Angury

Thanks for the recommendation - I'll check it out. Regarding Critique of Pure Reason, are the sentences themselves difficult to read (a bit like Foucault)? Or is it more just trying to get your head around his ideas? ..Or, would you say you need a good knowledge of philosophy prior to reading Kant? Also, if I were interested in the sort of ideas Kant expresses in this work, are there any other philosophers you would recommend, who are perhaps a bit more easy going?

I am very interested in self-studying Philosophy, and have read a number of general overviews about the subject including Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy. I recently undertook an online course on Modernism and Post-Modernism on the website Coursera, and have since become rather interested by Kant's work. I have since watched several videos on Youtube regarding his work, Critique of Pure Reason, and am just about to finish a course on iTunes U which summarises the work. My plan is to read his initial work, Prolegomena before delving head first into Critique of Pure Reason. Anyhow, my question is - as a beginner, would Critique of Pure Reason go completely over my head? I have made a list of vocabulary that Kant uses and have made some notes based on the summaries I have read of the work so far. I plan to read through the work very slowly, making copious amounts of notes on the way. However, I have heard several people say that Kant's work, particularly Critique of Pure Reason, is a very difficult undertaking, and would be beyond the level of a beginner. Has anyone read Critique of Pure Reason? What were your thoughts on it? Do you think I would need to have a bit more of a background before delving into this work? From the summaries I have read so far, I find the ideas within this work to be incredibly thought-provoking, which is why I want to give it a try. However, I am worried that the work might go way above my head. If I do need more of a background first, what philosophers and their works would you recommend I try first? Thanks for the help.

Not so much a book fair, but I visited the Hay Festival last year which is a literary festival set in Hay-on-Wye. It's filled with talks from various authors, poets and philosophers. It has been described by Bill Clinton as "the woodstock of the mind." I really wish I could go again - the entire atmosphere was fantastic. It's so nice to be amongst book lovers - you'll be standing in a queue and randomly start chatting to the person next to you about your favourite genres etc. Everywhere you look people are reading. To me it seems like such a rarity to see people sitting around in public with a book - the entire experience was a breath of fresh air. Hay-on-Wye itself is known as the book town of Wales. It is packed full of little book shops, many of them with a vast array of novels. You could get spend ages just admiring the bookshelves. Below is a photo of Hay on Wye: If anyone gets a chance, I'd highly recommend visiting the town - it is a very beautiful, quaint little town that is a book lovers dream.

Was just going to write a post asking if anyone had seen the film, and whether it is worth watching. I read this book over a year ago, yet it has stayed with me. I was hoping the film had done it justice - particularly the narrative from the child's perspective. I guess I'll give the movie a go.

Are there any particular stories or poems that you would recommend? I am curious about his works, but as with any new author, I generally become a bit daunted and unsure about where to begin.

That is very interesting. It certainly provides a different perspective to Dostoevsky's writing style. I have his novel, The Idiot, sitting on my bookshelf, so I might give his works another try. Perhaps having read, and been so influenced by Notes from the Underground, I will have a more sympathetic view of his other novels.

That'd be great thanks (no rush though!). I've been finding the Coursera philosophy course very helpful as well. It's set at a good pace, and encourages you to think and analyse outside of the videos and texts. I'd definitely recommend it if anyone else is interested in learning more about Philosophy.

Very interesting discussion about free will to which I feel I am unable to contribute as an amateur philosopher. Do you have any recommendations for books on philosophy, particularly linked to psychology or morality, which would be easy to read for a lay audience? A lot of the books I have come across are very dense unfortunately.

I've been trying to learn more about Philosophy just through videos on Youtube. I've found the School of Life and Wireless Philosophy channels to be very useful - they make short videos which break down famous philosophers works into digestible chunks. They in no way cover everything there is to know, but they have certainly encouraged me to look deeper into the topics. I've just come across an Introduction to Philosophy course on Coursera which sounds rather interesting. I'm planning on enrolling later today - it'll be a nice way to spend the summer. I've tried reading some philosophical works myself, and while there are some authors I'm glad I've stumbled upon such as Sartre, a lot of the theories go over my head. I feel something like Coursera will give me more of a foundation first.

I used to be a big fan of A Song of Ice and Fire - I enjoyed the writing style and thought the story lines were very well done. It re-sparked my interest in Fantasy, and I was really looking forward to The Winds of Winter. Since the TV series has outpaced the story lines within the novels however, I am not sure if I will read The Winds of Winter when it is eventually released. As much as I enjoy reading Martins work, I already have an idea of where each characters storyline will be heading, and I feel that the TV series is such a a good adaptation of the books, that I don't think I would get much out of reading the rest of the series. I may as well just watch the TV episodes. I think it is a pity the release of The Winds of Winter has been delayed for so long. However, I guess it has given time for the fan base to grow from the TV series, which seems to be doing incredibly well. Personally, I can't remember much of the books any more as I read them so long ago.

What are your thoughts on Hitchens books? I have a collection of his essays which is currently stacked on my bookshelf. I know he is a good speaker and was interested to read his writing and explore more of his ideas.

I would recommend Notes from the Underground if you haven't read it yet. I felt the same way as you about his works, but I found Notes from the Underground to be very in depth.

This is a brilliant book - it stayed with me long after I had finished it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, I found it sad but incredibly moving.

I would definitely read The Breaking Point - it is a collection of short stories by Daphne du Maurier, and the stories are just as mesmerising as Rebecca.

Really glad I found a thread on this book. I read it a few years back and felt it lived up to its reputation. It's unique but not too pretentious. It does take a while to get into it but I think it is worth the effort. It's a nice break from your everyday reading. Has one read his latest book, The Familiar? I have a copy lying somewhere that I need to dig into. Some of the reviews on Goodreads are hilarious.

I had no idea Marquez had also written Love in the Time of Cholera - I feel a bit silly now. That's another book that has been on my TBR pile for quite a while now. Do you guys think it's worth giving a go? As much as I enjoyed One Hundred Years of Solitude, it's not the type of book I normally read, nor do I think it's the sort of book I'd read again. So I'm not sure how I'd feel reading another of Marquez's books - although I don't know how different each of his works are from one another.

Interesting. I used to be the type of reader who read very very quickly, to the point that I would skim passages just to get to the action (I used to read a lot of Fantasy). However since I started reading genres outside of Fantasy I found myself going back to passages that I felt had been particularly well written. I find it interesting to see how the author has constructed a sentence so beautifully that it has stuck in my mind. As I've recently become interested in writing myself I find it helpful to look at the different words, rhythms and metaphors that are used as inspiration, and often also as admiration of an authors talent. Anyway, going slightly off topic - sorry.

Has anyone read Gravity's Rainbow? I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts. It has received a lot of very positive reviews but I'm wondering whether it is worth it - and also whether it lives up to its reputation of being ridiculously difficult. I want to give it a go, but am put off by its reputation.

I can't believe it's July already. Scary. I am currently reading the second of six books of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time called Within a Budding Grove. It's a fantastic series, I would highly recommend his work. His writing is different to any other style I have read before. My goal is to get through all six books, although I suspect that will take me many months.

This is an interesting thread - I enjoyed reading through the responses. I decided to give Audiobooks a go a few months back when I heard Stephen Fry mention them - he used to listen to them when he went for a walk and managed to lose a significant amount of weight as a result. I tried to do something similar but found that I just couldn't multitask in that way. If I was listening to an audiobook I had to stay focused on what the narrator was saying - I wasn't able to go for a nice walk or do some housework while listening at the same time. I found that my brain had to really concentrate to take in every word, weigh it, understand it, retain it and then join it up with every other word in the sentence to create an image. I think this is a very personal thing - I have many friends who love listening to Audiobooks, far more than reading, and use them to relax after a long day. I however find I have to work much harder to draw a mental image of the characters and their settings when someone else is speaking the words into my ear. When reading a book I feel I have much more freedom to expand upon each sentence and weigh it carefully with the rest of the story. I am able to step inside a story with more ease when I I read the words on a page. Recently I have found myself having to use my finger to follow the sentences as I read a book - I feel like I am regressing into a child. This is a very interesting idea - I might give this a go. I also find it difficult to read on a plane - even on a short one-hour flight. Audiobooks may be my saviour in this case. What makes you say this?

I have had this image for the past five years now. This is my dream bike.

What an incredible, in-depth reading log. It must be nice to look over your past reading logs and reminisce about books you'd read in previous years. I like the way you have set everything out in an organised fashion. I was particularly struck by one of your aims to concentrate on certain authors, as this isn't something I've done myself. I generally concentrate on the more well-known books by certain authors and ignore the rest of their works. This thought only came to me recently when I thought about my favourite writers and how much fun it would be to read through their collected works and watch as their writing grows. Your log has certainly encouraged me to give it a go. I was also wondering what it is about Jane Austen that makes her one of your favourite authors? She is one of those famous writers who I have not read, and indeed am not sure if I should read, as her stories sound too 'romantic' for me, but I'm not sure if I'm merely being stereotypical. I suspect there must be something in her works to make her so well known, and I'd love to hear what it is about her that reaches out to you. Also, are there certain non-fiction books that you gear towards? I had a quick skim through your list and can't say there were many titles that I recognised so I was just curious. Anyhow, best of luck with your reading and with this fantastic log.

What do you think makes it a hard read?

That sounds like an interesting book - I just looked it up on Goodreads and realised it was already on my TBR list. It reminds me of a similar book called Love's Executioner by Irvin Yalom, a psychotherapist. It's a collection of ten stories about his patients and gives you a rare glimpse into the relationship between therapist and client, as well as the impact of therapy on a persons life. I found it particularly interesting as regardless of the clients background or their own personal story, I was always able to relate to their difficulties on some level. It shows how we all face the same difficulties in our day to day lives and how we are all connected in some way through our hardships and sufferings.

I feel the same way. I think he is a good writer and his plots sound very interesting on the surface, but as I have tried to read more and more of his work I just feel like I'm not really getting anywhere. I can't get into the depths of his characters, and a lot of the time I finish his books feeling like nothing has really changed for me as a reader. Kudos to him for his Crash Course Videos though. I find them easy to watch and have learnt so much about topics that I never realised held any interest for me. It's a great way to encourage learning for learning's sake and not for the acquisition of grades.