What is everyone reading?

[ozgeorge]

[quote author=Αριστοκλής link=topic=3406.msg130285#msg130285 date=1154655870]
Morgenthau doesn't sound like an Armenian name.  Could it be true  .
[/quote]

It actually gets worse. Ambassador Morgenthau was a German-born Jewish American!
At any rate, the book is available to read online as well: http://www.cilicia.com/morgenthau/MorgenTC.htm

[Fr. David]

How Few Remain, by Harry Turtledove.

[EkhristosAnesti]

Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek
Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates
Ross, Y., Ethics in Law
Warraq, I., The Origins of the Koran

[Carpatho Russian]

The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
On the Dormition of Mary - Early Patristic Homilies SVS Press

[suzannes]

Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo.  For a church book-group.

[Cephas]

+ Irini nem ehmot,

Finishing up the Gospel of St. John and I'll be starting the Epistle to the Romans afterwards.  Does anyone know of any good commentaries on Romans?  Any recommendations would be great.

Please pray for me.

[Αριστοκλής]

Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo.  For a church book-group.

I REALLY got bogged down on that book. Strange because I thought Toilers of the Sea was one of the best books I have ever read (in translation, of course).

[Tsarina]

I'm currently reading, "St. John Chrysostom- Six Books On the Priesthood."

I've only read some of the book, and it's amazing! Looking forward to the next chapter.

[Asteriktos]

That was an interesting text by St. John, though I think it's sort of funny how he rationalizes his deception of his friend. Not that I think he's wrong or did anything immoral, it's just that if someone did the same today and tried to excuse it away, the traditionalists (and even most moderate Orthodox) would be all over him as having sinned, and yet here is one of the most celebrated saints of the Orthodox Church doing that kind of thing. Anyway, the widespread and accepted use of deception in Church history is another topic altogether... maybe I'll make a thread on that, since it's not really fair for me to just let that hanging out there

As far as what I've been reading, it's mostly been articles here and there on the internet, with the only book that I've been giving any real time to being Critiques of God: Making the Case Against Belief in God (Ed. by Peter A Angeles). It's been a bit dry, so far. There are a couple essays by Freud and Dewey coming up though... those should be entertaining, if not totally agreeable.

[Dismus]

Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek
Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates
Ross, Y., Ethics in Law
Warraq, I., The Origins of the Koran

How do you like the Koran book so far?

[kansas city]

Angelina Jolie - Notes from My Travels
(not kidding  )

[Donna Rose]

Angelina Jolie - Notes from My Travels
(not kidding  )

I actually bought that book when it came out...I started reading it, but for some reason never got drawn in. I was very into all she had done and all the personal changes it seemed to cause in her, but the book just didn't do it for me...I'd be curious as to what you think of it once you finish.

As for what I'm currently reading: I'm perpetually rereading Lord of the Rings, also rereading a fantasy series by Robert Jordan called The Wheel of Time (I'm on Crown of Swords), then there's The Mystery of Christ: Life in Death by Fr. John Behr (very good, this, if challenging at points, but worth the work it takes to get through, definitely), and Into the Wild by John Krakauer.

D

[Panagiotis]

On the Dormition of Mary - Early Patristic Homilies SVS Press

On the Dormition of Mary what did you think of the introduction and what did you think of the first writing in the text?
I had some issues though I greatly enjoyed the work.

Christ is in our midst,
Panagiotis

[Carpatho Russian]

On the Dormition of Mary what did you think of the introduction and what did you think of the first writing in the text?
I had some issues though I greatly enjoyed the work.

Panagiotis,
Greeting you on the Feast of Our Blessed Mother's Dormition (and thinking of the roast turkey sandwich I'm having for lunch tomorrow!)
I also enjoyed the collection of homilies.  If I may ask, what are some of the issues you had?
As far as the first text of John of Thessalonica, it is very similar to the pious legends of the holy day I was taught in my youth.
CR

[Panagiotis]

As far as the first text of John of Thessalonica, it is very similar to the pious legends of the holy day I was taught in my youth.

The issue I had was not with the legends, its was with the Primacy of Peter and his being chosen to be the "leader of the Apostles" as was stated. Whereas it was never mentioned among the others from what I remembered. Other than that, it touched my heart greatly and gave me great strength in my devotion and intercessory prayer life.

Greeting you on the Feast of Our Blessed Mother's Dormition

Thank you, good sir and may Her intercessions grant us grace from our Lord of Heaven!

Christ is in our midst,
Panagiotis

[Krysostomos]

At the moment I´m reading The Cronicles vol I by Bob Dylan. Last year it was published in Finnish translation, but I try to manage with the authors´ own words...
Bob writes, that he´s not a profet of the young/ old generation - but "the poet singer."

[aserb]

"Autobiography of Malcolm X" with Alex Haley.

Reads like a novel, the man had a fascinating life. He is one of my heroes.Strange coming from a white, ethnic working class background turned white collar professional dude, but I admire his guts not only to change himself but to try to effect change on a larger sphere. Guts to stand up to hypocrisy even at a cost to himself, his pride, his finances.

[kansas city]

As for the Angelina Jolie book..  I feel bad saying that it feels superficial and naive but... it's Angelina Jolie writing a diary on her first impressions of refugee camps, demining campaigns, generally adverse conditions and hostile environments.

 Lots of redundant definitions and general statistics. 
 
She also keeps saying, "I feel bad complaining, these people have nothing, but..."

  I guess i'm still reading hoping for a change toward an insightful, less emotive Angelina to come out with some real commentary, more interesting cameos and an interesting travelogue... She's only got a couple of chapters left though.

In other news I heard she moved out and took the kids... I really thought they'd work.  I should repost that in other topics and get a real all american thread goin

[Carpatho Russian]

The issue I had was not with the legends, its was with the Primacy of Peter and his being chosen to be the "leader of the Apostles" as was stated.

I didn't pick up on that when reading John of Thessalonica's account of the Dormition.  However, I don't see an issue with it as the Church has no issue with the "primacy" of Peter among the Apostles.  To quote a stichera from the feast (Glory verse of the Aposticha, tone 4), "At Your departing, O Virgin Theotokos, to Him who was ineffably born of You, James the first bishop and brother of the Lord was there, as so was Peter, the honored leader and chief of the disciples, and the whole sacred fellowship of the apostles."

[EkhristosAnesti]

I'm finally onto a new batch of books for study:

1) Lambdin, T.O., Introduction to Sahidic Coptic

2) Varipatis, Fr. C., Marriage and the Freedom of the Human Person: Based on the Poetry of ArchBishop Stylianos of Australia

3) Breck, J., Scripture in Tradition

4) A range of commentaries on the Coptic Liturgy of St. Basil by Fr. Abram Sleman, Fr. Athanasius Iskander and Fr. James Soliman.

[lubeltri]

I'm reading The Decline of the Secular University, a new book by my former professor, C. John Sommerville.

[Ebor]

Sociology for my class.

"Tales of the Otori" volume 3 by Lian Hearn: "Brilliance of the Moon". The first two books are "Across the Nightingale Floor" and "Grass for His Pillow".  These are novels sent in an imagined period of Japanese history that has elements of several centuries.  One interesting aspect is a group of people called "The Hidden" which while not explicitly Christian, have some relation to the "Kakure Kirishitan" the "Hidden Christians" who were groups of believers who kept the faith as best as they could with limited resources and a danger of death if discovered following the "Closing" of Japan and the explusion of Christianity.

A biography of Tokugawa Ieyesu

and more of course. 

Ebor

[BlakeMichael]

The Law of God by Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy. It's a blessing.

[aurelia]

Just finished Hillybilly Gothic:a memoir of madness and motherhood by A. Martini.  Excellent book, especially for those of us who suffered a bout of PPD...even if not to this iextent.

[Asteriktos]

Just got done reading Religions of Star Trek. It was a lot more superficial in dealing with the material than I expected, especially considering that there were three professors writing it. There was no examination of Picard's lines from Who Watches the Watchers, where he basically condemns religion as delusions and instead endorses a version of scientism. There is no examination of the fact that the Bajoran "Emissary" (and starfleet officer) Sisko is willing to commit mass-murder and/or genocide more than once, and how the Bajorans might feel about such morality. It's just your normal "Ardra represents the Devil" sort of stuff.

Just started reading Babylonian Life and History by Budge.

[GiC]

Just got done reading Religions of Star Trek. It was a lot more superficial in dealing with the material than I expected, especially considering that there were three professors writing it. There was no examination of Picard's lines from Who Watches the Watchers, where he basically condemns religion as delusions and instead endorses a version of scientism. There is no examination of the fact that the Bajoran "Emissary" (and starfleet officer) Sisko is willing to commit mass-murder and/or genocide more than once, and how the Bajorans might feel about such morality. It's just your normal "Ardra represents the Devil" sort of stuff.

I made the mistake of reading The Physics of Star Trek once, now I realize it's pop science, but considering the type of people actually likely to buy such a book I thought that they might at least present the basics of the theory and a few fundamental equations...not an equation throughout the book and such a basic overview of the science that many things that were said were wrong...oh, and the guy who wrote it had a Ph.D. in physics, if I recall properly...I resolved then to never read any more popular science or 'of Star Trek' books again...I'd rather read a good Journal Article any day

[Asteriktos]

Started Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel Dennett yesterday. I've never read a book of his before, though I've seen a couple lengthy interviews. (also, fwiw, Dennett was recently in the hospital, which spurred him on to write a short letter titled Thank Goodness!)

[Sloga]

Started a few days ago reading The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople by Nathan Phillips. I've only read the intro so far but it's one of those descriptive and thought provoking books you think about all the time  .

[Asteriktos]

Sloga

We should maybe start a thread on that some time. I think you're the second or third person to mention that book on this thread, and I've read that one as well. 


PS. To whom it may concern, is there some reason that my name is a tag? 

[Veniamin]

I just finished The Mighty and the Almighty by Madeline Albright, which was rather disappointing.  Right now, I'm reading Active Liberty by Justice Stephen Breyer.

[Carpatho Russian]

I've just started reading The Plainchant Tradition of Southwestern Rus by Joan Roccasalvo.

[AMM]

I've just started reading The Plainchant Tradition of Southwestern Rus by Joan Roccasalvo.

I'm going to have to get that.

I'm getting ready to start "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq".  I just finished "Homestead: The Glory and Tragedy of an American Steel Town". 

I also read Diego Saves the Treefrogs tonight.

[GiC]

J. F. C. Fuller's The Second World War, 1939-1945: a strategical and tactical history

Very interesting guy, Major-General during WWI serving with distinction in His Majesty's Army, celebrated inter-war theorist, friend of Hart and Guderian not to mention close friend and ally of Sir Oswald Mosley and leading member of the British Union of Fascists, even an acquaintance to Hitler, on top of that he was an occultist and one of the earlier western authors on pagan and far-eastern mysticism...but most of all he was a brilliant military theorist and prolific historian. It's unfortunate that the liberal pc crowd dismiss him because of his political ideology, his objectivity and intelligence far surpasses his peers and as a result his insights are magnificent and unique. Some of the best analysis of latter wars, including Vietnam, out there are little more than a plagiarism of Fuller's military theory, a theory developed in the inter-war era at that (he is to military history what Goebbels is to rhetoric, the Master that everyone reads, and every aspires towards, but no one will admit to).

I'm about half way through this book and I've already come to the conclusion that an understanding of the principles presented is essential to being capable of competently discussing the second world war...it certainly forced me to re-evaluate many deeply held convictions about the war that simply wern't true.

[AMM]

Diego saves the treefrogs had a similar effect on me.

[aserb]

"Homestead: The Glory and Tragedy of an American Steel Town"

I grew up near Homestead, PA and as a result this book has become personal to me having seen, heard and smelled first hand the steel industry.

I am also on an extended run re-reading Hansel and Gretel.  What a violent and mean spirited book, that step-mother and the old witch. 

[GiC]

Diego saves the treefrogs had a similar effect on me.

It sounds like a profound literary work.

[AMM]

Baby Jaguar is an amazingly complex character.  Not everybody realizes that.

[Ebor]

For complex you should count Swiper.... After all, he will gleefully take things but is stopped cold by the triple "Swiper!  No Swiping!"  Just why would that work?

 

Ebor

[The young fogey]

At the same time: Peter Anson, Bishops at Large (cautionary tales for high churchmen) and Paul Hendrickson, Seminary: A Search (pre-Vatican II RC as it really was; maybe high-school seminaries weren't such a good idea). Next: The Apostolic Fathers edited by Fr Jack Sparks.

[Matthew777]

Right now, I'm reading The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James for my philosophy class (or I'm at least pretending well enough to pass my exams).

Peace.

[cholmes]

Heading down the home stretch of "The Brothers Karamazov."

[AncientFaith]

Heading down the home stretch of "The Brothers Karamazov."

Too many different books on my count

1.  Just downloaded Brothers Karamazov to my new Sony Reader - cool toy that my boss gave out to his leadership team - nice boss!

2.  The Road to Serfdom

3.  St. Cyril of Jerusalem

4.  Orthodox Psychotherapy (wonderful book, but I have to take it in small doses).

5.  Thinking about starting "Storming the Barricades" (Chess book)

[Riddikulus]

Last week, I read Disraeli, by Andre Maurois. This week I have opted for a most profound literary work; Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony. 

[Νεκτάριος]

What I worked on/ am finishing over break:
Conversations with Czeslaw Milosz
The Power of the Powerless and other Essays by Vaclav Havel et al
Dead Souls by Gogol
Fathers and Sons by Turgenev
Fear and Trembling by Kierkegaard
The Sickness unto Death by Kierkegaard

I'm taking a class on Dostoevsky next semester with this reading list:
Crime and Punishment
The Idiots
The Possed/The Demons
The Brothers Karamazov

[EkhristosAnesti]

Kamil, J., Christianity in the Land of the Pharoahs: The Coptic Orthodox Church.
Pelikan, J., Acts

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