What are you reading?

[Catoptric]

The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
https://archive.org/details/TheBrainTha ... nalTriumph

(Audiobook that may not be worth listening 20 hours to)
Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK by Gerald Posner
https://archive.org/details/Case_Closed

Sherlock Holmes Audio Books


Other
https://archive.org/details/@flooply




The Age of Anti-Ambition
When 25 million people leave their jobs, it’s about more than just burnout.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/maga ... n-age.html



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The royal cookery book (le livre de cuisine) by Gouffé, Jules, 1807
https://archive.org/details/b21538025



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The Technological Society by Jacques Ellul
https://archive.org/details/JacquesEllu ... calSociety




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A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
https://ia803104.us.archive.org/26/item ... dunces.pdf





On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshit
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... d_bullshit

[HighlyIrregular II]

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005 ... -city-of-z

I read half then skipped to the end. It kind of sounded like just an old village with good pottery and well planned roads that was partially wiped out. I have to finish reading. I'm an adventurer at heart.

[Catoptric]

Warriors - Super Editions by Erin Hunter (a psuedonym for different authors depending on the book)
https://archive.org/details/warriors-su ... 0Prophecy/

. . . It's about cats. . . Just cats.

Summaries:
https://warriors.fandom.com/wiki/Super_ ... t's_Vision


An audiobook (of the above)
(Audiobook) Firestars Quest - Super Edition (Warriors) - Erin Hunter
https://archive.org/details/firestars-quest


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Dystopian sci-fi (my preference, though I think I might agree with one review, "A 99-cent Kindle erotica writer takes a stab at science fiction: the trilogy")

A.G.Riddle - Winter World
https://archive.org/details/a.-g.-riddl ... r-world-37


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A crazy amount of graphic novels (comics?)

https://archive.org/details/GraphicHorr ... Mysteries/

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Instead of downloading individual Nat Geo, this one has the best-summarized catalog:
https://archive.org/details/nationalgeographicmag

Now they will just contract out their magazine, and are down to 1 full-time writer? This is what happens when you get corporate parasites buying up companies.



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Latoya Ammons, The Woman Who Allegedly Battled 200 Spirits Inside The ‘Demon House’ Of Gary, Indiana

https://allthatsinteresting.com/latoya- ... Rsc2k_sc68


Those weird 'Christian' pamphlets
https://archive.org/details/all-chick-t ... stians%5D/

More. . ? https://archive.org/search?query=creato ... BAPTIST%22

I used to get these things as "tips" when people stopped by a buffet restaurant while I was a waiter. . . I guess they assumed society revolved around them and didn't exist for capitalistic reasons, while necessitating income from work for schooling?


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Timothy Leary books
https://archive.org/details/leary_timothy_detailed/


Reza Negarestani - Archive
https://archive.org/details/reza.negarestani

Jorge Luis Borges - Complete Bibliography (1920s to 1969)
https://archive.org/details/borges-jorg ... nguin-1981


Notre Dame Philosophical Review Journals
https://archive.org/details/agutting-20 ... 52221Z-001


The American Trap by Frédéric Pierucci My Battle to Expose America's Secret Economic War Against the Rest of the World Book





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The absurd workplace: How absurdity is hypernormalized in contemporary society and organizations
https://ephemerajournal.org/contributio ... anizations



How Narcissistic Abuse Makes You More Apathetic
https://medium.com/practical-growth/how ... 84cdd535e6



The Emancipatory Visions of a Sex Magician
Paschal Beverly Randolph’s Occult Politics
By Lara Langer Cohen
https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/th ... -magician/





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Vintage magazines
https://archive.org/details/@zatoichi01



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Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption
https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content ... _FINAL.pdf


I was just going over some videos from Ukrainians from around the time when Ukraine had Russia intervene with Donetsk, and the people of the region were claiming the Ukrainians were attacking (not that this wasn't just Russia pretending to be Ukrainians?) They further went on to claim the (former) Prime Minister was a CIA asset, and that all the oligarchs (in control of the media) were behind some of the media coverage claiming it was Russia (well, we know for sure it was definitely Russia.) Much of these same claims are still perpetuated, and the person making the claims was also arguing that his claims weren't antisemitic (that Zelensky was a zionist and whose family was basically indifferent to those who died in the Holocaust, if "it served their interest.")

An early 2018 article:

Yes, Ukraine’s Oligarchs Own the Airwaves, but Their Days Are Numbered
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/u ... -numbered/

Does that suggest that any truth would have been easily revealed to prove Ukraine was beyond a doubt responsible, and how are they still posting claims well after Russia invaded in 2021?

Other reading

Developers of Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Tied to UK Eugenics Movement
https://unlimitedhangout.com/2020/12/in ... -movement/




Rulers of Evil: Useful Knowledge about Governing Bodies by Frederick Tupper Saussy Publication date 1999
PDF: https://archive.org/details/rulers-of-e ... aussy-1999

Kindle version is cheap, but the hard copy sells for $350-1558
https://www.amazon.com/Rulers-Evil-Usef ... merReviews



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Supposedly the Vatican library is accessible online (I have yet to check it out.)


Nearly 18,000 Ancient Manuscripts From The Vatican’s Archives Published Online
https://curiosmos.com/nearly-18000-anci ... hed-online


https://library.nyam.org/colorourcollec ... ana-onlus/


The problem is that a lot of the information requires scrutiny about what it indicates, and even then the really seedy stuff will probably be censored much like declassified stuff?

[aether]

Mexican Mafia member who ran county jail rackets is killed in prison

[Madrigal]

Moby Dick. Most American thing I ever read (not done yet).

Anyone who read and enjoyed On The Road? That might be next.

[Roger Mexico]

Moby Dick. Most American thing I ever read (not done yet).

Anyone who read and enjoyed On The Road? That might be next.

You mean Kerouac?

I fucking hated the one Kerouac book I ever read, but it wasn't that one. (It was Dharma Bums.) Maybe that one's good.

[Senseye]

Are you enjoying Moby Dick? I read it too (outside of any school curriculum) and it became a test of endurance to get through it. It's like a 40 page short story about obsession embedded in 800 pages of whaling tedium.

Have you got to the section "On paintings of whales" or something like that? Melville goes on for ages and ages about whaling paintings in various old maritime halls of the era, and as a reader you are thinking: "my god, I could not possibly care less" the whole time. I confess I skipped through most of that section, it was either that or just abandon the whole "I'm going to read a classic" kick I was on.

[Madrigal]

You mean Kerouac?

I fucking hated the one Kerouac book I ever read, but it wasn't that one. (It was Dharma Bums.) Maybe that one's good.

I had a feeling I might not like Kerouac but couldn't remember why. Maybe I read a negative comment. Yeah, that might be next.

Are you enjoying Moby Dick? I read it too (outside of any school curriculum) and it became a test of endurance to get through it. It's like a 40 page short story about obsession embedded in 800 pages of whaling tedium.

Have you got to the section "On paintings of whales" or something like that? Melville goes on for ages and ages about whaling paintings in various old maritime halls of the era, and as a reader you are thinking: "my god, I could not possibly care less" the whole time. I confess I skipped through most of that section, it was either that or just abandon the whole "I'm going to read a classic" kick I was on.

I didn't get to that part yet. But yeah, I love the book! Not just because it's a glimpse into the American idiosyncrasies of the time, but also because he's practically a precursor of Freud, I can't believe what I'm reading sometimes.

I now have a bunch of stuff to read because I bought a pile of English-language books in Buenos Aires (they basically have no English book stores in Santiago because most people are too poor to be cosmopolitan, from what I can tell). I also bought some French, and got a bunch in Italian as gifts. I'm reading an Italian best seller (historical fiction) on the partigiani fighting Mussolini in WW2.

On that note I just looked up the song Bella Ciao and discovered Becky G did a cover of it.

[Catoptric]

Proof that "gingers" have no soul?

Everything to Know About the Murdaugh Family Murders, Including Alex's Conviction
https://people.com/crime/murdaugh-famil ... g-to-know/

Update: 8 years ago Alex Murdaugh's son, Buster was in some kind of gay tryst with a boy found dead from a hit and run near their family home, and they are just now convinced he was connected to it? The dead housekeeper wasn't a dead giveaway as well?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... perty.html

Exhibit B

The Disturbing Story Of Eric Smith, The Bullied 13-Year-Old Who Violently Murdered A 4-Year-Old Boy
https://allthatsinteresting.com/eric-smith


Exhibit C:

‘Loose Cannon’: Maryland Man Pulls Gun on Couple for Taking Selfies (video)
https://fb.watch/mwLgB-wMp5/


Exhibit D:

Canadian Grave Robber (Lucas Dawe) Caught Boiling Human Skeleton And Drinking The Broth
https://allthatsinteresting.com/lucas-d ... bone-broth
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfound ... -1.5181537

The broth story might be untrue, since he may have only been trying to clean the bones prior to taking it? Did the first article make it up?
https://factionary.co/10-disturbing-det ... the-broth/


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Book by itself:
Sci-Fi - Brain Wave (1954) Poul Anderson
https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.524749


A compilation which includes that book at the front of the collection:
https://archive.org/details/a-treasury- ... -ed_202206



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GENERATION Y AND VOCAL FRY - VCU Scholars Compass
https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/vie ... ontext=etd



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If anyone has ever seen a 'Mechanical Music Box Set' it's basically like creating your own player piano music.

An online version with various music (ranging from video games to movies)
https://musicbox.fun

Music Theory - eBook Collection
https://archive.org/details/MusicTheory ... mposition/

[starjots]

The Dispossessed - Ursula K Le Guin

An idea driven story about a anarchist society coming into contact with a capitalist society. Worth it for its explorations of social structures and their effects. The story itself is pretty good, the writing great, the backstory excellent, and the main character a bit too John Galt. It is one of the better books I've read.

Lathe of Heaven - Ursula K Le Guin

Since I like the last book, I tried another Le Guin. This one is about the nature of reality and dreams. It has even less story than the last book, the main character being an inert observer whose learned helplessness is almost painful. Still a decent book, but not one I'd have missed if I hadn't read it.

Ursula K Le Guin's name is popping up a lot in book videos, and I can see why. Her books are sci-fi, but they are more about exploring interesting topics in a thoughtful way. I think I'll read Left Hand of Darkness soon.

House at the End of the World - Dean Koontz

I've never read this guy, but know he's sold a zillion books in the mystery/horror genre. The first chapter was promising, the guy can write. The rest of its was mental trash. First off, it's softcore gun porn. The main character is two dimensional, the bad guys one dimensional. In the middle of a tense scene, she'll take a break to spout a few paragraphs of pablum about corrupt politicians or farting cows not being the real problem. Backstory is dumped in glops when needed to keep the story teetering along and through the most ridiculous ways (example - a 14 year old girl learns all about a super top secret government project by breaking into her parent's laptop that they bring home from a super duper top secret facility). Arrogant scientists are equated with super violent gang members. A fox is the only living thing the main character can relate to. ETC.

Since this is a super successful author whose sold a zillion books, I'm not sure if he's crafting a mass market book to a delusional audience or the author has descended into Q-ANON level madness himself. Some lazy shit. My guess is, Koontz's earlier books are better. They have to be.

I did get some laugh out loud moments, but they weren't intended.