7 books you will psyche on and should totally read: What Youth
Forgot to add- haven't read 50 shades of grey and I can pretty much guarantee I wouldn't.
I didn't even know who E.L. James is.
"that romance is appealing because humans are at their most interesting in intimate situations."
what if they are not completely human?
https://www.amazon.com/Seduced-Doctor-Bigfoot-Attorney-Large-ebook/dp/B0...
https://www.amazon.com/Chuck-Tingle/e/B00SF2MTYK/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_...
If the internet could write romance...
Happy Hogmanay!
Just started "The Dawn of Everything" by Davod Graeber and David Wengrow. There has been a real buzz about this book which takes a very different view of the long history of humans on the planet based on the accumulated research of the last few decades. Not so much a critique of western civilisation as a demolition of its intellectual roots.
Yeah, BB...it's on my Xmas list.
Vale Graeber!
A personal and wide-ranging review of the book in question...sort of.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/12/08/marxism-anarchism-and-the-dawn-o...
'Execution Days: The Life and Times of Spencer P. Jones' is a new book by Patrick Emery which traces Spencer’s life, from his childhood in New Zealand through his evolution as a musician in Australia to his profound impact on those around him.
Based on over 150 interviews with Spencer and more than 150 family members, friends and bandmates, the book is also packed with a treasure trove of previously unseen photos."
Looking forward to reading that one Constance.
I think it may be in my Christmas stocking already.
Spencer with the Nothing has been known to blow my mind.
I just finished The Dawn Of Everything, so a few comments. First, it is a good read for anyone with an interest in prehistory or pre-european American cultures. It summarises decades of research that provide a more detailed and nuanced view than previously available to non-specialists. Second, it is not an unbiased interpretation of this material. As an activist for anarchist causes Graeber is clearly looking for evidence to support the view that humans, even in large numbers, do not need top down governance to live well.
The book starts with the claim that we are trapped in rigid top down states which depend on violence to maintain their authority. This violence is both internal through the police and judiciary and external through involvement in war. The point it then tries to make is that this was not inevitable and that we are capable of other kinds of arrangements. You can judge for yourself how successful these arguments are.
One of the book’s strongest points for me, is that it undermines the idea that humans were driven into agriculture by necessity. The research they quote demonstrates that the principles of agriculture and the knowledge necessary to implement it on a broad scale existed for thousands of years during which it was a supplement to foraging and hunting. Huge densely populated cities were built during this time. A further strong point is the wealth of cultural detail they include. The degree of human creativity revealed by this is inspirational and if it does not lead to anarchism, it should at least encourage deep thought about why the world is currently dominated by such powerful destructive cultures. It was not always so.
The premise was a dead give away of a bullshit book. I can’t believe you paid that grifter to promote his divisive hate speech rubbish.
Ha ha the literary critic who doesn't bother to read the book!
Sometimes you just know.
On a bit of a roll at the moment with holiday vibes providing some more time and space.
Dave Grohl’s The Storyteller - some interesting insight into one of the best musicians I believe of the last 20 years, pretty simply written but worth a look just for the anecdotes of who this bloke has crossed paths with during his life and the Kurt Cobain section was interesting. He also genuinely shares his gratitude for how music has allowed him to live his dream. P
Eddie Jaku - The Happiest Man on Earth. Please read this book. A remarkable story of a beautiful human and a reminder of love, humanity and friendships weaved against the backdrop of atrocity after atrocity. A stark reminder to be happy and have love in your heart. A book I am so grateful to have been gifted and one I will recommend to many.
I am also re-reading one of the key books from my childhood, The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. Love this book so much.
Have a look for 'A Pirate Of Exquisite Mind' by Diana and Michael Preston
The life of William Dampier - Explorer, Naturalist and Bucaneer
Amazing what this guy did and where he went , first person to circumnavigate the world multiple times, landed in WA 80years before Cook .
Total Hellman
Another one I just finished 'the Ghost & The Bounty Hunter' by Adam Courtenay (Bryce Courtenay,s son)
About William Buckley an escaped convict who lived with the Aboriginals of the Kulin nation around Geelong circa 1800 and John Batman who came to establish Melbourne circa 1835, very interesting.
I concur on the Dampier book mike. A great read.
I especially loved the 17th century advice for treatment of constipation which involved the use of a well oiled spoon.
Have you read any Simon Winchester?
I have just finished reading "Mans Search For Meaning" by Victor Frankl.
I am sure its been mentioned here but it was an astonishing read and highly recommended
I was taken by this in particular:
"After a while I proceeded to another
question, this time addressing myself to the
whole group. The question was whether an
ape which was being used to develop
poliomyelitis serum, and for this reason
punctured again and again, would ever be able
to grasp the meaning of its suffering.
Unanimously, the group replied that of
course it would not; with its limited
intelligence, it could not enter into the world
of man, i.e., the only world in which the
meaning of its suffering would be
understandable. Then I pushed forward
with the following question: "And what
about man? Are you sure that the human
world is a terminal point? in the evolution of the cosmos? Is it not
conceivable that there is still another
dimension, a world beyond man's world; a
world in which the question of an ultimate
meaning of human suffering would find an
answer?"
it's an epic book
Great recommendation mickseq.
Victor Frankl. Extraordinary book.
I’m going to reread my copy
blindboy wrote:I just finished The Dawn Of Everything, so a few comments. First, it is a good read for anyone with an interest in prehistory or pre-european American cultures. It summarises decades of research that provide a more detailed and nuanced view than previously available to non-specialists. Second, it is not an unbiased interpretation of this material. As an activist for anarchist causes Graeber is clearly looking for evidence to support the view that humans, even in large numbers, do not need top down governance to live.
Got it for Xmas BB. Looking forward to it, but first had to finish an excellent book called ‘Qanon, and on..’ by Van Badham. I’ll write up a review in the books section.
Blowin’s dismissal of a book he knows nothing about is highly insightful…. of Blowin.
Top down governance works, exactly, nowhere.
Really interested in it as a counterpoint to ‘Sapiens’, which I thought was fantastic at the time (it was) but this argues a whole other stream. Counter arguments to the existing hegemony isn’t a big attraction for some.
Graeber’s book ‘Bullshit jobs’ was just one of the best books I have read in a long time. He died last year, most unfortunate. A man who could look through the extant bullshit of our times with a clear eye.
"Bullshit jobs" let me guess a list of made up jobs in the government and businesses that mean absolutely nothing and how to qualify for these bullshit jobs?
Sounds like a great way to earn a lot more money than any tradie or pizza shop owner on footy night.
Heres one im about to read Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, ive been sent it by a tidy friend who recommended me this, he only recommends tidy books with great depth.So looking forward to reading it.
You'll love it. It's a great book.
etarip wrote:Great recommendation mickseq.
Victor Frankl. Extraordinary book.I’m going to reread my copy
are usually very pleased with the recommendations on here, my copy just turned up at the door (less than 24 hours after I ordered it no less).
Will have to finsih "Belonging" by Owen Eastwood first, a recommended read for anyone working with or leading other humans in teams.
I Just finished 'Out of the Forest' - the story of Geoffrey Peel Smith. Described on the cover as 'The true story of a recluse'. Some may be familiar with the story - it featured as an episode on Australian Story (ABC) sometime last year. An incredible story. Mostly how he survived the decade long self-imposed battering in the hills of Goonengerry, and to come out of that and slowly rebuild health and a meaningful connection with society. I wonder if any swellnetters in the Byron region may have encountered this man, probably wandering the roadside, drunk in a park, or sleeping on the beach. Anyway, it's a worthy read.
GreenJam wrote:I Just finished 'Out of the Forest' - the story of Geoffrey Peel Smith. Described on the cover as 'The true story of a recluse'. Some may be familiar with the story - it featured as an episode on Australian Story (ABC) sometime last year. An incredible story. Mostly how he survived the decade long self-imposed battering in the hills of Goonengerry, and to come out of that and slowly rebuild health and a meaningful connection with society. I wonder if any swellnetters in the Byron region may have encountered this man, probably wandering the roadside, drunk in a park, or sleeping on the beach. Anyway, it's a worthy read.
This sounds interesting, I’m going to check it out. Thanks
An interesting character to say the least.
https://libcom.org/library/b-traven-anti-biography?fbclid=IwAR3zvyE101sn...
Tried to read Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Reminded me of trying to read The Sound And The Fury by William Faulkner. Or of trying to drink some expensive bottle of wine that i was told was amazing, but it just is too much to be very drinkable, ya know? Had to work too hard to read those. Some of my faves are Animal Farm by George Orwell, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Man In The Grey Flannel Suit by Sloane Wilson, any short story by Shirley Jackson, any short story by Jack London, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson (for giggles), On The Road by Jack Kerouac.... Anything at all by John Steinbeck...... too many to mention em all.
Almost finished 'The Snowy' by Siobhan McHugh, originally published 1989, but reprinted for a 70th anniversary edition.
'The Snowy' is the Snowy Mountains Scheme, of course, first kicked off in 1949. Different times is an understatement; the sweep and scale of the Scheme will never, ever be replicated. It only got over the line by canny manouvering from scheme architect Nelson Lemmons who billed it as a national security project so the next incoming government couldn't scupper it - which they most surely would have.
In fact, Frank Packer's Daily Telegraph took regular potshots at the public money being wasted, should have been privatised or shut down etc etc so take heart that generations come and go but some things never change.
The book was written by an Irishwoman, which at first seems odd, yet as so much of the Scheme speaks to (or for) Australia's post-war changes, it helps to have someone culturally detached at the helm. Much to be said about our racial makeup, cultural flotsam, and the nature of work in post-war Australia.
Sounds good. I must read that.
The Snowy Mountain Scheme was an ecological disaster. Destroyed the Snowy, Murray and the Murrumbidgee rivers. Damaged the whole Murrumbidgee area.
For an account of the mountains before the rivers were dammed, Kiandra To Kosciusko by Klaus Hueneke is a great read.
Here's a list that gladdens. What Youth and "7 books you will psyche on and should totally read."
http://www.whatyouth.com/2014/02/14/radical-class-2/?id=16859
I often bemoan the fact that good writing is a dying art. It ain't necessarily true but it sometimes feels that way. The yoof, it always seemed to me, could buy a Canikon for a couple hunge, flood the 'net with images, and call 'emselves artists - easy! But unlike photography there's no shortcut to good writing: no autofocus, no colour correcting software - it's hard fucken work. And the first step toward it is to read lots and lots of great writers. So yeah, glad to see the yoof - What Yoof! - spruiking seven good books. Bit limited in scope and style but a good list nonetheless.