Post: #101

In Praise of Commercial Culture by economist Tyler Cowen

I am eventually going to drop a larger data sheet on this one since some of the book's content relates to the everyday culture war issues that come up on this forum and ROK.

In the book, Cowen runs a contrarian argument against the conventional leftist wisdom that free market capitalism discourages music, literature, and the visual arts. Cowen argues that the capitalist market economy is a vital institution for supporting artistic visions, providing a steady stream of new and satisfying creations, supporting both high and low culture. In essence there are two tribes, cultural optimists and cultural pessimists, and Cowen spends the latter half of the book explaining why cultural pessimism holds such a great weight on public intellectuals and opinion-makers. It was an extremely thought-provoking read.

Post: #102

I'll start posting more in here.

I recently read Pacific Crucible by Ian Toll. Excellent, excellent history book. Roosh actually wrote a review here a while back:

http://www.rooshv.com/more-book-reviews-13

He has an in depth review, but basically the author covers American naval operations in the pacific in 1941-42. This includes the bombing at Pearl Harbor, the Battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, Dootlitte's raid and more.

Post: #103

January:

The Art of Persuasion -- Bob Burg
The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway -- Ernest Hemingway
Snow Crash -- Neil Stephenson
The Little Book That Beats the Market -- Joel Greenblatt
The Dhandho Investor -- Monish Pabrai

February:

Foundation -- Isaac Asimov
The Forever War -- Joe Haldeman
How to Stay in Hell -- Y.O.U.
I Am Legend -- Richard Matheson
Human Accomplishment -- Charles Murray
The Drowned World -- J. G. Ballard

Currently reading: Catch-22 -- Joseph Heller

Post: #104

The Kings of Cool
Don Winslow

Post: #105

This is actually my first King book and I was blown away. It's a very long novel -my paperwhite said 1320 pages, but it was well worth it. There was a chapter where he introduced a new character and I was very close to putting the book down. I felt like it was dragging on and there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but I decided to stick with it. I'm glad I did.

I don't want to give away too much, let's just say if you like The Road, you'll like this -I think this book is substantially better though. Try not to read any reviews on Amazon, it would be amazing to go into this story without knowing anything about it.

Post: #106

I have read more books in the last month than in the entire previous year.

Bang: The Pickup Bible That Helps You Get More Lays by Roosh V

The reason why I'm here. Roosh is someone who was born to lead and teach men, and I want to learn as much as I can.

The Way of Men by Jack Donovan

The reason for my username. I am not yet an honorable man, but it is now my main goal in life. I read this book due to Roosh recommending it.

Fight: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Ass-Kicking but Were Afraid You'd Get Your Ass Kicked for Asking by Eugene S. Robinson

I picked this up because of the intriguing title and I could barely put it down until I had finished it. It is less a book about how to fight and more a book interviewing the masters of many different forms of fighting.

Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner

I learned a lot from this book about how these economists view the world. I am now always looking for the incentive behind anyone's actions. I am very interested in reading their other books.

What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings--and Life by Laura Vanderkam

This was pretty short but did manage to stress the importance of spending time on things that matter to you in the morning, most especially exercise, because it is the time of day when you have the most potential energy.

Post: #107

(03-04-2015 07:10 PM)Monty_Brogan Wrote:  

The art here is very intriguing. I'll add it to my reading list.

Post: #108

How to Make Someone Fall in Love With You in 90 Minutes or Less by Nicholas Boothman

Very interesting, especially when dealing with personality types and what makes people compatible in relationships. A lot of this advice involved building a social circle, something I need to do. I will return to this book again.

Another Fine Myth by Robert Asprin

A fantasy classic from my Dad's generation. Check it out if you enjoy alternate dimensions, baby dragons, and puns. Lots of puns.

Post: #109

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. Lots of red pill scattered throughout the book, but the call to action was disappointing at best.

Post: #110

I just bought a book called The way of men. Has anybody read it? It's supposed to teach men how to be men in a world that is feminizing us.

Post: #111

Just finished reading this:



It's a really good read on a defining war in Korea that basically sets up the entire stage for Japanese Imperialism way before WW2. Most western people/Americans don't widely know about this war, but the book really brings the conflict to life.

Post: #112

Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance

Post: #113

(03-07-2015 05:59 PM)Honorable Man Wrote:  

(03-04-2015 07:10 PM)Monty_Brogan Wrote:  

The art here is very intriguing. I'll add it to my reading list.

One of my favorites by King. Another good one if you like epic-like fantasies is The Talisman, written by him and Peter Straub.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #114

Tough Guy. Bob Probert's autobiography.

For those unfamiliar with him, Probert was a pro hockey player who played for Detroit and Chicago from the late 80's to early 00's. Known for being a scrapper, he was a big time partier and booze hound. He was also into coke a bit. It was a great book for anyone interested in what life as a pro hockey player was like. His account of getting arrested for possession at the Detroit border was nerve wracking. Sadly, he died a couple years ago of a heart attack while boating with his family.

Of the autobiographies written by NHL-ers that I've read, his was one of the better ones.

Post: #115

Just finished The Reluctant Fundamentalist--it wasn't as good as I'd hoped but overall solid enough.



There are moments when it feels like a leftist's fantasy: an ordinary man who loves America but after 9/11 experiences harassment at the airport and on the street for being Muslim, observes the decisions of the U.S. to invade Iraq, and picking up on the entitled attitudes of (white) Americans decides to become radicalized.

Yet there were some interesting passages when the dude falls in love with a girl who has some combination of bipolar and depression (my diagnosis not the book's) and is emotionally and sexually evasive. This seemed like a legitimate enough reason to push a young man over the edge and do something stupid so I was intrigued. There is plenty of great analysis on manosphere sites about sexually frustrated young guys acting out. The character is blue pill in his beliefs about women and that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

My major complaint is that there is next to no mention of religion in a book called The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

The reader has no insight as to what factor faith plays in this man's decision to become an enemy of the West.

Post: #116

Myth Conceptions by Robert Asprin

Ugh, I'm hooked again. They are very light and fluffy fantasy books and worth the quick read. This entry in the series reminds me of Seven Samurai, but with more puns.

Post: #117

"Norwegian Wood"
by Haruki Murakami

Beautifully written, his way with words is unparalleled.

Post: #118

Enjoy the Decline - Aaron Clarey

I believe some already know about this book. I picked it up after reading his other book named 'Bachelor Pad Economics'. Talks about the decline of USA and how to make most of it. Puts things into perspective and made me a bit more happy knowing that I'm not alone who thinks this way.

Liked both books. He writes as I like - concise, to the point and without bullshit. One thing I would criticize though is the text formatting - I hate it when text lines are not alligned. Purely subjective aesthetic criticism, it does not dimnish the messages in his books which I believe are very important for every man (no matter the age) to read, think and ponder about.

Next book I'll read is his 'Worthless' which tells young men on how to pick the right college. I'd like to read it because I'd like to help my brother pick something good and 'not follow his heart', because the money then will not flow... only debts, depression, anger and frustration.

Post: #119

The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History by John Ortved

Well, I'm happy to have finished it. The author's actual writing did not impress me and sometimes his negative commentary on other shows would make me cringe. It was completely worth it for all of the quotes, stories, and secrets from the people who worked on the series while it was considered the best show on television. The funny thing is that I've only seen a handful of episodes. I will change this, I promise.

Post: #120

The German Genius by Peter Watson.

This was a monster of a book 900~ pages. I started reading it around Christmastime, so it took nearly 3 months to finish. During that time I was also reading other books but I still regret it taking so long.

The book is a narrative full of facts and anecdotes about German contribution to western civilization. Anyone who is curious about the intellectual history of German thought--contributions ranging from Idealism and Romanticism, to the invention of aspirin, to the movement of 1968 should check out this book. It's all encompassing, giving close attention to philosophy, history, science, literature, art, and music.

It does pay a fair amount of attention to the 1933-1945 era as well, and offers a variety of theories from various historians and the author himself as to what sort of ideas and circumstances led to Hitler. However, the purpose of the book is to give attention to the other aspects of German thought that are not nearly so well-known. Recommended.

Post: #121

I finished reading George Orwell's Animal Farm this weekend. All i can say is, what a great book! Although you can see where the story is going, he still manages to beautiful word it with the right amount of emotion. I can say I felt really sad and got a bit teary-eyed when poor boxer was brought away. Oh, wait. is that beta?

Next up is Orwell's 1984.

Post: #122

Animal Farm is great. 1984 is one of the greatest.

Post: #123

(03-19-2015 10:51 PM)Honorable Man Wrote:  Animal Farm is great. 1984 is one of the greatest.

I loved 1984, yet somehow missed Animal Farm. Thanks for reminding me.

In the past month, I finished 4 books, all of which have been discussed before here or in other threads, so I won't go into much detail:

The 48 Laws of Power: Robert Greene
The Copywriter's Handbook: Bob Bly
Bachelor Pad Economics: Aaron Clarey
The Entrepreneur's Guide To Getting Your Shit Together: John Carlton

48 Laws was one of the best books I've ever read. Bly's copywriting book was good, but didn't "wow" me. I've already read three similar books by different authors, so a lot of the information has been gone over before. Overall solid, though. Aaron Clarey's book should be required reading for any guy in high school. If I thought there was any chance in hell my brother would read it, I'd buy it for him.

The Entrepreneur's Guide was a fantastic read. Again, a lot of the copywriting info in the how-to books is similar--but Carlton may very well be a forum lurker. He spits the truth one can only gain from decades of wisdom, and would make a hell of an RoK contributor if he wasn't busy shitting solid gold and bumming around his house in sweat pants. What makes his book a notch above the other copywriting books I've read is that the man is a natural storyteller, and even though roughly half of the book is made of anecdotes and digressions, they always wound back to relevance before you tired of them.

I'm now moving on to the Boron Letters (Gary Halbert) and The Art of Seduction (Robert Greene).

Post: #124

Can't believe I missed this thread.

Brunelleschi's Dome, for the second time. Great book about an extraordinary man at the beginning of the Renaissance, and perhaps one of the great architectural challenges of all time, the construction of the Duomo at Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.

Edit: In a related vein, although I last read it a few years ago now, is the Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini - one of the most interesting figures of the Renaissance and perhaps not as well known as he should be.

Post: #125

Finished the God Delusion and Animal Farm. Both good reads for those with an open mind