What book(s) are you reading right now and recommend for others?
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Bouncing between Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions and The Screaming Staircase.
Algorithms is interesting but the actual algorithms aren't terribly useful so far.
The Screaming Staircase has a very neat world but not very interesting characters. I'm hoping it improves.
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Finishing the Imperial Radch sci-fi trilogy (Ancillary Justice/Sword/Mercy) by Ann Leckie. Despite the agender language feature (everyone is addressed as she) the books deal more with colonialism, imperialism, and personal identity, rather than gender. Writing style is very information-dense, lots of thoughts and actions happening simultaneously. Compared to other science fiction that I read, it gets much more into the cultural and interpersonal situations, especially the second book.
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Just finished them instead of reading them right now, but "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin. I liked the world building of the first far better, but it didn't hit at the politics I wanted to read about as much as I wanted, the second being the opposite.
I don't know why, but I just need content wrapped in sci-fi for me to find it enjoyable, and "The Dispossessed" in particular was what I was looking for, an exploration of anarchism grounded in examples and thought experiment.
Both of them are fantastic books, and definitely worth a read for anybody interested in science fiction, sexuality & gender, and anarchism.
I started the Left Hand of Darkness just a few days ago. It’s been interesting so far
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Repurposing most of a comment from earlier in the day where someone asked about learning about the Jesus Myth theory that Jesus was originally a heavinly figure and only got turned into a guy with an earthly ministry decades later. This is well supported by the evidence in texts from the start of christianity (epistles, Dead Sea Scrolls).
The Jesus Puzzle, by Earl Doherty. He gets criticized because he’s not a trained scholar, but his work remains compelling and Robert M Price endorses him. I really enjoyed this one.
The Amazing Colossal Apostle - The Search for the Historical Paul, by Robert M Price. He’s a former Baptist minister with multiple degrees in the field, a true expert. He has a bunch of published YouTube interviews talking about these topics as well.
Quick warning: RMP is a Trump supporter. That makes sense. Ministers are rightwing. Coming from believing to realizing that the Bible is a collection of stories rather than history doesn’t necessarily change your politics. He mostly never mentions it, but it’s come out a couple of times in videos. Luckily, he doesn’t say anything further about it. The book is phenominal.
And, if you still want to consider Jeses to be a historical figure, I loved this controversial piece: The Passover Plot, by Hugh J. Schonfield. This book assumes that Jesus was a real apocalyptic Jew who truly believed that he was the messiah and who brilliantly engineered the conditions to fulfill prophecy. It’s a great read. If Jesus was a historical figure, this is the version of him that I think is most likely.
I am currently reading Marcion and the Dating of the Synoptic Gospels, by Markus Vinzent. I’m enjoying it a lot. Marcion was the first “heretic” for his view that Paul was the only apostle who understood the true message: that the creator god of the Jews was a lesser god, which is why there is evil in the world, and Jesus's god would adopt us.
Price is a really wacky guy, and even he will admit he’s very much on the fringe. I would suggest Dan McClellan or Bart Ehrman over him.
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I just finished Abundance by Ezra Kline and Derek Thompson. A really interesting read regarding the housing crisis and the policies that have halted develpoment in major cities in America. I highly recommend reading this one. I took notes along the way and basically did a book report.
I'm now reading Casino: The Rise and Fall of the Mob in Las Vegas. A fascinating book that inspired the Scorsese film by the same title. Recommended for anyone with interest in Vegas or the mob. It's written kinda like a series of interviews from the perspectives of the different people involved. The (alleged) mob guys and the FBI agents who were investigating them.
Next up, I'm likely gonna read Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco. I don't have too much insight on this one yet but I've heard it's pretty great
Most of what I've read about Abundance is a general distrust for their arguments.
::: spoiler Alex Bronzini-Vender says abundance didn't work in practice in Colorado.
The abundance agenda’s fundamental sleight of hand is that, by unleashing the private sector from burdensome consumer protection, labor standards, and zoning regulations, American consumers might recover their lost purchasing power and living standards without the state directly tampering with workplace standards or wage levels. The private sector would supply more goods at lower costs—if only it could. That hasn’t panned out in Colorado, and it’s unlikely to elsewhere. (thebaffler.com)
:::::: spoiler David Sirota says the project is a scam because all it does is deregulate corporations without addressing medical care or the social safety net.
David Sirota, the founder of Lever News and a former Bernie Sanders speechwriter, summed up one stinging progressive critique of the whole project: “Abundance
being defined as ‘kill zoning laws and corporate regulation’ but not ‘give everyone decent medical care’ — that’s the tell, and you’re the mark.” It’s true that this is not a focus among the advocates of abundance. Relaxing zoning laws won’t do anything to bring us universal health care or bolster the social safety net. It may not even, in the short term, do enough to create affordable housing. (nymag.com
:::::: spoiler He also argues that they ignore the real obstacles to efficiency and abundance: corporate corruption driving artificial scarcity.
[T]he takeaway from the broadband tale is that the biggest obstacles to efficiency and abundance are often corporate power and its corrupting influence on our politics — factors typically downplayed or unmentioned in the Abundance Discourse.
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We could pass all the federal permitting reforms Klein and Thompson could dream of, but if powerful fossil-fuel interests continue to call the political shots, we’ll never achieve the clean energy build-out we desperately need.
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In many of those areas, there’s no actual scarcity of structures that could be living space. It’s just that corporations and oligarchs hoarding wealth and land aren’t being compelled by zoning and tax laws to open up the space for housing.
:::As someone who's actually read the book, have these criticisms been handled and no one noticed, or would they need to publish a revised edition?
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In retrospect would you say read the books first or no?
wrote on last edited by [email protected]IMO the show did not do a good job introducing characters and settings, and failed to do a lot of "screen writing 101" stuff like establishing who the characters are and their relationships to each other in the first few episodes. It also failed at using visual language or motifs to define the different settings and distinguish them which was frustrating and confusing. I started the show first and was intrigued enough to pick up the books, but absolutely reading the books gives you a shortcut past all of the "who's that guy?" and "wait, I thought those people were in the same place" type moments of confusion. I still really enjoyed the show and I figured everything out eventually, but yes it benefits from a read-through.
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Just finished the A Land Fit For Heroes trilogy by Richard K. Morgan and it was badass.
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Most of what I've read about Abundance is a general distrust for their arguments.
::: spoiler Alex Bronzini-Vender says abundance didn't work in practice in Colorado.
The abundance agenda’s fundamental sleight of hand is that, by unleashing the private sector from burdensome consumer protection, labor standards, and zoning regulations, American consumers might recover their lost purchasing power and living standards without the state directly tampering with workplace standards or wage levels. The private sector would supply more goods at lower costs—if only it could. That hasn’t panned out in Colorado, and it’s unlikely to elsewhere. (thebaffler.com)
:::::: spoiler David Sirota says the project is a scam because all it does is deregulate corporations without addressing medical care or the social safety net.
David Sirota, the founder of Lever News and a former Bernie Sanders speechwriter, summed up one stinging progressive critique of the whole project: “Abundance
being defined as ‘kill zoning laws and corporate regulation’ but not ‘give everyone decent medical care’ — that’s the tell, and you’re the mark.” It’s true that this is not a focus among the advocates of abundance. Relaxing zoning laws won’t do anything to bring us universal health care or bolster the social safety net. It may not even, in the short term, do enough to create affordable housing. (nymag.com
:::::: spoiler He also argues that they ignore the real obstacles to efficiency and abundance: corporate corruption driving artificial scarcity.
[T]he takeaway from the broadband tale is that the biggest obstacles to efficiency and abundance are often corporate power and its corrupting influence on our politics — factors typically downplayed or unmentioned in the Abundance Discourse.
...
We could pass all the federal permitting reforms Klein and Thompson could dream of, but if powerful fossil-fuel interests continue to call the political shots, we’ll never achieve the clean energy build-out we desperately need.
...
In many of those areas, there’s no actual scarcity of structures that could be living space. It’s just that corporations and oligarchs hoarding wealth and land aren’t being compelled by zoning and tax laws to open up the space for housing.
:::As someone who's actually read the book, have these criticisms been handled and no one noticed, or would they need to publish a revised edition?
Ok, so I have no shortages of critiscism when it comes to the book. I do agree that they seem to have a foolishly optimistic assumption that the only (or I guess just the principal) hurdle in the way of housing development is regulation. I'm certain corporate greed does play a MAJOR role in this. However, going over what you've linked here, I have a couple issues. Most notably, the second point there. It really seems odd to essentially say that we shouldn't be considering housing reform because we need healthcare reform. Two issues can and do exist, and both issues need to be addressed. The authors focus on one of them. That doesn't mean they don't care about the other. As for Kline and Thompson's call for deregulation, it's something that rubs me the wrong way initially, but they do a pretty good job demonstrating the way that regulation can be used to slow and even fully prevent development, and how it leads to developers only building luxury housing because the costs to develop are too high. And while this make me think somethng like, "boohoo the rich guy will need to wait a little longer to get a return" we can't ignore that under our current system, profits are the prime motivator. I'm on my phone right now, so I feel I can't really dive too deep into your question, but my main point would be that I do agree with some of the critisicm and I don't think they fully address some pretty big concerns the reader may have with what they're saying.
I did keep notes on quotes that I felt were important in the book, and then went through and wrote out why I felt they were. A lot of them touch on these topics. If you're interested, I can share it. Though please keep in mind, I haven't refined my notes as I wasn't really expecting to share them.
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Barbarians at the Gate is a good book and the movie is also worth a watch.
When the two executives are talking and then each gets on their private plane, then continue the talk via phone in air, and then land at the same location it sets up the situation so well.
Oh wow, that sounds hilarious and really depressing lol. I'm definitely gonna check out the movie when I'm done reading it!
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Reading Frostbound Queen. Um, idk if I'd recommend it. It's ok. Very "BookToc".
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In retrospect would you say read the books first or no?
For me it works really well. My AuDHD brain is very happy to put established voices and faces to some of the characters. I also really liked the visuals and general feeling of the show.
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The expanse
Such a great series. During covid lockdown for six weeks I was watching the TV series in the day and reading the novels in bed at night. I've never experienced media in quite the same way. They were both amazing. Amos is one of my all-time favourite characters in fiction.
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Yes! Got any recommendations for when I am finished with them?
Iain M Banks' Culture novels. Eon by Greg Bear.
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Gilgamesh the King, by Robert Silverberg
Silverberg is one of the greats.
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The Stand by Stephen King.
It's over 1200 pages long and I have always been scared of anything above six hundred pages.
It's so good. It's taking me a long time, but it's worth it. As always, Stephen King never let's you down. I just love his writing.
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Just finished them instead of reading them right now, but "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin. I liked the world building of the first far better, but it didn't hit at the politics I wanted to read about as much as I wanted, the second being the opposite.
I don't know why, but I just need content wrapped in sci-fi for me to find it enjoyable, and "The Dispossessed" in particular was what I was looking for, an exploration of anarchism grounded in examples and thought experiment.
Both of them are fantastic books, and definitely worth a read for anybody interested in science fiction, sexuality & gender, and anarchism.
Those are two of the best books I read last year.
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I just finished The Hair Carpet Weavers by Andreas Eschbach. One of the best first chapters I've read in a long time. Really interesting scifi book that I couldn't put down.
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Reading Anne Leckie's latest book, Translation State. If you're a fan of scifi, and especially space operas, I'd recommend her books, but start off with Ancillary Justice.
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Nearing the end of When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi, which came out a few months ago. It's a bit silly but I'd recommend it. The premise can be summed up as, "What would happen if the moon turned into cheese?"
I'll have to check that one out when I finish the Old Man's War series.
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I've already finished it, but House of Leaves is amazing
