New laptop online!

[meanfreepath]

So I've finally got my new iBook G4 connected to the Internet and fully working. I've now tested both the AirPort wireless connection and the Ethernet jack (I'm writing this sitting in one of those comfy chairs in Cornell basement). John B. helped me put IDL on this, so I'll be able to do a little number crunching if I need or want to. Someday I will learn more UNIX commands as well as LaTEX (at least before I have to write my senior thesis).

I should get a few books before I go to Iowa, or get some there. What do I feel like reading this summer, besides any necessary technical material for my research? I've thought about Austen's "Persuasion," having enjoyed "Emma" over winter break. I wouldn't mind looking back at some stuff by Dewey, maybe "Democracy and Education". Plato's "Republic" should be on anyone's list. Perhaps a little St. Augustine too? Of course, there's some stuff I should read just for fun, like the next installment of Harry Potter. I really should bring myself to read the LoTR triology, which I was terrified of as a kid and which I've never gotten around to reading since. I also was reading a review of some stuff in my dad's "Academe" magazine, and there was a book on the pervasive influence of big-time college athletics that I'd probably enjoy. We'll see.

Anyone else have other suggestions? Especially fun, non-academic stuff?

Comments

[sildra.livejournal.com]

If you like Austen you might like the Bronte sisters as well. Their novels are much more modern than Austen's (written about a generation later), but still at the same time clearly very old.

As for something much more modern, one of the most interesting novels I've read is Shogun by James Clavell. It's very long, but it goes quickly, and it's historical fiction with a fairly good grounding in the history and the culture.

[aridice.livejournal.com]

For fun, read Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, the Subtle Knife, and the Amber Spyglass). It's good stuff and (I think) well worth your time. Have a good summer!

[gerbilicious85.livejournal.com]

lord of the rings is NOT a trilogy! it's one book that is separated into three volumes!

ditto on the philip pullman