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  • EADD Moderators: Pissed_and_messed | Shinji Ikari

What book are you currently reading?

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The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield is absolutely great so far and makes you think. By googling it I just found out they made a film of it in 2006 which i'll watch after I have read the book as it probably will ruin it and give me the wrong ideas. well worth a read.

Basic description from wiki: The main character of the novel undertakes a journey to find and understand a series of nine spiritual insights on an ancient manuscript in Peru. The book is a first-person narrative of the narrator's spiritual awakening as he goes through a transitional period of his life. He generally experiences these insights before he reads the text itself.

These are the insights. I would describe these insights a bit differently but can't be arsed right now.

1 We are discovering again that we live in a deeply mysterious world, full of sudden coincidences and synchronistic encounters that seem destined.

2 As more of us awaken to this mystery, we will create a completely new worldview - redefining the universe as energetic and sacred.

3 We will discover that everything around us, all matter, consists of and stems from a divine energy that we are beginning to see and understand.

4 From this perspective, we can see that humans have always felt insecure and disconnected from this sacred source, and have tried to take energy by dominating each other. This struggle is responsible for all human conflict.

5 The only solution is to cultivate a personal reconnection with the divine, a mystical transformation that fills us with unlimited energy and love, extends our perception of beauty, and lifts us into a Higher-Self Awareness.

6 In this awareness, we can release our own pattern of controlling, and discover a specific truth, a mission, we are here to share that helps evolve humanity toward this new level of reality.

7 In pursuit of this mission, we can discover an inner intuition that shows us where to go and what to do, and if we make only positive interpretations, brings a flow of coincidences that opens the doors for our mission to unfold.

8 When enough of us enter this evolutionary flow, always giving energy to the higher-self of everyone we meet, we will build a new culture where our bodies evolve to ever higher levels of energy and perception.

9 In this way, we participate in the long journey of evolution from the Big Bang to life's ultimate goal: to energize our bodies, generation by generation, until we walk into a heaven we can finally see.
 
Iain Banks - Transition.

Not rated by many as one of his better works, but definitely a "transition" piece linking his science-fiction genius and his mainsteam novels. Highly recommended, it's easy to read and a lot of "mental" fun :D

Of course he's Scottish, so I'm a bit biased :p

some reviews -
NSFW:
As always with Banks, the imaginative detail is frequently stunning. By creating a universe of infinite different but related worlds, the writer has given his mind free rein to create and describe all sorts of weird and wonderful alternatives to our society … Transition is a book that makes you think, one that makes you look at the world around you in a different light, and it’s also a properly thrilling read.

As Banks moves from world to world his descriptions of lavish parties and claustrophobic hospitals are detailed and evocative. The ending is tense and exciting. Yet in the development of the story, the rapid changes of perspective often become frustrating and confusing dissipating the momentum of the plot. This is an ambitious and challenging novel but one which I did not enjoy as much as others by the writer.

A world that hangs suspended between triumph and catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall and the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism and global financial collapse, such a world requires a firm hand and a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organisation with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence and numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers? On the Concern’s books are Temudjin Oh, an un-killable assassin who journeys between the peaks of Nepal, a version of Victorian London and the dark palaces of Venice; and a nameless, faceless torturer known only as the Philosopher.

And then there’s the renegade Mrs Mulverhill, who recruits rebels to her side; and Patient 8262, hiding out from a dirty past in a forgotten hospital ward. As these vivid, strange and sensuous worlds circle and collide, the implications of turning traitor to the Concern become horribly apparent, and an unstable universe is set on a dizzying course.
 
kate said:
Iain Banks - Transition.

Not rated by many as one of his better works, but definitely a "transition" piece linking his science-fiction genius and his mainsteam novels. Highly recommended, it's easy to read and a lot of "mental" fun :D

Of course he's Scottish, so I'm a bit biased :p

some reviews -
NSFW:
As always with Banks, the imaginative detail is frequently stunning. By creating a universe of infinite different but related worlds, the writer has given his mind free rein to create and describe all sorts of weird and wonderful alternatives to our society … Transition is a book that makes you think, one that makes you look at the world around you in a different light, and it’s also a properly thrilling read.

As Banks moves from world to world his descriptions of lavish parties and claustrophobic hospitals are detailed and evocative. The ending is tense and exciting. Yet in the development of the story, the rapid changes of perspective often become frustrating and confusing dissipating the momentum of the plot. This is an ambitious and challenging novel but one which I did not enjoy as much as others by the writer.

A world that hangs suspended between triumph and catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall and the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism and global financial collapse, such a world requires a firm hand and a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organisation with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence and numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers? On the Concern’s books are Temudjin Oh, an un-killable assassin who journeys between the peaks of Nepal, a version of Victorian London and the dark palaces of Venice; and a nameless, faceless torturer known only as the Philosopher.

And then there’s the renegade Mrs Mulverhill, who recruits rebels to her side; and Patient 8262, hiding out from a dirty past in a forgotten hospital ward. As these vivid, strange and sensuous worlds circle and collide, the implications of turning traitor to the Concern become horribly apparent, and an unstable universe is set on a dizzying course.
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Bloody excellent book. Read it through xmas. He's an incredible author; his ability to pare down into the human consciousness is fascinating, especially to an amateur psychonaut such as myself =o)

Excellent read :D
 
Well having now finished surface detail i'm going to have to read transitions next so i'm glad you liked it.

I'd definitely recomend 'surface detail' to any fan of Iain M Banks and the culture, though if you've not read a culture series book before you should probably read 'consider phlebas' first.
 
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StoneHappyMonday said:
Carlos Castenada? Made a nice career out of it didn't he. Being a grade A bullshitter that is. Still, pays the bills eh?
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Ask Uncle Al Crowley about that one. It didn't pay his bills. Not that he was a total bullshitter, but he certainly had his moments...

I'm reading Touch & Go: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine '79 - '83 by Tesco Vee, Dave Stimson and their contributors. Kindly lent by a friend, though I really should have my own copy by now.

It'll only interest a handful of people on this forum, but I guarantee those three-or-so people will love it. Basically, a poorly-Xeroxed fanzine created as a labour of love by two bored punk fans in smalltown America which ends up becoming a key part in not only documenting an important scene but creating it. It's fascinating to see just how 'underground' the US punk scene was in comparison to the UK scene; a real antidote to the FM rock stations and their REO Speedwagon etc.

Satirical, irreverent, sometimes as abrasive-yet-heartfelt as much of the music it covers. A beautiful little collection for anyone who still believes in such quaint notions as 'the Man' and the urgent need to 'stick it' to him.
 
Mailmonkey said:
I'm about to start England's Dreaming, by Jon Savage, missis got it for me for Christmas.
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Good book. Savage is da man.

Bizarrely, because I generally hate food seeing cooking as just one of life's occupational hazards, a friend gave me this to read to save me being bored by his relatives over Christmas.

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Everything you need to know about sausage and mash...and then some more. Most interesting cookbook I've ever seen, very readable. Not really a recipe book, more a science of food book - which is a hell of a lot more interesting than it sounds. All the food he looks at is real basic stuff and it's more of an education in food than learning to cook the food itself. Might appeal to those who post most in the what are you eating thread.
 
MrM said:
I'd definitely recomend 'surface detail' to any fan of Iain M Banks and the culture, though if you've not read a culture series book before you should probably read 'consider phlebas' first.
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I'm an Iain banks fan and just got into the culture serious but the wrong way round starting with Excession...bit of a leap into the unknown that was!

Thanks for the recommendation, it would be sensible to start at the beginning...though tainted by my other later knowledge haha. That would read rather nicely, confusing as hell and mind bending enough to meet my warped literary needs :D

Reading the culture material you can actually feel your mind expanding it's like psychedelics by word. Amazing stuff.
 
The Wasp Factory is a fantastic read if you haven't already got to that.

I'm currently reading Elephents on Acid. Meh, it looked like something I'd like in the shop. :)
 
I did the Wasp Factory for my standard grade English at school and so began my Banks love affair.

The only novels I've not read to date are Dead Air and The Steep Approach to Garbadale. Read the State of Art before diving in to the Culture books - all the wrong way around too, poor show since I've not read the first one! Shame on me 8)

I'd love to see him live talking about his ideas and how / why he comes about them.

Chuffed to see other EADDers are so into Iain Banks too - is it a druggy thing or what?
 
loulou reed said:
Going to buy The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I'm all excited.
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I think that's my favourite book ever :D found my copy at my parents over Christmas, opened it for a browse and read the whole thing again in a day.. it's amazing, the characters and the plot are all so intricate and yet simple somehow. Haha I'm shit at talking about literature, but The Secret History is just too good %)
 
when i moved house i got rid of hundreds of books, but i saved my complete Iain (M) Banks collection. i've still got two or three of his latest hardbacks to read, but they're a pain in the arse to take offshore cos they're so big & heavy. i've also got 'Raw Spirit' to read too, which is all about his love for whiskey.

the last two books i read were short story sci-fi collections by my other favourite author, Alastair Reynolds.

Galactic North - all set in the 'Revelation Space' world
Zima Blue and other stories - completely random

if you're into Iain M Banks, you'd definitely love Alastair Reynolds.

Al_reynolds_galactic_north.jpg
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when i'm offshore, books are my drugs.
 
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kate said:
I did the Wasp Factory for my standard grade English at school and so began my Banks love affair.
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Read that travelling in Africa in the early 90's after swapping it for a Stephen King in Rundu, Namibia in 1990... Cracking read, have since read many Banks books...

Presently reading ermmm THREE books. One is a guide book to Zimbabwe by Bradt. Not many of them have been written in the last few years but the country may be back on the trail if the politics & economy continues to improve. I'm also reading The Fear, by Peter Godwin which is a factual account of events in Zimbabwe following Mugabe's (the President, not the Meph-head Lol) election failure in 2008. I had to put aside Travels With Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuscinski (Polish foreign/war correspondent who travelled newly independent African countries & others in the 20th century) while I catch up on Zimbabwe, but it's a facinating read & I'm looking forward to getting back into it...
 
excellent book, ridley scott adapting it for a bbc miniseries this year, has the potential to be immense!
 
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