Post: #826

Just ended the last week 48 Laws of Power and The natural (Richard la Ruina). Good lectures and you can expect to learn a lot of things from those books.

Post: #827

(04-09-2018 07:08 PM)Bizet Wrote:  Today I finished 'The Way of the Superior Man' by David Deida.

It was an intresting read, although the language was a bit too fruity for my tastes. I definitely learnt a few things from this book though: dealing with women when they're acting crazy, the main differences between the sexes, prioritising your mission over your woman, etc.

The chapter about ejaculation control was probably my favourite, I will definitely be referring to that one again in the future!

For the past ten weeks I've been doing a 100 approach daygame challenge. I'm in my final week of it now. During this challenge women and getting laid has been my number 1 priority. It's been a fun 10 weeks, but a man's life cannot revolve around women.

This book has shown me the next step that needs to be taken after I finish my challenge.

This book lifted me out of my deepest depression around 5 years ago. Audiobook version. Laying on my bed. An hour in out of something like 8 hours. And he simply starts talking about 'what would you do, if money was no issue, recognition no issue, nothing no issue - what would you do for pleasure? really?' some sort of question like that. And as simple as the question was - i'd never asked myself - and it gave me back my identity.

Post: #828

The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M. Cain.

I read this entire book in two days, not hard considering the fact that it's only 115 pages long. This story reminded me of 'The Old Man and the Sea', or 'Of Mice and Men': short, but incredibly powerful.

Great book to read over a rainy weekend.

Post: #829

Skin In The Game- Nassim Taleb

Having trouble distilling the concepts from this book in particular as I've read or audiobook'd every other in the series in the last few months. He first talks about the assumptions we have about our knowledge and why its highly flawed, more recently, he's been talking about the unbalance of accepted structures..

His writing style is hilarious, uber red-pill. Theres a post on him floating around here with a hilarious bio piece done in the Times or Post many years ago.

He's been making the rounds on podcast lately, and ive tried to watch as many youtube vids as possible.

10/10

Based on this book, i've now got Thinking Fast And Slow on audiobook, and the final incerto book, Bed of Procrustes.

Post: #830

I'm trying to read one business related book per month this year. So far I've finished the following:

- The Growth Gears by Art Saxby & Pete Hayes- Decent book on marketing, done as a promotional tool to sell consulting services. It outlines a process for building a customer-focused marketing system.

- How to Become a Rainmaker by Jeffrey Fox - Quick, easy read on how to improve as a salesman. The book is a series of short stories that illustrate key sales ideas. As with anything sales related, this is full of crossover information that applies to game.

- How to Become a Great Boss by Jeffrey Fox- Like Rainmaker, a series of quick stories that explain management concepts.

- Talent Wins by Ram Charan, Dominic Barton, & Dennis Carey - Probably my least favorite read so far this year. Basically it's a guide for how a large company can rethink its approach to HR and talent management in order to succeed in a more competitive landscape with talent in higher demand. I thought it was an interesting concept, but there aren't too many applicable parts for me in my business.

I'm currently working on a collection of Harvard Business School articles, with some books on customer service on deck. I'll post an update when I get through a couple more books.

Post: #831

The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett

Another book that I finished in two days. I just couldn't put it down! This story was very well written and the pace moved along perfectly. It was my first time reading Hammett, and it won't be my last. He's every bit as gritty as Chandler, but I find his prose to be more intelligent. I highly enjoyed this read.

Post: #832

'False Gods' - book 2 in the Warhammer 40k Horus Heresy series. Love the Warhammer 40k universe. It amazes me that they haven't made a movie or five from all these stories. Even an uber-expensive HBO series! Every-time I read a couple of pages I just shake my head at what these dickhead producers are missing out of in terms of spectacle and excitement. One scene in the series describes how an entire continent of one planet was levelled as flat as a runway just in order to receive The Emperor! Also, the violence, special effects and bloodshed would be incredible to see.

There is an established cast of fleshed-out characters just waiting to be placed on-screen! Although casting Horus, and indeed The Emperor of Mankind might be tricky. Maybe I should be careful what I wish for, as they would just ruin it.

Post: #833

Finished in the last two weeks:

The Double, José Saramago

first time I read it was more than 10 years ago, but since he's one of my favorite fiction writers I'm revisiting the ones I liked the most. The original portuguese should translate more to 'Duplicated Man', instead of simply 'the double'. Expertly written, a page turner, you could even call it a thriller of sorts. A middle-aged History teacher in Highschool finds that there is a man (a secondary actor in a movie) who is not just incredibly similar to him - it is an exact copy. Finding who the man is and how to get in contact with him becomes an obsession. He is divorced and has a 'girlfriend' of sorts, wants to break up but can never find the courage to do so, ends up involving her in his quest. I remembered I'd liked it, but luckily had forgotten the particulars of the narrative. There are two great twists at the end, one of them is foreshadowed, the other not so much. The book deals with questions of identity, of course, but also on what gives meaning to life and adaptation to new circumstances. Keeps you at the edge of your seat - I have lost much of my ability to enjoy fiction in the last few years but this one I couldn't put down and finished in a week. Great book. 4.5/5.

Rational Male, Rollo Tomassi

I browsed the blog a lot and found it would be much better to read the books instead of siting in front of the PC. So I bought it. I liked the theoretical, psychological approach he takes - not just explaining the pick up art, but explaining why it works. It is good for any man to learn about female nature, and unveiling the many lies (and reasons for the lies) about masculinity and femininity. He can get too 'philosophical' at times, but for my sort of mind it works. Might not be for everyone. His writing style, too, is not for everyone - and he isn't the most exciting writer for sure, but the ideas expressed and the depths he goes into work for me. One major flaw is that it contains many errors due to lack or poor revision - but since it's a self-published book I can't fault it that much. I know how hard it is to do something like it, and still appreciated the book. Very good. 4/5

Industrial Society and Its Future, Theodore Kaczynski (aka Unabomber)

Technically not a book (I encourage you to read the history on it), it was his manifesto and a short one. Another re-read, also from more than ten years ago. I remember being fascinated by his ideas when I first read it, and they had been coming back to me as I think more about social, economic and political organization and realizing that, although uncomfortable, he might have been right all along. The thesis is that the industrial society has created a society which leads necessarily to more loss of freedom and the power process, it's necessarily disruptive of traditional ways of life and human nature and, because of this, creates a society in which the people must be constantly immersed in entertainment, drugs and other sorts of activities to forget that their way of life is unnatural. His analysis of leftism as a psychological phenomenon is prescient for the time (1995), you will recognize the mental skeleton of the SJW in it, even though it was only beginning to show when he wrote it. The biggest flaw in the book is that he doesn't offer much in terms of strategy (though he admits this), but reading it the second time I couldn't really find any holes in his theory. Globalism becomes much easier to understand when you realize that the theory comes after the technical possibilities, and that they create the ideology for their own perpetuation, instead of the other way around (even though he never mentions the term, you can read it between the lines). Highly recommended. 4.5/5

Post: #834

Downloaded a copy of Bang the High Seas from another site. Roosh's style is definitely changing as he grows older. There is a lot less needless profanity and pointless misogyny in this book, and there is a lot more hard info, as compared to the endless waffle that he used as filler in his earlier books. It seems he is also coming to grips with the aging process and even learning how to take advantage of the benefits of being an older gentleman.

Post: #835

(04-26-2018 11:29 PM)chinadoc Wrote:  Downloaded a copy of Bang the High Seas from another site. Roosh's style is definitely changing as he grows older. There is a lot less needless profanity and pointless misogyny in this book, and there is a lot more hard info, as compared to the endless waffle that he used as filler in his earlier books. It seems he is also coming to grips with the aging process and even learning how to take advantage of the benefits of being an older gentleman.

Post: #836

Damning With Faint Praise Age Shaming Troll.

New one.

Post: #837

I seem to be going through a phase of not finishing books because I’m finding them dull, poorly written or repetitive. In previous years I have slogged through to the end of such books but I no longer feel like I’ve got the time to waste on them.

Anyway, it’s been a while since I posted in this thread so here is what I’ve read recently;

Guérilla marketing - jay conrad levinson.

A marketing classic and although a little outdated still a good introduction as to what marketing is and how to do it well.

Your brain on porn - Gary Wilson

An interesting short read on what porn does to your brain and why it’s bad

Fingerprints of the gods - graham Hancock

Fascinating book about a lost civilisation and mythology through the ages. Also incredibly interesting stuff about the tech and complicated ness of the pyramids and various other historic structures.

Curse of the high iq - Aaron Clarey

Short book, tells you why you feel like a bit of an outcast and a misfit if you’re smart and why it’s difficult to communicate with people less smart than you.

Trump - the art of the deal

Surprisingly good book on deal making and getting things done

The road to Wigan pier - George Orwell

Observation of industrial revolution Britain at the turn of the century. Got repetitive and so unfinished. The description of the scenes in the mines was amazing though.

Growth hacker marketing - Ryan holiday

Book about rushing products to market and then testing what works life as apposés to coming to market with a finished product. This book was useful this ski season.

Carrier pilot - Norman Hanson

Great tale of a guy who signed up to be a pilot on aircraft carriers in the Second World War. It seems they more or less learnt by trial and error. This guy beat the odds to come out alive

The first crossing of Greenland - fridtjof Nansen

One of the best books I’ve ever read. Nansen and his crew set out to cross the middle of un explored Greenland. They spend about a month floating about on drift ice, eventually cross Greenland and then miss the boat back so spend a winter in Greenland living with eskimos.
All happened around 1900. Proper stoic gentleman explorer stuff.

The rational male positive masculinity - Rollo tomassi

Rollo banging on about hypergamy again. This time he’s jumping off the deep end with long long chapters that essentially all say the same thing. He put great emphasis on his blog that there would be much about red pill parenting. There isn’t and it’s the usual old stuff. His writing style makes him very very difficult to read. Unfinished.

Currently reading - positioning, the battle for your mind - al rise and jack trout.

Supposed to be another marketing classic. Interesting so far.

Post: #838

Forgot one

Married man sex life -athol kay

Read on the recommendation of a few guys in the family forum.

I just stopped reading this book the moment I got 75percent of the way through and he drops the fact that him and his wife were both virgins when they met and then got married.

I literally deleted the book off my kindle at that page.

As I was reading it I was thinking that it was just re hashed shit that I had read here or various other game and manosphere blogs.

You can’t write a book about coming into a marriage as a fucking virgins and then claiming alpha traits and blending them with being a bit beta sometimes as well as claiming some sort of fantastic sex life with your wife.

It’s a bullshit book and the guy is a fraud. Do not buy.

Post: #839

One of my favorite directors, Jeremy Saulnier, is adapting a book called Hold the Dark.

I finished reading it recently. McCarthy-esque and ultra violent. I found the conclusion confusing but I think it will make for one hell of a movie.

Post: #840

Staying with the classics, I have finished "The Count of Monte Cristo." It is a long book, but a relatively easy read, with short chapters. The reason for the length, short chapters and easy level of difficulty is because it was a serial story in the papers originally.

To avoid spoiling too much, it is about a man who breaks out of prison, inherits a fortune, and seeks revenge from those who put him in prison. They made a movie with Jim Caviezel as the main character. While a good rendition it was heavily abridged compared to the book. You will know the general plot, but there are a lot more twists and turns in the book. Overall I liked it quite a bit, and with many classics that I end up reading, I would recommend this one as well.

Post: #841

Has anyone read "Godel, Escher, Bach"?

I got half way through it a few years back or rather sort of skimmed the best bits before life took a twist. I always come back to it and end up referencing it all the same.

It ties in mathematics, art, music, consciousness and intelligence.

It even throws in a bit of religion as well, but in a very interesting way.

It's a book that a lot of people read when they study computer programming.

There's even a whole university course on it as well iirc.

Anyway, I never read it, just wondering if anyone else did?

Post: #842

"The Man Who Was Tuesday" by G.K. Chesterton.

Given his reputation for pithy observations and aphorisms, I expected something far different from what I got. There were maybe a half-dozen good lines in the whole book, a novel I'm told is considered to be his best.

It wasn't overtly bad, but neither was it particularly good. It starts out as a semi-absurdist take on spy thrillers, with an unlikely protagonist using improbable means to infiltrate an anarchist cabal. The story moves swiftly as he discovers a plot to murder the Russian ambassador and French President in Paris and works to thwart it. Further improbable events ensue, turning the absurdity into farce. And then...the story completely bogs down about two-thirds of the way through, with the protagonist and his unlikely comrades being tediously chased across Normandy.

After the chase concludes, the story goes completely off the rails at the end in much the same way "Lost" did. Imagine a parody of a Bond movie, making fun of the various spy-thriller tropes, building up to a big set-piece in the second half of the third act - and then abruptly becoming a deadly-earnest but incomprehensible religious allegory.

I'm not averse to allegory or mysticism in novels, if it's done well and you can understand the author's point without being a religious scholar. But this was surprisingly slapdash. Reading it was not a productive use of my time.

Post: #843

(05-09-2018 07:46 PM)Bluto Wrote:  Staying with the classics, I have finished "The Count of Monte Cristo." It is a long book, but a relatively easy read, with short chapters. The reason for the length, short chapters and easy level of difficulty is because it was a serial story in the papers originally.

To avoid spoiling too much, it is about a man who breaks out of prison, inherits a fortune, and seeks revenge from those who put him in prison. They made a movie with Jim Caviezel as the main character. While a good rendition it was heavily abridged compared to the book. You will know the general plot, but there are a lot more twists and turns in the book. Overall I liked it quite a bit, and with many classics that I end up reading, I would recommend this one as well.

One of my favourite books of all time! Definitely one I'd take with me to a desert island. The Jim Caviezel movie wasn't bad at all even though it was heavily condensed like you say. I'm actually surprised it hasn't been given the big-budget HBO treatment as it ticks all the boxes.

The central theme of a wronged character transforming his mind and body (monk-mode x1000!!) for years in a hellish prison under the tutelage of a wise old master, with nothing but revenge on his mind, and then being unleashed on an unexpected society is a time-worn one now, but that's largely because of this book. And it hasn't been bettered since.

It also has to be one of the most quotable books of all time. Apologies for the abundance of quotes, but I have ten times as many written down from this book and I struggled to leave so many out!


"Count of Monte Cristo: [to Fernand Mondego] May I steal your wife?
Fernand: Excuse me?
Count of Monte Cristo: For the waltz?


"Edmond: Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you: as Albert Mondego, the man!"


"Edmond: There are 72,519 stones in my walls. I've counted them many times.
Abbe Faria: But have you named them yet?"


"Luigi: Oh, and by the way, Jacopo is the best knife fighter I have ever seen.
Edmond: Perhaps you should get out more.


"Abbe Faria: Define Economics.
Edmond: Economics is a science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of commodities.
Abbe Faria: Translation?
Edmond: Dig first, money later.


“How did I escape? With difficulty. How did I plan this moment? With pleasure.”


“The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates.”


“So, preferring death to capture, I accomplished the most astonishing deeds, and which, more then once, showed me that the too great care we take of our bodies is the only obstacle to the sucess of those projects which require rapid decision, and vigorous and determined execution.
In reality, when you have once devoted your life to your enterprises, you are no longer the equal of other men, or, rather, other men are no longer your equals, and whosoever has taken this resolution, feels his strength and resources doubled.”


“Perhaps what I am about to say will appear strange to you gentlemen, socialists, progressives, humanitarians as you are, but I never worry about my neighbor, I never try to protect society which does not protect me -- indeed, I might add, which generally takes no heed of me except to do me harm -- and, since I hold them low in my esteem and remain neutral towards them, I believe that society and my neighbor are in my debt.”


“I don’t think man was meant to attain happiness so easily. Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it.”


“In every country where independence has taken the place of liberty, the first desire of a manly heart is to possess a weapon which at once renders him capable of defence or attack, and, by rendering its owner fearsome, makes him feared.”

Awesome book indeed. They don't write 'em like that anymore.

Post: #844

One of the reasons I studied French was to read The Count of Monte Cristo in the original text. I still haven't done it though

For guys who have read the French, how hard is the vocabulary and the writing?

Post: #845

(05-10-2018 11:37 AM)TigerMandingo Wrote:  One of the reasons I studied French was to read The Count of Monte Cristo in the original text. I still haven't done it though

For guys who have read the French, how hard is the vocabulary and the writing?

This book has got me interested in Victor Hugo, and obviously some of Dumas other works as well. I am adding them to the list with Dickens, and O'Brien right now.

Post: #846

(05-10-2018 03:26 AM)Richard Turpin Wrote:  

(05-09-2018 07:46 PM)Bluto Wrote:  Staying with the classics, I have finished "The Count of Monte Cristo." It is a long book, but a relatively easy read, with short chapters. The reason for the length, short chapters and easy level of difficulty is because it was a serial story in the papers originally.

To avoid spoiling too much, it is about a man who breaks out of prison, inherits a fortune, and seeks revenge from those who put him in prison. They made a movie with Jim Caviezel as the main character. While a good rendition it was heavily abridged compared to the book. You will know the general plot, but there are a lot more twists and turns in the book. Overall I liked it quite a bit, and with many classics that I end up reading, I would recommend this one as well.

One of my favourite books of all time! Definitely one I'd take with me to a desert island. The Jim Caviezel movie wasn't bad at all even though it was heavily condensed like you say. I'm actually surprised it hasn't been given the big-budget HBO treatment as it ticks all the boxes.

The central theme of a wronged character transforming his mind and body (monk-mode x1000!!) for years in a hellish prison under the tutelage of a wise old master, with nothing but revenge on his mind, and then being unleashed on an unexpected society is a time-worn one now, but that's largely because of this book. And it hasn't been bettered since.

It also has to be one of the most quotable books of all time. Apologies for the abundance of quotes, but I have ten times as many written down from this book and I struggled to leave so many out!


"Count of Monte Cristo: [to Fernand Mondego] May I steal your wife?
Fernand: Excuse me?
Count of Monte Cristo: For the waltz?


"Edmond: Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you: as Albert Mondego, the man!"


"Edmond: There are 72,519 stones in my walls. I've counted them many times.
Abbe Faria: But have you named them yet?"


"Luigi: Oh, and by the way, Jacopo is the best knife fighter I have ever seen.
Edmond: Perhaps you should get out more.


"Abbe Faria: Define Economics.
Edmond: Economics is a science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of commodities.
Abbe Faria: Translation?
Edmond: Dig first, money later.


“How did I escape? With difficulty. How did I plan this moment? With pleasure.”


“The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates.”


“So, preferring death to capture, I accomplished the most astonishing deeds, and which, more then once, showed me that the too great care we take of our bodies is the only obstacle to the sucess of those projects which require rapid decision, and vigorous and determined execution.
In reality, when you have once devoted your life to your enterprises, you are no longer the equal of other men, or, rather, other men are no longer your equals, and whosoever has taken this resolution, feels his strength and resources doubled.”


“Perhaps what I am about to say will appear strange to you gentlemen, socialists, progressives, humanitarians as you are, but I never worry about my neighbor, I never try to protect society which does not protect me -- indeed, I might add, which generally takes no heed of me except to do me harm -- and, since I hold them low in my esteem and remain neutral towards them, I believe that society and my neighbor are in my debt.”


“I don’t think man was meant to attain happiness so easily. Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it.”


“In every country where independence has taken the place of liberty, the first desire of a manly heart is to possess a weapon which at once renders him capable of defence or attack, and, by rendering its owner fearsome, makes him feared.”

Awesome book indeed. They don't write 'em like that anymore.

I'm not, no trannys, fags or misandric man hating women in girl-power armor.

Honestly, I did not read for any quotation, I was just getting immersed in the book on this round. As it was easy to read I may re-read it once again down the line. You are right about the quotations, all very good, that translate well in this time period.

You are 100% correct in that they don't write them like that any more. I have been on a classic binge as of late. Still looking for some good German authors, as I never read anything from them, even though I took German in school. Likewise for Italian or Spanish.

Post: #847

Has anyone read Testosterone Rex? Thoughts?

Post: #848

The Count of Monte Cristo is a classic, nice post.

Nothing on the forum about Loukis Laras, a 19th century Greek novel about a man's journey during the Greek war of independence from the Turks.

I finished this book a few years ago after picking it up in Athens, but just realized I left it with an ex, and won't be getting it back unfortunately.

It's a true masculine story, not some Hollywood 'masculinity' but a true tale of honor, loyalty, family, hard work, and perseverance.

It's a free download here

Post: #849

Just finished a quick one, "The Dilbert Future" by Scott Adams. Unlike most other cartoonists who create anthologies, or talk about why they made this cartoon, Scott goes in a different route in some of his books. Scott writes sarcastic, "tongue in cheek" novels that use a liberal use of his cartoons.

In the Dilbert Future, he basically states that people are not going to get physically smarter any time soon, and basically the world will be for the most part be just as dysfunctional it was in 1996. Ironically he actually was very close in his predictions to what we see now:

- Engineers will be hired like they are in the NBA Draft.

- Most companies will figure out any way to hire temps, and use them like dog shit.

- Everyone will be a Journalist

- The internet will be ubiquitous in the world.

- You will apply to jobs basically all over the world, and the good ones will let you work from home.

Compared to my other reviews of the classics this one was like eating a bag of Cheetos; fun to do but cant live off of it. Overall it is an amusing read, and I would recommend his work for the entertainment purposes alone.

Post: #850

(05-14-2018 08:41 AM)Pride male Wrote:  Has anyone read Testosterone Rex? Thoughts?

A co-worker of mine recommended her other book: Delusions of Gender. i have no interest in reading it. I already know the conclusion of both of these books: Gender roles are social constructs with no basis in biology.

Hmmm...

How does she reach this conclusion? Based on reviews of her books I've read, she just makes straw-man arguments attacking claims about gender only the ignorant make.

Would be interested in actual feedback on the book though.