Color vision
There is an interesting article on the possibility of tetracromates in the Red Herring Magazine: Looking for Madam Tetrachromat – Do mutant females walk among us?, by Glenn Zorpette.
Link via /usr/bin/girl.
This time it’s todays sunrise!
One Book
The One Book List:
“I would like for each of you to decide on a single book that you would most like for the world to read for inclusion in the list. The book that, for you, was the most influential, or thought-provoking, or enjoyable, or moving, or philosophically powerful, or deep in some sense you cannot properly define, or any other criteria you wish to set.”
It’s a really interesting collection of more than 800 books. I’ve found lots of recommendations there. So many good books out there, but so little time…
Has anyone read Bored of the Rings, by Henry N. Beard and Douglas C. Kenney? It is a parody on ‘The Lords of the Rings’, by J.R.R. Tolkien. If you have read it, do you recommend it?
By the way, my favourite book of all times is A Fine Balance (deutscher Titel: Das Gleichgewicht der Welt), by Rohinton Mistry.
Link via BookNotes. Thanks, Craig!
I read it while I was still in high school, and I enjoyed it a lot. The humor is not very subtle (to say the least), but it was fun. By the way, I hadn’t read Lord of the Rings at the time!
Thanks for the feedback!
Funny that you read the parody before the ‘real’ book…
Well, I guess I’ll have to read ‘Bored of the Rings’ then, since I’ve read ‘The Lord of the Rings’ two or three times already. But I probably should read it after I finish my exams… which will be in around 11 months, sigh.
Bored of the Rings? Well, the Teutonic references may fall a little flat on your ears…
But I thought it was funny, and the introduction is… honest.
Well, the Teutonic references may fall a little flat on your ears…
Maybe… but it’s usually still fun to read how foreigners see one’s own country, e.g. clichés, prejudices and the like.
Since David and you both liked it, I guess I’ll give it a try!
Well, I guess I’ll have to read ‘Bored of the Rings’ then, since I’ve read ‘The Lord of the Rings’ two or three times already. But I probably should read it after I finish my exams… which will be in around 11 months, sigh.
It’s fun. IMHO, it’s more fun if you understand both Lord of the Rings and the time period it was written in (some 60’s/70’s references), but it is a lot of fun. Really takes a lot of pokes at the whole Fantasy genre which was extremely derivative at the time (if indeed it still isn’t).
Also see Bored of the Ring, Appendix A, where somebody completely unrelated to the book added an “appendix” outlining the simple history of the Elves and Men. If you like that, you’ll like the book.
Oh, and Bored of the Rings is relatively short. It’s not a ripoff like some comic collection books are (IMHO), but it’s still short. It shouldn’t take a huge collection of time. You can read it just grabbing bits here and there in a reasonable amount of time… probably more enjoyable that way too.
Just remember, I haven’t read it in 20 years or so. But I can still recall a few fun phrases, and if I can find the book, I’d happily reread it (it is short, which helps a lot!).
“Ching!” [from the preface]
Thanks, Jeremy!
I’ll check out the Appedix. And it’s good to know that ‘Bored of the Rings’ is a lot shorter than the original book. If it were as long, it would take me ages to read it because I’m busy with my exams…