Post the last books you have read and your thoughts about them and next books you plan on reading

Post the last books you have read and your thoughts about them and next books you plan on reading.

>The Iliad, Walden & Civil Disobedience, Deuteronomy

>Started The Odissey today, next will be Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

Also, if you want, share your recent purchases (second hand penguin edition)

I got that "A Summer of Faulkner" 3-book set from based Oprah for 6 bucks unread. As I Lay Dying was an immediate favorite. The Sound and The Fury is great, although difficult. High hopes for Light in August.

Reading The Idiot after TSaTF because winter and because Dostoyevsky

The last book I read was "True American" by Anand Giridharadas. I particularly did not care for the book at all. I want to read "A Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah, again. I read the book once in middle school and really liked it.

>because winter and because Dostoyevsky
Is Dostoy generally a comfy winter read?

What meme book should I read next?

>lol le pseudointellectual intelligentsia here, pls help me determine my self-worth based on the books I pretend to liek!!

Can mods please start banning these retarded threads?

what is word filter

"Vidas Secas", by Graciliano Ramos: absolutely devastating. The best adjective to describe it is "violent". I'm afraid that the most famous english translation - "Barren Lives" by Ralph Edward Dimmick - can't convey the meaning behing the regionalisms very well, but you might as well try it.

"Stoner", by John Williams: liked it. We only get to hear about famous scholars, those who have really succeeded. When we read a book like this and we develop empathy for a character that constantly feels like he fails to be good at what he loves we get a heartbreak.

"A History of Western Philosophy", by Bertrand Russell: my first philosophy book. Liked it very much and now I feel prepare to delve into, well, the original texts per se. Russell is clearly biased toward some ideas as he himself was a philosopher, but the fact that he almost admits the bias and tries to limit it makes the book very good.

Next reads are "Capitães da Areia", by Jorge Amado, "Ficciones", by Jorge Luis Borges and Mythology, by Edith Hamilton.

Russian lit in general is a comfy winter read

Well I may finally dig into Crime and Punishment then.

>Russell is clearly biased toward some ideas as he himself was a philosopher, but the fact that he almost admits the bias and tries to limit it makes the book very good.
History is written by the "victors" and Russell literally wrote a history of philosophy. The British idealists of the turn of the 20th century are massively ignored because people like Bradley shit all over Russell's arguments but didn't have the popular presence of Russell. So yeah, do take it with a pinch of salt, although I'm a lot more forgiving than many people on here and still think Russell can be a worthwhile introduction.

Enjoy Ficciones. There are plenty of philosophical ideas to delve into with Borges' early stories.

Thanks. But what would be, in your opinion, the best introduction to philosophy?

I usually recommend an absolutely introductory text like Magee's Story of Philosophy, Blackburn's Think, or Warburton's Philosophy: The Basics. After that, jump into a primary text with as much secondary supplement as possible. People like to start with Greeks and Plato's Socratic dialogues are fine to dive into if you utilise secondary sources to fully grasp what you're reading. Alternatively grab a contemporary introductory textbook on a specific area of philosophy (metaphyics, epistemology, mind, ethics, etc) and come to terms with the current debates and get an anthology which covers the seminal papers.

I suppose now you've read Russell you have some idea of the philosophical areas you're interested in? Which is probably the most fun time because you can really get stuck into a a discipline without needing to worry about the endlessly specific, technical work just yet!

My main areas of interest are related to my major, mathematics, and they are foundations/logic/philosophy of science/metamaths; for that reason, the tradition with whom I'm most familiar is analytic philosophy.

I can read Russell, Wittgenstein and Carnap and generally understand the main logical/math-driven points, but I probably lack a knowledge of the traditions that directly preceded them, mainly german idealism/first wave of continental phil.

Thanks for the book recs.

Nice! I nearly wrote my undergrad dissertation on mathematical fictionalism. Stewart Shapiro's Thinking About Mathematics is hands down the best introduction to the philosophy of mathematics.

>Of Mice and Men.

5/5. Loved it. Never read it in high school so my experience wasn't ruined.

Steinbeck is really comfy to read.

>Butchers Crossing.

Really good, but nothing 'wowed' me like Stoner. 4/5.

Next up - probably some Sherlock Holmes stories while I wait for my next book buy. When it arrives i'll either read Anna Karenina or War and Peace.

Just finished

>Plato's Euthyphro, Aristotle's Poetics

Am reading

>Irrational Man by William Barret, In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust

Will probably read next

>Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle, Critique of Pure Reason by Kant, and Children of Light, Children of Darkness by Reinhold Niebuhr.

Test

I finished Wild Palms, at first I was a little upset at the layout of two books split chapter after chapter but later on I decided that I liked what the contrast.

Did it work?

Forgot to post my thoughts about them.

>Euthyphro

Excellent for understanding the nature of Socratic Dialogue. The conclusion was a bit more open than I would like, but I suspect Plato intended to force the reader to continue the train of thought on their own, and, had he pushed it further, it would have required a large argument encompassing a good portion of The Republic - most likely. So I understand why it was cut so short.

>Poetics

Excellent. It's a great introductory Aristotelian text, and is good for laying a foundation in literary analysis (then again, it is the foundation of literary analysis).

>Irrational Man

Probably the best summary of Existentialist Philosophy ever written. It is accessible, entertaining, thought-provoking, and informative. Top-shelf.

>In Search of Lost Time

I've only read Part One, "Swann's Way," so far, but I am very impressed with this work. At times, I have a hard time maintaining an interest, but, ultimately, the work is incredible. I'm not sure if I've ever read anything more human. I believe Proust is attempting to capture a still of the vital force on paper. "Here it is. This is life. It is a mish-mash of sensory impressions, memories, moments, people and the like. You don't explain it - you experience it." I'm more of a Laputan myself, but I respect and enjoy what I think Proust is doing so far.

>Nicomachean Ethics

I just want to read something heavier by Aristotle than Poetics.

>Critique of Pure Reason

My roommate insists, and I love abstract thought. A book abstracting thought itself is very tantalizing.

>Children of Light, Children of Darkness

Reinhold Niebuhr was an influential 20th century theologian, and this book has been recommended to me by people I know and respect.

Plato' Symposium. Easy 12/10.