A World After Liberalism: Philosophers of the Radical Right, an excellent and succinct reading of five writers, three of whom I've never heard of, who are influential in the Trumpy world of those trying to find a reactionary alternative to "liberalism" in the traditional sense that assumes free market economies, free speech, democracy, individual rights, etc. The most interesting thing about Matthew Rose's approach is that he published this essays originally in Catholic periodicals. His point being that many of the thinkers behind the crackpots who are behind Trump at overtly anti-Christian. The five writers he covers are Oswald Spengler, Julius Evola (two favored by Steve Bannon), French guy Alain de Benoist and two Americans, Francis Yockey and Samuel Francis. About the latter, Yockey was a post-WWII fascist who committed suicide in FBI custody in 1960. Reading his writings that are excerpted here... there is no way in hell that Stephen Miller isn't reading this POS. And the same with Samuel Francis, whose thinking a lot of the older folks in here are familiar with -- he wrote Patrick Buchanan's 1996 Republican National Conventioin speech that Molly Ivins said "sounded better in the original German." Again, these figures are not exactly household names, but it's hard not to think that Trump's people are using these people as roadmaps.
A Swim In A Pond In The Rain by George Saunders. I believe that people have posted this book in previous threads. It is subtitled as follows, In Which Four Russians give a master class on writing, reading, and life. I found this book in the fiction department of my local Barnes & Noble, but it's a nonfiction book. I read the first Russian, Chekhov, today. Should be a fun read.
Barbarian Days - A Surfing Life - William Finnegan Memoirs of a writer for the New Yorker who happens to be a surfer. Or is he a surfer who happens to be a writer? Excellent read.
I would appreciate any spoilers y'all have for this one because I don't have the faintest idea what it's about .
Pound really helped the "young man carbuncular" passage. Eliot went overboard there. I think Pound scribbled something like, "a bit much here, Tom" ...
I like Pulley's work and this is familiar in its whimsical and inventive nature. A retelling of the myth of Dionysus, seen through the eyes of middle-aged Theban knight Phaidros. The usual Pulley traits of a lightness of tone and a queer POV to the material are there. Pulley herself has admitted how much Michelle Paver's Dark Matter has influenced her writing and it is hard to think of another author for whom one work can be seen as such a consistent throughline to their bibliography.
You think? Thankfully, it's short enough that I could read it, look up what the fück it's supposed to be about, and then read it again. I could almost make heads or tails of it on the second reading.
I'm continuing to plow through graphic autobiographies just in case a lit professor wants to call me in and do some guest teaching.
The Tunnel by Ernesto Sabato. This is a novella by the acclaimed Argentine novelist. Sabato was a hero in real life too. He was chosen by the democratic government to write #NuncaMas, a detailed expose of the crimes of the Proceso government. I use this hashtag as well. This book is a tale of artist Juan Pablo Castle who murders Maria Iribarne and is in prison for it. This should be an excellent book.
True Summit - What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent of Annapurna - David Roberts A bit overhyped as a controversy, but interesting to read about the views of Lachenal, Terray, and Rebuffat, which differ in some things from Herzog’s famous book.
Last two books plus current one I am reading: Ronan McGreevy was a guest on the Irish War of Independence/Irish Civil War episodes of The Rest is History podcast, so I picked up his book. Enjoyed it very much. Realized I hadn't read the actual Odyssey itself, so had to pick it up. Needed to make sure I knew it all before the movie comes out next summer. And then the Coogan book looked interesting and it is. Almost reads like a spy thriller, but it is real life.
The Breach by Denver Riggleman with Hunter Walker. Riggleman is a former Republican Congressman who helped with the January 6 committee. I'm interested in the January 6 attacks, but also in the January 8 attacks in Brazil. I'm very interested in this book.
Avid readers of this thread will recall that I read Harari's Sapiens not that long ago and I was only very barely whelmed. Why, one might ask, would I re-read it in graphic form? Mostly, I'm just very curious how anyone could take a 1,000-page anthropology/archeology treatise and turn it into a comic book.
October, 1964, which I picked up off a free book bench at my college where the books previously owned by deceased nuns wind up. I thought this book would be devoted to the 1964 World Series (Yankees v. Cardinals, Redbirds in seven) which it is, but only after lengthy digressions on the seasons of both teams and mini bios on pretty much every player on both teams, it’s a bit rambling, but David Halberstam does rambling in a coherent and interesting way. The series is interesting because it marked the end of an over forty year run of Yankee domination. After appearing 28 times in 43 years, the Yankees went in a 12 year drought. . . Which their fans found insufferable, basically. But not as insufferable as they themselves are.
This sentence takes a turn in the last four words that I REALLY did not see coming. Well done, Dr. W, well done.
Challenge of the Andes - C.G. Egler & T. de Booy Two Dutchmen and Lionel Terray make 1952 first ascent of Nevado Huantsan in Cordillera Blanca in Perú.