Books are Good, Actually

For April, we read Socialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures by Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro! We discussed things we have learned from the examples of socialist states, what was missing from the book, comparison to Half-Earth Socialism, and degrowth policies. https://monthlyreview.org/2022/09/01/a-new-environmental-history-of-socialist-states/ May: Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham June: Slow Down by Kohei Saito July: Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

For March, we read King Richard by Michael Dobbs! We discussed our knowledge about Watergate, interesting tidbits gleamed from the book, what critical mistakes were made and the structure of the book. Upcoming: April - ⁠⁠Socialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures by Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro

For February, we read Neuromancer by William Gibson! We discussed our favorite characters and scenes, vocabulary/language, comparing Neuromancer with its contemporaries, Gibson's vision of the future and would we live in that world! Angela wrongly misidentified the comic Transmetropolitian as Cosmopolitian. Sorry for that mix up. Upcoming Books: March - ⁠King Richard by Michael Dobbs⁠ April - ⁠Socialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures by Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro

New year, new book! For January, we read How to Read Lacan and we sort of understand it now. We discuss the regrettable choice of reading Less than Nothing first, looking at horror movies through Lacian lens, how dating can also be looked at in a Lacian lens and even Kingdom Hearts! Upcoming books: February - Neuromancer by William Gibson March - King Richard by Michael Dobbs April - Socialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures by Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro

Our last book of the year, we read Half-Earth Socialism! We discussed that this is actually our third eco-socialist book, interrogated the solutions provided, veganism (again...Angela's fault), and the critique's! https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2022/05/30/book-review-half-earth-socialism-a-plan-to-save-the-future-from-extinction-climate-change-and-pandemics-by-drew-pendergrass-and-troy-vettese/ https://cosmonautmag.com/2022/10/who-holds-up-half-the-earth-a-review-of-half-earth-socialism/ January -⁠⁠⁠ How to Read Lacan by Zizkek⁠

For November, we discuss Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe! We discuss our own misconceptions and myths we have about Israel and Palestine, socialism and Zionism, an interesting discussion about Hamas, one state solution and how we can support the Pro-Palestinian side. December -⁠⁠ Half-Earth Socialism by Drew Pendergrass and Troy Vettese ⁠⁠ January -⁠⁠ How to Read Lacan by Zizkek

Another late one but we managed, for our October book we read Men,Women and Chainsaws! We discussed the surprising analysis of possession films, could we apply the same analysis to contagion movies, grouping of horror movies, horror movies and race, and a side chat about Resident Evil movies and The Human Centipede! Due to the Gaza Genocide we moved books down by one month: November -⁠Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe December -⁠ Half-Earth Socialism by Drew Pendergrass and Troy Vettese ⁠ January -⁠ How to Read Lacan by Zizkek

For September, we read Hegemony and Socialist Strategy by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe! Although we were late we did finish the book, we discussed the definitions, post-marxism, direct democracy, and starting compounds in minecraft. Youtube summary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEnjZZzcJ4Y October - Men, Women, and Chainsaws by Carol J. Clover November - Half-Earth Socialism by Drew Pendergrass and Troy Vettese December - How to Read Lacan by Zizkek

For August, we read Weird Scenes inside the Canyon and it was a doozy. We discussed the author's thesis, the evidence presented, debunked a misconception about Jim Morrison, the CIA, and most importantly Charles Manson! September - ⁠⁠Hegemony and Socialist Strategy

For July, instead of reading a book we watched a movie - How to Blowup a Pipeline! We discussed our favorite characters, how those character's motivations worked for us, opsec corner, FBI's portrayal, the trolley problem and much more. Next month, we are back to reading! Upcoming: August - ⁠Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon⁠ September - ⁠Hegemony and Socialist Strategy

For June, we read Blood in my Eye by George Jackson! We discussed Jackson's historical view and definition of fascism, Frankenstein's monster as capitalism, dogmatism in revolutionary theory and tactics, our favorite passages, and revolutionary violence. Question sources: https://www.liberationschool.org/blood-in-my-eye-study-guide/ https://www.liberationschool.org/george-jackson-blood-in-my-eye/ Upcoming: July - How to Blow up a Pipeline the movie 50th episode bonanza August - Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon September - Hegemony and Socialist Strategy

For May, we read Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes du Mez! We discuss muscular christianity, the tenets of evangelicalism, the myth of the cowboy and John Wayne, evangelicals obsession with sex and being very angry! Questions from: https://kristindumez.com/jesus-and-john-wayne-book-club-guide/ June - Blood in My Eye by George Jackson

For April, we read Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky! We discussed some of our misgivings with the tactics Alinksy described, the two people who recommended this book (surprising but at the same time...unsurprising), the categorization of haves and have-nots, means to an end, big tent organizations, and being on a CIA list. May - Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes Du Mez June - Blood in my Eye by George Jackson

For March, we read State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin! We discussed our history with him, Kautsky, opportunists and what their goals are, how we can/cannot wither away the state, the problem with the dictatorship step and Sonic the hedgehog! Liberation School Questions - https://www.liberationschool.org/study-guide-the-state-and-revolution/ April - Rules for Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky May - Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes Du Mez June - Blood in my Eye by George Jackson

For the month of February, we finished up (well in the case for Jimmy...) The Dawn of Everything! In this episode we discussed why Angela didn't finish and the elusive chapter 11.5, how we felt the book defined states and other aspects of political power, bird chirping, cheesecake making, and discussion of critiques that were levied at the book. We also got sidetracked by communist sonic fan art.  https://mronline.org/2021/12/20/the-dawn-of-everything-gets-human-history-wrong/ March - State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin 

For the month of January we started The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow! We discussed our history with pre-history and anthropology, failing of high school history, trying to define freedom, misconceptions of "tribal" life and a side bar about Guns,Germs and Steel.  February - Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow Chapters 7 - 12 March - State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin 

New year, late start but we read in December Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton! We discussed our very tepid background on the author, Black Panther Party, the concept of revolutionary suicide and reactionary suicide, solitary confinement, cults, and the legacy of Black Panther Party itself. It gets a little spicy at the end ;)  Articles referenced: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mood-swings/201008/revolutionary-suicide  https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=34268  January - Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow Chapters 1 - 6 February - Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow Chapters 7 - 12 March - State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin 

For November, we read Reform or Revolution by Rosa Luxemburg! We discussed Bernstein's and Luxemburg's position, just shitting on Bernstein, had a lot of side bars about vanguard parties and revolutions in history, pre-mature revolutions and changing our outro!  Resources: https://www.socialistrevolution.org/reform-or-revolution-a-reading-guide/ December - Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton

For spooky October, we read Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill. We discussed changing narratives, our previous knowledge of the time period of the book, what we think is the connection between the CIA and Manson, and remind everyone to not do speed! November - Reform or Revolution and Other Writings by Rosa Luxemburg  December - Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton

For September we read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer. We discussed our initial thoughts and impressions, how the book approached science and spirituality, reciprocity and gift economy, vibing with verbs, and potentially smoking peyote.  Discussion questions from:  https://medium.com/fwslibrary/braiding-sweetgrass-discussion-questions-eb7d3e0dc9ff https://inspiredepicurean.com/braiding-sweetgrass-book-club-questions/ Upcoming Books: October - Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill November - Reform or Revolution and Other Writings by Rosa Luxemburg  December - Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton