Anyone have any book suggestions? - Page 4

Aaron · 07-16-2007, 09:34 PM

Inspired buy your user name, I suggest Stokes (sp?) "Dracula". Excelent book. Hard to believe it was written so long ago. It is fiction, but a great abstract view on eternal life. Of course so is the bible, for that matter.

pseudonous · 07-16-2007, 10:55 PM

Bram Stoker's Dracula was a very good book. I also recommend "The Undead and Philosophy, Chicken Soup for the Soulless".

Gettin' In Tune · 07-18-2007, 03:21 AM

'Everybody Poops' is a classic

For short stories: Demian and The Stranger are great existenlism reads. Animal Farm and The Lord of the Flies are good reads in understanding human hierarchy, power, and curruption.Old Man in the Sea and Candide are great stories about the strength of the human spirit.

I would also recommend the Finger Prints of the Gods.

Kham · 07-18-2007, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drac

Any good suggestions?

Since I am new to thinking of myself as agnostic, would like some good food for thought. Bertrand Russell is the guy whom got me to change my mind on religion (I read his collection of essays "why I am not a Christian") and I am just finishing up reading Sam Harris's "Letter to a Christian Nation". I thought about picking up something by Dawkins, but he just comes across as a super hardcore atheist and sort of the archleader, but I have never read him, nor do I really know much of what he stands for beside the broad brush the media paints him with, so I have no idea if I would enjoy reading him.

So let me know what you think some good reads would be, keeping in mind I am newbie to this way of life.

I have a 50 gift card to Barnes and noble just begging for me to spend it.

Daniel Dennet takes a look at religion through more of a scientific view in Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon.

Christopher Hitchens talks about how religion has been a huge retardant to morality and to society in god is not Great. This is quite a critical book.

Sam Harris also attacks religion unapologetically, his gist is that we need to analyze religious beliefs the same way we would other beliefs, and he does so in The End of Faith.

A.C. Grayling talks about a little bit of everything from an atheist's standpoint in Meditations for the Humanist: Ethics for a Secular Age.

I've been entertained by these books lately. Dawkins also seems to be quite well spoken in the debates I've listened to, haven't read The God Delusion though.

romansh · 10-02-2007, 11:12 PM

Try.... Lamb: The Chronicle According Biff
By Christopher Moore

Humorous and very definitely the best book I have read by an American, not that I have read that many.

all the best

romansh · 10-03-2007, 07:16 PM

sorry should have read

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff

Woke up two thirty in the morning realising the title was wrong,
very amusing book
all the best

**WilliamBlue** · 02-10-2008, 08:24 PM

Reading a good one now, although I've yet to finish it (trying to read it slow so I can enjoy it longer

)- Eat, Love, Pray... about a woman and her search for God, saw a video of a christian preacher who called it the 'word of the devil'

or some such thing, enough of an endorsement for me

. I think his objection may be that it is non-denominational and it doesn't mention the devil, the worse sin she does as far as I can tell is gluttony and maybe sex out of wedlock. Very well written and fun to read.

Geshtinnanna · 02-10-2008, 09:22 PM

Hmm I don't know if I had mentioned this before.
Adiel
Also from deep within my library a wonderful short story called
House of Incest by Anais Nin
(no fears. Here incest refers to the looking to another to love the part of you missing. In essence committing incest so to speak. But what I love is her words. Reading them out loud is like rolling a Hershey kiss over your tongue..feeling the words coat with this thick delicious flavor)
And a wonderfully disturbing book of short stories. Not really horror as much as Twilight Zone inspired but with an emotional feel
Noctuary by Thomas Ligotti
(I love this writer so much I took his book title as my writing name Noctuary)

xxkayxx · 03-20-2008, 04:49 PM

chicken soup for the soul series are always good reads ^^

Cathy Jean Mockwitz · 04-01-2008, 09:57 PM

"The Law"...by Frederic' Bastiat. A blueprint for a Just Society. This is one of my favorite books. I have read it many times. I recommend it so highly, that I have given away many copies of this book. "The Moral Basis of a Free Society"...by H.Verlan Andersen. This book gave me great comfort...when I was being so deeply persecuted. Actually, I think I will get it out and read it again...I enjoyed it so much. Plus the indispensable Webster's unabridged Dictionary. A Webster's Thesaurus is also very wise to have...if one wants to understand the various meanings of words."

I hope this is helpful,
Cathy