What Are You Reading?

[Nissa]

I like this thread. People need to post more in this thread.

Right now I'm reading multiple books (not really a great system, but there you go) and one is Private Truths, Public Lies, which is a book about "preference fabrication", where people pretend to agree with general consensus for fear of social stigma. It's a bit weird so far, but I like how unemotional it is -- too many nonfictions these days try to sound like novels, and that's pretty annoying.

[TheEconomist]

I've read a lot of books recently. I would post about them but no one responds.


Also, I pretty sure I wrote a response about the book 'Why Does he Do That' but it's not here .. so .. 'kay

[Nissa]

Yeah, that sounded like the kind of thing you would respond to.

So, just to ask, as a boy, did you ever want an all-boys party?

[TheEconomist]

So, just to ask, as a boy, did you ever want an all-boys party?

No. All of my parties were with both genders, and it turned out fine. Except for my laser tag birthday party where the girls bitched endlessly about how aggressive and boring it was. Somehow I left thinking it was all my fault. I remember it being pretty embarassing. I was hot shit with the boys though, but, somehow, I really only remember the bitching of the girls.

One of the girls later had a stupid-fucking look-at-me!! present-opening party at Chuck E Cheese's. The girls loved every minute of it. I gave up.

The beginning of red-pill wisdom.

So, if the book was trying to say something about boys not wanting girls at parties, maybe that's why But I'm sure he has a 'Boys are dicks" argument too. Granted, we were less than ten (I'm thinking 7 or 8) and kids are dumbasses.

I decided birthday parties were stupid shortly after and stopped throwing them. Haven't had a party in, like, half my life. It's great. The only side effect is that I sometimes forget how old I am for a bit after my birth date since there's no one to make a big fucking deal about the arbitrary number change.

[Nissa]

Lol. Well, actually, how the book stated it was that parents should be careful about any suspected "sexism" in their sons, like, if a boy says he only wants boys at his party, the parent should say, "No, that's sexist." As someone who's worked with kids before, I found that horrifying, because kids aren't really aware of sexism, and you shouldn't introduce them to adult conflict like that.

I'm now reading a book called Opening Heaven's Door. It's about near death experiences and out of body experiences, and how weak the arguments are against them -- basically just materialists finding any excuse to deny them. I liked the book at first, but it's really governed by the perceptions of the writer, and feels very penned-in by how she feels about spirituality. Basically, I'd like to read the same type of book by someone else, just to get a cross-opinion by someone who thinks differently.

Not to mention that her editor didn't get on her case about run-on sentences. And she has a hint of "treat the audience like they're stupid", as she continually adds unnecessary brackets to quotations. Like, she literally adds "[also]" to someone's quotation. It's not like "also" is a word that clarifies all that much. I know this is a nitpicky thing, but I read a lot of nonfiction, and when you see all those unnecessary brackets additions all the time, it gets really annoying.

[TheEconomist]

Maybe the boy wants a damn boy birthday. Stop ruining childhoods feminists!

[KaiserStratosTygo]

I had like one birthday party in my life (that I remember) and that was back when I was 5, everything after that was simply going to the store to buy some toys/video games.

:/

[Visions of Khas]

I've just finished the last book of N. K. Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy, composed of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Broken Kingdoms, and The Kingdom of Gods. While she describes her books as romance, they most definitely fall in the realm of fantasy. The characters are beautifully crafted, the mythology extensive and painstakingly created. The first book in the series stumbles around a bit, but from there the series takes on a more professional feel.

I can't wait til she finished the Fifth Season series, a dystopic fantasy.

[Nissa]

I had like one birthday party in my life (that I remember) and that was back when I was 5, everything after that was simply going to the store to buy some toys/video games.

:/

That's at least one step above my birthdays as a kid. One year my brother had to pawn his VCR so that we could have cake. No presents. I did have one birthday party at a skate rink one year. I don't recall there being any boys, though I made no effort to ban them. Is that sexist too, feminists?

I haven't heard of those books you mentioned, Khas, but good to know that there's something cool out there to try.

[TheEconomist]

Is that sexist too, feminists?

No, you're just protecting yourself from the nasty, violent, dangerous boys.