#300 Dec 05, 2024, 04:07 PM Last Edit: Dec 05, 2024, 04:11 PM by Lisnaholic
Quote from: Meatwad on Dec 04, 2024, 01:11 PMMind Your Brain - Dr Kailas Roberts (book on dementia)
Good Arguments - Bo Seo
Win Every Argument - Mehdi Hasan
Indistractable - Nir Eyal
Declutter Your Life - Gil Hasson
Speak With Impact - Alison Shapira
Sand Talk - Tyson Yunkaporta
Passing Exams for Dummies - Patrick Sherratt (quite a bit better than I was expecting)
Chaos Kings - Scott Patterson

^ Judging by the titles alone, it looks like you enjoy reading books aiming at self-improvement.

Quote from: SGR on Dec 01, 2024, 07:40 PMI guess I'm the opposite of you - I much prefer politics over the detail-ridden minutiae of long military campaigns. The longest book on purely politics I think I've ever read was Richard Nixon's Memoir, which clocked it in at a cool 1,111 pages. I somehow found time in college to read through it all - at points, it felt like a marathon sprint.  :laughing:

That said, I'll add that series to my list, as I do read books on military campaigns occasionally, though they usually are about WW2. :)

...the detail-ridden minutiae of...

:laughing: That's a great phrase - and it made me think immediately of Ten Days That Shook The World, which I found hugely disappointing. That book goes into endless details about Trotsky calling to order the first meeting of the Siberian Coal-Workers Union, and how they ratified the decision to support the First Soviet of Volga Farmworkers, but denounced the Kalingrad Oblast of Furnituremakers for disseminating pamphlets promoting bourgeios revisionism, etc, etc... You'd probably love it - and compared with a 1,111 pages on Nixon, you could breeze through it in an afternoon, I should think !

Plenty of politics in those Bruce Catton books, though often it's the politics of appointing this general/scapegoating that general. What made the book fascinating to me was how the fighting took place during a period of transition in the "art of warfare" and included both the old school of cavalry charges and the tactics of trench warfare, made infamous by WW I.

I hope you give his books a try and get caught up in drama of the conflict, just as I did. 



What you desire is of lesser value than what you have found.

Quote from: Lisnaholic on Dec 05, 2024, 04:07 PM^ Judging by the titles alone, it looks like you enjoy reading books aiming at self-improvement.

Hi Lis. Yes, quite a few there are of the pop psych ilk as they're the most accessible of the titles I've been chasing recently at my local library.

I have an extremely long list of books on various subjects geared to get me back into the habit of good studying habits, so that I can then think about going back to tertiary education soon. That is the plan at least lol.


^ Good for you, Meatwad ! I wonder what, specifically, you're planning to study ?

Two public libraries that I used to know well:-


( By amazing coincidence, I think that's ISB, standing on the right of the little group by the notice board !)

What you desire is of lesser value than what you have found.

^ They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but in this case that works to the book's disadvantage: I love the simple but unusual design and the grey colour, with a texture that I can almost feel from your photo, Quantum

What you desire is of lesser value than what you have found.

I wouldn't want to win every argument.

What if I'm wrong?


Quote from: Lisnaholic on Dec 24, 2024, 01:10 AM^ They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but in this case that works to the book's disadvantage: I love the simple but unusual design and the grey colour, with a texture that I can almost feel from your photo, Quantum
I didn't realize this post was about me  :-[

It's such a great book : )

I am going slowly, each section is 3-4 pages and it's been nice. I agree the design of artwork on the cover is cool. The texture of the book is great too


No probs, Quantum ! In fact, your post of the book has disappeared. ??? 

What you desire is of lesser value than what you have found.

#307 Jan 12, 2025, 05:05 PM Last Edit: Jan 25, 2025, 03:13 PM by QuantumSync
Quote from: Lisnaholic on Jan 12, 2025, 04:28 PMNo probs, Quantum ! In fact, your post of the book has disappeared. ??? 

I removed it but it's all clear now

Here is a picture now with your screenname in it lol



I've read 4 books on the Cuban revolution.

The 1st was the Autobiography of Fidel Castro.

It's more of a huge interview than a biography and you have to take what Fidel says with a grain of salt.

The 2nd was Cuba: An American History.

It covers the history of Cuba from the Spanish landing there to the beginning of Biden's presidency.

The 3rd was Cuba Libre: Che, Fidel & The Improbable Revolution That Changed World History.

This book focuses mainly on Guerilla War.

The 4th was Che.

This was a biography about Che Guavara, of course.


I have to say Che is one of my favorite political figures and somebody that I would consider a true socialist, if thar matters.

I do have a few criticisms though.

I think Cuba tried too hard to force socialization before industrializing. I think that if they would have opted for gradual change over sudden change it would have helped them industrialize their nation quicker. More importantly, breaking off US relations instead of exploiting them to industrialize the same way they tried to do with the Soviet Union would have helped, but I understand why they didn't.

They put way too much effort into sugar crops rather than diversifying their exports.

But hey, what do I know?

Che focused too much on spreading the revolution over fixing the revolution at home. If he had a little more patience and didn't try to force revolutions in countries that were not ready he would not have been killed.

Despite all the mistakes, Cuba has still accomplished many great things that makes me wonder where Cuba would be at if they weren't economically isolated.


#309 Feb 02, 2025, 10:03 PM Last Edit: Feb 02, 2025, 10:08 PM by Marie Monday
books I've read lately:
Charlotte Brontë - the professor: trash, honestly. A world of difference from Jane Eyre (it has some of its faults in common, but none of the charms). It's essentially a self-indulgent exercise in wishful thinking without any introspection.
Anthony Trollope - Barchester Towers: Lacks the refinement of Doctor Thorne (and other later books I guess) mostly because it suffers from some annoying affectations à la Dickens and its message is a bit muddled and inconsistent, but still very entertaining and solid. Some of the 'love scenes' between men and women are brilliant.
Sylvia Townsend Warner - Lolly Willowes: This was an absolute blast. I just wish it was developed more; it's novella-size but it gives a great perspective on feminism and human independence (and nature) which I think contains plenty of insights to fill a long novel. Wonderful and memorable as it is though. Recommend to @degrassi.knoll if she hasn't read it.
Goethe - Faust: Also great. Very imaginative, very trippy and funny, I had not expected that. I can't help but assume somewhere deep down that anything by Germans will be a bit humourless and pedantic, which is obvioulsy nonsense. Lots of allegorical meanings to it which are generally elegantly developed, you can puzzle them out as much as you like (which in my case means, as long as I understand the themes and general meaning I'm fine, I'm not willing to delve into which petty historical personage is portrayed where, like with the Divine Comedy, although I'm glad I looked up the fact that Goethe makes fun of some other writer he had beef with somewhere). Great fun. I read the prose translation by Barker Fairley though, which is not ideal; very readable, but so free and modernised that it feels more like reading an adaptation of Goethe than Goethe himself.
 
currently reading the master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, which is brilliant. Also very funny and imaginative, and sometimes straigt up scary. I don't know what's scarier, the spooky devilry or the doings of the Soviet regime. It reminds me a lot of Salman Rushdie: reflections on history, religion and philosophical themes hidden in a kind of humorous magical realism. Also funny that you can tell, despite those similarities, that the main influences here are probably the classic Russians rather than Victorians like Dickens. It also gave me a vivid nightmare about being an evil witch, 10/10

anyway lots of books about witches and devils lately, whatever that means


It means your ready to hail Satan.



Quote from: Marie Monday on Feb 02, 2025, 10:03 PMbooks I've read lately:
Charlotte Brontë - the professor: trash, honestly. A world of difference from Jane Eyre (it has some of its faults in common, but none of the charms). It's essentially a self-indulgent exercise in wishful thinking without any introspection.

I'm happy to read a criticism of a Brontë novel :thumb: I grew up in a family in which the Brontë sisters were revered, with books passed around and commented on, so aged about 17, almost as an obligation or a desire to join in, I read Wuthering Heights, but didn't like it. I could see that it was quite vivid and impactful, especially given its date (1847) but there was way to much romance, passion and melodrama for my liking. I wonder if this was the template for a zillion Victorian and Hollywood clichés about some romantic love, that becomes the unquestioned dynamic for the entire plot ? To me, that is such a tedious story-line.

QuoteAnthony Trollope - Barchester Towers: Lacks the refinement of Doctor Thorne (and other later books I guess) mostly because it suffers from some annoying affectations à la Dickens and its message is a bit muddled and inconsistent, but still very entertaining and solid. Some of the 'love scenes' between men and women are brilliant.

I tried one vol of the Barchester books, but I wasn't motivated to read another, although I was curious enough to read Trollope's An Autobiography, which tome was disappointing in a different way. I found that I couldn't get very interested in this guy who was a sedate, established author who took an almost businessman-like attitude to his craft:

"I have known authors whose lives have always been troublesome because their tasks have never been done on time...Publishers have distrusted them and they have failed to write their best...I have done double their work -though burdened with another profession- and have done it almost without an effort. I have not once, though my literary career, felt myself even in danger of being late with my task."
 
Well, good for you, you smug man !!

What you desire is of lesser value than what you have found.

To be fair, I think the other Brontë books I've read are brilliant despite their flaws. The professor is really an outlier.
I also think you're doing Trollope a bit of an injustice! He was a poor man who managed to successfully make a living from writing, I think it's fair that he was proud of that. And more importantly, in a time when writers and other artists were often narcissistic and pretentious about their profession (and they still are of course) I think it's refreshing to see artists who were conscious that art is also craft. Looking down on that, as people have done on Trollope, is a misunderstanding of art, I think


You make some very good points that I can't really argue with, Marie !

Quote from: Marie Monday on Feb 08, 2025, 07:40 PMTo be fair, I think the other Brontë books I've read are brilliant despite their flaws. The professor is really an outlier.

Yes, I shouldn't be lumping all the Brontë books together. I think I have only read the one, and luckily I did acknowledge that Wuthering Heights was a powerful book. If its main theme didn't appeal to my unromantic soul, or if it paved the way for a whole genre of romantic stories - well, that's more my problem than Emily Brontë's.

QuoteI also think you're doing Trollope a bit of an injustice! He was a poor man who managed to successfully make a living from writing, I think it's fair that he was proud of that. And more importantly, in a time when writers and other artists were often narcissistic and pretentious about their profession (and they still are of course) I think it's refreshing to see artists who were conscious that art is also craft. Looking down on that, as people have done on Trollope, is a misunderstanding of art, I think

Actually, after I posted my comments, I felt I was a bit harse on Trollope; out of context, I picked out one paragraph out of the thousands he must've written and used it to bash him down on a forum where he can't defend himself! Luckily he has you to fight on his behalf :thumb:
As you say, other people have also criticised him for on his workman-like approach, and your comments have motivated me to reread his autobiog. and perhaps this time I'll be more appreciative of him and his achievements. 

What you desire is of lesser value than what you have found.