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Forum => Kenya Discussion => Topic started by: MOON Ki on February 24, 2017, 05:25:26 AM

Title: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: MOON Ki on February 24, 2017, 05:25:26 AM
This probably ought to be in the "Reviews" forum, but it's been dead .... for how long?   

I got a "book voucher" for Christmas, and I used to get a book that is the best value for free money that I've had in a long time ... for a book.    If you haven't already read it, go get:

https://www.amazon.com/Homo-Deus-Brief-History-Tomorrow/dp/0062464310/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487903039&sr=1-1&keywords=homo+deus

This review sums it up nicely:

Quote
“Spellbinding… This is a very intelligent book, full of sharp insights and mordant wit... It is a quirky and cool book, with a sliver of ice at its heart... It is hard to imagine anyone could read this book without getting an occasional, vertiginous thrill.” (The Guardian)
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: Empedocles on February 24, 2017, 08:44:03 AM
This probably ought to be in the "Reviews" forum, but it's been dead .... for how long?   

I got a "book voucher" for Christmas, and I used to get a book that is the best value for free money that I've had in a long time ... for a book.    If you haven't already read it, go get:

https://www.amazon.com/Homo-Deus-Brief-History-Tomorrow/dp/0062464310/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487903039&sr=1-1&keywords=homo+deus

This review sums it up nicely:

Quote
“Spellbinding… This is a very intelligent book, full of sharp insights and mordant wit... It is a quirky and cool book, with a sliver of ice at its heart... It is hard to imagine anyone could read this book without getting an occasional, vertiginous thrill.” (The Guardian)

Looks interesting. Just bought the e-book.

We've come far.

Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants on February 24, 2017, 05:09:25 PM
I'll check it out when I am done reading Inside the Third Reich by Albert Speer.
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: MOON Ki on February 24, 2017, 07:45:54 PM
Looks interesting. Just bought the e-book.

I don't believe in those things; I like to touch and feel my book.  It's like the difference between, say, a flesh-and-blood women and one of those pump-up dolls you can get in a good sex shop: the end result of "use" is the same, but there is something more satisfying with one than with the other.  :D
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: veritas on February 26, 2017, 06:18:34 AM
it's nice to know you treat your books with such tenderness, dearest Moon.

not sure if "homo deus" is for me. i say this because it doesn't reconcile with history. there were once gods among us according to greek mythology and the bible. they intermingled with humans and those generations phased out. back in the day people lived longer and then didn't and not, and now slowing rising again for rich populaces say 1% of the population this book alludes to, with the rest not. life expectancy in kenya is dismally low.. in the 30s from my memory. while the super rich are busy with mass culling initiatives, the poorest are selling their bodies for nefarious activities. who would've thought organ harvesting and people left to die in the street is now mainstream.

the book's plot doesn't resonate with me, i am lived and traveled, have witnessed too much. i get the hunch whoever this author is, yearns for a utopia bubble, he's disillusioned, smells like a zionist, and obviously suffers from a messiah complex. i see this sort of beh. a lot particularly among parliamentarians who think they're special, invincible, entitled, gods etc.

i'm quite picky as to whom i share my tenderness with. this book doesn't do me.
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: veritas on February 26, 2017, 08:10:26 AM
The title doesn't do me too.

Do you read it on the train Moon? Let me just say as an occasional commuter, if you were holding that book cover to my face I would immediately think you were homosexual.

Homo Deus

Translates as "God of homosexuals."
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: Kichwa on February 26, 2017, 08:38:48 PM
Jeez, Veritas, you are rough.  I commute too. I am going to listen to it.


The title doesn't do me too.

Do you read it on the train Moon? Let me just say as an occasional commuter, if you were holding that book cover to my face I would immediately think you were homosexual.

Homo Deus

Translates as "God of homosexuals."
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: MOON Ki on February 26, 2017, 10:21:04 PM
The title doesn't do me too.

Do you read it on the train Moon? Let me just say as an occasional commuter, if you were holding that book cover to my face I would immediately think you were homosexual.

Homo Deus

Translates as "God of homosexuals."

Many people---men and women alike---have all sorts of fears in relation to the imagined  prospects of back-door entries.    You shouldn't let that cloud your mind in such a manner.  In fact, I suggest that you confront your fears directly, by ...
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: veritas on February 27, 2017, 03:35:45 AM
Kichwa, it's not a song.

Moon, keep telling yourself that.

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41R8ZhhNwHL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

God forbid, it even has a cum spot. Evil.
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: Kichwa on February 27, 2017, 06:11:54 PM
Veritas: Lol,  I am unashamed, card carrying member of Amazon's audible.

READ BY DEREK PERKINS
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/519Ci1PjOqL._SL300_.jpg)



Kichwa, it's not a song.

Moon, keep telling yourself that.

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41R8ZhhNwHL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

God forbid, it even has a cum spot. Evil.
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: veritas on February 28, 2017, 04:38:09 PM
that makes sense now.  :) smart too! no need to carry such a heretic HARD COPY (Moon's wo/man) out in public.

Veritas: Lol,  I am unashamed, card carrying member of Amazon's audible.

READ BY DEREK PERKINS
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/519Ci1PjOqL._SL300_.jpg)



Kichwa, it's not a song.

Moon, keep telling yourself that.

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41R8ZhhNwHL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

God forbid, it even has a cum spot. Evil.
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants on February 28, 2017, 04:53:02 PM
veritas may be a homophobe.
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: veritas on February 28, 2017, 04:56:21 PM
Windy, you know that's not true. i'm just merely pointing out something Moon, may not have been aware of. sometimes people are oblivious to their sexual orientation until most often, a woman, opens their eyes.

veritas may be a homophobe.
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: veritas on February 28, 2017, 04:58:16 PM
Let me also please clarify, the heresy bit, isn't the "homo" bit. but the plot about humans trying to be God, that's exactly what satan tried to do. Evil.
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: MOON Ki on February 28, 2017, 05:19:51 PM
that makes sense now.  :) smart too! no need to carry such a heretic HARD COPY (Moon's wo/man) out in public.

An e-book is like a pump-up doll; an audio-book is like a cardboard cutout.     
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants on February 28, 2017, 05:21:20 PM
Windy, you know that's not true. i'm just merely pointing out something Moon, may not have been aware of. sometimes people are oblivious to their sexual orientation until most often, a woman, opens their eyes.

veritas may be a homophobe.

A point that can be rammed home with more authority when the said woman opens her legs.  Some would blame it on age though.
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: MOON Ki on February 28, 2017, 05:36:22 PM
Windy, you know that's not true. i'm just merely pointing out something Moon, may not have been aware of. sometimes people are oblivious to their sexual orientation until most often, a woman, opens their eyes.

veritas may be a homophobe.

A point that can be rammed home with more authority when the said woman opens her legs. 

MOON Ki would be happy to show appropriate authority.     And, with enough recreational substances consumed, perhaps even solidly help said woman conquer her innate fears.   
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: Kichwa on February 28, 2017, 07:36:33 PM
Moonki: Nothing beats Audio books in my life as a commuter. I am almost halfway through and I cannot figure out why the hard copy invokes so much erotic imagery in you.  My be its the cover.  My grandmother was a great story-teller and when I discovered audio books years, it was a match made in heaven.

that makes sense now.  :) smart too! no need to carry such a heretic HARD COPY (Moon's wo/man) out in public.

An e-book is like a pump-up doll; an audio-book is like a cardboard cutout.   
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: MOON Ki on February 28, 2017, 09:09:23 PM
Moonki: Nothing beats Audio books in my life as a commuter. I am almost halfway through and I cannot figure out why the hard copy invokes so much erotic imagery in you.  My be its the cover. 

You and veritas have filthy minds.    You probably didn't attend church in childhood.

Quote
My grandmother was a great story-teller.

Story-telling used to be quite an art form all around.   Sadly, many of those stories of yore have been lost.    An example is in the "gima omiyo"--translated as "the reason why"---stories of Luos, which explained why the world is the way it is.    Why the lion roars, why fowl don't have teeth, etc.    I have it mind to someday go around with a tape-recorder and start a preservation project.     
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: veritas on March 01, 2017, 11:39:55 AM
Kichwa, that's pretty cool. I haven't tried listening to books, I think I'd enjoy it, thanks, will give it a go.  :)

Moon, I attended church since a fetus in my mother's womb. thank you. very. much.

You are the one who wanks with your book.. .. heresy.

(https://www.opengrow.com/uploads/gallery/album_3903/gallery_8580_3903_11360.jpg)

I don't believe in those things; I like to touch and feel my book.  It's like the difference between, say, a flesh-and-blood women and one of those pump-up dolls you can get in a good sex shop: the end result of "use" is the same, but there is something more satisfying with one than with the other.  :D
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: Kichwa on March 01, 2017, 05:40:52 PM
I think books are going the way of dinosaurs.  Books were great until the era of information explosion set upon us. It seems we are going back to the era of oral tradition to deliver the information while we use electronics to store and preserve information for references.  Most people now have access to thousands of audible and electronic "books" on their smart phone or other electronic devices literally at their fingertips wherever they are.  Portability is a huge thing. Its the reason why bottled water is a multi billion dollar industry.

(http://www.ynharari.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/obama.jpg)

On GPS: Obama's book recommendation

Fareed Zakaria, GPS
President Obama recommends that Fareed and his viewers read Colson Whitehead's "The Underground Railroad" and Yuval Harari's "Sapiens."Source: CNN

Kichwa, that's pretty cool. I haven't tried listening to books, I think I'd enjoy it, thanks, will give it a go.  :)

Moon, I attended church since a fetus in my mother's womb. thank you. very. much.

You are the one who wanks with your book.. .. heresy.

(https://www.opengrow.com/uploads/gallery/album_3903/gallery_8580_3903_11360.jpg)

I don't believe in those things; I like to touch and feel my book.  It's like the difference between, say, a flesh-and-blood women and one of those pump-up dolls you can get in a good sex shop: the end result of "use" is the same, but there is something more satisfying with one than with the other.  :D
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: MOON Ki on March 01, 2017, 06:19:49 PM
I think books are going the way of dinosaurs.  Books were great until the era of information explosion set upon us. It seems we are going back to the era of oral tradition to deliver the information while we use electronics to store and preserve information for references.  Most people now have access to thousands of audible and electronic "books" on their smart phone or other electronic devices literally at their fingertips wherever they are.  Portability is a huge thing. Its the reason why bottled water is a multi billion dollar industry.

2016: UK Example

Quote
Books are back: Printed book sales rise for first time in four years as ebooks suffer decline

For years, book-lovers have been lamenting the inevitable demise of the printed book in the face of competition from a digital behemoth.  But reports of the death of the traditional book have been greatly exaggerated, according to the definitive annual survey of the industry. The Publishers Association study has revealed that sales of print books are rising, while digital sales are down for the first time since the invention of the e-reader.

Stephen Lotinga, chief executive of The Publishers Association, said: "Those who made predictions about the death of the book may have underestimated just how much people love paper."

This year's annual report shows physical book sales up to £2.76 billion in 2015 from £2.748 billion in 2014.

Digital sales dropped from £563m to £554m, the first year-on-year fall since 2011 when PA started measuring e-book sales.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/12/books-are-back-printed-book-sales-rise-for-first-time-in-four-ye/

2017: USA Example

Quote
Print Book Sales Rose Again in 2016

Despite a less-than-ideal environment—no breakout bestsellers on the adult fiction side and a lengthy, brutal election cycle that sucked nearly all of the air out of the cultural conversation—unit sales of print books were up 3.3% in 2016 over 2015. Total print unit sales hit 674 million, marking the third-straight year of growth, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 80% of print sales in the U.S.   

Most print formats had an outstanding year, with hardcover up 5.4%, trade paperback up 4%, and board books up 7.4%
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/72450-print-book-sales-rose-again-in-2016.html
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: Kichwa on March 01, 2017, 06:43:53 PM
Moonki,  I think that's the kick of a dying horse.  Just look at the reading habits of the young generation. The library at most college campuses is more of a quiet place to bring your lap top, smart phone or tablet to study than to look for books. Most college kids are now given the option to get electronic text books or the hard copy and most are choosing electronic books because of portability. Some schools are making audio and video lectures available for students who missed a class or just for review purposes. Online classes are popping up everywhere.  The next generation will be very comfortable with electronic books, videos and audio.
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: MOON Ki on March 01, 2017, 07:23:32 PM
Moonki,  I think that's the kick of a dying horse.  Just look at the reading habits of the young generation. The library at most college campuses is more of a quiet place to bring your lap top, smart phone or tablet to study than to look for books. Most college kids are now given the option to get electronic text books or the hard copy and most are choosing electronic books because of portability. Some schools are making audio and video lectures available for students who missed a class or just for review purposes. Online classes are popping up everywhere.  The next generation will be very comfortable with electronic books, videos and audio.

E-books?   These don't look like days of wine and song  for their producers.  Publishers Weekly:

Quote
In a keynote address delivered at the opening of last week’s Digital Book World conference in New York City, Jonathan Stolper, senior v-p and global managing director for Nielsen Book, presented a series of charts that provided a detailed look at the steadily declining unit sales of e-books.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/72563-the-bad-news-about-e-books.html

Next generation? I wouldn't put all my hopes there.

Quote
Units fell the most in the juvenile fiction segment, where e-book sales dropped 28% in the year and accounted for 10% of total category unit sales in 2016,
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants on March 02, 2017, 05:01:55 PM
My experience has been that if you want to read without distractions, you want a proper book made out of paper.  A little spittle on the fingers as you turn the leaf of a page has not found a replacement yet.  The electronic versions are not so much a replacement as something that merely increases the alternatives - I use them too, but as a last resort or when I cannot reach the physical version.
Title: Re: Great Reads (With Special Alert for Veritas and Empedocles)
Post by: Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants on March 02, 2017, 05:05:40 PM
Moonki,  I think that's the kick of a dying horse.  Just look at the reading habits of the young generation. The library at most college campuses is more of a quiet place to bring your lap top, smart phone or tablet to study than to look for books. Most college kids are now given the option to get electronic text books or the hard copy and most are choosing electronic books because of portability. Some schools are making audio and video lectures available for students who missed a class or just for review purposes. Online classes are popping up everywhere.  The next generation will be very comfortable with electronic books, videos and audio.

There is certainly an element of habit.  But I see it as more of an expansion of the space rather than replacement of one mode.  If you recall the early days of computerization, there was all this talk of paperless society.  The use of paper has only increased since.