What are you reading? III [Archive]

MarxSchmarx

29th April 2010, 07:07

Any good?

Yeah, it's very accessible, non-technical and well paced. The author mixes observations on the legacy of Tamerlane in different countries and his personality with the battles and chronicling of the campaigns. He also doesn't shy from making judgments about Tamerlane and has a lot of respect for his sources.

Ted1205

30th April 2010, 03:47

I just started to read The Conquest of Bread by Peter Kropotkin. It seems great so far.

NoOneIsIllegal

30th April 2010, 05:38

Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano

Velkas

1st May 2010, 22:40

I'm "reading" the audiobook of Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville.

Foldered

2nd May 2010, 00:34

Bruce L. Liles' An Introduction to Linguistics
the Zapatista Reader

RED DAVE

2nd May 2010, 01:39

A Short History of Socialism by George Lichtheim.

RED DAVE

Raven of Odin

2nd May 2010, 19:12

Slaughter House Five :D

Morgenstern

2nd May 2010, 21:00

Catcher in the Rye

Yes, I'm behind on classic literature.

Foldered

9th May 2010, 21:16

Language and Mind- Noam Chomsky

The Red Apostle

10th May 2010, 03:38

Just Finished the play Ivanov by Anton Chekov. Now alternating between Romeo and Juliet, Uncle Vanya, Richard III, and Philosophy For Understanding Theology.

The Red Apostle

10th May 2010, 03:39

Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano

Excellent Book.

NoOneIsIllegal

10th May 2010, 04:57

^ I just finished it today. I really enjoyed it.

I'm now going to tackle a classic:
Capital.

...I obviously don't have to list the author ;)

which doctor

10th May 2010, 05:04

finally finished with finals, so I can get back to reading for myself

Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis, then a rereading of You Can't Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe

Atlee

10th May 2010, 06:38

I just picked up a load of books from the "Book Mine" :D which is my favorite place to visit. I started reading Patterns of Anti-democratic Thought by David Spitz. I figure since there is always so much talk about what democracy is I'd focus on the topic in greater detail. This book reviews the other side of this coin. I cannot seem to put it down.

As a side note I ordered the new book from Harvard Press directly, Democracy's Prisoner by Freeberg which is about Eugene Deb's time in jail from his support of the socialist platform of his day.

Angry Young Man

10th May 2010, 14:07

Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano

I can't remember if it was you, but if it was, can you post the free download link up again. Cheers, butt.

As to the thread, Shelley. It's all about the Bysshe.

blackwave

10th May 2010, 16:04

Karl Marx - 'Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts'
Maxime Rodinson - 'Muhammad'
Che Guevara Reader
Jean-Paul Sartre - 'Being and Nothingness'

Die Rote Fahne

10th May 2010, 18:02

Re-reading World War Z by Max Brooks.

Epic book.

Communist

11th May 2010, 17:57

.
Market Elections: How Democracy Serves the Rich by Vince Copeland.

.

The Ben G

11th May 2010, 23:29

Watchmen by *You know who*

Still reading the Castro book. Damn its long.

howblackisyourflag

12th May 2010, 01:36

Just finished SlaughterHouse Five - Excellent book

Halfway through Homage To Catalonia by George Orwell

son of man

12th May 2010, 04:03

Just read Homage to Catalonia and re-read Slaughterhouse Five. Two great books.

The excerpt from Homage to Catalonia where George Orwell gets shot by a fascist sniper outside Madrid is an amazing piece of writing. I use it when I teach students about war and conflict.

The Antony Beevor book on the Spanish Civil War is a must read for any leftist.

I'm reading Collapse by Jared Diamond at the moment - very interesting.

SammXVX

14th May 2010, 05:52

The Coming Insurrection.
I've been staring at this book for a long time, just no time to read. ever.

which doctor

14th May 2010, 07:26

Picked up a cool looking first edition of George Bernard Shaw's The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism at a library book sale today.

I don't think I'll ever actually read it.

BAM

14th May 2010, 08:24

Picked up a cool looking first edition of George Bernard Shaw's The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism at a library book sale today.

I don't think I'll ever actually read it.

the true book collector never actually reads the books he buys ...

CChocobo

14th May 2010, 09:46

Currently i'm reading "The Spanish Civil War" by Paul Preston.
It's pretty damn good, he goes into the atmosphere prior to 1936, explains how the living conditions were, and goes into detail about the coup by general Franco, and his fascist elements. How the right wing along with the church and military used soo much propaganda to denounce the left and the government as "reds" It's sad. Made me kind of think of the atmosphere here in the U.S. minus the street battles between workers and fascist groups.

Anyways great book so far, i'm hoping to be done with it tomorrow. :thumbup1:

Atlee

14th May 2010, 11:26

I just got in the book I ordered from Harvard Press, Democracy's Prisoner which is about Eugene Debs behind bars and running for president.

SammXVX

15th May 2010, 00:30

Qayin

15th May 2010, 00:42

Why not? Sounds like a beyond decent read.
George Bernard Shaw?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0fHMljbvLE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WBRjU9P5eo&feature=related

Nothing but a would be tyrant. Fuck the Fabian "socialists"

I want to get my hands on We are an image from the future

I'm currently reading Home to Catalonia by Orwell

SammXVX

15th May 2010, 01:28

Simply because it's about Intelligent Women, I have not heard of many Pro-Female books.

Qayin

15th May 2010, 03:47

Simply because it's about Intelligent Women, I have not heard of many Pro-Female books.

http://akpress.org/2005/topics/feminism

Better then a guy who would "humanly" gas anybody who cant justify there existence.

Manifesto

16th May 2010, 22:05

Decided to finally sit down and read Kitab-i-Iqan.

Foldered

18th May 2010, 01:28

I'm reading Don Quixote and The Conquest of Bread.

black magick hustla

18th May 2010, 02:14

the sound and the fury

black magick hustla

18th May 2010, 02:15

i am in quentins section. its ungodly difficult. i might put this down even if i enjoy some of the stylistic aspects which are beautiful

berlitz23

18th May 2010, 06:58

i am in quentins section. its ungodly difficult. i might put this down even if i enjoy some of the stylistic aspects which are beautiful

You better not put it down

Communist

18th May 2010, 21:59

.
Rainbow Solidarity by Leslie Feinberg.

.

brigadista

18th May 2010, 22:15

the mission song - john le carre

which doctor

20th May 2010, 03:44

Marxism and Form by Frederic Jameson
On Individuality and Social Forms by George Simmel

leftace53

28th May 2010, 15:31

Flatland, A Romance of Many Dimensions - Edwin Abbott

NGNM85

30th May 2010, 04:32

"From Eternity to Here; The Quest For the Ultimate Theory of Time" by Sean Carroll. I've only read a few chapters, but so far it's quite good.

I'm also reading Martin Ford's; "Lights in the Tunnel; Automation, Accelerating Technology, And the Economy of the Future." The ebook is free to download, I posted a link in the other thread for anybody who might like to read it.

Bilan

30th May 2010, 15:45

Moab is my Washpot - Stephen Fry.
Why this is considered his best book I have no idea.

x359594

30th May 2010, 20:31

Currently i'm reading "The Spanish Civil War" by Paul Preston. It's pretty damn good...

Glad to hear that about Preston, as he's currently considered the new academic authority on the Spanish Civil War and related issues.

leftace53

31st May 2010, 02:25

"From Eternity to Here; The Quest For the Ultimate Theory of Time" by Sean Carroll. I've only read a few chapters, but so far it's quite good.

Sounds like a great read, I have a crazy fascination with time (the philosophy of it and the physics of it), I'll have to scrounge up a copy!

I'm on to Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science - W. Heisenberg

NGNM85

31st May 2010, 06:48

Sounds like a great read, I have a crazy fascination with time (the philosophy of it and the physics of it), I'll have to scrounge up a copy!

I'm on to Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science - W. Heisenberg

Me, too!. It's really good, you should check it out. Not only is it informative, and thought-provoking, but, unlike a lot of scientific texts, it's written in a very easy-to-read, colloquial style.

leftace53

1st June 2010, 01:32

Me, too!. It's really good, you should check it out. Not only is it informative, and thought-provoking, but, unlike a lot of scientific texts, it's written in a very easy-to-read, colloquial style.

Sweet! Glad to know there is another time enthusiast out in the "left" field. The book name has been written on my whiteboard, and whatever gets written there gets done!

To contribute to the topic of the thread, my philosophy course has me reading some classical philosophy, so Plato's Apology is also being read (or will be read in the next day or so).

Headmaster Ritual

2nd June 2010, 02:00

"Lolita" by Nabokov.

It's bloody fantastic, and I never stop getting a kick out of people going "euuuurrrrgh!" when I tell them what it's about.

x359594

2nd June 2010, 05:29

...I never stop getting a kick out of people going "euuuurrrrgh!" when I tell them what it's about.

Lolita is black humor of the subtlest kind and also a keen satire of American Mores. It's really astonishing when you realize that English was Nabokov's second language and that he achieved a fine prose style in a language that he mastered as an adult.

Il Medico

2nd June 2010, 19:36

Finished The Sun Also Rises finally on Sunday. (took me and ungodly long time to read cause I never got time to read it, great book though, even if it was fragmented of a number of months.) I am about half way through 1984 right now, I'll be done by Friday.

x359594

3rd June 2010, 16:12

Finished The Sun Also Rises finally...

Until I read a biography of Hemingway I was unaware that The Sun Also Rises is a practically roman-a-clef with all the characters based on real people including real-life incidents involving said characters.

Communist

3rd June 2010, 17:36

.

Firefly Rain by Richard Dansky. Pretty creepy, a good read.

.

praxis1966

4th June 2010, 21:54

Until I read a biography of Hemingway I was unaware that The Sun Also Rises is a practically roman-a-clef with all the characters based on real people including real-life incidents involving said characters.

I haven't read a biography of Hemingway but I have heard that about The Sun Also Rises. If I'm not mistaken, two of the characters are based on F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Currently reading Rudolf Rocker's Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory and Practice. After that, I'll be moving on to Bakhunin's God and the State. I know what those of you who know how old I am are thinking, that I should've read both those years ago, so just save it, huh?

Sasha

4th June 2010, 22:45

theatre of the opressed - augusto boal

lombas

5th June 2010, 16:02

Oxford History of the Crusades - Jonathan Riley-Smith (Cambridge University)
Les Croisades vues par les Arabes - Amin Maalouf

Il Medico

6th June 2010, 12:22

Until I read a biography of Hemingway I was unaware that The Sun Also Rises is a practically roman-a-clef with all the characters based on real people including real-life incidents involving said characters.
Well, interestingly enough, I recently wrote a paper about this subject (of how he uses real events in his life as part of his writing) I found that while there is a basis in his life for many of his characters, they are quiet different from the real life people and apparently the person Cohn is believed to be based on actually was quite offended at how he thought he was portrayed and accused Hemingway of slander.

Anywho, It's been a busy week. I just finished The Star's Tennis Balls last night and had finished 1984 on Thursday. The former was awfully good to be simply put, with a brilliantly modern ending I might add. The latter was quite good as well, and I greatly admired the ending, for Orwell did not give the reader what they wanted for an ending, but rather what it should of had for an ending, and I quite like that.

I have just now started Pot Luck by Zola.

Honggweilo

6th June 2010, 13:03

Eduardo Galeano - Memoria del Fuego

ComradeOm

6th June 2010, 15:43

On a French history binge at the moment. Currently reading Roger's The French Second Empire: An Anatomy of Political Power with Remond's The Right Wing in France from 1815 to de Gaulle sitting on the shelf

redmist

6th June 2010, 18:58

Walter Greenwood - Love on the Dole

Bilan

7th June 2010, 12:26

Candide - Voltaire.

lombas

7th June 2010, 13:43

Does anyone know of a good book on the historicity of Jesus and/or the history of the early church?

praxis1966

8th June 2010, 00:23

Does anyone know of a good book on the historicity of Jesus and/or the history of the early church?

I haven't read any of the books suggested in this thread (http://www.librarything.com/topic/47311) so I couldn't speak as to their worth, but there are quite a few recommendations on the topic. Enjoy.

Bilan

8th June 2010, 04:16

Well, interestingly enough, I recently wrote a paper about this subject (of how he uses real events in his life as part of his writing) I found that while there is a basis in his life for many of his characters, they are quiet different from the real life people and apparently the person Cohn is believed to be based on actually was quite offended at how he thought he was portrayed and accused Hemingway of slander.

Anywho, It's been a busy week. I just finished The Star's Tennis Balls last night and had finished 1984 on Thursday. The former was awfully good to be simply put, with a brilliantly modern ending I might add. The latter was quite good as well, and I greatly admired the ending, for Orwell did not give the reader what they wanted for an ending, but rather what it should of had for an ending, and I quite like that.

I have just now started Pot Luck by Zola.

The Stars Tennis Balls is a great modern telling of The Count of Monte Cristo. I enjoyed it a lot.
Let me know what you think of Pot Luck. If you give it a good review, I might give it a second whirl. I wasn't a fan first time around. Overly descriptive. But in a way, I have an urge to read it again. Same with Goethe's elective affinities.
hmmm

Il Medico

8th June 2010, 04:56

Candide - Voltaire.
This this a very good book.

Bilan

8th June 2010, 13:53

This this a very good book.

Just finished it. I do agree, though, I wouldn't count it as one of my "favourites".
I really like the first couple of chapters. The absurd way in which he writes about the horrors of war was brilliant.
But I don't know. It didn't "click" with me like a lot of other books.

TiberiusGracchus

8th June 2010, 17:20

Jim Goad - Redneck Manifesto

A great and important read.
White trash vs. white cash!

pdcrofts

8th June 2010, 21:01

Saturday Night & Sunday Morning, by Alan Sillitoe. Great working class novel. I'll quote a bit for you:
"Factories sweat you to death, labour exchanges talk you to death, insurance and income tax offices milk money from your wage packets and rob you to death. And if you're still left with a tiny bit of life in your guts after all this boggering about, the army calls you up and you get shot to death."

lombas

8th June 2010, 21:28

Parecon.

And some essays by Michael Foot...

Communist

8th June 2010, 23:29

.

Feminism and Marxism by Dorothy Ballan.

.

Mumbles

9th June 2010, 00:12

I literally just picked up a copy of Finnegans Wake. Don't know if I'll even be close to successful. I had seen this list (http://listverse.com/2010/06/07/top-10-difficult-literary-works/) and was going to get Foucault's Pendulum, but the library didn't have it, so I figured what the hell, it's summer I'll fry my brain, with literature!

Mumbles

9th June 2010, 01:21

Okay, sooo... I already got a question, that the answer very well may be the obvious answer I'm asking if it is. But, is Finnegans Wake narrated in drunkenese or something? Because if so I'll be able to stick to that mindset and be good, but if it's not meant to I'll feel like I'm missing a lot.

bcbm

9th June 2010, 03:40

finishing "the marquis de sade: by donald thomas, starting "introduction to civil war" by tiqqun at home and "the master and margarita" by mikhail bulgakov at work.

Il Medico

9th June 2010, 12:27

Just finished it. I do agree, though, I wouldn't count it as one of my "favourites".
I really like the first couple of chapters. The absurd way in which he writes about the horrors of war was brilliant.
But I don't know. It didn't "click" with me like a lot of other books.
I wouldn't count it as one of my favorites, but it is very good. Especially considering he wrote it in like three days or something insane like that. And the fact that the entire thing is a philosophical argument impressed me even more.

Bilan

10th June 2010, 12:19

finishing "the marquis de sade: by donald thomas, starting "introduction to civil war" by tiqqun at home and "the master and margarita" by mikhail bulgakov at work.

I hear master and margarita is awesome. It's my best friends favourite book. Until I say that it is to someone else. And then she claims I am exaggerating.
Hippies.

wouldn't count it as one of my favorites, but it is very good. Especially considering he wrote it in like three days or something insane like that. And the fact that the entire thing is a philosophical argument impressed me even more.

Totally in agreement with you. I didn't know it was written in 3 days though. That's pretty much ridiculous.
I quite liked Micromegas. Particularly that kind of mockery of the theologian near the end. Gold.
I'm considering picking up Pot Luck again. I was reading it last night. Tempting.
S'either that or "The Great World" by David Malouf, or "Elective Affinities" by Goethe.

x359594

10th June 2010, 15:33

...is Finnegans Wake narrated in drunkenese or something?...

Or something.

Joyce wrote it entirely in puns and neologisms. Whenever you see a phrase with three words beginning with H, C, E or A,L,P in succession the two principle characters are making an appearance, Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker and Anna Livia Plurabelle.

You really have to de-code the book to discover all the nuances. You should read A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake by Joseph Campbell and Henry Morton Robinson just to get a handle on it.

Mumbles

10th June 2010, 23:18

Or something.

Joyce wrote it entirely in puns and neologisms. Whenever you see a phrase with three words beginning with H, C, E or A,L,P in succession the two principle characters are making an appearance, Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker and Anna Livia Plurabelle.

You really have to de-code the book to discover all the nuances. You should read A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake by Joseph Campbell and Henry Morton Robinson just to get a handle on it.

Ah, okay, I just figured it was a drunk guy telling a story and just ranting and using what he would think were the correct words while trying to sound smart... I'm gonna try and read it once then look at the skeleton thing and reread it. I wanna see what I actually do catch. Although since reading 20 pages last night took an hour, I'm gonna be an old man before I finish it haha

Ele'ill

11th June 2010, 03:51

Reading 'The Dark Tower' series again (by Stephen King). As a full time and fairly serious writer/reader I'd suggest it to anyone that enjoys mystery sci-fi and horror. It is not like King's other books.

'The Long Haul' by Myles Horton is on my list to finish as well.

Across The Street

11th June 2010, 04:17

Found my copy of The Wretched of the Earth, and I'm re-reading it.
Grove Press
Evergreen Black Cat Edition

From the back:
"Have the courage to read this book." - Jean-Paul Sartre

Written in anger, this book by a distinguished Negro psychiatrist and leading spokesman of the revolution which won independence for Algeria is no mere diatribe against the white man or the West. It is a brilliant examination of the role of violence in effecting historical change which has served leaders of emerging nations as a veritable handbook of revolutionary practice and social reorganization.

"It must be read by all who wish to understand what it means to fight for freedom, equality, and dignity." - Alex Quaison-Sackey, former President of the U.N. General Assembly

"The Wretched of the Earth is an explosion. Readers owe it to their education to study the whole of it. - Emile Capouya, Saturday Review

Honggweilo

11th June 2010, 13:21

I think, therefore i am; insearch of identity in a post-modernist world - Rob Wijnberg

ed miliband

11th June 2010, 19:16

Bilan

11th June 2010, 23:42

Architecture of happiness - Alain de Botton.

Tablo

12th June 2010, 08:27

Just started reading Failed States. I've never read a Chomsky book and decided to pick it up. Thus far it is all stuff I already know and have thoroughly researched, so it is a bit boring. :/

bcbm

12th June 2010, 09:59

I hear master and margarita is awesome. It's my best friends favourite book. Until I say that it is to someone else. And then she claims I am exaggerating.
Hippies.

i am liking it so far. i'll let you know what i think when i finish

lombas

12th June 2010, 23:22

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41F8Y6XW55L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg

Os Cangaceiros

12th June 2010, 23:46

The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte.

Best work of Marx's that I've read thus far.

Liberateeducate

15th June 2010, 19:41

Escaping Education: Living as Learning within Grassroots Cultures by Madhu Suri Prakash and Gustavo Esteva

Life in Schools 4th edition by Peter Mclaren

lombas

15th June 2010, 22:56

Les Anglais sont un peuple de pirates qui, après avoir pillé le monde, ont commencé à s'ennuyer.

- Cioran

:D

Y Chwyldro Comiwnyddol Cymraeg

21st June 2010, 16:55

Catch 22 - Joseph Heller. Enjoying it, very dark and at times very funny

Just finished a few Ripley novels by patricia Highsmith (Talented Mr Ripley and Ripley's game). Excellent psychological thrillers, well worth reading.

Redswiss

21st June 2010, 17:59

Various language textbooks.

Foldered

21st June 2010, 21:22

Vixen by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.

Yes, I read Victorian sensation fiction sometimes.

Veg_Athei_Socialist

21st June 2010, 21:23

Mutual Aid: A Factor Of Evolution - Peter Kropotkin

Ele'ill

22nd June 2010, 23:42

The Passage

It's pretty damned good

Janichkokov

23rd June 2010, 01:07

The Conquest of Bread. Love every word of it.

I'm reading this too right now. This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is one of the few that I feel more sad as I approach the end.

Bilan

24th June 2010, 08:01

Just finishing Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton.
About a quarter of the way through Love in the time of cholera as well.

#FF0000

24th June 2010, 15:53

I am going to fucking finish Gravity's Rainbow eventually. I am going to finish this goddamn book.

CountryKid

24th June 2010, 20:19

Dianetics soon

Foldered

24th June 2010, 21:42

Still Vixen. Victorian fiction is always a daunting task.

I'm also reading The Sublime Object of Ideology by Slavoj; at this rate I'll have that done before Vixen. :P

ComradeOm

25th June 2010, 09:57

Chez Max by Jakob Arjouni. Not just fiction but trendy European literature that comes recommended by the Guardian. Annoyingly, I’m enjoying it so far

ondinklo

27th June 2010, 09:55

Pedro Juan Gutierres- "the king of hawana":thumbup1:

Pretty Flaco

28th June 2010, 00:51

The Grapes of Wrath and Brave New World. ♥

Il Medico

28th June 2010, 06:23

The Grapes of Wrath
Skip the second chapter unless you find a tortoise crossing the road extremely interesting.

Bilan

29th June 2010, 11:35

Skip the second chapter unless you find a tortoise crossing the road extremely interesting.

N'allez pas trop vite.

I'm reading "How Proust Can Change Your Life" - Alain de Botton, as well as still ploughing through Love in the Time of Cholera.

leftace53

29th June 2010, 15:04

as well as still ploughing through Love in the Time of Cholera.

I've done 3 book reports on that, got me through grade 9 - 11 english :lol: Much better read the second time around.

I'm reading The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy (inspired to read it because of the OI thread), as well as Franny and Zooey - J. D. Salinger

Red Saxon

29th June 2010, 18:03

Just finished up East of Eden on my second reading of it, and now I'm mostly reading my Arabic For Dummies book.

Nikolay

29th June 2010, 20:09

The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Foldered

29th June 2010, 20:37

Just finished up East of Eden on my second reading of it, and now I'm mostly reading my Arabic For Dummies book.
I took a semester of Arabic. If you find yourself with a bunch of questions, I may be able to answer some.

I'm reading a book on Italian anarchism (focusing on the mid-late 19th century). Pretty good for a history book.

Bilan

30th June 2010, 02:44

I've done 3 book reports on that, got me through grade 9 - 11 english :lol: Much better read the second time around.
:lol:

I'll try get around to a second reading, but I've got Proust in my sights just now.

Il Medico

30th June 2010, 03:52

N'allez pas trop vite. *shrugs* Peut-être que je vais lui donner un autre tourbillon. J'ai abandonné après que le chapitre pour être honnête.

still ploughing through Love in the Time of Cholera.
How is that?

x359594

30th June 2010, 05:01

...I'm reading a book on Italian anarchism (focusing on the mid-late 19th century). Pretty good for a history book.

If it's the book by Nunzio Pernicone, he has a book about Carlo Tresca scheduled for publication by AK Press this autumn.

Ricardo

1st July 2010, 03:58

I just finished Prison Writings by Leonard Peltier and now i'm gonna start **** by Betty Dodson

danyboy27

1st July 2010, 04:38

On war, by karl von klausevitz.

brawler5k2

1st July 2010, 04:50

Capital (Das Kapital) Volume one by Karl Marx with the lectures by David Harvey.
Kant's Political Writings compiled by Hans Reiss (found this in the local library, and it looks as an interesting read)

Nikolay

1st July 2010, 23:04

I have the slightest urge to read all of Das Kapital Volumes I, II, & III. :blink:

But I have no clue where to buy the books and how much it'll all cost me (in Canadian dollars). :crying:

x359594

2nd July 2010, 02:14

I have the slightest urge to read all of Das Kapital Volumes I, II, & III. But I have no clue where to buy the books and how much it'll all cost me (in Canadian dollars).

Surely there must be some used bookstore where you could acquire all three volumes at bargain prices. In my view, it's necessary to read all three volumes and not just volume I. If you stop there, you'll get a false view of Marx's overall analysis.

Nikolay

2nd July 2010, 02:16

Surely there must be some used bookstore where you could acquire all three volumes at bargain prices. In my view, it's necessary to read all three volumes and not just volume I. If you stop there, you'll get a false view of Marx's overall analysis.

Sadly, there isn't a single book store near me that sells all Volumes of Das Kapital. :(

I plan on reading all the volumes, it'll take me awhile, but it'll be worth it in the long run. :)

MarxSchmarx

2nd July 2010, 04:59

Autobiography of an execution by David Dow.

Sadly, there isn't a single book store near me that sells all Volumes of Das Kapital. http://www.revleft.com/vb/../revleft/smilies/sad.gif

I plan on reading all the volumes, it'll take me awhile, but it'll be worth it in the long run. http://www.revleft.com/vb/../revleft/smilies/001_smile.gif

It is available online too.
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/index.htm
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1885-c2/index.htm
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1894-c3/index.htm

Adi Shankara

2nd July 2010, 11:32

As far as politics and political economy: right now I'm currently reading Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations to gain a better understanding of capitalist political economy. Reading the enemy's literature is a good thing, as it prepares one better to face arguments.

for a non-political book (I always have two going at any given time) I'm reading The Probability of God by Stephen D Unwin, a Physicist/mathematician who, using Baye's theorem, discovered a percentage on which to create a non-biased probability that god exists. All interesting stuff really.

Bilan

2nd July 2010, 15:07

*shrugs* Peut-être que je vais lui donner un autre tourbillon. J'ai abandonné après que le chapitre pour être honnête.

PSH
EDIT: haha, I thought you were talking about Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Because, N'allez pas trop vite kind of embodies his "philosophy", I suppose. You know, not so fast.
I never bothered with the Grapes of Wrath. Too dense.

How is that?

Wonderful. I recommend it.
Edit: I really have to emphasise this: the book is absolutely beautiful.

Nikolay

2nd July 2010, 15:25

@ MarxSchmarx

I'd rather have a book. :thumbup1: Reading off the computer just makes me lose interest. :(

Deny

2nd July 2010, 21:17

Slavoj Zizek's In Defense of Lost Causes

Then probably Samir Amin's The Liberal Virus.

MarxSchmarx

2nd July 2010, 23:15

@ MarxSchmarx

I'd rather have a book. :thumbup1: Reading off the computer just makes me lose interest. :(

Of course you can use a printer. I've done that a few times with tl;dr stuff that make them more managable.

Nikolay

3rd July 2010, 16:38

Of course you can use a printer. I've done that a few times with tl;dr stuff that make them more managable.

I actually thought of doing that, until I found out my printer broke. :lol:

Would marxists.org by any chance be selling Das Kapital (in English)?

oh and I'm now reading:

Principles of Communism - Engels

BAM

3rd July 2010, 17:33

I actually thought of doing that, until I found out my printer broke. :lol:

Would marxists.org by any chance be selling Das Kapital (in English)?

oh and I'm now reading:

Principles of Communism - Engels

they don't sell books (as far as I am aware) but some of Marx's stuff is available as PDFs you could load onto an eBook reader if you have such a thing.

For cheap copies of Capital, try Amazon or Abebooks, who list secondhand sellers. The Penguin editions are better translations, imo.

3rd July 2010, 17:42

Commune of 1871-Elli Papa

NoOneIsIllegal

4th July 2010, 07:59

"Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism"
- Lucien van der Walt and Michael Schmidt

Il Medico

4th July 2010, 13:16

PSH
EDIT: haha, I thought you were talking about Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Because, N'allez pas trop vite kind of embodies his "philosophy", I suppose. You know, not so fast. Seeing as I have never read Proust or De Botton, I didn't know that. I thought you randomly decided to reply to me in French.

I never bothered with the Grapes of Wrath. Too dense.Don't. It is one of those books that gets way too hyped up and is a complete bore. I rarely put down a book that fast (bout half way through the second chapter actually), I don't plan to reread it in the foreseeable future.

Wonderful. I recommend it.
Edit: I really have to emphasise this: the book is absolutely beautiful.Good to hear. I will definitely read it now. I've have been wanting to, but could find anyone, who's taste in literature I respect enough, who has read it and given a good review.

Foldered

5th July 2010, 18:50

If it's the book by Nunzio Pernicone, he has a book about Carlo Tresca scheduled for publication by AK Press this autumn.
That's the one! I'll have to check out this release when it's out. He's definitely an accesible read.

stella2010

7th July 2010, 04:57

Red Centre

Bilan

7th July 2010, 05:06

red centre

OKAY I AM SO HAPPY THAT YOU ARE READING THAT AND SO GLAD YOU MADE IT SO CLEAR SO THAT WE KNEW YOU WERE READING THAT THAT IS SO GREAT HOW GREAT IS THAT? IT IS GREAT. yes.
.

bcbm

7th July 2010, 05:07

"we are an image from the future: the greek revolt of december 2008," "the ego and its own," "zorba the greek"

MilkmanofHumanKindness

7th July 2010, 05:35

Nicolai Bukharin, "Historical Materialism: A System of Sociology"

Bilan

7th July 2010, 06:07

"we are an image from the future: the greek revolt of december 2008," "the ego and its own," "zorba the greek"

ban.

ComradeOm

7th July 2010, 10:50

Re-reading Nove's Economic History of the USSR so I can make my own index of important points. I tend to do this with all books now but this is the longest one so far (around 70 references and I'm not even on to Khrushchev yet). I am well aware of just how sad it is

The reward though is Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days (the book of the cartoon!) and Wilson's Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics which are sitting on my locker. It may be because of the World Cup but I'm particularly looking forward to the latter

Ravachol

7th July 2010, 13:37

"we are an image from the future: the greek revolt of december 2008," "the ego and its own,"

Stay the fuck away from that brah. I remember being a Stirnerite years ago and, more than anything else, it turns you into a giant douche with a fight-club attitude.

Also, tell me if "We are an image from the future" is any good, I was thinking about ordering it.

RedandBlack

7th July 2010, 16:01

Anarchism - A Documentary History Of Libertarian Ideas (Vol.II) by Robert Graham. I bought Vol.I a couple years ago and love it. It's a really great assortment of various essays and whatnot.

x359594

7th July 2010, 16:11

Anarchism - A Documentary History Of Libertarian Ideas (Vol.II) by Robert Graham...

I understand that volume III was recently published.

bcbm

7th July 2010, 19:07

Stay the fuck away from that brah. I remember being a Stirnerite years ago and, more than anything else, it turns you into a giant douche with a fight-club attitude.

you think i am so weak willed and malleable in my attitudes? :(

and i am already a giant douche with a fight-club attitude, so...

Also, tell me if "We are an image from the future" is any good, I was thinking about ordering it.

yes do it

Os Cangaceiros

7th July 2010, 19:24

Don't listen to the haters. Max Stirner is awesome.

Anyway, I'm reading Empire by Hardt and Negri.

Ravachol

7th July 2010, 19:55

you think i am so weak willed and malleable in my
attitudes? :(

Of course not, you're a bastion of iron-willed discipline and proletarian fire!

and i am already a giant douche with a fight-club attitude, so...

Then by all means, proceed! :p

Anyway, I'm reading Empire by Hardt and Negri.

I thought it was pretty good but I prefer Negri's earlier writings, especially those outlined in 'Books for Burning' and 'Storming Heaven'.

Weezer

7th July 2010, 20:02

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

Os Cangaceiros

7th July 2010, 20:42

I thought it was pretty good but I prefer Negri's earlier writings, especially those outlined in 'Books for Burning' and 'Storming Heaven'.

I like it. It can be headache inducing as well, though...I try not to read too much of it in one sitting.

Ravachol

7th July 2010, 22:29

I like it. It can be headache inducing as well, though...I try not to read too much of it in one sitting.

Yeah his language and theology-based metaphors are both beautifull and quite a pain to wrestle through. While I enjoy it it makes his work far less accessible than it could've been (something the entire ultra-left, Situationist and Insurrectionary milieus seems to suffer from).

Khalid

8th July 2010, 00:14

Kallonmittaajia ja skinejä by Jouko Jokisalo (he used to work for Stasi, btw) and Pekka Isaksson. It's about history of racism. And my favourite bedtime stories, One Thousand and One Nights.

MarxSchmarx

8th July 2010, 10:59

Chronicles of the Steppe

by Shiba Ryotarou

Authors reflections on visiting communist Mongolia in the 1970s and again just as perestroika was in full swing.

MarxSchmarx

8th July 2010, 11:02

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

I read that when I was 10 years old and became a Daoist until I read Mao a few years later.

praxis1966

8th July 2010, 21:12

Just recently finished Rocker's Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory and Practice. Just started Bakunin's God and the State.

NoOneIsIllegal

9th July 2010, 05:16

"we are an image from the future: the greek revolt of december 2008,"
I was surprised to find this in a tiny, little book store that barely had a politics or history section. I was very disappointed in the book and a lot of what the people said or did. I was given the impression too many people believe anarchism is just fucking shit up for a couple of days and taking revenge on the police, and that's it...:blink: To be fair, there were a few good essays, but not many.

bcbm

9th July 2010, 05:21

I was given the impression too many people believe anarchism is just fucking shit up for a couple of days and taking revenge on the police, and that's it

i got a completely different impression, there was a lot of talk about the anarchist space and their methods for interacting with neighbors, having a presence in neighborhoods, etc

Vanguard1917

9th July 2010, 12:10

Lenin: a study on the unity of his thought by Lukacs. Highly recommended.

Nothing Human Is Alien

9th July 2010, 21:21

they don't sell books (as far as I am aware)

Books for sale from the Marxist Internet Archive (http://www.marxists.org/admin/books/index.htm)

Widerstand

10th July 2010, 12:30

Daniel Guérin - Anarchism: From Theory to Practice

FreeFocus

10th July 2010, 16:25

Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control by Kathleen Taylor.

Stephen Colbert

11th July 2010, 05:06

Ele'ill

11th July 2010, 05:48

'The Windup Girl' although I haven't had much time to read as of late.

Finished 'The Passage' (the book I was reading and mentioned in here previously) in about four days. It's a good read if you like post apocalyptic zombie/vampire stuff.

leftace53

11th July 2010, 18:13

Finished Franny and Zooey, as well as The Red Tent.

On to Encounters with Einstein and other essays on people, places and particles, as well as the last 100 pages of The God of Small Things

praxis1966

12th July 2010, 19:46

Sadly, there isn't a single book store near me that sells all Volumes of Das Kapital. :(

I plan on reading all the volumes, it'll take me awhile, but it'll be worth it in the long run. :)

Haymarket Books sells all three volumes. I took the liberty of doing the search for you, and the results are here (http://www.haymarketbooks.org/search/node/Capital). Beyond that, there was what was ostensibly a Volume IV which was eventually published under the name Theories of Surplus Value, and Amazon has a line on several pricey editions if you really want to get grimy with it. They only have listings for 5 copies, though, which are available here (http://www.amazon.com/Theories-Surplus-Value-Great-Minds/dp/1573927775). At the risk of sounding like a sales rep for Amazon, I should tell you that Theories is out of print if I'm not mistaken, so you might want to hurry on that one if you really want it.

Burn A Flag

12th July 2010, 20:56

Supercapitalism- Robert Reich

It's from a cappies viewpoint, but it gives freat insight to the USA's economy. I didn't know this until today, but Union membership went from like 40% early 1900's to under 10% currently. Also it talks how corps cut wages and such, as well as how capitalism makes America's government less democratic.

Weezer

12th July 2010, 21:34

Also reading The Revolution Betrayed by Lev Davidovich Bronstein.

Y Chwyldro Comiwnyddol Cymraeg

16th July 2010, 13:35

Confederacy of Dunces - John Kenedy Toole
Bevan - A Biography of Aneurin Bevan

kalu

17th July 2010, 17:20

I have been stuck on The Critique of Pure Reason (Kant) for about two weeks now, though definitely getting more out of it than from my first reading a year ago. Mostly "stuck" because I've been getting sidetracked on other things. I might get to the refutation of cosmological, ontological, and physico-theological proofs of God before calling it quits. Hoping to start some more productive reading, in terms of relevance to my research, when Selected Subaltern Studies and On Populist Reason (Laclau) come to the library later this week.

Optiow

18th July 2010, 04:37

I am reading 'Colditz, the German Story' by Hauptmann Reinhold Eggers. This book covers the opinions and stories of not just the prisoners, but of their German guards. Eggers was security officer for years in Colditz, having to deal with the job of keeping the elusive prisoners from escaping - which was actually a very difficult job due to the prisoners experience and determination.

While it may not sound very interesting to some, this book is very interesting, and it really shows some light on the German forces in a remote theatre of the war, which many just forget these days.

Stephen Colbert

18th July 2010, 06:03

Too Fat To Fish

alphabetikal

19th July 2010, 20:55

Che Guevara: The Economics of Revolution by Helen Yaffe.

One of the most in-depth studies of Cuban socialist progress and economic struggles against imperialism ever

MarxSchmarx

22nd July 2010, 02:18

Me talk pretty one day by David Sedaris

leftace53

23rd July 2010, 00:37

A short history of nearly everything - Bill Bryson

Os Cangaceiros

24th July 2010, 20:45

The Secret History of Cults by Peter Haining (unfortunately the RCP is not covered...zing!)

European Dictatorships: 1918-1945 by Stephen Lee

Angel of Vengeance by Ana Siljak (about Narodnik assassin Vera Zasulich)

and finishing up Empire, by Hardt & Negri.

Pretty Flaco

28th July 2010, 04:58

I'm reading the Communist Manifesto... and I think I'm being converted to communism! :hammersickle:

Theoneontheleft

30th July 2010, 07:11

Che Guevara by David Sandison
Many Great Photos!

MarxSchmarx

1st August 2010, 07:05

Moscow 1941 by Rodric Braithwaite

Il Medico

1st August 2010, 15:49

Just finished Pot Luck by Zola.

Now I am reading through an anthology of the works of Lord Byron. After that I am not sure what to read. I am debating between picking up another Hemingway book, either To Have and Have Not or Across the River and Into the Trees. Or I could start on a collection of the works of the Marquis de Sade. It is quite hefty though, and I think if I do, I'll limit myself to either Justine or Philosophy in the Bedroom. I could also always start on Slaughterhouse Five, which I have had for a while but still haven't read.

welshexile1963

1st August 2010, 17:06

I am currently ready "The Enemy Within" about the attack on the NUM & Scargill during the miners heroic struggle against Thatcher and the state, i have nearly finished it and it is excellent.

Volcanicity

1st August 2010, 18:48

fidel and che by simon reid henry and conspirator lenin in exile by helen rappaport

MagÃ³n

2nd August 2010, 00:44

For the third time, Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell. Love that book.

RedSonRising

2nd August 2010, 09:22

"Wobblies and Zapatistas: Conversations on Anarchism, Marxism, and Radical History." I'll probably write a review when I'm done, it's a very useful account with some very fresh perspectives.

brawler5k2

3rd August 2010, 22:35

Right now I have three books in mind:
Googled: The End of the World as we Know It by Ken Auletta
The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth About Global Corruption by John Perkins
and The Myth of the Machine: The Pentagon of Power by Lewis Mumford.

However, I haven't started reading any of these yet.

Pretty Flaco

3rd August 2010, 22:46

A People's History of the United States byZINN!

MagÃ³n

3rd August 2010, 22:51

Just started up on these two on my list of what to read this summer. So far, the Spanish one isn't too bad. Rather interesting. The top one I've only read a chapter or two in. Interesting itself as well. So far, I'd highly recommend them. (Obviously not the Spanish one if you can't read or understand Spanish.)

Anarchist International Action Against Francoism: From Genoa 1949 to The First of May Group (http://www.akpress.org/2010/items/anarchistinternationalactionagainstfrancoism)
La Revolucion Traicionada: La Verdadera Historia De Balius y Los Amigos De Durruti (http://www.akpress.org/2004/items/larevoluciontraicionada)

leftace53

3rd August 2010, 22:52

Or I could start on a collection of the works of the Marquis de Sade. It is quite hefty though, and I think if I do, I'll limit myself to either Justine or Philosophy in the Bedroom.

I recently watched a movie about the Marquis, and had a renewed interest in his works. I've been meaning to scrounge up a copy of Justine or The 120 Days of Sodom, hopefully theres e-texts of these lying about.

I just finished Question Quest by Piers Anthony, and will start on Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson.

Il Medico

4th August 2010, 00:18

I recently watched a movie about the Marquis, and had a renewed interest in his works. I've been meaning to scrounge up a copy of Justine or The 120 Days of Sodom, hopefully theres e-texts of these lying about.

Bah, e-text. Books are where it's at. ;)

NoOneIsIllegal

6th August 2010, 06:36

"Bakunin: The Creative Passion" - Mark Leier

Veg_Athei_Socialist

7th August 2010, 06:21

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAberkmanBK2.jpg

Nikolay

10th August 2010, 02:18

I will be reading Das Kapital in the next few months. :)

But at the moment I am going to start reading like 9 books before I start that.

Svoboda

11th August 2010, 18:13

The Evolution of Capitalism, The Philosophy of Misery by Proudhon.

Bilan

13th August 2010, 04:44

Résistance: Memoirs of Occupied France
Agnes Humbert.

Recommend Recommend Recommend!

Il Medico

14th August 2010, 06:29

Résistance: Memoirs of Occupied France
Agnes Humbert.

Recommend Recommend Recommend!
So...Is it good? :p

Jazzhands

15th August 2010, 21:32

I just got finished with Crime and Punishment. That was an ordeal. They clearly mistranslated some of the names, too. :cursing:

I've started Forgotten Fire, a book about the Armenian Genocide. It's well below my reading level but it's light. not the best book ever written but it's alright.

I never got to read For Whom the Bell Tolls this summer, unfortunately. oh well.

leftace53

16th August 2010, 21:36

Still reading Galileo's Dream, and also picked up Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin.

Pretty Flaco

17th August 2010, 00:28

The Coming Insurrection
The Communist Manifesto
and I'm doing a project on For Whom the Bell Tolls and Homage to Catalonia for one of my classes at school

ComradeOm

17th August 2010, 12:12

Peter Wilson. Europe's Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years War

Thirsty Crow

17th August 2010, 13:27

Chris harman - A People's History of the World
and
Marcel Liebman - Leninism under Lenin

Nikolay

17th August 2010, 16:35

Das Kapital - Karl Marx

Khalid

18th August 2010, 21:16

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and The Tasks of the Chinese Communist Party in the Period of Resistance to Japan by Mao. I haven't been reading too much lately.

Multatulit

19th August 2010, 10:16

Dead Souls - Gogol and The Enigma of Capital - David Harvey

NoOneIsIllegal

20th August 2010, 08:35

The Coming Insurrection

Conformism? I'd figured I would check out what the big deal was :lol:

Widerstand

21st August 2010, 01:17

.

I'm reading ... OI stuff. Nathaniel Branden's 6 Pillars of Self Esteem. Read so many good reviews about it, I just had to get it. Then he suddenly writes about how he fucked Ayn Rand and all, and I'm like

The Coming Insurrection
Conformism? I'd figured I would check out what the big deal was

Is that book actually good? Everyone seems to read it but no one ever comments on it =(

(EDIT) Please refrain from posting irrelevant pics in forums other than Chit Chat. Thanks. - Moderator

.

The Vegan Marxist

21st August 2010, 01:51

I am currently reading two different books actually:

"God & His Demons" by Michael Parenti & "Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy & the Triumph of the Spectacle" by Chris Hedges.

NoOneIsIllegal

21st August 2010, 23:24

Is that book actually good? Everyone seems to read it but no one ever comments on it.

I'm almost done with it. I'm generally disappointed with it. It has some good moments, but definitely not what I was expecting. I'm not a picky reader... It's a cheap book though if you wanted to buy it. Otherwise, check the library, or simply avoid reading it.

I'm about to start this:
"Western Marxism and the Soviet Union: A Survey of Critical Theories and Debates since 1917" - Marcel van der Linden

Tavarisch_Mike

23rd August 2010, 08:30

Ive just start reading "The myth of the eastern front" after that Kayser_Soso recomended it. Later on i will read "the road to Wigan Pier" by George Orwell, for the second time.

Tenka

23rd August 2010, 09:24

Pretty Flaco

25th August 2010, 03:05

Il Medico

25th August 2010, 15:15

Widerstand

25th August 2010, 17:23

Those fascist bastards did what!:cursing:

Who the fuck ruins art by censoring it! Those unprintable obscenities!

I mean really, just stop reading that copy and go get your self a real one.

The copy of Faust I I read in school had stuff like "big hole" censored, too. Fucking crap =(

Pretty Flaco

25th August 2010, 20:54

Those fascist bastards did what!:cursing:

Who the fuck ruins art by censoring it! Those unprintable obscenities!

I mean really, just stop reading that copy and go get your self a real one.

That's the only copy available at my library and I hate reading off of a computer.

can't be damned to buy it

leftace53

26th August 2010, 00:38

That's the only copy available at my library and I hate reading off of a computer.

can't be damned to buy it
now see, if the revleft gift/item exchange existed, I'd send you a copy.

Along with the many other books I've got going on, I'm also reading Catch 22 - Joseph Heller.

Peace on Earth

26th August 2010, 00:45

Guerilla Warfare by Che Guevara.

Il Medico

26th August 2010, 01:02

That's the only copy available at my library and I hate reading off of a computer.

can't be damned to buy it
It's worth it. Bought my soft cover copy for twenty bucks in a book store. Looks like Amazon once again makes me wish I shopped there before now:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0684830485/ref=sr_1_1_olp?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282780855&sr=1-1&condition=used

leftace53

27th August 2010, 00:10

Il Medico

27th August 2010, 06:10

Okay. Finally finished Galileo's Dream, and am going to plow through Catch 22. I've got Ham on Rye (Bukowski) and The Fortune of the Rougons (Zola) lined up, but considering how I read like a billion books at a time, any recommendations on what to read next?
The Star's Tennis Balls by Stephen Fry. Its absolutely wonderful, probably the best thing I have read this year.

leftace53

27th August 2010, 06:19

The Star's Tennis Balls by Stephen Fry. Its absolutely wonderful, probably the best thing I have read this year.

Ahh yes, I've heard of that. I enjoyed Count of Monte Cristo (I hear its similar) so I may very well enjoy the basic plot of this atleast. I'll see if I can scrounge up a copy! :)

ComradeOm

27th August 2010, 11:20

Okay. Finally finished Galileo's Dream, and am going to plow through Catch 22. I've got Ham on Rye (Bukowski) and The Fortune of the Rougons (Zola) lined up, but considering how I read like a billion books at a time, any recommendations on what to read next?John Bulaitis' Communism in Rural France: French Agricultural Workers and the Popular Front is pretty good

ZeroNowhere

27th August 2010, 13:11

A really shitty paperback edition of The Watchers Out of Time, sold as a 'posthumous collaboration' between H.P.L. and August Derleth, though it is 99% Derleth and the publishers put Lovecraft's name alone on the cover to capitalise on his popularity. Also I heard it's missing a story from previous editions.

I've been reading a lot of short stories online lately, too, mostly by Clark Ashton Smith.Yeah, Clark Ashton's great. I had just finished the 'Emperor of Dreams' collection (I don't much like reading stories online), and that was definitely worth reading, although I do prefer his poetry to some extent (he's among my favourite poets, though, so that's not dispraise).

Currently, I'm re-reading Lindsay's 'A Voyage to Arcturus'. The prose is still rubbish, but it's nonetheless a good book. After that, I'll probably tackle a Spanish translation of Grossman's book. I'm not sure why there's a Spanish translation, but no full English one, though.

kitsune

29th August 2010, 02:26

The Star's Tennis Balls by Stephen Fry. Its absolutely wonderful, probably the best thing I have read this year.

Stephen Fry is pretty damned amazing. I am definitely going to have to pick this up.

Right now I'm in the middle of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. This may have something to do with the fact that I've been playing a lot of Left 4 Dead. I've read World War Z already, but I picked it up again and I had forgotten how good it was. I read a few paragraphs and I was hooked.

nip

29th August 2010, 03:09

I'm currently reading His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

Autumn Red

29th August 2010, 19:58

I'm reading both The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy and Hard Times.

They are for the two English classes I'm taking at the moment. Hard Times is a really good narrative on the working people during the Industrial Revolution.

Thirsty Crow

30th August 2010, 12:14

Peter Buerger - Theory of the Avant-Garde

An excellent historical and theoretical analysis of the problem of art in class societies...What is specifically great about this work is that Buerger successfully explains the societal and historical basis of the institution of art, and of its supposedly autonomous status.

Coming right up:
Raymond Williams - Marxism and Literature
Frederic Jameson - The Political Unconscious: Narrative as a Socially Symbolic Act
Luciene Goldmann . Towards a Sociology of the Novel

Oh yeah, blending two of my favorite areas, Marxism and literary/cultural theory

Veg_Athei_Socialist

30th August 2010, 17:31

Anarchism And Other Essays - Emma Goldman

Y Chwyldro Comiwnyddol Cymraeg

31st August 2010, 18:52

bcbm

31st August 2010, 19:43

canterbury tales by chaucer, droll stories by balzac, saint genet: actor and martyr by sartre, even cowgirls get the blues by tom tobbins, sermon to the princes by thomas muntzer

Os Cangaceiros

31st August 2010, 19:48

canterbury tales by chaucer

You didn't read that one in high school?

bcbm

31st August 2010, 19:50

where do you think i got the copy i'm reading?

we only read a few of them, and tbh i didn't even read those.

Os Cangaceiros

31st August 2010, 20:23

We read it in my high school, too.

That and Beowulf. I think that all high school Eng. classes are required by law to study Beowulf.

Thirsty Crow

31st August 2010, 23:20

We read it in my high school, too.

That and Beowulf. I think that all high school Eng. classes are required by law to study Beowulf.
I think that they'd be better off with a decent commentary, on both cultural and historical (social) aspects.

x359594

1st September 2010, 00:40

I'm reading For Whom the Bell Tolls... and it's censored.
There's a sentence where one of the characters says something the lines of, "Oh, don't be an unprintable obscenity, you unprintably unprintable obscenity! Go get the unprintable wood already."...

As a matter of fact, For Whom the Bell Tolls was not censored ex post facto. Hemingway resorted to the language quoted above because actual obscenity was not printable in the US until American publishers won a number of obscenity lawsuits starting with Random House's victory in 1933 in US v. One Book Called Ulysses down to the 1962 judgment in favor of Grove Press over their publication of Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. After that, censorship was lifted.

In Norman Mailer's 1948 war novel The Naked and the Dead he uses "fug" for "fuck" (and of course the 1960s satirical rock group The Fugs tooks its name from Mailer's neologism.)

x359594

1st September 2010, 00:47

I've always wanted to read that [For Whom the Bell Tolls], is it any good?...

In my view, the novel is seriously flawed. The first time I read it, I didn't like Hemingway's stylized English as a substitute for Castilian Spanish. On a second reading I accepted the stylized English but thought Maria was an unreal male fantasy, the woman who'll do anything for her man. Nor did Hemingway give a fair picture of the anarchists.

Os Cangaceiros

1st September 2010, 01:34

I read FWTBT a while ago, but I seem to remember him portraying anarchists as wild madmen/buffoons in the novel.

Pretty Flaco

1st September 2010, 02:50

I read FWTBT a while ago, but I seem to remember him portraying anarchists as wild madmen/buffoons in the novel.

He pretty much describes the majority of them as drunkards who the revolution would be better without.
I don't agree there, but I enjoy the book.

Die Rote Fahne

1st September 2010, 22:23

Trying to get a copy of "Maus". That'll be my next read.

Il Medico

2nd September 2010, 01:42

For Whom The Bell Tolls is a very worthwhile read I think. I liked it very much (it was the second Hemingway book I read). It doesn't paint the anarchist in a necessarily positive light, but not super negative either. Some you don't like, other you find heroic and some other, like the old man (I can't remember how to spell his name alsemo or something) you really grow fond of. But yeah, I don't only read fiction for politics. Hemingway is a great story teller and author imo and this book is one of his best. Though, I daresay, that I think A Farewell to Arms along with The Sun Also Rises is better.

As for Chaucer, I read him in High school. We read three stories I think. But we didn't spend as much time on it as other classes did because we were more focused on The Inferno by Dante. But yeah, my senior English teach had some great lit choices. (The perivous year in American lit, my teacher decided to skip over modernism entirely and instead spend an absurd amount of time on the Crucible, which made me want to stick my head in a meat grinder.

x359594

2nd September 2010, 07:40

...It doesn't paint the anarchist in a necessarily positive light, but not super negative either...Hemingway is a great story teller and author imo and this book is one of his best...

As I recall there are three passages that characterize the anarchists as drunkards, as fanatics and as cowards (in the reference to Durruti as being one of the good ones who is murdered by his own comrades.) Hemingway also repeats the slander that the POUM was acting on behalf of the fascists. His sympathies lie with the Stalinists although the character based on Andre Marty is portrayed as a psychopath.

For me, Hemingway's strongest suit is as a prose stylist. He learned from Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound and at his best brought in Pound's panopoeia and Stein's attention to sound units into popular literature. I think he did his best work as a short story writer.

2nd September 2010, 14:34

Condition of the Working Class in England by Engels

kalu

2nd September 2010, 18:48

Masses, Classes, Ideas by Etienne Balibar. I think this might be the first Balibar book I finish. I'd read his essay in Reading Capital (the English translation unfortunately cuts out Pierre Macherey's contribution to that volume), and started Politics and the Other Scene earlier in the summer, but just got sidetracked. Balibar's theorizing is definitely intricate and at first hard to understand, but not without its own rigor, as I'm starting to see. I love his emphasis on developing the "aporias" in Marxism, by putting it into dialogue with other political philosophies, like Spinoza's. I think it's definitely a book I'm going to have to read twice before I can summarize it adequately..