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Q: What is everyone reading at the moment?

Looking for some book suggestions, maybe something China-related or maybe not!

9 years 19 weeks ago in  General  - China

 
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Open Mike, by Mike Sheahan.

It entails conversations from the ground-breaking Fox Footy program 'Open Mike'.

"The Open Mike interviews have been revealing viewing -- they make equally engrossing reading"  Leigh Matthews, AFL LEGEND.

 

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I am reading a fish cooking book, nom nom nom 

royceH:

Hope it includes how best to fillet the jolly thing before cooking it.

Main prob with that in China is they cook carp.  A million bones make them unsuitable for humans.

 

9 years 19 weeks ago
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9 years 19 weeks ago
 
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Governor

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The Clash of Civilizations by Samuel Huntington. It was written in the early 1990s but has surprising relevance for understanding the conflicts between China, Japan and America today. Culture and civilizations as a manifestation of this being the main driving force.

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What's the Matter with Kansas : How Conservatives won the heart of America By Thomas Franck

 

I read a French translation of that book by Serge Halimi, it has comment sections from the translator to make a parallel with recent politics in France (Sarkozy's election and why it worked so well). The translated title of the French version is "Why poor people vote for the Right Wing parties". It's good, the author is not ranting and going all emotional about it, he tries to explain why things happen the way they did.

 

royceH:

Is that true?  Poor people vote for conservative parties?  I think that must just be anecdotal.  Don't believe it.  In which countries?  Anyway, not where I come from.

That said, I'm poor and I vote for the conservative party.  Har!

 

 

9 years 19 weeks ago
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DrMonkey:

According to the author of book, it is the case in USA, since Nixon. The conservatives learned how to attract lower class by painting democrats as rich snobs with no real American values (worse : European-like social values, commies in disguise), no respect for religions, a bunch of sophists. Middle classes started to feel insecure with social changes around the 70's. Conservatives painted them as the virtuous ones, the real American who don't drink latte, don't eat fancy European food, like Nascar, etc. they promised a return to the fuzzy concept of "traditional values and common sense", more freedom, more justice. Those conservatives took drastic measures that favor large companies and big capital owners, at the expense of those middle class people they seduced. They didn't do much about tradition : no drastic anti-avortment measures for example. And it worked, the more outrageous they are, the better it works. Democrats are too busy trying to not scare people by looking like Euro-pussies, they are trying to hard to look like how Americans see themselves, they follow, they don't lead, they don't dare to be true to themselves. So democrats are dragged to the right wing to the point of becoming soft conservative.

 

We had the very same thing in France, with a French style. Sarkozy won with precisely same approach, made the same kind of reform (but much less radical, we are cheese eating surrender monkeys), with the same effects (deepened inequalities, breakdown of solidarity, but the rich get more cool perks). The socialist party is now a soft right wing party by European standards. The difference with the USA is that, for very French reasons, Sarkozy party is in shreds, the whole thing have been denounced... But now people are really, really, really angry at anything like traditional parties, and what used to be marginal parties built around the idea "we have chips on our shoulders" have a field day.

9 years 19 weeks ago
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jetfire9000:

Nixon and the 70's aside.... Is the description in that book even real? Doesn't sound anything like American politics in the last 10 years at the very minimum. That's quite an oddball view considering that the image of Republicans in America has been construed to that of old, white rich men... and that the image for Democrats is one supported by ghetto illegal immigrants and poor people in general, demanding their free food stamps/ welfare checks in the mail.

9 years 19 weeks ago
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nzteacher80:

@ Monkey. Sounds like an interesting book. The machiavellian machinations of the political right in America are intriguing. GWB was very successful in making the GOP the "Big Tent" party. Getting bible-thumping Social Conservatives, Black Republicans, Gay Republicans and hickoid, trailer trash to all get into bed was no mean feat. Looks like things will swing that way again come next election. They just need someone who can get all those disparate groups to coalesce. Romney was too Mormon, too rich and he was also at a disadvantage of being Mitt Romney.

9 years 19 weeks ago
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This thread... and in particular, these words as I type them.

 

Once I've finished GoT on video, I'll go back to the book I was in the middle of! (I didn't want spoilers when I was watching... and I was waiting to buy my projector)

Samsara:

Good idea.

 

At the end of Season 4 is the scene where we find out Danaerys has a penis. Quite shocking if you haven't read the books.

 

9 years 19 weeks ago
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DrMonkey:

Nooooooooooooooo ! That's even worse than that family diner party that went terribly wrong at the end of season 3. Her friend-zoned advisor, poor guy, if don't become nuts after that, respect.

9 years 19 weeks ago
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Lord_hanson:

I guess he doesn't want to know that Hodor becomes king.

9 years 19 weeks ago
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bill8899:

Hodor!

9 years 19 weeks ago
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Shining_brow:

OMFG... YOU BASTARDS!!!!!

 

King Hodor - that sounds about right! (although, I'd imagine perhaps the occaisonal problem with him giving orders...)

9 years 19 weeks ago
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Shifu

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Lancaster & York, the war of the roses. Gotta love history books.

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I'm towards the end of A Dance with Dragons. The GoT books have been an obsession for the last few weeks/months. I'll get my life back when I'm done.

Lord_hanson:

I love the books, it is just a shame he takes forever to write them. I think he will die before he finishes the series.

9 years 19 weeks ago
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the current book actually audiobook from torrents "lies my teacher told me", how hero's bad side are not shown in american history books, woodrow wilson, the bigot of the 20th century, sending troops and fight in russia, and 13 intrusions with troops to different countries in central america, every liberal and conservative has a bad side and the book brings out all the dirty laundry and dishes the dirt on everyone regardless of political leanings, excellent references and sourcing.

rasklnik:

I loved that book. Being descended from post 1900 immigrants, I never understood the whole love for the confederacy, state's rights, southern pride thing. Slavery was an evil and embarrassment, and still has screwed up American society, 150 years later.

9 years 19 weeks ago
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ambivalentmace:

slavery was not really the main focus of the civil war and the south, the north did not want slaves working in factories and getting rid of the power of the middle class and the north crushed the south before the south crushed them with free labor, it was all about the money, if i was yankee in vermont with 40 acres and a farm with no modern propaganda and tv biases, why would i care about a black man in georgia, the noble idea that 36000 men died at gettysbury over slavery is noble but not true, being from the south i never thought white people would ever be that noble , not even now, funny how so many yankees got rich 20 years later and created the millionaires from destroying the south as a competitor, the irony is now the tables are turning and the wealth is going south and the poverty is all over the north. karma anybody.

9 years 19 weeks ago
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With my Kindle i alternate between classics and travel books.

I am currently enjoying "South" written by Ernest Shackleton - respect! wink

first person accounts of journeys prior to current technology are great!

royceH:

My friend, who knows much more than I, says that Shackleton is the greatest explorer/navigator the world has ever known.

Do you have an opinion on that?

Whilst in Aust a couple of weeks ago I bought a book on 'The Ice Men of the Heroic Age: Mawson, Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen', by Peter Fitzsimons.

It's a big, fat sucker and will have to wait awhile.

 

 

9 years 19 weeks ago
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sorrel:

Thanks for the book recommendation: I'll add it to my list.

I'd really enjoy following up on more insights and comparisons between these explorers 

wink

9 years 19 weeks ago
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sorrel:

I don't know about greatest, but certainly a great story:

the ship Endurance was destroyed by the ice,

the crew marched across the retreating ice-pack with the lifeboats,

a 6 man open-boat journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia,

one unbelivable story considering not a man died.

even today a similar journey would not be taken lightly without all the electronic equipment there is today.

 

fantastic first hand accounts and photos have survived.

after reading the book you mention, I'd certainly be interested to hear of any others similar 

9 years 19 weeks ago
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Governor

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Two books competing

 

Confession of a Buddhist Atheist by Stephen Batchelor (Mobile Kindle, mostly when I stepped out of the house)

When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order by Martin Jacques (Kindle).

 

 

rasklnik:

I've heard Martin Jacques is a fellow traveler, if not a card carrying panda hugger. How's the book?

9 years 19 weeks ago
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Hakupatasa:

Well, I haven't finished the book yet. Still, I found very interesting. This is also one reason why I stopped complaining about China. What we see and think about the people today is a legacy of past 5000 yrs history. It is mostly the "conflict/tussle, competition, (mis-)understanding" between western world/civilization/values against Chinese. The book though talks about Japan, South Korea and other parts of south east Asia. So it is kind of a snapshot to understand rise and fall of whole south east Asian cultures/countries and empires.  If we combine this book with "Fate of Africa" then both help us to understand present world and gives some perspective to future (if nothing changes as drastically/dramatically as Mr. America did and now Mr. Russia is doing.) I reckon good book to read.

 

Actually, the first book also partially related to Tibet, Korea, Japan but that is more with culture/mentality of people and how it defined and shaped religion. 

9 years 19 weeks ago
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DrMonkey:

Find one human group *without* 5000 years of legacy... And justify the number of 5000, too. Every time an underground parking is dug in my home town, roman and Celtic artifacts are found. There's a direct link to that time to the modern time, from language, city plan to landscape. It's tiring to hear that China have such a monopoly, it's a gross deformation at best.

9 years 19 weeks ago
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Scandinavian:

@Monkey: Americans... they severely lack history. Yeah yeah, they originated and share the history of Europe. It's just that so many Americans are so nationalistic that they think their country is the center of the world, thus cutting them away from the earlier history, pre-Vikings going there. 

 

 

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Kindle-holic here....this week's great pleasure is Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, an autobiography by Ranulph Fiennes.

 

I normally steer clear of biographies but this is a real page turner. Highly recommended.

P.S. I nicked this one from a torrent

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Shifu

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Fiction:

Girl With All The Gifts - Carey

Oryx & Crake - Margaret Atwood

Discworld Series - Terry Pratchett (right now on Thief of Time)

China related try:

Inside the Red Mansion

China in Ten Words

Tiger Head Snake Tail

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