Deployment Reading List
 

So, I'm going to be gone for six months and I've collected some books together. Does anyone have any suggestions for last-minute additions?

Book 10 and 11 of the Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan
Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card
A History of the Holocaust by Botwinick
Bullshit and Philosophy by Hardcastle and Resich
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk
John Dies at the End by David Wong
Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

World War Z

Fun Read.

My last 6 monther before I got out I read every one of Palahniuks books back to back.

They definitely Peak in the middle and tail off.

Read Invisible Monsters, Diary and Lullaby

I think you would like Why the West Rules--for Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future by Ian Morris.

A lighter read..I recommend the graphic novel "DMZ" by Brian Wood.

Couldn't get into Invisible Monsters or Choke, didn't read Diary and Lullaby.

Think Survivor is his best work that I have read.

Good Omens is a great book. If you like that one, look into more stuff by Neil Gaiman. American Gods was so good that I finished it in about a week, a rare feat for me for a book that size.

American Gods is quite possibly my favorite book of all-time. Neverwhere and Anansi Boys are both incredible, too. So is Stardust, but it's a little lighter than the others.

Anything from the boys at Wrestlecrap. Those 3 books are good.

T.E. Lawrence - Seven Pillars of Wisdom

The 2006 Justice Society of America comic series. It may not be conventional "reading material" but it has a very good storyline, awesome artwork and a borderline schizophrenic superhero

I'm borderline schizophrenic so this sounds like a good suggestion.

Have you read the Dresden Files series?

How to Become a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely

Gotta go my usual route here and suggest just about anything by Hermann Hesse, primarily "Narcissus and Goldmund" and "Siddhartha."

Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano and Late Victorian Holocausts by Mike Davis.

Yeah, and one of my Chiefs has the entire series on board.

Who is Steve Hely?

What are they about?

You think these might be available on Google Books? I doubt I'll have time to find these if they aren't sold at the closest Barnes and Nobles.

"Narcissus and Goldmund" is set in medieval Germany. It's about a young boy (Goldmund) who is sent off to a catholic monastery school by his father who wishes for him to one day join the priesthood. He befriends his wise and priestly teacher, Narcissus, who sees that Goldmund is not truly meant to live the life of a priest, but that his life is destined for journeys outside of the city's walls. Narcissus convinces Goldmund that he has to find his own path in life and that it doesn't make him less than Narcissus, or better than him, only different. Seeing the truth in this, Goldmund escapes the school and sets out on a journey that sees him bang a lot of women, become an artist, live the life of both a rich and a poor man, and experience a full and amazing life that he never would have had if he hadn't listened to his friend Narcissus.

"Siddhartha" is in the same vein as "Narcissus and Goldmund." It's about a young Indian boy who sets out with his friend Govinda to find the holyman Buddha and join his ascetics in a life of worship. Siddhartha finds that he respects the great man, but that he wants to make his journey his own and experience the world and life for himself. He sets out apart from the ascetics to live the life of a trader and finds love, and eventually comes full circle back to realizing his goal in the first place: to become one with the world and himself and his own spirituality.


Both books deal with a running theme throughout all of Hesse's works, which is existentialism. Both characters essentially go out to find their way in life through the teachings of others, only to find that the best way for them to find their way in life is to become their own teachers. Both are fucking amazing and enlightening to read.

Another one of Hesse's books, "Demian", literally changed my life in the way the character feels and thinks about life, because when I read it I felt that I was this character.

Seriously good books.

Neat.

I bought Open Veins at a brick and mortar store but had to order late victorian holocausts off the internet. so maybe.

The Communist Manifesto
Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti
Homelessness by Jack Layton
Speaking out Louder: Ideas that work for Canadians by Jack Layton

So basically, if you want to turn into a left wing fag, read these books.

The Communist Manifesto is a horrible read.

Do you know if any of these are online? I am not longer able to buy books.

It is dry because its an academic work. I wouldn't recommend it for someone to read for entertainment any more than i would the bible.

And everything is available online.

If it only takes a few books to get you sucking cock Gertner that says more about you than the books mate.

gertner back again with the same old shit

yeah man because reading those books is gonna turn you into a great big fag :roll:

do you even think before hit submit reply

Calling it "academic" is too kind, even for you.

I wasn't even seriously suggesting these (I was just picking the most leftist things I could think of as a rib)

but you can buy Speaking to Canadians off of Amazon

Same thing with Full Frontal Feminism, which I actually legitimately have read and it personally changed my life.

The books of Chuck Closterman and George Carlin.

Nixonland - Rick Pearlstein
Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Letham
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline - George Saunders

If you dont like communism you should read Mein Kampf :shifty:

Good rib Lara Emily!

Well it quite clearly is :love:

In the same way that Dianetics is, natch.

The Communist Manifesto is an academic work whether you like it or not. I am personally not a fan of it but not calling it academic is just plain silly. I have always felt that when it came to understanding Marx "Das Capital" is a far superior work to the manifesto. He was more mature when he wrote it. He goes into deep detail of how capitalism goes wrong. A good read for anyone interested in reading capitalist criticism. Some of the things capitalist societies have gone through are described in Das Capital.
Not for lightweights either. Classes are taught around the world just on that book alone. A lot of economic knowledge is required. When I say economic knowledge I mean it also. I don't mean just reading articles here and there..but actual economic theory and criticism.

Marx was not an academic. He performed poorly in school and his ideas have been widely discredited. Loud people get heard because they are loud. Think of him as Glenn Beck or Michael Moore.

The fact that he did poorly in academics does not mean much. Specially considering that some of the world's most revolutionary thinkers are always dismissed in academia. Galileo comes to mind as well as Darwin..who was constantly called "below standard" by his colleagues. Newton was a sucker in school as well. In the way Adam Smith and David Ricardo deserve a fair read by anyone interested in economics, Marx does as well..regardless of whether you agree with his political views or not.

Not always. I'm not even talking about his radical views being dismissed either, I'm talking about the basics like math and...math. Marx was pretty much a failure at life and his most famous books speak to the loser inside everyone.

I'm an American hero, however, and so I don't have a loser inside me.

Haha well then..if that is your view then I guess not much can be discussed or added. Good riddance.

wow

calling Marx a loser

now I have seen just about everything

He is just trying to troll me but just the other day he admitted he thought Christopher Hitchens was pretty good and Hitchens still agrees with Marxs view on history so once again he is just talking about things he cannot grasp at intellectually.

Both of Jericho's books I found to be great reads.

I hope they serve beer in hell and assholes finish first by tucker maxx both made me crack up.

Heh, so because I openly love and admire Christopher Hitchens, I'm not allowed to have different views on Marx?

Okay, well, since you agree with him on Marx, I guess you must agree with him on the righteous war in Iraq, hmm? Or do you hate Hitchens for actively pursuing citizenship in this fine country? Do you hate Hitchens???