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Jesse's reading list: now taking suggestions!

Brochacholomigo

Brochacholomigo

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Now, I know full well that this should arguably go in the Book Nook, but this is definitely in the vein of self improvement, and I don't want to stick a thread in that dead zone.

I've been wanting to read into philosophy and literature iforn general a while now; I can't imagine many on here would deny my wit, but the depth of my intellect is most certainly questionable. I want to challenge myself to read through at least one really long book a weekend, and I want to use this as an opportunity to better understand a) the book I've read, b) the author of the book, and c) the time period the book was written in and the current* events that influenced it. This weekend is the complete works of Oscar Wilde. All of it. Two days. I know I have enough weaponized autism to get through it, and learn something of value from it too.

Anyway, I know this place is crawling with historians, statesmen and literature enthusiasts of all stripes, so I've entrusted the rest of my reading list to your bickering, conflicting and contradictory hands. I would prefer suggestions that have been around for a while, as my local library is quite small and likely doesn't have the latest books by some popular journalist or modern treatises on political philosophy.

I await your responses, and thank you in advance.
 
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Jesse Booth said:
Now, I know full well that this should arguably go in the Book Nook, but this is definitely in the vein of self improvement, and I don't want to stick a thread in that dead zone.

I've been wanting to read into philosophy and literature iforn general a while now; I can't imagine many on here would deny my wit, but the depth of my intellect is most certainly questionable. I want to challenge myself to read through at least one really long book a weekend, and I want to use this as an opportunity to better understand a) the book I've read, b) the author of the book, and c) the time period the book was written in and the current* events that influenced it. This weekend is the complete works of Oscar Wilde. All of it. Two days. I know I have enough weaponized autism to get through it, and learn something of value from it too.

Anyway, I know this place is crawling with historians, statesmen and literature enthusiasts of all stripes, so I've entrusted the rest of my reading list to your bickering, conflicting and contradictory hands. I would prefer suggestions that have been around for a while, as my local library is quite small and likely doesn't have the latest books by some popular journalist or modern treatises on political philosophy.

I await your responses, and thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

Tolstoy's War and Peace.

Or

The complete works of Dylan Thomas if you feel less like self torture.

I've read both.
 
truthatallcost said:
Tolstoy's War and Peace.

Or

The complete works of Dylan Thomas if you feel less like self torture.

I've read both.
Click to expand...

Conveniently enough, my dad owns a copy of War & Peace. Considering how strongly that factored into my choice of Oscar Wilde, I suspect it will be high on my list in the coming weeks.
 
Jesse Booth said:
Conveniently enough, my dad owns a copy of War & Peace. Considering how strongly that factored into my choice of Oscar Wilde, I suspect it will be high on my list in the coming weeks.
Click to expand...

If you bang that out in a weekend, you're a boss. Its one of those books that would have been a great 300 page reader, but the author chose to make it a 1000 page, I wanna claw my eyes out-reader.
 
Jesse Booth said:
Now, I know full well that this should arguably go in the Book Nook, but this is definitely in the vein of self improvement, and I don't want to stick a thread in that dead zone.

I've been wanting to read into philosophy and literature iforn general a while now; I can't imagine many on here would deny my wit, but the depth of my intellect is most certainly questionable. I want to challenge myself to read through at least one really long book a weekend, and I want to use this as an opportunity to better understand a) the book I've read, b) the author of the book, and c) the time period the book was written in and the current* events that influenced it. This weekend is the complete works of Oscar Wilde. All of it. Two days. I know I have enough weaponized autism to get through it, and learn something of value from it too.

Anyway, I know this place is crawling with historians, statesmen and literature enthusiasts of all stripes, so I've entrusted the rest of my reading list to your bickering, conflicting and contradictory hands. I would prefer suggestions that have been around for a while, as my local library is quite small and likely doesn't have the latest books by some popular journalist or modern treatises on political philosophy.

I await your responses, and thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

Seven Habits of Successful People by Stephen Covey ought to be required reading for self-improvement. I'm in to all of those self-improvement books. Love them. Inspirational and interesting.

Another book that I think you would find very interesting, older than dirt, is a book that,describes transactional analysis. It's called Games People Play. In fact, now that I've Though of it again, I'm going to download it if it's in book format. I promise you it's interesting, enlightening, and will help you in your personal and professional relations throughout your life.

Some games described are titled, Now I've Got You, You Son of a Bitch, See What You Made Me Do? Ain't It Awful, and Why Don't You--Yes But. The first one I, NIGYYSOB is played Day in day out on this forum. The last one Why Don't You-Yes But is played personally and professionally every day of your life. Once you understand the game, you'll smile to yourself when someone starts it and know that you can save your breath.

Both of these books are excellent reads that just may change your life. And they're fun.

Edit...BTW, NIGYYSOB is played by the media all day long with Donald Trump.
 
Jesse Booth said:
Now, I know full well that this should arguably go in the Book Nook, but this is definitely in the vein of self improvement, and I don't want to stick a thread in that dead zone.

I've been wanting to read into philosophy and literature iforn general a while now; I can't imagine many on here would deny my wit, but the depth of my intellect is most certainly questionable. I want to challenge myself to read through at least one really long book a weekend, and I want to use this as an opportunity to better understand a) the book I've read, b) the author of the book, and c) the time period the book was written in and the current* events that influenced it. This weekend is the complete works of Oscar Wilde. All of it. Two days. I know I have enough weaponized autism to get through it, and learn something of value from it too.

Anyway, I know this place is crawling with historians, statesmen and literature enthusiasts of all stripes, so I've entrusted the rest of my reading list to your bickering, conflicting and contradictory hands. I would prefer suggestions that have been around for a while, as my local library is quite small and likely doesn't have the latest books by some popular journalist or modern treatises on political philosophy.

I await your responses, and thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

Voltaire and Nietzsche are great.
I know you can get kindle edition of these for free.

Also there are some great youtube/podcast series on the Crusades.
Incredibly informative, invites academics and historians about the Crusades.
Lots of myth busting and historical corrections from that time.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpiumHmUE5EZeLTftxv9qGw
 
truthatallcost said:
If you bang that out in a weekend, you're a boss. Its one of those books that would have been a great 300 page reader, but the author chose to make it a 1000 page, I wanna claw my eyes out-reader.
Click to expand...

It's been too long since I subjected myself to a proper reading marathon like that. The last time was on the final day of 3rd grade - I was serving time in ISS for being a disrespectful little ****, but there was no work for them to assign me. I was allowed to get a few books from the library to read, and decided that I was going to power through the entirety of the Lord of the Rings trilogy in one day. Sadly, school ended before I could make it through the final book, but I was within a few hundred pages of finishing.

My one great talent is understanding the English language, and I have an almost savant-like ability in that field at the expense of mathematics and nonverbal social cues. I think I may have preferred to be a more balanced individual than I am, but I can't complain about what I am good at.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Voltaire and Nietzsche are great.
I know you can get kindle edition of these for free.

Also there are some great youtube/podcast series on the Crusades.
Incredibly informative, invites academics and historians about the Crusades.
Lots of myth busting and historical corrections from that time.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpiumHmUE5EZeLTftxv9qGw
Click to expand...

Oh, those podcasts sound like fun. I'll save those for my free time, when I'm not reading unbearably long books to prove I can.
 
MaggieD said:
Seven Habits of Successful People by Stephen Covey ought to be required reading for self-improvement. I'm in to all of those self-improvement books. Love them. Inspirational and interesting.

Another book that I think you would find very interesting, older than dirt, is a book that,describes transactional analysis. It's called Games People Play. In fact, now that I've Though of it again, I'm going to download it if it's in book format. I promise you it's interesting, enlightening, and will help you in your personal and professional relations throughout your life.

Some games described are titled, Now I've Got You, You Son of a Bitch, See What You Made Me Do? Ain't It Awful, and Why Don't You--Yes But. The first one I, NIGYYSOB is played Day in day out on this forum. The last one Why Don't You-Yes But is played personally and professionally every day of your life. Once you understand the game, you'll smile to yourself when someone starts it and know that you can save your breath.

Both of these books are excellent reads that just may change your life. And they're fun.

Edit...BTW, NIGYYSOB is played by the media all day long with Donald Trump.
Click to expand...

Do you know who the author of Games People Play is? It sounds like exactly what I didn't know I was looking for.
 
Jesse Booth said:
Oh, those podcasts sound like fun. I'll save those for my free time, when I'm not reading unbearably long books to prove I can.
Click to expand...

There are some others I thought of.
The Alexiad and The Ottoman Centuries.

One Greek, the other Turk, awesome start into eastern Europe, which is an under studied place for westerners.

Also, The Analects of Confucius and Meditations (Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius).
 
I highly recommend Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Band, by Douglas Hofstadter. It's a lot of fun, and intellectually challenging. It is self-characterized as "a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carrol", and it more than meets that characterization. On a similar theme, if you don't have a copy of The Annotated Alice, it's worth having.
 
Jesse Booth said:
Now, I know full well that this should arguably go in the Book Nook, but this is definitely in the vein of self improvement, and I don't want to stick a thread in that dead zone.

I've been wanting to read into philosophy and literature iforn general a while now; I can't imagine many on here would deny my wit, but the depth of my intellect is most certainly questionable. I want to challenge myself to read through at least one really long book a weekend, and I want to use this as an opportunity to better understand a) the book I've read, b) the author of the book, and c) the time period the book was written in and the current* events that influenced it. This weekend is the complete works of Oscar Wilde. All of it. Two days. I know I have enough weaponized autism to get through it, and learn something of value from it too.

Anyway, I know this place is crawling with historians, statesmen and literature enthusiasts of all stripes, so I've entrusted the rest of my reading list to your bickering, conflicting and contradictory hands. I would prefer suggestions that have been around for a while, as my local library is quite small and likely doesn't have the latest books by some popular journalist or modern treatises on political philosophy.

I await your responses, and thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

The face of Battle - John Keegan
A World Restored - Henry Kissinger
The Calculous of Consent - James Buchanan &a Gordon Tulloch
The Structure of Scientific Revolution - Thomas Kuhn

Rhinoceros - Eugene Ionesco
La Pest - Albert Camus
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Messiah - Gore Vidal
Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein
Dune Saga - Frank Herbert
The Culture - Iain M Banks
The Glass Bead Game - Herman Hesse

Earthly Powers - Anthony Burgess
Julian - Gore Vidal
Burr - Gore Vidal

While you read, I will think how to keep you busy
 
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Jesse Booth said:
Conveniently enough, my dad owns a copy of War & Peace. Considering how strongly that factored into my choice of Oscar Wilde, I suspect it will be high on my list in the coming weeks.
Click to expand...

Yes! The first thing that War and Peace brings to mind is The Importance of being Earnest.
 
A Confederacy of Dunces

you're welcome
 
GENERATIONS by Strauss and Howe

It is one of the best books I have ever read on US History and politics and sociology and can help you predict the future.
 
Guns, Germs and Steel
 
Everything by JD Salinger <~~his lesser known stuff pretty interesting
A Scanner Darkly by Dick <~~combines Dick's usual themes with a bit more maturity
Mother Nature by Sarah Hrdy <~~evolutionary theory told with fascinating anecdotes
QED by Feynman <~~learn how light works
My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected <~~Breakfast Club meets Catcher In The Rye, with bonus cynicism
Shattered Sword <~~best WW2 book, about Battle of Midway
Strategy by Liddel-Hart <~~strategy through history. His WW2 history is recommended too
The Selfish Gene <~~how evolution works
 
humbolt said:
I highly recommend Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Band, by Douglas Hofstadter. It's a lot of fun, and intellectually challenging. It is self-characterized as "a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carrol", and it more than meets that characterization. On a similar theme, if you don't have a copy of The Annotated Alice, it's worth having.
Click to expand...

I assume the author is Lewis Carol?
 
Redress said:
Everything by JD Salinger <~~his lesser known stuff pretty interesting
A Scanner Darkly by Dick <~~combines Dick's usual themes with a bit more maturity
Mother Nature by Sarah Hrdy <~~evolutionary theory told with fascinating anecdotes
QED by Feynman <~~learn how light works
My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected <~~Breakfast Club meets Catcher In The Rye, with bonus cynicism
Shattered Sword <~~best WW2 book, about Battle of Midway
Strategy by Liddel-Hart <~~strategy through history. His WW2 history is recommended too
The Selfish Gene <~~how evolution works
Click to expand...

Wow, a lot of that sounds legitimately informative. I'll keep those in mind. Thank you.
 
my wife and i read constantly. these days, we have less free time, so most of it is via Audible, which i highly recommend. what i would not recommend is setting unrealistic deadlines in which to read the work. read it at your own pace.

as for the classics, you can't go wrong there. i'm not exceptionally well read in this genre yet, though i have read some. i read Candide by Voltaire in college, and that was a standout. another older work that comes to mind is The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.

most of my current reading is more recent fiction, but this thread doesn't seem to be about that. if there's ever a thread about modern (postmodern?) fiction, i can make some pretty good recommendations.
 
The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom. It's not the kind of book you should get through in a weekend but its relevance to understanding what's going on in society today is remarkable.

The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin. It's a history from the perspective of invention and quite entertaining.

Maggie's 7 Habits recommendation is a good one and I'd also throw the Tao Teh Ching on your list.
 
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