thanks fellas, im down for any of these now lets see if i can pitch them to my gf as well 
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can confirm 2 of my picks are gf/wife approved.
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should have led with that caveat. Aickman still a maybe. Ballard probably not. Do Mariana Enriquez collection Things We Lost In The Fire
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Howās the Thrawn trilogy dive going?
My memory of the books is that they were first rate genre sci-fi, which is to say
- The characters were fun concepts, from Thrawn himself (indomitable, admirable, refined, basically a blue Tamburlaine) to Pellaeon, Mara Jade, probably a few others Iām forgetting. Itās no surprise these characters would keep reappearing in EU stuff and, occasionally, back in the canon
- The Sith cloning stuff was a little silly, but I liked the idea of a (first two novels spoilers) hidden automated fleet and of perpetually subjecting an assassin species through subterfuge.
- I think the core idea of a technocratically competent Empire (more about effective rule and military might than subjugating others) would influence the stories of the Empire told thereafter, from TIE Fighter to much of the EU games and novels. That the Empire could be not-just-evil and occasionally even admirably competent wasnāt really present in the original trilogy. To Zahnās credit, I think he also recognizes the way the Empire is wrong, as (whole trilogy spoiler) Thrawn dies at the hands of slaves whose exploitation he didnāt design but he did continue.
There was a time I was a Star Wars fan, and it was probably these novels that laid the groundwork for that fandom. Even today, the Star Wars stuff I still watch owes a lot to Zahn, often indirectly (like Andor).
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I finished the Dunsany collection I was reading. I really enjoyed āThe Three Sailorsā Gambitā, particularly its conclusion, and āThe Deeds of Mungā. Itās a shame about the stories that are pretty good but casually throw in a racial slur (āPoor Old Billā, for example), though.
Itās Fatherās Day here in Australia and Iāve received a copy of Moneta: A History of Ancient Rome in Twelve Coins by Gareth Harney, which seems appropriate for my middle age dad interest in Roman history and ancient coins (I had a project a while ago on a forum thatās no longer accessible where Iād write about my coins and the figures on them, a very loose history in ancient coins). Sadly, it has that scourge of the reader: endnotes. I do not like endnotes. Put it at the bottom of the page where I can just look down at it! I guess if youāre the kind of person who doesnāt read the notes taking them out of the text makes sense, but I am not that kind of person. Most of them look to be along the lines of āLivy, book X chapter Yā or whatever, which Iād happily ignore, but some of them have actual content and I donāt know which is which until Iāve already flipped to the end of the book.
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Took a break from Gene Wolfe this month to read Light in August, which Iāve been meaning to read for like ten years. I liked this sentence:
of interest: Faulkner uses the phrase āit canāt be helpedā more than once (twice) in this book.
thereās a lot to chew on and it probably behooves me to say more given the richness of the text, but for the moment I wanted to share that sentence. Iām looking forward to reading two books of essays/criticism about it I got from the library
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ä»ę¹ććŖć - william faulkner
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just finished fluids by may leitz. i love horror movies but iāve never gotten into horror books, so this was sort of a new experience and uh. well. there is some stuff in there!
i did like it in the end. it became clear very quickly that itās not a book of literal events, but that its storytelling is meant more in a metaphorical/thematic way - like, itās primarily about its symbolism, moving from idea to idea, rather than the mechanics of the plot. this worked because i related to it a lot, but i imagine it wouldnāt hit the same for other people - and i think it might have felt smoother if there was a sort of ramp-up to that dynamic instead of just going immediately into the land of things being symbolic. itās not a super grounded story.
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never been a star wars person but have strong childhood memories of reading those dark horse comics with the cool Cam Kennedy art, I think thatās related to those books iirc
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Read Course Of The Heart by M. John Harrison so thatās 3/3 non-genre books of his Iāve enjoyed (Climbers and The Sunken Land Begins To Rise Again are the others). I kind of like the SF which I guess is what heās known for but Iām cooler on those. Course Of The Heart is about the aftermath of a ritual magic working that 3 college (in this case Uni) students participated in the 70s. The ritual worked, though what it did is unclear but it seems to have been bad in terms of the structure of reality. Itās like a gnostic mystical kitchen sink realist 1990s narrative. It reminded be a little of Solaris in how oblique and elusive the āsupernaturalā stuff is, and also, for that matter, The Sunken Landā¦ which is even less āfantasticā. Itās an effect I really like.
Probably going to bail out on Congregation Of Jackals by S Craig Zahler itās just ineptly written in a bad way + pretty juvenile. His first novel so maybe others are better but this one is poor imo
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Thanks to @bonsaiās post about the book in this very thread I have become aware of and subsequently read Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto by Kohei Saito (the german translation).
I read this book as a change of pace between part 2 and 3 of the Three Body trilogy by Cixin Liu, which has been a blast to read so far. But as someone who has only recently gotten back into the habit of reading books more regularly these SciFi tomes can be a bit intimidating and exhausting to read. (the german translations are 600, 800 and 1000 pages long respectively)
But back to Slow Down. I read the german translation whose title is quite a bit more confrontational than the english one. āSystemsturz - Der Sieg der Natur Ć¼ber den Kapitalismusā translates literally to āSystem overthrow - natureās victory over capitalismā. While the title was probably chosen to sell more books through its shock value I feel like it might immediately turn off people who might otherwise consider its arguments. I prefer the english title for this one and also think that maybe staying closer to the original japanese title āCapital in the Anthropoceneā wouldāve been the best but I also acknowledge that I might be one of two people who would be excited by seeing that title in a book store.
As someone who hasnāt read deeply into communism, Marx or degrowth before the book feels like a pretty ideal starting point. Saito first explains why and how capitalism is at the core of the systems that lead to our planets destruction by human hands. Saito spends maybe the first 120 pages or so digging into this and also arguing against the idea that a āgreen new dealā could solve our problems by decoupling sustained economic growth from carbon emissions.
This first part took me the longest to get through. Not because it was uninteresting, badly written or not well explained. The main reason that made this part uncomfortable to read was the surfacing existential dread associated with the (re-)realization of the extent of how bad things are and the inability of current mainstream political ideas to tackle the problems at hand. This part reiterates how a lot of center and center-right positions just donāt cut it. The really uncomfortable part however was when the ideas argued against moved further and further to the center-left and left until some previously held-onto final straws were ripped from my hands. Not pleasant but the truth unfortunately isnāt.
After I succesfully ripped of that band aid the book became emotionally a much easier read. Saito explains how ongoing deeper analysis of Marxās work outside of Capital and his other major works unearthed a perspective of marxist communism that focuses a lot more on incorporating sustainability and life within the limits of earthās natural capacity into the big picture. He elaborates how in his opinion a lot of āpopularā contemporary marxist theory actually focuses on ideas of a young Marx that quite drastically changed his opinion and focus later in life before he could finish and compose those ideas into a big work that wouldāve gotten more attention than a lose collection of letters and notes.
Saito leads the reader through those ideas and explains how he interprets Marxās lesser known writing and argues that the logical conclusion of those ideas is what he calls ādegrowth communismā. On the way there he does a good job of both incorporating other contemporary ideas from in- and outside of the marxist communist school of thought as well as explains how this style of communism would differ from what we have seen in the USSR or are still seeing in China.
Finally he shows specific examples of how current initiatives and organizations are actively embodying and enacting the necessary changes to move things in that direction. (e.g. Fearless Cities) He sketches an optimistic outline of what life in this degrowth communism could look like and how it doesnāt mean that we all have to live on farms and sacrifice a good life for the option to have a future.
Overall this book left me with optimism. It gives pointers on what one can do right now to enact change in smaller and bigger ways and presents a vision of what a left-leaning more equal future could look like. And I think that is its strongest point. I personally feel like most of the left wing and green parties (definitely here in germany and from what I get glances of in the US and elsewhere too) fail to provide this vision. And I feel like thatās one of the major contributors to the rise of right wing politics. (among many other factors of course) Even as a firmly left-wing and eco-conscious person it is so easy to give in to defeatism and end every discussion about these topics with āMost people are stupid and voting <insert politician/party you despise here>. So weāre all screwed anyway. Might as well go down with a bang and have a bit of fun before the world ends.ā
I certainly know Iāve been there multiple times despite my best efforts. And while I canāt imagine a lot of people rallying behind the label āmarxist degrowth communismā I feel like the ideas presented in the book are very much approachable, sensible and could find supporters in camps that currently are voting maybe even far-right. A lot of the current image of the green party here in germany is that they are āa group of hip young academic yuppies feeling morally superior and forbidding everybody else to have fun either through laws or by making everything more expensiveā. And while thatās a reductive argument I do understand why some people might feel that way especially when bad faith actors are spewing that sort of rhethoric all over the internet.
If instead left-wing and green parties would focus more on the aspect of sustainability through empowerment of the working class I feel like things could be different. Saito shows quite well how in his vision of the future people would work less in more interesting and meaningful jobs, much more stuff would be free and higher quality and life would be better in general. That to me sounds like a much easier sell than a lot of the half-hearted measures proposed by current politicians from the relevant camps. Especially since those usually make it look like we have to decide between social spending and saving the world from climate change.
Saito doesnāt solve capitalism and climate change with this book but he presents something to strive for that feels achievable. Iām currently looking for more books to look deeper into that. Iāll probably read Das Ende des Kapitalismus (The end of capitalism) by Ulrike Hermann, which doesnāt have an english translation I think?
Iām also looking deeper into some ways in which I can proactively push change. Iām especially looking into ways in which I can use my professional skills which sometimes seem so far detached from a lot of the actual physical work required that itās hard to imagine how a computer scientist/programmer could contribute. One avenue might be open source as sort of digital commons but Iāll have to think more about that.
Definitely recommend reading the book and oh my god Iām sorry I just noticed the size of the scroll bar Iāll stop now. (also read @bonsaiās post because he mentioned a lot of good points not included in my ramble)
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Iām glad someone else enjoyed it! Saito explains the theory really well. I also agree that the optimism is what made the book a fulfilling experience.
This is exactly where Iām at right now ā considering a career move to an even more socially-minded enterprise (currently work in non-profit sector as it is) and otherwise trying to find a way to be more useful than I have been in the past. Itās wild how paralyzing pessimism is and I have to still work myself out of that mental rut. So Iāve started volunteering by helping distribute food donations to community fridges etc. Though the relation to climate change there is not direct, itās hard to explain how much more connected I feel to my community + my role in it. And in a significant way this book helped me make this first step.
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all jokes aside, thanks for the write up @FishHead . that book sounds interesting. iām particularly interested in his interpretations of a mature marx and how that dovetails into the ongoing work he highlights.
without knowing the specifics of what either you or @Bonsai do/want to do, i can offer a little perspective as someone who has a job in the āgreenā space. in short, itās great and i would be happy to help anyone transition into this space with a DM. however, i would also caution that these industries still intersect with our economy in the typical ways in that they too must grow or else they will die. there is some small exception to this the more local you get (e.g., organizations doing microgrids), but even they are forced to compete. i used to think that working in this space was doing āgood work,ā but now i realize itās better described as āwork that makes me feel good.ā if revolutionary acts are your aim, i think you are morally justified to work a āregularā job and do other things in your free time.
as for me, iāve recently read two books by shusaku endo, scandal and wonderful fool. endo used to be quite popular in america but has now been relegated to the guy who wrote a book turned into a scorsese movie. for those who donāt know, endo was a mid-century japanese writer who wrote about being catholic in japan, usually through the lens of people facing crises of faith. his books fit in a weird space where they may be too catholic for the secular crowd and too secular for the catholic crowd. they also have a bit of a musty cobweb feel to them, though i suspect this is as much due to the translation as it is the text itself (see earlier post in this thread).
scandal surprised me. endo wrote the novel later in life and itās about a famous catholic japanese novelist who is accused of committing heinous acts in tokyoās red light district. you can see endo coming to terms with his life as a writer, what it means to live as a christian, and what it means to love. he does this with the framing of a metaphysical thriller. i didnāt expect this book to get as dark as it did, nor did i expect it to move me as much as it did. i will give this my coveted gold star recommendation 
for anyone interesting in reading spiritual jungian literature that includes a deep cut de rais element.
wonderful fool was also good, but undeniably āearly work.ā it was a novel that gestured more than it painted, using poplar wood to build itās staging when it really needed concrete to support the emotional heft. if youāre willing to buy what the novel is selling, itās a pretty charming book about a christ-like figure in the form of a napoleon descendant who comes to japan and finds himself in bumbling misadventures. i would not recommend it nearly as strongly as i would scandal, but toward the end i had the thought that @wickedcestus would like this book.
since i was at my momās i took home a few books i had left there, such as monks of war and the douay-rheims translation of the vulgate new testament. i want to read these, but first i want to get to dom casmurro and last nights of paris, the latter a surrealist novel translated by william carlos williams (!) that was apparently a huge inspiration to bolano. my old boss at the bookstore turned me onto it, where i also bought this little edition of the ice storm by ashberry.
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I will check it out! I do have a fascination with early and/or āblack sheepā novels, as well as bumbling misadventurers.
I just finished Laura, a Journey into Crystal by George Sand, a hallucinatory Jules Verne-style adventure where dream and reality intermingle in interesting ways. I have a real adoration for this style of adventure story, and the extra dream-like layer, as well as Sandās wonderful descriptions of crystalline rock formations, really made me love this book. The book operates in a fascinating headspace, taking fairly basic tropes but giving them just that extra bit of weight that causes them to hit you in a different way than they normally would.
Another strange and short book I recently read was Bodhisattva by Jun Ishikawa. The main character is working on an academic book, but he keeps getting dragged away from his manuscript by the trivial goings-on of his unruly friends and acquaintances. However it soon becomes clear that his being āabove it allā as a scholar is mere pretense, and that he is neck-deep in this worldly world and has no intention of getting out. I found it charming, if a bit frivolous.
Right now, Iām reading Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick by Lawrence Sutin. Itās an interesting counterpoint to a lot of Dickās own autobiographical work, as a running theme is the amount of his time he spent engaged with what we can generously call ādelusions.ā Itās amazing how many of the out-there conceits of his novels were actually derived from (his perceptions of) his own experiences. Itās hard to read his novels and not come away thinking he was a strange individual, but it didnāt quite hit home as much to me until reading this book. The perspectives from friends and family really shine a new light on the narratives he told about himself.
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The two books Iāve read by Endo are The Sea and Poison (recommended by Yeso) and Foreign Studies. I really enjoyed them both.
The first is about medical experiments done on POWs in Fukuoka during WWII. There is some body-horrorness in the description, but somehow what ended up being most haunting for me was the descriptions of bureaucracy and hospital politics, which is really what the book is devoted to.
The second consists of a novel prefaced by two short stories about Japanese people studying in Europe in the 1950s and 1600s respectively. The core novel is about a Japanese professor in the 1960s whoās come to France in order to further his research on the Marquis de Sade. Thereās a lot of preoccupation on disease/human bodies, and even vague psychosexual overtones, like in The Sea and Poison, though what I remember most is the descriptions of the Japanese community in Paris, which the narrator observes as an outsider, alternating between feelings of contempt and identification. Thereās also a scene that is very relatable to me where the narrator goes to the home of a leading Sade scholar in order to ask some questions, and listening to himself talk, imagines the Sade scholarās thoughts about him:
āWhat could this Japanese man speaking heavily accented, halting French, coming from a world completely removed from 18th century France possibly understand about Sade?ā
For more in the genre of Japanese guy having a miserable time in Europe, it might be interesting to compare it to the preface of SÅsekiās Theory of Literature, which deals with similar themes.
Iād been wanting to read Scandal for awhile, but your description of wonderful fool also makes it sound fascinating!
also @wickedcestus Iād been eyeing Bodhisattva as well. Might try reading it soon.
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thatās great. i have sea poison on my shelf but have a hankering to read the samurai next since he wrote that in the vicinity of silence and i suspect he might have been at the height of his powers during that period.
fun fact: i read endo for the first time i read soseki, during an undergrad japanese lit class taught be a very old japanese man who spoke very slowly in a thick accent in a small stuffy room from 6-8 on tuesday and thursday nights during the winter semester. there was probably only a handful of students in the class and it took everything in me to stay awake. i bet if i ran into the professor now iād have a lot more to talk about but in truth the only thing i took from the class is a good reading list. i got into a pretty heavy soseki kick after that.
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Do you still have the reading list? Iāve never taken a Japanese Lit class, so curious what was on it.
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iāll try to find it/recreate it.
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