What are you reading?

Submitted by wojtek on January 27, 2016

As above

factvalue

8 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by factvalue on January 27, 2016

Susan Haack 'Evidence Matters:Science, proof and truth in the law', Leval's 'Collectives', Wen 'Quantum Field Theory of Many-body Systems' and a PhD thesis on Bayesian decision theory in crime investigation.

Auld-bod

8 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Auld-bod on January 27, 2016

'The Starday Story - The House That Country Music Built', by Nathan D. Gibson.
Interesting and well written.

wojtek

8 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by wojtek on January 27, 2016

Junya Yimprasert's work on academia edu and the LRB on Thaksin Shinawatra.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n12/richard-lloydparry/the-story-of-thaksin-shinawatra

Noah Fence

8 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Noah Fence on January 27, 2016

I'm reading this on the rec of a comrade

http://www.amazon.com/Something-Fierce-Memoirs-Revolutionary-Daughter/dp/1771000368

Pennoid

8 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Pennoid on January 27, 2016

List on Russian Rev

Rex Wades Russian Rev
Rabinowichs Bolshies come to power and Bolshies in Power
State and Rev
Brinton and Goodey debate
Marots book on Russian Rev and agricultural issues.
Avrich Anarchists in Russian Rev (skimming for re-read).

I'm lacking books for after 1918 and I also have the PDF of red Petrograd to help sort out exactly what role factory committees played.

petey

8 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by petey on January 27, 2016

Beowulf

jef costello

8 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by jef costello on January 27, 2016

Single and Single - an ok modern John Le Carré
Freedomland - Not one of Richard PRice's best, but it's ok.
Invisible Man - IT's a shame he never managed to finish another book, I think I'll order Juneteenth for afterwards.

Edit: just started Chabrol's La Banquise, hopefully it's as good as Un homme de trop (if anyone ever finds a copy of the Costa Gavras film I would LOVE to have it!

gram negative

8 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by gram negative on January 27, 2016

trying to keep up with my nursing reading mainly, but outside of that:

Puerto Rico in the American Century by Ayala and Bernabe
The Capitalist Imperative: Territory, Technology, and Industrial Growth by Storper and Walker (really interesting, I'm curious what others think about it)
Belated Feudalism: Labor, the Law, and Liberal Development in the United States by Orren
From Manual Workers to Wage Laborers: Transformation of the Social Question by Castel

Khawaga

8 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Khawaga on January 27, 2016

In Letters of Blood and Fire by Caffentzis

Seeds of the Earth, space opera by Michael Cobly.

Ed

8 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Ed on January 27, 2016

George Lamming's 'The Emigrants'.. just finished 'In the Castle of My Skin', both of them brilliant..

fingers malone

8 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by fingers malone on January 27, 2016

I'm reading War and Peace

wojtek

8 years 2 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by wojtek on January 28, 2016

^i don't believe you lol.

Ed, i don't know him but can you see some similarites with yourself being abroad/are the themes kinda universal re migration?

Anyone read Terry Crews?

Entdinglichung

8 years 2 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Entdinglichung on January 28, 2016

the Suleiman Charitra by Kalyana Malla

mikail firtinaci

8 years 2 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by mikail firtinaci on January 28, 2016

The Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan
Demons Dostoevsky

cactus9

8 years 2 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by cactus9 on January 28, 2016

About to start Jack Bragen's essays on mental illness.

Ed

8 years 2 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Ed on January 28, 2016

wojtek

Ed, i don't know him but can you see some similarites with yourself being abroad/are the themes kinda universal re migration?

Nah, not really.. The Emigrants is really about the experience of black Caribbean migrants coming to London after WW2.. I think it captures a really interesting moment in British history when the country (or specifically, London.. though I guess you could generalise it to most of the urban centres) was changing drastically.. highly recommended anyway..

Soapy

8 years 2 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Soapy on February 5, 2016

Reading "the oh really factor" a nice little fact check of all of the shit that Bill O'Reilly said. I find myself chuckling constantly because the book just shows how he literally just makes shit up.

I'm shocked he still has a show given thesexual assault fiasco (well worth the read I must say, especially the bit about falafel) and the fact that his daughter swore in court that O'Reilly dragged his ex-wife by the neck down a flight of stairs.

Anyway it's a fun read because this guy is totally mental and Adam Johnson does a good job putting it all together.

wojtek

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by wojtek on March 14, 2016

One of Benedict Anderson's last essays on Thailand:
https://newleftreview.org/II/97/benedict-anderson-riddles-of-yellow-and-red

whirlwind

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by whirlwind on March 15, 2016

In Search of Robert Millar, by Richard Moore. A biography of Britain's greatest cyclist, who strangely gets omitted from Channel Four's history of British professional cycling.

wojtek

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by wojtek on March 24, 2016

Cruyff's boycott:
http://sabotagetimes.com/sport/why-cruyff-boycotted-argentina-78

infektfm

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by infektfm on March 24, 2016

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" Phillip K Dick

Next up I'm hoping to read the "Three Body Problem" by Liu Cixin -- on a sci fi tip lately

Khawaga

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Khawaga on March 24, 2016

I just got The Three Body Problem. Looks interesting and I'm wondering why the novel is so popular in China.

Zeronowhere

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Zeronowhere on March 26, 2016

Re-reading Anti-Dühring.

"If therefore Herr Dühring is able without more ado to let his famous two men conduct their economic relations on the basis of equality, this is so because it seems quite natural to popular prejudice. And in fact Herr Dühring calls his philosophy natural because it is derived solely from things which seem to him quite natural. But why they seem natural to him is a question which of course he does not ask."

That Engels is going on a tirade against people positing popular prejudice as natural or unquestioned suggests that he's being disciplined somehow. Nonetheless, I think it's fairly clear that the main absence in Marxism is that although it is generally accepted that Dühring is farcical (a term which incidentally seems to express quite a sharp critique of Hegel), it is left unspoken which tragedy they may have been a repetition of. This is a serious problem and one not to be overlooked. Indeed, what is it to condemn a Herr Dühring without noting their relation to the tragic form, it may be reduced to pure personal spite if it were not justifiably harsher.

Incidentally, Engels comes off in these later works as sounding quite like the early Marx, especially in polemical contexts, although the content often differs in such cases as these. What stands out about Anti-Dühring, as well, is the highly noticeable lack of enthusiasm. Engels did quite get excitable about their dusty, long books, and people seldom seem to understand such things, although it might have been used to furnish the claim that somebody bothered with reading Marx's book by themselves and completely. Which, I mean, is unfortunate, but Karl Marx's day was a harsh enough time for books that were not only 'boring,' and inaccessible, and also long, but also communist, so you sort of figure that modernity would have been a bit hellish for them. They could still be wandering around the streets and haunting houses occasionally, and nobody would pay them the least heed or think that they were worth treating as a human being. Few would seem to question their motivation, which would obviously imply something outside of and beyond the system, as they wrote. In any case, though, at the least we can rely on Kevin Moore smashing lamp-posts because they feel like they ought to, and also that Marx was a spectre of sorts that people talked about occasionally but wouldn't generally wish to read, certainly in any detail, unless it was just to write some kind of equivalent of cheap graffiti over them about how Karl Marx was inferior to every French person to put pen on paper, which is bizarre, although with their language it might well take them a few tries if they're not accustomed.

Sleeper

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Sleeper on March 26, 2016

James Joyce - Dubliners

It looks like a lovely little book :-)

Ed

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Ed on March 26, 2016

wojtek

Cruyff's boycott:
http://sabotagetimes.com/sport/why-cruyff-boycotted-argentina-78

So just read that actually this isn't true and it was actually to do with a kidnap attempt on his family, which made me really sad coz it's something I've always believed about Cruyff..

Apparently did choose Barca over Real Madrid coz he didn't want to play for a team associated with Franco though (so he can still play in my All-Star Rebel XI)..

elraval2

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by elraval2 on March 27, 2016

Beckett - Krapp's Last Tape.

By the way, someone voted down for Joyce...?

Zeronowhere

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Zeronowhere on March 27, 2016

'Marxian Science and the Colleges' by Daniel de Leon, again a re-read. De Leon was, of course, ejected by order from Columbia University, and hence annoyed about such disciplinary measures. He was known for articles with titles like 'Chase that Professor' and 'And This is a Professor,' as well as responding to Oxford University professors giving lectures with his own speeches denouncing and mocking them, as well as condemning them as "private corporations of learning," that, were, "run to suit the private and to the nation disastrous whims, caprices, and INTERESTS of their owners," which interests they were no doubt familiar with after expulsion from this circuit. He characterised their purpose in the terms of the colleges appealing to the capitalists, "you will need the blockheads whom we cultivate; if we do not addle the brains out of these youths then where would you be..." He hence viewed them in harmony with the working sphere or industries, except that their target was to subjugate the mental life of the nation to capital, or at least bother it and discipline it, which other institutions could not do. In this aspect their separation from schools, which as institutions merely prepared people for capital, would seem to be portrayed inevitably. This aspect of his writing - his writings about the topic - is often insufficiently covered in books on his writings, biographies, etc., but this is a collection of his writings on the subject, and as such recommended, especially for people interested in his writings.

Ed

Apparently did choose Barca over Real Madrid coz he didn't want to play for a team associated with Franco though (so he can still play in my All-Star Rebel XI)..

Not sure you'd want to know who those teams are associated with, though. It's not a coincidence that the League had generally been a two-team affair.

Ed

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Ed on March 27, 2016

Zeronowhere

Ed

Apparently did choose Barca over Real Madrid coz he didn't want to play for a team associated with Franco though (so he can still play in my All-Star Rebel XI)..

Not sure you'd want to know who those teams are associated with, though. It's not a coincidence that the League had generally been a two-team affair.

Always thought Real were traditionally associated with Franco and the monarchy (hence 'Real') and Barca with Catalan republicans (tho did hear there's been a group of ultra-right Catalan nationalist ultras since the 1980s/90s).. no?

Khawaga

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Khawaga on March 27, 2016

Way back in 1999 I saw Real Madrid get trounced 5-1 by Real Zaragosa at the Bernabau. What I remember the most was the 1-200 strong contingent of neo-nazis openly doing the Hitler salute several times in the game. Nobody batted an eyelid...

elraval2

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by elraval2 on March 28, 2016

Some Real Madrid fans before the Champions League final a few years ago

elraval2

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by elraval2 on March 28, 2016

However, while not fascistic, FC Barça is certainly a tool in Catalunya's right-wing, Nationalist movement.

infektfm

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by infektfm on March 28, 2016

Khawaga

I just got The Three Body Problem. Looks interesting and I'm wondering why the novel is so popular in China.

Hey, let me know what you think when you start it! I'm planning on ordering it soon

Khawaga

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Khawaga on April 1, 2016

Will do infekfm, though it may take some time before I start it. Finishing this other novel is taken ages...

Harmonie Forrest

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Harmonie Forrest on April 24, 2016

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James...please don't judge me lol :D

Noah Fence

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Noah Fence on April 24, 2016

Bah! All you lofty intellectuals show me right up. I'm reading A Good Ride buy Irving Welsh. It's terrific.

factvalue

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by factvalue on April 24, 2016

John Bell's 'Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics', Robert Musil essays, Newman's 'Life of Richard Wagner' volume 4, Jack Trevor Story's 'Morag's Flying Fortress', Beard's 'Harrison Birtwistle's Operas and Music Theatre', Bishop's 'Joyce's Book of the Dark' and Joyce's 'Finnegans Wake' simultaneously and Stewart and Tall's 'Complex Analysis'. Just finished Colin Ward's 'The Child in the Country' and 'Talking Schools'.

jef costello

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by jef costello on April 25, 2016

Currently reading
Sense and sensibility
Once we had a country
The Stainless Steel Rat
Freedomland.

cactus9

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by cactus9 on April 25, 2016

I'd like to thank the Manchester air rifles by Scarlet West.

Noah Fence

8 years ago

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Submitted by Noah Fence on April 25, 2016

Edit: Posting cock up!

Noah Fence

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Noah Fence on April 25, 2016

jef costello

Currently reading
Sense and sensibility
Once we had a country
The Stainless Steel Rat
Freedomland.

Currently watching
Sense and Sensibility film(Emma Thompson one).
Brilliant but still not as good as the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

factvalue

8 years ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by factvalue on April 25, 2016

We've got both of those on DVD (no-TV-holier-than-thou-attitude - surprising eh?) but they're both watched out for the time being. There's nothing between them. Ang Lee's a funny one isn't he.