I'm close to finishing You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue. It's an imagined encounter between Hernán Cortés and Moctezuma. Slow narrative but I don't think it's trying to be anything other than that.
Been reading Antarctica by Claire Keegan. Will read more short stories of hers, as I'm in a short story mood.
Started Wine Folly and will try to get started on The Wine Bible.
What are you reading?
Re: What are you reading?
Media-lens - Propaganda Blitz: How the Corporate Media Distort Reality
by Tim Barton
https://www.academia.edu/42375689/Media ... 3SDFOgYKTk
Why Are We Suddenly Surrounded by ‘Grift’?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/maga ... grift.html
************
https://archive.org/details/audio_books ... ry=writing
I came across a few entries specifically:
- How to Write a Play Letters from Augier, Banville, Dennery, Dumas, Gondinet, Labiche, Legouvé, Pailleron, Sardou and Zola
- How to Speak and Write Correctly by Joseph Devlin
- The Technique of the Mystery Story by Carolyn Wells
- How To Write Short Stories, with examples by Ring Lardner
- LibriVox Language Learning Collection Vol. 001
***********************************************************
Some things keeping me from writing (aside from being apprehensive about my story development and how I know people will not relate to it since it isn't a bunch of BDSM romance crap, or some 130 books of apocalyptic doomsday pulp fiction) are the idea of what most of the books entail. For one it's rather preferred that some form of hardcopy become available instead of assuming people are going to use digital books (and the irony that it's assumed that paper books are somehow more environmentally friendly because e-waste is more common than a book being discarded, where they are supposedly more commonly recycled, just seems absurd,) is that only 1% (presumably not the "self-published" versions) of any books out of the 2 million books are being released each year.)
Also, Amazon is known to cancel people's access to any books (that supposedly they still "own" but aren't allowed to access,) if it assumes someone is somehow violating some specific thing on the platform, so someone might also goof up and all of their $20,000 worth of Ebooks simply vanish off the face of the earth (though they still own??? Or do they not?)
Personally, I view the discarded boxes that Amazon sends crap out in should be scrutinized heavily as well. The Barnes and Noble stores that exist outside of mall entrances are being converted into some school spirit college bookstores that sell textbooks, and most of the books people should be reading are already freely accessible to people, rather than the tripe that now gets passed off as modern literature. Look at all the most popular authors and recognize that the only reason they even sold anything is because some idiots were watching TV and saw it was mentioned.
People put too much trust in the idea that because something is published it lends itself a form of credibility, or that someone calls themself a Doctor with their non-accredited diploma, that they should trust that they aren't being scammed out of their money.
******
I was looking over this list:
The 10 Awful Truths about Book Publishing
https://ideas.bkconnection.com/10-awful ... publishing
Less than 300,000 books were published in 2005, and for the last few years over 2,000,000 books are being released annually.
Though self-publishing was common even prior to 2005 (and many a famous Author would do this and find buyers for their book until they were able to be recognized by the mainstream,) digital publishing rather than printing and shipping hard copies from online specialized websites, are now dwarfing anything available or considered normal prior to that time (and anyone that used to have access to CD/DVD rom drives knows the transitions with streaming in 2008 with how sales declined dramatically, and it became somewhat difficult to even find a laptop that had such an optical drive.)
The digital era and how commerce represents publishing now make it a very different environment where no major risk exists to publishing and failing to make it marketable, other than time and a few things like getting an ISBN, if I'm not mistaken (I'm one of those writers that doesn't publish.)
Modern writing relies on visibility more than simply writing (and assuming it's going to be noticed) while acknowledging the effects of platforms like Amazon providing little cost incentive to self-publish (my argument is that 65% of any profit goes directly to Amazon, whereas a hardcover book publisher takes 60% to print and might actually make more money selling the hardcover on Amazon's platform than taking the cut in cost of digital publishing.)
A person that merely wanted to trick Amazon's algorithm into recognizing your book would need you to literally give the book away without any intent on making a profit before you could actually be noticed on the platform (unless of course, some social media phenomenon or media sponsorship, or prior recognition before the book was even published, had existed.)
Only 1% of all books published will be featured inside a "brick and mortar" bookstore.
Every year over 2 million new self-published books are being released, many of which have no representation outside of simply being accessible within the nether of the internet, and any number of which is very difficult to gauge as to whether it's worth people's time, based mostly on preconceptions and whether or not they even identify with the content (so basically the reason most books are popular is people believe they might game some insight into something they want to find out more of, or somehow identify with the predicament of a character, or to learn something from it (hence the most popular genres tend to be things people pick up like periodicals that they could easily discard in the trash when they get bored with it. . .)
The general question is: Why to bother writing if it's fatalistic and you know people are going to sneer at you like you just got a scammy MLM insurance gig and are trying to peddle it door to door while they are having dinner and can't be bothered? Is the intent to focus on writing less about books and more about other avenues of media (such as trying to make your presence known to streaming services, since that's where most writing now gravitates towards, rather than what could arguably be considered an antiquated median from pre-cinema era?
********************************
A society ruled by, and for metrics/algorithms, should be doomed to fail.
It creates a circular feedback loop that at its heart is doomed to entropy (filter bubbles, perpetuating bias, lack of creativity) since it cannot deviate from the operant constraints that exist within it.
Perhaps any algorithm can become modified and changed accordingly, where it might seem to create a life of its own (and when AI becomes "unhinged" it really tends to go off the rails.)
What I'm more concerned with is the capitalization of AI and how it provides a "useful idiot" approach to create something purely for a profit motive, whereby a cliche and cookie-cutter copypasta can be used to generate substantively inferior product, without any rigor of gravitas within the upper echelon of creative endeavor.
Of course that doesn't suggest that anyone that is capable can't work with the lemons of whatever comes out of AI (assuming you could perceive AI as some kind of "common denominator" approach to statistical data inference, and extrapolate what a huge chuck of data interpolates as "normal.")
And perhaps what is "normal" becomes an oversaturated, hypernormalized deviation from what used to be "human," that mankind then by proxy becomes a transhumanized AI operator, living by the constraints of algorithms day-in, day out without any concept of what is normal, since they are in a bubble that panders to their every whim without challenge to their thoughts and feelings, apart from what they "accept" by being pandered to.
AI only knows how to extract, but it becomes just another vulture capitalism that preys on the weak and infirm.
by Tim Barton
https://www.academia.edu/42375689/Media ... 3SDFOgYKTk
Why Are We Suddenly Surrounded by ‘Grift’?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/maga ... grift.html
************
https://archive.org/details/audio_books ... ry=writing
I came across a few entries specifically:
- How to Write a Play Letters from Augier, Banville, Dennery, Dumas, Gondinet, Labiche, Legouvé, Pailleron, Sardou and Zola
- How to Speak and Write Correctly by Joseph Devlin
- The Technique of the Mystery Story by Carolyn Wells
- How To Write Short Stories, with examples by Ring Lardner
- LibriVox Language Learning Collection Vol. 001
***********************************************************
Some things keeping me from writing (aside from being apprehensive about my story development and how I know people will not relate to it since it isn't a bunch of BDSM romance crap, or some 130 books of apocalyptic doomsday pulp fiction) are the idea of what most of the books entail. For one it's rather preferred that some form of hardcopy become available instead of assuming people are going to use digital books (and the irony that it's assumed that paper books are somehow more environmentally friendly because e-waste is more common than a book being discarded, where they are supposedly more commonly recycled, just seems absurd,) is that only 1% (presumably not the "self-published" versions) of any books out of the 2 million books are being released each year.)
Also, Amazon is known to cancel people's access to any books (that supposedly they still "own" but aren't allowed to access,) if it assumes someone is somehow violating some specific thing on the platform, so someone might also goof up and all of their $20,000 worth of Ebooks simply vanish off the face of the earth (though they still own??? Or do they not?)
Personally, I view the discarded boxes that Amazon sends crap out in should be scrutinized heavily as well. The Barnes and Noble stores that exist outside of mall entrances are being converted into some school spirit college bookstores that sell textbooks, and most of the books people should be reading are already freely accessible to people, rather than the tripe that now gets passed off as modern literature. Look at all the most popular authors and recognize that the only reason they even sold anything is because some idiots were watching TV and saw it was mentioned.
People put too much trust in the idea that because something is published it lends itself a form of credibility, or that someone calls themself a Doctor with their non-accredited diploma, that they should trust that they aren't being scammed out of their money.
******
I was looking over this list:
The 10 Awful Truths about Book Publishing
https://ideas.bkconnection.com/10-awful ... publishing
Less than 300,000 books were published in 2005, and for the last few years over 2,000,000 books are being released annually.
Though self-publishing was common even prior to 2005 (and many a famous Author would do this and find buyers for their book until they were able to be recognized by the mainstream,) digital publishing rather than printing and shipping hard copies from online specialized websites, are now dwarfing anything available or considered normal prior to that time (and anyone that used to have access to CD/DVD rom drives knows the transitions with streaming in 2008 with how sales declined dramatically, and it became somewhat difficult to even find a laptop that had such an optical drive.)
The digital era and how commerce represents publishing now make it a very different environment where no major risk exists to publishing and failing to make it marketable, other than time and a few things like getting an ISBN, if I'm not mistaken (I'm one of those writers that doesn't publish.)
Modern writing relies on visibility more than simply writing (and assuming it's going to be noticed) while acknowledging the effects of platforms like Amazon providing little cost incentive to self-publish (my argument is that 65% of any profit goes directly to Amazon, whereas a hardcover book publisher takes 60% to print and might actually make more money selling the hardcover on Amazon's platform than taking the cut in cost of digital publishing.)
A person that merely wanted to trick Amazon's algorithm into recognizing your book would need you to literally give the book away without any intent on making a profit before you could actually be noticed on the platform (unless of course, some social media phenomenon or media sponsorship, or prior recognition before the book was even published, had existed.)
Only 1% of all books published will be featured inside a "brick and mortar" bookstore.
Every year over 2 million new self-published books are being released, many of which have no representation outside of simply being accessible within the nether of the internet, and any number of which is very difficult to gauge as to whether it's worth people's time, based mostly on preconceptions and whether or not they even identify with the content (so basically the reason most books are popular is people believe they might game some insight into something they want to find out more of, or somehow identify with the predicament of a character, or to learn something from it (hence the most popular genres tend to be things people pick up like periodicals that they could easily discard in the trash when they get bored with it. . .)
The general question is: Why to bother writing if it's fatalistic and you know people are going to sneer at you like you just got a scammy MLM insurance gig and are trying to peddle it door to door while they are having dinner and can't be bothered? Is the intent to focus on writing less about books and more about other avenues of media (such as trying to make your presence known to streaming services, since that's where most writing now gravitates towards, rather than what could arguably be considered an antiquated median from pre-cinema era?
********************************
A society ruled by, and for metrics/algorithms, should be doomed to fail.
It creates a circular feedback loop that at its heart is doomed to entropy (filter bubbles, perpetuating bias, lack of creativity) since it cannot deviate from the operant constraints that exist within it.
Perhaps any algorithm can become modified and changed accordingly, where it might seem to create a life of its own (and when AI becomes "unhinged" it really tends to go off the rails.)
What I'm more concerned with is the capitalization of AI and how it provides a "useful idiot" approach to create something purely for a profit motive, whereby a cliche and cookie-cutter copypasta can be used to generate substantively inferior product, without any rigor of gravitas within the upper echelon of creative endeavor.
Of course that doesn't suggest that anyone that is capable can't work with the lemons of whatever comes out of AI (assuming you could perceive AI as some kind of "common denominator" approach to statistical data inference, and extrapolate what a huge chuck of data interpolates as "normal.")
And perhaps what is "normal" becomes an oversaturated, hypernormalized deviation from what used to be "human," that mankind then by proxy becomes a transhumanized AI operator, living by the constraints of algorithms day-in, day out without any concept of what is normal, since they are in a bubble that panders to their every whim without challenge to their thoughts and feelings, apart from what they "accept" by being pandered to.
AI only knows how to extract, but it becomes just another vulture capitalism that preys on the weak and infirm.
Re: What are you reading?
Cooks Oracle 1823 by William Kitchiner
https://archive.org/details/cooksoraclecont02kitcgoog
Larousse Gastronomique versions on Library Genesis (and the original one is Authored by Prosper Montagné, and Charlotte Snyder Turgeon)
https://libgen.rs/search.php?req=Larous ... column=def
It wasn't exactly easy to find it on Internet Archive (org)
Another website was popular for textbooks and similarly having a digital version of a large hardbound seems a bit more rational. . . Though of course, similar websites have been pulled offline just the same (probably because, when using the secondary mirror, Maleware Block does flag the website. . . Also, the website seems to pop up where you need to add the file extension.)
And yet, I most likely will never actually use the cookbooks. . . I have many, but I can see myself just doing the usual routine junk (I actually, despise restaurants for this reason, that most everything is kind of irrelevant and time-consuming.)
************************
James Clavell - Asian Saga series which includes the book Shogun, which is what the miniseries starring one of Toshiro Mifune's last major roles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Saga
Kazuo Ishiguro
Yukio Mishima (The Sea of Fertility Tetralogy collection is in one of the files, and Calibre can convert to pdf, though awkward https://archive.org/details/TheSeaOfFertilityTetralogy )
etc
Aaron T. Beck - Prisoners of Hate Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility, and Violence
*********
Some physical books have digital variants between libgen.rs, annas-archive.org, and archive.org
John L. Casti - Paradigms Lost, Alternate Realities
Richard Panek - 4% universe
Surprised I found this copy (I think it's one of the better books with Poe's writing). . . Mine had a scantron with contact information from the original owner (presumably a young man or late-teen) circa 1960s with a woman's contact info written down. (This was that Apt https://www.apartmentfinder.com/Ohio/Co ... ts-sbkxge7 )
Poetry Omnibus - Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849) Selected Prose, Poetry, and Eureka (1950) https://annas-archive.org/md5/22c62dc79 ... 4ce0433b02
Kenneth Roberts
Michael Crichton
Horatio Hornblower omnibus
https://archive.org/details/HoratioHorn ... 5/mode/2up
*****************
I feel a bit like an idiot. . . As soon as I had converted Epub to PDF and compiled a bunch of info on Stephen King books, I noticed that most all of them (including the Dark Tower Series which were not a part of the other collection, which I obtained after having already completed download) were in this. The lack of descriptions in the files kind of makes it a hassle as well, though I'll need to look over it some more. It's supposed to have a bunch of Robert Jordon books as well.
https://archive.org/details/FantasyFict ... aggers.pdf
************************
Leo Tolstoy collection,
https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=8E ... 3CF8134559
Also, look for Victor Hugo - The Complete Novels and Bram Stoker Collection
Heinlein (most all of his work)
https://annas-archive.org/md5/89718e36f ... f0401edb59
Complete Works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky
https://annas-archive.org/md5/ec7b7c16d ... c392a6ef6f
Aubrey & Maturin Complete Collection (21 Books) (The movie Master and Commander was the first book)
https://library.lol/main/7881E6320E27B1 ... 107FE29ACE
The Cookbook Lobscouse and Spotted Dog is based on those books.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey%E2 ... rin_series
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5 ... ck_O_Brian
I assumed the movie was just a one-off thing, and never bothered looking into it much. A lot of literature had a lot of serialization, and return characters.
Horatio Hornblower saga is another file in one pdf (it might have originally been an epub, which is a format I think I will just keep as is; unless it's a mobi which converts best to epub and alternatively from there pdf.)
********************
Cookbooks:
(The original Italian book is supposedly a little different, though this one is still pretty good.)
The Talisman Italian Cook Book by Ada Boni
https://archive.org/details/the-talisma ... k-boni-ada
A much nicer looking one is
The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual (2010) by Frank Castronovo (though I could see the above one being more useful.)
One of the best books I've come across is
Cookbook, America's Test Kitchen New Family (2014)
Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking is good and likely influenced a lot of cooks, though I've always found Craig Claiborne's work to be far more impressive. I also find Paul Bocuse to be grossly overrated with his cookbooks. . . They actually suck and it's like searching through some half-assed recipes online ("This is how you wisk your eggs") designed for people that like to show off their cooking prowess by showcasing the books in their kitchen. . . Julia Child is still good and was very approachable at the time she popularized cooking on TV (after all, she was an icon of television,) but the bread section in Vol 2 made me find another book considering the volume of the material, it was probably necessary to find a specialized one:
Upper Crust - Homemade Bread the French Way (2021) Marie-Laure Fréchet
Other good cookbooks are:
The Connoisseur's Cookbook (1965) Robert Carrier.
German, A Complete Guide to Mastering Authentic (1965) Mimi Sheraton
Cajun = The Justin Wilson Gourmet and Gourmand Cookbook (1984)
**********
This might be an even better Italian cookbook
Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook: A Cookbook
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/252 ... an-cuisine
****************************
Free Gnostic (and other types of) books: https://gnosis.study/
In annas-archive org If you search for Jerry eBooks or Delphi and an old author, you will find a lot of public domain books, often organized in a way that would be difficult to achieve with extensive effort.
***************************************
Modern versions of historic books are nearly incomparable. . . The newer releases look like children's literature (I had a slipcover version of this book, and had to go to the original source material.) It makes me think of Folio Society books or many modern ones that barely even hint at when the book had originally been published, so as to make you forget what you are looking at (and to sell you stuff that is well beyond copyright protection.)
Take
History of Conquest of Peru (1522-1548) William Prescott (1847) with both Vol 1-2 at 600 pages each, and you get a version with 500 pages with some filled up completely with generic art, and zero annotations. It takes it from a serious scholarly attempt at research and renders it into a comic book (so the nearly 2/3rds of regular font could perhaps comprise of much of the pages, with parts edited to hint at any important annotations.) It might make it more relevant to modern readers, though it is not the same book.
https://archive.org/details/@scanner-ia ... y=conquest
Public domain books (I managed to find some extremely rare books that aren't found anywhere.)
https://www.hathitrust.org/
**********************
This is kind of an insane deal
(or click here: https://annas-archive.org/md5/5843173a6 ... 1cf57a1637
or a smaller file https://annas-archive.org/md5/d9d97a441 ... 52de81adb3 )
Harvard Classics, with different versions, starting off with Charles Eliot (President of Harvard) which comprises of 51 volumes which has evolved into the extended Parts edition, which has well over 100.
According to this version it's 180 books for $5.
https://www.amazon.com/Harvard-Classics ... B077SCLQJF
You could spend hours (as I've done) compiling a library, and this not only streamlines a big part of it but requires very little effort in putting it together. You could literally add this one file to a kindle and never get around to reading half of it (mostly because people will only value things that don't challenge their thought process. I've seen authors churn out 17 books of kiddy literature in 3 years, which exceeds the number of books that Frank and James Herbert spent in their lifetime of writing sci fi. . . Judging from the reviews you would somehow mistakenly assume the writing was better, but I assure you, it is not. . .)
146 books for $7
https://www.delphiclassics.com/shop/the ... edition-2/
The best, newest updated (basically the index was organized) version of the 51 volumes which should be all it contains, and should be no more or less:
for $2
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Harvard ... B076PKKZ22
I tink the 180 books listing is misleading, and often they categorize it differently. I've seen Harvard published books of nothing but random essays that are probably ignored today, but here it shows just 12 volumes of literature.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Classics
It evolves from there with various compilations of various 100 books of literature sets for $1-2. . . I probably should have checked into these things sooner, though realize that it's a bit like the Loeb series of ancient Greek literature, which becomes irrelevant, and you can now find sets of some of these texts with 3 different translations (and I have a hardcopy of Boccaccio's Decameron with a translation that wasn't included in an Epub file with 3 other translators.) It is probably best used as a guideline for what to add into a library, and it's good to just innovate with file names to add in overlooked details, such as time period and influence. These Kindle files too often leave out details that just become manipulative, to get you to click the buy button.
A good list to look over are the Great Books of the Western World as Free eBooks (though the links are now dead; you can still find the individual authors complete works in Delphi on the links I posted before.
https://prodigalnomore.wordpress.com/gr ... ee-ebooks/
****************
Another series is
The Cambridge History of China (17 volumes published with another on the way)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cambr ... y_of_China
***********
Engineering magazine
https://www.edn.com/
************************
Early Western Travels - Vol 1-30 (1748-1846)
I had been acquiring the complete set by jumping around through different websites, and it turns out it was listed in this link the whole time. (Though Annas Archive has better pdf files.)
https://archive.org/details/earlywester ... 8/mode/2up
Missing is Volume 25 which would have had some extensive lithographs of drawings by Charles (Karl) Bodmer who went on an expedition comprising 3 volumes, and the one I did come across is an auctioned book at $800. I suspect people would take the book apart and keep the images and frame them (something I've noticed happens with books that are perceived to not have as much value.)
I don't believe this account was included:
Jean-Bernard Bossu's Travels in the interior of North America, 1751-1762
https://annas-archive.org/md5/0d7bb61c1 ... 9da6c037ff
Alternatives to volume 25
American Indians - the art and travels of Charles Bird King, George Catlin and Karl Bodmer
https://annas-archive.org/md5/714ef82db ... a37a746b65
************************
The Travels of Reverend Olafur Egilsson: The Story of the Barbary Corsair Raid on Iceland in 1627
https://annas-archive.org/md5/3101898a3 ... cb025c1bc4
Something to also look into:
Bodmer Papyri collection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bodmer_Papyri
Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ju ... frontcover
Full book can be found here:
https://archive.org/details/ito-junji-s ... 7/mode/2up
Complete: Red Sonya (mostly a vintage Marvel comic with a return from a different publisher)
https://archive.org/details/red-sonja-comic-stuff
*************************************
A ton of books on the Library of Congress website
https://www.loc.gov/books/?dates=1000/1099
And aside from that I've been collecting a bunch of cookbooks. . .
**************************
(Chicago Columbia Expo Vol 1-5) Hubert Howe Bancroft
https://archive.org/details/the-book-of ... 201893%5D/
Another version appears to be the same length (pages are 100 per book instead of 200 as above) though in 10 volumes (Author's Edition)
https://archive.org/details/the-book-of ... 201893%5D/
The paper looks a lot cleaner and with more neutral ph, and you do find some differences in how it's arranged (though I think I would rather go with the 5 volume edition.)
To make it even more confusing, a completely different version of the first volume reveals pull out pages that and a different layout. This might be the best version of all of them (though I only see one volume of this version, and maybe it was intended as a compilation similar to an abridged version?)
https://archive.org/details/bancroft-th ... 7/mode/2up
https://archive.org/details/cooksoraclecont02kitcgoog
Larousse Gastronomique versions on Library Genesis (and the original one is Authored by Prosper Montagné, and Charlotte Snyder Turgeon)
https://libgen.rs/search.php?req=Larous ... column=def
It wasn't exactly easy to find it on Internet Archive (org)
Another website was popular for textbooks and similarly having a digital version of a large hardbound seems a bit more rational. . . Though of course, similar websites have been pulled offline just the same (probably because, when using the secondary mirror, Maleware Block does flag the website. . . Also, the website seems to pop up where you need to add the file extension.)
And yet, I most likely will never actually use the cookbooks. . . I have many, but I can see myself just doing the usual routine junk (I actually, despise restaurants for this reason, that most everything is kind of irrelevant and time-consuming.)
************************
James Clavell - Asian Saga series which includes the book Shogun, which is what the miniseries starring one of Toshiro Mifune's last major roles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Saga
Kazuo Ishiguro
Yukio Mishima (The Sea of Fertility Tetralogy collection is in one of the files, and Calibre can convert to pdf, though awkward https://archive.org/details/TheSeaOfFertilityTetralogy )
etc
Aaron T. Beck - Prisoners of Hate Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility, and Violence
*********
Some physical books have digital variants between libgen.rs, annas-archive.org, and archive.org
John L. Casti - Paradigms Lost, Alternate Realities
Richard Panek - 4% universe
Surprised I found this copy (I think it's one of the better books with Poe's writing). . . Mine had a scantron with contact information from the original owner (presumably a young man or late-teen) circa 1960s with a woman's contact info written down. (This was that Apt https://www.apartmentfinder.com/Ohio/Co ... ts-sbkxge7 )
Poetry Omnibus - Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849) Selected Prose, Poetry, and Eureka (1950) https://annas-archive.org/md5/22c62dc79 ... 4ce0433b02
Kenneth Roberts
Michael Crichton
Horatio Hornblower omnibus
https://archive.org/details/HoratioHorn ... 5/mode/2up
*****************
I feel a bit like an idiot. . . As soon as I had converted Epub to PDF and compiled a bunch of info on Stephen King books, I noticed that most all of them (including the Dark Tower Series which were not a part of the other collection, which I obtained after having already completed download) were in this. The lack of descriptions in the files kind of makes it a hassle as well, though I'll need to look over it some more. It's supposed to have a bunch of Robert Jordon books as well.
https://archive.org/details/FantasyFict ... aggers.pdf
************************
Leo Tolstoy collection,
https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=8E ... 3CF8134559
Also, look for Victor Hugo - The Complete Novels and Bram Stoker Collection
Heinlein (most all of his work)
https://annas-archive.org/md5/89718e36f ... f0401edb59
Complete Works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky
https://annas-archive.org/md5/ec7b7c16d ... c392a6ef6f
Aubrey & Maturin Complete Collection (21 Books) (The movie Master and Commander was the first book)
https://library.lol/main/7881E6320E27B1 ... 107FE29ACE
The Cookbook Lobscouse and Spotted Dog is based on those books.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey%E2 ... rin_series
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5 ... ck_O_Brian
I assumed the movie was just a one-off thing, and never bothered looking into it much. A lot of literature had a lot of serialization, and return characters.
Horatio Hornblower saga is another file in one pdf (it might have originally been an epub, which is a format I think I will just keep as is; unless it's a mobi which converts best to epub and alternatively from there pdf.)
********************
Cookbooks:
(The original Italian book is supposedly a little different, though this one is still pretty good.)
The Talisman Italian Cook Book by Ada Boni
https://archive.org/details/the-talisma ... k-boni-ada
A much nicer looking one is
The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual (2010) by Frank Castronovo (though I could see the above one being more useful.)
One of the best books I've come across is
Cookbook, America's Test Kitchen New Family (2014)
Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking is good and likely influenced a lot of cooks, though I've always found Craig Claiborne's work to be far more impressive. I also find Paul Bocuse to be grossly overrated with his cookbooks. . . They actually suck and it's like searching through some half-assed recipes online ("This is how you wisk your eggs") designed for people that like to show off their cooking prowess by showcasing the books in their kitchen. . . Julia Child is still good and was very approachable at the time she popularized cooking on TV (after all, she was an icon of television,) but the bread section in Vol 2 made me find another book considering the volume of the material, it was probably necessary to find a specialized one:
Upper Crust - Homemade Bread the French Way (2021) Marie-Laure Fréchet
Other good cookbooks are:
The Connoisseur's Cookbook (1965) Robert Carrier.
German, A Complete Guide to Mastering Authentic (1965) Mimi Sheraton
Cajun = The Justin Wilson Gourmet and Gourmand Cookbook (1984)
**********
This might be an even better Italian cookbook
Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook: A Cookbook
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/252 ... an-cuisine
****************************
Free Gnostic (and other types of) books: https://gnosis.study/
In annas-archive org If you search for Jerry eBooks or Delphi and an old author, you will find a lot of public domain books, often organized in a way that would be difficult to achieve with extensive effort.
***************************************
Modern versions of historic books are nearly incomparable. . . The newer releases look like children's literature (I had a slipcover version of this book, and had to go to the original source material.) It makes me think of Folio Society books or many modern ones that barely even hint at when the book had originally been published, so as to make you forget what you are looking at (and to sell you stuff that is well beyond copyright protection.)
Take
History of Conquest of Peru (1522-1548) William Prescott (1847) with both Vol 1-2 at 600 pages each, and you get a version with 500 pages with some filled up completely with generic art, and zero annotations. It takes it from a serious scholarly attempt at research and renders it into a comic book (so the nearly 2/3rds of regular font could perhaps comprise of much of the pages, with parts edited to hint at any important annotations.) It might make it more relevant to modern readers, though it is not the same book.
https://archive.org/details/@scanner-ia ... y=conquest
Public domain books (I managed to find some extremely rare books that aren't found anywhere.)
https://www.hathitrust.org/
**********************
This is kind of an insane deal
(or click here: https://annas-archive.org/md5/5843173a6 ... 1cf57a1637
or a smaller file https://annas-archive.org/md5/d9d97a441 ... 52de81adb3 )
Harvard Classics, with different versions, starting off with Charles Eliot (President of Harvard) which comprises of 51 volumes which has evolved into the extended Parts edition, which has well over 100.
According to this version it's 180 books for $5.
https://www.amazon.com/Harvard-Classics ... B077SCLQJF
You could spend hours (as I've done) compiling a library, and this not only streamlines a big part of it but requires very little effort in putting it together. You could literally add this one file to a kindle and never get around to reading half of it (mostly because people will only value things that don't challenge their thought process. I've seen authors churn out 17 books of kiddy literature in 3 years, which exceeds the number of books that Frank and James Herbert spent in their lifetime of writing sci fi. . . Judging from the reviews you would somehow mistakenly assume the writing was better, but I assure you, it is not. . .)
146 books for $7
https://www.delphiclassics.com/shop/the ... edition-2/
The best, newest updated (basically the index was organized) version of the 51 volumes which should be all it contains, and should be no more or less:
for $2
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Harvard ... B076PKKZ22
I tink the 180 books listing is misleading, and often they categorize it differently. I've seen Harvard published books of nothing but random essays that are probably ignored today, but here it shows just 12 volumes of literature.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Classics
It evolves from there with various compilations of various 100 books of literature sets for $1-2. . . I probably should have checked into these things sooner, though realize that it's a bit like the Loeb series of ancient Greek literature, which becomes irrelevant, and you can now find sets of some of these texts with 3 different translations (and I have a hardcopy of Boccaccio's Decameron with a translation that wasn't included in an Epub file with 3 other translators.) It is probably best used as a guideline for what to add into a library, and it's good to just innovate with file names to add in overlooked details, such as time period and influence. These Kindle files too often leave out details that just become manipulative, to get you to click the buy button.
A good list to look over are the Great Books of the Western World as Free eBooks (though the links are now dead; you can still find the individual authors complete works in Delphi on the links I posted before.
https://prodigalnomore.wordpress.com/gr ... ee-ebooks/
****************
Another series is
The Cambridge History of China (17 volumes published with another on the way)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cambr ... y_of_China
***********
Engineering magazine
https://www.edn.com/
************************
Early Western Travels - Vol 1-30 (1748-1846)
I had been acquiring the complete set by jumping around through different websites, and it turns out it was listed in this link the whole time. (Though Annas Archive has better pdf files.)
https://archive.org/details/earlywester ... 8/mode/2up
Missing is Volume 25 which would have had some extensive lithographs of drawings by Charles (Karl) Bodmer who went on an expedition comprising 3 volumes, and the one I did come across is an auctioned book at $800. I suspect people would take the book apart and keep the images and frame them (something I've noticed happens with books that are perceived to not have as much value.)
I don't believe this account was included:
Jean-Bernard Bossu's Travels in the interior of North America, 1751-1762
https://annas-archive.org/md5/0d7bb61c1 ... 9da6c037ff
Alternatives to volume 25
American Indians - the art and travels of Charles Bird King, George Catlin and Karl Bodmer
https://annas-archive.org/md5/714ef82db ... a37a746b65
************************
The Travels of Reverend Olafur Egilsson: The Story of the Barbary Corsair Raid on Iceland in 1627
https://annas-archive.org/md5/3101898a3 ... cb025c1bc4
Something to also look into:
Bodmer Papyri collection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bodmer_Papyri
Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ju ... frontcover
Full book can be found here:
https://archive.org/details/ito-junji-s ... 7/mode/2up
Complete: Red Sonya (mostly a vintage Marvel comic with a return from a different publisher)
https://archive.org/details/red-sonja-comic-stuff
*************************************
A ton of books on the Library of Congress website
https://www.loc.gov/books/?dates=1000/1099
And aside from that I've been collecting a bunch of cookbooks. . .
**************************
(Chicago Columbia Expo Vol 1-5) Hubert Howe Bancroft
https://archive.org/details/the-book-of ... 201893%5D/
Another version appears to be the same length (pages are 100 per book instead of 200 as above) though in 10 volumes (Author's Edition)
https://archive.org/details/the-book-of ... 201893%5D/
The paper looks a lot cleaner and with more neutral ph, and you do find some differences in how it's arranged (though I think I would rather go with the 5 volume edition.)
To make it even more confusing, a completely different version of the first volume reveals pull out pages that and a different layout. This might be the best version of all of them (though I only see one volume of this version, and maybe it was intended as a compilation similar to an abridged version?)
https://archive.org/details/bancroft-th ... 7/mode/2up
Re: What are you reading?
This really is about the book(s) but I thought I would comment about the movies (and since I am still a bit foggy will try to clarify uncertainty.)
The original Aladdin or rather, The Thief of Bagdad and name of the 1940 movie (which did incorporate the Abu character but where Aladdin in the Cartoon would appear with Abu as a monkey, Abu takes a more prominent position as a human thief, and since Aladdin was an actual Prince supposedly--he turns up in the prison once Jaffar makes a deal with the sultan who in this version was just really stupid and fickle with his obsession with collecting things, and basically sold his daughter off to Jaffar in exchange for the flying horse animatronic as a dowry; so when Aladdin shows up he is immediately thrown in jail where he meets up with Abu (Sabhu.) The movie was very impressive from a technological point of view https://collider.com/why-the-thief-of-b ... a-classic/ ) that appears to have been a major source of the adaption by Disney into a cartoon.
In the original story it references taking place in China, which might actually be closer to other regions of Asia since it seems that "China" is an allegory similar to "40 Days and 40 Nights" and just means really freaking far away from Saudi Arabia. The book itself wasn't originally included in the original compilation, since it wasn't actually considered that same region though added later on in a French publication of Arabian Tales 1001 Nights. The story seems to incorporate Vedic and Thai themes in the movie (and original text I'm not certain) such as a multihanded automaton and religious iconography. The 1978 film (spelled correctly with Baghdad) similarities are where instead of the flying horse being exchanged Jaffar is only seen with it later while flying out of a location, as though to remind people he's a magician of sorts (which I believe a horse was also used in the cartoon, but instead of a flying horse that Jaffar tempts the Sultan, he has a flying carpet he rides in with, and doesn't use animatronic. Instead of the Abu the thief finding the lamp (as per the namesake of the story,) Aladdin is the one that then interacts with the old French (edit: he's actually Chilean and made his career in France; Daniel Emilfork https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thief ... 1978_film) ) guy that acted in the 'The City of Lost Children,' in place of the genie played by Rex Ingraham. In the 1940s movie Abu encounters a flying carpet from some sort of heavenly realm after gazing into a ruby clairvoyant crystal (which he received from the Genie as part of his 3 wishes.) The 1940s film was ahead of its time, but you can tell they tried adapting the movies (such as Arabian Nights in 1942 with more "Hollywood"esque actors that sounded like John Wayne) and the same might have been going on in 1978 with more of a Richard Chamberlain (invoking Shogan) character played by an Indian Actor (as a 1977 film by the same name came out from Bollywood the year before, and it might have just lined up with the kinds of people they were casting for and suited their production while preserving a European focus,) who then picks up the genie lamp. The tone of the 1940's movie is much closer aligned with the thematic elements of how it should appear if you judged it from the cartoon (and the Actor playing Abu, Sabu, barely lived 40 years before having a heart attack, so when the 1978 film came out it was a lifetime of someone nearly 40 years later and still managed to look less impressive despite the progress of technology. Star Wars was considered a technical marvel of the 70s but used the exact same special effects used in that movie from 1940, and was a lot more fun to watch (though you will find elements of the 1978 film used in the cartoon, such as Aladdin hiding in a wicker basket where the thief Abu was performing and had a bottomless pit he used for his trick, where Aladdin was hiding out while the guards who were chasing him were inserting their swords into the basket in an effort to get him, which has similarities to the market scene in the cartoon (which I believe is when the monkey clutches Aladdin and doesn't let go for some reason, but can't remember, and get's tossed in with him when he eventually get's caught,) but differs also from the 1940 film when Aladdin sees the Princess in a caravan (so I might also have to confirm, but in the 1940's version Aladdin has no option to wish to become a Prince, but in the 1978 version he seems to have the option and get's to use it.)
I'll have to go over this sometime.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin
Robert Louis Stevenson also had his own additions to the stories (though not Aladdin, I believe he did a more Western take akin to Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, but it also seems like Baron Munchausen and the acquaintances involving Tipu Sultan and explosives. I didn't get around to reading it obviously, though there seemed to be a title of a story involving dynamite.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Arabian_Nights
Yes, this was it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_New_ ... _Dynamiter
It seemed like an odd thing to name it after stories based in the medieval Levant region, but a similar thing has been done with Canterbury Tales as well as Shakespeare's stories adapted to modern settings (or old settings if you consider Kurosawa's works, but he doesn't explicitly say it's Shakespeare) in movies.
Here's an example of Chaucer:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2xumgd
******************************************
Three Kingdoms, (aka 'Romance of' etc) Chinese Fiction (based on the historic civil wars of 184-280 AD and written around the early 14th century by Luo Guanzhong (whose origins and time period are a slight mystery.)
Supposedly the newer translation by Moss Roberts is considered the best, though a Delphi epub has the more well-known Brewitt-Taylor version (published in 1925) that also has accompanying documents that should make it easier, such as all the literature on the book collection.
Which translation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms should I read?
https://www.medievalists.net/2018/10/wh ... -kingdoms/
It's closely compared with 'Water Margin - Outlaws of the Marsh' by Shi Naian (1400s) (based in 1120 AD) aka 'Shui Hu Zhuan' which is probably a better entry point considering how long it would take to read.
The authorship is still debatable.
https://heloise2nd.wordpress.com/2016/1 ... the-marsh/
Other Chinese novel:
Dream of the Red Mansion (or Chamber) by Cao Xueqin (more or less 1717-1763 AD)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber
A complete and unexpurgated version translated by Gladys Yang and published by Olympia Press seems to be the best version.
The Scholars (Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 AD) by Wu Ching-tzu (1750)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scholars_(novel)
Also
The Plum in the Golden Vase by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (1610)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_Ping_Mei
***************************
Other books
The Way of the Hermit (2023) Ken Smith
One Man's Wilderness (50th Anniv) (1968 orig) Richard Proenneke
The original Aladdin or rather, The Thief of Bagdad and name of the 1940 movie (which did incorporate the Abu character but where Aladdin in the Cartoon would appear with Abu as a monkey, Abu takes a more prominent position as a human thief, and since Aladdin was an actual Prince supposedly--he turns up in the prison once Jaffar makes a deal with the sultan who in this version was just really stupid and fickle with his obsession with collecting things, and basically sold his daughter off to Jaffar in exchange for the flying horse animatronic as a dowry; so when Aladdin shows up he is immediately thrown in jail where he meets up with Abu (Sabhu.) The movie was very impressive from a technological point of view https://collider.com/why-the-thief-of-b ... a-classic/ ) that appears to have been a major source of the adaption by Disney into a cartoon.
In the original story it references taking place in China, which might actually be closer to other regions of Asia since it seems that "China" is an allegory similar to "40 Days and 40 Nights" and just means really freaking far away from Saudi Arabia. The book itself wasn't originally included in the original compilation, since it wasn't actually considered that same region though added later on in a French publication of Arabian Tales 1001 Nights. The story seems to incorporate Vedic and Thai themes in the movie (and original text I'm not certain) such as a multihanded automaton and religious iconography. The 1978 film (spelled correctly with Baghdad) similarities are where instead of the flying horse being exchanged Jaffar is only seen with it later while flying out of a location, as though to remind people he's a magician of sorts (which I believe a horse was also used in the cartoon, but instead of a flying horse that Jaffar tempts the Sultan, he has a flying carpet he rides in with, and doesn't use animatronic. Instead of the Abu the thief finding the lamp (as per the namesake of the story,) Aladdin is the one that then interacts with the old French (edit: he's actually Chilean and made his career in France; Daniel Emilfork https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thief ... 1978_film) ) guy that acted in the 'The City of Lost Children,' in place of the genie played by Rex Ingraham. In the 1940s movie Abu encounters a flying carpet from some sort of heavenly realm after gazing into a ruby clairvoyant crystal (which he received from the Genie as part of his 3 wishes.) The 1940s film was ahead of its time, but you can tell they tried adapting the movies (such as Arabian Nights in 1942 with more "Hollywood"esque actors that sounded like John Wayne) and the same might have been going on in 1978 with more of a Richard Chamberlain (invoking Shogan) character played by an Indian Actor (as a 1977 film by the same name came out from Bollywood the year before, and it might have just lined up with the kinds of people they were casting for and suited their production while preserving a European focus,) who then picks up the genie lamp. The tone of the 1940's movie is much closer aligned with the thematic elements of how it should appear if you judged it from the cartoon (and the Actor playing Abu, Sabu, barely lived 40 years before having a heart attack, so when the 1978 film came out it was a lifetime of someone nearly 40 years later and still managed to look less impressive despite the progress of technology. Star Wars was considered a technical marvel of the 70s but used the exact same special effects used in that movie from 1940, and was a lot more fun to watch (though you will find elements of the 1978 film used in the cartoon, such as Aladdin hiding in a wicker basket where the thief Abu was performing and had a bottomless pit he used for his trick, where Aladdin was hiding out while the guards who were chasing him were inserting their swords into the basket in an effort to get him, which has similarities to the market scene in the cartoon (which I believe is when the monkey clutches Aladdin and doesn't let go for some reason, but can't remember, and get's tossed in with him when he eventually get's caught,) but differs also from the 1940 film when Aladdin sees the Princess in a caravan (so I might also have to confirm, but in the 1940's version Aladdin has no option to wish to become a Prince, but in the 1978 version he seems to have the option and get's to use it.)
I'll have to go over this sometime.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin
Robert Louis Stevenson also had his own additions to the stories (though not Aladdin, I believe he did a more Western take akin to Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, but it also seems like Baron Munchausen and the acquaintances involving Tipu Sultan and explosives. I didn't get around to reading it obviously, though there seemed to be a title of a story involving dynamite.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Arabian_Nights
Yes, this was it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_New_ ... _Dynamiter
It seemed like an odd thing to name it after stories based in the medieval Levant region, but a similar thing has been done with Canterbury Tales as well as Shakespeare's stories adapted to modern settings (or old settings if you consider Kurosawa's works, but he doesn't explicitly say it's Shakespeare) in movies.
Here's an example of Chaucer:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2xumgd
******************************************
Three Kingdoms, (aka 'Romance of' etc) Chinese Fiction (based on the historic civil wars of 184-280 AD and written around the early 14th century by Luo Guanzhong (whose origins and time period are a slight mystery.)
Supposedly the newer translation by Moss Roberts is considered the best, though a Delphi epub has the more well-known Brewitt-Taylor version (published in 1925) that also has accompanying documents that should make it easier, such as all the literature on the book collection.
Which translation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms should I read?
https://www.medievalists.net/2018/10/wh ... -kingdoms/
It's closely compared with 'Water Margin - Outlaws of the Marsh' by Shi Naian (1400s) (based in 1120 AD) aka 'Shui Hu Zhuan' which is probably a better entry point considering how long it would take to read.
The authorship is still debatable.
https://heloise2nd.wordpress.com/2016/1 ... the-marsh/
Other Chinese novel:
Dream of the Red Mansion (or Chamber) by Cao Xueqin (more or less 1717-1763 AD)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber
A complete and unexpurgated version translated by Gladys Yang and published by Olympia Press seems to be the best version.
The Scholars (Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 AD) by Wu Ching-tzu (1750)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scholars_(novel)
Also
The Plum in the Golden Vase by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (1610)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_Ping_Mei
***************************
Other books
The Way of the Hermit (2023) Ken Smith
One Man's Wilderness (50th Anniv) (1968 orig) Richard Proenneke
Last edited by Catoptric on Thu Jun 06, 2024 9:22 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Re: What are you reading?
The Remains of the Day, masterpiece.
Re: What are you reading?
Reading over:
A Generation of Sociopaths (Boomers) (2018) Bruce Cannon Gibney
******************
The Boomer Bible - Robert F. Laird (1991)
-> Satire
Secrets of the Exodus - The Egyptian Origins of the Hebrew People (2004) Messod Sabbah
-> The idea is that an elite group of Egyptians were a byproduct of Akhenaten (and the trend towards monotheism by his predecessor) who were forced into exile in Canaan (which at that time was a territory of Egypt.) They would have competed for a singular idea of a monotheistic deity (or an amalgamation of those ideals as represented through iconography.)
*******************
I suspect the Geneva Bible movement is what was being suppressed by King James, though it could also have been something of a Trojan Horse, as both the 1560 (official?) version and then a 1599 variation (which apparently, had different Christian sects that were very opposed to each other, a bit like how many religions branch off into their own separate cults after some time) but it also seems to echo the sentiment of what likely lead to the Romans adopting Christianity at a time when they took up root in 'Constantinople' (later to become the Ottoman empire.) religion was used to control people or to become controlled when social identity gives a collective voice.
The principalities against darkness included governments (though I'm checking whether the 1560 or 1599 versions differed, as apparently their were different movements translating the texts into English.)
And I've discovered a fairly rare collection that is encyclopedia sized, just on the topic of the Geneva Bible (and probably including discussion on Tyndale, which the Geneva Bible seems to have been inspired from as they operated in seclusion from the English Monarchy; which I might be mistaken on as I've kind of ignored this for some time.)
A History of the Geneva Bible (vol 1-25) by Lewis Lupton (1966)
https://archive.org/search?query=creato ... 09-1996%22
One of the books found doesn't list the volume, but when downloaded is the vol 11 (1-24 can be found and I have no idea where to get the 25th volume.)
A lot of the 'Patriot' movement are using the Geneva Bible as some alternative history conspiracy echo chamber.
Also, the Annas Archive is now gs and not org.
*************************
The Fall and Rise of Keynesian Economics (2011) John Eatwell, Murray Milgate
Bonanza King, John Mackay, American West (2018) Gregory Crouch
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_ ... evada.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Mackay
Anna Archive is now se or li (not gs or com, at least right now.)
************************
For something more fun, Caimh McDonnell
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1 ... _McDonnell
His book series has become a bit like Stephen King but aimed at a more accessible fiction (small books)
https://whitehairedirishman.shop/en-us/ ... ding-order
I've listed his 'Deluxe' (Omnibus) according to how they are ordered in the image at the bottom of the page, and named them with the book order and for any standalone book to add:
Dublin Early Years (1, 2, 4 etc) (McGarry - Bunny & Deccie)
Dublin Trilogy (1,2, Shorts) (McGarry)
McGarry Stateside (1-3, Shorts)
Caimh McDonnell - MCM Investigations (1 or 2) Title (Bridget and Paul) 2020
Caimh McDonnell - Welcome to Nowhere (the only book in the spinoff) (Smith and Diller) 2020
He also has many different short stories incorporating the characters (some of which are added to the 'Trilogy' sets (which is actually a running joke in the series.)
Caimh McDonnell - Short Fict Vol 1 - How to Send a Message (2019) is one that is a standalone.
Then he has another (dark humor that he claims is in a different genre) series that has a protagonist that practically uses his own name:
Caimh McDonnell - C.K. McDonnell 1 (of 4) Stranger Times (2021)
His books are fairly cheap and he has collections (but as I mentioned, it helps to see what the order is because it might be more interesting to read it chronologically if new to it.
https://www.amazon.com/Dublin-Trilogy-D ... _ap_sc_dsk
A Generation of Sociopaths (Boomers) (2018) Bruce Cannon Gibney
******************
The Boomer Bible - Robert F. Laird (1991)
-> Satire
Secrets of the Exodus - The Egyptian Origins of the Hebrew People (2004) Messod Sabbah
-> The idea is that an elite group of Egyptians were a byproduct of Akhenaten (and the trend towards monotheism by his predecessor) who were forced into exile in Canaan (which at that time was a territory of Egypt.) They would have competed for a singular idea of a monotheistic deity (or an amalgamation of those ideals as represented through iconography.)
*******************
I suspect the Geneva Bible movement is what was being suppressed by King James, though it could also have been something of a Trojan Horse, as both the 1560 (official?) version and then a 1599 variation (which apparently, had different Christian sects that were very opposed to each other, a bit like how many religions branch off into their own separate cults after some time) but it also seems to echo the sentiment of what likely lead to the Romans adopting Christianity at a time when they took up root in 'Constantinople' (later to become the Ottoman empire.) religion was used to control people or to become controlled when social identity gives a collective voice.
The principalities against darkness included governments (though I'm checking whether the 1560 or 1599 versions differed, as apparently their were different movements translating the texts into English.)
And I've discovered a fairly rare collection that is encyclopedia sized, just on the topic of the Geneva Bible (and probably including discussion on Tyndale, which the Geneva Bible seems to have been inspired from as they operated in seclusion from the English Monarchy; which I might be mistaken on as I've kind of ignored this for some time.)
A History of the Geneva Bible (vol 1-25) by Lewis Lupton (1966)
https://archive.org/search?query=creato ... 09-1996%22
Spoiler
Show
v. 1. The quarrel. --v. 2. Reform. --v. 3. Truth. --v. 4. Travail. --v. 5. Vision of God. --v. 6. Hope's anchor. --v. 7. Welcome joy. --v. 8. Faith. --v. 9. Love. --v. 10. Courage. --v. 11. Miles Coverdale: Endurance. --v. 12. Miles Coverdale: Heaven. --v. 13. Index. --v. 14. Paint & print. --v. 15. Paint, print & exile. --v. 16. Wyclif's wicket. --v. 17. Trodden Thyme. --v. 18. Tyndale the translator. --v. 19. Tyndale the martyr. --v. 20. Bethlehem to Lindisfarne. --v. 21. Chivalry?--v. 22. Towards King James, 1535-1568. --v. 23. Up to Hampton Court, 1568-1604. --v. 24. England's word. --v. 25. Not unto us”
A lot of the 'Patriot' movement are using the Geneva Bible as some alternative history conspiracy echo chamber.
Also, the Annas Archive is now gs and not org.
*************************
The Fall and Rise of Keynesian Economics (2011) John Eatwell, Murray Milgate
Bonanza King, John Mackay, American West (2018) Gregory Crouch
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_ ... evada.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Mackay
Anna Archive is now se or li (not gs or com, at least right now.)
************************
For something more fun, Caimh McDonnell
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1 ... _McDonnell
His book series has become a bit like Stephen King but aimed at a more accessible fiction (small books)
https://whitehairedirishman.shop/en-us/ ... ding-order
I've listed his 'Deluxe' (Omnibus) according to how they are ordered in the image at the bottom of the page, and named them with the book order and for any standalone book to add:
Dublin Early Years (1, 2, 4 etc) (McGarry - Bunny & Deccie)
Dublin Trilogy (1,2, Shorts) (McGarry)
McGarry Stateside (1-3, Shorts)
Caimh McDonnell - MCM Investigations (1 or 2) Title (Bridget and Paul) 2020
Caimh McDonnell - Welcome to Nowhere (the only book in the spinoff) (Smith and Diller) 2020
He also has many different short stories incorporating the characters (some of which are added to the 'Trilogy' sets (which is actually a running joke in the series.)
Caimh McDonnell - Short Fict Vol 1 - How to Send a Message (2019) is one that is a standalone.
Then he has another (dark humor that he claims is in a different genre) series that has a protagonist that practically uses his own name:
Caimh McDonnell - C.K. McDonnell 1 (of 4) Stranger Times (2021)
His books are fairly cheap and he has collections (but as I mentioned, it helps to see what the order is because it might be more interesting to read it chronologically if new to it.
https://www.amazon.com/Dublin-Trilogy-D ... _ap_sc_dsk
Re: What are you reading?
Book of Ingenious Devices (aka Book of Tricks) Ismail al-Jazari (1206)
Mentions an 'Elephant Clock.'
Some were saying he was the father of robotics, but it goes much further back than that:
Ancient Greeks and Romans also had automatons, one specifically with birds that were used to demonstrate a god's blessing when people inserted coins into a slot as patronage, and the bird would start moving and chirp (possibly with steam power)
With Saudi Arabia, it is reminiscent of the story of Aladdin (which allegedly might have been based in China where the silk road had introduced a lot of Muslim influence on the towns in that region, and later became adapted to the Arabian Nights tales) with the premise being that the Sultan was spending lavishly on automatons and (as seen in the movie from the 1930s) happened to want a flying horse that could be assembled and ridden on.
Japan would be known for Karakuri puppets which have some indication of being made in the 7th century. Some of the influence from Japan would spark some interest by the French in creating some pretty remarkable automatons such as calligraphy and piano playing, to drawing pictures, but it would be around the 1700s when that would happen.
If you look up Astronomical clock in Wikipedia it mentions in the 11th century a Song Dynasty inventor named Su Song who created a water-driven astronomical clock, which is reminiscent of the Antikythera mechanism (2nd Century BC.)
***********
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_clock
Some of the more impressive automatons (which seemed to have rubbed off on the French.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanaka_Hisashige (Creator)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakuri_puppet (starting 6th century)
*****************************
"Civilized to Death" by Christopher Ryan
A similar themed book:
Totalitarianism, Globalization, Colonialism The Destruction of Civilization Since 1914 (2014) Harry Redner
"Redner confronts us with a paradox: in the midst of unprecedented material affluence and organizational efficiency, one that uses advanced technologies and cutting-edge scientific knowledge, we are also sinking into an unprecedented cultural, moral, intellectual, and spiritual decline. He locates the origins of this condition in the violently contradictory processes of the twentieth century."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Also, more of a rant:
Social media algorithms are limiting creativity and subliminally controlling your world view
https://blog.mingthein.com/2019/06/07/s ... lgorithms/
Soldaten - On fighting, killing and dying - WW2 (2011) Sonke Neitzel & Harald Welzer
Sh*tshow!: The Country's Collapsing . . . and the Ratings Are Great (2018) Charlie LeDuff
Against Meritocracy: Culture, Power and Myths of Mobility (2017) Jo Littler
The Milner-Fabian Conspiracy: How an International Elite is Taking Over and Destroying Europe, America and the World
(2015) Ioan Ratiu
Not sure if it's
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Ra%C8%9Biu
or
https://enciclopediaromaniei.ro/wiki/Ioan_Ra%C5%A3iu
https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ioan_Ra%C8%9Biu
The book description doesn't match the author, if he is the same one that lived in the 1800s.
I'm onto them. . .
Black Players: The Secret World of Black Pimps (1973) Christina Milner; Richard Milner
******************
Syriac Codex - Chronicle of Michael the Great (Edessa-Aleppo)
A translator of the codex has released his content online
https://archive.org/details/@robertbedrosian
(Probably one of the better uploaders worth checking out since it's the antiquities)
I'm also looking into books covering the subject of "Collapse of Civilization"
Suicidal Utopian Delusions in the 21st Century (2017) Michael Starks
Com - Dis in the Red - Failure and Coll of Socialism (1995) Richard Ebeling
Michael Hudson - The Collapse of Antiquity (2023)
(Which incidentally led to another Michael Hudson who writes nothing but hentai-inspired fantasy novels? https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Village-E ... B07VCZ64Q2
Knowth and the Passage-Tombs of Ireland (3,000 BC) (1986) George Eagan
Poetry (Hist) Jacob of Sarug (Serugh 451 AD-521, Syria) Homily on the Tower of Babel
***********
Guanches. Legend and Reality: The Mysterious People of the Canary Islands
Guanches Survivors and their Descendents (1984) Jose Luis Concepcion
The Guanches of Tenerife, The Holy Image of Our Lady of Candelaria, and the Spanish Conquest and Settlement, by the Friar Alonso de Espinosa (1580-90) Sir Clements Markham
https://archive.org/details/guanchesofteneri00espirich
Genetically they have the closest relation to the Berbers, though are extinct. It may also be the basis for the Atlantis that Plato and Herodotus talks about.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/VJHB5fGbw88Y4yTM/
Battle of Aguere
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Aguere
And a book only published in Spanish on that topic:
Guanches Tiempos de Guerra (2017) Pepe Tejero
American Affairs Journals Archive (up to 2024) are free to download.
https://americanaffairsjournal.org/archives/
Mentions an 'Elephant Clock.'
Some were saying he was the father of robotics, but it goes much further back than that:
Ancient Greeks and Romans also had automatons, one specifically with birds that were used to demonstrate a god's blessing when people inserted coins into a slot as patronage, and the bird would start moving and chirp (possibly with steam power)
With Saudi Arabia, it is reminiscent of the story of Aladdin (which allegedly might have been based in China where the silk road had introduced a lot of Muslim influence on the towns in that region, and later became adapted to the Arabian Nights tales) with the premise being that the Sultan was spending lavishly on automatons and (as seen in the movie from the 1930s) happened to want a flying horse that could be assembled and ridden on.
Japan would be known for Karakuri puppets which have some indication of being made in the 7th century. Some of the influence from Japan would spark some interest by the French in creating some pretty remarkable automatons such as calligraphy and piano playing, to drawing pictures, but it would be around the 1700s when that would happen.
If you look up Astronomical clock in Wikipedia it mentions in the 11th century a Song Dynasty inventor named Su Song who created a water-driven astronomical clock, which is reminiscent of the Antikythera mechanism (2nd Century BC.)
***********
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_clock
Some of the more impressive automatons (which seemed to have rubbed off on the French.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanaka_Hisashige (Creator)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakuri_puppet (starting 6th century)
*****************************
"Civilized to Death" by Christopher Ryan
A similar themed book:
Totalitarianism, Globalization, Colonialism The Destruction of Civilization Since 1914 (2014) Harry Redner
"Redner confronts us with a paradox: in the midst of unprecedented material affluence and organizational efficiency, one that uses advanced technologies and cutting-edge scientific knowledge, we are also sinking into an unprecedented cultural, moral, intellectual, and spiritual decline. He locates the origins of this condition in the violently contradictory processes of the twentieth century."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Also, more of a rant:
Social media algorithms are limiting creativity and subliminally controlling your world view
https://blog.mingthein.com/2019/06/07/s ... lgorithms/
Soldaten - On fighting, killing and dying - WW2 (2011) Sonke Neitzel & Harald Welzer
Sh*tshow!: The Country's Collapsing . . . and the Ratings Are Great (2018) Charlie LeDuff
Against Meritocracy: Culture, Power and Myths of Mobility (2017) Jo Littler
The Milner-Fabian Conspiracy: How an International Elite is Taking Over and Destroying Europe, America and the World
(2015) Ioan Ratiu
Not sure if it's
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Ra%C8%9Biu
or
https://enciclopediaromaniei.ro/wiki/Ioan_Ra%C5%A3iu
https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ioan_Ra%C8%9Biu
The book description doesn't match the author, if he is the same one that lived in the 1800s.
Spoiler
Show
The Milner-Fabian Conspiracy was written as a sequel to Carroll Quigley’s The Anglo-American Establishment and Rose Martin’s Fabian Freeway. As such, it provides a critical study of the Milner Group and the Fabian Society, two closely related organizations set up in the late 1800s by banking and industrial interests for the purpose of subverting the existing order and establishing a socialist world government controlled by themselves. The book documents the historical background, creation, development, interaction and global impact of the two organizations and their international network of power and influence, showing that members of an international elite have been the instigators of major events like the Russian Communist Revolution and the two World Wars as well as creators of organizations like the Council on Foreign Relations and its sister organization Chatham House (RIIA), the United Nations, the European Union and the Mediterranean Union. The same interests have also been operating through world leaders from Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee to F D Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and many others and have been responsible for major cultural and social developments such as mass immigration, multiculturalism and Islamization. The author is an independent historian and researcher whose first-hand experience of socialist rule in Eastern Europe coupled with extensive research carried out in the West have provided him with an invaluable insight into the connections between international financial interests and political developments in Europe and elsewhere. The copious references provided make the book a valuable work of reference for all those with an interest in recent historical events, their causes, and their impact on modern society.
Introduction
1. Socialism
2. The Fabian Conspiracy 51
3. The Labour Party 122
4. The Council on Foreign Relations 139
5. Chatham House (RIIA) 170
6. The UN Scam 193
7. The EU Scam 232
8. Immigration 339
9. Multiculturalism 411
10. Islamization 421
Introduction
1. Socialism
2. The Fabian Conspiracy 51
3. The Labour Party 122
4. The Council on Foreign Relations 139
5. Chatham House (RIIA) 170
6. The UN Scam 193
7. The EU Scam 232
8. Immigration 339
9. Multiculturalism 411
10. Islamization 421
I'm onto them. . .
Black Players: The Secret World of Black Pimps (1973) Christina Milner; Richard Milner
******************
Syriac Codex - Chronicle of Michael the Great (Edessa-Aleppo)
A translator of the codex has released his content online
https://archive.org/details/@robertbedrosian
(Probably one of the better uploaders worth checking out since it's the antiquities)
I'm also looking into books covering the subject of "Collapse of Civilization"
Suicidal Utopian Delusions in the 21st Century (2017) Michael Starks
Com - Dis in the Red - Failure and Coll of Socialism (1995) Richard Ebeling
Michael Hudson - The Collapse of Antiquity (2023)
(Which incidentally led to another Michael Hudson who writes nothing but hentai-inspired fantasy novels? https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Village-E ... B07VCZ64Q2
Knowth and the Passage-Tombs of Ireland (3,000 BC) (1986) George Eagan
Poetry (Hist) Jacob of Sarug (Serugh 451 AD-521, Syria) Homily on the Tower of Babel
***********
Guanches. Legend and Reality: The Mysterious People of the Canary Islands
Guanches Survivors and their Descendents (1984) Jose Luis Concepcion
The Guanches of Tenerife, The Holy Image of Our Lady of Candelaria, and the Spanish Conquest and Settlement, by the Friar Alonso de Espinosa (1580-90) Sir Clements Markham
https://archive.org/details/guanchesofteneri00espirich
Genetically they have the closest relation to the Berbers, though are extinct. It may also be the basis for the Atlantis that Plato and Herodotus talks about.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/VJHB5fGbw88Y4yTM/
Battle of Aguere
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Aguere
And a book only published in Spanish on that topic:
Guanches Tiempos de Guerra (2017) Pepe Tejero
American Affairs Journals Archive (up to 2024) are free to download.
https://americanaffairsjournal.org/archives/
Re: What are you reading?
The Death of Critical Thinking Will Kill Us Long Before AI.
https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/the-d ... 1fdd23cc7c
The Son Also Rises: Surnames and the History of Social Mobility (2014) Gregory Clark
https://techratchet.com/2020/03/05/book ... ry-clarke/
*********************
I recovered some Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) ("Waverley books") that have the only dated reference in the intro being 1833 (just after the Author died) but it was published by Routledge which only started in 1836, so it might be the earliest time the books were printed (though to me they resemble the style of many 1880s books, however, I can't discount the possibility these were pre Civil War, as he was very influential in creating the temperament and ethos of that time-period, despite now being largely forgotten other than an also very aged Ivanhoe movie.)
Why Sir Walter Scott’s novels are forgotten
https://bensonian.wordpress.com/2014/07 ... forgotten/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4345.Walter_Scott
The books specifically are (two in a volume) :
Count Robert of Paris
The Betrothed
The Monastery
The Abbot
I'll be on the lookout for a book called
Walter Scott's Books - Reading the Waverley Novels by J.H. Alexander
But will probably just collect the 'Complete Works of' Delphi compilation in epub.
The author was an internationally translated phenomenon during his lifetime, though few would remember him today.
https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/the-d ... 1fdd23cc7c
The Son Also Rises: Surnames and the History of Social Mobility (2014) Gregory Clark
https://techratchet.com/2020/03/05/book ... ry-clarke/
*********************
I recovered some Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) ("Waverley books") that have the only dated reference in the intro being 1833 (just after the Author died) but it was published by Routledge which only started in 1836, so it might be the earliest time the books were printed (though to me they resemble the style of many 1880s books, however, I can't discount the possibility these were pre Civil War, as he was very influential in creating the temperament and ethos of that time-period, despite now being largely forgotten other than an also very aged Ivanhoe movie.)
Why Sir Walter Scott’s novels are forgotten
https://bensonian.wordpress.com/2014/07 ... forgotten/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4345.Walter_Scott
The books specifically are (two in a volume) :
Count Robert of Paris
The Betrothed
The Monastery
The Abbot
I'll be on the lookout for a book called
Walter Scott's Books - Reading the Waverley Novels by J.H. Alexander
But will probably just collect the 'Complete Works of' Delphi compilation in epub.
The author was an internationally translated phenomenon during his lifetime, though few would remember him today.
Last edited by Catoptric on Tue Sep 10, 2024 5:14 am, edited 3 times in total.
Re: What are you reading?
Bonaparte, by André Castelot. The sequel is Napoleon, which I would read next. It's a real page-turner, this biographer is awesome.
Also reading Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster. I had been reading García Márquez's short stories but they're too emotional for me right now, and always dead people talking. I did love Eyes of a Blue Dog. But everything's always so devastating with Márquez.
Paul Auster seems NT enough.
Also reading Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster. I had been reading García Márquez's short stories but they're too emotional for me right now, and always dead people talking. I did love Eyes of a Blue Dog. But everything's always so devastating with Márquez.
Paul Auster seems NT enough.