Post: #201

How Music Works by David Byrne

Are you a fan of Talking Heads? If so, drop whatever you're reading and pick this up. Do you consider yourself a music geek? If so, make sure that you read this book in the near future. If neither of those describe you, then you might not find this book interesting. I fall into both categories and I was extremely impressed by the amount of research that went into this, as well as the insights into the nature of the music industry. He is fairly liberal, but it doesn't influence his writing except for the occasional snarky comment here and there.

Post: #202

East of Eden.

Amazingly written. Steinbeck is a master.

I'm not sure if I understood all of the themes but I will go back and revisit them.

Post: #203

Outlaw Platoon.

Gives a first-hand insight into what its like to be a platoon leader in war in Afghanistan.

Post: #204

Breakfast with the Dirt Cult by Samuel Finlay.

Semi-autobiographical account of a young soldier's deployment to Afghanistan and return home, written from a VERY red pill perspective. I enjoyed it quite a bit, having had some rather similar experiences.

Post: #205

Revival by Stephen King

Amazingly slow paced. Nothing scary at all until the very, very end, and even at that point it's been such a build up that the shock value kind of loses it.

Post: #206

"Tao Te Ching" by Lao Tzi

Very different from any religious texts i've seen being a Christian. It's very ambiguous but inspires a lot of introspection and actually has some red pill insights. Its structure is "chapters" that are essentially stanzas of about 10-20 lines. Very short read but definitely recommend.

Post: #207

'The Rules of Life' by Richard Templar --> short book that contains 106 rules on how one should live one’s life. I do not agree with all of them but I've nevertheless decided to write them on a small piece of paper which I'll carry with me. Some are really good, for example 'Keep quiet', which seems logical but only after I've read the book and the associated chapter about the rule have I consciously managed to keep my mouth shut when it wanted to open. Recommend.

'The 48 Laws Of Power' by Robert Greene --> boy, oh boy. Much has already been said about this book. I would like to use it as an example to emphasize the positive influence of the Manosphere on young men, such as myself. Had I not stumbled upon this site I would have never heard about this book. It contains a lot practical and applicable knowledge. I've written the laws on another piece of paper and have it with me in my wallet. Can't believe how many situations I've faced already where they helped me. I will be honest; this should be mandatory reading for male students. Much better than semi - philosophical romance melodramas which bore to death.

Post: #208

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

A pretty great ending to a series that I love. The ending was a bit convoluted and the epilogue was awful, but the resolution with Snape was genius and tons of good guys died, which made the story much weightier than the average young adult series. I probably won't read these again for another ten years.

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

One of the best books I have ever read. The setting and characters were so rich and believable. At the end of the book everyone throws a party for Doc and he reads them a poem about lost love that is stunningly beautiful, in fact I'm tempted to memorize it.

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

So, expect to see a total of thirteen entries here from A Series of Unfortunate Events. They're incredible literature and describing them as young adult fiction is very unfair. There is a certain genius to how the author plays with literary conventions and how he manages to make defining words a hilarious gag. This first one is pretty unsettling and a great introduction to this tragic tale.

The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

I love this book so much. I was rolling on the floor when he said that the real lesson to be learned from the boy who cried wolf was to not live in an area where wolf attacks are commonplace. I recommend this to anyone who likes tragic comedy and especially if anyone here has kids. They'll love it.

Post: #209

The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women into Bed by Mystery

Well, this is a very detailed manual. I feel like at least half of it went in one ear and out the other, but I plan on listening to it many times and spending the next few years practicing what he has outlined here.

Post: #210

(05-29-2015 06:58 AM)Honorable Man Wrote:  The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women into Bed by Mystery

Well, this is a very detailed manual. I feel like at least half of it went in one ear and out the other, but I plan on listening to it many times and spending the next few years practicing what he has outlined here.

Have you read BANG? I haven't read MM straight through in a while but read it a long time ago and I think that BANG takes away all of the technical BS that MM puts in. MM is more of a textbook, while BANG is more of a guide.

Post: #211

Of course, I read it before I joined this forum. I haven't read it since then, mostly because I haven't started my approaches yet. I would like to change that this weekend.

Post: #212

A couple of days back I finished reading Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi.

Insightful book that teaches you how to create and maintain relationships and to expand your network. The strategies to approach strangers are also transferable to game.

Some of the key takeaways:
- How to follow up after meeting someone.
- How to deal with gatekeepers.
- Don't keep score.

Post: #213

The Russia-China Axis: The New Cold War and America’s Crisis of Leadership

http://www.amazon.com/The-Russia-China-A...1594037566

Not an affiliate link.

Highly recommended. The authors rail on the Obama administration for systematically failing to combat the resurgence of Russia and China. They cover every aspect from international diplomacy, to military, cyber, economy, etc.

It's not a puff piece for neocon war hawks either. One of the authors was a Democratic strategist.

I'm now halfway through Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia, which was recommended (sort of) on another thread.

My next books:
All the President's Bankers
Private Empire: Exxon Mobil and American Power
Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis
Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else
Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making

Post: #214

Black Passenger Yellow Cabs - Stefhen FD Bryan



Pretty interesting memoir of a Jamaican natural who lives in Japan, plenty of stories of his sexual escapades and commentary on the scene in Japan, sadly he's a feminist spitting out constant Feminist propaganda in his commentary throughout the book.

Roosh also reviewed it.

Post: #215

The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman by Timothy Ferriss

Extremely entertaining. Some of it seems like bullshit, but I would still recommend it to everyone here. The bit on teaching women to orgasm is very interesting and checks out, I was recommended to look into the subject by a sex therapist friend of mine.

Poke the Box by Seth Godin

Very inspirational. It actually gave me an idea on how to earn some money on the side, so I'm very grateful I gave it a listen.

Post: #216

The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket

The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket

Amazing series, and each one is quite short too. These books will make your kids smarter, I'm not even joking.

Post: #217

Haiti: After The Earthquake by Paul Farmer. This was a very interesting book written by American anthropologist and doctor Paul Farmer who is considered to be one of the leading humanitarians involved in Haiti and who has held some very high positions with NGOs there and also was co-chair, along with former US president Clinton of a UN task force dedicated to improving Haiti. The book tells of the immediate hours after the earthquake and the following hours, days, weeks and months leading up to a year after, when the book was written. It also tells us about Haitian history and gives the reader a pretty good idea of why the country was so fucked up before the quake and how the lack of things like decent infrastructure made the effects of quake so much worse. This was a very interesting book and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about Haiti and the role that foreign aid plays in post disaster and post conflict areas.

Post: #218

The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket

The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket

The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket

Post: #219

Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

Post: #220

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut:

Explores themes of free will. Original and odd. Easy read. Brilliant. Illustrated.

Cape Fear by John D. MacDonald

Haunting. Explores the helplessness of our post-modern lives within the legal system opposed to an animal figure willing to do anything to exact revenge with nothing to lose.

Page-turner. Master of suspense. Didn't sleep well when I finished it.

Deep Blue Good-By by John D. MacDonald:

Man makes his extra-legal living by retrieving things of value people have lost, and returning it to them for a 50/50 cut. Lives off proceeds until he runs out of money.

Reminds me of Bill Mason from "Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief." James Bond type protagonist. More good, but slightly bad. But mostly good. But also selfish.

MacDonald totally absorbed me in the book from the first page. Master at his craft. Compelling book. Florida fiction. Created beautiful mental imagery of Fort Lauderdale.

Post: #221

2666 by Roberto Bolano

Good read, I would recommend it. The book is more like 5 smaller works put together that are loosely related. I think I remember reading somewhere that the late author intended for them to be released separately but his wishes were not honored for one reason or another. This was my first time reading Bolano and I would say his style is very observant, but sort of 'rambling'. There are some pages in the book that are one long sentence separated by commas, if that gives you an idea. He often leads you through a thought process where one idea or observation fuels the next, and a paragraph can end up on a totally different subject than it started.

The story first briefly follows the lives of four writing enthusiasts obsessed with a German author, who goes by the name Benno Von Archimboldi. It changes gears and turns into somewhat of a detective novel, diving into a case in Mexico where young women are being raped and murdered. After that, it turns into a biography of sorts, and you learn about Archimboldi. That is about all I can say without giving away spoilers, enjoy.

Post: #222

The economics and politics of race - Thomas Sowell

Post: #223

Inferno by Dan Brown.

This is the first Dan Brown book I've read-- I didn't read The DaVinci Code or any others though I did watch the movie.

Inferno is a solid thriller, with an intriguing plot based on the reality of the growing human population. A genetic scientist decides that it's time to cull the human population in order for the species to survive (would you push a button that would kill half the planet knowing that if you did not push it, the species would be extinct in 100 years?). The scientist is an admirer of Dante and uses the works and artifacts of Dante's life as inspiration for his plan. Harvard Professor Robert Langdon (played by Tom Hanks in the films), along with a brilliant young doctor named Sienna Brooks (who has secrets of her own) partner with the World Health Organization to stop an extinction event before it's too late.

Brown gives a sense of history within the settings in the book of Florence and Venice. Even if you've never read a Dan Brown book before, as I haven't, you will enjoy this book if you're into slightly intellectual thrillers.

Post: #224

The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket

The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket

Post: #225

Mockingbird, Walter Tevis.

It is up there with 1984 and Brave New World but has never enjoyed the huge fanfare of those two books. It certainly deserves it.

Check it out if you enjoy Dystopia-inspired books.