Unofficial What are you Reading Thread?

[Payne]

'The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail'

I read it a few years back and thought it was an awesome book. Re-reading it with all that I have learnt and experienced in that time, it's still awesome, but for completely different reasons.

[Cain]

There are some interesting facts in there.  You just have to remember that the Priory of Sion exists now, but never existed in the past.

And Henry Lincoln wrote Doctor Who scripts.

[Payne]

The Priory of Sion was a complete hoax, said Plantard in the 90's.

The mindset of someone who basically created such an elaborate hoax with no obvious immediate benefit is quite fascinating, even if it's not something I feel I could emulate.

[Cain]

I'm not sure there was no benefit.  He got to hobnob with some fairly interesting and rich people.  Not to mention he apparently had links with the Grand Alpina lodge, who had fingers in lots of dubious business.

[indigoblade]

metamorphosis again yay

[LMNO]

My mom has announced she is about to read "Black Swan".

More as the situation develops.

[Xooxe]

Not reading them yet, but I just placed orders for The Romance of the Three Kingdoms with money from my birthday and Xmas.  The Romance is essentially the Chinese version of the Iliad, a hugely influential work filled with larger than life figures set against the backdrop of a massive war.  Starting with the disintegration of the Han Dynasty, it follows the breakup of China and the scheming and battles from various factions that arose during the time. 

Arrived today.  So far so good.  I'm actually reminded in part of Fire and Ice, simply for the level of backstabbing side-swapping nastiness that has gone on so far.

Turns out the complete novel is 1300 pages, too.  This may take a while...

I don't read much fiction, but I was always interested in this. When you've finished tell us your thoughts.

[Cain]

Well, so far I have learnt a few things.

1. Cao-Cao really is the series butt-monkey.  If you need someone to take a fall, without dying, he is your man.  He'll always bounce back.
2.  Lu-Pu must've had a really bad childhood, to grow up with chronic backstabbing disorder.
3.  Zhuge Liang ain't nothing to fuck with.  Ever. 
4.  Lu Pei is alignment Stupid Good, and I'm almost certain his high minded idiocy will end up getting him killed at some point.  Even with Zhuge Liang at his back.

Its a good book, and very readable, but there are LOTS of characters.  I would highly suggest reading it with a notebook, just so you can keep up with who is meant to be on what side.  It doesn't help that with transliterated Chinese names, most people who don't speak the language tend to glaze over after a while.  The plot tends to switch between distressing speed (several rebellions in the first few chapters) and strange slowness.

Also, have currently been reading:

Sheppard, Ben, The Psychology of Strategic Terrorism, New York, Routledge, 2009
Held, Virginia, How Terrorism Is Wrong: The Morality of Political Violence, New York, Oxford University Press, 2008
Rinehart, James, Apocalyptic Violence and Political Violence, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006
Coker, Christopher, The Warrior Ethos: Military Culture and the War on Terror, New York, Routledge, 2007
Lutz, James M. and Brenda J, Terrorism: Origins and Evolution, New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005
Thompson, Janice E, Mercenaries, Pirates and Sovereigns: State-Building and Extraterritorial Violence in Early Modern Europe, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1994
Horgan, John, The Psychology of Terrorism, New York, Routledge, 2003
Post, Jerrold, The Mind of the Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from The IRA to Al-Qaeda, New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007
Sageman, Marc, Understanding Terror Networks, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004
Chaliand, Gerard and Bin, Arnaud, The History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to Al-Qaeda, Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 2007
Soeters, Joseph L., Ethnic Conflict and Terrorism: The Origin and Dynamics of Civil Wars, New York, Routledge, 2005
Bobbitt, Philip, Terror and Consent: The Wars for the 21st Century, Allen Lane Publishing, 2008
G. E. Kelly, Mark, The Political Philosophy of Michel Foucault, New York, Routledge, 2009
Odysseos, Louiza and Petito, Fabio, The International Political Thought of Carl Schmitt: Terror, liberal war and the crisis of global order, New York, Routledge, 2007

[the last yatto]

added to wish list: http://www.amazon.com/Crimes-Against-Logic-Politicians-Journalists/dp/0071446435

[That One Guy]

I just started re-reading Anathem (Neal Stephenson). I read it over the holiday/new year's stretch, but now I'm looking to get a bit more into the small details of the story that I tend to miss the first time through any book as I'm concentrating more on broad plots and character development than the little details that foreshadow later developments.

I really liked the book the first time through, so I'm looking forward to catching all those little things I missed 

[Jasper]

I'll read Mind Performance Hacks at the gym today.

[Cain]

Got bored of terrorism.  So I chucked all that aside and went for War, Diplomacy and the Rise of the Savoy 1690-1720, by Christopher Storrs. 

[Cain]

Done with the Savoy, for now.

Just downloading Zizek's Violence which will hopefully be very interesting.  Some of his thoughts on political violence in Lost Causes looked interesting, and I had hoped he would pursue something along those lines more at a later date.  Of course, knowing Zizek, it will no doubt end up in a dizzying array of diverging and interesting, if somewhat unrelated, points and observations, but I can deal with that.  And also, since Zizek has a tendency to take the longer view, hopefully there will be some material on the historical construction of various violent crimes that I can use...or at least an interesting framework I can contrast my own research with.

[Jasper]

Mind Performance Hacks was a good read.  Would people be interested in a recap thread?

[Bu🤠ns]

Mind Performance Hacks was a good read.  Would people be interested in a recap thread?

actually yes... i think i read it a couple months ago. maybe it was just 'Mind Hacks'...regardless go ahead.