Most original, exciting, fresh, mindblowing? Doesn’t have to be theory, non-fiction, or even leftist. I just wanna get to know more exciting books.
My own answers:
Non-fiction: Debt - The Last 5000 Years and A Paradise Built In Hell were paradigm shifts for me, in a great way.
Fiction: Gonna have to be The Trojan War Will Not Take Place. Yes it’s a play from 1935 but it was more interesting for me than many more current books, and the anti-war message is unfortunately still fresh.
Dune is actually poggers
Non-fiction: The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein was really eye opening and difficult to get through. Shout out also to Fashionable Nonsense. It’s pretty fun to dunk on the postmodernists.
Fiction: I found The Three Body Problem to be pretty interesting. Will probably need to find time to read the rest of the sequels.
The second book in the series (The Dark Forest) is by far my favourite of the three. Builds on the world of the first in a way that’s so satisfying, has some great characters, and a truly fantastic ending. The third is a bit more hit or miss, but still worth reading to close it out. But man, The Dark Forest is just so so awesome.
Debt was my answer too. RIP David.
Non-fiction: Marxism versus Liberalism: Comparative Real-Time Political Analysis (Marx/Engels vs Mill and Tocqueville, Lenin vs Weber and Wilson) by August H. Nimtz was awesome, as was First Class Passengers on a Sinking Ship: Elite Politics and the Decline of Great Powers (builds off of the wonderful Long 20th Century by Arrighi) by Richard Lachmann
Fiction: Zeno’s Conscience by Italo Svevo, The Communist by Guido Morselli, and Stoner by John Williams
Would you mind sharing your impression of Stoner? I read it a few years ago and was left with a lot of unresolved feelings. In particular I was sort of conflicted at finding it so uplifting and empowering despite being basically libertarian in how it presents individual responsibility and mastery-over-destiny.
I really enjoyed Stoner for the writing and the introspective nature of the idea that even the most banal life is a story worth telling. Also the tender moments where Stoner realizes he could’ve gone down a different path and still rejects it. I don’t mind the individual responsibility too much because it accepts the early 20th century American ideal as fact, and only presents his choices within the bounds or already acceptable bourgeois society. Like we only see events from his very limited conception of what’s possible, and it’s very reasonable that given the material circumstances of his upbringing and his sheltered existence within the university system he wouldn’t be able to conceptualize a broader horizon than libertarian individuality.
Thanks for taking the time to share! On more thought your explanation really resonates; I’m particularly thinking of when he says to himself ‘at least she can drink’ and I really felt his conviction. I think my main conflict was why I found those values so enticing. Probably I still want to believe in the american ideal on some level because it’s such a comforting myth.
Angela Davis - Women, Race and Class Karl Ove Knausgård - A Death in the Family
