PNWHayden
Member
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
What Are You Reading?
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Since I'm in seminary, I tend to read a lot of theology and philosophy books. Right now I'm reading Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals in order to critically interact with it in a paper. I'm reading Covenantal Baptism by Jason Helopoulos on the side.
I need to work in more artistic literature for my reading diet. Technical writing lacks delightful prose.
I need to work in more artistic literature for my reading diet. Technical writing lacks delightful prose.
Butsiethesungo
Active member
I'm reading "Magician" by Raymond E Feist
JSearles562
New member
Robert Rurark’s Horn of the Hunter
Alinsky has insight.
The mistake many make is seeing him through one eye as just an extreme left wing trouble maker.
Much the same mistakes that were made by the many readers of Marx.
Right. That was what I found when I read Alinsky and how others interact with him (left or right). He had some background in Communist movements early in his life, but that doesn't mean he was an ardent Marxist/Communist. What I found, by reading his book, reading positive or negative responses, and watching several interviews with him, he was deeply pragmatic. His pragmatism wasn't skin deep and had an idealism of sorts, though inconsistent. I found his material to be very insightful when comparing to movements in America since his death in 1972. How much his disciples or those influenced by him did as he "designed" is debatable. However, his influence is clearly seen and felt in North America. I disagree with his premises and some of his conclusions, but I find his pragmatic framework to be helpful when applied with discernment in other arenas. Perhaps that's the nature of pragmatic underpinnings--they should work!
As for Marx, I'm certainly no Marxist or anything that derives from his line of thought. However, he must be taken in context. The Industrial Revolution exploded in the backdrop of a dramatically changing society left a lot to be desired as far as rights and ethically acceptable standards of work and life. He saw an ill and sought to address it. He was spot on regarding the loss of craft and the ownership of skill and the products derived from it. Perhaps that's why we see longing for artisan products ever since. Don't we see that as pipe smokers? Marx, however, had his head in the clouds and took a Christian eschatological framework (fall, salvation/redemption, consummation of the telos in a perfected state) from his days as a Lutheran.
Broken clocks are right twice a day. You are right (not in the sense of a broken clock; please don't read it like that) about the need for intellectual agility. Thanks for your comment.
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Reads like a crime novel...Well , it is a true crime novel!
Should you make it to the shores of Great Britain, along with Westminster, the British Museum, and National Gallery....go to Charles Dickens home in London.
It's not far from the British Museum and it is a delight to see and tour.
A great insight into city life in the mid-1800's.
https://dickensmuseum.com/
Volkditty
Well-known member
When I joined the Army in 2002 my group got held up in reception for a week because of the huge influx of recruits. I found a copy of Hondo lying around somewhere and got through the first few chapters before we got sent down range for basic training. I wrote a letter to my grandpa asking how the book ended because I knew he was a Westerns fan and he wrote back to fill in the plot for me. I didn't find out until after his funeral, years later, that he had rushed out to buy a copy of the book and essentially treated it like a book report assignment to tell me the rest of the story. That book has a huge sentimental place in my heart.
I am reading this for the 3rd time, last read it 10 years ago. Weird I could tell you a movie I saw 10 years ago that i enjoyed probably word for word. But for some reason as soon as I finish a book I forget it and could read it almost straight away forgetting 80% of it, mmm guess its a blessing in some ways. This book gave me the inspiration to "give it a go".
Outback legends of Jack Vitnell from Queensland to the Kimberley.
This is a wild, buck-jumping, barroom-brawling kind of book. It sprawls like Australia’s cattle stations through the heat, the dust, the flies and the loneliness of the Top End. It carries you into a world of poddy-dodgers and horse-thieves. It introduces you to Old Smokey, King of the Underworld in the Kimberley, Old Soapie’s Lulu, Walmajari Susie and the savage spears of the munjons.
The Gun Ringer is a story of the old frontier where the young ringers rode hard and drank hard. A world where Aboriginal ringers were among the best horse-riders there were. A world where there were few white women and the men based their pride on their work with cattle and horses, their ability to fight and their mateship. Their only respite from work was when they went on a bender. In the end many of them succumbed as frail old men to Bosun Rum and a lonely grave.
Outback legends of Jack Vitnell from Queensland to the Kimberley.
This is a wild, buck-jumping, barroom-brawling kind of book. It sprawls like Australia’s cattle stations through the heat, the dust, the flies and the loneliness of the Top End. It carries you into a world of poddy-dodgers and horse-thieves. It introduces you to Old Smokey, King of the Underworld in the Kimberley, Old Soapie’s Lulu, Walmajari Susie and the savage spears of the munjons.
The Gun Ringer is a story of the old frontier where the young ringers rode hard and drank hard. A world where Aboriginal ringers were among the best horse-riders there were. A world where there were few white women and the men based their pride on their work with cattle and horses, their ability to fight and their mateship. Their only respite from work was when they went on a bender. In the end many of them succumbed as frail old men to Bosun Rum and a lonely grave.
Just finished the Audible of Fortitude by Dan Crenshaw.
Just finished Lucy Wooding's new 'Tudor England' -- if you already are familiar with the 5 Tudor monarchs and the general politics and want to learn more about the society it's good; but not for those unfamiliar with the period. Just getting started with the new bio of Nero by Everitt and Ashworth.
Reading this at the moment for the second time.
In the winter of 1948, a poorly educated jack-of-all-trades moved his ever- increasing family to a small vegetable crops' farm on the Darling Downs, in Queensland. They arrived in a horse and wagon to begin an extraordinary life of hardship and challenge in the bush. This book follows the harsh life of poverty that is eclipsed by the threads of dry humour, love and warmth that embraces a large closely-knit family. The living conditions endured are almost primitive, even for the nineteen fifties, as they fight to carve an existence from the land. His father's lingering fight with lung cancer compounds the pain of his own battle, as a National Service Soldier in the Vietnam War. The accounts of the war are graphic and poignant, and could only emerge from one who has experienced the frightening reality of combat. Highlighted through the suffering and dreams is a mother's undying devotion to her family, as she struggles to raise them, more or less on her own.
In the winter of 1948, a poorly educated jack-of-all-trades moved his ever- increasing family to a small vegetable crops' farm on the Darling Downs, in Queensland. They arrived in a horse and wagon to begin an extraordinary life of hardship and challenge in the bush. This book follows the harsh life of poverty that is eclipsed by the threads of dry humour, love and warmth that embraces a large closely-knit family. The living conditions endured are almost primitive, even for the nineteen fifties, as they fight to carve an existence from the land. His father's lingering fight with lung cancer compounds the pain of his own battle, as a National Service Soldier in the Vietnam War. The accounts of the war are graphic and poignant, and could only emerge from one who has experienced the frightening reality of combat. Highlighted through the suffering and dreams is a mother's undying devotion to her family, as she struggles to raise them, more or less on her own.
A great read.
A desolate group of islands in the Indian Ocean, A Proud 17th century vessel aground on the reef, unspeakable treachery, human suffering and misery pushed to the utmost limits, legendary maritime prowess. The discovery of one of the most sought after wrecks in the world, bringing to light and preserving its treasures, the incredible challenge of piecing together the sunken ship, one of the most dramatic stories of all time!
A desolate group of islands in the Indian Ocean, A Proud 17th century vessel aground on the reef, unspeakable treachery, human suffering and misery pushed to the utmost limits, legendary maritime prowess. The discovery of one of the most sought after wrecks in the world, bringing to light and preserving its treasures, the incredible challenge of piecing together the sunken ship, one of the most dramatic stories of all time!
A good reference only for Aussie's though.
Australian Nature Fieldguide: Wild Food Plants of Australia is the fieldguide edition of Wild Food Plants of Australia. It is presented in a concise, convenient form to facilitate quick and ready reference in the field.
Tim Low has provided a truly reliable guide to our edible flora, making identification easy, thus it is a perfect companion for bushwalkers, naturalists, scientists and, with emphasis on wild food cuisine, gourmets. Low describes more than 180 plants - from the most tasty and significant plant foods of southern and eastern Australia to the more important and spectacular inland and tropical foods. Distribution maps are provided with each description plus notes on how these plants were used in the past and can be used today. Beautifully illustrated with colour photographs and line drawings there is also a guide to poisonous and non-poisonous plants, and information on introduced food plants, the nutrients found in wild food plants, on bush survival, and how to forage for and cook with wild plants.
Australian Nature Fieldguide: Wild Food Plants of Australia is the fieldguide edition of Wild Food Plants of Australia. It is presented in a concise, convenient form to facilitate quick and ready reference in the field.
Tim Low has provided a truly reliable guide to our edible flora, making identification easy, thus it is a perfect companion for bushwalkers, naturalists, scientists and, with emphasis on wild food cuisine, gourmets. Low describes more than 180 plants - from the most tasty and significant plant foods of southern and eastern Australia to the more important and spectacular inland and tropical foods. Distribution maps are provided with each description plus notes on how these plants were used in the past and can be used today. Beautifully illustrated with colour photographs and line drawings there is also a guide to poisonous and non-poisonous plants, and information on introduced food plants, the nutrients found in wild food plants, on bush survival, and how to forage for and cook with wild plants.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. Collecting pipes and pipe tobacco is a victimless crime. I pair it with Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.
