Have yourself a merry little readmas 2019 reading challenge thread

[Pickman's model]

8. georges simenon, "maigret defends himself"

9. georges simenon, "maigret's first case"

 

[Ptolemy]

1/30. The Atheist's Mass - Honoré de Balzac.
2/30. The Labour Party - William Glenvil Hall.
3/30. L'Argent (Money) - Émile Zola.
4/30. Le Rêve (The Dream) - Émile Zola.
5/30. The Conquest of Plassans - Émile Zola.
6/30. Tao Te Ching - Laozi (re-read).
7/30. Four Major Plays - Henrik Ibsen.
8/30. Soul on Ice - Eldridge Cleaver.
9/30. The Lost Gospel Q - Marcus J. Borg.
10/30. We - Yevgeny Zamyatin.

 

[PursuedByBears]

1/45 Roald Dahl - Matilda
2/45 William Shakespeare - Twelfth Night
3/45 N K Jemisin - The Fifth Season
4/45 Michael "Mike D" Diamond & Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz - Beastie Boys Book
5/45 Rudyard Kipling - The Jungle Book

6/45 Anthony Hope - The Prisoner of Zenda

That was enormous fun!

 

[marty21]

1/65 The Fire Maker - Peter May
2/65 I'll Keep You Safe - Peter May
3/65 Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy 1945-75 - Max Hastings.
4/65 Surviving the Evacuation : Book 15 : Where's There Hope - Frank Tayell

*****
5/65 Deal Breaker- Harlan Coben

 

[SpookyFrank]

1/44 Benjamin Zephaniah - The Life And Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah
2/44 Nnedi Okorafor - Who Fears Death
3/44 Jenny Hval - Paradise Rot
4/44 Thomas Szasz - The Myth of Mental Illness

5/44 Haruki Murakami - Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End of The World
6/44 Daniel Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and Slow

Strange how things link up sometimes, both those two books touched on the problem of subjectively evaluating your own life, and the difficulty in making informed decisions about the future that arising from it. Both books also ponder the difference between the remembering self and the experiencing self.

 

[Signal 11]

1/10 - A Beautiful Idea: History of the Freedom Press Anarchists - Rob Ray

 

[BoatieBird]

1/70 - Minette Walters - The Ice House
2/70 - Joe Hill - Strange Weather
3/70 - Donna Tartt - The Little Friend (re-read)
4/70 - Joe Hill - 20th Century Ghosts (re-read)
5/70 - P.D.James - Unnatural Causes

6/70 - Elizabeth Strout - Olive Kitteridge

 

[Pickman's model]

9. georges simenon, "maigret's first case"

10. georges simenon, "maigret and the ghost"

 

[ringo]

1/30 Travels With Charley - John Steinbeck
2/30 A Short Walk In The Hindu Kush - Eric Newby
3/30 Life After Life - Kate Atkinson
4/30 Wrong About Japan - Peter Carey
5/30 The Lawless Roads - Graham Greene

 

[butchersapron]

Go on.

Ok, i'll try and keep it up:

6 - A Specter Haunting Europe : The Myth of Judeo-Bolshevism - Paul Hanebrink
7 - We Are the Crisis of Capital: A John Holloway Reader
8 - Women and the Subversion of the Community: A Mariarosa Dalla Costa Reader
9 - Occult Features of Anarchism: With Attention to the Conspiracy of Kings and the Conspiracy of the Peoples - Erica Lagalisse

 

[Pickman's model]

9 - Occult Features of Anarchism: With Attention to the Conspiracy of Kings and the Conspiracy of the Peoples - Erica Lagalisse

what did you think of this?

 

[butchersapron]

what did you think of this?

I thought it was embarrassing drivel - an academic version of that crap attack on Active distro for their anti-religion banner. The author misused a number of concepts, understands anarchism to be either the liberal tradition or a heap of stuff that has very little to do anarchism (i.e simonian state technocracy), argued dangerous political positions regarding anti-semitism, showed woeful lack of knowledge as regards previous work on conspiracy, a woefully out of date (non)reading of marx and marxism, no idea of the right wing roots of the idea of modern anarchism/marxism as secular religions, talked loads about subjects and people it was clear she has only the slightest familiarity with (the footnotes often make this very clear) and was basically just an utter mess that. No wonder the phd-anarchists have been fighting each other to praise it.

If you've not read it, the conspiracy/occult stuff simply amounts to her very briefly outlining the trad timeline of hermetic thought etc then pointing out that a load of people not really connected to anarchism were sympathetic to it, which means that modern day anarchism is a form of religious thinking and to criticise religious or conspiracist ways of thinking is racist etc

Could only have come from an academic.

 

[Pickman's model]

I thought it was embarrassing drivel - an academic version of that crap attack on Active distro for their anti-religion banner. The author misused a number of concepts, understands anarchism to be either the liberal tradition or a heap of stuff that has very little to do anarchism (i.e simonian state technocracy), argued dangerous political positions regarding anti-semitism, showed woeful lack of knowledge as regards previous work on conspiracy, a woefully out of date (non)reading of marx and marxism, no idea of the right wing roots of the idea of modern anarchism/marxism as secular religions, talked loads about subjects and people it was clear she has only the slightest familiarity with (the footnotes often make this very clear) and was basically just an utter mess that. No wonder the phd-anarchists have been fighting each other to praise it.

If you've not read it, the conspiracy/occult stuff simply amounts to her very briefly outlining the trad timeline of hermetic thought etc then pointing out that a load of people not really connected to anarchism were sympathetic to it, which means that modern day anarchism is a form of religious thinking and to criticise religious or conspiracist ways of thinking is racist etc

Could only have come from an academic.

cheers - i won't bother then

 

[butchersapron]

The title is total misdirection - it simply does not do what it suggest that it will. It should have been called First Blast of the trumpet against the monstrous regiment of Anarchists who would conspire to be Kings. (And they're racist too).

 

[D'wards]

1/36 - Kill Your Friends by John Niven
2/36 - The Works by Pam Ayres
3/36 - A Breath of French Air by H.E. Bates
4/36 - My Thoughts, Exactly by Lily Allen
5/36 - Line of Fire: A Military Science Fiction Novel (The Last Fleet - Book One) by Malcolm Hughes
6/36 - I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan by Alan Partridge (reread)

 

[nogojones]

1/45 Ursula LeGuin - The Left Hand of Darkness
2/45 Edward Bunker - No Beast so Fierce
3/45 Frederick Engels - The Peasant War in Germany
4/45 Stephen King - Nightmares and Dreamscapes
5/45 G.K. Chesterton - The Man Who Was Thursday
6/45 Tibor Fischer - Good to be God
7/45 Gail Honeyman - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
8/45 Michio Kaku - Physics of the Future

9/45 Ken MacLeod - Intrusion
10/45 Iain M. Banks - The Algebraist

 

[Shirl]

1/25 Magpie Murders - Anthony Horowitz
2/25 Sleepyhead - Mark Billingham
3/25 Polishing and Finishing for Jewellers and Silversmiths - Stephen M Goldsmith

 

[PursuedByBears]

1/45 Roald Dahl - Matilda
2/45 William Shakespeare - Twelfth Night
3/45 N K Jemisin - The Fifth Season
4/45 Michael "Mike D" Diamond & Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz - Beastie Boys Book
5/45 Rudyard Kipling - The Jungle Book
6/45 Anthony Hope - The Prisoner of Zenda

7/45 Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness

 

[marty21]

1/65 The Fire Maker - Peter May
2/65 I'll Keep You Safe - Peter May
3/65 Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy 1945-75 - Max Hastings.
4/65 Surviving the Evacuation : Book 15 : Where's There Hope - Frank Tayell
5/65 Deal Breaker- Harlan Coben

******

6/65 Seconds Away - Harlan Coben

 

[DotCommunist]

1/25 Legacy of Spies by John Le Carre
2/25 Blackfish City by Sam J Miller
3/25 Shadow of All Night Falling by Glen Cook
4/25 Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
5/25 The Hangman's Daughter by Gavin G Smith
6/25 Artificial Conditions by Martha Wells
7/25 The Emperor's Gift by Aaron-Dembski-Bowden

 

[circleline]

Started into the year with 'The In-between World of Vikram Lall' by MG Vassanji. Not got properly into it yet so will go back to it later, at some point (always do, just sometimes defer).

Have leap-frogged to 'A Fraction of the Whole' by Steve Toltz.

Finished 'A Fraction..' Done some 'sandwich' reads:

'The Little Princesses' by Marion Crawford. Poor Crawfie was governess to (present Queen) Elizabeth and Margaret. She was paid a massive £75,000 in 1950 for her story of the Queen's childhood. The price she paid was that she was 'orf' the palace Christmas card list forever. 'Poor Crawfie'?

'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' by Deborah Moggach. Didn't even realise the film was based on a book; definitely 'inspired by' rather than 'true to' the rather dark tale of being an old-aged pensioner in the UK.

'Forty-Seven Roses' Peter Sheridan.

Will still go back to 'Vikram Lall' at some point. But may read Justin Cartwright's 'The Song Before it is Sung' beforehand. Sounds fascinating.

(Am enjoying this cataloguing..)

 

[PursuedByBears]

1/45 Roald Dahl - Matilda
2/45 William Shakespeare - Twelfth Night
3/45 N K Jemisin - The Fifth Season
4/45 Michael "Mike D" Diamond & Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz - Beastie Boys Book
5/45 Rudyard Kipling - The Jungle Book
6/45 Anthony Hope - The Prisoner of Zenda
7/45 Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness

8/45 William Shakespeare - The Tempest

 

[PursuedByBears]

1/45 Roald Dahl - Matilda
2/45 William Shakespeare - Twelfth Night
3/45 N K Jemisin - The Fifth Season
4/45 Michael "Mike D" Diamond & Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz - Beastie Boys Book
5/45 Rudyard Kipling - The Jungle Book
6/45 Anthony Hope - The Prisoner of Zenda
7/45 Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness
8/45 William Shakespeare - The Tempest

9/45 Oliver Goldsmith - She Stoops to Conquer

 

[kropotkin]

1. Homo Deus - Yuval Noah Harari
2. The Kaiser goes: the generals remain - Theodor Plivier
3. The Last Man Who Knew Everything: The Life and Times of Enrico Fermi- David N. Schwartz
4. The Third Policeman - Brian O'Nolan
5. The Book of Hidden Things - Francesco Dimitri
6. The Heart's Invisible Furies - John Boyne
7. Seveneves - Neal Stephenson
8. Black Box Thinking - Matthew Syed
9. The Golden Transcendence- John C. Wright

 

[Fozzie Bear]

1/30 Charles Spencer - Killers Of The King: The Men Who Dared To Execute Charles I
2/30 Michel Foucault - Remarks On Marx

3/30 Robert Forbes and Eddie Stampton - The White Nationalist Skinhead Movement UK & USA 1979-1993

Terrible bands described in tedious detail. Being a racist skinhead doesn't sound much fun. Worth a skim of a pirate PDF for the partisan descriptions of Hyde Park, Waterloo etc. Some unintentionally hilarious lyrics.

 

[butchersapron]

3/30 Robert Forbes and Eddie Stampton - The White Nationalist Skinhead Movement UK & USA 1979-1993

Terrible bands described in tedious detail. Being a racist skinhead doesn't sound much fun. Worth a skim of a pirate PDF for the partisan descriptions of Hyde Park, Waterloo etc. Some unintentionally hilarious lyrics.

I read 3/4 of this (and it ain't short) last year then bailed - each chapter was the same thing over and over. Only read it for the reasons you suggested.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I read 3/4 of this (and it ain't short) last year then bailed - each chapter was the same thing over and over. Only read it for the reasons you suggested.

"Phil from Bognor Regis was inspired to form his band White Goods after hearing a Skullhead tape that his cousin Mark had sent him. He recruited schoolfriend Baz for bass duties and their first gig was supporting Violent Flatulence at the Littlehampton Bernie Inn on the 17th of November 1985. Apparently a recording of this gig exists but has not been located by the author. Gary from Havering has fond memories of the night 'A load of us Havering Skins came down in a ford cortina and met up with the local BM lads in the Queens Head. I remember meeting Ian Stuart Donaldson there, he bought me a packet of salt and vinegar crisps, very down to earth. White Goods played well for a first gig but the singer seemed very nervous. I can't remember much else because I was very drunk. Great times though. My wife has left me.'"

 

[butchersapron]

Spot on!

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Spot on!

The weirdest thing about it is that's it's essentially a pro-Nazi book which describes racist attacks as if they are just a normal night out and has some horrendous anti-semitism. But alongside all that, the publisher has censored the word "nigger" throughout.

 

[Shirl]

1/25 Magpie Murders - Anthony Horowitz
2/25 Sleepyhead - Mark Billingham
3/25 Polishing and Finishing for Jewellers and Silversmiths - Stephen M Goldsmith
4/25 The Chestnut Man - Soren Sveistrup