Books what you is reading: Page 30 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

Books what you is reading

Daz

Asterix
I've not read any of Dalton's books, and to be honest, I've been put off by some fairly negative reviews that have critiqued his portrayals of disadvantage (particularly in this latest book) as being a bit one dimensional and portraying a kind of conservative "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" sentimentality. Maybe I'll have to take a look myself at some point because your assessment does seem fairly positive.

I've been reading some stuff by Nancy Fraser of late. I have to say I find her multidimensional critical anslyses of modern capitalism to be quite robust and convincing.

Asterix

Daz I didn't feel that at all when reading it, but then I'm not particularly academically inclined - I just like reading a good story. This is really a love story. If people are looking for a story that really portrays a gritty, realistic and honest look at the issues of homelessness (or houselessness as Dalton puts "I've got a home, it's just not a house") then maybe then isn't the book for them. It's about goodies versus baddies in it's simplest sense. But having written that I might be being unfair. If you just wrote down the things that happen in this story in dot point form it's quite awful, but his writing elevates it into something much more than that.

I said I hoped he stuck the ending, and for me it was probably a 7.5 or 8 out of ten.

Pepe LeFrits

MistaT The TV thread reminded me -- how are the second and third book in The Three-Body Problem series?

I found the first one solid, but also (at times) a chore to read due to the non-linear plot, multitude of characters, and technical topics. Overall, I really enjoyed it, but need some assurance on the second and third before embarking on another dive.

This has been sitting on my bookshelf for so long, I probably should read it if Klaus says it's worth it!

Read Megan Nolan's new novel in the last few days as a change from all the history non fiction I've been plowing through. Also as I'm pondering writing again and feel I should see how some contemporaries are doing it. Finished her book in a day; very readable, although it wasn't really my bag. I'm impressed by the way she writes the inner life of her characters though. Felt real.

Finished The Pursuit of Power by Richard Evans yesterday; masterful. Started afterwards on King & Woolman's book on Franz Ferdinand and Sophie Chotek. I read two earlier biographies on them recently (by Pauli and Brook-Shepherd) and so far I'm enjoying the changes in perspective offered. Such a dramatic period of history. Have another biography of them by a German author, but I'm long fingering that one as I don't understand German... 😆

Daz

Pepe LeFrits This has been sitting on my bookshelf for so long, I probably should read it if Klaus says it's worth it!

Me too! I bought the series after Klaus' recommendation. Started the first book and then left it for a bit (can't remember why) and when I went back to it couldn't remember a bloody thing about the characters. I actually spotted it on my bookshelf just the other day and thought I must give that another go.
Sidebar - I really wish Klaus was still around here. Hope he's doing well.

Burnwinter

Daz I really wish Klaus was still around here. Hope he's doing well.

I keep in touch with him every few months or so, and he probably wouldn't mind me mentioning he's doing well. Off living the dream on Gotland a lot of the time.

Daz Me too! I bought the series after Klaus' recommendation. Started the first book and then left it for a bit (can't remember why) and when I went back to it couldn't remember a bloody thing about the characters. I actually spotted it on my bookshelf just the other day and thought I must give that another go.

It was pretty good, keeps on being fun and different as it goes. Read it quite a while ago. Reminded me of reading Olaf Stapledon when I was about 20. The political values are simultaneously radical and arch-conservative in that science-fictional way, like reading a Silicon Valley venture capitalist's blog post. The cosmic scale, atrocity and absurdity of the plot devices gets vaster and vaster as the sequels go on.

QuincyAbeyie

The trailer for the TV series looked bad to me, so at the very least it's probably preferable to read the books.

Daz

Burnwinter I keep in touch with him every few months or so, and he probably wouldn't mind me mentioning he's doing well. Off living the dream on Gotland a lot of the time.

Glad to hear it Burnsy.

Burnwinter

Oh yeah, books I was reading. Just finished WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? by Deleuze and Guattari 😆

Segway

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/may/01/paul-auster-dies-aged-77-death-american-author-new-york-trilogy

RIP.

Burnwinter

Segway Yeah, that's a shame. I've enjoyed both some of his experiments and some of his more conventional stuff over the years.

jones

Finished A Month and a Day by Ken Saro-Wiwa, an Ogoni writer and activist who dedicated his life to fighting Shell and the Nigerian government for ruining his people's native land and livelihood. The book is a diary from detention/prison which was at times a strenuous read however the ending was as sudden and violent as any I've read, genuinely shook me up at the end. Probably one for @flobaba if he doesn't know it already but anyone with an interest in environmental matters should know his and his people's story.

Claudius

jones could be good. I remember following his story as a kid and his eventual murder by the government. By the way, while Americans grapple for an understanding of Trump, guys like Abacha (who killed Saro Wiwa) are the leadership precedents I most closely associate with Trump. If American politicians had spent more time understanding African politics in the last 40 years instead of constantly lecturing us about governance while they destabilised left leaning countries, then they might have a better appreciation of what Trump is.

jones

Started Cahier d'un retour au pays natal by Aimé Césaire. First bit of poetry or generally piece of fiction I've picked up in years and it manages to be more depressing than most non fiction books I've read lol.

I picked up a version with alternating pages in English and French to improve my French but I barely manage to understand the English version lol. Shouldn't come as a surprise but his mastery of the language is exceptional.

Burnwinter

Nice. Césaire's DISCOURSE ON COLONIALISM seems to be one of the texts that never gets old for scholars of colonial history, a bit like Fanon.

I read it years ago and absorbed its big thesis about European fascism evolving from colonial brutality. Never touched his poetry but I would bet it's great, as his polemic is fiery as fuck.

jones

Burnwinter Burnwinter yea it sure is, you should give it a try the bilingual version is by Bloodaxe with a little prelude to it that gives some background to some of the translations as well, good read.

Discourse on Colonialism is a seminal book in the field although prefer Fanon's works, think the latter aged better. Haven't read Discourse more than once while I must've gone through Les Damnes de la Terre at least five times over 20 years.

jones

Claudius agreed although while Abacha gave the order Shell's role in his execution shouldn't be ignored, they're at least equally as culpable. The government had him assassinated but Shell were the ones who paid for the hit.

Claudius

jones they weren't alone. I remember around the same time, Chevron bringing in Nigerian military to kill 2 protestors who had occupied one of its facilities and were demanding they contribute more to local development instead of just extracting.

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