Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?

[LizKat]

The Worst Hard Time: Timothy Egan's nonfiction account of Americans who struggled to survive the longest-lasting (and man-made) natural disaster to affect the USA in its history to date, the horrendous Dust Bowl storms that laid waste to the high plains during the 1930s and so the peak years of the Great Depression's economic devastations. This is not the story of those who fled and settled elsewhere in those hard times, but rather of those who stayed and fought the black dust and crop failures, either unable to leave or unwilling to give up the former grassland that was never meant for what had been done to it by farmers trying to plow and plant it as if they were working land with trees and topsoil. A tale of greed, scams, ignorance, hubris, thoughtless policy, and efforts to survive all of that.... once it all came home to roost in dust storms so blinding that people tied themseves to outbuildings and porch rails so as not to get lost in their own yards, storms that left animals dead of ingested sand, land gone barren and left hard as a road, homes that required shoveling out every day. Fascinating stories, cautionary tale.

 

[SandboxGeneral]

Finally getting around to reading this one.

 

[JamesMike]

I'm enjoying reading Escalante's Dream by David Roberts.

 

[yaxomoxay]

I am reading some ancient texts. It’s incredible to see the wisdom within them and to notice how our problems are quite similar to theirs.

“The Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius.
“The Enchiridion” by Epictetus.
“The Apology of Socrates” by Plato.

 

[SandboxGeneral]

I am reading some ancient texts. It’s incredible to see the wisdom within them and to notice how our problems are quite similar to theirs.

“The Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius.
“The Enchiridion” by Epictetus.
“The Apology of Socrates” by Plato.

Indeed. In the book I read recently in this thread by General Jim Mattis, "Call sign Chaos: Learning to Lead", one of my favorite quotes is this:

"At the same time, there's no substitute for constant study of one's craft. Living in history builds your own shock absorber because you'll learn that there are lots of old solutions to new problems. If you haven't read hundreds of books, learning from others who went before you, you are functionally illiterate - you can't coach and you can't lead."

Mattis reads a lot, and a lot of those books are from the Stoics like Aurelius, Epictetus, and Plato, among others.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I am reading some ancient texts. It’s incredible to see the wisdom within them and to notice how our problems are quite similar to theirs.

“The Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius.
“The Enchiridion” by Epictetus.
“The Apology of Socrates” by Plato.

A superb selection.

Indeed. In the book I read recently in this thread by General Jim Mattis, "Call sign Chaos: Learning to Lead", one of my favorite quotes is this:



Mattis reads a lot, and a lot of those books are from the Stoics like Aurelius, Epictetus, and Plato, among others.

Terrific quote from General Mattis, and thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[Mousse]

I'm finally getting around to reading a book that was banned back while I was in high school: To Kill a Mockingbird. I gotta say, I'm disappointed in this classic hunting book as it doesn't teach me a thing about how to hunt mockingbirds. Not only are there no how to tips, it even states that it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.

All kidding aside, I understand now why it's considered one of the great works of literature. Also, Atticus Finch is my new personal hero; sorry Al "4 Touchdown in One Game" Boondy.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I am reading some ancient texts. It’s incredible to see the wisdom within them and to notice how our problems are quite similar to theirs.

“The Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius.
“The Enchiridion” by Epictetus.
“The Apology of Socrates” by Plato.

These are the sort of books that I love to find in an elegant, classy, hard back edition with excellent production values; classics deserve no less.

 

[yaxomoxay]

These are the sort of books that I love to find in an elegant, classy, hard back edition with excellent production values; classics deserve no less.

I have MA's Meditations, and Apology (+ others from Plato) in both cheap and hard back edition.
As for the Enchiridion, I have the cheap Dover edition ($3... new), but that was planned as I highlighted and written notes on most pages.
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Indeed. In the book I read recently in this thread by General Jim Mattis, "Call sign Chaos: Learning to Lead", one of my favorite quotes is this:



Mattis reads a lot, and a lot of those books are from the Stoics like Aurelius, Epictetus, and Plato, among others.

Fantastic quote, and so true.
I remember watching a video in which Mattis recommends the reading of the books in the US Marine Corps Commandant Reading list (select the level, on the left): https://grc-usmcu.libguides.com/usmc-reading-list
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Man's Search for Meaning

View attachment 867672

I dare say, this changed my life.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I'm finally getting around to reading a book that was banned back while I was in high school: To Kill a Mockingbird. I gotta say, I'm disappointed in this classic hunting book as it doesn't teach me a thing about how to hunt mockingbirds. Not only are there no how to tips, it even states that it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.

All kidding aside, I understand now why it's considered one of the great works of literature. Also, Atticus Finch is my new personal hero; sorry Al "4 Touchdown in One Game" Boondy.

Actually, I know a few people who decided to become lawyers having read this book.
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Finally getting around to reading this one.
View attachment 869267

A very powerful and impressive book; my mother loved it.

 

[rhett7660]

Man's Search for Meaning

View attachment 867672

This was an assigned reading book for a class I took for work. Outstanding book in the beginning. After the war, the material he dives into didn't capture me like the first half of this book. Excellent read...

 

[SandboxGeneral]

After the war, the material he dives into didn't capture me like the first half of this book.

I felt the same way. Overall, an excellent read, though.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Mindfulness in the Modern World by Osho.
I am puzzled.
Often when I mention meditation I get someone suggesting an Osho book, so I finally decided to pick one at Barnes and Noble.
This book is full of gems, and good discourses about mindfulness, meditation, concentration, contemplation, and ego.
However, Osho comes off as a jerk. This book is filled of attacks to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, saint John Paul II, Gandhi, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, atheism, I mean, literally everything. He calls people stupid, ignorant, ill-informed, deceiving, etc.
I understand that many gurus and spiritual figures of his kind often proclaim that they are the right and best way - after all it's part of the "business" they are in - but I have never, ever read a spiritual book by one of them that directly, relentlessly, continuously goes off the way Osho does in this book. After a while the "I am the true way, follow me" becomes "My dick is bigger than theirs, follow me," and that's what he did in this book.
I am starting to think that Osho is better for quotes on memes than actual guidance.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Mindfulness in the Modern World by Osho.
I am puzzled.
Often when I mention meditation I get someone suggesting an Osho book, so I finally decided to pick one at Barnes and Noble.
This book is full of gems, and good discourses about mindfulness, meditation, concentration, contemplation, and ego.
However, Osho comes off as a jerk. This book is filled of attacks to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, saint John Paul II, Gandhi, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, atheism, I mean, literally everything. He calls people stupid, ignorant, ill-informed, deceiving, etc.
I understand that many gurus and spiritual figures of his kind often proclaim that they are the right and best way - after all it's part of the "business" they are in - but I have never, ever read a spiritual book by one of them that directly, relentlessly, continuously goes off the way Osho does in this book. After a while the "I am the true way, follow me" becomes "My dick is bigger than theirs, follow me," and that's what he did in this book.
I am starting to think that Osho is better for quotes on memes than actual guidance.

Very interesting post (and thoughtful and thought-provoking review).

Clearly, this is a book I can give a wide berth to.

Re mindfulness, and related matters, - to my mind - it is essential when reading such a tome or text - that you feel better for having read it, that you have learned something new, or been persuaded to look at something old - that you knew - with fresh eyes, and thus, have been able to see it anew, or, that it can help you - enable you - to be the best possible version of yourself that it is possible to be, or that it can invite you to want to open doors in the mind, and to explore what is behind them.

Sustained, nasty, self-indulgent negativity has no place in such a work.

 

[jpn]

 

[yaxomoxay]

Very interesting post (and thoughtful and though-provoking review).

Clearly, this is a book I can give a wide berth to.

Re mindfulness, and related matters, - to my mind - it is essential when reading such a tome or text - that you feel better for having read it, that you have learned something new, or been persuaded to look at something old - that you knew - with fresh eyes, and thus, have been able to see it anew, or, that it can help you - enable you - to be the best possible version of yourself that it is possible to be, or that it can invite you to want to open doors in the mind, and to explore what is behind them.

Sustained, nasty, self-indulgent negativity has no place in such a work.

Agreed. The style was really off-putting. I don't know how Osho became so popular if that's how he explains his theories and how he approaches other individuals with different ideas. I might've been unlucky in my choice so I will give him the benefit of the doubt; I'll read some other work of his in the next few months.

As for now, my re-discovered fascination with Hellenistic philosophy (and Greco-Roman philosophy in general) grows by the day, so I know where my literary journey is heading.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Agreed. The style was really off-putting. I don't know how Osho became so popular if that's how he explains his theories and how he approaches other individuals with different ideas. I might've been unlucky in my choice so I will give him the benefit of the doubt; I'll read some other work of his in the next few months.

As for now, my re-discovered fascination with Hellenistic philosophy (and Greco-Roman philosophy in general) grows by the day, so I know where my literary journey is heading.

I noted that an exceptionally elegant hardback of "The Meditations" is due to be published this coming December; this sounds like the sort of gift I may request from a sibling, as timeless classics deserve high quality production values when published as books.

 

[rhett7660]

Finished Dragon Tears... this one was recommended to me by a friend so I thought I would give it a whirl..

A Predator and A Psychopath: A Dark and Twisted Psychological Thriller

 

[LizKat]

Barry Werth's book 31 Days, about the first month of Gerald Ford's presidency. It was a wild ride!

The Ford ascension in 1974 was unique in US history, not just because he succeeded the only American president to have resigned, but because he wasn't even Nixon's original Vice President. Spiro Agnew had been forced to resign over a felony tax evasion charge to which he had pled guilty in order to avoid dealing with a plethora of related charges.

Jerry Ford, then part of the minority leadership in the House, became the Republican Party's nominee for the VP post when Agnew stepped down in October of 1973. The reason for that was that the Watergate investigation had thoroughly polarized the House by that point. The post of Vice President requires consent of the Senate in case the elected VP departs the post early. Nixon was informed by party leaders that Ford, who was amiable and well liked on both sides of the aisle, was the only nominee the Party believed could get enough votes to be confirmed in the Senate.

So we ended up with the first American president who hadn't ever been elected to a national office including the vice presidency, to which he had been appointed. One of the first things Ford did was decide that he wanted to pardon Richard Nixon. He was concerned for the president's mental state, and also felt the pardon would heal the divisions the country had been through via Vietnam War differences and Watergate.

The book is a fascinating view of the launch days of Ford's administration -- a sometimes spiky combination of holdovers from Nixon's time and new picks by Ford-- and the parallel work of setting up a new government in the wake of a bitter impeachment effort, meanwhile trying to negotiate for a statement of wrongdoing from Nixon that would help justify a pardon but not look like some kind of deal.

The initial feelings of relief after the exhaustion of Watergate were intense as Ford was sworn in. They didn't last long. Nixon as it turned out would not budge past admitting "errors of judgment", plus he was arrogant about expectations of perks that "past former" presidents had usually enjoyed, as if he had merely retired at end of two terms or something. The backlash against the pardon was predictably severe. Ford's popularity dropped 20% overnight.

Aftermath: The Congressional elections 3 months into Ford's ascension to the Presidency ended up with the Dems picking up 4 Senate seats and 49 House seats, ending up 60-38 in the Senate (two other seats caucused one each to each party), and over 75% of the House seats. The way was already partly paved for Carter's win of the White House in 1976.

 

[DynamicFuzz]

I just started Eragon- a boy and his dragon. I am surprised how young the author is/was when he wrote it. Am liking it so much I just ordered two more from Amazon.

Prior to this I just finished The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo trilogy. Hard to believe it has been in the top ten books for the last year, but it is good enough for me to recommend.

In the process of reading i, Robot by Isaac ASIMOV (dont worry its not the Will Smith movie tie in)

just finished The Outsider, my first Stephen King novel and will certainly be returning to read some of his back catalogue.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Barry Werth's book 31 Days, about the first month of Gerald Ford's presidency. It was a wild ride!

The Ford ascension in 1974 was unique in US history, not just because he succeeded the only American president to have resigned, but because he wasn't even Nixon's original Vice President. Spiro Agnew had been forced to resign over a felony tax evasion charge to which he had pled guilty in order to avoid dealing with a plethora of related charges.

Jerry Ford, then part of the minority leadership in the House, became the Republican Party's nominee for the VP post when Agnew stepped down in October of 1973. The reason for that was that the Watergate investigation had thoroughly polarized the House by that point. The post of Vice President requires consent of the Senate in case the elected VP departs the post early. Nixon was informed by party leaders that Ford, who was amiable and well liked on both sides of the aisle, was the only nominee the Party believed could get enough votes to be confirmed in the Senate.

So we ended up with the first American president who hadn't ever been elected to a national office including the vice presidency, to which he had been appointed. One of the first things Ford did was decide that he wanted to pardon Richard Nixon. He was concerned for the president's mental state, and also felt the pardon would heal the divisions the country had been through via Vietnam War differences and Watergate.

The book is a fascinating view of the launch days of Ford's administration -- a sometimes spiky combination of holdovers from Nixon's time and new picks by Ford-- and the parallel work of setting up a new government in the wake of a bitter impeachment effort, meanwhile trying to negotiate for a statement of wrongdoing from Nixon that would help justify a pardon but not look like some kind of deal.

The initial feelings of relief after the exhaustion of Watergate were intense as Ford was sworn in. They didn't last long. Nixon as it turned out would not budge past admitting "errors of judgment", plus he was arrogant about expectations of perks that "past former" presidents had usually enjoyed, as if he had merely retired at end of two terms or something. The backlash against the pardon was predictably severe. Ford's popularity dropped 20% overnight.

Aftermath: The Congressional elections 3 months into Ford's ascension to the Presidency ended up with the Dems picking up 4 Senate seats and 49 House seats, ending up 60-38 in the Senate (two other seats caucused one each to each party), and over 75% of the House seats. The way was already partly paved for Carter's win of the White House in 1976.

Looks like I must read this... right?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Barry Werth's book 31 Days, about the first month of Gerald Ford's presidency. It was a wild ride!

The Ford ascension in 1974 was unique in US history, not just because he succeeded the only American president to have resigned, but because he wasn't even Nixon's original Vice President. Spiro Agnew had been forced to resign over a felony tax evasion charge to which he had pled guilty in order to avoid dealing with a plethora of related charges.

Jerry Ford, then part of the minority leadership in the House, became the Republican Party's nominee for the VP post when Agnew stepped down in October of 1973. The reason for that was that the Watergate investigation had thoroughly polarized the House by that point. The post of Vice President requires consent of the Senate in case the elected VP departs the post early. Nixon was informed by party leaders that Ford, who was amiable and well liked on both sides of the aisle, was the only nominee the Party believed could get enough votes to be confirmed in the Senate.

So we ended up with the first American president who hadn't ever been elected to a national office including the vice presidency, to which he had been appointed. One of the first things Ford did was decide that he wanted to pardon Richard Nixon. He was concerned for the president's mental state, and also felt the pardon would heal the divisions the country had been through via Vietnam War differences and Watergate.

The book is a fascinating view of the launch days of Ford's administration -- a sometimes spiky combination of holdovers from Nixon's time and new picks by Ford-- and the parallel work of setting up a new government in the wake of a bitter impeachment effort, meanwhile trying to negotiate for a statement of wrongdoing from Nixon that would help justify a pardon but not look like some kind of deal.

The initial feelings of relief after the exhaustion of Watergate were intense as Ford was sworn in. They didn't last long. Nixon as it turned out would not budge past admitting "errors of judgment", plus he was arrogant about expectations of perks that "past former" presidents had usually enjoyed, as if he had merely retired at end of two terms or something. The backlash against the pardon was predictably severe. Ford's popularity dropped 20% overnight.

Aftermath: The Congressional elections 3 months into Ford's ascension to the Presidency ended up with the Dems picking up 4 Senate seats and 49 House seats, ending up 60-38 in the Senate (two other seats caucused one each to each party), and over 75% of the House seats. The way was already partly paved for Carter's win of the White House in 1976.

Actually, I hadn't known of Richard Nixon's arrogance and that he cultivated a sense of bottomless entitlement after his period in office - although, truth to be told, it should come as small surprise, given what we know of his character.

An able man, - at times, an exceptionally able man - with an unfortunately wired ethical and moral compass.

However, I do recall that Gerald Ford had not been elected to the office of either Vice-President or President - which seems astonishing in retrospect - and this was something that utterly stupefied my students when I informed them of it.

Occasionally, I used to break away from the prescribed politics course and discuss US (or, other elections) elections with them when they occurred as it was contemporary and they were interested in seeing how what they studied applied to the world outside the classroom, and - besides - they were studying politics.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Does anyone know an edition of the Iliad and the Odyssey, in poetry form, that has good notations? (on the cheap side please).
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Actually, I hadn't known of Richard Nixon's arrogance and that he cultivated a sense of bottomless entitlement after his period in office - although, truth to be told, it should come as small surprise, given what we know of his character.
An able man, - at times, an exceptionally able man - with an unfortunately wired ethical and moral compass.

Nixon wasn't really arrogant per se - although like all POTUSes he had a well formed ego. He hated confrontations of any kind, and he tried to avoid them as much as possible. Even on the smallest of the things, if he could avoid a confrontation, he would avoid it. Ultimately, he didn't really like dealing with people, which is kinda odd for a politician. He often came across as arrogant because he went on the defensive each time that he could not avoid a confrontation. I guess he also felt the weight of Watergate for many years. Too bad that a bright mind like his was destroyed by internal demons. At any rate, to remain in topic with books, I highly recommend reading his short "In the Arena" (if memory serves me well, it was his last book). It's a very personal book, he truly describes his frustrations, and sometimes - a bit hidden under maxims of some kind - the pain and regret is clearly visible. An outstanding book for anyone interested in politics and history.

 

[LizKat]

Looks like I must read this... right?

Nah, it's still highly optional.. and I expect Ford's presidency will have remained unique in a number of ways. You know the old saw about how history doesn't really repeat itself, rather "it may rhyme but always gets the details wrong."

Do you think I should put that whole summary/review into spoiler tags? I debated doing that out of an abundance of caution regarding possible politicization of this thread, but figured hey, history is what it was, not a forecast, nor some kind of current advocacy just for having come to pass in its own time.

It did surprise me that after a tumultuous finish to Nixon's presidency, just the first month of Ford's brief turn in the White House proved drama-laden and interesting enough to warrant a book unto itself.

I mean I lived through it, but --perhaps like most ordinary Americans-- I was of course unaware of some of the behind-scenes pressures and realignments that were going on then. I suspect that for most ordinary citizens, what will have stuck in memory was Ford's unassuming public demeanor as he took office in August and then to general astonishment on a Sunday early in September, the fact that he fully pardoned his predecessor. Past that I suppose most of us were mostly concerned about the economy, as inflation and threat of recession were huge concerns. Those were also matters requiring intense focus of the new administration. All in all a month that must have felt like an endless day to the new president.

Robertson Dean narrated the audiobook version of 31 Days, for those who like his narrations. I do, but finally bought an ebook format because (no matter the narrator) I always fall asleep listening to audiobooks upstairs at night, even if the book is fascinating. Got tired of rewinding this one because I wanted to hear it all and so finally had to settle for reading a text format instead. No offense to Mr. Dean is intended.
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timeless classics deserve high quality production values when published as books.

I agree with your posts about how these works deserve great production values... but on the other hand I like @yaxomoxay wanted to be able to scribble to myself in the margins and so got paperbacks to be able to feel less guilt about writing in books meant for reading lol. That said, for gifts to certain people I'd go with very nice hardcopy versions.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Nah, it's still highly optional.. and I expect Ford's presidency will have remained unique in a number of ways. You know the old saw about how history doesn't really repeat itself, rather "it may rhyme but always gets the details wrong."

Do you think I should put that whole summary/review into spoiler tags? I debated doing that out of an abundance of caution regarding possible politicization of this thread, but figured hey, history is what it was, not a forecast, nor some kind of current advocacy just for having come to pass in its own time.

It did surprise me that after a tumultuous finish to Nixon's presidency, just the first month of Ford's brief turn in the White House proved drama-laden and interesting enough to warrant a book unto itself.

I mean I lived through it, but --perhaps like most ordinary Americans-- I was of course unaware of some of the behind-scenes pressures and realignments that were going on then. I suspect that for most ordinary citizens, what will have stuck in memory was Ford's unassuming public demeanor as he took office in August and then to general astonishment on a Sunday early in September, the fact that he fully pardoned his predecessor. Past that I suppose most of us were mostly concerned about the economy, as inflation and threat of recession were huge concerns. Those were also matters requiring intense focus of the new administration. All in all a month that must have felt like an endless day to the new president.

Robertson Dean narrated the audiobook version of 31 Days, for those who like his narrations. I do, but finally bought an ebook format because (no matter the narrator) I always fall asleep listening to audiobooks upstairs at night, even if the book is fascinating. Got tired of rewinding this one because I wanted to hear it all and so finally had to settle for reading a text format instead. No offense to Mr. Dean is intended.

I would love to have some summary within spoiler tags. I promise not to politicize the thread. The only "insider" book I've read about it is of course Kissinger's third and final volume of his WH years, "Years of Renewal". 1000+ pages that go in depth into the atmosphere and decision making, however it's mostly focused on foreign policy. Definitely an interesting read if you want to know more about the behind the scenes of a few tumultuous years (warning, as the other two volumes, the book is HEAVY, about 4lbs. As a reviewer said, "once you put it down, you can't pick it up").

I agree with your posts about how these works deserve great production values... but on the other hand I like @yaxomoxay wanted to be able to scribble to myself in the margins and so got paperbacks to be able to feel less guilt about writing in books meant for reading lol. That said, for gifts to certain people I'd go with very nice hardcopy versions.

Yep, it really depends on the purpose. I like having high production value books (not necessarily expensive), but at the same times I love taking notes, scribbling in the margins etc. In some cases I do have to buy a second, clean copy just to re-read the book.

On a side note, although I love my kindle (I am reading a book on it now), the true missing feature is serious note taking. There is of course the highlight and "take note" function (with an odd on screen keyboard), however it's nothing compared to the ease of paper (and PDFs on iPad). I am sure that one day we'll reach the point in which we can circle and write on epaper, but for now I consider real paper THE best way to take notes on texts.