Half-way, and so far:
Terrorism and War, Howard ZinnAn interviewed Zinn describes the tremendous disappointment he feels in this modern age by reasoned intellectual insults toward the Bush administration, and also... to you! ... and me.
The Best American Non-Required Reading, 2004, ed. Dave Eggers
Eggers takes this not-cool-unless-it's-not-known anthology and makes known some decent fiction, though I bought it purely (and after much searching) for the Poor Sailor comic strip by Sammy Harkham.
Introducing Postmodernism
Got over my elitist refusal of introductory books, and found that this book is laid out well, is intelligent, and is indeed, hardly for beginners at all. I don't get it, oh just did; now it's gone.
Cover to Cover:
The Rum Diary, Hunter S. Thompson
The S. stands for smile, see entry below.
Fingerprints of the Gods, Graham HancockWonderful non-fiction detective story tracing the cultures of pre-history ancients in Egypt, South America, and Antarctica (Atlantis is buried in 2 miles of ice) whom were likely smarter than us, though they still all died out and left only vague fingerprint smudges; though, keep in mind that the Mayan calendar wraps up a 5125 year cycle in six years: yes, mark your calendar for December 23rd, 2012. Antarctica was recently free of ice, the Earths crust slides around, the last-ice age was hell for early people, and the Noah story? There're hundreds more alike.
The Satanic Verses, Salman RushdieWhat can I say about this book? A great read as a foreigner, as a human being, with an interest in literature, reading, from a word magician. Take up a new interest in Islam, understand that nothing is perfect, especially history, and fall from the upper atmosphere, or Mt. Everest, you choose.
On Jung, Anthony Stevens
Nothing can be said of Jungian psychology and theory without mentioning something of the man; this is perhaps the greatest achievement and the slightest flaw for Jung or anyone else, but if archetypes, dreams and the unconscious keep you up at night, then give the shadow reign for the evening and seek out your animus or anima.
Profit Over People, Noam Chomsky
So steadily and intensively researched that I became overburdened with grief, but I think most of us know how badly most of us get fucked by a system hidden behind a democracy. You have two votes: the ballot and the dollar.
Special Japanese reading list:
Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Haruki Murakami
Double narrative, strange tale, makes taking the subway scary, wonder anew about the science of acoustics, and then forget all about it. Unicorns skulls and dreams...
Underground, Haruki MurakamiMurakami interviews survivors and participants of the Tokyo Gas attack; I take the Marunochi line every day! Fascinating read into the mind of Japan. Murakami, though man, keep your voice down...
Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami
Better than Hard-boiled, travel journey, mind trip, though am I alone in thinking Murakami pretentious?
Confessions of a Yakuza, Junichi SagaBorn in 1901, this tattooed and dying old man takes us through a life of everything, especially gambling; again, great glimpse into cultural Japan behind drapes that were pulled down and replaced long ago.
Monkey Brain Sushi, ed. Alfred Birnbaum
A once-a-day conversation with a different Japanese writer. Murakami appears here, among, notably, Amy Yamada and Yoshinori Shimizu.
A History of Modern Japan, Richard Storry
Good read, but too short. Modern Japan: Samurai or Yakuza? mmm, neither.
Next installment will be in the future!
5 comments:
particularly the first three of the Cover to Cover section sound really interesting. Was "Fingerprints of the Gods" good or just imagination-charging-but-silly?
And Zinn, thought-provoking any time of the year!
-Pierce
Fingerprints was great, but weighed heavily down with conjecture and opinion (and particularly loses it in the end). It's not an "academic" book, but he's battling that group anyway, the "orthodox" historian-lifers, for reexamination of the fundamentals. There's enough evidence though to make one really wonder, and indeed it was a real page turner. I probably will seek out more from him or along similar lines.
That was my first time reading Zinn, and I enjoyed his tone, but my god the times are sad aren't they? Walls and guns, more walls and bombs and bombs.
Yes, either Zinn or Chomsky alone is enough to make you want to cry, together you must have just been overwhelmed. That feeling of powerlessness is a killer, isn't it? The worst part is that all the constant suffering caused by these hooligans and thugs in government eats away at those of us who still have consciences--but sadly not at the people actually making these decisions. Coming to terms with a world gone very wrong is a constant struggle, I think.
Your description of Fingerprints sounds a bit like the creation "scientists". Still some intriguing ideas though.
-Pierce
No coming to terms. Can't do it. Just wait: there will be some visionary somewhere who will stand up and speak; the free-market is not free, and neither are we, violence at home will not stop at violence abroad, your democracy is a fraud, your real leaders are unelected and reside in board room throne rooms, global warming or not, it's a good idea to use less, words have been destroyed so take stock of reality, the media is manipulated the politicians are man handling, and there is no separation of church and state because there is no church and there is no state but politics!! whew. there did it. Anybody listening?
I always suspected you were THAT visionary.
-Pierce
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