What non-Go book are you reading right now?

[Conrad_Melville]

I realized the other day that I haven’t read any folklore in a long time, so I started a small book, Folktales of the Irish Countryside by Kevin Danaher (Cork, Ireland: The Mercier Press, 1967). My father was very fond of Irish literature, and I have followed in his footsteps, with my love of Dunsany, Synge, Yeats, Stephens, O’Brien, and others.

Per my recent post, I bought this book 10 or 15 years ago. It’s a beat-up paperback with a binding almost unreadable, but its condition attracted my attention. I love these personal volumes that have some authenticating details over the mass-market retellings on the one hand, or the verbatim transcripts of the academic folklorists. This consists of 40 short tales collected by the author from six storytellers, all family members or neighbors, reaching back to the late 19th century. The author, who had published several books on Irish life, has a deft hand. His retellings have an authentic feel in their structure and retain the Irish phraseology. He also adds information about each storyteller and brief notes on each story.

Most of the stories are familiar in whole or in part, but it is always a pleasure to see exactly how they are told. We have the Little Tailor, moral tales of reward or punishment, the magical prohibitions to gain an end, a magic fiddle that reminded me of J. Meade Faulkner’s The Lost Stradivarius (1895) as well as Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale, and many more.

One motif that is definitely new to me is the idea of lightbeams that have solidity. Another that I don’t recall is the theme of “The Boy Who Had No Story,” which nicely shows the social importance of being able to tell a story. The author says this tale has at least 140 versions in Ireland. I’m really enjoying this book.

[Atorrante]

Anne Frank - Het achterhuis

[Conrad_Melville]

I’ve begun reading one of the five books I recently acquired at my library book sale, as described in another thread (https://forums.online-go.com/t/how-was-your-day-regular-part-ii/46165/5870): The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch (Flatiron Books, 2019).

The fact of the plot is moderately well known among people interested in U.S. history. I first encountered the story in a children’s book, Spies of the Revolution by Katherine and John Bakeless (Scholastic Book Services, 1962), which I read when I was about 11 and thereby acquired a lifelong interest in the history of espionage. It was an abridgment of a landmark book, Turncoats, Traitors and Heroes (1959), with the academic apparatus omitted. I should add that John Bakeless, who had been an intelligence officer during WW2 and a CIA consultant in the 1950s, wrote several other outstanding books on U.S. history, including the unforgettable Spies of the Confederacy, still the benchmark on the subject.

However, this is the first book that treats the subject of its title in detail. It is a complicated story, and the book takes the time to describe thoroughly the strategic background to the events. I had forgotten, if I ever knew, how numerous and problematic the Loyalists (Tories) were. It really seems miraculous that the revolution succeeded.

The book reads very easily and swiftly. This is a tribute not only to the clean style, but to the authors’ well-organized presentation of the many threads in the narrative.

[fiddlehead]

The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence presents three generations of an English rural family living unremarkable lives to all outward appearances, yet tormented by endless anxiety. The focal point is relations between men and women; specifically the perception that one must be attached to a member of the opposite sex to achieve a full realization of oneself. In a novel that’s mostly lacking in significant external events, an author has to be tightly focused, and Lawrence does display a certain doggedness here. His characters go lurching from despair to bliss to despair again with not much relative calm in between. And it’s rinse and repeat. It’s a great heaving, pulsating, butterchurn of a novel. Lawrence’s objective, apparently, is to induce in the reader something of the mental and quasi-spiritual exhaustion that his characters experience. There are moments when I feel that he succeeds all too well, but with a little patience that feeling passes soon enough and the story remains satisfying.

Lawrence’s novels became so controversial for their sexual content that readers unfamiliar with his work might be forgiven for thinking that he wrote about nothing else. Sexuality is indeed a major component in the story, but Lawrence is no cheap-thrill merchant. What he describes is never seen as an end in itself, nor does he serve this up with anything like the crudeness associated with modern pornography, You’re on safe ground here, although not by early twentieth century standards.

If this subject matter interests you but you’re reluctant to explore about five hundred pages worth, I can also recommend a pair of companion poems called Tortoise Gallantry and Tortoise Shout. The first poem deals with the obsessive and undignified nature of sexual pursuit. The second, much longer poem examines the feeling of disintegration that accompanies the act, the sense that sex and death are close cousins. These poems are the most eloquent and economical rendering of Lawrence’s essential thought on this matter that I’m aware of, and he achieves it through the unlikely device of a pair of mating tortoises! What will those poets think of next?

[Feijoa]

A friend recommended this:

It’s an epic story that the author apparently spent about 30 years researching and writing. I’m only a few chapters in and need to take it in small chunks, but I’m finding it very interesting and personally relevant for multiple reasons.

[trohde]

Oh wow, very interesting, thank you – I’ve put this on my “to read” list

The Friendly Orange Glow: The Untold Story of the PLATO…

There are also generous preview pages on Amazon.

And yes, friendly: back in the day I also preferred amber screens over green ones

[JethOrensin]

@Atorrante

Another great book by Harrison is Make room, make room.

Finally managed to finish this one. It was very nice. I’ll let the Stainless Steel Rat for later, though, since I have to finish the “Wind and Truth” by Sanderson and that will probably take a bit. (I keep thinking that I am over with my obligations and I’d finally be able to rest and read, but always something happens).

@Conrad_Melville

I mostly liked Harrison’s Make Room! Make Room! but I thought the ending was disappointing. I’ll be interested to hear what you think.

I actually liked the ending.
It seems weak, because nothing happens, but it is actually powerful, exactly because nothing happens.

Spoiler tags for those that have not read the book:

a) The world doesn’t end and the doomsayers are disappointed. Blind faith and devotion to external messiahnism get zero points.
b) The Bill is still in limbo and humanity is still wallowing in a political quagmire, even at the face of utter economic and demographic disaster. A lot of people expect those in power to save them, so another “external saviour” gets zero points. So, both the divine and the mundane saviours get no credit.
c) Andy is still selling his time and body to the State, dedicated on a duty that not only doesn’t reward him, but actually punishes him (twice) for his dilligence. (twice, because he got demoted for solving the case and he lost Shirley because that day he opted to go to work instead of resolving their issues with her)
d) Shirley is back to selling her time and body too, but for its usual much better price and lifestyle than Andy could ever provide.
e) Solomon dies after being the “voice of reason” and the author has him pay the ultimate price for going against his lifelong main value of “laying low”. I think very expertly the author dances around without giving the answer on whether Solomon believes that it was worth it, especially considering that the Bill hadn’t passed by the time he died.
f) Only Kulozic actually achieves his dream of getting a better life. Unlike Chung who tried to get it by risking everything to get some temporary money, without any plan or careful consideration, Kulozic is there to provide the age old message that working hard on small, but steady, dreams make them more likely to come around. Kulozic is the only character in the book whose life actually improves.

[Conrad_Melville]

I finished The First Conspiracy (see What non-Go book are you reading right now? - #747 by Conrad_Melville), which was wonderfully detailed and documented, but exceptionally fluid in its writing—a very easy read. It’s actually unknown whether the intention was to kill Washington, or kidnap him, but the result would likely have been the same.

With that fresh in mind, I’ve started a related book I recently acquired at the library sale: George Washington’s Secret Spy War: The Making of America’s First Spymaster by the late John A. Nagy (St. Martin’s, 2016). Nagy’s previous works had discussed 160 American spies of the revolution, many previously unknown, and this book promises to add to the list.

Washington actually had some good experience, in the French and Indian War, in what we today call counterintelligence. Consequently, he was highly sensitive to the importance of espionage from the beginning of the revolution, and his skill in that area helped to offset his battle-command weaknesses and the enormous British advantage in troops, supplies, and sea power.

[JethOrensin]

Sanderson’s “Isles of Emberdark” have arrived and 60% of it is printed like this:

I do not know how easy it will be to read, but it looks really cool.

[Samraku]

I mean, in theory it’s like dark mode, right?

[JethOrensin]

Yes, but in a real book it might be a bit harsh for the eyes. I’ll find out when I get round to read it. I assume that this was done for ambience. The book starts with normal white pages and black ink, but 40% in the way it switches to this.
I assume that the switch has something to do with something that happens within the book, some change in the setting?

[trohde]

Can you see whether it’s black paper with the type printed w/ white ink or white paper printed with a lot of black ink?

In the latter case it must be a PITA for the printer, and quite costly for the publisher.

[JethOrensin]

@trohde

Can you see whether it’s black paper with the type printed w/ white ink or white paper printed with a lot of black ink?

It is definitely black paper. The letters are a silvery ink, so that makes sense both reasonably and economically.

[Conrad_Melville]

Once upon a time, designers and editors knew that “reverses” such as that were indeed much harder to read when done in print (tiring on the eyes over the long term). A special effect like that was generally confined to a page or two.

I’m especially surprised to hear that it is apparently black paper. I would expect that to be more costly (a specialty item with a much smaller market). I’ve never heard of a job printed that way, but then, my experience is largely confined to magazine publishing. However, it is also surprising because that is not geared to the nature of digital publishing, which uses CMYK, with reverses for white. (BTW rant: CMYK is a corruption of the real order of colors on press, which is YMCK, fouled up by some Adobe computer coder, I think, between 1994 and 1997.)

The more I think about it, I don’t believe it is black paper. I would guess that it was done conventionally like this: White paper, 100% black ink, possibly with 50% blue mixed, the text reversing out, and then adding, in line, the “5th” color (silver) for the text.

The problem with black paper (aside from its cost) would be that one would have to have two print runs (white paper and black paper) with two set-ups, which is a huge expense. Also, I think printing silver on black might be problematic.

[JethOrensin]

@Conrad_Melville

Once upon a time, designers and editors knew that “reverses” such as that were indeed much harder to read when done in print (tiring on the eyes over the long term).

Yeah, that’s what I am worried about. On the other hand it is just one book, it is not like I have to bear with it for school exams or anything.

@Conrad_Melville

I’m especially surprised to hear that it is apparently black paper. I would expect that to be more costly (a specialty item with a much smaller market).

Quite so, but it does seem to be black paper. The book has pages like this between “sections”:

Total ink staining like this seems very expensive and cumbersome to me (drying it out might be an issue) and you’d need special paper that could take that kind of abuse from both sides without crumbling or deforming.

Considering those issues, it would have been much easier to just buy from the paper factory some ready-made black paper and the cost might actually be offset by the amounts of ink and the complex printing, staining and drying that it would entail otherwise.

You can see the difference up on the top left with the normal white pages that just had their edges stained with some ink so that the book looks uniformely black from the sides.

I am now getting into the temptation of actually snipping the edge of one of those black pages with scissors and see if it is really black paper all the way.

Edit:

Fortunately I won’t have to use the scissors.
I found the answer online:

The premium Dragonsteel edition of Isles of the Emberdark features black pages for sections of the story set in the Cognitive Realm, with silver ink, contrasting with white paper and black ink for chapters set in the Physical Realm. This distinctive page treatment is a highlight of the special edition.

…the chapters set in the Physical Realm are printed on traditional white paper with black text, and the chapters set in the Cognitive Realm are printed on black paper with silver text.
Touches like this are why I will always pay extra for Dragonsteel premium editions.

So my expectation that the different colours of the pages reflect the different realms/settings was also accurate. Very neat.
Though I still want to try cutting a small edge of one of the pages and see it for myself…

I have to say that it was not too much extra, either, unlike what that post mentioned… two leatherbound books of around 500 pages each, for 85 dollars seems very reasonable considering the prices elsewhere. Almost a bargain, I’d say.

[trohde]

@JethOrensin

Total ink staining like this seems very expensive and cumbersome to me (drying it out might be an issue) and you’d need special paper that could take that kind of abuse from both sides without crumbling or deforming.

Is what I also thought. What I learned in prepress was that with too much ink in the paper the printer (the human working the press, not a digital printing machine) would slap the ink-wet paper on my face if they got me

[Sadaharu]

Think Again by Adam Grant

The book that I wish more people could read. I always say that “stubbornness kills”, and I’ve met so many people who just insist that they are right and don’t want to change their thinking no matter what.

I also needed to read this. In fact, I needed this book so much that I accidentally bought it twice. It’s not the first time that I bought the same book twice. It goes on to show that I really need to think again before doing anything. What an irony.

[JethOrensin]

@Sadaharu

The book that I wish more people could read.

You know what’s the usual problem with books like that… the people that really need to read them, won’t even ever find out that those books exist, let alone give them a try.

Quite the issue.

From the amazon description:

We listen to opinions that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard. We see disagreement as a threat to our egos, rather than an opportunity to learn. We surround ourselves with people who agree with our conclusions, when we should be gravitating toward those who challenge our thought process.

This sounds interesting since it seems to be more focused on our own mental approach in life and general self-improvement…

You’ll learn how an international debate champion wins arguments, a Black musician persuades white supremacists to abandon hate, a vaccine whisperer convinces concerned parents to immunize their children, and Adam has coaxed Yankees fans to root for the Red Sox.

…while this is the total opposite. It seems like the idea shifts into teaching the reader how to argue and how to convince people to think like we do - which is always a bit insulting to be honest and potentially a bad mentality to have.

So, since you’ve read the book, which of those two different things would you say that it focuses more on? I read some of the amazon reviews, but I’d put a lot more weight on your opinion than random reviewers.

[Sadaharu]

@JethOrensin

…while this is the total opposite. It seems like the idea shifts into teaching the reader how to argue and how to convince people to think like we do

IMO that’s not really the idea. If you are trying to convince people to think like you do, then you are just a preacher or a politician. If you are trying to convince people that they are wrong, then you are a just prosecutor. Instead, what the book is trying to promote is to think like a scientist: always be ready to update our thoughts based on new information.

This diagram illustrates it quite well:

@JethOrensin

You know what’s the usual problem with books like that… the people that really need to read them, won’t even ever find out that those books exist, let alone give them a try.

Yeah, this is a problem. In fact, the author just posted this recently:

[Conrad_Melville]

I finished George Washington’s Secret Spy War. It’s amazing how commonplace and consequential the espionage was during the American Revolution. However, the book was a bit difficult to read. It wasn’t as well organized and well written as The First Conspiracy, perhaps because the author died shortly after publication and wasn’t able to do much during the editing process.

I am now reading Wool (vol. 1 of the Silo series) for my book group. I and the group have @GreenAsJade to thank for this. He discussed the book in this thread (https://forums.online-go.com/t/what-non-go-book-are-you-reading-right-now/20615/684), and I was so intrigued I suggested it to our group leader, who scheduled it for our September meeting.

The book is very easy to read. Although its descriptions are more detailed than I prefer, they are never tiresome, probably because the style is splendidly imaginative (in terms of acute observations, similes/metaphors, and general phraseology). At first it seems like a “Robinsonade” (a story about stranded people, such as Robinson Crusoe), but by the end of Part 1, it strongly suggests a “pocket universe” story like those I discussed in responding to GAJ. Even more specifically, it is hinting at a situation similar to Philip K. Dick’s The Penultimate Truth (1964).