What 📔book are you reading right now?

[Þráinn Þórhallsson]

Bókin um Bibliuna ''The Book about the Bible''.

 

[Deimos]

Mansfield Park (again)
Factoid: both JRRT and CSL read, and liked, Jane Austen.

 

[Starbrow]

Mansfield Park (again)
Factoid: both JRRT and CSL read, and liked, Jane Austen.

Of course, she was a great writer.

 

[Beleg_Cúthalion]

I'm rereading Persuasion by Jane Austen

 

[Glorfindel Goldtress]

I recently finished the Blood of Kings trilogy by Jill Williamson. I loved this series far more than I anticipated, and it gave me hope there are still wonderful books out there in the fantasy genre that aren't LOTR copycats or clichéd. There were beautiful themes, wonderful character development, and some biblical allegory. The whole of the land is divided in two, the boundary defined by one side living in light and the other in complete darkness. Strange effects happen while in Darkness. Some characters, meanwhile, who are of certain heritage have a gift called bloodvoicing, which is essentially much like ósanwë (communicating through thought) but operates differently based on training, experience, and level of natural giftedness. All in all, highly recommend. 😄

 

[Starbrow]

The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster. I still can't believe this was written in 1909 - over a hundred years ago. It is uncanny how well it predicts our addiction to devices.

 

[Deimos]

The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster. I still can't believe this was written in 1909 - over a hundred years ago. It is uncanny how well it predicts our addiction to devices.

Thank you for posting this, and especially your observation. It prompted me to look up the story.
I found it and other short stories by E.M Forster (I've always liked his writing).
Go HERE ...Free to use, courtesy of Project Gutenberg.
Scroll down to see the Table of Contents.

Have you read his "The Story of a Panic"?
I was hoping it was included in that collection I linked to but it is not.
However... it is in another collection (also in Project Gutenberg). Go HERE to find that one.

That second collection of short stories includes The Celestial Omnibus. It rang a bell even tho' Ive not read it.
(Well, at least I don't recall reading it. But at my age that is not surprising 🙄)
Anyway, I think Lewis borrowed from it, maybe just the idea of a "heavenly bus", to use in his novella "The Great Divorce".
I recall him saying something about it in his preface to GD.

 

[Lobelia B. S-B]

"Fairness." (Sniff) Really?
What about 'Life isn't fair?' I never thought I'd get Bag End after all!
Decided to give this a read. Index below.

...... Part I – Origins of Fairness Preface Introduction
Chapter 1 – Firelight Bargains: Fairness Before History
Chapter 2 – Cousins and Rivals: What Animals Reveal
Chapter 3 – The Moral Brain: Development and Psychology
Chapter 4 – Measured Justice: Mesopotamia and Egypt
Chapter 5 – Harmony and Rectification: India and China
Chapter 6 – Citizenship and Equity: Greece and Rome

...... Part II – Revolutions in Fairness
Chapter 7 – Commandments, Charity, and Covenant
Chapter 8 – Guilds and Graves: The Medieval Moral Economy
Chapter 9 – The Birth of Equity: Courts of Conscience
Chapter 10 – Natural Rights and Social Contracts
Chapter 11 – Abolition, Emancipation, and Citizenship
Chapter 12 – The Price of a Day: Labor and Fair Wages
Chapter 13 – Markets and Marxes: Competing Blueprints
Chapter 14 – Veils and Titles: Rawls, Nozick, Sen, and Nussbaum
Chapter 15 – Fairness After War: Human Rights and International Justice
Chapter 16 – Fairness in a Globalized World: Trade, Inequality, and the Environment
Chapter 17 – Algorithms and Bias: Fairness in the Digital Age
Chapter 18 – Cultural Mirrors: Fairness Across Civilizations Today
Chapter 19 – Everyday Fairness: Families, Friendships, and Love
Chapter 20 – Games, Sports, and the Spirit of Fair Play

...... Part III – Institutions of Fairness
Chapter 21 – Fair Markets? Taxes, Wages, and Inequality in the 21st Century
Chapter 22 – Fair Votes, Fair Voices: Democracy and Representation
Chapter 23 – Justice on Trial: Courts, Prisons, and Policing
Chapter 24 – Fairness in War and Peace: Rules, Refugees, and Reconciliation
Chapter 25 – Fairness Across Generations: The Future’s Claim on the Present
Chapter 26 – Fairness at the Edges of Life: Medicine, Birth, and Death
Chapter 27 – Sacred Fairness Today: Religion, Morality, and Justice
Chapter 28 – Fairness in Art and Culture: Recognition and Representation
Chapter 29 – Fairness in Science and Knowledge: Truth, Access, and Power
Chapter 30 – The Future of Work: Automation, AI, and Global Fairness
Chapter 31 – Fairness in Global Crises: Solidarity Under Stress
Chapter 32 – Global Governance and Fairness: Nations, Institutions, and Power
Chapter 33 – Fairness Online: Social Media, Surveillance, and Digital Rights
Chapter 34 – Fairness in Identity and Diversity: Race, Gender, and Inclusion
Chapter 35 – Fairness in International Conflict and Cooperation Today
Chapter 36 – Philosophy and Fairness Today: Justice in a Changing World
Chapter 37 – The Personal Quest for Fairness: Meaning, Morality, and Everyday Choices
Chapter 38 – Fairness and the Human Future: Utopia, Dystopia, and Possibility
Chapter 39 – Conclusion: The Endless Evolution of Fairness

 

[Alexander Scamilton]

"Fairness." (Sniff) Really?
What about 'Life isn't fair?' I never thought I'd get Bag End after all!
Decided to give this a read. Index below.

View attachment 47041

...... Part I – Origins of Fairness Preface Introduction
Chapter 1 – Firelight Bargains: Fairness Before History
Chapter 2 – Cousins and Rivals: What Animals Reveal
Chapter 3 – The Moral Brain: Development and Psychology
Chapter 4 – Measured Justice: Mesopotamia and Egypt
Chapter 5 – Harmony and Rectification: India and China
Chapter 6 – Citizenship and Equity: Greece and Rome

...... Part II – Revolutions in Fairness
Chapter 7 – Commandments, Charity, and Covenant
Chapter 8 – Guilds and Graves: The Medieval Moral Economy
Chapter 9 – The Birth of Equity: Courts of Conscience
Chapter 10 – Natural Rights and Social Contracts
Chapter 11 – Abolition, Emancipation, and Citizenship
Chapter 12 – The Price of a Day: Labor and Fair Wages
Chapter 13 – Markets and Marxes: Competing Blueprints
Chapter 14 – Veils and Titles: Rawls, Nozick, Sen, and Nussbaum
Chapter 15 – Fairness After War: Human Rights and International Justice
Chapter 16 – Fairness in a Globalized World: Trade, Inequality, and the Environment
Chapter 17 – Algorithms and Bias: Fairness in the Digital Age
Chapter 18 – Cultural Mirrors: Fairness Across Civilizations Today
Chapter 19 – Everyday Fairness: Families, Friendships, and Love
Chapter 20 – Games, Sports, and the Spirit of Fair Play

...... Part III – Institutions of Fairness
Chapter 21 – Fair Markets? Taxes, Wages, and Inequality in the 21st Century
Chapter 22 – Fair Votes, Fair Voices: Democracy and Representation
Chapter 23 – Justice on Trial: Courts, Prisons, and Policing
Chapter 24 – Fairness in War and Peace: Rules, Refugees, and Reconciliation
Chapter 25 – Fairness Across Generations: The Future’s Claim on the Present
Chapter 26 – Fairness at the Edges of Life: Medicine, Birth, and Death
Chapter 27 – Sacred Fairness Today: Religion, Morality, and Justice
Chapter 28 – Fairness in Art and Culture: Recognition and Representation
Chapter 29 – Fairness in Science and Knowledge: Truth, Access, and Power
Chapter 30 – The Future of Work: Automation, AI, and Global Fairness
Chapter 31 – Fairness in Global Crises: Solidarity Under Stress
Chapter 32 – Global Governance and Fairness: Nations, Institutions, and Power
Chapter 33 – Fairness Online: Social Media, Surveillance, and Digital Rights
Chapter 34 – Fairness in Identity and Diversity: Race, Gender, and Inclusion
Chapter 35 – Fairness in International Conflict and Cooperation Today
Chapter 36 – Philosophy and Fairness Today: Justice in a Changing World
Chapter 37 – The Personal Quest for Fairness: Meaning, Morality, and Everyday Choices
Chapter 38 – Fairness and the Human Future: Utopia, Dystopia, and Possibility
Chapter 39 – Conclusion: The Endless Evolution of Fairness

I hate the word fair. Life doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes, and we keep living anyway,

 

[Eldacar]

Is it any good @Lobelia B. S-B ? Five and a half pages per Chapter dealing with subjects as grand as Fair Markets or fair democracies seems... ambitious to say the least.

 

[Lobelia B. S-B]

@Eldacar, so far I am finding it so. (sniff).

In his Preface the author says this: "I hope this book invites readers to reflect not only on history, but on their own lives: how fairness shapes relationships, identities, and choices. Fairness is not only a matter for philosophers and lawmakers — it is lived daily by each of us. My aim is not to close the debate on fairness, but to open it wider." The bolding is mine.

In the "About the Author" we read this: "The Evolution of Fairness is his first book, bringing together history, philosophy, and contemporary debate in an accessible narrative for general readers."

This old crone's interpretation: In the 216 pages of the book, he is not intending to give us an all-inclusive, well footnoted study, but an overview across a very broad range of history, society, and individual experience helping us see the place 'fairness' occupied, occupies, and will occupy forever into the future. It is useful "to me" for a number of reasons. It is not 'deeply documented' with research, but does cite studies indicating support for his contentions here and there. It is a book I will continue to work through, as it does make me consider 'fairness' from many viewpoints - some of which I'd not thought about before.

Its usefulness to others will undoubtedly depend on what they bring to the reading of the book and why. Will it be a 'be-all, do-all, end-all' on the subject? Not in the least. The subject of 'fairness' has no end - no top - no bottom - no sidewalls constraining it.

Yoda said 'ever in motion is the future.' He could as well have said 'ever changing is fairness.' I do believe Wells does a good job of helping us LOOK at fairness as a subject, and what it really is and does - something few have rarely done.

 

[Lobelia B. S-B]

I hate the word fair.

As I read some of your other posts, there seems to be a number of things you hate. (sniff)
Hate is a very draining emotion. I can't help but extend my condolences to you

 

[Ugluk]

"Fairness." (Sniff) Really?
What about 'Life isn't fair?' I never thought I'd get Bag End after all!
Decided to give this a read. Index below.

"You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe." Marcus Cole, Babylon 5

 

[Ugluk]

Just returned from Antarctica. All extremities intact. About half way through Scott's 1905 The Voyage of the Discovery. Excellent book, superbly written.

 

[Alexander Scamilton]

As I read some of your other posts, there seems to be a number of things you hate. (sniff)
Hate is a very draining emotion. I can't help but extend my condolences to you

Eh, I think we all hate a number of things, but I actually express it.

Just returned from Antarctica.

You did? My non biological cousin went to antarctica like a year ago. Or was it two years ago. I forgot. Im rlly not that close iwth him. Like at all. I just visited his house once like 500m years ago.

Right now im reading the bible. And i think i mgiht reread the silmarillion again. if i hve time. im still reading alexander hamilton 😭

 

[Amalcarin]

I am currently immersing myself in original Esperanto literature (which is, as I have learned, surprisingly vast and growing with every year). The most significant thing I have read in this field by now is the dilogy of the novels Viktimoj (Victims) and Sur sanga tero (On Bloody Soil) by the Hungarian writer Julio Baghy, which recount about the life, hopes and sufferings of European prisoners of World War I in Siberia, thrown into the chaos of the Russian Civil War. The novels imprisoned me so that I could barely stop reading during my free time, and they made me feel all kinds of emotions, from laughter to melancholy, and reflect deeply about life. Well, I really loved them. By the way, I have read that the novels are largely autobiographical, since the author himself spent six years as a prisoner of war in Siberia (in those very places where the events of the novels take place), although the name of the main character is changed.

 

[Ugluk]

Eh, I think we all hate a number of things, but I actually express it.

You did? My non biological cousin went to antarctica like a year ago. Or was it two years ago. I forgot. Im rlly not that close iwth him. Like at all. I just visited his house once like 500m years ago.

Right now im reading the bible. And i think i mgiht reread the silmarillion again. if i hve time. im still reading alexander hamilton 😭

I read the Bible daily, so I tend to not include it in "what I am reading now" lists!

 

[Eldacar]

I'm reading up on the Deluxe Big Muff guitar fuzz circuitry.

I genuinely had to look up the meaning of half the words in this sentence. What a ride ^^

 

[Eldacar]

Reminds me of this gem by Loriot.

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View this content on Instagram

"If atmospheric interference causes picture and sound disturbances on your television set, you can easily remedy this yourself.

After removing the astigmatic deflection field indicator, simply apply a second fulminance signal to the hypertophalcoder and adjust the differential paraboloid phase error on the microswitch by twisting the high-touchable Ortikon transistor. The remaining fine-tuning is carried out as usual by trigeminal shift in the correction range of the horizontal frequency.

We wish you good reception."

 

[Eldacar]

Are you working on some guitar circuitry and reading your book for information or is it something you do casually?