What Do You Read?

[fifi]

A radio program today said that men over 25 hardly read fiction. Started to think about this. What do objectivists read? All sorts of stuff? Is there some common favorites? Does other fiction seem tame after Rand's masterpieces?

[Ed from OC]

I read a wide range of fiction -- Hugo to Tom Clancy, mysteries to 19th-century adventure novels, classics to popular novels.

After that, I like history, lately with a military and middle eastern focus.

For variety, a have a few books on investing and math & science. I recently bought John Derbyshire's Prime Obsession and can't wait to start it.

I'm currently reading Inside al-Qaeda and wish I had more time to just sit and read it.

[nimble]

No one is going to like what I read. But thats okay...I dont need you to. I read EVERYTHING!!!! (and i mean it in the casual sense). I read Hemingway, Hugo, Rand, Salinger, Orwell, Achebe, Dumas, Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Dickens, Morrison,, Shakespeare, King, Clancy, Marx, Kant, Bible?(several authors or god, which ever you believe), Bill Oreilly, Limbaugh, Micheal Moore, both Clintons (im reading bills book now), and much much more. I like to know all views. I believe reading, even what you disagree with, is still a learning experience.

[DavidV]

My favorite genre is classic science fiction, such as Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, David Brin, Greg Bear, Jules Verne, and especially Robert A. Heinlein. I only recently discovered Heinlein but I absolutely love his writing and am systematically devouring every one of them.

I also enjoy reading economic theory, historical fiction, and a bit of philosophy every now and then ; -)

[Kitty Hawk]

Greedy Capitalist, have you tried any of the SF of Niven and Pournelle? Two of their collaborations are excellent: The Mote in God's Eye, and Lucifer's Hammer.

I read SF (Heinlein, Niven/Pournelle, Herbert, Pohl, Dickson, etc.), mysteries (Seeley, Christie, Doyle), the Westerns of Frank Spearman (and his railroad fiction), historical fiction (Samuel Shellabarger, Rafael Sabatini, Harold Lamb, Rosemary Sutcliff, Sir Walter Scott), business fiction by Merwin and Webster, Romantic literature (Hugo, Dostoevsky, AR), drama (the Greeks, Shakespeare, Rostand, Hugo, Schiller, Maeterlinck), and some hard to classify authors, such as Kipling, R.L. Stevenson, Clancy, Clavell, E.L. Voynich (The Gadfly), Hugh MacLennan (Barometer Rising).

I haven't read yet, but am looking forward to reading some of the maritime fiction of Patrick O'Brian (Master and Commander, etc.).

History is probably my favorite reading outside of fiction, currently reading Soldier Sahibs: The Daring Adventurers Who Tamed India's Northwest Frontier, by Charles Allen, and also Into Africa: The Epic Journeys of Stanley and Livingstone, by Martin Dugard. Recently finished Isabel Paterson's excellent book on political philosophy, The God of the Machine. Next on the list is Peter Hopkirk's book, The Great Game, about the sparring between Britain and Russia in Central Asia during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

[danielshrugged]

I also read EVERYTHING that I have reason to believe is either good or important. I used to read tons of science fiction; before I discovered Ayn Rand, Asimov was my favorite author. Lately, I've mostly been reading old literature and philosophy. (I went through Dr. Peikoff's Eight Great Plays course, which I highly recommend. He covers Le Cid, An Enemy of the People, and Antigone, to name only a few.

[F*ckCommunism]

i read anything i can get my hands on...

right now i am trying to get back into university so i've been borrowing lots of my friends old papers, essays and text books... in my spare time i tackle books my pals have suggested i read, as well as trying to read any books you good folks mention or reference in this forum...

i'm limited to what i can find online and at my library tho.

[pvtmorriscsa]

I haven't read yet, but am looking forward to reading some of the maritime fiction of Patrick O'Brian (Master and Commander, etc.). 

Careful with these, I started reading the first one after I saw the movie. I couldn't finish until I got through all 20 novels. Great Reading.

[Betsy]

My favorite genre is classic science fiction, such as Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, David Brin, Greg Bear, Jules Verne, and especially Robert A. Heinlein.  I only recently discovered Heinlein but I absolutely love his writing and am systematically devouring every one of them.

I really love Heinlein -- especially the EARLY Heinlein "juveniles." The later Heinlein is a bit weird and too "libertarian" for my tastes. We were even penpals for a while and here is something I wrote about RAH on another forum:

XXXXX XXXX writes --

>The quote does not say "I am a Randite", but simply that Heinlein could

>get along with one. (His "wise, grumpy old-man" type characters usually

>profess to be some sort of rational anarchist - I believe those

>characters are supposed to represent the author)

Indeed they do! Because of that I have fond, but mixed, feelings about

Robert Heinlein.

When I was in my early teens, I began reading his "juveniles" and

enjoyed them tremendously. His grounding in hard science and facts

combined with the romance and high adventure of space travel and new

worlds to explore engaged my imagination. His stories mapped out a path

to what was to become my own future, and for that I will be eternally

grateful to Heinlein.

In 1958 I sent Heinlein a letter expressing my appreciation for his

work. I wasn't expecting a reply, but I got one. It seems he didn't

have many female fans and both he and his wife Ginny were curious about

the earnest 15-year old young lady who wanted to be an astronaut and/or

a writer. We became penpals and exchanged about ten letters over a

period of six years. I asked a lot of personal questions and he gave me

a great deal of fatherly advice.

In early 1962 I read _The_Fountainhead_ and all the pieces of my life

came together. Ayn Rand made clear to me what I liked -- and what was

missing -- from Heinlein.

Above all, I realized Heinlein lacked a sense of _purpose_.

There is an enormous gap between the "Why not?" attitude of Heinlein and

the "What for?" of Francisco, between the logically constructed plots of

Rand and the interesting collection of events without a dramatic climax

that just seem to peter out at the end of a Heinlein book.

Because of his lack of purpose, his books had protagonists but not

heroes. His characters were intelligent, verbal, technically competent

smart-alecs with inferiority complexes who were often pushed around by

external circumstances.

I wrote to Heinlein about Rand and plots and heroes. He wrote about

duty and biological imperatives and General Semantics. The gap between

us continued to widen. I eventually stopped writing.

Thirty years later, I regret that decision. I read my nine-year old son

Heinlein books at bedtime and I am impressed anew with his intelligence

and facility with words. The sense of wonder and great possibilities he

brought me long ago returns.

I wish he were still alive so I could write to him again. I'd tell him

that he was right to view life as a grand adventure, and that his

teen-age Randite penpal was all grown-up now and had found the means to

make that vision real.

Betsy Speicher

© 1993 Betsy Speicher [email protected]

[Areactor]

Right now, this is my current reading list

Bandits (By Elmore Leonard) *Reading right now

The Hellbound Heart (By Clive Barker)

Black Boy (By Richard Wright)

True Believer (By Eric Hoffer)

Personal Velocity (By Rebecca Miller)

The Fountainhead (By Ayn Rand)

Touch (By Elmore Leonard)

The Brothers Karamazov (By Fyodor Dostoyevesky)

Sophies World (By Jostein Gaardner)

[Ramare]

I read a lot, mainly in the areas of fiction and history, especially history of science & the American Revolution. I enjoy a few authors already mentioned here, including Sabatini and Bradbury, but how about a few you might not have heard of or considered good reading possibilities . . .

J. K. Rowling is amazing. She is second only to one other writer on my list of favorites. (Bet you can’t guess . . . )

Arturo Perez-Reverte is a Spanish writer whose literary mysteries have been translated into English. He is probably one of my favorite fiction writers, with The Flanders Panel being my favorite work to date.

Beryl Markham was a pilot in the 1930s--the first woman to fly across the Atlantic from west to east, and the first person to fly from England to America. Her writing is amazing, and it’s a shame it isn’t more well-known. West With the Night is her beautiful memoir, and the harder-to-find The Splendid Outcast is a collection of her short stories.

Tom Standage, Simon Winchester, and Ross King are all writers who’ve written more than one book I’ve enjoyed.

And, last but not least, I cannot help but mention David McCullough’s biography of John Adams. If you’re at all interested in American history, this is a must-read. And even if you aren’t, it’s a damn good biography.

[Bryan]

Here are the books I'm currently reading:

Masters of Doom, David Kushner - biography of John Carmack and John Romero, the creators of Doom and Quake

FDR's Folly, Jim Powell - deconstruction of the New Deal

Fuzzy Logic, Daniel McNeill, Paul Freiberger - biography of Lofti Zadeh, "inventor" of fuzzy logic and a shallow explanation of what fuzzy logic is

OPAR - reading for the second time

The Fountainhead - reading for the second time

[DavidV]

I really love Heinlein -- especially the EARLY Heinlein "juveniles."  The later Heinlein is a bit weird and too "libertarian" for my tastes.

Thanks for your post, Betsy. It was enlightening, and I generally agree with your conclusions. While I prefer his juveniles for their plot structure, his later books are worth reading just for the quotables. I got “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” last week and will finish it as soon as I’m done with finals.

Btw, I don't think it’s fair to characterize Heinlein as an anarchist – he’s more of a “government as a necessary evil” type. I was fortunate to have discovered Ayn Rand before Heinlein, so I saw the flaws in his philosophy right away, but he might make a nudist out of me yet

[Thoyd Loki]

Notice there are a lot of sci-fi fans here. A must read is Fredric Brown's: From these Ashes. His Martians and Madness is pretty good as well.

[OldGrayBob]

You needed the category, 'all of the above'. In the last month I have read the next step in Stephen King's Dark Tower series, Analog Science Fiction, a book on woodworking, Anthem (again), Dr. Phil Weight book, two papers from the American Phyical Society on Physics, and a new Sun book on Java Security. Currently I am rereading the The Fountainhead and starting King's Song of Susanah. I just cannot and will not limit my self to any one area.

[ZiggyKD]

Lately I've been rereading some books I have dealing with speaker building (a hobby of mine), and I'm planning on picking up some more books on the subject soon, so I voted crafts. Otherwise, I'd usually read some peotry, but not much. I mostly read Ayn Rand.

[AshleyAyn]

I read a ton too. I have found it harder to find authors that I really enjoy since I read AR - she has spoiled me!

One author that hasn't been mentioned yet that I love is Anton Myrer - I would highly suggest Once an Eagle & The Last Convertible. Both are about soldiers during WWI & WWII.

[Prae]

bradbury, kerouac, dostoevsky (reading), orwell, aldous huxley, thomas wolfe (not tom wolfe), shakespeare, homer, dante (reading), kafka, milton, and ayn rand.

[BreathofLife]

Reading Aristotle right now.

Though one of my favorite authors is Terry Goodkind. I'm eagerly awaiting the new one that's due out early 2005.

[Thoyd Loki]

HG Wells Outline of History. WT Jones History of philosophy vol 1&2 in conjuction with The Mystery Religions S. Angus.

[AspiringObjectivist]

Reading Aristotle right now.

Though one of my favorite authors is Terry Goodkind. I'm eagerly awaiting the new one that's due out early 2005.

Yeah, Goodkind is fantastic.

I read a whole lot of historical fiction - the Camulod Chronicles was stellar, about Arthur's ancestors, down to him, and the new book in that series is released this September.

Harry Turtledove is also good.

If anyone here has read the Camulod Chronicles and has a suggestion anything like it (not about King Arthur, but about a soldier's life told with roughly the same amount of detail to war, love, thought, etc.), I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions.

[AshRyan]

Yeah, Goodkind is fantastic.

I've just barely started the Sword of Truth series. My brother has loaned some of the books to me, and I'm about halfway through the first one. I'm enjoying it so far.

[AspiringObjectivist]

I've just barely started the Sword of Truth series.  My brother has loaned some of the books to me, and I'm about halfway through the first one.  I'm enjoying it so far.

Next book is released this January. ;D

[Oxygen]

I mainly read self-help besides Ayn Rand.

I regard Atlas Shrugged partly as a self-help book.

My favourite self-help books except Ayn Rand´s books:

"The 48 laws of power" by Robert Greene. To use in defense or offense or both, you choose. ("The Art of Seduction" describes power too)

"Optimal Thinking". How to think. Don´t think positive. Don´t be optimistic. Embrace reality and do the optimal.

"The four agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz. A lot of similarities to objectivism and marvellous. It´s "companion book" has great excercises in the "Domestication" section: you identifiy ALL of your ideas you hold as thuths and challenge them.

Dr Phil has sometimes speak very altruistic and in the book "Self Matters" he also writes things like "in order to take care of others you have to take care of and stand up for yourself first". I focus on the "take care of and stand up for yourself first". I have read a first part of the book and there he tempts me to to go my own way and he skillfully provokes exhiliration for my SELF - I haven´t read more than that but probably will. He truly excites me about myself and evokes passion for myself.

Gary Zukav wrote "Seat of the Soul". Objectivism is replacing that as the source of my primary values. Anybody has an opinion of Zukavs ideas?

Do you read self-help? What do you think about it?

Have a great day!

[Toolboxnj]

Other than Rand..

I enjoy reading Camus' fiction (not his non-fiction).. read most of it

I've started to take an interest in human evil (omg, heh).. read "The Aquariums of Pyongyang".. picked up "The Rape of Nanking" and Wiesel's "Night" (although it got messed up in the car)..

I read Robert Bork on and off.. political books as well, although I stay away from the blantant commericalized partisans (i.e. Hannity, Coulter, Moore, etc).. I enjoyed Larry Elder's two books and John Stossel's "Give me a Break".. for the neo-conservative in me "An End to Evil (Perle, Frum).. for the neo-liberal "Capitalism and Freedom" (Friedman)...

I work for Barnes and Noble during the school year, so I'm always reading and buying books for myself although it's cheaper sometimes to order used on Amazon.

Now that the semester is coming I'll be reading alot of irrational, Post-Kantian BS from my profs