*What book are you reading? (part 2)

[Dillinger4]

I've not been here for a while so here is a list of books I am reading or have read recently:

The German Genius: Europe's Third Renaissance, the Second Scientific Revolution and the Twentieth Century by Peter Watson - I have been wanting to read a book on German thought / Intellectual culture / Idealism etc for ages, I highly recommend it.

Trickster Makes This World: How Disruptive Imagination Creates Culture by Lewis Hyde

Holy Madness: The Shock Tactics and Radical Teachings of Crazy-Wise Adepts, Holy Fools and Rascal Gurus by Georg Feuerstein

Synchronicity: Science, Myth and the Trickster - Allan Combs

Bird Sense: What It's Like to Be a Bird - Tim Birkhead

Time Warped
Claudia Hammond

The Atrocity Exhibition by JG Ballard

How to Read and Why by Allan Bloom

Reaching for the Sun: How Plants Work by John King

Discovering the Folklore of Plants by Margaret Baker

Hedgerow Medicine: Harvest and Make Your Own Herbal Remedies - Julie Bruton-Seal

Hunger Mountain: A Field Guide to Mind and Landscape - David Hinton (this is brilliant)

The Melancholy of Resistance by Laszlo Krasznahorkai

And a few others

 

[sojourner]

Ooo this one looks very interesting: Trickster Makes This World: How Disruptive Imagination Creates Culture by Lewis Hyde

 

[Dillinger4]

Ooo this one looks very interesting: Trickster Makes This World: How Disruptive Imagination Creates Culture by Lewis Hyde

It is really good. It is something that has been on my mind for ages and is something I want to explore much further.

 

[Dillinger4]

 

[Cheesypoof]

Bird Sense: What It's Like to Be a Bird - Tim Birkhead

Discovering the Folklore of Plants by Margaret Baker

These books sound good.

 

[Sprocket.]

Have been given a copy of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere to read whilst recuperating.
I have not read any of his work and my wife's mate said it will make a difference from all the usual stuff I tend to read.
The last fantasy/sci fi book I read was in fact a re-read of Michael Moorcock's The Shores of Death about three years back.

 

[DotCommunist]

Neverwhere is the second best book Gaiman ever wrote. American Gods is the best. But you should do Neverwhere. Its good fun.

 

[maya]

Bird Sense: What It's Like to Be a Bird - Tim Birkhead

These books sound good.

If you're interested in the psychology of birds, I'd recommend this fantastic book from a scholar who's so fascinated by ravens he decided to dedicate his life to studying their behaviour:
* "Mind Of The Raven" by Bernd Heinrich

In Mind of the Raven, Bernd Heinrich, award-winning naturalist, finds himself dreaming of ravens and decides he must get to the truth about this animal reputed to be so intelligent. Much like a sleuth, Heinrich involves us in his quest, letting one clue lead to the next. But as animals can only be spied on by getting quite close, Heinrich adopts ravens, thereby becoming a raven father," as well as observing them in their natural habitat, studying their daily routines, and in the process painting a vivid picture of the world as lived by the ravens. At the heart of this book are Heinrich's love and respect for these complex and engaging creatures, and through his keen observation and analysis, we become their intimates too[/synopsis]

 

[Cheesypoof]

If you're interested in the psychology of birds, I'd recommend this fantastic book from a scholar who's so fascinated by ravens he decided to dedicate his life to studying their behaviour:
* "Mind Of The Raven" by Bernd Heinrich

Many thanks! I loved 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull' but that is more about self perception i think.

also loved 'The philosopher and the wolf.'
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Philosopher-Wolf-Lessons-Happiness/dp/1847081029/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t

 

[Dillinger4]

If you're interested in the psychology of birds, I'd recommend this fantastic book from a scholar who's so fascinated by ravens he decided to dedicate his life to studying their behaviour:
* "Mind Of The Raven" by Bernd Heinrich

Already read it, brilliant book that is

 

[Orang Utan]

Richard J. Evans - The Coming Of The Third Reich - very readable popular history.

 

[Manter]

Just finished the Shanghai Factor by Charles McCarry. Book jacket said even better than leCarre, he's an American ex spook, so I thought promising.

It was shit

 

[Cheesypoof]

few books to finish....one is the book on preparing for death, 'Your loved ones live on within you.' Its a 'comfort' book but surprising gem that is helping me deal with the inevitable doom that is near.... this weird book has struck a chord, i heard about it from a recommendation given by Ireland's (sadly deceased) and supremely annoying, cheeky journalist Jonathan Philbin Bowman who died in 2001 from falling over drunk and banging his head and bleeding to death. He used to recommend it to people who are grieving.

there is that and Leon Hendrix's book, brother of Jimi. And John Densmore's candid account of The Doors.... ive probably read almost every book written about The Doors but looking forward to this one as fans say its better than Ray Manzarek's tome, which was brilliant, but rose tinted....

in other news went to York recently and collected my copy of Ulysses (Penguin edition, Declan Kiberd). im still on Episode 5, but hope to finish it by end of the year. I read the chapters straight through without footnotes and then the summary from Kiberds 'Ulysses and us' the Faber companion with Marilyn Monroe reading Ulysses on the cover. I will say this: reading Richard Ellman's massive biography 'James Joyce' in 2009 helped. Its a 900 page belter that took four months to read and it was a heavy book, i fell over one day at the hospital as it was a heavy bastard and i had to get a plaster for being a clumsy fool, but it was worth it!!

 

[sojourner]

Started and finished 'Farewell Summer' by Ray Bradbury yesterday. Bit of a disappointment for the first half, gotta say - picked up though. Then realised it was written nearly 55 years after Dandelion Wine (it's the sequel to it) - and you know, I can forgive Ray a little change in writing style. I've not even been fucking alive for 55 years!!

Anyhoo - now reading his 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' and being scared by it

 

[Sprocket.]

I am just starting Jar City (Reykjavik murder mysteries 1) by Arnaldur Indridason.
First in a series.

 

[May Kasahara]

Read 'Horns' by Joe Hill while on holiday. Could not put it down (literally - was reading it in the dark outside our tent while everyone else chatted over me ) and still thinking about the characters now. If anyone is wondering, I thought it was excellent.

 

[belboid]

Just about finished Red or Dead.

Took a bit of getting into, the massively repetitive style is effective, but kind of annoying too. As a seventies Liverpool fan, I thought I knew the Shankly story, but soon realised I only knew it pretty vaguely, so wasn't sure about when they actually first won promotion or the title under him. Which made each game quite exciting. And the times when one of the names of the truly great seventies team (the greatest team ever) cropped up there was a real frisson of excitement. Quite how any one who wasn't a seventies Liverpool fan would enjoy it, I dont know.

 

[Greebo]

Die Entdeckung der Currywurst - Uwe Timm

A relatively quick and easy read.

 

[magneze]

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism - Ha-Joon Chang

 

[BoatieBird]

Read 'Horns' by Joe Hill while on holiday. Could not put it down (literally - was reading it in the dark outside our tent while everyone else chatted over me ) and still thinking about the characters now. If anyone is wondering, I thought it was excellent.

I haven't got round to reading any of his stuff so far, but that bit above makes me want to read some.
*adds to wish list*

 

[Oldboy]

If you're interested in the psychology of birds, I'd recommend this fantastic book from a scholar who's so fascinated by ravens he decided to dedicate his life to studying their behaviour:
* "Mind Of The Raven" by Bernd Heinrich

I've just ordered this based on your's and Dillinger4's recommendation so thank you both, Can't wait to read it.

 

[Dillinger4]

I've just ordered this based on your's and Dillinger4's recommendation so thank you both, Can't wait to read it.

Ravens.

 

[DotCommunist]

Their Kingdom Come: Inside the secret world of Opus Dei


a line on the cover promises that its 'The book the Catholic church won't want you to read!'

and so far it is putting it right on the opus dei people

 

[Dillinger4]

Just got:

The Norton Anthology of Poetry - 2000+ pages of poems

Stoner by John Williams because I keep hearing about it. Not about ganj at all.

The Aesthetics of Resistance by Peter Weiss. Looking forward to this one.

The Aesthetics of Resistance (German: Die Ästhetik des Widerstands, 1975-1981) is a three-volume novel by the German-born playwright, novelist, filmmaker, and painter Peter Weiss.

Spanning from the late 1930s into World War II, this historical novel dramatizes anti-fascist resistance and the rise and fall of proletarian political parties in Europe. Living in Berlin in 1937, the unnamed narrator and his peers, sixteen and seventeen-year-old working-class students, seek ways to express their hatred for the Nazi regime. They meet in museums and galleries, and in their discussions they explore the affinity between political resistance and art, the connection at the heart of Weiss's novel.

Weiss suggests that meaning lies in the refusal to renounce resistance, no matter how intense the oppression, and that it is in art that new models of political action and social understanding are to be found. The novel includes extended meditations on paintings, sculpture, and literature. Moving from the Berlin underground to the front lines of the Spanish Civil War and on to other parts of Europe, the story teems with characters, almost all of whom are based on historical figures.

Also currently reading Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon, which is great. Impossible to summarize. It is kind of in preparation for the Bleeding Edge which comes out in a few weeks. I am very excited about that one. It sounds almost perfect.

 

[Dillinger4]

Their Kingdom Come: Inside the secret world of Opus Dei


a line on the cover promises that its 'The book the Catholic church won't want you to read!'

and so far it is putting it right on the opus dei people

You might also enjoy The Entity: Five Centuries of Secret Vatican Espionage

There are also some pretty well researched books that look at the Vaticans financial affairs and tie them up with the mafia and neo fascism and all sorts of nasty stuff

 

[DotCommunist]

You might also enjoy The Entity: Five Centuries of Secret Vatican Espionage

There are also some pretty well researched books that look at the Vaticans financial affairs and tie them up with the mafia and neo fascism and all sorts of nasty stuff

cheers, am reading this as a follow up to 'In Gods Name' (all about the murder? of JP1 by dodgy elements of the curia/p2 etc)

will get the above mentioned as well

 

[Dillinger4]

cheers, am reading this as a follow up to 'In Gods Name' (all about the murder? of JP1 by dodgy elements of the curia/p2 etc)

will get the above mentioned as well

I also highly reccomend these two:

Stefano Delle Chiaie (Black Papers, No 1): Portrait of a Black Terrorist by Stuart Christie

Exposure of a fascist terrorist responsible for many outrages. A superb piece of investigative research into the whole fascist terror network, involved everywhere from the Italian bombings during the "strategy of tension" to South America.

The Last Supper by Philip Willan

This title presents the truth at last about one of the world's great unsolved crimes. The death of Roberto 'God's Banker' Calvi, found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge in 1982 days before his bank's collapse, remains one of the most extraordinary crimes of all time. Straight from the dark heart of Italy, it involved dark Masonic rituals, political involvement at the highest level, bizarre forensics, intense mafia involvement, the Vatican, a man on the run, and phenomenal sums of money swirling around. Revealing new sources that speak for the first time, investigative journalist Philip Willan finally uncovers the full truth behind Calvi's death and his last days on the run. Calvi's elimination prevented the world from learning the full truth about the activities of the Masonic sect P2, that secret 'shadow state' whose top-rank membership had been discovered shortly before. Had Calvi's death been investigated properly, Italy government today might have been very different. And the failure to investigate began in England. This true story of a man falling off the precipice is also a shocking political expose.

Both related, and both proper eye openers.

 

[machine cat]

Just finished 1Q84 book 3, which was good but left a lot unanswered.

Now starting Iain Banks' Stonemouth which, 100 pages in seems promising.

 

[rubbershoes]

Michael Chabon - Telegraph Avenue
He can write.

have you read The Yiddish Policeman's Union?

Highly recommended. By me anyway

 

[rubbershoes]

just finished Wonderland Avenue by Danny Sugerman.

it is a fantastic book but the man sounds a complete egotistical cock