What are y'all reading now?

[retrofit]

Originally Posted by Hilltopwalters

Currently, Debt: The first 5000 years by David Graeber and Technological Society by Jacques Ellul


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Wow, a blast from the past. I read Ellul's "Propaganda" as an undergrad as part of a Society and Mass Media class some 45 years ago--a class that was instrumental in my switching from a journalism major to a psychology major. In fact, I still have my original copy. As relevant today as it was back then.

[Hilltopwalters]

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

I got Technological Society in my read pile, how is it?

It is..interesting. Move it to the front of that pile. Especially important more now than ever. Most of my initial desire to read his work was born from Ellul being a massive influence on Ted Kaczynski. I’m reading it in part of a study of how environmental radicalism has developed and what it means in light of a society that envisions itself sometime in the future as being “environmentally friendly”. Ellul was quite prolific.

I’m almost finished with Debt and will have a better opinion on it when I actually finish and get a sense for what I think. I’ll keep ya updated.

But definitely read that Ellul book.


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[oldpotatoe]

"Hail Mary Project"..from same author who wrote 'The Martian'.
Andy Weir

Before that

"The Stars Now Unclaimed"-Drew Williams..great space opera...

[cruzoe]

Just started reading The Rider by Tim Krabbe (Goodreads).
Never raced my bike before so it's interesting to read what I've heard to be a classic bike book!

[bicycletricycle]

Ted is an interesting person.

Originally Posted by Hilltopwalters

It is..interesting. Move it to the front of that pile. Especially important more now than ever. Most of my initial desire to read his work was born from Ellul being a massive influence on Ted Kaczynski. I’m reading it in part of a study of how environmental radicalism has developed and what it means in light of a society that envisions itself sometime in the future as being “environmentally friendly”. Ellul was quite prolific.

I’m almost finished with Debt and will have a better opinion on it when I actually finish and get a sense for what I think. I’ll keep ya updated.

But definitely read that Ellul book.


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[redir]

I just finished this one. I don't think I ever read a book in so few sittings. This story was gripping and it's so much more than a story about a little girl who escapes an abusive family to go on to adulthood and get her PHD at Cambridge.

[Kirk007]

Just sitting down with. "Paris in the Present Tense" by Mark Helprin, who is easily. my favorite contemporary novelist.

[gdw]

I'm waiting for Afghan Endgames, Strategy and Policy Choices for America's Longest War, edited by Hy Rothstein and John Aquilla. I wonder if it will arrive before Kabul falls.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by redir

I just finished this one. I don't think I ever read a book in so few sittings. This story was gripping and it's so much more than a story about a little girl who escapes an abusive family to go on to adulthood and get her PHD at Cambridge.

Very good read.

[oliver1850]

I've been trying to work my way through some of the numerous books that I bought on closeout 20 years ago. The last one I read was Hemingway's "Across the River and into the Trees". I got through it but I didn't take away much for the effort.

I'm sure that I bought the Warhol book because of his association with the Velvet Underground. I'm only about 1/3 into it now and the VU are still in chapters unread, but it's been an interesting read.

[sjbraun]

This is an amazing story. Like you, I could hardly put it down. Of the five or six people I know who have read the book, they all feel the same way.

Originally Posted by redir

I just finished this one. I don't think I ever read a book in so few sittings. This story was gripping and it's so much more than a story about a little girl who escapes an abusive family to go on to adulthood and get her PHD at Cambridge.

[CZ413]

Originally Posted by d_douglas

I am reading ‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy - utterly bleak but amazing writing. It is not for thr faint of heart. I dont need that kind of apocalyptic thinking, but the quality of the craft is just too good to ignore.

Sorry for the late follow-up to this one. I’d actually argue that The Road is some of McCarthy’s lesser writing, purely from a prose standpoint — which means it’s better crafted than 99% of what’s out there, but not at his usual standard. (It’s certainly a compelling book, however — I read it in a few hours without really putting it down.) Outer Dark, Child of God, The Crossing, and his masterpiece, Blood Meridian, aren’t any less bleak than The Road, but might give you an even deeper appreciation for his work. All of his novels are well worth reading.

[kmla320]

The Immortal Irishman.

[reuben]

A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to its Legacy. Peter Kenez, 3rd edition.

He tries to start at the October 1917 revolution, which is a natural delimiter, but in order to do so has to backtrack to the February 1917 revolution, the end of the tsarist era, and the 1905 revolution. The third edition is updated to 2016, so includes Putin's second official stint.

Very readable - the pages are turning quickly. A good combination of facts and engaging description, without being either overly dry or unduly glossy.

https://www.amazon.com/History-Sovie...dp/1316506231/

[classtimesailer]

Just finished Soledad Brother. This country has been such a mess for so long. Day to day survival in the face of official government policy is a remarkable accomplishment for some "Americans".

https://www.amazon.com/Soledad-Broth.../dp/1556522304