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A comment on Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?.

Re:Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift? by justifier on Sunday August 07, 2016 @06:18PM (#12244013)
i play a game where i have duplicate copies of some books to give to anyone interested who has yet to have heard of one

here's a incomprehensive list in alphabetical order:

a people's history of the united states; howard zinn

a rebours; joris-karl huysmans

alcestis; euripides

apology; plato

belaya staya; anna akhmatova

die verwandlung; franz kafka

elements; euclid

epic of gilgamesh; unknown

ficciones; jorge luis borges

fractals: form, chance and dimension; benoit mandelbrot

fragments; sappho

gospels of mary and judas; unknown

i ching; unknown

la vida es sueno; pedro calderon de la barca

leaves of grass; walt whitman

letters of vincent van gogh

meghaduta; kalidasa

my life; isadora duncan

nightwood; djuna barnes

oku no hosomichi; basho

one piece; eiichiro oda

poems; emily dickinson

relativity: the special and general theory; albert einstein

saga; fiona staples and brian k vaughan

the brothers karamazov; fyodor dostoyevsky, translated by constance garnett

the first third; neal cassady

the power of pi; stickman lagrou graves

the secret life of salvador dali; dali

the way of a pilgrim; unknown

twelth night; william shakespeare

thing explainer; randall munroe

ulysses; james joyce

women, race, and class; angela davis

if you want a quick description of any i enjoy talking about them, and i appreciate suggestions

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift? by krisdol on Sunday August 07, 2016 @07:10PM (#12244261)
Someone stole a A People's History of The United States from me at a party I hosted, and I don't mind at all. Hope they read it or gave it to someone who would.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift? by justifier on Sunday August 07, 2016 @07:30PM (#12244367)
one of the wildest first read throughs you will ever experience

especially if you come from an us educational upbringing where songs about oceans being blue(o) are historical place holders stead primary sources

the elucidation is immediate.. zinn's first paragraph has an excerpt from christopher columbus' log:

They ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned... . They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane... . They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.

fuck you chris

if you like zinn check out angela davis, her ability as a historian to find substantial sources is incredible

(o) http://www.teachingheart.net/columbus.htm

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift? by justifier on Sunday August 07, 2016 @10:17PM (#12245071)
"Did Christopher Columbus ever make this statement?"

http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/18080/did-christ...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift? by 1123581321 on Sunday August 07, 2016 @09:31PM (#12244910)
That book a strange ability to receive credit for ideas and sources that are not in it, which disturbs me but is a testament to its power to generate new memories and views of history in the minds of its readers.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift? by serb348 on Monday August 08, 2016 @07:33AM (#12246890)
a rebours is sick.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift? by justifier on Monday August 08, 2016 @02:20PM (#12249792)
sick like, 'against the grain is dope yo'

or sick like, 'the decadence on display in against the grain is revolting'

[ Parent | on HN ]