(Part 2) Best essays & correspondence books according to redditors
We found 809 Reddit comments discussing the best essays & correspondence books. We ranked the 366 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
Here's some further reading!
The best and most academically accepted translation of the Dao De Jing
Here, A.C. Graham is an intensely clever and erudite Sinologist - Disupters is definitely a "classic" in the literature of early Eastern philosophy.
Great book on a lesser known section of the Zhuangzi, which Roth shows to be the origin of meditative practice in Daoism. Roth is also my Prof!
A great translation by the same A.C. Graham of most of the chapters of the Zhuangzi. The Zhuangzi, different from the Laozi, uses narratives and short essays in deeply stratified, humorous, and incredibly profound ways well ahead of its time.
Source: I've been studying contemplative practices, cultural anthropology, and Chinese philosophy for most of my undergrad
It’s a Penguin Classic, originally published in 1963. This is a newer printing but definitely an out-of-print title.
https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Lao-Tzu/dp/014044131X
Existentialism and Human Emotions, by Sartre, is only 96 pages and quite an easy read. {ISBN-13: 978-0806509020} Existentialism and the Philosophical Tradition, [Raymond], gives a broad selection of thinkers throughout history, but it is pricey. {ISBN-13: 978-0132957755} Another approach would be texts that are not strictly philosophical yet present some existential points such as: The Plague, The Stranger, and The Rebel, all by Camus, Nausea by Sartre, Notes From Underground, by Dostoevsky, or Waiting For Godot by Beckett
Yeah as /u/engesaurus says, small manageable bits. Don't try and conquer everything all at once. Your transition is your own, and will be unique to you. You can choose to follow how others have chosen to go through their own when it gives you strength, and ignore where it doesn't feel right for you. Feel free to ignore anything I say, its just there if you want it.
Youtube Trans Personalities can be pretty helpful as there are several people who are currently still going through their own transitions and are really up on modern transition issues. Chase Ross and Aaron Ansuini are great for a Transmasculine/Man perspective (I love to watch them even though I am a Trans woman myself, as its great to see how similar the experience is, while being different. I find it very validating and informative, but also relaxing as it means I can stop thinking about my own troubles for a while) and Stef Sanjati is fantastic for a Trans Woman perspective, hands down, she has the best advice I know. There are videos out there to cover almost any topic you can imagine and give you advice and similar experiences to learn from. I personally don't have a Non Binary youtuber I follow so I don't want to recommend any without experience of them, but im sure there are plenty out there.
There are several big boulders that you probably already know are lurking on the horizon. Legal Document Name change stuff, NHS/Private doctor transition stuff, Hormones (If you want them), Gender Therapy, Surgery options (If you want them). Each one can be huge topics to research, and there is a wealth of good info out there that the trans community has gathered, but each one can be pretty scary to start with, so its good to space these out and only approach them one by one when you are collected together enough to deal with the anxiety and stress that getting into them might cause. Once you get into one, break it down into chunks and figure out plans of how you're going to get to where you want. Some things can be done super quickly, some things take steps that will need to be planned out over the next 2-3 years. You choose the pace, and how fast or slow you want to go.
If you are Trans fem, [To My Trans Sisters]
(https://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Trans-Sisters-Charlie-Craggs/dp/1785923439) is an amazing resource for starting out. So much inspiring stuff in there for a new girl on the block. I can not recommend it enough. Seriously feel free to ignore everything else I say, and just get tihs book. It has 100 letters written by the top trans women in their respective careers, including atleast one in the UK Military - Caroline Paige who served as an out Transgender woman for 15 years (and 20 before that in the closet) in the RAF flying Helis in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its filled with their own advice to you, the reader, their new younger sister.
Speaking of siblings. By coming out, you have just joined a giant family of sisters, brothers and siblings. You will never be alone. We all are here to support you and each other. If you ever need help or advice, you only need to ask, we've all been there in some form or another, we were all baby trans once. The trans community has had to forage for itself for so long that it has so much strength and solidarity. There are a lot of different trans specific subreddits which are also worth checking out if you want to find communities to engage with.
Getting together a support network is probably the biggest thing I'd advise, over the internet is good, but real face to face contact is best. People who you can hug, who can hug you back and go on a walk with you in the park. By coming out, you are starting a new page. New rules. It might surprise you who suddenly becomes the strongest friend to you. Reach out to people from your past, or from the present and forge bonds if you can. Now you're able to be yourself properly, you can truly be honest with yourself, and with others, and that can be a huge difference. There will come days where its all a bit much and you need to lean on someone briefly for emotional support. You don't need to shoulder this burden entirely in the dark. The bigger your support team, the more you can accomplish. Finding a big Trans sibling who can give advice and check on you in the early days can also be great.
Be kind to yourself. Don't expect things to be fixed right away, and don't hate yourself when things go slower than youd like. Baby steps every day, and concentrate on survival. Expect yourself to have bad days, build safety nets in advance, safe coping mechanisms, no matter how silly or short term, are still important. Early on, I would bribe myself with a nice item of clothing each time I did something big and scary. Some days you might not be prepared enough to leave your bed, be gentle, don't force yourself if something feels bad. Your mind and body take years to adjust away from the lifetime of institutionalized gender that has been forced on you. I found it helpful to do one thing everyday, so if I couldnt progress with things like legal documents or medical woes, I would do exercises that would specifically target my hips, thighs, and butt.. anything that allows you to show yourself "I'm working on it".
Know that the aware, awake part of you, that you consider you, is generally like a third of you. There is an silent two thirds which is communicating to you through dysphoria (if you suffer from it), through dreams, through general feelings, through subconscious actions. Try to listen to what those parts of your body want as well. The subconcious side of you is generally a better guide of your gender identity as it doesn't try to explain things away. But it does require patience to hear.
Read up on [Dissociativeness and Depersonalization] (https://genderanalysis.net/2017/09/themes-of-depersonalization-in-transgender-autobiographies-jan-morris/) as mental conditions. They are super super common for trans people to do with their subconcious minds being unable to process their physical bodies. As you come out and accept yourself as your real gender, you may find a lot of things suddenly pop up out of no where. Intense emotions may run wild on your ass, and it can be beautiful (support network!)
Quit smoking, hard drugs and alcohol, anything that stresses your liver. These are normally big coping mechanisms that a lot of late appearing trans people use before they come out, but afterwards those things are going to show up heavily in medical tests and delay transition (or endanger it entirely).
Finally, know that things are going to change. Sexuality, dress sense, gender presentation, gender identity.. give yourself time and space to explore things. You don't have to pin anything down right away, and you're allowed to change your mind as you go. Go with what feels right now. If it changes, in the future, then go with what feels right then.
You are starting a beautiful journey. It can be scary, and anxious, and who knows where its going, but it can also at times be exciting and make you feel more alive than youve ever felt before. Physical changes are only one part, there is so much more to enjoy and explore. There is a lot of power to be gained from your transition and what it teaches you. You've already proven yourself to have personal strength by simply figuring out you're trans, and pulling your ass up, out of the fires by yourself. That is no small task and a badge of honour. Right now you're in baby trans phase, ask questions, read current blogs, find role models, stay open, don't feel you have to jump into arguments with transphobes right away. Sit on the sidelines for now, and let other Trans folk take up that fight for now. See the links and articles they refer to. See how they handle the bigots and figure out what works and what doesnt.
If you are a Trans Man, you are a man. If you are Trans Female, you are a woman. If you are Non Binary then you are a Non Binary person. You don't need to do a single thing, change a single thing about yourself to prove that to anyone. You don't owe anyone anything. You don't have to answer any question you don't want to. You don't have to change the world if you don't want to, just figure out who the best you you can possibly be, that you possibly would want to be, and work towards that, day by day.
Good luck lovely. If you ever want to chat I'm just a PM away.
❄️🌸⚪️🌸❄️
I would particularly recommend the novella My Work Is Not Yet Done, perhaps his single finest story, and his non-fiction account of the absolute horror of reality, The Conspiracy Against the Human Race, despite the crummy cover.
Thomas Ligotti - The Conspiracy Against the Human Race is probably the one I can recommend the most.
There's also Better Never to Have Been - David Benatar.
If you think one of them is too expensive tell me.
You could also Studies in Pessimism - Arthur Schopenhauer.
At last I can recommend this article from Richard Dawkins going into why nature pretty much sucks.
The Ray Comfort 150th Anniversary edition is 298 pages with a 50 page forward. The one put out by the NYU Press is 512 pages.
I had a really dark time in my life as well where I turned to music as a main comfort to stay sane. I listened to MOTM 2 by Kid Cudi nearly every day for a year. While there were times I felt like maybe things were better because of this album, I found that nothing had really changed after the year had passed. Music can be therapeutic, but think of it as a very short term fix (like a drug high vs "high off life").
It's been years since that really tough time, and being someone that has dealt with depression for a long time, I've found that while the music was sort of comforting, it doesn't compare to the therapeutic effects of taking action. Instead of stewing in the room with the music on, distracting you from reality, do any action that you feel is productive- it could be something physical like a sport or going to the gym, talking to that one girl you've always liked, beginning to learn that new skill you always wished you had, starting a new business venture----anything that means something to you that you have to work at consistently in order to achieve success in. The point is that while I know you want to be distracted right now, the truth is that music, games and drugs are fun but ultimately aren't lasting solutions to any problem.
If you really insist on just the music, MOTM2 is the way to go from my experience, but just know that it doesn't actually make anything better, only you can do that through your actions. I hope you make it through to the other side of whatever is happening- stay strong!
Here are some links that might help you get pumped up to do the thing you want to do:
www.reddit.com/r/GetMotivated
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYGaXzJGVAQ (David Foster Wallace - This is water commencement speech)
http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Writings-Emerson-Library-Classics/dp/0679783229/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381754376&sr=8-1&keywords=the+essential+writings+of+ralph+waldo+emerson (The essential writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JBu47vDa9Y (Inspiring words from Nas)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJbpHBeVWkA (Motivation from Pharrell)
If you need someone to speak with, PM me.
I recently discovered Wally Lamb and I was surprised I hadn't heard of him before. The two novels that I'm recommending deal with losses. They are what I would describe as "heavy" and deal with very real and raw human emotions.
I know this much is true and
The hour I first believed
To my trans sisters is probably the best place to start. You are trans enough is a logical second, and Trans like me is good too.
Rand's collection called The Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution has an essay titled "The Anti-Industrial Revolution", which addresses environmentalism.
Note: The book is also sold under the title The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution. I am not sure whether there is a difference other than the titles themselves.
Thanks for the response. I'll give a sparce reading list, as I find it pretty extensive.
Zizek:
Zizek has plenty of essays and talks floating around as well, but these books are probably the best--the first and second are the most sustained, the third is a lengthy essay making use of theological resources. The fourth contains essays by Eagleton, Vattimo, and Badiou. The fifth is one where he dialogues with theologians about St. Paul. The sixth is a debate with a theologian about theology. The final is a great collection of people all across the board, mostly Marxists, dealing with theology.
Vattimo:
Eagleton:
Eagleton also specializes in short and helpful articles.
Badiou:
Misc. Authors too extensive to list:
Secondary Literature:
Hopefully someone comes by and expands this list. I've gotta get back to work.
no , just open-minded, what about you ?
EDIT:
here's a quick selection of some of the books from my library list. have you seen/read at least 1 of those?? ;-)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Margins-Reality-Consciousness-Physical-World/dp/1936033003/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Holographic-Universe-Michael-Talbot/dp/0586091718/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Synchronicity-Coincidence-Change-Unlocking-Your/dp/1601631839/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/WILLIAM-WALKER-ATKINSON-Ultimate-Collection-ebook/dp/B01CKHEABK/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Reality-Consciousness-Existence-Paradigm/dp/1590793919/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Course-Miracles-Foundation-Inner-Peace/dp/1883360269/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brief-History-Everything-20th-Anniversary/dp/1611804523/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Biology-Belief-Unleashing-Consciousness-Miracles/dp/1781805474/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Selfish-Gene-Anniversary-Landmark-Science/dp/0198788606/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bhagavad-Easwarans-Classics-Indian-Spirituality/dp/1586380192/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Perceptual-Intelligence-Illusion-Misperception-Self-Deception/dp/160868475X/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brain-Story-You-David-Eagleman/dp/1782116613/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeing-Myself-Out-body-Experiences/dp/1472137361/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seat-Soul-Gary-Zukav/dp/147675540X/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brain-That-Changes-Itself-Frontiers/dp/014103887X/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breaking-Habit-Being-Yourself-Create/dp/1848508565/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Works-Swami-Vivekananda-ebook/dp/B073GYW7W2/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eye-Which-Nothing-Hidden/dp/178180768X/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Consciously-Creating-Circumstances-Winslow-Plummer-ebook/dp/B005NWJKDI/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-Writings-Emerson-Library-Classics/dp/0679783229/
How knowledgeable are you ?
My Asian Religions professor liked to use original texts only in her syllabi. Her reasoning was along the lines of: "why would you read someone else's interpretation when you could read the texts themselves and draw your own conclusions?" I tend to agree with that line of logic (I do understand that books such as the one mentioned can provide a good primer, but you've already that, why not move into the "meat" of the matter?). So, my suggestion would be:
And that should cover a broad range of the "philosophical" side of Taoism. As for the alchemies and the more, shall we say, "eccentric" branches, well, that's a whole different animal. Personally, I haven't delved too much into that side, since there is such an overwhelming amount of texts and practices and schools and etc. However, The Secret of the Golden Flower and Yellow Court Classic are two "big" ones. I'd start there and branch out accordingly.
For the record, that's Ray Comfort's bastardized version of Origin of Species that was passed out for free on several US and Canadian university campuses last year. It gets my goat that I keep finding copies popping up for sale in used bookstores for $5.
It's a goody. See what you think of this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Myth-Sisyphus-Penguin-Great-Ideas/dp/0141023996
Camus was getting at the same idea I think.
for a great overview of plate tectonics, how the process was first discovered, and the history of geology as a whole, check out basin and range by john mcphee. fantastic book.
one of my favorite quotes:
> "If by some fiat I had to restrict all this writing to one sentence, this is the one I would choose: the summit of Mt. Everest is marine limestone."
I thought this was a good take on the topic, but never finished it, pretty miserable. https://www.amazon.com.au/Conspiracy-Against-Human-Thomas-Ligotti/dp/0143133144
For criticism of HPL's works i would highly recommend:
Dissecting Cthulhu
A Subtler Magick: The Writings and Philosophy of H.P. Lovecraft
Lovecraft: Disturbing the Universe
or any volume in the Lovecraft Annual
For Biography on Lovecraft:
H.P. Lovecraft: A Life
...or the expanded version of the above I Am Providence
And Lovecraft's letters (edited and compiled by Joshi) are really the best way to get deep into Lovecraft, although I'll warn you, you really are reading HPL's conversations with his friends, so there is a tremendous amount of biographical detail, but not a terrible amount in the way of talk about his own work. Some of the best:
Letters to James F. Morton
A Means to Freedom: The Letters of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard
O Fortunate Floridian: H.P. Lovecraft's Letters to R.H. Barlow
Kaufmann's translation of TSZ is contained in full in his 'The Portable Nietzsche' Kindle edition here:
https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Nietzsche-Library-ebook/dp/B001R9DI3Y/ref=sr_1_6_twi_kin_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543604107&sr=8-6&keywords=walter+kaufmann
The book also contains several other Nietzsche works, well worth owning in my opinion.
Absolutely. If you're interested in the friendship between them, the collected letters between them have been published in a two-volume set by Hippocampus Press. They're 55 bucks together, but you can sometimes get them for less on eBay, etc.
http://www.amazon.com/Means-Freedom-Letters-Lovecraft-Robert/dp/0984480293
http://www.hippocampuspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_5&products_id=7&zenid=1cd889d3e25ff2304aff7d03300ab221
Some of Howard's best stories are set in the Lovecraft Mythos. Check out stories like "Worms of the Earth" and "The Black Stone." I'd suggest The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard if you're like to read more, though most are available-ish in the public domain:
http://www.amazon.com/Horror-Stories-Robert-E-Howard/dp/0345490207
I'm not an expert on black holes, but I do have a degree in astrophysics, and I think you're misunderstanding the way black holes work. When they take in a lot of matter, they don't "send a ton of it back out." The only things that escape black holes are particles that tunnel through the immense gravitational potential (see Hawking Radiation), and it happens very slowly. The "pillars" you're describing are not made of matter escaping from within the black hole, but rather matter being ejected from the accretion disk without ever having entered the black hole, and there are a few competing theories of how exactly this happens (see Polar Jet).
But with all of that said, you're not the first person to have thought that black holes and baby universes might be related (see Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays).
Edit: fixed a sentence that I realized wasn't clear at all.
The Idea of Communism
Don't know if it's available as e-book. Personally I still like dead trees.
I'm not sure I've mentioned it here yet (the others I probably have) but I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb is one of my favorite books. It's long and heavy, but worth it- I've read it several times.
Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News was a really cool book, the author has a great way with words and it's less Trump-related than you might think.
I also like Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, and classics like Wuthering Heights and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. John Steinbeck is my favorite author and East Of Eden is my favorite book.
Ah, I see. Then this book may be right up your alley, along with Alain Badiou's The Communist Hypothesis.
David Harvey, Andrew Kliman and Richard D. Wolff are all contemporary Marxian economists, albeit with conflicting views, that are all definitely worth checking out.
Ok. Here are four books you might find interesting.
Practicing New Criticism
How Fiction Works
Is There a Text in the Class?
The Anxiety of Influence
A broader piece of advice: buy a Norton Critical Edition of a work you like and check out the essays at the back. If you like a particular theorist, check out their other work.
Have you heard of Peter Hitchens perhaps? The brother of the infamous Atheist Christopher. You might find his work intriguing regarding religion.
Book only I'm afraid, no internet sources that I know of. Allow me to link you up - that first book seems like a joke, but believe me, it's the real deal;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Winnie-Pooh-Pooh-Piglet-Wisdom/dp/0416199259/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1499789804&sr=8-2&keywords=the+tao+of+pooh
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tao-Ching-Classics-Lao-Tzu/dp/014044131X/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499789824&sr=1-14&keywords=the+tao+te+ching
I am a few years older than you and I have been going hard with books lately. It's not amazing, but I am on track to finishing about ~400 books by the time I am 30. I am also going for quality more than quantity. As in, if I feel like I didn't digest a particular book, I will keep at it and put other books on hold.
In any case, here are my top 3 recommendations:
1.) The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson
2.) The 48 Laws of Power
3.) The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Also, Influence by Robert Cialdini is excellent. One of my favorites.
A little cautionary warning about asking people for recommendations though: Be careful about following other people's lists because those book won't vibe with you the same way. Each of us had our own unique life experiences, so you should be ideally choosing your own books. Lists are good for clues/inspiration though. Frequently, books choose me, not the other way around.
Also, try to keep track of the books (and knowledge) you read. I keep a single page HTML page with all the books I read along with a short note in reverse chronological order. I also have the option of putting this list online in the future if I need to.
No problem brother. I forgot to link a book that you might be interested in... Camus' Lyrical and Critical Essays. It's a thin book but very dense and almost requires repeated readings. These are essays that he wrote early in his career before he had fully fleshed out his ideas on philosophy and absurdism but they offer a kind of joyful hope in spite of (or because of) an ultimately meaningless universe.
edit: forgot to add that he shows off a serious talent for the written word... there are some very beautiful passages in there.
The OP specifically mentioned the hardback edition, which is going for $400-$450 on Amazon.
I agree that $36.38 isn't bad for the two-volume paperback edition, but even that might be beyond some people's means.
I'm reading this version at the moment, which I think is the same O'Brien translation? It does throw you in the deep end from the get-go, and it definitely started off way over my head- but I thought that was more just because I don't read much literature (maybe one book per year). I will say that some chapters are much easier to digest than others, but also if I'm not in the right mindset it's just in one ear & out the other. If I've re-read the same paragraph more than 3 times & still don't understand it, I just move past it...
Good to hear his other works are easier to understand in comparison though, maybe I should've chosen a different one to start with!
I happen to have two different translations of this very book right next to me.
On this amazon listing for the book, it lists the translator right next to the author near the top of the page "Thomas Common (Translator) "
I found Walter Kauffman on amazon, and you can get his translation of "TSZ" through The Portable Nietzsche right there on Amazon in paperback, kindle or library binding formats.
Enjoy! As I have.
Honestly, I'm far more into sociology and philosophy than economics so most of my suggestions will be based on those!
I couldn't recommend Camus' The Rebel or
The Myth Of Sisyphous
Ooooh or Jean-Paul Sartre's (or as you may know him: one of the leftists who tried to abolish the age of consent) The Wall or
Existenialism Is A Humanism
These are the kinds of works that inform my worldview more than any other, and I believe them to be great jumping off points into abusrdism and existentialism respectively (though Existenialism Is A Humanism could also be replaced by a much stronger work of his, Being and Nothingness )
The best book I have ever read about writing poetry is Richard Hugo's The Triggering Town: Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing. I honestly cannot recommend it highly enough.
Here are some choice quotes from the book.
I mean, if I'm allowed to enter
Both sharks and vaginas have a substance called Squalane. Squalane exists in shark livers and is also a natural vaginal lubricant.
It's something like a travelogue, but Pecked to Death by Ducks is witty and educational. I can definitely recommend it to someone looking for engaging nonfiction.
The collection of his essays is really good. Covers a broad range of topics, very interesting writing, and you'll feel extraordinarily well-rounded after reading it. I haven't even finished it yet, but I'd definitely recommend it.
Camus' Lyrical and Critical Essays:
http://www.amazon.com/Lyrical-Critical-Essays-Albert-Camus/dp/0394708520
'The Wind at Djemila' and 'The Desert' are two stunning essays.
Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell are two writers who could also offer a different perspective on mortality and life (although they are not strictly 'philosophical' writers).
The Wrong Side and the Right Side
*Realized theres a lot of typos in this transcription. I'd recommend getting This for further readings, including the aforementioned essay.
I thought astrophysics sounded cool when I was 13, too.
Get her The Last Three Minutes and Stephen Hawking's Black Holes and Other Baby Universes.
And take her to a planetarium.
If anyone is interested, Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee is a pretty good book. It talks about moving freight by train, truck and, barge and those moving it.
He's releasing a book of his essays. It's called Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens.
EDITED TO ADD ACTUAL HELP:
I would highly recommend How Fiction Works by James Wood.
---
> tips ... more deeply
FTFY.
Never justified on a moral scale. It is rather hard to explain in forum context without going into lengthy philosophical discussions. I would just recommend reading 'The Rebel' by Albert Camus.
In honor of Christopher Hitchen's passing, read "Arguably" and see how he did this.
The Myth of Sisyphus, by Albert Camus. The discourse on the limits of our understanding and our freedom in futility really helped me with my depression in a very practical sense.
In his book called Black Holes and Baby Universes. He depicted a universe swiss cheeses by black holes, the termini of which balloon into baby universes.
I just found about him this year, but reading him (specially his essays on "arguably" or stuff edited by him, like "the portable atheist") has inspired me not only to be more foursquare and vocal in my stance against the religion I apostatized from, but to rekindle my lukewarm, dormant and forlorn love for poetry and literature, he was an eloquent man, and he has inspired me to be eloquent (and proud of being circumloquent) again, despite my engineering degree and technical day-job.
Adieu, Hitch.
https://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-against-Human-Race-Contrivance/dp/0143133144
I know I am late to the party but I figured I'd ask anyway.
I love all forms of transportation infrastructure. One of my favorite non-fiction books is Uncommon Carriers (except that boring part about canoes). Are there any other good resources where I can get a good narrative description of what your life is like?
And, if you read that book, what did you think of it?
Realistic fiction, since I've done a lot of fantasy in this thread. I'm a big fan of Wally Lamb, She's Come Undone will probably make you cry, and no book has ever spoken to me like I Know This Much is True.
Think that is bad, the more I see stupid shit like that the more I'm starting to think that maybe Ayn Rand was correct when she wrote those many essays that make up the 'Return of the Primitive'
http://www.amazon.com/Pecked-Death-Ducks-Tim-Cahill/dp/0679749292
That is a great travel book, as are many of his other ones.
Botany of Desire
One River
Silent Spring
Basin and Range or most anything by John McPhee
Cadillac Desert
Emerson's Self Reliance and On Intelligence (for starters)
Joseph Campbell's Power of Myth
John Bridges' How To Be A Gentleman
If you're going into business: Sun Tzu's The Art of War
Jean Jacque Rousseau's The Social Contract
These are all non-fiction reads that are meant to build character. Most fiction is meant to engender culture in their readers or inspire philosophical reflection. Non-Fiction is typically more instructional.
There's a book...
https://www.amazon.com/Pecked-Death-Ducks-Tim-Cahill/dp/0679749292
> I think the modern literary novel has to be dull and vague to survive the critics who will pounce on anything that gives them a firm basis for criticism.
... like "having a plot", which James Woods regards as "juvenile".
i took a 4-month trip from SF to Osaka...only flew once from NY to London...it was a great trip...plus moths here and there in about 45 countries...highly recommended...
some other good books
Thanks! I just wish I could say there were more good things on the list.
And thanks for the Patton recommendation, I'll check that out.
I do recommend anything by John McPhee in the strongest possible terms. It's all non-fiction, and always interesting and often very funny, and about a tremendous range of topics.
Like fishing? Read The Founding Fish, which is all about the American Shad, and I mentioned before.
Like boats? Looking For a Ship is about the merchant marine.
Planes, trains, and automobiles (and more boats)? Uncommon Carriers deals with all of them, and why almost all lobster eaten in the US comes from Kentucky.
Care for tales about why New Orleans is doomed, pissing on lava , and debris flows in LA? The Control of Nature covers those.
Fruit? How about Oranges?
Geology? The Annals of the Former World is a compilation of several shorter books more or less following I-80 across the US.
Sports? Tennis (and basketball to a lesser extent). He's also written about lacrosse in various magazines.
...And a ton of other stuff, ranging from bears to farmers markets to nuclear energy to lifting body airplanes to Switzerland.
You really don't want this edition:
https://www.amazon.com/Origin-Species-150th-Anniversary/dp/0882709194
HUGS love you sis! Hang in there!
I found a book that really helps me when I feel down. Its letters from our "big" sisters who have already transitioned and done great things to us younger trans women just starting out.
Physics major here! I loved my writing seminar (Alienation and the Modern Identity), and I found it extremely beneficial. If you have time, read some Nietzsche; I especially liked ON THE GENEALOGY OF MORALS. The Walter Kaufmann translations are good: https://smile.amazon.com/Writings-Nietzsche-Modern-Library-Classics-ebook/dp/B004KABEBU/ and https://smile.amazon.com/Portable-Nietzsche-Library-ebook/dp/B001R9DI3Y/
"Basin and Range" by John McPhee. John McPhee is a very interesting writer. This is his journey from Jersey to the block fault mountains in the West. He accompanies a geologist, who stops at every interesting road cut and explains the deep geological history in each. They drink beer too.
http://www.amazon.com/Basin-Range-John-McPhee/dp/0374516901
Or just go for Amazon; it might not be exactly cheap but it's not hugely expensive either.
If you're interested in writing poetry, I recommend picking up The Triggering Town by Richard Hugo.
here: https://www.amazon.com/Triggering-Town-Lectures-Essays-Writing/dp/039333872X
Here's evidence: http://imgur.com/a/igOtq
It's part of an essay she wrote in 1965 about the UC Berkeley Riots that happened during the previous year.
The essay, titled The Cash-In: The Student "Rebellion" has been published, along with others, in a collection titled The Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution
Well, read instead of whining