David Papineau is a professor of philosophy of natural science at Kings College London and a distinguished professor of philosophy at the City University of New York. The author of eight philosophy books, he lives in London, United Kingdom.Papineau's latest book is Knowing the Score: What Sports Can Teach Us About Philosophy (And What Philosophy Can Teach Us About Sports).
Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. His reply:
Visit David Papineau's website.I’ve recently read quite a few much-hyped but disappointing books, but rather than name those names, let me instead praise two books I really enjoyed this year. The first is The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis, originally published in 1983. Tevis is much better known for The Hustler and The Man Who Fell to Earth, but I’m not sure this isn’t his best. It’s about a girl from a tough orphanage who becomes a chess champion. A number of writers have recently recognized the narrative possibilities offered by adolescent girls with steel in their hearts (think of Arya Stark in Game of Thrones, or Lisbeth Salander in the Dragon Tattoo books) but Tevis was there first, and in addition tells us
plenty about mid-West morals, gender roles, and alcoholism in the course of his gripping tale.
My other book is All That Man Is by David Szalay, a collection of nine loosely linked episodes from the lives of men in Europe today. The overall effect is anything but inspiring, but Szalay has an uncanny ability to inhabit an wide range of masculine psyches, from Hungarian bodyguards to French layabouts, and his elegantly written stories all ring true.
The Page 99 Test: Philosophical Devices.
The Page 99 Test: Knowing the Score.
--Marshal Zeringue
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