BOOK ORDERING TIEM

[Verbal Mike]

So, I have a birthday coming up and my parents are giving me a big-ass gift card for Amazon. Now I must decide what to get.

Which Nassim Taleb book would you spags recommend most? Is it worth bothering with more than just one?
Other than I3!, PR and QP, what RAW books should I definitely read?

Any other nonfiction recommendations?

[Triple Zero]

IMO both Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness explain pretty much the same concept. I personally find Fooled by Randomness the better of those two, mainly for having a less arrogant writing-style and not presenting completely fabricated examples as fact [documented somewhere in the later part of the "i have the best book ever" thread]

do you have a copy of the Principia Discordia yet? syn's hardcover version is pretty shiny. or perhaps the Book of Subgenius?

if you're into cyberpunk, you need to read Snow Crash, it starts out funny, but deals with some pretty interesting concepts about data, language and religion further on in the book.

you can download it for free, but as you hadn't read the Art of Memetics yet, getting a hardcopy of that one might be worth it too.

some random good stuff i pick from my book shelves:
- Goedel Escher Bach by Douglas Hofstadter
- The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker
- some paperback collection of Lovecraft stories
- Getting Things Done by David Allen--this book taught me some tremendously useful prodictivity and organising tips
- if you like (learning about) cooking and don't mind deciphering some Dutch, i can really highly recommend Cook & Chemist by Eke Mariën and Jan Groenewold

edit: fixed horrible d/t mixup typo

[Cain]

Well, I personally prefer Black Swan, because its more philosophical and less economical/mathematical, but that's purely because of my subjective likes and dislikes.  Either is good reading, and I would work it based on that distinction.

Nonfiction eh?

Hmm.  Assuming we're not looking at explicity Discordian, I would suggest Martin van Creveld - The Rise and Fall of the State.  Its a fascinating look at the history of social organization by Israel's best military historian.  A very easy read too.

Disinfo's Book of Lies is a good read.  Even if you're not into the occult, an overview of the philosophy and personalities of modern day occutism makes it an interesting book.

Robert Greene - The 33 Strategies of War.  You wont regret buying this.  Great anecdotes, along with highly useful advice.

If you haven't read Freakonomics, I would try that.  Or Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine.  Either are interesting, if very different books on economics.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - Thomas Kuhn.

The Mind's I - Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel Dennett

The Paranoid Style in American Politics - Richard Hofstadter

The Sinister Forces Trilogy by Peter Levenda

[fomenter]

anyone here read " the incredible bread machine" ? one of the most interesting books on economics i have read..

[Verbal Mike]

Thanks for all the recommendation, guys.
Both the Taleb books sound great so I'm getting FbR which is simply cheaper.

I think I'll leave that Dutch cookbook for after I start learning Dutch... Which I expect will be soon enough. Otherwise it looks like I'm about as full of books as I can get now with these recommendations.

[Verbal Mike]

Well, looks like I'm quickly approaching the point where this big-ass gift card is not enough, so I might have to cut down a little...
I have both Quantum Psychology and Cosmic Trigger I in my cart, are both really that highly recommended? Considering I've already read Prometheus Rising, will they be fascinating and amazing or just same old, same old?

[Cain]

I have a hunch that those two would cover the same territory...but I'm not entirely sure.  I do have a pdf of all of them, however, so if you don't mind e-books, you could drop one or two and have something else.

[Verbal Mike]

BOOKS HERE!

I'm still supposed to get Angel Tech, which wasn't in stock, iirc.
This is still a huge fucking shitload of books.

[Cain]

I have a pdf of Angel Tech, if you don't mind e-booking your way through it.

Has to be said, that is one mighty fine book collection there.

[Verbal Mike]

Well, Angel Tech will get here eventually, probably long before I'm done with these 10 babies, but thanks for the offer.

[Mangrove]

Well, Angel Tech will get here eventually, probably long before I'm done with these 10 babies, but thanks for the offer.

'Eventually' could be a long time.

'Angel Tech' was/is published by New Falcon which has since split into 'Original Falcon' (Nick Tharcher & Dr Hyatt's widow) and 'New Falcon' run by one of Dr Hyatt's sons from a prior marriage. There's much legal messiness to be had.

Plus New Falcon used to list books as 'coming soon' for literally years at a time, a number of which never surfaced. (New Hyatt books, stuff about Israel Regardie etc) I've noticed also that certain books have gone out of print and exploitative assholes are selling $15 books for exorbitant prices (cf: Lisiewski's Qabalah Handbook).

If it were me, I'd take the e-book for now, keep an eye on both Falcons and try and find a 2nd copy in the best condition possible.