Sunday Morning Book Thread - 02-26-2023 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

(Find the sniper!)

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading (Oompa-Loompas not included). Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material, even if it's nothing more than the pharmacy informational pamphlets on Paul's tubes of monkeypox salve (ht: Yudhishthira's Dice). As always, pants are required, especially if you are wearing these pants...(now with more Wonka action!)

PIC NOTE

Today's pic is unusual in that it represents a "future library." The trees in this picture are destined to become an anthology of stories that will not be released until A.D. 2114. According to the Future Library website, each spring an author contributes a story to be included in the anthology. The manuscript is kept preserved in a special drawer that will ensure it will still be in quality condition when the anthology is finally released. The anthology itself will be printed on paper made from the trees in the above picture. The project began back in 2014, so we are now almost a decade closer to reading these stories. On the one hand, it has all the hallmarks of typical pretentious environmentalism. On the other hand, it's a very interesting project where the readers will be able to witness the evolution of literature over 100 years. Libraries, of course, have been around for centuries (or millennia in a few cases), so a 100 year wait for a library is nothing by comparison.

LEFTIST CRUSADE AGAINST LITERATURE CONTINUES

The Left's constant war against mainstream culture continues with the announcement that Puffin Books is "editing" the works of Roald Dahl to remove the more problematic elements. Their goal, they claim, as always, is to make his works more "inclusive" for "modern audiences." In reality, of course, their goal is to change the past, a la 1984. If they can convince enough people that Dahl's book were always written this way, then they can pretend his earlier versions were just rough drafts of the finished product.

All of this is an application of Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, specifically Rule 13: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." The Left is very good at playing this game. Here's how it works: They pick someone who has a colorful past that would seem out of place to a modern audience. It was NO accident that Roald Dahl's name was selected. He's dead, so he can't defend himself directly. Only his heirs can do so on his behalf. They may very well agree that he was a "problem," even though they benefit from his estate. He was also reputed to be an anti-Semite. This is just a fig leaf, however, as Dahl's attitudes towards the Jews would NOT have been considered out of place at the time. And we all know how comfortable the Left is with anti-Semitism in general based on their attitudes towards Israel. The icing on the cake is Dahl's womanizing. He was quite the charmer. He also happened to be close friends with Ian Fleming, who created another "problematic" character for the Left, James Bond. Taken as a whole, Roald Dahl is a prime author for cancellation by the Left because they can spin his personal life in any direction they like as a despicable Jew-hating womanizer. Oh, and he was apparently influenced by Christianity (ht: FenelonSpoke). That alone means he should be cancelled, according to the Left's "principles."

Once they have their target selected, they can now go to the next phase which is the direct editing of Dahl's works. The Independent has a list of 6 of the most glaring edits:

• In Matilda, references to Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling are replaced with references to Jane Austen and John Steinbeck, respectively. (Conrad and Kipling have both been accused of racism)
• In The Witches, a reference to pulling hair (witches are bald so they must wear wigs to blend in) is replaced with the notion that there's nothing wrong with wigs.
• Also in The Witches, references to the jobs that witches hold are modified to reflect prestigious professions like scientists or business owners, rather than being ordinary folks running a cash register at a supermarket or working as a clerk in an office.
• In George's Marvellous Medicine, a reference to electrocution (a particularly gruesome way to die) turns into a reference to being ejected from a fighter jet (far more cool-sounding)
• Among the more grievous changes is a modification to James and the Giant Peach where an entire passage is changed to avoid "fatphobia" (avoiding body shaming someone for being fat, even if it's provided in a humorous context)
• Finally, Quentin Blake illustrations are being removed, such as the illustrations of Mike Teavee from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which has Mike carrying around 18 toy guns on his person. (Can't have kids glorifying gun violence!)

This is part of a much larger war that has been ongoing for at least a decade. Recall a few years ago there was a flap about the World Fantasy Award, where the trophy was a statue of H.P. Lovecraft designed by Gahan Wilson. At the time, there was a lot of controversy that the award was being retired because of Lovecraft's racist, misogynist attitudes, regardless of his contributions to fantastic literature. Again, Lovecraft is a perfect target for the Left because they can hide behind Lovecraft's "problematic" personal life while disregarding his literary achievements.

We can also look at all of the adaptations from literature to television and movies. How many stories have been "fixed" during the adaptation process? (I'm looking at you, Amazon's Wheel of Time!) It's all part of the same game to the Left. It's very telling that Amazon's Rings of Power didn't take off until Christopher Tolkien, a true guardian of J.R.R. Tolkien's legacy had passed away. Oh, and it's somehow OUR fault that it flopped because we can't appreciate the genius of Leftist story-telling.

Destroy the culture one bite at a time. Now that they've established a precedent, they WILL come for your favorite author sooner or later. Will J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series be "fixed" in reprints? What about J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings? If they succeed in taking out some of the greatest writers in English literature, they will NEVER stop until the only stories you will be able to find are Leftist-approved screeds.

The only question now seems to be, who's next?

IT PAYS TO INCREASE YOUR WORD POWER

onerous - adj. - involving, imposing, or constituting a burden.

Comment: I think we can all identify with this word because it's the Left's mode of operation. They take perverse delight in making life as onerous as possible for normal folks. Whether it's stupid and pointless regulations that do nothing or speech codes that violate the First Amendment, there is NOTHING they won't do to create hell on earth.

magniloquent - adj. - describes language that is intended to sound impressive and important, or a person who uses such language.

Comment: This also describes the Left to some extent, though it's certainly not confined to them. Watch out for those who use a lot of flowery language that somehow makes them seem important. Buck Throckmorton had a recent article describing the language used in business that really doesn't mean anything. How many management fads sound cool? But then either don't work as advertised or could be described in very simple terms to the same effect?

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

Finished Paul Kengor's Devil and Karl Marx Communism's Long March of Death, Deception and Infiltration.

It was a good review of the very despicable Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles moving then to Lenin and how the Soviets infiltrated Western religions but think best part from there covered how the Frankfurt School moved to the US turning Marxism from class warfare, unions to what today is Cultural Marxism.

Paul Kengor "Maybe the best we can say is that cultural Marxism, for lack of a better term, is essentially, and very simply, Marxism applied to cultural goals. To repeat: Marxism applied to cultural goals. This is distinguished from the classical Marxism applied to economics or class goals. It is Marxist theory affixed to culture, and thus referred to commonly and understandably as "cultural Marxism."

Posted by: Skip at February 19, 2023 09:11 AM (xhxe8)

Comment: It's hard to understate just how evil and destructive Marxism has been for the human condition. I've been reading Tim Powers' Declare, which involved characters spying on the Germans during WW II on behalf of the Soviet Union. One of the characters is such a true believer in Marxism and Soviet Russia that the she declares herself married to it, despite how she feels about her partner (who loves her in turn). She's so enamored with Communism that she thinks being killed in the Lubyanka prison is a worthy price to pay for advancing Communism around the world. Marxism is a death cult, plain and simple.

I read One Nation Under Blackmail, Vol. I: The Sordid Union Between Intelligence and Organized Crime That Gave Rise To Jeffery Epstein by Whitney Webb. Most of this book is dedicated to setting the historical background of intelligence organizations working with Mob figures to deal drugs and armaments and to launder money around the world. The blackmailing of politicians and business leaders is also covered.

The last few chapters begin to deal with Jeffery Epstein and with Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine's father. Epstein had CIA and Israeli intelligence connections. I believe volume II will be about Epstein blackmailing elites for his own profit and for the deep state. Not an easy read, but interesting.

Posted by: Zoltan at February 19, 2023 09:11 AM (Eo7K+)

Comment: We've seen so many revelations about which politicians are compromised by foreign agents in recent years that it's not possible to keep it all straight. It's clear that China has near-total domination of the United States government. Why this has been allowed to happen is a bit of a mystery, though copious amounts of cash distribution probably has much to do with it. American politicians are among the greediest in the world. Considering what we *KNOW* about the current crop of politicians and the proclivities, one has to wonder just what is so bad that it still has to remain hidden? Look at the deranged lunatics that have been appointed to key sensitive positions in our government. It's just baffling.

I actually finally read the Mike Leach book Geronimo. I was compelled to finish it as it was loaned to my by an elderly gentleman quite some time ago and I never read it. He recently passed away and in my guilt in never returning it to him, I read it.

It's actually an interesting to read because Geronimo was an incredible person that accomplished some pretty amazing things. Yes, he was a bloodthirsty killer that took hundreds of lives, but he was fighting for survival against human growth and change. Leach presents it and ties it to everyday life and how lessons can make you a better leader.

It made me want to learn more about Geronimo.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at February 19, 2023 09:35 AM (Zz0t1)

Comment: As you might expect with a figure like Geronimo, his life is one of ups and downs. He's something of a Native American folk hero, waging war against his oppressors. To be fair, there are *no* clean hands during the American-Apache conflict. The Apaches mostly wanted to just be free to roam their territory, but neither the Americans nor the Mexicans were keen on that idea. Lots of blood spilled on every side.

Anyone who reads about Tolkien and CS Lewis knows that George MacDonald's Victorian era fantasies were an big influence on them. I finally got to a couple of his better known stories: "Phantastes" and "The Light Princess". Wish I had read them as a child. They are wonderful works of imagination and provide a richness missing from the Disney-style fairy tales we grew up with. "The Light Princess" is shorter and less complicated than "Phantastes" but the descriptive power is similar. I wasn't prepared for the subtle humor in "The Light Princess" but it adds a delightful layer. "Phantastes" is for an older audience but the richness and wonder of the realm he created would appeal to any age. There is a subtlety to his writing that allows the reader to flow, literally, into his stories to experience the wonders he envisions.

Next up, MacDonald's "Lilith" with an introduction by CS Lewis.

Posted by: JTB at February 19, 2023 10:07 AM (7EjX1)

Comment: We often give credit to J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis for basically inventing the modern fantasy story. However, both authors were well-versed in classical works of fantastical literature. They were inspired by the earlier authors and it shows. Perhaps, in light of the continuing war on children's literature, we should strive to collect these older works for future generations. Given a choice, modern publishers would no doubt prefer that they disappeared entirely.

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (648 Moron-recommended books so far!)

WHAT I'VE ACQUIRED THIS PAST WEEK

• Walls of Men: A Military History of China 2500 B.C. to A.D. 2020 by Ace-Approved Author A.H. Lloyd

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

• Declare by Tim Powers -- Several Morons have recommended this and it's in my TBR pile, so I decided to read it. The first third is a bit slow, but it does establish the Cold War espionage that went on after WWII as well as the hot war spying of all sides during WWII. Then it takes an abrupt turn into supernatural occult thriller about halfway through the novel, when we find out what the Commies were *really* up to during the Cold War.
• Forgotten Realms - The Harpers 2 - Elfshadow by Elaine Cunningham -- Haven't read this is in decades, but it's just popcorn fluff about an Action Girl and her magical sword...
• Forgotten Realms - The Harpers 3 - Red Magic by Jean Rabe -- a group of Harpers infiltrate the sinister and dangerous realm of the Red Wizards of Thay
• Godwars 1 - Forbidden Magic by Angus Wells -- I first read this a *long* time ago and while I remember enjoying it, I can't remember why...

That's about all I have for this week. Thank you for all of your kind words regarding the Sunday Morning Book Thread. This is a very special place. You are very special people (in all the best ways!). The kindness, generosity, and wisdom of the Moron Horde knows no bounds. Let's keep reading!

If you have any suggestions for improvement, reading recommendations, or discussion topics that you'd like to see on the Sunday Morning Book Thread, you can send them to perfessor dot squirrel at-sign gmail dot com. Your feedback is always appreciated! You can also take a virtual tour of OUR library at libib.com/u/perfessorsquirrel. Since I added sections for AoSHQ, I now consider it OUR library, rather than my own personal fiefdom...

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