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One reader's thoughts as she steps from book to book.
Books I've Finished
- "A Christmas Memory"
- by Truman Capote 12/8/12
- "Child's Christmas in Wales"
- by Dylan Thomas 12/7/12
- "One Christmas"
- by Truman Capote 11/29/12
- "The Thanksgiving Visitor"
- by Truman Capote 11/29/12
- Inside Mrs. B's Classroom
- by Leslie Baldacci 11/28/12
- The Bee Eater
- by Richard Whitmire 11/15/12
- There Are No Shortcuts
- by Rafe Esquith 10/28/12
- I'd Like to Apologize to
- Every Teacher I Ever Had
- by Tony Danza 10/21/12
- Corked
- by Kathryn Borel 10/15/12
- Year of Learning Dangerously
- by Quinn Cummings 9/30/12
- A Hologram for the King
- by Dave Eggers 8/23/12
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- by Harper Lee 7/18/12
About Me
- Christine
- I often have a few books with bookmarks in them at once. I enjoy classics more than contemporary works of fiction, often read historical fiction, and love to get glimpses into other people's lives by reading memoirs and biographies.
21 comments:
Just finishing "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins. Very well written, eloquent and thoroughly argued. But what would you expect from Dawkins?
I think Dawkins is an excellent writer. But I can't imagine how the scientific community ever let him in. The entire basis of science is solid evidence--yes? Things we can see and touch. That puts religion outside the magisteria of science, as it requires faith. Science and religion don't mix--I'm not saying either are bad, I'm just saying (to quote Stephen Jay Gould) that they are "nonoverlapping magisteria." They deal with two different things. The biggest overall problem with intelligent design is that it seeks to turn science into religion. Dawkins has done the same thing in reverse with his God Delusion--he's trying to turn religion into science. If any of the intelligent designists notice, it's curtains. Try Stephen Jay Gould's "The Rocks of Ages." He does a better job explaining this than me. DRD
Um, sorry. That's my favorite rant these days.
On another note, I've been reading Perdido Street Station, a novel by China Mieville, a British author writing about a city, its people, its government, its social structure, and two of the people in that structure, and their lives. It's amazing. DRD
I beg to differ with your analysis but this is probably not the place...
Sorry, this is maybe Christine's domain, but WHY is this not the place?
Well Don, by saying that this may not be the place is to avoid something that could get very heated and off the blog topic of books per se. Christine may or may not want to host a religion v science argument so I'm not going to get into one without her say so.
Although I certainly agree that we owe Christine's blog some respect, I would like to point out that I was not trying to start a religion vs. science debate--I was trying to explain exactly why there shouldn't be one. Not that I'm being argumentative. DRD
I somewhat agree that there can't be a religion versus science debate...although I think what Dawkins is arguing against in "The God Delusion" is organized religion and how it can actually be harmful to society...how faith itself can be dangerous if used to shape a worldview in direct contradiction of observable truths. But I could be wrong.
Although it may be impossible to disprove God, it's not impossible to point out the inherent faults of religion and its effects on society. I think that's maybe what Dawkins is trying to get at; I don't know if he's actually trying to disprove the existence of any God (a futile exercise in my humble opinion).
That said, I haven't read a word of his book, so I should probably shut up now. I did see an interview he did with John Stewart on the Daily Show, though. He was very well spoken and made some good points.
~Lisa
After chiming in on that discussion, I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I'm currently reading Maddox's "The Alphabet of Manliness." I like the vast majority of his rants on his blog, but a whole book of them at once can be a bit much (although it's pretty funny). I think he's best in small doses; like, a chapter at a time.
~Lisa
Oh, I understand his objections to organized religion--that's not what I'm objecting to. I'm objecting to his use of science as his support for why belief in a god or gods is delusional. That's the very problem--he's trying to scientifically disprove something based on belief.
But maybe I should shut up now. DRD
I opened Dracula by Bram Stoker last night and am picking through it in a reread. First read it back in eighth grade and fell in love with it. Feels good to be sitting down with the bloodsucker again.
I especially like that, now that I'm older, I can see more things going on in the text. This book speaks to the (large) part of me that gleefully subverts traditional gender roles. I could do without Van Helsing. He reminds me of Father Marrin from The Exorcist. First Dracula's this big kickbutt menace, then Dr. Plot Device waltzes in and fires up his Ford Exposition, and it all ends in wooden stakes and cheesey sunrises. But it's still a fun ride.
Lisa,
For not having read the book you do a darn good job of summarizing it. Dawkins does several things in the book, some of which I'll outline below: He takes every argument that religious proponents put forward as to why society should/must believe in God and counters them with why there is no necessity for doing so. For example, a human can lead a moral and altruistic life without necessarily believing in a creator. He also analyzes the denial by fundamentalists of the scientific basis of our existence on earth. He examines the various faiths that exist in the world and illuminates the fact that someone's worldview is totally dependent on accident of birth. And of course he visits the issue of the problems of following the bible literally and the fact that most religions pick and choose which parts they like and which parts they brush under the carpet.
Currently I am reading "Uncle Silas" by Sheridan Le Fanu. It is actually a book that I have to read for one of my English classes and I can't help but praise the professor for forcing me to read this. I am also reading a book that I found while rummaging through a used book store. I believe it's out of print, but if you can find it, it is worth a look over. It's called "Valley of Hemlock" by Eden Reed. Besides those, I'm stuck doing more Shakespeare and poems/riddles from the Chaucer period.
*****Besides those, I'm stuck doing more Shakespeare and poems/riddles from the Chaucer period.****
STUCK doing more Shakespeare? Doesn't sound like you enjoy it. What a shame. I have to admit though "seeing " Shakespeare is much better than "reading" Shakespeare.
Well, well, well. The mice will play while they cat is away. I leave you for half a day and look what happens around this place!
Just kidding! This is exactly the place for respectful discussion whether there is agreement or disagreement. Have at it.
Insomniac and DRD, have you read Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not A Christian and Other Essays? I think he was right on the money.
Erin, Dr. Plot Device. . .good one.
Someone (not me) should read God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. I tried reading it but I just kept getting distracted by other pretty shiny books *grin* It's been on the bestsellers for some time now. I'm sure it's good. I just--can't--read it...
Christine,
Dawkins refers to Russell's essays several times so I think I will seek them out.
DRD: He also refers to Gould and explains why he is off the mark.
I have to say that reading this has left me with a reading list that could keep me busy for a very long time. Next up is the Bible from start to finish. And to think I found LoTR heavy going!
ahhh..Dracula. Loved that book.
It's not that I don't like Shakespeare, it just I don't like being rushed through Shakespeare. My professor thinks that is is perfectly acceptable to read two of his plays in one day and know them well enough to write an essay on them without notes or the play in front of us.
Ah, professors. If only we were allowed to subject them to the same torture to which they subject us . . . DRD
Aaaarrrgh! Torture! That's no way to treat Shakespeare. What is your prof thinking????
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