Books - what are you reading? (Official Book Thread)

[Trav]

Feel like crehs need to take an aptitude test before reading this with some of the reviews I've seen


But, a gread read (for me). Not your traditional Western pacing and arcs, but no less captivating either.

Read The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead recently too. It was cool, but Im spoiled by the same subject being covered in The Reformatory.

 

[WTFisWallace?]

Gonna start Kings & Pawns: Jackie Robinson & Paul Robeson by Howard Bryant next.

Don't feel like Bryant had the smoothest writing style with this.....but the way he (or simply just the facts) dropped parallels without being heavy handed was dope/crazy. Was surprised and/or disgusted multiple times thru out this.


- The overlapping interaction of some these figures really puts into perspective how the U.S. is not far removed from slavery & the Civil War.


- I'm not sure which is more infuriating / shameful.......the timid / both sidesness of white liberals during the heights of post-slavery racial violence and civil atrocities.......................or now, when we have all the history available to us and should "know better". Makes me see the phrase "so & so was ahead of their time" in a darker light.

Spoiler: .

- The idea to disrupt / suppress the (Black) American pipeline of young baseball players and structuring / hoping to build a Latin American pipeline with the idea of only letting em play on work visas & sending them back to Latin America in the off season is insane & despicable.



- Robinson's jersey retirement reminded me of Toussaint L'Ouverture having in the French yts to be honorable when he sailed over there to negotiate.



- The yt Christian Nationalist, hyper-capitalist, dark money group of Hilton/GM/Paramount/Reagan/Branch Rickey mirroring that of today's with Trump/Leo Leonnard/Theil/etc stunned me. A lot of this book lays out that Heritage damn near running an old playbook play for play smh.



- The volunteering to fight in Spanish Civil War that was a pre-cursor to WWII/the fight against Nazism, struck me. As did labor unions specifically taking actions/strikes nor for labor issues but social issues. Trying to think how much of that is going on today, I can think of a few cases.....usually up north like Minnesota in the summerof 2020. Seems like this part of history is usually surpressed as to not show how far we can really take things. And ask ourselves will we step up.

"what is past is prologue"

 

[Trav]

Here for it

 

[Trav]

Just finished this--it was a good one. I got them 11/22/63 vibes from it. Plus, there was the Dark Tower connection which enhanced the story even more since I'm in the middle of that. Some of the end got a little convoluted, but the Epilogue more than made up for it. Longest Epilogue ever low-ley, lol.

 

[IronFist]

Swami Vivekananda is a foundational text on Hindu yoga philosophy, focusing on controlling the mind through meditation and concentration. Based on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, it outlines the "king of all yogas" as a scientific approach to spiritual liberation, covering topics like pranayama, dhyana, and samadhi.

16.76 MB file on MEGA

mega.nz

​

 

[IronFist]

‘The Book of Self Creation’ is a study guide for all who seek Divinity within, and who prefer to steer the courses of their lives in a personal manner. The doctrines and techniques addressed in this book will aid practitioners in the expansion of their personal consciousness and spiritual evolution. Combining the principles and teachings of Practical Kabbalah and the Western Mystery Tradition, this book offers step by step instructions on the conscious creation of physical life circumstances, such being always in harmony with the mind-set of the practitioner. The ‘Shadow Tree Series’ comprises a unique collection of Western Esoteric studies and practices which Jacobus G. Swart, spiritual successor to William G. Gray and co-founder of the Sangreal Sodality, actuated and taught over a period of forty years. He commenced his journey into the domain of Jewish Mysticism in the early 1970's investigating mainstream Kabbalah, later diversifying into the magical mysteries of Practical Kabbalah. He equally expanded his personal perspectives of the Western Magical Tradition under the careful tutelage of the celebrated English Kabbalist William G. Gray.

15.18 MB file on MEGA

mega.nz

 

[IronFist]

Link

 

[Trav]

New Due

 

[nieman]

I've had the first 2 books in the series for over 10 years, and just read them in January. These are great, so I'm now reading Book 3

 

[Trav]

Another one down. All things serve the beam

Overall, I enjoyed it. Some of the stories within the story were a bit tedious, but most of it landed for me.

 

[Trav]

A bit of a pallette cleanser but a fun read nonetheless. The pacing keeps you engaged and the "puzzles" do too. I could see why the MC would annoy some people though.

 

[Dillah810]

Just read Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America. I always knew of Paul Robeson, but not much in detail. I didn't realize how big of a deal he was until after I read the book. Paul really sacrificed everything for his principles.

Next I'm reading WEB Dubois' Souls of Black Folk. I'm embarrassed that I've never actually read it before. I've read tons of quotes from it, but never actually read the book front to back.

 

[WTFisWallace?]

What do you think about the books? Ive read a lot of mixed reactions to the first book

I really like them. Good action and very visual storytelling. Some brehs might not like it cuz it’s literally black girl magic but imo it’s deeper than that. I know they making a movie about the first book in 2027. It really should be an HBO series.

https://www.thecoli.com/threads/black-literature-not-rooted-in-black-tropes-such-as-slavery-jim-crow-modern-day-microagressions.942864/post-47366101

Only read the 1st book. Definitely felt like a YA that was not fleshed out….but enjoyable enough to easily get thru.


Was not fukking with what i felt was an undercurrent of white validation or forgiveness…..but just in a race swap type of way.


Hopefully the movie doesn’t lean heavy into that shyt, but don’t see how they wouldn’t since it’s so integral to the story from what I remember.

 

[Trav]

That's #6.

Well, as far as the official series goes. Plenty of more to indulge in, other than what I already have.

I was well met with this one though. I can see why it's divisive but it wasn't that bad to me. Mia/Susannah's dynamic runs a bit long, but I get what he was trying to do psychologically. And introducing himself was definitely some shyt if I've ever seen any, . I'll wait to see how he makes it all land to get worked up about that. As a standalone, it's not touching some of the previous entries but still a good read.

 

[Trav]

Just wrapped this one up. This one was really good. I hadn't read any Morrison since school fr. I like how it add mythic elements to it, and thin layers of magic, even in telling a grounded story of identity, ancestry, etc.