Blarobbarg

I'm reading way too many books right now. I downloaded the Kindle app on my iPod, and found a bunch of free stuff... free books will be my downfall some day.



The Communist Manifesto
I've never read it before, I figured it was about time. I don't consider myself a Communist (at least, not yet), but there's a lot of interesting stuff in here, and a lot to think about. I'll probably read it twice since it's so short, to really understand it as best as I can.



All Things Are Possible: The Healing and Charismatic Revivals in Modern America
Somebody gave this to me, and it's been pretty interesting so far. It's a history of the faith healers, and charismatic Christian evangelists from the 50's to the mid 70's. It's written from an outsider's perspective, so it's fairly objective. It's a fascinating look at some incredibly polarizing individuals. I'm reading it as a sort of warning, to see just how far others who follow my faith can fall.



The Pilgrim's Progress
I'm trying to get more into poetry, and read more classic literature, so I figured this couldn't be a bad place to start. I've had it for two months or so, and have still not made much of a dent in it. I'm taking my time, though. It's so monstrously huge, I don't want to burn out.



Poems by Emily Dickinson
Like I said, I'm trying to get into more poetry. I really like Dickinson's work a lot, she tends to paint a picture in my mind with her words, and the longer I look, the more surprising details I find. I'm taking my time with this too, as I said before, I don't want to get burnt out.


If anyone has any good literature or poetry recommendations, I'm open to them!

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The Batlord

First of all, my friend actually went to China on a school trip and brought me back a Little Red Book. Of course it's a piece of commie **** that's starting to fall apart even though I've barely even read it.

Secondly, back in my junior year of high school I had a US History teacher who was very republican, so I started signing all my work Premier *My Last Name*, and I made my very own commie notebook. It was red, with a cutout of a hammer and sickle I'd printed from a computer taped to the front, and it had the pictures of famous communist leaders taped to the back (Stalin, Trotsky, Castro, etc.) I'd bought three sets of dividers and used only the red and yellow ones, and at the back of the notebook I'd included a full, printed out copy of the Communist Manifesto. My teacher was not amused. Or at least he wouldn't admit it. I know he actually was.

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Blarobbarg

Okay, that's amazing. You are now a personal hero of mine.

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The Batlord

Well, if you consider that after I made the notebook I filled it with almost no actual notes then perhaps it's not so amazing. Ah, who am I kidding? I ****ing rule!

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CrazyVegn

Stalked by Allison Brennan and honestly it is dry and she went into way too much detail over fictional characters and things about the plot, etc that no one is interested in, to try to make it all seem real. If authors and books had realism this would be one of them. In paintings it can be fascinating and impressive but in fiction reading it pushes ppl away which is why it is taking me so long to read it. Readers have a very well developed imagination which is why they read VS watching TV. No help is needed, unless it's a true crime novel then it is WANTED.

Hitch

His essays on topics besides economics are well worth reading. Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of right, the materialist conception of history (and his deconstruction of the french revolution, for example), his views on journalism, on the British Empire and its (then) colony of India, the Habsburg monarchy and on the free city of Trieste for instance, the Jewish question...not to mention, his doctoral thesis on the difference between Democritus and Epicurus view of nature isn't too shabby either (although seems slightly rushed.) Hours and hours of reading (and re-reading probably) would ensue. And then you begin to wonder...slightly discredited in the 21st century - maybe, but he did get it right quite often.

ThePhanastasio

It is really interesting. The thing which is difficult is that any political literature has its good and bad points, when applied to the world as a whole, or even a country as a whole. Ayn Rand's Virtue of Selfishness actually brought up interesting points, but it was before capitalism got to the point it's reached that it was published. I don't think that Ayn Rand would have been anti-oil companies at all; I think she'd have thought it their right and a noteworthy enterprise, but on a smaller scale...it actually made a lot of sense.

Then again, I highly doubt she intended it on a smaller scale.

Reaganomics boosted Ayn Rand's philosophies in ways I feel she never could even have dreamed. As a loather of Ronald Reagan, I've no doubt THAT'd have pissed her off.

I suppose, also, she never intended Objectivism as a political ideal, but as a personal moral code. Her major lacking was not acknowledging that moral codes will affect political affiliation and political beliefs significantly.

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Hitch

Oh gosh, late reply is late, and I know I'm going to hurt a few feelings with this, but I have, to this day, found Ayn Rand absolutely unreadable. I still remember tossing Atlas Shrugged to the other end of my room (which is my only memory of it) and not bothering to pick it up for many months.

Karl Marx on the other hand, I just find it illuminating how he analyzed and predicted things which most people never really thought about until at least half a century later - on religion, on the growth of the United States, on the legacy of the British empire and how history can more eloquently be explained based on materialistic incentives. In fact, you can consider his essays as a whole and find most of it completely being true. The Communist Manifesto though, does seem rather dated and an idea that should be buried with the past century.

The Batlord

I know. I read Atlas Shrugged back when I was a libertarian retard and I still gave up halfway through. As many times as the political/economic/social rants had me cheering (back then at least) I just couldn't get past all of the boring god awful crap. Seriously, a whole chapter about a train ride? I know that it's a metaphor for giving birth or whatever, but it's a ****ing boring metaphor about giving birth or whatever. I quit somewhere around when they were searching for some super engine. An engine. Here's a clue Ms. Rand. No one gives a **** about some engine. Stick to nonfiction or go kick rocks. I know she's dead, but if she can here me in hell then I will be satisfied.

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The Batlord

Just a heads up. Posting in the Lounge doesn't raise your post count, so if you wanna spam you're just wasting your time.

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