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General Category => Literature => Topic started by: Vyn on April 08, 2018, 07:59:44 AM

Title: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on April 08, 2018, 07:59:44 AM
Cosmopolitanism and the Geographies of Freedom by David Harvey

https://cup.columbia.edu/book/cosmopolitanism-and-the-geographies-of-freedom/9780231148467 (https://cup.columbia.edu/book/cosmopolitanism-and-the-geographies-of-freedom/9780231148467)
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on April 11, 2018, 05:19:31 PM
I need to start back with daily reading... thanks for the reminder, Vyn.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on April 12, 2018, 09:10:27 AM
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/04/did-drinking-give-me-breast-cancer/

Long article and I've just started it, but it's asking the question about the alcohol industries deliberately suppressing significant connections between their products and various cancers.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Charger on April 12, 2018, 04:03:35 PM
I just read a finnish book about Chili's...very educational...got a lot of ideas from it...too bad it's too late this year already to plant new ones but maybe next year if I'm still alive..
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on April 14, 2018, 05:45:14 PM
I like to collect and read autobiographical books, preference being from rock & metal musicians. I have a lot that have been signed by the musician as well but man I hate it when you order or preorder a signed book and when you get it it's just a blank sticker that's been signed and stuck in the book. It's like the book seller thats handling it just sends the stickers away to the author who signs them and sends them back.  Happened to me a couple of times now. Last time was Nikki Sixx's updated reissue of The Heroin Diaries, no fault of his I suppose, more just kinda false advertising from the seller.


I've had Bruce Dickinson's book "What Does This Button Do?" sitting there for nearly 6 months, I really should start reading it...
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on April 14, 2018, 06:13:19 PM
I'll be reading a book on Social Engineering next.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on April 17, 2018, 03:33:06 AM
My brother found this book for me in an opp shop for $3.

Looks to be quite a decent book with some great photos and archival tour stuff.

(http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/05DC10FC-F0C6-4BF3-97FD-5C3C7BD7FB34_zpsbm0x8pom.jpg~original)

(http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/1D8AA12E-49B0-45ED-AED5-1B9367708272_zpshmjjvmfu.jpg~original)

(http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/25D4DE92-D326-44E7-A0C3-A4318BD1590D_zpshyh89buw.jpg~original)
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on April 17, 2018, 12:46:42 PM
^^^ Wow that is a awesome book to get for 3 dollars  :partay:

It looks really cool  :yes:
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Billy Underdog on April 17, 2018, 12:53:59 PM
I like to collect and read autobiographical books, preference being from rock & metal musicians.

You should check out Ian MacDonalds Revolution in the Head. Regardless if you like Beatles or not, 'cause it's also a great account on the cultural and political changes of the 60's (ofcourse tied up with Beatles' music). (And, yeah, it's not autobiographical, ofcourse)

Read Duff McKagans It's So Easy (And Other Lies)?

Looks to be quite a decent book with some great photos and archival tour stuff.

It looks VERY official with that font/logo on the front... :P  :problem:

(that does ofcourse not mean it's a bad book, unofficial books can be just as good as official ones. I just had to poke fun at you, and more important; at Maiden... :) )
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on April 17, 2018, 11:24:21 PM
I like to collect and read autobiographical books, preference being from rock & metal musicians.

You should check out Ian MacDonalds Revolution in the Head. Regardless if you like Beatles or not, 'cause it's also a great account on the cultural and political changes of the 60's (ofcourse tied up with Beatles' music). (And, yeah, it's not autobiographical, ofcourse)

Read Duff McKagans It's So Easy (And Other Lies)?

Looks to be quite a decent book with some great photos and archival tour stuff.

It looks VERY official with that font/logo on the front... :P  :problem:

(that does ofcourse not mean it's a bad book, unofficial books can be just as good as official ones. I just had to poke fun at you, and more important; at Maiden... :) )
For $3 I ain't complaining, actually, didn't cost me anything. It's not like my brother was chasing the $3 he paid for it.  :smug:
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Typhon on May 13, 2018, 06:46:05 PM
I was recently given this book as a gift and am half way through it.  Has anyone else read it?
(https://s20.postimg.cc/w4dc0wdp9/Wit_Ozzy.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on May 14, 2018, 12:26:04 AM
I was recently given this book as a gift and am half way through it.  Has anyone else read it?
(https://s20.postimg.cc/w4dc0wdp9/Wit_Ozzy.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

I have a copy that I read about 4 or 5 years ago. It was enjoyable and I quite liked the Ozzmans view on reality.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: discman69 on June 29, 2018, 08:19:24 AM
Just started reading The Outsider by Stephen King.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Billy Underdog on June 29, 2018, 08:28:52 AM
(https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1337811292l/6906718.jpg)

Finally managed to keep my consentration for a couple of pages again, after too many years...
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on June 30, 2018, 12:37:00 PM
Storming Heaven - Class Composition and Struggle in Italian Autonomist Marxism by Steve Wright

https://www.plutobooks.com/9781786801173/storming-heaven-second-edition/ (https://www.plutobooks.com/9781786801173/storming-heaven-second-edition/)
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on July 01, 2018, 09:02:29 AM
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Bob_Dylan_Chronicles%2C_Volume_1.jpg/220px-Bob_Dylan_Chronicles%2C_Volume_1.jpg)
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on July 20, 2018, 08:56:54 AM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/513lTsD6gEL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

This promises to be a very moving book, indeed. Even the introduction had me in tears.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on July 20, 2018, 10:27:12 AM
I read this years ago, I recall it being pretty good. A little speculative fiction for a change:

To Your Scattered Bodies Go - Philip Jose Farmer

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7159/13951315125_90cc68b9b6_b.jpg)
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on July 20, 2018, 05:56:24 PM
A resurrection with an eye towards ethical development, also involving Esperanto... is that a novel or a website?
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on July 21, 2018, 10:13:09 AM
A resurrection with an eye towards ethical development, also involving Esperanto... is that a novel or a website?

LOL Only for those with eyes that can see ;)
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on July 22, 2018, 04:39:01 PM
Well the Torah book was so intense, I wound up reading the Pirkei Avot in the process.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on August 08, 2018, 08:22:57 AM
Just read "The Penultimate Truth" by Philip K. Dick.

Now I'm reading a book about the KGB's history of using poisons, which will be followed by reading "The Haunted Wood", which is about the Venona transcripts.

I picked up 2 more books recently, all in the topic of "justified paranoia". :smug:
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Typhon on August 11, 2018, 12:45:10 PM
I picked up 2 more books recently, all in the topic of "justified paranoia". :smug:

No wonder you're such a politically skeptical person. :whistling:
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on August 12, 2018, 10:36:37 AM
I picked up 2 more books recently, all in the topic of "justified paranoia". :smug:

No wonder you're such a politically skeptical person. :whistling:

It's my job to be paranoid. Pays off when I find the bitcoin mining botnet active in the digital signage at the Chicago office...
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on August 29, 2018, 04:47:24 PM
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/45/Magick_book4.gif)


Absolutely essential Occult knowledge. Revelatory indeed.  8)
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on August 29, 2018, 04:55:15 PM
Meanwhile, I just finished "The Sea of Talmud" by Abramson. Very engaging read on the plane back from NYC.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on September 11, 2018, 11:46:40 AM
(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTt8xAvLHWOwGUIK0EoCp--bqXwnbIGFM1tT4XzGKTt3KT0qpBo)
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on September 11, 2018, 03:46:57 PM
Thinking about starting up on "The Haunted Wood", a book about Soviet espionage in the USA during the 30s and 40s.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on September 12, 2018, 07:43:14 AM
Thinking about starting up on "The Haunted Wood", a book about Soviet espionage in the USA during the 30s and 40s.

That sounds like it could be an interesting read. If you do go for it, I'd appreciate your general thoughts, I might have to check it out.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on September 12, 2018, 10:06:22 AM
Thinking about starting up on "The Haunted Wood", a book about Soviet espionage in the USA during the 30s and 40s.

That sounds like it could be an interesting read. If you do go for it, I'd appreciate your general thoughts, I might have to check it out.

Got jury duty today, so it's in my messenger bag. I'll report on it tonight.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on September 20, 2018, 12:16:17 AM
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/The_Stand_cover.jpg/220px-The_Stand_cover.jpg)

 :death:
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on September 20, 2018, 07:54:03 AM
Thinking about starting up on "The Haunted Wood", a book about Soviet espionage in the USA during the 30s and 40s.

That sounds like it could be an interesting read. If you do go for it, I'd appreciate your general thoughts, I might have to check it out.

Got jury duty today, so it's in my messenger bag. I'll report on it tonight.

By "tonight", of course, I meant "next week"... erm...

It's a very good read, got through 4 chapters in the jury room, so I'm pretty sure I'll finish it on the plane when I have to travel to England on Saturday. I had been reading a different book about the KGB's use of poisons, but the author got enmired in the reasons *why* people were KGB targets. I just wanted to know how the attacks were executed and what poisons were used and speculation about why those poisons and not others. Yes, the KGB went after people that threatened to reveal what they knew about the KGB, that's standard form, really...

But back to this book. It looks at recruitment techniques and then actual activities performed by Soviet assets in the West. I have to say that it's a rather revealing read, given that the Soviets basically had the same pool of talent to draw upon as the rest of the nation did, and they managed to recruit more than one dud, incompetent, or other bad pick whose flaws weren't all totally evident in the interview process.

Easiest to manage were the ones doing it for money. They didn't care what the Commies were doing back in the USSR. Most productive were the ones that did it all for ideology - provided they agreed ideologically with what was happening back in the USSR.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on September 20, 2018, 12:03:00 PM
Sounds pretty cool, thanks for the summary!
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on September 26, 2018, 09:26:02 PM
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Romeoandjuliet1597.jpg/220px-Romeoandjuliet1597.jpg)

I try to read this every couple of years as it is my favorite Shakespeare play and also helps clean out the cobwebs of the mind.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on October 19, 2018, 12:43:18 PM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51sPQ5zHIUL.jpg)

Planning to read this one next, covers that Adams-Jefferson debate I mentioned in another thread.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Scott on December 18, 2018, 01:59:24 AM
Jackie Chan - Never Grow Up
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on December 18, 2018, 09:55:19 AM
Going through some of my old short stories, considering doing audible versions of them...
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on January 05, 2019, 05:05:32 AM
Blood, Sweat and Pixels - Jason Schreier. The stories behind how modern video games are made. Halfway done and I must say that it is a fascinating overview of the multi billion dollar industry. The work that goes into these games is pretty astounding.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on January 05, 2019, 10:04:04 PM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51sPQ5zHIUL.jpg)

Planning to read this one next, covers that Adams-Jefferson debate I mentioned in another thread.

Finally picked it up, it's fascinating stuff. Just finished the first section on racism in the USA, which involved a careful look at Jefferson's contradictory position and its legacy. This book brings forward some rarely-considered primary source material that really brings forward the complexities of the issues surrounding slavery, equality, and the federal government's relationship to the states.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on January 29, 2019, 03:48:58 AM
Beethoven - His Spiritual Development by J.W.N. Sullivan
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on February 17, 2019, 06:39:29 AM
Just cracked this one open, and so far is proving to be an interesting and thoughtful read:

(https://plutopress-uk.imgix.net/covers/9780745335797.jpg?auto=format&h=648)
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: AnnoMundi on February 17, 2019, 10:33:27 AM
Sunday comics
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on February 20, 2019, 01:51:34 PM
Working through my ebooks... a little here, a little there.

Reading this one:

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41xF%2BUgrf4L._SY346_.jpg)

It's led to quite a lot of side reading, pro and con the author's contention that there's a strong link between marijuana and psychotic episodes. Makes me wonder if one solution to gun violence - as well as violence of other sorts, including child abuse/neglect - would be reduced dramatically through efforts to reduce marijuana consumption in the USA and Canada.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on February 20, 2019, 02:30:01 PM
Working through my ebooks... a little here, a little there.

Reading this one:

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41xF%2BUgrf4L._SY346_.jpg)

It's led to quite a lot of side reading, pro and con the author's contention that there's a strong link between marijuana and psychotic episodes. Makes me wonder if one solution to gun violence - as well as violence of other sorts, including child abuse/neglect - would be reduced dramatically through efforts to reduce marijuana consumption in the USA and Canada.

The evidence shows that Marijuana can trigger Schizophrenia and other psychotic mental illnesses. It brings to the surface an illness that is already there. There is also evidence that CBD oil that comes from the Marijuana plant actually can help those with Schizophrenia and other mental health issues.

I have smoked pot for more than 20 years and I have never had a violent episode and also know many other users that have never had a psychotic episode from Marijuana.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on February 20, 2019, 03:03:43 PM
It's more like a roll of the dice for the mental health problem... but the marijuana usage can roughly triple a non-user's chances of developing schizophrenia or schizoform disorders. If you've got a heredity of schizophrenia, it's a much higher chance.

The key is in the THC content (or, in the case of imitators, the content of compounds that will latch on to the appropriate receptors in the brain). Modern marijuana that is being bred for higher THC percentages or imitation compounds that are very concentrated in their dosages will have a much stronger effect on users.

The CBD oil is totally separate from the THC, and does show promise. Thing is, people are voting for legalizing the THC without much thought for doing anything with CBD.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on February 20, 2019, 03:22:54 PM
In Europe there are Schizophrenics that are taking high doses of CBD oil to treat their illness.
Here in Canada we are already using CBD oil for several ailments and I know for a fact that it helps with
anxiety and pain.
I have said it before - Marijuana is a medicine and like most medicines it can be misused and or abused.
It is not for kids and should be kept away from teenagers IMHO. It should not however be denied to someone who is sick in some way if the the plant can help them get better.
I do not smoke to get stoned - I smoke to get real relief from intense pain that I suffer from. I am also on Morphine but still need the Marijuana almost daily. I do not know what I would do without it to be honest.
 
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on February 21, 2019, 09:12:02 AM
Part of what should be done with it is to take the various chemicals in the smoke/plant and take a good look at each one, individually. Modern pharma isolates compounds and delivers them with measured potencies to attain targeted effects. This would allow us to have the benefits of the pharmacoepia in marijuana without exposing ourselves to all the *other* stuff that's in there. When we can get to a point where we can say 20mg of CBD for this, 10mg for that, we'll have what we want instead of having to rely on guesswork and shotgunning a lot of other chemicals to get what we want.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on March 05, 2019, 04:44:55 AM
***When we can get to a point where we can say 20mg of CBD for this, 10mg for that, we'll have what we want instead of having to rely on guesswork and shotgunning a lot of other chemicals to get what we want.***


I agree totally. Very insightful.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on March 18, 2019, 10:35:26 AM
Well, I finished that book - and I believe that any legalization effort should also go hand-in-hand with a public education push about the potential hazards of the drug, particularly among people with a family history of mental issues.

Started on the Indian novel, "Devdas". It reads very quickly and has some powerful character development. I can see why it's such a beloved classic in South Asia.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Charger on March 19, 2019, 09:39:40 AM
The year 1972 of the Finnish weekly Donald Duck magazine Aku Ankka.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on August 15, 2019, 02:35:57 PM
The Book Of Lies - Aleister Crowley
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on August 16, 2019, 01:33:52 PM
"Stamped From the Beginning", a fascinating history of the origins and progression of racist and antiracist thought in Western European/American culture. I'm up to the mid-late 1700s, and it's a riveting read.

Just got to a part where Thomas Jefferson's father instructed his son about the importance of self-sufficiency, even though the father owned 68 slaves at the time. If, however, you view the slaves as possessions and not humans that are doing all the real work, the logic works. From an environment like that, and with other experiences, Jefferson's ideas on both ending slavery and complete segregation arose.

As a survey of historical sources, this book is very deep and the author's style makes for lively reading.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Typhon on August 17, 2019, 12:12:18 PM
(https://www.household-management-101.com/image-files/laundry-tags.jpg)
From my new jeans.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on February 16, 2020, 12:20:02 PM
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7e/Conan9.png/220px-Conan9.png)

Reading some Conan The Cimmerian short stories by the the great Robert E. Howard, the original creator of the beloved barbarian.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on February 16, 2020, 05:53:58 PM
That's pretty cool. I read some Howard years ago, can't recall the details but I remember being stoked.

I'm currently flipping through:

(http://d111vui60acwyt.cloudfront.net/product_photos/58721034/Discipline_20Equals_20Freedom_20-_20Jocko_20Willink_400w.jpg)
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on February 17, 2020, 12:56:52 AM
^^^ yeah Howard was pretty damn good at the sword and sorcery writing that he helped revolutionize.  It is a shame that he committed suicide, but it is said that he just could not get over his mother's death. Such a shame from many standpoints. I truly wonder at what he could have accomplished as he matured as a writer. His later stories are some of his best and he truly was growing in talent with each new Conan story.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on February 17, 2020, 09:07:45 AM
If you like Howard, give some consideration to Clark Ashton Smith. CAS was a contemporary and friend of Howard, along with HP Lovecraft, and wrote some great story cycles. I'm working through the Zothique cycle, all of which is online, free for reading.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Typhon on February 17, 2020, 04:16:50 PM
^^^ yeah Howard was pretty damn good at the sword and sorcery writing that he helped revolutionize.  It is a shame that he committed suicide, ...

Did he fall on his sword?

Sorry about that.  :-[  A little black comedy.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on February 17, 2020, 06:18:49 PM
Ouch. Macabre, to be sure.

At any rate, I did look up REH's bio and found a title, "Pigeons From Hell", supposed to be one of the best horror stories... I think I'll give it a read. If we all join in, maybe we have a book club meeting? :)

https://www.fadedpage.com/books/20170655/html.php
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on February 17, 2020, 07:50:57 PM
I'll give it a read!

Last year I read Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House followed about a month later by Matheson's Hell House.

Will be interesting to see how Howard approached the "spooky old house" theme, especially since he put his out 20 years before Jackson's.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on March 03, 2020, 10:44:51 AM
I mentioned previously that I was interested to see how Pigeons from Hell faired against a couple of other spooky-house books I had recently read. Therein was my downfall, there is no comparison, simply due to do format. Pigeons from Hell is a short-story.

Howard attempts to jam so many different thematic canvases into it, that it seems like a very short story. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet, so my comments will be generalized.

Overall, I thought it was OK. There were a couple of points in the story that started to draw me in, but for the most part it struck me as very shallow. Perhaps it would have appealed to me more if Howard had settled on one theme and fleshed it out more. The ending was neither expected nor surprising. It simply didn't matter to me because everything leading up to it was couched in terms of a backstory constructed of cardboard rather than something more substantial. An unfortunate, but predictable consequence of short stories that seem more like drafts for novels.

There are many great things in Pigeons from Hell. The best thing is that the story has all the makings of an absolutely fantastic novel. That is also the worst thing, because it isn't.

Would make a good campfire story.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on March 03, 2020, 12:29:06 PM
Absolutely agree on the campfire story part. It's really several campfire stories brought together.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on April 19, 2020, 08:13:49 PM
The Nightmare Room by Chris Sorensen.

Another haunted house book. I read it last night. I haven't had time to think about it critically (as if I'm a critic or something), but I came away from it impressed. It was a page-turner, and if you enjoy that kind of genre I recommend checking it out.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on April 20, 2020, 11:34:12 AM
I'm reading up on epidemiology, articles here and there. It's helping to understand the data in terms of how it's collected, how it's analyzed, and what it can and can not tell us.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on October 05, 2020, 03:18:43 PM
So I just finished “Confess” by Rob Halford audiobook style, which may become the new norm for me. Really enjoyed the book, even more so having Rob read it to me. It is a little confronting at times and makes for some uncomfortable reading, but you can’t help but think how brave he was to put it all out there. It does focus more on his life growing up and the personal torment he faced concealing he was a gay man rather than the ins & outs of the music but still a fascinating and engrossing read.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Charger on October 05, 2020, 03:47:08 PM
^^^
Bit disappointed to hear that but I expected it... I have to say I would have much rather it would focus more on his career as it is a mighty one and would deserve a proper book...

I honestly couldn't care less about his personal life...nor would I that of any musician really.

Which is one of the reasons I so enjoyed Iron Man as it focused virtually entirely on the music life and the band and relations within the bands various line ups.

So I'll be giving Rob's book a hard pass...as I did with Bruce's one too.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on October 05, 2020, 06:25:33 PM
^^^ He does go through each album individually and discuss aspects of each one working in the studio and also discusses certain songs on every one of them inc lyrical themes and inspirations as well as the touring. It’s just just not a breakdown on every song and who came up with what riff or melody and how each was created. I think there’s a good balance between his life and the music, it’s just more weighted towards his life story which is an important and fascinating tale to tell.

I like a bit of both in a book. I like to find out the real person and what makes them tick as well as their creative side while being entertained at the same time.

Tony’s book was ok, but it’s a bit dull and dry and overly simplistic and not an engrossing read.

Bob Daisleys book is one of the few I’ve read that has it all. It’s in depth on all aspects while being entertaining. Just such a so well written book.

Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Charger on October 08, 2020, 06:57:34 AM
You can add a bit of yourself in the books as well ofcourse you can. But you can do too much of that too and then it becomes a tedious read quite fast.

I really need to get that Bob's book I think...
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Scott on January 03, 2021, 09:27:26 PM
Gonna start on Jerry Seinfeld's 'Is This Anything?' later. I heard it's mostly selections of his comedy routines, but that's fine with me. I enjoyed 'Seinlanguage' that came out years ago.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on January 04, 2021, 08:47:16 AM
I just recently read two histories of World War One in the East... I might be ready for some fiction, I'll see... I usually like to go to Eastern Bloc sci-fi, so I'll see what's out there.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on January 28, 2021, 02:20:27 AM
The Complete Chronicles Of Conan - Robert E. Howard  :wootwoot: what a fabulous writer!!
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Charger on January 28, 2021, 09:14:01 AM
I bought a new Astronomy book about Exoplanets written by Finland's top science writer...Looking forward to diving into that one.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on January 28, 2021, 01:36:54 PM
Going through the stories I wrote for a now-defunct security website...
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on January 29, 2021, 05:59:39 PM
Currently reading Karel Hrubý's Cesty komunistickou diktaturou - kritické studie a eseje. I'm about a fourth of the way into it, and it is slow going because I absolutely must use the Czech dictionaries I have in order to understand the text. It is a collection of commentary from before Communist occupation, during Communist rule, and just after the Velvet Revolution.

As an aside, online language translators (i.e. Google Translate) are wholly unreliable when attempting to translate Czech into English. Unless it's simple. You can translate text from news websites and such and get the gist of what is being said, but with academically oriented or colloquial text you can only expect fist-sized chunks of fail.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on January 29, 2021, 06:16:44 PM
That's pretty much my experience. Anything beyond "prosim" and you need a native to help guide the translation. Knowing a little Russian helped me with some roots, but only some.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on February 27, 2021, 05:32:07 AM
Anyone else do Audible? Started doing it when lockdowns first started and have got through quite a few books now. Been doing the books I read years ago as well as catching up on newer ones. Currently on I Am Ozzy at the moment and it’s super entertaining, much more entertaining than Tony’s was and better written too. Tony’s is actually read by Bev Bevan and it comes across like he’s narrating Thomas the Tank. Rob Halford read his own which comes across more authentic than having someone else read it. Not sure who reads Ozzy’s book but does it quite a good job of it putting on different voices for characters, although some of his pronunciations are a little annoying. Tony Eommi being one.

Don’t think I’ll ever go back to reading books I enjoy audible that much.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on February 27, 2021, 08:35:00 AM
Lol, I buy the ebook and my wife buys the Audible of the same book. If there are pictures in the ebook, she pauses and has me open up the reference illustrations. :D

But I can't really follow a book when I'm driving. I have to have music to help me do my driving thinking, and then not just any music will do for some sections of road. But back to the books, she does lots of mysteries and true crime. She's got the inside track on who the most accurate mystery/true crime authors are because of her degree in forensics.

***

I now have a mental image of an episode of Thomas & Friends with figurines of the band... I would imagine that some prank or stunt by Tony would create confusion and delay, thereby triggering a lecture on the subject from Sir Topham Hatt!

"Sir Topham Hatt was very cross with the red tights that had been stretched across Thomas' smokestack..."
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on May 09, 2021, 04:18:35 AM
Mysteries - Colin Wilson
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on May 10, 2021, 02:17:47 PM
Give and Take by Chester L. Karrass - nonfiction

Our Friends from Frolix 8 by Philip K. Dick - fiction
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on May 11, 2021, 05:58:44 AM
I did get the limited edition signed leather bound edition of Judas Priest: 50 Heavy Metal years from Rufus Publications in a couple of weeks ago. Stunning quality book and was very happy to be given the low number of #6 as well.

Will post some pics if anyone is interested when I get some spare time.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on May 11, 2021, 07:11:47 AM
I would like to see those pictures Jack.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on May 29, 2021, 08:41:40 AM
Picked up Michael Palin's Erebus, a history of the polar exploration ship. Just started, but I'm already having fun with Palin's style and ability to incorporate small details and tell a larger story from them, like a medicine for treating hypochondria found in the ship's effects.

Erebus sailed successfully around Antarctica, but disappeared in its voyage to find the Northwest Passage, so this tale promises to have all kinds of twists.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on June 07, 2021, 06:13:53 AM
I would like to see those pictures Jack.
Dam, forgot all about this. Will try and do it by weeks end.

Fuck I’ve gotten lazy
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on June 07, 2021, 09:11:02 AM
Will try and do it by weeks end.

Which reminds me, we gotta talk some footy when you're free. :)


***

In other book news, I'm looking to read up on the convict deportation program that led to a substantial part of Australia's population being where it is today and also a book about the influence of West African ingredients and dishes on USA cuisine.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on June 07, 2021, 05:21:49 PM
Hardback version of The Guns of John Moses Browning by Gorenstein.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on August 17, 2021, 03:28:23 AM
Got this in a couple of weeks ago
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on August 18, 2021, 10:07:18 AM
How is that book Jack? I've been holding off getting it, not wanting some fluff.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on August 18, 2021, 06:33:29 PM
I haven’t started reading it yet but the one thing I’ve noticed is that it’s not a particularly think book for the life of RJD. I’m very skeptical of it myself. Apparently Ronnie was less than 1/3 through writing it when he passed away so a lot of it has been penned from Wendy and Mick Wall.

I’ll probably end up just downloading the audio version of it as long as it’s not Wendy narrating it. Don’t think I could handle 8 + hours of listening to her voice.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on August 18, 2021, 09:01:03 PM
^ *thick

Not think
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Charger on August 19, 2021, 06:15:36 AM
^^^
That's one of the reasons I could never listen to audio books. I don't think I could ever listen to anyone's voice for that long...

Well maybe James May...MAYBE.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on August 19, 2021, 07:09:08 AM
I’ve entirely switched to audio books the last couple of years. They are more engaging to listen to when the writer is actually the narrator. I have downloaded a few with a different narrator to the writer and some them I’ve listened to 5 minutes and thought I can’t do 10 hours of that.

I do still like to buy the physical copy as a collector. A lot of them I’ve purchased over the years have been signed by the author.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on August 19, 2021, 09:55:55 AM
A James May audiobook is a tricky thing, because he's so soothing, it could lead to naps and rewinding! :D
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Jack the Stripper on September 08, 2021, 02:37:25 AM
I did get the limited edition signed leather bound edition of Judas Priest: 50 Heavy Metal years from Rufus Publications in a couple of weeks ago. Stunning quality book and was very happy to be given the low number of #6 as well.

Will post some pics if anyone is interested when I get some spare time.
I would like to see those pictures Jack.
Sorry for being late on this Thel but finally got some motivation to take some photos today.

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/942FE7C5-5729-4481-8106-D5D7AEC1149C.jpeg?width=820&height=420&fit=bounds)

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/76FBC5FA-47A4-4D03-B421-E92DD4046B02.jpeg?width=800&height=520&fit=bounds)

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/BEA7B671-FC46-422F-9CB1-5003858EE40E.jpeg?width=820&height=420&fit=bounds)


(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/16D63658-7075-44B3-BB5F-706AECCD8CAC.jpeg?width=820&height=420&fit=bounds)

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/17D705AD-8CC1-4660-8B97-D9A53E8B2CA6.jpeg?width=820&height=420&fit=bounds)

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/05BDBEB6-4E2F-4D09-A9D1-ED11F22B0637.jpeg?width=820&height=420&fit=bounds)

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/2DBEF929-4D26-4692-87D9-35E59B3302A5.jpeg?width=820&height=420&fit=bounds)

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/652C52A0-1E00-46A6-B27D-B36361D3B5B2.jpeg?width=820&height=420&fit=bounds)

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/58B7A7C6-5461-4B41-84CC-1F9A2A9CEECC.jpeg?width=820&height=420&fit=bounds)

Obviously a beautiful and stunning book. Comes in a snakeskin type leather bound box with gold leafing and the book itself is bound in the same type leather with a lenticular trident on the front. The book goes through all the different albums and accompanying tours with photos from each of those periods that make up each chapter in the book. All 500 are signed and numbered and was very happy to get a low #6
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on September 08, 2021, 05:15:13 AM
That is awesome Jack!! Thanks for sharing!!  :rockon:
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on September 16, 2021, 08:07:04 AM
I'm starting in a series of books about the aftermath of WW2 - the population movements, the rebuilding, the recovery.

Found out that every German city has a series of hills at its perimeter - rubble mounds from WW2 where the grass has grown over them. Many of these rubble mounds are the highest points in the city.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on September 21, 2021, 09:19:46 AM
Finished Michael Palin's "Erebus" before I got into my next set of books on rebuilding Germany - Savage Continent and The Long Road Home. Already finished the shorter book, Life After the Third Reich.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Thelemech on January 13, 2022, 04:31:34 AM
Looking through the Larousse Greek and Roman Mythology. Fascinating stories and a bit of a nostalgic trip for me as I use to read Greek myths as a young kid. 
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on January 13, 2022, 08:55:16 AM
Sounds like some good fun.

I recently re-read the essays in Stanislav Lem's "One Human Minute". Great thinking from a great mind.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Typhon on February 15, 2022, 09:09:52 AM
Looking through the Larousse Greek and Roman Mythology. Fascinating stories and a bit of a nostalgic trip for me as I use to read Greek myths as a young kid.

So did I.  :)  In fact, I still have several paperbacks in my bookcase on the subject.  I reference them whenever I watch a movie about one of the myths.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on February 17, 2022, 09:04:24 AM
Reading H. Keith Melton's "The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception."

Stuff in there GUARANTEED to make for interesting conversation-starters at office parties and what-not.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on December 04, 2022, 08:26:07 AM
Albert Camus - The Myth of Sisyphus

Very much enjoying this essay.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on February 14, 2023, 04:07:04 PM
Started on Heller's Catch-22, great novel about life in the trenches of the bomber cockpits.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on February 15, 2023, 08:58:22 AM
I recall Catch-22 being a difficult to understand book when I was 10 years old, but then being pretty funny when I had to read it for a lit course in college. Haven't picked it up since then, but I'd recommend it to anyone. It's not 1984, or more relatedly Slaughterhouse-Five, but cut from the same cloth.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on February 15, 2023, 11:20:04 AM
I've seen the movie and was familiar enough with a number of plot points and devices that I figured, "Well... why not?" I'm about a fourth of the way through, on the chapter about ex-PFC Wintergreen.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on October 13, 2023, 01:36:48 PM
Just finished "Unruly" by David Mitchell. It's a great read, as I enjoy gonzo history - tell the story with wit and cutting back and forth to current situations or interesting metaphors, and Mitchell does it very very well. I'm already a fan of his from seeing him on UK comedy panel shows and his sitcom work, so when I saw the book advertised in the tube, I got a copy and read it through as we went from hotel to tourist destination in the last two weeks.

By choosing to speculate on internal dialogues, Mitchell really brings these characters alive, free and clear of the propaganda made up about them to justify one change in dynasty or another.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on March 29, 2024, 03:01:36 PM
GRAVEDIG!!!

Since my YouTube channel where I focus on the game Victoria 3 is taking off, I'm now reading like I'm in grad school.

Just finished reading:

The Crimean War: 1853-1856 (Modern Wars)
Winfried Baumgart

Working my way through:

The Wars of German Unification (Modern Wars)
Dennis Showalter

An Economic History of Nineteenth-Century Europe: Diversity and Industrialization
Ivan Berend

On my to-read-soon list:

A Velvet Empire: French Informal Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century (Histories of Economic Life Book 12)
David Todd

The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century (America in the World Book 20)
Jürgen Osterhammel, Patrick Camiller

The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918 (Modern Wars)
Holger H. Herwig

Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on April 04, 2024, 08:51:57 AM
Added a Balkan history of the 19th Century to the list and am making good headway on the German Unification and Economic History tomes.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on April 14, 2024, 10:34:27 AM
Started on the Velvet Empire book and damn if it didn't connect me to a paper by Osterhammel. :smug:
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on August 25, 2024, 09:46:09 PM
A few months ago I started reading Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. The copy I set about to read is Isaac Newton's personal copy of the first edition from 1687. If you have always dreamt of reading the Principia as it was published back in the day, in Latin, it can be found at the following link (it includes Newton's own handwritten notes, as well!):

https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PR-ADV-B-00039-00001/1 (https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PR-ADV-B-00039-00001/1)

I've only made it through the first few pages of text (I'm currently on page 30 according to the facsimile reader's page numbering) and have only been able to deduce about half of his notes I've thus far encountered. My Latin is rusty, and I knew that the level of discourse in this book would require a lot of translating. Haha, yeah. One thing that helps is that I read an English translation years ago, and still have it on hand.

I figure I'll get through maybe half of the text before I get bored with it. I'm only doing it as a brain exercise - I already know what it's about :), and I don't have a goal of being a Newton scholar, or publishing my own English translation lol. But do think it's cool as shit that I can sit in my home in middle America and peruse Newton's own copy of his magnum opus, at my leisure.
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: KiloDeltaCharlie on August 26, 2024, 07:18:04 AM
Oof! That sounds like torture!
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on August 26, 2024, 07:42:37 AM
Oof! That sounds like torture!

Only if something by Carly Rae Jepsen inadvertently starts playing on the radio in the background while I'm trying to read it!
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Zzzptm on August 26, 2024, 08:52:56 AM
Reading "Safe Passage: The Transition from British to American Hegemony" by Kori Schake. Goes very well with Sean Mirski's "We May Dominate the World: Ambition, Anxiety, and the Rise of the American Colossus". Reading these for my YouTube channel work playing Victoria 3. :D
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Charger on August 26, 2024, 09:32:31 AM
A few months ago I started reading Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. The copy I set about to read is Isaac Newton's personal copy of the first edition from 1687. If you have always dreamt of reading the Principia as it was published back in the day, in Latin, it can be found at the following link (it includes Newton's own handwritten notes, as well!):

https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PR-ADV-B-00039-00001/1 (https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PR-ADV-B-00039-00001/1)

I've only made it through the first few pages of text (I'm currently on page 30 according to the facsimile reader's page numbering) and have only been able to deduce about half of his notes I've thus far encountered. My Latin is rusty, and I knew that the level of discourse in this book would require a lot of translating. Haha, yeah. One thing that helps is that I read an English translation years ago, and still have it on hand.

I figure I'll get through maybe half of the text before I get bored with it. I'm only doing it as a brain exercise - I already know what it's about :), and I don't have a goal of being a Newton scholar, or publishing my own English translation lol. But do think it's cool as shit that I can sit in my home in middle America and peruse Newton's own copy of his magnum opus, at my leisure.

Now that is something truly special...and something quite commendable...not something I could ever vision myself doing...I know a word or two of latin but nothing even close enough to read a sentence of latin let alone a book in latin!

My hat's off to you sir!
Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Vyn on August 26, 2024, 07:53:55 PM

Now that is something truly special...and something quite commendable...not something I could ever vision myself doing...I know a word or two of latin but nothing even close enough to read a sentence of latin let alone a book in latin!

My hat's off to you sir!

Well crap, thanks Charger! I'm not sure I deserve all of that, but I'll take it haha!

Title: Re: Currently Reading
Post by: Charger on January 10, 2025, 09:59:37 AM
I just finished Luis Elizondo's book IMMINENT!

Quite an interesting read coming from the former director of Pentagon's UAP investigation program AATIP.

Even if only 50% of the stuff he talks about actually happened and are real it's pretty crazy.

And he is 100% certain some of the UAP sightings are indeed of crafts not of this planet...and there's quite a bit of facts to back that up in the book.

Super interesting read for sure.