[DonDonDonPata]

The books more or less crap on every facet of modern living with good reasons; the modern nation state as an inherently immoral body of governance, European colonialism and all that resulted from it, first highlighting how it's different and much more destructive than any other forms of colonialism that precede it, and further stating this one is not just about muh strong vs weak or they would've done the same if they had the weapons/technology. And other high level critiques of secularism, capitalism, materialism, all 4 sides of the political compass and basically almost everything else about modernity, which doesn't just mean recency and that it's always objectively the best time for humanity to live and everything before is terrible, outdated, bigotted etc, no, the author says; it's a specific manufactured phenomenon and a point in time that started with the enlightenment and the death of the already diseased and troubled European christianity. It's when laws were seperated from morals and reason became about the is instead of ought, as he put it. And to cap it off for controversies, and most surprising to the unintiated, the author is a Canadian christian who says he'd much prefer to live under sharia law, than the current system, also for reasons all broken down in The Impossible State.

This is just a very brief summary of what gets talked about, and I'm not at all an expert on the subject so I may have misinterpreted something here, it's a very nuanced topic that shouldn't be reduced to this comment in the first place, because it'll probably get misunderstood anyways for being insert stupid political label here.

sounds interesting! CS Lewis' The Abolition of Man covers the same central idea: when we separate laws from an objective moral system the laws will become tyrannical. When we separate ourselves from a transcendent human identity, we become animals.

 

[O-N-E]

The books more or less crap on every facet of modern living with good reasons; the modern nation state as an inherently immoral body of governance, European colonialism and all that resulted from it, first highlighting how it's different and much more destructive than any other forms of colonialism that precede it, and further stating this one is not just about muh strong vs weak or they would've done the same if they had the weapons/technology. And other high level critiques of secularism, capitalism, materialism, all 4 sides of the political compass and basically almost everything else about modernity, which doesn't just mean recency and that it's always objectively the best time for humanity to live and everything before is terrible, outdated, bigotted etc, no, the author says; it's a specific manufactured phenomenon and a point in time that started with the enlightenment and the death of the already diseased and troubled European christianity. It's when laws were seperated from morals and reason became about the is instead of ought, as he put it. And to cap it off for controversies, and most surprising to the unintiated, the author is a Canadian christian who says he'd much prefer to live under sharia law, than the current system, also for reasons all broken down in The Impossible State. Restating Orientalism further argues that academia is more or less complicit in modern froms of colonialism and violence, I'm not done with that one so I don't have much to add about it.

This is just a very brief summary of what gets talked about, and I'm not at all an expert on the subject so I may have misinterpreted something here, it's a very nuanced topic that shouldn't be reduced to this comment in the first place, because it'll probably get misunderstood anyways for being insert stupid political label here.

Yeah, I mean.. wanting to take over the world is globalism. Doesn't matter if you believe you're bringing civilization to barbarians or w/e. It's evil.

And unrestrained capitalism will easily bring about the standard noble and peasant class system.

We're not operating under ideal policies. Far from it.

Although I'm not even close to being an expert on the subject. I'll check this out.

 

[Spiders]

The books more or less crap on every facet of modern living with good reasons; the modern nation state as an inherently immoral body of governance, European colonialism and all that resulted from it, first highlighting how it's different and much more destructive than any other forms of colonialism that precede it, and further stating this one is not just about muh strong vs weak or they would've done the same if they had the weapons/technology. And other high level critiques of secularism, capitalism, materialism, all 4 sides of the political compass and basically almost everything else about modernity, which doesn't just mean recency and that it's always objectively the best time for humanity to live and everything before is terrible, outdated, bigotted etc, no, the author says; it's a specific manufactured phenomenon and a point in time that started with the enlightenment and the death of the already diseased and troubled European christianity. It's when laws were seperated from morals and reason became about the is instead of ought, as he put it. And to cap it off for controversies, and most surprising to the unintiated, the author is a Canadian christian who says he'd much prefer to live under sharia law, than the current system, also for reasons all broken down in The Impossible State. Restating Orientalism further argues that academia is more or less complicit in modern froms of colonialism and violence, I'm not done with that one so I don't have much to add about it.

This is just a very brief summary of what gets talked about, and I'm not at all an expert on the subject so I may have misinterpreted something here, it's a very nuanced topic that shouldn't be reduced to this comment in the first place, because it'll probably get misunderstood anyways for being insert stupid political label here.

I've been reading and listening to a lot of stuff about colonialism the last 6 months and while I don't know much, I know I don't trust the "European colonialism was particularly evil" narrative. I'd be doing a lot of fact checking and cross-referencing if/when I check this out. It does sound very interesting!

Also, I am the sole male in a workplace with 6 women. I think about if we'd be better off under Sharia every day of my life.

 

[Rock And Roll]

Re-reading The Glory Of Their Times by Lawrence S Ritter, third time through the book. It's one of my all time favorites. It's a book about the early days of baseball (early 20th century) with interviews of players. You don't have to be a baseball fan to find it fascinating, it really tells us the story of a simpler time when athletes were not celebrated by society but they were seen as bums. Before free agency and mega contracts, athletes barely made any money (save for the few big stars), there were no fancy hotel rooms for them or team busses. They stayed in dingy hotels on the road and rode in shoddy train cars. The men interviewed are incredibly intelligent and it's interesting to read several players reminisce about the same event. They have different perspectives, different memories and different feelings towards the exact same play. Their personalities really come through the pages, as it was transcribed word for word from tape interviews with the author. Highly recommend this book to anyone who digs old stuff.

 

[Pyrate]

sounds interesting! CS Lewis' The Abolition of Man covers the same central idea: when we separate laws from an objective moral system the laws will become tyrannical. When we separate ourselves from a transcendent human identity, we become animals.

Yeah that's definitely one of the biggest aspects here, and it's a really good response to the "well today's science is the most advanced and medicine and better life expectancy..." etc crowd; while all that may be true, but at what cost? immoral advancement can only get you so far until it actually becomes destructive again. The atomic bomb, identity politics, the many causes of environmental destruction and much more. Sooner or later, it will catch on to us and we will pay the price.

Yeah, I mean.. wanting to take over the world is globalism. Doesn't matter if you believe you're bringing civilization to barbarians or w/e. It's evil.

And unrestrained capitalism will easily bring about the standard noble and peasant class system.

We're not operating under ideal policies. Far from it.

Although I'm not even close to being an expert on the subject. I'll check this out.

I'm no expert either like I said, but yeah a lot of these observations aren't novel of course, we all do know about this and that, but I do think the author struck gold in grouping all these issues and finding the main source, which is the modern nation state and how governments are run (which is the main topic keep in mind), and pinpointing when, where and how it started, and its negative effects that are becoming too great to ignore recently in my opinion.

I've been reading and listening to a lot of stuff about colonialism the last 6 months and while I don't know much, I know I don't trust the "European colonialism was particularly evil" narrative. I'd be doing a lot of fact checking and cross-referencing if/when I check this out. It does sound very interesting!

I'll be very surprised if you managed to find anything that would argue in good faith European colonialism wasn't particularly evil, or the worst kind. But do let me know what you find. the Chinese had a 500 year headstart on Europeans with gunpowder, guns and rockets, but they didn't use those to dominate the world and commit multiple genocides as we know them today, in The Impossible State, the author argues there's a clear ideological distinction between European colonialism and all the wars and conquests that came before it, I particularly like his assessment of internal colonialism and destruction of the inner self that the Europeans used; "we don't have to annihilate all the Indians if they start thinking like us" among many other examples and references.

 

[Spiders]

Yeah that's definitely one of the biggest aspects here, and it's a really good response to the "well today's science is the most advanced and medicine and better life expectancy..." etc crowd; while all that may be true, but at what cost? immoral advancement can only get you so far until it actually becomes destructive again. The atomic bomb, identity politics, the many causes of environmental destruction and much more. Sooner or later, it will catch on to us and we will pay the price.



I'm no expert either like I said, but yeah a lot of these observations aren't novel of course, we all do know about this and that, but I do think the author struck gold in grouping all these issues and finding the main source, which is the modern nation state and how governments are run (which is the main topic keep in mind), and pinpointing when, where and how it started, and its negative effects that are becoming too great to ignore recently in my opinion.



I'll be very surprised if you managed to find anything that would argue in good faith European colonialism wasn't particularly evil, or the worst kind. But do let me know what you find. the Chinese had a 500 year headstart on Europeans with gunpowder, guns and rockets, but they didn't use those to dominate the world and commit multiple genocides as we know them today, in The Impossible State, the author argues there's a clear ideological distinction between European colonialism and all the wars and conquests that came before it, I particularly like his assessment of internal colonialism and destruction of the inner self that the Europeans used; "we don't have to annihilate all the Indians if they start thinking like us" among many other examples and references.

This is the article by Bruce Gilly "The Case for Colonialism", which later he fleshed out into a book (I haven't read yet). He also has a bunch of YT vids of lectures. It's absolutely done in good faith. The worst you can throw at his work is that there is not a lot of "primary source" accounts from the 'colonized', but that's why I think there's a ton of Marxist revisionism filling in the gaps that we have all taken for granted as real history.

The Case for Colonialism by Bruce Gilley | NAS

www.nas.org

China invented gunpowder, but didn't have the steel or metallurgy for guns, or the external threats to drive advance their war tech at a pace with Europe.

This is just my own take (but supported by Gilly's work and Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel) but I think just as "history is written by the winners", the counter narrative is written by the losers, and it's all explained in ideological terms.

In reality, the maize/corn crop is the number one colonizing lifeform on this planet, but nobody is trying to attribute motive or malice to the numbers of displacements and genocides it's committed in the plant kingdom.

I think it's easier to think of these things in terms of technology. Sure, China didn't perfect the rifle, but why didn't they explore East? Why didn't they establish trade with the Americas? Because of their ideology? Or because they didn't have the seafaring technology? Or because their poor navigation skills wasted a lot of shipbuilding resources so "Confucius said" not to build ships with more than two masts at the same time Europe entered the Age of Exploration? Their ideology conformed to the technology, not the other way around.

A great book called "Science Since Babylon" goes into detail of the "maths race" of the dominant cultures of antiquity and it explains why 1) all advancements are not equal and 2) why "Europeans" were the ones who put it all together first.

I think to say European colonization was particularly evil, you have to compare it counterfactual examples, because once the technology comes into being, it's coming for everyone. If the Muslim world or the Chinese had the guns, the ships, and the navigation first, do we really think it would have been "less evil" than the European expansion? Based on the example from the real world, like the Muslim slave trade, I don't know why that would be the case.

If it's not already tl;dr, "we don't have to annihilate x if they start thinking like us" isn't exclusive to Europeans. That's practically the pre-condition of all conflict, and enshrined in every proselytizing religion.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Short and sweet text. I have enjoyed it so far.

 

[Spiders]

Short and sweet text. I have enjoyed it so far.

Have you read the Corpus Hermeticum as well?

 

[Pyrate]

This is the article by Bruce Gilly "The Case for Colonialism", which later he fleshed out into a book (I haven't read yet). He also has a bunch of YT vids of lectures. It's absolutely done in good faith. The worst you can throw at his work is that there is not a lot of "primary source" accounts from the 'colonized', but that's why I think there's a ton of Marxist revisionism filling in the gaps that we have all taken for granted as real history.

The Case for Colonialism by Bruce Gilley | NAS

www.nas.org

Oh boy, I didn't intend on this to steer into full on discussion about European history, but I kind of deserve it for not properly explaining what I was originally going with. I read about half of this piece from Bruce Gilly, I'll just say I can see some of the points raised, all things considered, and as he says, not all forms of colonialism are inherently the same or destructive, and that's why I mentioned it in my initial comments, I mentioned European colonialism specifically for what it introduced to the modern world we have today, you could say that's my biggest critique of it ,for now, irrelevant to the much bigger topic of its epistemology outside of its effect in conceptualizing the basis for the modern state, the main topic at hand here.

I think it's easier to think of these things in terms of technology. Sure, China didn't perfect the rifle, but why didn't they explore East? Why didn't they establish trade with the Americas? Because of their ideology? Or because they didn't have the seafaring technology? Or because their poor navigation skills wasted a lot of shipbuilding resources so "Confucius said" not to build ships with more than two masts at the same time Europe entered the Age of Exploration? Their ideology conformed to the technology, not the other way around.

I agree that ideology brings about the technology of course, that's why based on my limited knowledge of the Chinese history, they choose not to dominate the world because they were more interested in furthering their dynasty(s) to be self sufficient. I'll only address Muslims here as that's what I know the most about, but Muslims throughout history or back when they gave a shit, would only further their knowledge and advance in science for their spiritual goals of getting closer to and understanding the creator, never it was for a materialistic reason such as gaining more power or resources etc.

A great book called "Science Since Babylon" goes into detail of the "maths race" of the dominant cultures of antiquity and it explains why 1) all advancements are not equal and 2) why "Europeans" were the ones who put it all together first.

This looks interesting, and I'm seeing many points raised here at least in the preface, that are very similar to what is discussed in The Impossible State.

If it's not already tl;dr, "we don't have to annihilate x if they start thinking like us" isn't exclusive to Europeans. That's practically the pre-condition of all conflict, and enshrined in every proselytizing religion.

in The Impossible State, the author postulates it explicitly started with the Europeans, at least the kind that's present with us in our time, and this goes back to what I mentioned earlier about the technologies of the self, or the lack of them ever since the rise of the state as the totalitarian, central domain.

I think to say European colonization was particularly evil, you have to compare it counterfactual examples, because once the technology comes into being, it's coming for everyone. If the Muslim world or the Chinese had the guns, the ships, and the navigation first, do we really think it would have been "less evil" than the European expansion? Based on the example from the real world, like the Muslim slave trade, I don't know why that would be the case.

Fair enough, getting to the bottom of this would require a whole evening or 10, and this isn't the intended discussion. The whole slave trade thing is a whole can of worms on its own, I mean, we will have to take the whole subject into consideration: Arabic, Jewish, African, Catholic, Portuguese, Spanish, the whole world was a slave trade. There were Black people and tribes in America that owned slaves. It sucked for all of us. I can see how this can equate to if all colonialism is the same/European colonialism wasn't that bad question but I think it's clear that it isn't the case at all.

Like I said, this would be a much much larger separate discussion that I should've worded my comment properly as to not fall into, but nonetheless, I'm thinking of getting more books for the subject as I do find it interesting.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Have you read the Corpus Hermeticum as well?

I have. Also the emerald tablet and the Kybalion of course.

 

[Spiders]

I have. Also the emerald tablet and the Kybalion of course.

All my knowledge of Hermes Trismegistus is from Terrence McKenna lectures and YT videos. Would you recommend a reading order?

 

[Spiders]

Oh boy, I didn't intend on this to steer into full on discussion about European history, but I kind of deserve it for not properly explaining what I was originally going with. I read about half of this piece from Bruce Gilly, I'll just say I can see some of the points raised, all things considered, and as he says, not all forms of colonialism are inherently the same or destructive, and that's why I mentioned it in my initial comments, I mentioned European colonialism specifically for what it introduced to the modern world we have today, you could say that's my biggest critique of it ,for now, irrelevant to the much bigger topic of its epistemology outside of its effect in conceptualizing the basis for the modern state, the main topic at hand here.



I agree that ideology brings about the technology of course, that's why based on my limited knowledge of the Chinese history, they choose not to dominate the world because they were more interested in furthering their dynasty(s) to be self sufficient. I'll only address Muslims here as that's what I know the most about, but Muslims throughout history or back when they gave a shit, would only further their knowledge and advance in science for their spiritual goals of getting closer to and understanding the creator, never it was for a materialistic reason such as gaining more power or resources etc.



This looks interesting, and I'm seeing many points raised here at least in the preface, that are very similar to what is discussed in The Impossible State.



in The Impossible State, the author postulates it explicitly started with the Europeans, at least the kind that's present with us in our time, and this goes back to what I mentioned earlier about the technologies of the self, or the lack of them ever since the rise of the state as the totalitarian, central domain.



Fair enough, getting to the bottom of this would require a whole evening or 10, and this isn't the intended discussion. The whole slave trade thing is a whole can of worms on its own, I mean, we will have to take the whole subject into consideration: Arabic, Jewish, African, Catholic, Portuguese, Spanish, the whole world was a slave trade. There were Black people and tribes in America that owned slaves. It sucked for all of us. I can see how this can equate to if all colonialism is the same/European colonialism wasn't that bad question but I think it's clear that it isn't the case at all.

Like I said, this would be a much much larger separate discussion that I should've worded my comment properly as to not fall into, but nonetheless, I'm thinking of getting more books for the subject as I do find it interesting.

Nah, I'm here for the cans of worms! If anything, going on your own it's way too easy to get a narrow POV. Not only would I never have heard of The Impossible State, I never would have considered it out of reflex if it was recommended by an upstanding D-pad Denizen like yourself

 

[Haxan7]

I've been learning about real estate investing. I'm planning to buy another house and rent my current in the next 6-12 months.

I just finished this one:

And started these 2:

 

[Adam Warlock]

All my knowledge of Hermes Trismegistus is from Terrence McKenna lectures and YT videos. Would you recommend a reading order?

Start with the emerald tablet which you can read anywhere for free, I like Isaac Newton's translation.

Then it's pretty much just this, then Asclepius: The Perfect Discourse of Hermes Trismegistus.

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

The Kybalion you can read before or after, it's more inspired by Hermes Trismegistus.

Amazon.com

I'll give you an excerpt from the perfect discourse to give you an idea of what kind of reading it is:
"...pure philosophy, which depends only on reverence for God, should attend to these other subjects just sufficiently to marvel at the knowledge that the heavenly bodies return regularly to the same predetermined positions, and that the course of their orbits is obedient to number. Philosophy should come to know the dimensions, qualities and quantities of the earth, the depths of the sea, the capacity of fire and the effects and nature of all these thing sin order to admire, revere and praise the divine artistry and intelligence. To understand music is to comprehend the arrangment of all things, which is determined by divine proportion. By this proportion, which comes from the Supreme Artist, the arrangement of all individual things is transmuted into one which gives rise to the most beautiful and true harmony in the divine song." Excerpt from the Perfect Discourse of Hermes Trismegistus

I read quite a bit of occult philosophy, general philosophy, the mysteries and esotericism, religious history, religious texts, etc.

This is probably my next read:

 

[Spiders]

Start with the emerald tablet which you can read anywhere for free, I like Isaac Newton's translation.

Then it's pretty much just this, then Asclepius: The Perfect Discourse of Hermes Trismegistus.

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

The Kybalion you can read before or after, it's more inspired by Hermes Trismegistus.

Amazon.com

I'll give you an excerpt from the perfect discourse to give you an idea of what kind of reading it is:
"...pure philosophy, which depends only on reverence for God, should attend to these other subjects just sufficiently to marvel at the knowledge that the heavenly bodies return regularly to the same predetermined positions, and that the course of their orbits is obedient to number. Philosophy should come to know the dimensions, qualities and quantities of the earth, the depths of the sea, the capacity of fire and the effects and nature of all these thing sin order to admire, revere and praise the divine artistry and intelligence. To understand music is to comprehend the arrangment of all things, which is determined by divine proportion. By this proportion, which comes from the Supreme Artist, the arrangement of all individual things is transmuted into one which gives rise to the most beautiful and true harmony in the divine song." Excerpt from the Perfect Discourse of Hermes Trismegistus

I read quite a bit of occult philosophy, general philosophy, the mysteries and esotericism, religious history, religious texts, etc.

This is probably my next read:

Appreciate it thank you!
I'm grabbing this: https://www.amazon.com/Emerald-Tablet-Hermes-Trismegistus/dp/1603866140
Getting off the e-reading and buying physical again.

Reading The Upanishads now in the mornings and this'll slot in next.

 

[Spiders]

I've been learning about real estate investing. I'm planning to buy another house and rent my current in the next 6-12 months.

I just finished this one:

And started these 2:

Maybe get this book too: https://shepherd.com/book/migration-squatting-and-radical-autonomy
...and a gun.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Appreciate it thank you!
I'm grabbing this: https://www.amazon.com/Emerald-Tablet-Hermes-Trismegistus/dp/1603866140
Getting off the e-reading and buying physical again.

Reading The Upanishads now in the mornings and this'll slot in next.

Ah I enjoyed the Upanishads, just finished them a few months ago.
That's the version of the emerald tablet I have, it's a super thin book but has like 8 translations in there.

 

[Arkam]

Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden

This one took a while to get through due to work. But I am glad I kept muscling on. I am very familiar with the Ridley Scott film that is based upon this book (and LOVE it!), so the material was not entirely novel. However there is a lot more story here that Scott didnt include, better context for why the UN stuck their dick in Somalia, the event prior that led the men to make some dumb choices on this mission and the worst part... all the grieving loved ones after. Those pages were the hardest. Would sometimes put it down after just reading a couple. These were real human beings who dies and left a scar on so many lives.

I know I know, BHD is not about feelings its about an eruption of violence. And damn was it just as enthralling to read as it was to watch. ~300 pages of the book was the start of the mission til they are saved by the multi-national force. I have to re-watch the film, but they seemed pretty close. Makes me appreciate the film even more.

Overall a fantastic account of a US military combat engagement for the ages and real gut check. 99 US top tier soldiers vs thousands upon thousands of Somali. A modern day Rorke's Drift.

 

[Kadayi]

Presently on Throy, the 3rd book of Jack Vances Cadwal Chronicles. Although I didn't initially gel with the series as the narrative in the first book seemed to be all over the place (partly a result of it being a 500-page behemoth, which being as I bought it on the Kindle wasn't obvious), it did eventually all come together and make for a compelling read once the true nature of the storyline came to the fore versus the seeming boy overcomes personal obstacles narrative it initially present. Once it had got its hooks into me I then plowed through the second book in the series Ecce and Old Earth which was quite entertaining as it split its attention between two protagonists each coming together to foil the machinations of powerful forces eager to undermine the fabric of the planet Cadwal as a protected nature reserve.

The third book deals with the aftermath and consequences of the outcome of the second book, and the eventual fate of Cadwal . Although I'm very much enjoying it, esp when it comes to the comeuppance of certain miscreants, I'm also sad that the story is coming to an end and with it the adventures of the protagonists whom I've grown rather fond of, as well as the colorful cast of characters that surround them.

I think as far as Jack Vance series goes, this is likely one that much like the Dying Earth books I will likely end up revisiting down the road, especially given that there is a large aspect of mystery to events throughout which I put down to Vance having also dabbled in mystery/crime writing under the group pseudonym of Ellery Queen, bringing his two passions together. If you've read any Vance before then you'd probably like it. Gritty Sci-fi it most certainly isn't, however at the same time subject matter-wise wise it certainly doesn't shy away from human ugliness though not in a salacious fashion.

 

[Arkam]

The Book of Honor by Ted Gup

An interesting book that a friend gave me a handful of years ago and just got to it. Its basically the untold stories of a dozen or so CIA agents who died in the line of duty. On the one hand you are impressed by how brave (and badass) many of these people are...but then you are also disgusted with what they were doing in the name of country. And it feels even more gross when you read the lengths the US govt will go to not acknowledge your loved ones who sacrificed. They will pay you off for sure, but swear you to silence in perpetuity. Oh and they will also threaten, stalk and harass you if even think about stepping a toe out of line.

The names cover the period from right after WW2 (Pre CIA) through the early 90's. It paints a clear picture that the CIA was involved in most theaters of the world. From the Chinese revolution, to the bay of pigs to Iran Contra....and everything in between.

Overall a decent read. Very much written like an academic story with little to no flourishment. Just one story (or set of stories) of a CIA agents career after another. If you know little about US clandestine work, it will be illuminating. If you are familiar it simply adds additional details and perspectives.

 

[regawdless]

Always super weird when the kindle ebook is 5 bucks more expensive than the real book including shipping cost. What are we even doing guys.

 

[XOR]

will soon read the singularity is nearer

 

[fragbro12]

I'm almost done with Special Topics In Calamity Physics (Marisha Pessl)

It's really good and is a mix of a Coming of Age mixed with a murder mystery. I'll be able to finish it by tomorrow night

My next book is gonna to be The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier And Clay (Micheal Chabon)

After I finish Calamity Physics, I'm going to catch up on this manga The Ancient Magus Bride. Great manga and still ongoing. I'm around 28 Chapters in

My next manga is most likely gonna be Blame!

Also Golden Kamuy is one of the manga I'm reading this year too. Heard lot of great things

 

[Rock And Roll]

I'm almost done with Special Topics In Calamity Physics (Marisha Pessl)

It's really good and is a mix of a Coming of Age mixed with a murder mystery. I'll be able to finish it by tomorrow night

My next book is gonna to be The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier And Clay (Micheal Chabon)

After I finish Calamity Physics, I'm going to catch up on this manga The Ancient Magus Bride. Great manga and still ongoing. I'm around 28 Chapters in

My next manga is most likely gonna be Blame!

Also Golden Kamuy is one of the manga I'm reading this year too. Heard lot of great things

I read Kavalier and Clay many years ago. It was an enjoyable read, though I don't remember a whole lot about it.

 

[fragbro12]

I read Kavalier and Clay many years ago. It was an enjoyable read, though I don't remember a whole lot about it.

I finished Special Topics In Calamity Physics yesterday. Great book but by the last part I just felt it went on for too long. The main plot doesn't actually start until the last part in the book. The book is good but it's more of a Coming of Age story

For this year, what I'm reading book wise in this order

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier And Clay by Micheal Chabon

The Talisman/Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub

Blackwater by Micheal McDowell

Fire & Blood by George R R Martin

Shogun by James Clavell

Those are the main books I'm reading this year. If I'm able to, the other books I'm going to read are

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

The King In Yellow by Robert W Chambers

Great North Road by Peter F Hamilton

Book 2/3 of The Silo Trilogy by Hugh Howey

The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn

The Sprawl Trilogy by William Gibson

Rendezvous With Rama Series by Arthur C Clarke

The Wind Through The Keyhole By Stephen King

The Children of Time Trilogy by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Yeah still alot but those are the books that I'm going to try to finish this year

For 2025 these are the definites

Malazan Series, even the extra side content, so instead of 9 books, it'll be 21 books I'll be reading through next year

The Commonwealth Saga, I need a Hard Sci Fi book series to get through for 2025 so this sounds like my cup of tea

The Expanse, I heard alot of good things about this series so I'm looking forward to reading this for next year

Suneater Series scratches that Sci Fi Fantasy itch I've been having

Horror wise, Clive Barkers Book of Blood series is just a collection of his short stories/novellas. There's a total of six books. I only read The Hellbound Heart which I loved. I try to read more than Stephen King when it comes to horror since he monopolizes the horror genre. I love King but would rather expand my authors when it comes to horror especially

So yeah lot of books I'm going to be reading in the next couple of years

Also my 2024 plans I realistically expect to get through 10 to 20 more books in that read list..

 

[Calcium]

Malazan Series, even the extra side content, so instead of 9 books, it'll be 21 books I'll be reading through next year

 

[O-N-E]

The poor bastard.

 

[Calcium]

The poor bastard.

Haha. Shame you didn't stick with it after the first one. It's an amazing series, I was really happy about how it all came together in the end.

 

[O-N-E]

Haha. Shame you didn't stick with it after the first one. It's an amazing series, I was really happy about how it all came together in the end.

I was in the middle of the second one which had all the same problems as the first and drifted on to different books. Mostly old fantasies like Earthsea and Broken Sword. Currently on Count of Monte Cristo.

 

[fragbro12]

I was in the middle of the second one which had all the same problems as the first and drifted on to different books. Mostly old fantasies like Earthsea and Broken Sword. Currently on Count of Monte Cristo.

I love Earthsea. I grew up reading those Books when I was in highschool

 

[O-N-E]

I love Earthsea. I grew up reading those Books when I was in highschool

It was aight.

I could see which aspects of it influenced some better books down the line.

 

[Calcium]

Mostly old fantasies like Earthsea and Broken Sword. Currently on Count of Monte Cristo.

I love Earthsea. I grew up reading those Books when I was in highschool

I tried to start Earthsea last month, but I made the mistake of reading the introduction from the author and she said something about not knowing how to write a female character until she discovered feminism. Kind of killed my enthusiasm to embark on the journey, but I'll give it another shot in the future.

Hoping to start the First Law trilogy this weekend.

 

[O-N-E]

I tried to start Earthsea last month, but I made the mistake of reading the introduction from the author and she said something about not knowing how to write a female character until she discovered feminism. Kind of killed my enthusiasm to embark on the journey, but I'll give it another shot in the future.

Hoping to start the First Law trilogy this weekend.

I like First Law overall. Looking forward to what comes next.

IMO the best entries have consistently been the third ones for each set. Last Argument, Red Country, Wisdom of Crowds.

 

[Calcium]

I like First Law overall. Looking forward to what comes next.

IMO the best entries have consistently been the third ones for each set. Last Argument, Red Country, Wisdom of Crowds.

I've heard great things, but I've DNF'd the first book twice now after a few pages because Abercrombie's prose is a little clunky, which usually isn't something I critique. I handed the book to my wife and she said the same thing after reading a bit though. I've decided to power through and see what everyone is raving about.

 

[O-N-E]

I've heard great things, but I've DNF'd the first book twice now after a few pages because Abercrombie's prose is a little clunky, which usually isn't something I critique. I handed the book to my wife and she said the same thing after reading a bit though. I've decided to power through and see what everyone is raving about.

That's interesting.. I didn't really have that problem. A strong point in his writing is that he's pretty good at writing a funny dark scene. Part of the reason why Glokta is many people's favourite character.

 

[Calcium]

That's interesting.. I didn't really have that problem. A strong point in his writing is that he's pretty good at writing a funny dark scene. Part of the reason why Glokta is many people's favourite character.

Yeah, I've heard he's good at characterization and dialogue which is why I'm determined to give it another shot.

 

[fragbro12]

Special Topics In Calamity Physics: A- (Marisha Pessl, 514 Pages)

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier And Clay: A+ (Michael Chabon, 678 Pages)

Right now I'm 405 Pages into The Talisman By Stephen King and Peter Straub (Out of 923 Pages)

So far I'm enjoying this book alot. It's a bloody good time so far. It an urban fantasy


One of my favorite parts of The Talisman so far is when Jack and his Werewolf friend (his friend is half transformed) go to the theater. His Werewolf friend is from another parallel world. Werewolves world is basically an underdeveloped world and more medieval setting. So he comes over and Jack decides to show him a movie at a theater so hijinks ensure with his reaction to everything and peoples getting afraid of him at the theater because of what he looks like

80s Stephen King on drugs is a trip is all I'm going to say


I might be able to finish this book this weekend

My next books

Black House By Stephen King and Peter Straub (833 Pages)

Revival by Stephen King (404 Pages)

Blackwater by Micheal McDowell (774 Pages)

 

[J-Roderton]

Canterbury Tales. Never read the whole thing.

 

[Arkam]

The Great Awakening by Alex Jones

Finished up The Great Awakening a few days back. Was a good read. Would probably be a Great read for a normy who hasnt taken the red pill and gone down the rabbit hole yet. But for those who have, the sections on Covid will feel like they drag on too long. But I absolutely loved the section where he makes the case that Bill Barr is an Intelligence asset. Its a damn strong case IMO. And wow was the Epstein section illuminating! Some wild stuff there. I also thoroughly enjoyed Jones talking about his time being part of Hollywood and finding out how disgusting they actually were.

So again, a great book to give someone who's head has been in the sand the last 20 years, but might be slightly remedial for the average InfoWarrior. IMO it was a better read that The Great Reset... which was also full of goodies.

PS - This was the signed copy of the book I got a while back when I wanted to throw Alex a few extra bones. Still happy with that decision.

 

[Grinchy]

Yes, I know I've already reached my 40th birthday and I'm reading a comic book, and yes I find that odd too, but I'm really enjoying it so far.

I like the way the comics are handling the story better than the way the show handled certain aspects. The show really sparked my imagination and I really liked it, but the "current day modern audience" shit became glaring after reading the source material.

The show does do other things that I like more, but I'm also only like 40% of the way through this first compendium. One of my favorite characters, "The Mauler Twins," doesn't have much of a presence yet in the comic while the show pushed more of them earlier on. There are little changes like that.