Brave New World - Aldous Huxley.
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Originally posted by @saintbletch
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley.
Read this when I was in my yooff, innit. Iām now inclined to reread from the perspective of a middle-aged man - I wonder how it will seemā¦
Even now, 25 years later, I recall the ending vividly.
Originally posted by @ant
Also plowed through āV For Vendettaā. Iāve loved the film ever since it was released so it was about time I read the source material. I found some of the artwork a little too dark and lacking detail, and Vās florid grasp of the English language is perhaps a little OTT. Otherwise itās amongst the very best graphic novels Iāve encountered.
Written by Alan Moore who, amongst many other things, was responsible for the really very superb Watchmen.
Originally posted by @saintbletch
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley.
Read that for O levels many years ago along with 1984 and Animal Farm. Was lucky to have so many cool books to read to help break up the Shakespeare!
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Originally posted by @Rallyboy
Viz.
Just finished āThe Otters Pocketā A remarkable tome with piercing social commentary and a series of intertwining plot lines, skilly crafted to an unexpected climax. I particulary like the poor, downtrodden spouse of 8 Ace, summing up how the fickle hand of fate has dealt her such unlucky cards when she turns to 8, en-route to a school reunion and bemoans the fact that she āā¦ married an 'opeless cunt wot neva worked a day and shits 'is trakkie bottomsā
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Rereading Dark Materials with my boy. My favourite book of all time bar none. Wish Iād had it growing up.
Its a travesty that hollywood got ahold of it and sccrewed it up so utterly. Didnāt even make reference to the enemy being āthe churchā ( massive surprise that from America). Would have loved to see how they would have dealt with the death of God in the last book.
I knew some people in the book industry and I benaged on about it so much that one day they saw me and presented me with a bound edition of the book with a dedication from Philip Pullman inside.
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Heathen!
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The Sixth Extinction ā¦ Amazingly well researched and presented. Itās a bit doom laden, but a warning of what could/will happen unless things change.
Obvious Guardian link 
Aldous Huxley was a big supporter of eugenics.
I liked Sweet Dreams but wouldnāt say I was a big supporter.
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Heās admired as a free thinking writer based mainly on āThe Doors of Perceptionā and his experiments in the 50ās with peyote. Jim Morrisson named his band after that book. Eugenics was debated at the time as a legitimate answer to overpopulation and other social issues. Brave New World covers that
Everthing in context though, he was a liberal thinker for his time, just times have changed
Credit where credit is due, you fat fuck, that was funny.
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I have only read those the once, but remember being extremely impressed with the world building, the artifacts and of course, the setup. Normally when you read stuff like this, you donāt have to imagine too much. Pullman really makes you, which is one of the big draws of those books.
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Iām getting to the end of the Devilās Chessboard, by David Talbot, which is all about the rise of the US secret government, yāknow, the one that Ike warned us about, which largely took over in 1963. Itās a hugely important time for both the world and the US.
The book itself focuses on Allen Dulles, the spy chief ousted by Kennedy after the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion. The detail on that alone is impressive enough. Talbot asserts that Bay of Pigs would never have worked with the stated resources, and was actually designed to fail, largely to get US forces involved. Kennedy wouldnāt even order air strikes, let alone anything more.
Kennedy, and the reaction to him, is another huge subject of the book. Itās fairly depressing stuff, particularly in the context of figures like Corbyn emerging on the political scene. These days, we mostly restrict ourselves to character assassination in the media. Kennedy illustrates what happens when a visionary with a reforming agenda actually gets in.
The other depressing thing is that it has been over 50 years and despite the bright spots, is that Lee Harvey Oswald was the sole deranged assassin according to the vast majority of the media. Iāve never really considered that tenable with the knowledge I had then. Itās even more difficult to do so when you read a book like this, which captures both the people of the time and their dark motivations.
My holiday reading:
John Bishopās autobiography which I sort of knew anyway having watched his stand up show at work before.
Frank Turnerās - Road Beneath my Feet. A run through of the end of his hardcore band at the Joiners in 2005 to his a wembley arena gig in 2012 itās a bit relentless like his gigs!
Gone Girl (cannot remember author). Has been made into a film. Essentially a story about a unhinged woman. I read it but not sure about it.
My holiday reading:
John Bishopās autobiography which I sort of knew anyway having watched his stand up show at work before.
Frank Turnerās - Road Beneath my Feet. A run through of the end of his hardcore band at the Joiners in 2005 to his a wembley arena gig in 2012 itās a bit relentless like his gigs!
Gone Girl (cannot remember author). Has been made into a film. Essentially a story about a unhinged woman. I read it but not sure about it.
Lou, now you are back and unemployed, can you get off your arse and provide me with a laughing penishead please?
Hey Pap, have you ever questioned why you might be interested in conspiracy theories?