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Post by trailboss on Nov 4, 2021 22:29:26 GMT -5
I just read...well my granddaughter read to me Mr Pine's mixed up signs.
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Post by toshtego on Nov 4, 2021 22:34:35 GMT -5
Finished Milton. It's an intense read and he runs on a bit in places, but it's thought-provoking, too, which is always good. Mr. Milton was not a stereotypical Puritan. I have not read it since the 1970s. Still have an ancient illustrated edition which was my Great Aunts.
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Post by urbino on Nov 4, 2021 22:47:11 GMT -5
Finished Milton. It's an intense read and he runs on a bit in places, but it's thought-provoking, too, which is always good. Mr. Milton was not a stereotypical Puritan. I have not read it since the 1970s. Still have an ancient illustrated edition which was my Great Aunts. Mine's just a cheap Hackett edition. Been looking a little bit for a nice one, but not loving anything I've seen.
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Post by terrapinflyer on Nov 5, 2021 5:01:05 GMT -5
I'm finishing Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell. It's not exactly groundbreaking stuff. There's one interesting point I will follow up with a source she cited, if I get around to it.
I have a couple novels ready to go, but I have not picked one yet.
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Post by pepesdad1 on Nov 5, 2021 10:28:27 GMT -5
Max Lerner's America as a Civilization Vol. #1 (written in 1966.
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Post by urbino on Nov 5, 2021 14:44:39 GMT -5
Bengtsson's The Long Ships, again. Could hardly be more different from Paradise Lost.
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Post by Gandalf on Nov 6, 2021 12:35:27 GMT -5
The Counterfeit Agent (John Wells book 8) - Alex Berenson
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 6, 2021 13:05:33 GMT -5
I'm finishing Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell. It's not exactly groundbreaking stuff. There's one interesting point I will follow up with a source she cited, if I get around to it. I have a couple novels ready to go, but I have not picked one yet. I looked at this. We were almost indoctrinated into Amway. Scary!
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Post by darktater on Nov 6, 2021 19:53:02 GMT -5
some more Wendell Berry this evening. Some nuggets in his work that require some contemplation, and a pipe...
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Post by terrapinflyer on Nov 7, 2021 21:57:53 GMT -5
I'm finishing Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell. It's not exactly groundbreaking stuff. There's one interesting point I will follow up with a source she cited, if I get around to it. I have a couple novels ready to go, but I have not picked one yet. I looked at this. We were almost indoctrinated into Amway. Scary! I've had brushes with a few groups and it is scary. Thus, my interest. Lucky for me I'm already in a flying saucer-doomsday group, so I didn't get caught up in anything silly. Edit: reading Melmoth, by Sarah Perry, 2018. Based somehow on the Maturin novel. Charles Maturin, not the turtle...it's Maturins all the way down. I m just going to go read it, now.
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Post by urbino on Nov 7, 2021 22:05:18 GMT -5
I looked at this. We were almost indoctrinated into Amway. Scary! I've had brushes with a few groups and it is scary. Thus, my interest. Lucky for me I'm already in a flying saucer-doomsday group, so I didn't get caught up in anything silly. I dunno precisely what the book is about, but I grew up in an extremely insular religious subculture that, as I got older, I learned was not altogether uncultlike. Those things can really make it hard to function in the rest of the world once you leave.
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Post by terrapinflyer on Nov 8, 2021 4:25:26 GMT -5
I've had brushes with a few groups and it is scary. Thus, my interest. Lucky for me I'm already in a flying saucer-doomsday group, so I didn't get caught up in anything silly. I dunno precisely what the book is about, but I grew up in an extremely insular religious subculture that, as I got older, I learned was not altogether uncultlike. Those things can really make it hard to function in the rest of the world once you leave. My sympathies. The book is about how language is used in controlling people, as information control is a major part of a cult environment. Creating a united ingroup and demonizing outsiders is a common theme. They make it undesirable to want to assimilate in the bigger world that everyone else lives in. Therefore, it can be very difficult to function in a world and people about whom the inductee has been misinformed. Being raised in the controlled environment makes it even harder. One of my experiences involved a very intelligent woman (terminal degree, well-respected in her field, and owning her own business) who got involved with a business management company that is a pretty overt front for $cientology. The mandatory seminars were pretty flaky and our staff meetings and day-to-day communications got weird. I mention this because I do sympathize with people drawn into these groups and I don’t judge anyone's motivation or intelligence. I won't get started on my AA experience, because I like to Keep It Simple, Stupid and take it One Day at a Time, so I’ll just Live and Let Live.
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JimK
Junior Member
"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light".
Posts: 161
First Name: Jim
Favorite Pipe: Canadian
Favorite Tobacco: almost any Virginia/Perique blend
Location:
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Post by JimK on Nov 8, 2021 9:57:48 GMT -5
I just finished "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" book 7 of the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. Now why would a grown man be reading a kids' book? Because Rowling has a deep interest in and understanding of mythology. Indeed, the whole seven book series is a reworking of the classic hero myth, where the future hero has his destiny thrust upon him. Unwilling at first to take up his destiny, he nevertheless grudgingly accepts it, and in the end, masters himself and overcomes evil.
Next on the reading list is "Primitive Mythology: The Masks of God" by Joseph Campbell.
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 8, 2021 11:49:47 GMT -5
I just finished "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" book 7 of the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. Now why would a grown man be reading a kids' book? Because Rowling has a deep interest in and understanding of mythology. Indeed, the whole seven book series is a reworking of the classic hero myth, where the future hero has his destiny thrust upon him. Unwilling at first to take up his destiny, he nevertheless grudgingly accepts it, and in the end, masters himself and overcomes evil.
Next on the reading list is "Primitive Mythology: The Masks of God" by Joseph Campbell. I was 57 when the first Harry Potter book came out. I devoured the series as quickly as it was released with pre-orders from Amazon. The books I read as a child, from Beowulf to Midshipman Hornblower to the Count of Monte Cristo shaped me.
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Post by urbino on Nov 8, 2021 19:23:52 GMT -5
I dunno precisely what the book is about, but I grew up in an extremely insular religious subculture that, as I got older, I learned was not altogether uncultlike. Those things can really make it hard to function in the rest of the world once you leave. My sympathies. The book is about how language is used in controlling people, as information control is a major part of a cult environment. Creating a united ingroup and demonizing outsiders is a common theme. They make it undesirable to want to assimilate in the bigger world that everyone else lives in. Therefore, it can be very difficult to function in a world and people about whom the inductee has been misinformed. Being raised in the controlled environment makes it even harder. I can vouch for that part, certainly. I guess I just wasn't aware that MLMs like Amway, etc., did that.
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Post by darktater on Nov 8, 2021 19:39:58 GMT -5
still working through Wendell Berry, some good ones to be sure
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Post by darktater on Nov 12, 2021 20:48:44 GMT -5
Revisiting 'The Spectator Bird' by Wallace Stegner. Excellent book
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 12, 2021 21:17:14 GMT -5
The Modern Prometheus, by some English woman. 😉
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Post by terrapinflyer on Nov 16, 2021 6:17:54 GMT -5
The Modern Prometheus, by some English woman. 😉 The real monster was the friends we made along the way.
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 16, 2021 9:36:43 GMT -5
The Modern Prometheus, by some English woman. 😉 The real monster was the friends we made along the way. The book was just blah blah blah until, let's call him Adam, starts his story. Frankenstein is about as worthless as Thomas Covenant. The story is getting good now. This could be a good movie that no one has ever made.
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Post by toshtego on Nov 16, 2021 10:57:26 GMT -5
I just finished "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" book 7 of the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. Now why would a grown man be reading a kids' book? Because Rowling has a deep interest in and understanding of mythology. Indeed, the whole seven book series is a reworking of the classic hero myth, where the future hero has his destiny thrust upon him. Unwilling at first to take up his destiny, he nevertheless grudgingly accepts it, and in the end, masters himself and overcomes evil.
Next on the reading list is "Primitive Mythology: The Masks of God" by Joseph Campbell. Campbell's books are an absolute must read. I read Hero WIth a Thousand Faces in a High School mythology class back in '69. Mighty important for a young person. C's trilogy of Myth books were the next year for me. I still have them but never finished them. I hope you enjoy them!
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Post by toshtego on Nov 16, 2021 11:02:04 GMT -5
Working my way through the last of the "Rumpole of the Bailey" books by John Mortimer. Love the old geezer! Memorable characters and a primer on criminal law. "A criminal trial is a very blunt implement for digging up the truth" was Mortimer's final conclusion on his career as a criminal Barrister.
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Post by qmechanics on Nov 22, 2021 16:32:52 GMT -5
Recently Stainless Steel Rat (For President and Gets Drafted) by Harry Harrison ....I polished those books off real quick....
Now onto Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Many others in between this and my last post.....
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Post by oldcajun123 on Nov 22, 2021 17:07:25 GMT -5
New Novel by Author of Revenant, Ridgeline,Famous Indian Massacre just Started it.
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 22, 2021 21:34:14 GMT -5
Finished Frankenstein. The monsters story was the good part. Not too bad for a first novel.
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 22, 2021 21:35:56 GMT -5
Recently Stainless Steel Rat (For President and Gets Drafted) by Harry Harrison ....I polished those books off real quick.... Now onto Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Many others in between this and my last post..... I also went through those books quickly. 60 years ago.
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Post by Gandalf on Nov 22, 2021 22:49:22 GMT -5
A Jack Reacher novel - The Sentinel
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Post by qmechanics on Nov 22, 2021 22:56:42 GMT -5
Recently Stainless Steel Rat (For President and Gets Drafted) by Harry Harrison ....I polished those books off real quick.... Now onto Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Many others in between this and my last post..... I also went through those books quickly. 60 years ago. You mean close to or less than 40 years ago for the two Stainless Steel Rat (For President (1982) and Gets Drafted (1987)) books..... Great Expectations (1860-1861) does fit into your time frame... PS Who is this wise guy, Q? Someone give him a cracker and send him to the back of the line... How rude!!!!
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Post by Cramptholomew on Nov 23, 2021 8:25:14 GMT -5
Recently Stainless Steel Rat (For President and Gets Drafted) by Harry Harrison ....I polished those books off real quick.... Now onto Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Many others in between this and my last post..... oh man! Stainless steel Rat! I read a bunch of those my Junior Year in HS. I remember enjoying them immensely. Not as cool as Ice-9 and Bokonon, though. That was life changing.
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 23, 2021 11:25:09 GMT -5
I also went through those books quickly. 60 years ago. You mean close to or less than 40 years ago for the two Stainless Steel Rat (For President (1982) and Gets Drafted (1987)) books..... Great Expectations (1860-1861) does fit into your time frame... PS Who is this wise guy, Q? Someone give him a cracker and send him to the back of the line... How rude!!!! The first one came out in '57. I read all that were published by about 1988. I also read a lot of short stories in Analog and Amazing Stories magazine that were later released in books.
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