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[The Scrivener]

I just finished reading Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto (1991) about the modern mass schooling system. Five chapters based on essays and speeches he gave for various teacher of the year awards.

Starts off easy but gets very intense half way through. As a teacher myself, I kind of agree. His message is that we should abolish the system and go back to older ways of community education based on personal interest. How I agree, as I like my job, is that I believe learning starts with personal interest as a main motivator, aka Joe Rogan style.

I had a question, I thought maybe GAF might care to reply to? Maybe Tesseract ? BigBooper ? Which is, what do you do with the knowledge gained after finishing a book? Gatto's book is quite radical, and when I was younger I wouldn't stop talking about new knowledge till it pissed off my friends. I gotta chill. Maybe take small steps with new knowledge. But the book finishes with a letter from the publisher detailing a more recent highschool speech Gatto gave that was cancelled halfway through because he was calling for an end to the institution. This was 2008 before cancellation was trendy, but police were called, and teachers were shaking etc etc etc. But it made me think about knowledge and cancel culture. Like, I'm not going to go out and be a rebel just because I read a book with some words in it that were controversial. So what do I do? Maybe this question doesn't belong here, it's a bit off topic. Cheers GAF.

I live in perpetual doubt.

 

[Tesseract]

i don't have good advice here, not enough to guide you in a specific direction

knowledge is a gift and curse, trust your gut to do what's right but do your best to stay in the light and pass on whatever you've learned to coming generations

even posting the title and description of what you're reading itt will ripple through time in imperceptible ways

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Fiction:

Non-fiction:

 

[BigBooper]

I just finished reading Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto (1991) about the modern mass schooling system. Five chapters based on essays and speeches he gave for various teacher of the year awards.

Starts off easy but gets very intense half way through. As a teacher myself, I kind of agree. His message is that we should abolish the system and go back to older ways of community education based on personal interest. How I agree, as I like my job, is that I believe learning starts with personal interest as a main motivator, aka Joe Rogan style.

I had a question, I thought maybe GAF might care to reply to? Maybe Tesseract ? BigBooper ? Which is, what do you do with the knowledge gained after finishing a book? Gatto's book is quite radical, and when I was younger I wouldn't stop talking about new knowledge till it pissed off my friends. I gotta chill. Maybe take small steps with new knowledge. But the book finishes with a letter from the publisher detailing a more recent highschool speech Gatto gave that was cancelled halfway through because he was calling for an end to the institution. This was 2008 before cancellation was trendy, but police were called, and teachers were shaking etc etc etc. But it made me think about knowledge and cancel culture. Like, I'm not going to go out and be a rebel just because I read a book with some words in it that were controversial. So what do I do? Maybe this question doesn't belong here, it's a bit off topic. Cheers GAF.

I live in perpetual doubt.

I mostly internalize whatever I learn and absorb it into my philosophy or spirituality. I have two brothers that I can talk about anything like that with, but most people are absorbed in their own lives and interests, so I don't bother them if they aren't interested.

However, I feel like reading is a building block for more advanced understanding and even if the book is fictional, you can learn ideas that influence your thinking. Even if you read a book that you fundamentally disagree with, understanding why you disagree can help you to realize why you align with other ideas.

Crush doubt with the boot of knowledge. It's a good question that I hope others can answer.

 

[Thurible]

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild. I don't think many people are aware of the Congo Free State and the injustices that happened there and I think more people should know about it. Under the guise of humanitarianism and philanthropy, King Leopold II of belgium managed to establish his own colony in the Congo ((and I mean OWN, this was not a part of belgium (in fact, the belgian parliament repeatedly refused Leopold's many attempts to get a colony) and King Leopold essentially had total control of the area). He created several front organizations like the International African Association to gain claim of the Congo claiming that he would bring Christianity, an end to the slave trade largely brought about by arab slave traders (which is ironic considering Leopold's Congo Free State very much engaged in it's practice. In an open letter to Leopold, African American scholar and historian George Washington Williams wrote that he himself was offered slaves in the open while visiting there.), and the benefits of western civilization (much of this was entrenched racism). Many natives were killed and abused, and this was considered one of the first humanitarian crisises known around the world.

 

[jason10mm]

LOVECRAFT COUNTRY by Matt Ruff. Really good so far, though it is more "Stephen King Country" than lovecraft in the type of horror it evokes. It obviously has a lot of relevance given the BLM movement. I kinda wonder if it sparked off the resurgence of Selma 1921 stuff, which is something I'd never heard but now is name dropped all the time. I'd have thought LC would be very popular (I guess it will once HBO premiers the show) but it doesn't paint Democrats in a good light, even 50's democrats and obviously the author is optically problematic so maybe that is why I don't hear much about it now.

Anyway, it is a good collection of short stories with a shared narrative. Looking forward to the show. Be interesting to see if they lean more to the supernatural than the racism, the book walks that line very delicately.

 

[Nikana]

Net thread. I just read all the missing girls and found it to be pretty avergae. Anyone have a good recommendation in this genre?

 

[Escoe P. Coldchain]

I just read this. Was fantastic

 

[V4skunk]

Behold a pale horse by William Cooper.

 

[Tenaciousmo]

Just received this, will be reading this weekend. Also have Snotgirl Vol.3 on standby.

 

[Escoe P. Coldchain]

Just received this, will be reading this weekend. Also have Snotgirl Vol.3 on standby.

Pardon my ignorance. But is this the same Yellow King as Lovecaft’s or did he adapt this?

 

[Tenaciousmo]

Pardon my ignorance. But is this the same Yellow King as Lovecaft’s or did he adapt this?

I do believe that one came before. but if im not mistaken lovecraft was influenced by it

 

[a multicultural team of v]

About to finish The Bonfire of the Vanities, quite good and quite topical. Some of the embedded social commentary/observations feel like they could have been written yesterday.

 

[mango drank]

Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Far-future sci-fi involving spiders and artificial evolution. Pretty good. I should get around to reading the sequel.

 

[CloudNull]

Currently reading "No Easy Day".

It is nonfiction from the perspective of a member of Seal team 6. They are the Team responsible for saving Captain Phillips and taking out Osama. Only 100 pages in but I already highly recommend the book, especially in these wild times.

 

[GobbledeeGoo]

How to Create a Mind

The bold futurist and bestselling author explores the limitless potential of reverse-engineering the human brainRay Kurzweil is arguably ...

www.goodreads.com

Making my way through this.

 

[thequestion]

 

[BigBooper]

Finally finished up West of the Tularosa. It was not a long book, but I've been incredibly busy lately. The short stories in the beginning are neat. Kinda like old west comic book stories. The longer story at the end is entertaining and predictable. I hadn't read a Louis L'amour story before, though I'd seen a couple of the movie adaptations. I'll read another one in the future after a break.

 

[Tesseract]

gorilla mindset, cernovich

ugly’s electrical references, miller

pendulum: how past generations shape our present and predict our future, perseus

bushcraft 101: a field guide to the art of wilderness survival, canterburry

100 deadly skills: the seal operator guide to eluding pursuers, evading capture, and surviving any dangerous situation, emerson

the official cia manual of trickery and deception, melton

how to fail at almost everything and still win big: kind of the story of my life, adams

pre-suasion: a revolutionary way to influence and persuade, cialdini

shoulder pain? the solution & prevention, revised & expanded, kirsch

complete calisthenics: the ultimate guide to bodyweight exercise, kalym

thing explainer: complicated stuff in simple words, munroe

architectural approach to level design: second edition, totten

composing music: a new approach, russo

analyzing classical form: an approach for the classroom, caplin

texturing and modeling, perlin

the pragmatic programmer, hunt

force: dynamic life drawing for animators, mattesi

animation unleashed: 100 principles every animator, comic book writer, filmmaker, video artist, and game developer should know, besen

keys to drawing, dodson

game programming patterns, nystrom

superintelligence: paths, dangers, strategies, bostrum

how to create a mind, kurzweil

foundations of quantum programming, ying

programming quantum computers: essential algorithms and code samples, johnston

dark souls: design works, from software

the art of titanfall 2, mcvittie

snow crash, stephenson

schismatrix, sterling

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

how to fail at almost everything and still win big: kind of the story of my life, adams

I was thinking of getting some of Scott Adams' books, how did you like it?

 

[Tesseract]

I was thinking of getting some of Scott Adams' books, how did you like it?

loved it, adams is brilliant

good points made about staying active, permitting slippage here and there, embracing failure, limitation breeding creativity, playing to win

systems v. goals, momentum v. force

 

[SpiceRacz]

 

[appaws]

On the 8th out of 9 Temeraire books by Naomi Novik. The series starts amazing, throws a few clunkers, but I am happy to report that the 8th one is back to being excellent.

If you don’t know these, they are like an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars, with Dragons.

 

[quickwhips]

Just read the right side of history and best damn management book.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

just finished Summer of Blood a good book on the 1381 English revolts

Amazon.com

 

[Mistershine.]

Listen here, fat.

I’ve really been enjoying The Sword of Shannara, for the first time. I’m surprised I missed this for so long. A really great fantasy story, twisted up in some unique ways.

That's what the shannara chronicles is based on isn't it?

I myself have just invested in a kindle and kindle unlimited, for my first job I am going to read all 11 books in the Brentford trilogy by Robert rankin.

 

[quickwhips]

Anyone know a good book on the revolutionary war? I don’t want a current book with spin on it.

 

[appaws]

Anyone know a good book on the revolutionary war? I don’t want a current book with spin on it.

Hard to remember grad school at this point, but I think Gordon Wood had a good general history of it.

 

[Fbh]

Recently read throughout the Broken Earth trilogy from N. K. Jemisin.

Loved it. Great story with some enjoyable characters and a great example of how to incorporate "woke" elements without it feeling forced or like pandering.


Now starting Dune for the first time. Have had it on my 'to read" list for like 15 years. The upcoming movie finally gave me the final push

 

[BigBooper]

Recently read throughout the Broken Earth trilogy from N. K. Jemisin.

Loved it. Great story with some enjoyable characters and a great example of how to incorporate "woke" elements without it feeling forced or like pandering.


Now starting Dune for the first time. Have had it on my 'to read" list for like 15 years. The upcoming movie finally gave me the final push

Brace yourself. Dune is a beast.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

reading this absolute classic again

History of Shit (Histoire de la merde: Prologue) is a 1978 book by French psychoanalyst Dominique Laporte (1949–1984). It uses an idiosyncratic method of historical genealogy derived from, among others, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, Georges Bataille, and Michel Foucault, to show how the development of sanitation techniques in Western Europe affected the formation of modern notions of individuality. Laporte examines this influence through the historical processes of urbanization, the apotheosis of nationalism, practices of capitalist exchange, and linguistic reform.

History of Shit - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

“This little pile of shit, heaped here before my door, is mine, and I challenge any to malign its form. This little heap is my thing, my badge, a tangible sign of that which distinguishes me from, or likens me to, my neighbor. It is also what distinguishes him from me. His heap will never be mine. Whether he be friend or foe, this alone will allow me to recognize if we are alike: neat, clean, negligent, disgusting, or obviously rotten.”

it is very good. admittedly a work of postmodern academia, but it is deconstructive of consumerism and social identity at a very funny, base level. plus i don't detect much communism or socialism in this. it is purely about the concept of private property, and how the state has historically struggled to define it, through the treatment of waste. much of this book takes place before the invention of modern plumbing. she goes into "privvy" laws and statutes put into place which fined people for refuse left on their doorstep, effectively putting a price on human waste. this is the inciting incident from which the book draws many often hilarious conclusions and tangents.

the author also goes into the metaphorical (and literal, he takes time to discuss the fecal matter residue existing on our paper money) perennial shit that is in society. the need to purge "unclean" elements, from the streets, to public policy, to language. it's kind of a the length of a long rant but very insightful.

my copy is the black velvet one where the word "shit" is embossed in gold

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

I just finished Crime & Punishment by Dostojevski (dutch translation).
According to JBPeterson he's among the best authors of the 19th century. (Why I picked it up)

I liked reading the book but I did not particularly find it masterpiece-y.

There's a guy, there are people around him, some of them have particular political viewpoints. Decisions (which I might agree with or not) are made. Thoughts are had. The end.

So what am I missing here? How am I failing to see the book for its high value/status/worth? Where does its importance come from?

 

[#Phonepunk#]

On vacation in Florida reading Faulkner for the first time. It’s really good.

he is one of the classic American writers and God only knows how long it will be before the censor happy cancel his entire catalog

 

[Tesseract]

not a whole lot right now, mind is a little burnt

thinking about the history of science somewhat, consideration and reflection for the future

broca's brain, sagan

 

[LisaMariaMartin]

He certainly has a way with words. I didn't agree with most of his viewpoints since I lean more towards hedonism but the sections about the supernatural and why we are captivated and scared of it at the same time was fascinating.

He knows his stuff when it comes to literary horror.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

not a whole lot right now, mind is a little burnt

thinking about the history of science somewhat, consideration and reflection for the future

broca's brain, sagan

I love this book! He goes a little too hard on that Venus conspiracy guy but otherwise it’s a great read

 

[Aarbron]

Just finished Space Barons. A book that effectively tells the origin stories of Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic. I wish the author was a tad more critical, but an enjoyable read overall. Recommended for any space buff.

 

[Aarbron]

Any recommendations for a good American Civil War book?

 

[#Phonepunk#]

I’m reading Fahrenheit 451 now and wow 8 pages in and yep

“It’s fine work. Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn em to ashes, then burn the ashes. That’s our official slogan.”

eerily prescient right now

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

I finished Freud's The Future of an Illusion
It's a short book (93 pages), more an essay really.

I don't think I understand even half of it, but it definitely is food for thought. He writes very complex sentences that require deciphering, which is hard work.

But it's good to think about what it means to live in a civilization, how religion plays part therein and what the weaknesses are.

I will read it again some time, hopefully I will understand more at that time.

 

[Scotty W]

If you like that kind of shit #Phonepunk# maybe you would like this:

Life Against Death - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

El libro es estupido, en serio, pero hay algunas ideas interesante al dentro.

 

[Tesseract]

Any recommendations for a good American Civil War book?

i'll second this

also -->

'what're ya readin'?'

 

[#Phonepunk#]

this is a good one on the Civil War and after. from the point of view of a southern kid whose father is off in the war and he is friends with this black kid named Ringo and there is a Cousin Drusilla who is a badass cowgirl and a sly Auntie and Granny who were matriarchs of the family and together the gang manages to counterfeit official Confederate letterheads which they use in order to scam money from the war.

they encounter various troops of Northern and Southern soldiers and they use the opportunity to requisition any merchandise they might have on hand. Granny has the family running a con where they use the documents to steal mules, selling them for a profit, then stealing them back again, forging the names of various officers, hiding the mules in various parts of the countryside. there is a moment towards the end when Granny is in a church and confesses that she is a thief and then she gives away all the money they made giving it to the members of the community that was very satisfying. the book goes on for a bit after the end of the war, with everything in ruins. they go from thievery into politics. they encounter carpetbaggers rounding up freed slaves and driving them to the voting booths. they pretty much experience what it must have been like right after the war. at one point they conduct an election. it is a very rich portrait of the times.

trigger warning they use the hard N word quite a bit, this is a historically accurate book.

The Unvanquished - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

I finished 'The ten commandments of propaganda'.

At times it's just scary how well this book from 2011 describes things we've been seeing recently.
The world would be a different place if people understood propaganda and communication a bit better.

 

[TheMasterSwordMaster]

taking this opportunity to shill for a book series I love (not necessarily reading it right now) the Red Rising Trilogy (even though there's now 5 soon to be 6 books) by Pierce Brown.

Sci fi book about a slave on Mars rises up against the new human order that rules the galaxy. Highly reccomend the audiobooks, narrator does an amazing job.

 

[teezzy]

Tesseract

Gorilla Mindset is good stuff. I dont even like Mike Cernovich but that's a motivational ass book

 

[BigBooper]

taking this opportunity to shill for a book series I love (not necessarily reading it right now) the Red Rising Trilogy (even though there's now 5 soon to be 6 books) by Pierce Brown.

Sci fi book about a slave on Mars rises up against the new human order that rules the galaxy. Highly reccomend the audiobooks, narrator does an amazing job.

I listened to the first audiobook on a roadtrip a few years back and can comfirm it was fun. Never got around to the others.

 

[teezzy]

Seriously though, I remember reading Gorilla Mindset, loving it, then like a year later dude was putting James Gunn on blast for toxic tweets or whatever

James Gunn is Troma alumni. Don't fuck with Troma, douche

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

I'm working my way to the great thinkers of the west, nietzsche, jung. It's a daunting prospect though.

I understand they are well versed in the old mythologies, so I'm brushing up on that first. Gonna resume reading The golden bough to get more acquainted.

The Golden Bough - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[TheMasterSwordMaster]

I listened to the first audiobook on a roadtrip a few years back and can comfirm it was fun. Never got around to the others.