en-US Thu, 06 Mar 2025 13:20:50 -0800 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 19228515
The world is increasingly unthinkable, a world of planetary disasters, emerging pandemics, and the looming threat of extinction. In this book Eugene Thacker suggests that we look to the genre of horror as offering a way of thinking about the unthinkable world. To confront this idea is to confront the limit of our ability to understand the world in which we live �� a central motif of the horror genre. In the Dust of This Planet explores these relationships between philosophy and horror. In Thacker's hands, philosophy is not academic logic-chopping; instead, it is the thought of the limit of all thought, especially as it dovetails into occultism, demonology, and mysticism. Likewise, Thacker takes horror to mean something beyond the focus on gore and scare tactics, but as the under-appreciated genre of supernatural horror in fiction, film, comics, and music. This relationship between philosophy and horror does not mean the philosophy of horror, if anything, it means the reverse, the horror of those moments when philosophical thinking enigmatically confronts the horizon of its own existence. For Thacker, the genre of supernatural horror is the key site in which this paradoxical thought of the unthinkable takes place. The cover of In the Dust of this Planet can be seen in a New York gallery, on a banner at the 2014 Climate Change march in New York and on Jay-Z's back promoting Run. The book influenced the writers of the US TV series True Detective and has been lambasted by ex-Fox News broadcaster, Glenn Beck in this podcast ]]> 181 Eugene Thacker Adam 4 3.76 2011
author: Eugene Thacker
name: Adam
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/06
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves:
review:

]]> 19169047 168 Christopher Janaway Adam 4 4.28 1994
author: Christopher Janaway
name: Adam
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1994
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/28
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves:
review:

]]> 48695368 288 Joan Tollifson Adam 4 4.41
author: Joan Tollifson
name: Adam
average rating: 4.41
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:

]]> 18891535 129 Stephen Mumford 0191640263 Adam 4 4.07 2012
author: Stephen Mumford
name: Adam
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/27
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves:
review:

]]> 62069739
Shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize and the 2021 National Book Award for Translated Literature

A fictional examination of the lives of real-life scientists and thinkers whose discoveries resulted in moral consequences beyond their imagining.

When We Cease to Understand the World is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery, madness, and destruction. 

Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger—these are some of luminaries into whose troubled lives Benjamín Labatut thrusts the reader, showing us how they grappled with the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, alienate friends and lovers, descend into isolation and insanity. Some of their discoveries reshape human life for the better; others pave the way to chaos and unimaginable suffering. The lines are never clear.

At a breakneck pace and with a wealth of disturbing detail, Labatut uses the imaginative resources of fiction to tell the stories of the scientists and mathematicians who expanded our notions of the possible.]]> 193 Benjamín Labatut Adam 5 4.10 2020
author: Benjamín Labatut
name: Adam
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/22
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves:
review:

]]> 212189538 —Kirkus Reviews

For readers both acquainted with and new to the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, Nietzsche NOW! frames and explains Nietzsche’s thinking on topics of immediate contemporary concern and relevance. Wallis unpacks Nietzsche’s complex philosophy with a deft, empathetic, and brilliantly subtle analysis of the views of the Great Immoralist on democracy, identity, civilization, consciousness, religion, and other momentous topics. Throughout, Wallis includes ample extracts from Nietzsche himself.

Rather than skirting what is controversial or editing for easy consumption, Wallis invites readers to exercise a courageous curiosity that yields a rich, nuanced understanding of Nietzsche. In Nietzsche NOW! he takes readers on a sometimes counterintuitive, always revelatory journey to grasp the relevance of Nietzsche for our contentious times.

Nietzsche NOW! contains Wallis’s original German translations of Nietzsche’s writings from the critical edition along with insights drawn from a decades-long close study of Nietzsche’s works and their academic reception.

Glenn Wallis is the editor and translator of The Dhammapada and Basic Teachings of the Buddha (Random House) and the author of A Critique of Western Buddhism (Bloomsbury), An Anarchist’s Manifesto, and How to Fix Education (Warbler Press). He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and has taught at several universities, including Brown University, and at the University of Georgia as a tenured professor. He is the founder and director of Incite Seminars in Philadelphia.

“Clearly written, relevant accounts are rare in the world of Nietzsche scholarship. Nietzsche NOW! is immensely readable...Wallis guides us, through Nietzsche’s writings, towards coping with the same problems Nietzsche tackled, including truth, democracy, morality, and identity. ��
—Sue Prideaux, author of I Am Dynamite!: A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche, Winner of the Hawthornden Prize

“An indispensable, thrilling guide to understanding Nietzsche’s philosophical impact in our time.��
�� Amir Eshel, Stanford University

“A lively and spirited introduction to a masterful stylist and our greatest educator.��
—Keith Ansell-Pearson, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Warwick]]> 314 Glenn Wallis 1962572420 Adam 5 4.67
author: Glenn Wallis
name: Adam
average rating: 4.67
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/06
date added: 2024/08/06
shelves:
review:

]]> 18666923
Presented as a collection of texts, edited and introduced by a scholar years after the artist's death, the book unfolds through extracts from Burden's notebooks and conflicting accounts from others about her life and work. Even after she steps forward to reveal herself as the force behind three solo shows, there are those who doubt she is responsible for the last exhibition, initially credited to the acclaimed artist Rune. No one doubts the two artists were involved with each other. According to Burden's journals, she and Rune found themselves locked in a charged and dangerous psychological game that ended with the man's bizarre death.

From one of the most ambitious and internationally celebrated writers of her generation, Hustvedt's The Blazing World is a polyphonic tour de force. It is also an intricately conceived, diabolical puzzle that addresses the shaping influences of prejudice, money, fame, and desire on what we see in one another. Emotionally intense, intellectually rigorous, ironic, and playful, this is a book you won't be able to put down.]]> 320 Siri Hustvedt 1476747253 Adam 5 3.76 2014
author: Siri Hustvedt
name: Adam
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/13
date added: 2024/03/13
shelves:
review:

]]> 61115497 A hands-on, illuminating deconstruction of NBA basketball, tracing the tactical evolution of the modern game

As the NBA celebrates and surpasses 75 years of existence, today's game looks nothing like it did in generations past when Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took turns ruling the league. But it's also entirely different from a decade—even half decade—ago.

Today's stars enter the league with more versatility and fluidity than ever before, and they need it to handle the strategies, philosophies, schemes, skill sets, movement patterns, and measures of basketball intelligence that simply didn't exist in the past.

Spaced Out tells the story of what professional basketball looks like right now and how it got here. Taking a court-level view, Mike Prada breaks down high-level play to elucidate the athleticism, strategy, and skill demonstrated on a nighty basis, while shining a light on the historical forces that have dramatically altered the shape of the game and the role of its superstars.

Topics covered include the explosion of three point shooting, the rise and fall and rise again of zone defense, the impact of tighter enforcement of perimeter contact rules, and other pivotal factors impacting the pro game.

From Xs and Os to keen historic analysis, this definitive volume will reveal the intricacies of a beautiful game for savvy fans, players, and coaches alike. ]]> 385 Mike Prada 1637271654 Adam 5 4.38
author: Mike Prada
name: Adam
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/19
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves:
review:

]]> 20079525
Identifying key hermetic moments in Deleuze's thought, including his theories of art, subjectivity, and immanence, Ramey argues that the philosopher's work represents a kind of contemporary hermeticism, a consistent experiment in unifying thought and affect, percept and concept, and mind and nature in order to engender new relations between knowledge, power, and desire. By uncovering and clarifying the hermetic strand in Deleuze's work, Ramey offers both a new interpretation of Deleuze, particularly his insistence that the development of thought demands a spiritual ordeal, and a framework for retrieving the pre-Kantian paradigm of philosophy as spiritual practice.]]> 304 Joshua Ramey Adam 5 Beautiful

First rate thinking that puts real teeth into Deleuze’s work through the hermetic lens of a spiritual ordeal. Highly recommended.]]> 4.60 2012
author: Joshua Ramey
name: Adam
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2021/11/11
date added: 2021/11/11
shelves:
review:
Beautiful

First rate thinking that puts real teeth into Deleuze’s work through the hermetic lens of a spiritual ordeal. Highly recommended.
]]> 43419431 Frank Herbert’s classic masterpiece—a triumph of the imagination and one of the bestselling science fiction novels of all time.

Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice�� melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for....

When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.]]> 883 Frank Herbert Adam 5 4.44 1965
author: Frank Herbert
name: Adam
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1965
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/16
date added: 2020/10/16
shelves:
review:

]]> 6569469 Here is the last book Frank Herbert wrote before his death. A stunning climax to the epic Dune legend that will live on forever...]]> 452 Frank Herbert Adam 3 4.17 1985
author: Frank Herbert
name: Adam
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1985
rating: 3
read at: 2020/08/11
date added: 2020/08/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 25886 256 Huston Smith 0060730676 Adam 3 3.91 1958
author: Huston Smith
name: Adam
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1958
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2008/12/21
shelves:
review:
"Concise" is the word - though Smith's first half of the book is much more useful than the second half on Buddhism in the US written by his co-author.
]]> 159963 Difficult to guard and hard to restrain.
The person of wisdom sets it straight,
As a fletcher does an arrow.

The Dhammapada introduced the actual utterances of the Buddha nearly twenty-five hundred years ago, when the master teacher emerged from his long silence to illuminate for his followers the substance of humankind’s deepest and most abiding concerns. The nature of the self, the value of relationships, the importance of moment-to-moment awareness, the destructiveness of anger, the suffering that attends attachment, the ambiguity of the earth’s beauty, the inevitability of aging, the certainty of death–these dilemmas preoccupy us today as they did centuries ago. No other spiritual texts speak about them more clearly and profoundly than does the Dhammapada .

In this elegant new translation, Sanskrit scholar Glenn Wallis has exclusively referred to and quoted from the canonical suttas –the presumed earliest discourses of the Buddha–to bring us the heartwood of Buddhism, words as compelling today as when the Buddha first spoke them. On All tremble before violence./ All fear death./ Having done the same yourself,/ you should neither harm nor kill . On An uninstructed person/ ages like an ox,/ his bulk increases,/ his insight does not . On A person is not skilled/ just because he talks a lot./ Peaceful, friendly, secure��/ that one is called “skilled.��

In 423 verses gathered by subject into chapters, the editor offers us a distillation of core Buddhist teachings that constitutes a prescription for enlightened living, even in the twenty-first century. He also includes a brilliantly informative guide to the verses–a chapter-by-chapter explication that greatly enhances our understanding of them. The text, at every turn, points to practical applications that lead to freedom from fear and suffering, toward the human state of spiritual virtuosity known as awakening .

Glenn Wallis’s translation is an inspired successor to earlier versions of the suttas . Even those readers who are well acquainted with the Dhammapada will be enriched by this fresh encounter with a classic text.]]> 224 Anonymous 0812977270 Adam 5 4.42 -400
author: Anonymous
name: Adam
average rating: 4.42
book published: -400
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/12/21
shelves:
review:
Fantastic. I prefer Wallis' translation and commentary.
]]> 73184 240 Thich Nhat Hanh 1573225681 Adam 3 4.14 1997
author: Thich Nhat Hanh
name: Adam
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2008/12/21
shelves:
review:
A nice general meditation on points of Buddhist/Christian convergence, but it's generally lacking in any substantial discussion of details.
]]> 27304 240 Karen Armstrong 0143034367 Adam 4 3.91 2001
author: Karen Armstrong
name: Adam
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/12/21
shelves:
review:
A solid (non-scholarly) biography.
]]> 3639637 300 Hansjörg Geiges 052185413X Adam 2 2.00 2008
author: Hansjörg Geiges
name: Adam
average rating: 2.00
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2008/12/21
shelves:
review:
An OK overview, but sticks to the surface.
]]> 627497 632 Dan Lusthaus 0415406102 Adam 4 4.45 2002
author: Dan Lusthaus
name: Adam
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/12/21
shelves:
review:
Solid, but weighty. Put on your Husserl hats.
]]> 398167
“Glenn Wallis brings wisdom and compassion to this work of scholarship. Everyone should read this book.��
–Christopher Queen, Harvard University

“A valuable sourcebook with a good selection of the fundamental suttas enhanced by an eloquent introduction and comprehensive notes–altogether a very useful text.��
–Peter Matthiessen (Roshi), author of The Snow Leopard and Nine-Headed Dragon River

“Glenn Wallis’s new and accessible translations of some of the Buddha’s lectures to his original students, along with Wallis’s elegant guide to the texts, gives twenty-first-century readers in the modern West a fresh chance to learn from this teacher.��
–Charles Hallisey, University of Wisconsin-Madison]]> 240 Glenn Wallis 0812975235 Adam 5 4.30 2007
author: Glenn Wallis
name: Adam
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/12/21
shelves:
review:
Wallis' translation is productive and his commentary is practical and insightful. His conversance with contemporary European literature and philosophy is a bonus.
]]> 209576 In the Buddha's Words is an anthology of the Buddha's works that has been specifically compiled by a celebrated scholar and translator. For easy reference, the book is arrayed in ten thematic sections ranging from "The Human Condition" to "Mastering the Mind" to "The Planes of Realization." Each section comes with introductions, notes, and essays to help beginners and experts alike draw greater meaning from the Buddha's words. The book also features a general introduction by the author that fully lays out how and why he has arranged the Buddha's teachings in this volume. This thoughtful compilation is a valuable resource for both teachers and those who want to read the Buddha on their own.]]> 486 Bhikkhu Bodhi 0861714911 Adam 5 4.25 2005
author: Bhikkhu Bodhi
name: Adam
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/12/21
shelves:
review:
Excellent and substantial summary of primary texts.
]]> 1263497 Philosophy 144 S.N. Goenka 1928706096 Adam 4 4.45 1987
author: S.N. Goenka
name: Adam
average rating: 4.45
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/12/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 64369 step by step through the myths, realities, and benefits of meditation and the practice of mindfulness. This expanded edition includes the complete text of its predecessor along with a new chapter on cultivating loving kindness. For anyone who is new to meditation, this is a great resource for learning how to live a more productive and peaceful life.]]> 208 Henepola Gunaratana 0861713214 Adam 5 4.13 1992
author: Henepola Gunaratana
name: Adam
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/12/21
shelves:
review:
Very clear, very practical guide to Vipassana meditation. Excellent.
]]> 2740964 272 Robert A. Burton 0312359209 Adam 4 3.88 2008
author: Robert A. Burton
name: Adam
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/03/05
shelves:
review:
A touch naive but the analysis of how and why our brains "feel" certain about some things but not about others is essential.
]]> 43369 307 Christopher Hitchens 0446579807 Adam 4 3.94 2007
author: Christopher Hitchens
name: Adam
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/02/29
shelves:
review:
Hitchens is so witty and persuasive that I can't help but forgive him some of the holes in his argument. In general, I don't believe we can fairly claim to think seriously about religion if don't give atheism its full weight.
]]> 218845 214 Alain Badiou 1859844359 Adam 4 3.89 1994
author: Alain Badiou
name: Adam
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1994
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/02/29
shelves:
review:
Really, an amazingly precise and accessible introduction to Badiou's project.
]]> 23012 640 Richard Powers 0060975008 Adam 5 4.03 1991
author: Richard Powers
name: Adam
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1991
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/02/28
shelves:
review:
Phenomenal - love, truth, Bach, dna, and binary code.
]]>