Sunday Morning Book Thread - 11-10-2024 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

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. Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

PIC NOTE

Sir Isaac Newton's Principia is one of the most revolutionary books ever written, describing laws of motion for planets and stars, among many other topics. It's possible that other natural philosophers during his time would have worked out these same calculations and theorems, as Newton was only one among many working on the challenging problems of motion. Still, he gets credit for compiling his works into the Principia and thus cementing his place in history as a true titan among early scientists. We still use Newtonian mechanics for many problems today, as incorporating relativistic mechanics or quantum mechanical effects are largely impractical for day-to-day calculations in the macro world.

ESCAPISM

One point the YouTuber makes clear in the video above is that escapism is the bane of jailers, fascists, and totalitarians everywhere. Think about all of the dystopian fiction stories that have gripped our minds over the past century or so. Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, We, A Clockwork Orange, and, of course, 1984. A central theme throughout all of these stories is how the totalitarian governments ruling each society ruthlessly suppress the human imagination. The best form of slavery, according to these stories, consists of a populace that does not know they are slaves and that there is a better world out there.

C.S. Lewis, a devout Christian, offers this passage on the power of imagination in The Silver Chair. The heroes (Eustace Scrubb, Jill Pole, Puddleglum the Marsh Wiggle, and the newly freed Prince of Narnia) are trapped in the lair of the Queen of the Underworld. She uses her magic to cloud their minds and tries to convince them that there is no "overworld." It's all a dream that they had and now they are waking up to the truth that the only world is deep under the earth. Ironically, Puddleglum, who lives up to the "glum" part of his name, snaps out of the enchantment first and responds to the Queen's lies with this:

"One word, Ma'am," he [Puddleglum] said, coming back from the fire; limping because of the pain. "One word. All you've been saying is quite right, I shouldn't wonder. I'm a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face on it. So I won't deny anything of what you said. But there's one thing more to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things—trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play-world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we're leaving yoru court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for the Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that's a small loss if the world's as dull as you say."

Terry Pratchett, a devout atheist and creator of the Discworld, has this to say about humanity's fascination with imagination in Hogfather in a conversation between Death and his adopted granddaughter Susan:

"All right," said Susan. "I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need...fantasies to make life bearable."

AS IF IT WERE SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO, HUMANS NEED FANTASY IN ORDER TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.

"Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—"

YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.

"So we can believe the big ones?"

YES. JUSTICE. DUTY. MERCY. THAT SORT OF THING.

"They're not the same at all!"

YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY, AND YET— Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MIGHT BE JUDGED.

"Yes, but people have got to believe that or what's the point—"

MY POINT EXACTLY.

She tried to assemble her thoughts.

THERE IS A PLACE WHERE TWO GALAXIES HAVE BEEN COLLIDING FOR A MILLION YEARS, said Death, apropos of nothing. DON'T TRY TO TELL ME THAT'S RIGHT.

"Yes, but people don't think about that," said Susan. "Somewhere there was a bed..."

CORRECT. STARS EXPLODE, WORLDS COLLIDE, THERE'S HARDLY ANYWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE WHERE HUMANS CAN LIVE WITHOUT BEING FROZEN OR FRIED, AND YET YOU BELIEVE THAT A...A BED IS A NORMAL THING. IT IS THE MOST AMAZING TALENT.

"Talent?"

OH, YES. A VERY SPECIAL KIND OF STUPIDITY. YOU THINK THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS INSIDE YOUR HEADS.

"You make us sound mad," said Susan. A nice warm bed...

NO. YOU NEED TO BELIEVE IN THINGS THAT AREN'T TRUE. HOW ELSE CAN THEY BECOME?

THE BOOK OF KELLS

The video above gives a brief overview of The Book of Kells as well as a short tour of the Trinity Library in Dublin where The Book of Kells is currently located.

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich by Richard J. Evans -- was there ever a more wretched hive of scum and villainy? Some were dedicated Nazis to their dying breath, but many were just opportunists.

You'd think I'd read enough about this rogue's gallery, but there is always more to learn.

One cannot but note the number of vegetarians, teetotalers, homeopaths, and Greens among the brown- and blackshirts.

Mark Felton - Dr. Goebbels: Sex Pest

When Ernst Röhm was teased by a reporter about the mannish "hostess" at the Eldorado (later immortalized as the Kit Kat Club) engaging him in flirty chit-chat, Röhm fumed "I'm not his client. I'm his commanding officer! He's one of my stormtroopers!"

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Candy Bomber at November 03, 2024 09:12 AM (kpS4V)

Comment: As the saying goes, history may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme. We see ordinary people today caught up in monstrous ideas and beliefs that can be traced back to the Nazi movement and even before then. People can be utter bastards given half a chance and they engage in that behavior convinced that they are morally correct. The Nazis were just awful people.

In honor of Spooky Season (and because Weak Geek mentioned it in last week's thread) I re-read the first 9 issues of Route 666, a short-lived comic book from the early 2000's. It is ostensively a horror comic, but really it's an action/adventure story that uses the tropes and conventions of 50's horror/monster movies. Sure, the comic has creepy moments, and plenty of death and implied gore, buts it's often too glib (and too willing to play a moment as a joke) to be true 'horror.'

The comic follows a college girl who has the curse/ability to see ghosts. The story kicks off when she sees a ghost get actively dragged to hell by some evil spirits. She soon finds out that the spirits have allies in the world of the living who 'deliver' fresh souls to the spirits; either by seeking out people who are about to die, or actively killing people when it can be done discretely. The allies pass as human, but either are or become some sort of monster (werewolf, vampire, etc) when doing evil. The story is a little vague on that...Anyways, the story is our main character running from the monsters, and slowly figuring out how to fight back against them.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 03, 2024 09:19 AM (Lhaco)

Comment: I like the premise of this comic book, even if it sounds like the execution is a bit flawed. I don't have much problem imagining evil spirits (i.e., demons) that have found allies among humankind that are willing and eager to provide more souls to those evil spirits in exchange for power and immortality. It's a very old trope.

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (1000+ Moron-recommended books!)

WHAT I'VE ACQUIRED THIS PAST WEEK:

• Saga of the Forgotten Warrior Book 5 - Graveyard of Demons by Larry Correia - This is the next-to-last book in the series, though it was originally going to be the last book. Now I have to wait several months before the final book comes out...*sigh*
• THE BOOK: The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding Civilization - Although light on details, this book does give a broad overview of what is required for building a civilization from scratch, starting with the discovery of fire and going all the way up through cultural festivals. It also features interesting, surrealistic art. A good coffee table book, if a bit pricy.

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

After reviewing some of OregonMuse's old Book Threads, I thought I'd try something a bit different. Instead of just listing WHAT I'm reading, I'll include commentary as well. Unless otherwise specified, you can interpret this as an implied recommendation, though as always your mileage may vary.

Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife

I'm using this book in my class this week and next week. It's part of an activity I call "The Bestest Science Book in the World!" Students have to write a persuasive review of this book explaining to me why it's the very best science book they've ever read--without actually reading it. It's just one of several books that students use as I divide them up into groups and they pick one of the books. They seem to really enjoy the selection of books I provide once they start investigating them.

Saga of the Forgotten Warrior Book 1 - Son of the Black Sword by Larry Correia

Took me a bit longer to read this one than I usually take, but I've been doing other things, so I haven't been reading quite as much lately. There are some interesting parallels between the story of Ashok and the story of Saul/Paul in the Bible...if Saul was a nearly invincible warrior. Like Saul, Ashok was an instrument of the State to ruthlessly suppress any challenges to State authority. He was feared throughout the land for persecuting (and usually killing) people who dared to think for themselves or promote the idea of a "god." Then Ashok found out the truth about his origins and goes through his own "road to Damascus" moment. The idea of baptism is even brought up after he dives into a river, nearly drowns, and is then "reborn" a few days later when he recovers. But Ashok is NOT Saul/Paul, so that's about as far as that analogy goes...

Saga of the Forgotten Warrior Book 2 - House of Assassins by Larry Correia

The prophet Thera, who speaks for the Forgotten, has been captured by the House of Assassins, a lost House of wizards that seeks to capture Thera's power for their own use. Ashok must find a way to rescue her because the rebels need her gifts to motivate them and provide them with direction. Otherwise, the rebellion of casteless is doomed to failure despite their overwhelming numbers.

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Tips, suggestions, recommendations, etc., can all be directed to perfessor -dot- squirrel -at- gmail -dot- com.

Disclaimer: No Morons were physically harmed in the making of this Sunday Morning Book Thread. Coffee is one of the most essential ingredients in rebuilding civilization.

posted by Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

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