~Andrea~

How utterly bizarre. I guess as readers we don't feel insecure about such things and so see no reason to lie about it.

Welcome on board

Thank you Louise. That's very kind of you

Started Informal Logic last night. I think I'll enjoy it though I hope it won't be too dry.

My comments on Persuasion are here

Well by that definition atheism is a meaningless term isn't it? I would say Dawkins is an atheist. I'm a believer but I can't be absolutely certain God exists - just 99.999% (or whatever). But I wouldn't count myself an agnostic. By this definition everyone ends up on a sliding scale of agnosticism.

Actually its funny you should mention that. I listened to an abridged version on CD last year and enjoyed it and was just thinking how I ought to read the book one day.

I finished this a few weeks back. I did struggle with the verbose style. I prefer modern prose. There's lots of explanation in this book, as opposed to just showing is what is happening. Yes, I understand it's a book of it's time, but that's just my opinion. Having said that, I did enjoy it. It made me laugh out loud in places. I also really liked Anne. I loved the way Austen describes the very immediate emotional details, it lets you get right inside her head. The bits where she is utterly conscious of Wentworth when he is in the room, but unable to speak to him, or trying to glean his feelings through the stuffy restrictions of polite society. I suppose it's easy to sympathise with Anne because those details are so vivid, you can refer to similar experiences in your own life. I do feel that Austen is glorified romance though, yes witty and well written, and very well observed, but at the end of the day it's romance isn't it? Even though I enjoyed it, I'm not rushing to read another Austen just yet, one day, but not yet

Finally finished The Mind of God it shouldn't have taken me that long - but it was a hard read late at night (which is when I do most of my reading) Anyway, I enjoyed it. Some of it was tough - all the stuff on computation lost me a bit, but the stuff on physics and maths has whetted my appetite for more pop science. I might dig out and dust off my copy of The Quantum Universe. Anyway - The Mind of God was all about the big questions of the origins of the universe, why is the universe the way it is? Why do we have the particular set of laws of physics that we do? Is mathematical truth something that exists in its own right or is it just a human construction? why does anything exist? It's science bordering on philosophy and I found it very interesting. It asked some intriguing questions, such as, is space time discrete or continuous? Like, on a very small scale do things actually move about in little hops, or do we move through space in infinitely small increments? The answer is we may never know because however finely you measure, you could always go a little bit finer. There was also some interesting stuff about the paradoxes inherent in maths and logic and the limits of rational reasoning. Anyway - it's probably not for everyone, but if you're interested in physics/maths/cosmology/philosophy/metaphysics/theology then it might interest you as it has a bit of all of those, although its main content is the science. A bit heavygoing at times, but all in all it was right up my street. Next I think I'll start Informal Logic - yet more light reading

hi Jackie, welcome

Hi Raven. I love spaced. Love the IT crowd. OH used to play wow - at level 70 too. Then he switched to warhammer. Now, for the first time since I've known him he doesn't play online games at all!! (I wonder how long that will last) Anyway - welcome, even though you've been around awhile

Interesting. I'll make sure I catch it.

There is a TP thread on here somewhere which discusses the order and the series within the series.

Hi and welcome. nice to meet you

Hi and welcome

Hi Tom welcome. Lots of King fans here - including me I also have loads of Dean Koontz on my shelf to read - one day, when I get around to it. Enjoy.

Ah - maybe we all need 'books anonymous' meetings!