Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Have you read/do you have those? They really are excellent.

I have them and read them often !

[WT Sharpe]

I'm currently reading The Transcendental Temptation: A Critique of Religion and the Paranormal by Paul Kurtz.

From PrometheusBooks.com:

.....In this widely acclaimed and highly controversial book, Paul Kurtz examines the reasons why people accept supernatural and paranormal belief systems in spite of substantial evidence to the contrary. According to Kurtz, it is because there is within the human species a deeply rooted tendency toward magical thinking - the "transcendental temptation" - which undermines critical judgement and paves the way for willful beliefs.
.....Kurtz explores in detail the three major monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - finding striking psychological and sociological parallels between these religions, the spiritualism of the 19th century, and the paranormal belief systems of today. There are sections on mysticism, belief in the afterlife, the existence of God, reincarnation, astrology, and ufology. Kurtz also expresses the nature of skepticism as an antidote to belief in the transcendental.

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I'm currently reading The Transcendental Temptation: A Critique of Religion and the Paranormal by Paul Kurtz.

From PrometheusBooks.com:

.....In this widely acclaimed and highly controversial book, Paul Kurtz examines the reasons why people accept supernatural and paranormal belief systems in spite of substantial evidence to the contrary. According to Kurtz, it is because there is within the human species a deeply rooted tendency toward magical thinking - the "transcendental temptation" - which undermines critical judgement and paves the way for willful beliefs.
.....Kurtz explores in detail the three major monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - finding striking psychological and sociological parallels between these religions, the spiritualism of the 19th century, and the paranormal belief systems of today. There are sections on mysticism, belief in the afterlife, the existence of God, reincarnation, astrology, and ufology. Kurtz also expresses the nature of skepticism as an antidote to belief in the transcendental.

Well yes, but... isn't that a bit like saying "your daughter doesn't speak because she is mute" (famous line from a Molière play ).

I mean, it sounds like stating the obvious and trying to pass it off as an explanation of itself. I hope that's not what the book is doing...?

[kennyc]

It's all about hope. That's Kenny's theory.

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I'm currently reading The Transcendental Temptation: A Critique of Religion and the Paranormal by Paul Kurtz.

From PrometheusBooks.com:

.....In this widely acclaimed and highly controversial book, Paul Kurtz examines the reasons why people accept supernatural and paranormal belief systems in spite of substantial evidence to the contrary. According to Kurtz, it is because there is within the human species a deeply rooted tendency toward magical thinking - the "transcendental temptation" - which undermines critical judgement and paves the way for willful beliefs.
.....Kurtz explores in detail the three major monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - finding striking psychological and sociological parallels between these religions, the spiritualism of the 19th century, and the paranormal belief systems of today. There are sections on mysticism, belief in the afterlife, the existence of God, reincarnation, astrology, and ufology. Kurtz also expresses the nature of skepticism as an antidote to belief in the transcendental.

[thinkpad]

To improve my English I'm considering buying: Common Errors in English Usage, anyone that has read it and can recommend it?

[DixieGal]

I have been reading the kindle freebies that Karen (Koland) posts. I started "Entire and the Rose" and it entirely blows. Read a bit and deleted.

Now i am reading "The Ocean Inside". I have only just begun it, but I hope it has a happy ending.

Spoiler:

I can relate, because I worked 14 yrs in a pediatric oncology office. I have seen families lose everything and divorce because of the stresses. So far, it rings very true to me.

[TimMason]

@thinkpadx

Jusging from what is on the site, I don't think the book will be very much help to you. The author himself opines that he is not writing for speakers of English as a Second Language, and most of the errors seem to be the kinds of ones that are made by English native speakers rather than foreign speakers - except, perhaps, for the ubiquitous confusion between 'lose' and 'loose'.

I'd suggest the Longman's Dictionary of Common Errors. This is based on analysis of errors made by EFL students from the Longman's corpus. It is for British rather than American English, but is rather more systematic and rather more helpful to the learner than the book you've been looking at. I'm afraid it's also more expensive and is not, so far as I can judge, in eBook form.

[hols57]

I have just finished reading 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell at the second attempt and I'm still not sure whether it was worth it. I mean it's very clever, but ultimately it is a big shaggy dog story at the end. You read on in the hopes that all will be made clear, but nothing is explained,and the bits of philosophy that he puts in are a bit like lumps in porridge - not very digestible!

Did anyone else find this to be so or is it just me?

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Well yes, but... isn't that a bit like saying "your daughter doesn't speak because she is mute" (famous line from a Molière play ).

I mean, it sounds like stating the obvious and trying to pass it off as an explanation of itself. I hope that's not what the book is doing...?

Kurtz is a philosopher. Philosophers don't state the obvious and try to pass it off as an explanation of itself; the best ones take the obvious and make it as obscure as possible.

Just kidding about that, although I do wonder about some of them!

Kurtz has a very clear and accessible style of writing. I can see how you might reach that conclusion having only read the publisher's press release, but you need to bear in mind that he didn't write that summation, and that part of the problem with writing blurbs for books of this type lies in the difficulty of encapsulating in a few words what the author has been expounding and elaborating upon for hundreds of pages; in the case of The Transcendental Temptation, 516 pages. In the book, Paul Kurtz does far more than simply state the obvious and try to pass it off as an explanation of itself.

[Ea]

Originally Posted by TimMason

@thinkpadx

Jusging from what is on the site, I don't think the book will be very much help to you. The author himself opines that he is not writing for speakers of English as a Second Language, and most of the errors seem to be the kinds of ones that are made by English native speakers rather than foreign speakers - except, perhaps, for the ubiquitous confusion between 'lose' and 'loose'.

I was thinking the same. It's only anecdotal evidence, but I've written in English and have worked with native English speakers on editing and proof-reading, and my experience is that the errors I make are not the same one as the ones native speakers make, and are typically related to my own native language and the differences between it and English.

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Kurtz is a philosopher. Philosophers don't state the obvious and try to pass it off as an explanation of itself; the best ones take the obvious and make it as obscure as possible.

Just kidding about that, although I do wonder about some of them!

Kurtz has a very clear and accessible style of writing. I can see how you might reach that conclusion having only read the publisher's press release, but you need to bear in mind that he didn't write that summation, and that part of the problem with writing blurbs for books of this type lies in the difficulty of encapsulating in a few words what the author has been expounding and elaborating upon for hundreds of pages; in the case of The Transcendental Temptation, 516 pages. In the book, Paul Kurtz does far more than simply state the obvious and try to pass it off as an explanation of itself.

OK, I believe you I hope you'll tell us more after you finish reading it!

Just finished The High Window, and I am waiting confirmation of my payment on Atonement by Ian McEwan, and The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. While Google Checkout does its thing, I'll continue reading The Warrior's Apprentice.

[TC Beacham]

Just started my first Lisa Gardner novel, THE NEIGHBOR (with Detective D.D. Warren) - she seems like a pretty tough sleuth.

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by hols57

I have just finished reading 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell at the second attempt and I'm still not sure whether it was worth it. I mean it's very clever, but ultimately it is a big shaggy dog story at the end. You read on in the hopes that all will be made clear, but nothing is explained,and the bits of philosophy that he puts in are a bit like lumps in porridge - not very digestible!

Did anyone else find this to be so or is it just me?

I liked it, but then again I kind of like those all-over-the-place books -- they keep me on my toes!

However, I just finished his new book, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, and I really loved it. It's a more straightforward story than Cloud Atlas, and as a long-time Shogun fan I felt like I was returning to familiar territory.

[poohbear_nc]

I've been meandering my way through Carolyn Hart's Death on Demand Series - enjoyable cozies - she name drops so many older mystery writers you could fill a TBR list after a few chapters.

[naql]

I'm currently reading Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. Very interesting read about a very interesting time in the US.