attend here,
but surprisingly, we have about 2 dozen people show up each month to read and discuss.

innerspaceboy · 11-05-2018, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rostasi

I’ve been a fan of Hofstadter since the age of 20.
G, E, B: was the first book I recommended to my, now, wife as a deep intro to the way I think.
Saying that, I think there are better books by him than ...Strange Loop: Metamagical Themas... and The Mind’s I being two.

As for the ...Wake, have you tried joining a reading group that’s devoted to either it, in particular, or Joyce in general?
I’ve unfortunately gained a bit of a celebrity status at the monthly F. W. one that I attend here,
but surprisingly, we have about 2 dozen people show up each month to read and discuss.

I'll definitely look into those titles! Thanks! And it's so wonderful to hear you participate in readings of The Wake!

I'm very fortunate to live in Buffalo, NY. Our university is is home to the greatest Joyce collection in the country, including his spectacles, walking stick, first editions of his works, Sylvia Beach’s personally-bound edition of Ulysses, and an exhaustive collection of other manuscripts.

I shared to this thread earlier in March when I first beheld the collection and my researched produced an extremely rare university publication that I hope to one day claim and display in my home. Here are the specs:

Book oversize - The James Joyce Archive
General Editor Michael Groden
Finnegans Wake
A Facsimile of Buffalo Notebook VI.A (“Six A”)
Prefaced and arranged by Danis Rose
1978
Garland Publishing
(the roughest and earliest notes for The Wake)
ISBN: 0-8240-2827-9
pp256-257 offer color oversized facsimiles of Scribbledehobble

My Joyce collection thus far includes A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake, A Gaelic Lexicon for Finnegans Wake, a handsome 1979 Franklin Library edition of Ulysses, the John Hopkins University Press' Annotations to Finnegans Wake, several museum exhibit manuscripts, Joyce himself reading from his works on vinyl, and most proudly, a mint framed copy of the 1939 issue of Time Magazine featuring Joyce on the cover and his final interview just before his passing.

I also had the pleasure of being filmed reading The Wake as part of an internationally-touring art exhibit called Finnegans Waves.

I've explored Wake reading groups but tragically most of the city's group has retired or passed away due to old age. Attempts to revitalize the group have been less than successful. But I did attend this year's Bloomsday celebration which is chiefly attended by members of The Irish Classical Theatre who faithfully reenact scenes from Ulysses beautifully.

It's a fine city.

rostasi · 11-06-2018, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerspaceboy

I've explored Wake reading groups but tragically most of the city's group has retired or passed away due to old age.

Does that include this one:

Buffalo, New York
Every two weeks on Tuesday during the academic year
from 7:30 to 11:00 or so.

Contact
Alphonse Kolodziejczak
70 Rollingwood
Williamsville, NY 14221-1834
716-568-0808
akolo55@msn.com

The Poetry Collection
University of Buffalo
716-654-2917

The Batlord · 11-06-2018, 10:32 AM

Oh cool, this just came in the mail so I guess I'll be diving into Chomsky for the first time in a bit. About ****ing time I guess.

11-01-2018, 10:11 AM	#6301 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,354	Maybe later __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| -----------------------------