Show Off Your Bookshelf

SGR · 05-16-2021, 06:00 PM

I've got three bookshelves of varying size - and I have a goddamn pylon of books stacked in my closet. Mostly softcover novels. I'll take a picture here soon and post it. But my main, large bookshelf has lights in it with a remote control so that I can adjust the hue, tone and strength. It's pretty nice.

I own quite a few of the Easton Press biographies on US presidents, which I'm rather proud to own. They look great on the shelf. And I've never met anyone in real life who knows more about Chester Arthur than I do, which is always a plus.

**Frownland** · 05-16-2021, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

I think you might be in for a surprise, Batlord. Frownland mentions that there isn't much "dry economics" in it. Some years back I read this Life of Marx:

Repected Brit author, Francis Wheen said it was bizarre that any country would use Das Kapital as a basis for an economic model, on account of its lack of accurate analysis. If I remember right, he says it'd be like using Lord of The Rings as the basis of a country's foreign policy.
I hope that's not a spoiler, and that you'll find it more interesting, while being less definitive, than you expect.

I could see that being an agreement with Marx but it's more likely that his reading of the book doesn't distinguish between Marx describing things as they appear versus how they are. That seems to be the source of most disagreement on its veracity.

Quote:

Haha! Good to know there is some overlap between us, Frownland, and t hanks for remembering my opinion of Umberto Eco.

I'm sorry to say that Joseph Heller disappointed me as well; not altogether surprising given the quantity of hype that there used to be around Catch 22.
At least there is some more common ground that I bet we share: biographies of Zappa and Beefheart. In case you want proof, exhibit A is a photo of my bookshelf :post #8 in this thread.

No Beefheart material here, but I do have Zappa's autobiography.

Looking at your older post, we also share Orwell essays, writings on Gandhi, and an appreciation for science based books. I have some Newton, Einstein, Hawking, Feynman, Sagan, Hofstadter, Darwin, Shannon, Gleick, and others. I see a lot of soldier stuff in your collection, so you'd probably get a kick out of my WWII books too.

SGR · 05-16-2021, 06:21 PM

What's your favorite WWII book that you've read, Frown?

**Frownland** · 05-16-2021, 06:33 PM

The Origins of Totalitarianism by CIA Agent Arendt led me to the Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression files, which includes Bettelheim's Individual and Mass Behavior in Extreme Situations. That's the most interesting writing on the subject I've encountered.

As far as full books go, Anatomy of Fascism stands out as the best-written and among the most intriguing. Ordinary Men is great too. I eventually want to tackle The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich but I've got a few doorstops I need to chew through first.

SGR · 05-16-2021, 06:45 PM

Wait a minute, Hannah Arendt was a CIA agent (or am I missing a joke here)? Never read Anatomy of Fascism, will have to put that on my list. You ever read Stalingrad by Antony Beevor?

Here I was thinking your favorite would be something by David Irving.

**Frownland** · 05-16-2021, 06:59 PM

She received funding from the CIA to promote anti-communist sentiments in the intellectual community, yes. Haven't read Stalingrad but know about it from Peep Show lol.

I prefer your Parentis when it comes to historical revisionism.

**Marie Monday** · 05-17-2021, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rostasi

About 30 years ago, I used to try to learn Dutch by reading Marten Toonder.
Wasn’t all that successful.

Oh fun
Why would you want to learn Dutch though?

Apart from Denken is Verukkelijk, which is a biography of Paul Ehrenfest and Tatyana Afanasyeva, my science books are all in Holland. I have some by Hardy, Weyl and Feynman apart from study books

Lisnaholic · 05-17-2021, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

No Beefheart material here, but I do have Zappa's autobiography.

I'm sure you would enjoy Mike Barnes' book about Beefheart. I think it was with JackPat that I had a conversation here about the book. Remember him? Changed his name a confusing number of times.

Quote:

Looking at your older post, we also share Orwell essays, writings on Gandhi, and an appreciation for science based books. I have some Newton, Einstein, Hawking, Feynman, Sagan, Hofstadter, Darwin, Shannon, Gleick, and others. I see a lot of soldier stuff in your collection, so you'd probably get a kick out of my WWII books too.

Congrats on your eyesight, to be able to identify any titles at all from my photo! Yes, I like some science, but nothing very complicated. My copy of The Selfish Gene lies unfinished, for example, but I've done better with astronomy; starting with Asimov's excellent The Universe I've found it a fascinating, constantly evolving topic.

In my era, English schoolboys grew up with stories of WWII heroism, so it stays a topic of interest for many. Of course, as an adult you start to see how ghastly war is. WWI perhaps more so with the grinding misery of the trenches.

rostasi · 05-17-2021, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marie Monday

Oh fun
Why would you want to learn Dutch though?

Yeah, it was the late Paul Panhuysen (and his wife Hélène)
who used to have Het Apollohuis who recommended
Marten Toonder books as a guide to learning Dutch,
but it was easier for me to use Donald Duck (for German too!),
because I could better relate to him than Tom Poes.

**Marie Monday** · 05-17-2021, 09:55 AM

Yeah I never really got the Marten Toonder hype, to be honest, but comics must be a really nice way to learn a language. Or simple illustrated children's books, I used to read some Le Petit Nicholas in French

05-16-2021, 06:33 PM	#44 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	The Origins of Totalitarianism by CIA Agent Arendt led me to the Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression files, which includes Bettelheim's Individual and Mass Behavior in Extreme Situations. That's the most interesting writing on the subject I've encountered. As far as full books go, Anatomy of Fascism stands out as the best-written and among the most intriguing. Ordinary Men is great too. I eventually want to tackle The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich but I've got a few doorstops I need to chew through first. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

05-16-2021, 06:59 PM	#46 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	She received funding from the CIA to promote anti-communist sentiments in the intellectual community, yes. Haven't read Stalingrad but know about it from Peep Show lol. I prefer your Parentis when it comes to historical revisionism. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

05-16-2021, 06:00 PM	#41 (permalink)
SGR No Ice In My Bourbon Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: /dev/null Posts: 4,327	I've got three bookshelves of varying size - and I have a goddamn pylon of books stacked in my closet. Mostly softcover novels. I'll take a picture here soon and post it. But my main, large bookshelf has lights in it with a remote control so that I can adjust the hue, tone and strength. It's pretty nice. I own quite a few of the Easton Press biographies on US presidents, which I'm rather proud to own. They look great on the shelf. And I've never met anyone in real life who knows more about Chester Arthur than I do, which is always a plus.

05-16-2021, 06:21 PM	#43 (permalink)
SGR No Ice In My Bourbon Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: /dev/null Posts: 4,327	What's your favorite WWII book that you've read, Frown?

05-16-2021, 06:45 PM	#45 (permalink)
SGR No Ice In My Bourbon Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: /dev/null Posts: 4,327	Wait a minute, Hannah Arendt was a CIA agent (or am I missing a joke here)? Never read Anatomy of Fascism, will have to put that on my list. You ever read Stalingrad by Antony Beevor? Here I was thinking your favorite would be something by David Irving.