7 books you will psyche on and should totally read: What Youth
Another great link Wilhelm. You might be surprised to know that I've taught out of the core books, intentionally.
If people were to ask where is a good place to start learning economics then I was going to link to the free core economics book The Economy.
I'd consider these books as very centre-left orthodox economics. They very much align with what I push for.
Maybe you won't like them now...!
Only comment I'd make is there's nothing new in them, just a nice arrangement of topics.
man, sticky territory, a novel with a writer as the protagonist.
I'd recommend the book I read with the kids a while ago, Bren Smith's Eat Like a Fish. Not an earth shattering book, but it's a weekend read, and does make you consider the idea of small-scale crofters having a go at vertical sea farming: growing seaweed towers that feed shellfish, and snicking various bounties from it to sell to local restaurants, etc.
Cormac mentioned above, read The Road this month after being ignorant of its existence. Was deeply moved by it.
The Road.
I N T E N S E
Had to take breaks while reading it. Like coming up for air (literally, not an Orwell ref)
Roystein wrote:Cormac mentioned above, read The Road this month after being ignorant of its existence. Was deeply moved by it.
Yep, a harrowing read but, for me at least, an uplifting one. Doesn't matter what happens in the future: asteroid strike, environmental collapse, a real virus, the goodwill of humans will prevail.
Is the fire real?
Yes it is.
Where is it? I don't know where it is.
Yes you do. It's inside you. It always was there.
I read it when it came out and enjoyed it. Read it again after my first son was born and it shook my world.
I don't know if I could read that book again.... especially as a father. reading that quote above just about floored me, just like the book did the first time I read it.
This talk about The Road has really piqued my interest.
I think I’ve seen the movie but I can’t really recall it.
etarip wrote:The Road.
I N T E N S EHad to take breaks while reading it. Like coming up for air (literally, not an Orwell ref)
i agree etarip. key segments at a time, pause, reflect, admire/be moved by the imprint it leaves, reset and go back in.
goofyfoot wrote:This talk about The Road has really piqued my interest.
I think I’ve seen the movie but I can’t really recall it.
Must be PTSD. There's a few scenes in the film that I wish I could forget.
I've not read any Cormac McCarthy yet, perhaps wary of how dystopian I'd find it. What's a good McCarthy starter kit for the timid?
Island Bay wrote:I've not read any Cormac McCarthy yet, perhaps wary of how dystopian I'd find it. What's a good McCarthy starter kit for the timid?
The Road is his only dystopian story. Most others are very traditional. In fact, The Road was an inversion all around. He usually conjures beautiful landscapes with elaborate sentence structures writing stories with violence at their core. Instead, The Road was grim and punctuated with very short sentences, as though the protagonists had no energy, but it has optimism at its core.
Starters? Any of The Border Trilogy - set in the US southwest border region - maybe begin with All The Pretty Horses and work through if you like it. Or perhaps Blood Meridian.
Keep in mind, he's an admirer of the US frontier and all the violence that happened there. He's a master stylist but all those novels mentioned are bloody.
Dont bother with his latest books, published just before he died. I've tried reading The Passenger but couldn't get into it.
Thank you, Stu.
I do enjoy the US frontier stuff, and thought it was brilliantly done in the film version of No Country for Old Men. Tommy Lee Jones was great, but I thought Bardem's killer was camp and overdone.
I shall go to our very good local library and start the journey.
IB - I reckon kick off with All The Pretty Horses or Old Country for Old Men. The first because it’s perhaps the more conventional novel and really highlights McCarthy’s incredible descriptive power. No Country because you might enjoy the comparison between the movie and the book. Subtly different but the Anton Chigur character is just so… malevolent…
But you can’t go wrong with either.
Blood Meridian is brutal and delves into the metaphysical. I love it but it’s hard going at times.
Edit: I’m going to summon up the courage and reread The Road.
Just finished Owen Wrights book. Surprisingly well written for a pro surfer (I suspected a ghost writer, but some of his expressions are perhaps a bit clumsy for it be written by a 'proper' author) ... nothing overly intellectual and a pretty easy book to get through. Definitely an inciteful and candid read and may help punters understand the entire Wright clan a little more. A fair bit on head trauma and some interesting insight into the mind / body connection. I had no idea of the challenges he overcame even after winning snapper. Grab a copy if you're interested.
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.