What are you reading

[Levas]

Thanks, Mikko. I've ordered that. Finished reading Manifesto for a European Renaissance. very good!

[redswordwhiteplough]

I found myself reading books about India again.

Just finished Aki Cederberg's Pyhiinvaellus  - Matkalla Intiassa ja Nepalissa which originally appeared in Fenris Wolf magazine under the title In Search of Magic Mirrors. Continuing with A Search in Secret India by Paul Brunton.

[KL-106]

I have to rant and this seems like the most appropriate topic for this.

Today I went to library and saw a finnish translation of a The Witcher novel. According the back cover it was 'The first The Witcher novel' so I decided to loan it. Cue to my complete surprise when I started reading it and found out on first page that it is THE THIRD BOOK IN THE WITCHER SERIES.

Why the fuck this isnt on the covers?!

I mean, that is quite important information on which I base what books I loan. If I want to get into lenghty series, I want to start from the first novel and go from there, not from the middle of the series. Why? Who thought this would be a good idea?!

There should be some standards on how to design a cover. It should contain all the necessary information, author, title of the book and if it's part of series, which part it is. Is it so hard to put there 'Part 3 of The Witcher saga'?

Same goes for vinyls. I abbhor vinyls that dont mark rpm and side a/b on the middle of the vinyl. I really dont enjoy going through the matrix with magnifying glass or having to go discogs.com and hope somebody has updated necessary information there. Also, fuck black font on black background.

./rant

[ARKHE]

Check the title page, that usually has a list of previous titles by the same author, if the publishing company hasn't started translating right in the middle of a series. Now why the back cover stated something obviously incorrect like that is another question.

[Jordan]

Now starting Octave Mirbeau - Torture Garden. Never read this one before.

Amazing book, by an amazing man. Huge influence on the Euro-individualist/egoist scene which I admire so much.

[cr]

Now going through aphorisms by the mighty Nicolás Gómez Dávila, Colombian writer and thinker. It's too hot here (at least for me) for reading an entire book. Some quotes from Dávila:
"I distrust every idea that doesn't seem obsolete and grotesque to my contemporaries."
"Conformism and non-conformism are symmetrical expressions of a lack of originality."
"Hierarchies are celestial. In hell all are equal."
"In an age in which the media broadcast countless pieces of foolishness, the educated man is defined not by what he knows, but by what he doesn't know."
"Revolution is progressive and seeks the strengthening of the state; rebellion is reactionary and seeks its disappearance.
The revolutionary is a potential government official; the rebel is a reactionary in action."

My book is called (my translation): 'Life is the Guillotine of Truths". Don't know if this exists also in other languages than German.

[P-K]

now reading :

took years of heavy research, destroying the myth of a good tactic & 'ordinary' heroic soldier....digging deeper into politics & warcrimes. very extensive book!

[Vigilante Ecstasy]

Now reading Kai Murros "Vallankumous ja sen toteuttaminen modernissa yhteiskunnassa"

Big Finnish book publisher LIKE did this in 2001. Political pamphlet titled "revolution, and how to put it in action in modern society". Pretty bad translation from my behalf, but can't really think what words exactly to use..  Back then, Kai Murros was perhaps sort of Mao influenced socialist. Before, he had already been member of conservative/right crap of kokoomus and now decade later he appears to have abandoned the left wing ideal and moved closer to traditionalist circles? This book, despite it's clear marxist tone, appears to be appreciated by all sorts of extremists. Manifest operates in brief to-the-point comments listed one after another. To think this violent, this fanatical text could be published by mainstream press and distributed all over the country in bookstores, can only happen as it talked about revolution of people against the plague of international financial capitalism. It still could boldly talk about "patriots" and nationalist commitments towards the state & people. But lets think if this book was to be published NOW, not 10 years ago, and this slight communist tone would have been changed to to something else... Not a chance. I'm sure conservative right will always hate him for being communist, and the left hates him for teaming up with blood conscious traditionalist... Therefore good book to grab. Provocative and harsh.

I remember Murros commenting on this book somewhere, he said that he wanted to write a nationalist manifest that is cleverly camouflaged as a revolutionary left/socialist pamflet. He pretty much succeeded in this, I remember leftists reading, selling and recommending it. If you read it with this knowledge, you can see the nationalistic and patriotic message there. I don't think that Murros was ever really a leftist/Maoist/whatever, I think there is a side of a trickster in him that goes easily unnoticed. He is also still somewhat active with his ideas, writes for Sarastus and recently I saw some photos where he was boozing around with Timo Hännikäinen and some other Finnish nationalist intellectuals. All in all, quite interesting guy.

Professor Kai Murros: Spreading Radical Nationalism ~ The Sunic Journal - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naupPxh-r9o

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Of course the patriotism or nationalism is clearly expressed in the book. But it doesn't address any racial characteristics. It merely abandons the internationalist side of communism, and takes the "socialism within state" approach.
Actually, whole book in English here:
http://www.kolumbus.fi/aquilon/content.htm

[MT]

I am currently reading this: Teemu Keskisarja: Kyynelten kallio. Kertomuksia seksistä ja väkivallasta

Interesting stories about the sexual deviants and other pervs of the Finnish history.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Nice book. Very curious detail is that according to court papers, homosexuality as sexual deviancy supposedly didn't exist in Finland before southern priests came and introduced this behavior. People were more into fucking animals, which became almost epidemic despite harsh punishments!

[Bloated Slutbag]

People were more into fucking animals, which became almost epidemic despite harsh punishments!

Filthy pervs probably got off on that too...

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I recall in case of bestiality, they killed the animals and jailed the man. Extensive punishments - but still people engaging into it, and it create the fantasy that if people are ready to face almost death sentence, it MUST be good. Therefore suddenly masses of people wanted to give it a try. There was certain period in history when boys was not allowed on fields with cattle. Risk of something filthy happening was just too big.

[bitewerksMTB]

I'm currently reading an anthology called "Zombie" with stories by John Connolly, Joe Hill, Kelley Armstrong, Mike Carey, Stephen Bissette, David Wellington, & others. Edited by Christopher Golden & was published in the U.S. as "The New Dead".

Previously read "The Damned Don't Die" by Jim Nisbet & "The Killing Moon" by Chuck Hogan. Both are crime novels. Before those, "The Given Day" by Dennis Lahane about Boston MA in 1919 when the police went on strike & there were riots. Lots of entertaining racism & violence.

[Baglady]

Recently finished the latest swedish translation of Torture Garden by Octave Mirbeau. Enjoyed it alot. Raphael Freida's old illustrations really added alot to the experience. Wonder if this is where Céline got the idea to use the "..." between almost every sentence?

Currently reading Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Train '72 by Hunter S. Thompson. I was sceptical, reading 500 pages about the '72 election, but it was worth a shot for sure. Lot's of havoc and drama and "why the hell am I doing this anyway..."