(no subject)
Firstly, LOOK AT THIS.
LOOK AT IT.
Secondly, inspired by quietprofanity's posts: my list of unread books.
First Steps in Counselling: A Students' Companion for Basic Introductory Courses, Pete Sanders
I got it cheap! from a charity bookshop in a very middle-class town that's really good for second-hand stuff. (Seriously, I also managed to get some old Nikon lenses, a flash gun, and a developing tank from another charity shop down the road.) First Steps in Counselling looks very nice and straightforward, and the only reason why I haven't read it yet is because I've been distracted by shinier things.
Media and Crime: A Critical Introduction, Yvonne Jewkes
I purchased this because of the positive Amazon reviews. I was going to write a long whinge about how dry it is, but... I've just picked up the book and skimmed through it, and it's nowhere near as bad as I remembered. So now I no longer have an excuse to avoid reading it.
Alas, whenever I try to read about behaviorism, my eyes glaze over. I'M SORRY. I FAIL AT PSYCHOLOGY FOREVER.
The End of the Affair, Graham Greene
Oh Mr. Graham Greene, I loved Brighton Rock and I genuinely want to like your other books but... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity, Erving Goffman
I worry that my brain is going to use this book as misanthropy fuel, and I'm already misanthropic enough already. Woe. Going by reviews, it is a worthwhile read, if outdated (and potentially offensive) in some ways.
The Carl Rogers Reader, Carl Rogers
I had a story idea in my head that required some knowledge about the history of American psychology, and someone recommended this book to me. I think I'd rather eat my own ears than try to read another psychology book at the moment, though.
For Your Own Good: Roots of Violence in Child-rearing, Alice Miller
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.
Ahem.
I picked this up because, er, I've yet to meet a person who doesn't seem to have been a bit screwed up by their childhood to some degree, and someone said that it was a better read than Leonore Terr's Too Scared To Cry, which was ehhh okay I guess.
The Pursuit of Perfect Packing, Denis Weaire & Tomaso Aste
I... can't remember why I got this book. I think it was because I read about Kelvin's Bedspring in Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, which I read about a thousand years ago. Or perhaps I just woke up one day and decided that I was excited about foam. I don't know. It does look like a good book, even though there's no way in hell I'll be able to understand the maths involved because numbers scare me.
The Singularity is Near, Ray Kurzweil
I for one welcome our computer overlords, but I've been warned that this book is ridiculously optimistic. The general gist seems to be 'IN THE FUTURE WE WILL ALL BE PERFECT IMMORTAL POST-HUMANS FUCK YEA'. Still, I shouldn't judge the thing until I've finished it. I'm really only reading the book because it provides worldbuilding fodder for a story I'm playing with, anyway.
Future Shock, Alvin Toffler
More futurology, but with less optimism. This was written in the 1970s, but allegedly a lot of the predictions still hold up, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy it more than The Singularity is Near.
Click to viewLOOK AT IT.
Secondly, inspired by quietprofanity's posts: my list of unread books.
First Steps in Counselling: A Students' Companion for Basic Introductory Courses, Pete Sanders
I got it cheap! from a charity bookshop in a very middle-class town that's really good for second-hand stuff. (Seriously, I also managed to get some old Nikon lenses, a flash gun, and a developing tank from another charity shop down the road.) First Steps in Counselling looks very nice and straightforward, and the only reason why I haven't read it yet is because I've been distracted by shinier things.
Media and Crime: A Critical Introduction, Yvonne Jewkes
I purchased this because of the positive Amazon reviews. I was going to write a long whinge about how dry it is, but... I've just picked up the book and skimmed through it, and it's nowhere near as bad as I remembered. So now I no longer have an excuse to avoid reading it.
Alas, whenever I try to read about behaviorism, my eyes glaze over. I'M SORRY. I FAIL AT PSYCHOLOGY FOREVER.
The End of the Affair, Graham Greene
Oh Mr. Graham Greene, I loved Brighton Rock and I genuinely want to like your other books but... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity, Erving Goffman
I worry that my brain is going to use this book as misanthropy fuel, and I'm already misanthropic enough already. Woe. Going by reviews, it is a worthwhile read, if outdated (and potentially offensive) in some ways.
The Carl Rogers Reader, Carl Rogers
I had a story idea in my head that required some knowledge about the history of American psychology, and someone recommended this book to me. I think I'd rather eat my own ears than try to read another psychology book at the moment, though.
For Your Own Good: Roots of Violence in Child-rearing, Alice Miller
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.
Ahem.
I picked this up because, er, I've yet to meet a person who doesn't seem to have been a bit screwed up by their childhood to some degree, and someone said that it was a better read than Leonore Terr's Too Scared To Cry, which was ehhh okay I guess.
The Pursuit of Perfect Packing, Denis Weaire & Tomaso Aste
I... can't remember why I got this book. I think it was because I read about Kelvin's Bedspring in Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, which I read about a thousand years ago. Or perhaps I just woke up one day and decided that I was excited about foam. I don't know. It does look like a good book, even though there's no way in hell I'll be able to understand the maths involved because numbers scare me.
The Singularity is Near, Ray Kurzweil
I for one welcome our computer overlords, but I've been warned that this book is ridiculously optimistic. The general gist seems to be 'IN THE FUTURE WE WILL ALL BE PERFECT IMMORTAL POST-HUMANS FUCK YEA'. Still, I shouldn't judge the thing until I've finished it. I'm really only reading the book because it provides worldbuilding fodder for a story I'm playing with, anyway.
Future Shock, Alvin Toffler
More futurology, but with less optimism. This was written in the 1970s, but allegedly a lot of the predictions still hold up, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy it more than The Singularity is Near.