What are you reading?

[TraceItalian]

Wrapping up "Between Debt and the Devil" by Adair Turner. It was published in 2016 and is another "crash of 2008 and its consequences" book. Nevertheless, it's a good one and it argues that credit expansion was good when it was used for capital investments that had a rate of return greater than the cost of interest and added significant efficiencies to an economy. But the financial/credit system expanded rapidly and now credit is used primarily for non-productive consumer spending (housing/toys/etc.). After the 2008 collapse, the economy is now hung over with debt overhang. Lowering consumer spending to pay down debt leaves a "hole" in the economy. This is filled with government spending. Hence, private (mortgage) debt that sunk the economy in 2008 has been transferred to the public sector. What's not clear is what to do next. The debt/GDP ratio was 62% in 2007. Today it is 108%. Consumer debt/GDP fell in the years following the 2008 collapse but it is now going up again. Anyway, interesting stuff.

I just got doene with it last night, but have you read Capitalist Realism? It kinda dovetails that. Plus, his mentor is batshit insane, so thats fun

Well, Capitalist Realism looks very interesting after reading about the author. I am familiar with zero books and have a bunch of them on my “to read” list. So I assume you are referring to Zizek as the mentor. He’s entertaining but I haven’t delved into his works. I see CR is at my local B&N ... i’ll pick it up.

Nah, I mean the gibbering moonbat Nick Land, who has such a hard on for capitalism that he believes that it will only be perfect by becoming a Lovecraftian entity that destroys humanity

[JereFuzz]

Picked it up! Damn, thing is a pamphlet!

[coldbrightsunlight]

Started The Last Days of New Paris yesterday.
I'm enjoying it a lot, very imaginative and evocative writing so far.

[weebles]

Read all 8 of The Expanse books over the past couple of months. I really enjoyed them. While they’re not quite the “space opera” they’re touted as, they’re good sci-fi. (I wouldn’t call it pulp, but it’s teetering on the edge)

Also just zoomed through both of the Kingkiller Chronicles books. Interesting story, interesting world, but falls into that trope of an all-powerful lead character whose only flaw is his arrogance/being a dumbass. Kind of like the Stormlight Archive in that sense.

Anyway, now I’m reading a slow western called Warlock.

[coldbrightsunlight]

I watched the first two seasons of the expanse and it seemed pretty ok if not mind-blowing. Now it's on Amazon I've been thinking of getting the books instead to finish the series because I can't be paying for two streaming services.

[TraceItalian]

Also just zoomed through both of the Kingkiller Chronicles books. Interesting story, interesting world, but falls into that trope of an all-powerful lead character whose only flaw is his arrogance/being a dumbass. Kind of like the Stormlight Archive in that sense.

I liked the first book alright, but the second one seemed too Mary Sue (what's the male equivalent?) in certain parts and just got a bit weird to me. I ended up hopping over to The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie if you've not checked that out, and that was a cool book. Very surface level and silly, but well written and a very enjoyable read.

[coldbrightsunlight]

I have seen Gary Stu or Marty Stu, that sort of thing

[doommeow]

(what's the male equivalent?)

[D.o.S.]

Started The Last Days of New Paris yesterday.
I'm enjoying it a lot, very imaginative and evocative writing so far.

It's excellent.

[TraceItalian]

Never got around to reading it when i was a kid, but I definitely enjoyed Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam. Most stuff I've read by engineers is just flat, but he really is a good writer.

[odontophobia]

Also just zoomed through both of the Kingkiller Chronicles books. Interesting story, interesting world, but falls into that trope of an all-powerful lead character whose only flaw is his arrogance/being a dumbass. Kind of like the Stormlight Archive in that sense.

I liked the first book alright, but the second one seemed too Mary Sue (what's the male equivalent?) in certain parts and just got a bit weird to me. I ended up hopping over to The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie if you've not checked that out, and that was a cool book. Very surface level and silly, but well written and a very enjoyable read.

I really like Abercrombie. The Heroes is standalone but part of the First Law universe.

I just read Best Served Cold by Abercrombie and it was great.

[dubkitty]

haven't been reading shit lately other than Twitter and the You Must Get Them All blog which is sequentially reviewing the Fall discography, but i ordered Homage to Catalonia and The Society of the Spectacle for reading while i'm on vacation. at this point i can't really get into anything that lacks timely socio-political content.

[JereFuzz]

haven't been reading shit lately other than Twitter and the You Must Get Them All blog which is sequentially reviewing the Fall discography, but i ordered Homage to Catalonia and The Society of the Spectacle for reading while i'm on vacation. at this point i can't really get into anything that lacks timely socio-political content.

SOS is sitting on my table, ready to be read. Seems hard/strange at first glance. Much thinking will be required. The Simulacra and Simulations by Baudrillard was great but deserves another read.

[Seance]

After reading and loving a few books by Enrique Vila-Matas (Bartleby & Co. and Montano's Malady)
I 've been reading Robert Musil's The Man Without Qualities. I'm just a little way into the second volume.
There are a lot of striking resonances in the descriptions of the pre-WWI Austro-Hungarian Empire and
the current world situation.

[JereFuzz]

Wrapping up "Between Debt and the Devil" by Adair Turner. It was published in 2016 and is another "crash of 2008 and its consequences" book. Nevertheless, it's a good one and it argues that credit expansion was good when it was used for capital investments that had a rate of return greater than the cost of interest and added significant efficiencies to an economy. But the financial/credit system expanded rapidly and now credit is used primarily for non-productive consumer spending (housing/toys/etc.). After the 2008 collapse, the economy is now hung over with debt overhang. Lowering consumer spending to pay down debt leaves a "hole" in the economy. This is filled with government spending. Hence, private (mortgage) debt that sunk the economy in 2008 has been transferred to the public sector. What's not clear is what to do next. The debt/GDP ratio was 62% in 2007. Today it is 108%. Consumer debt/GDP fell in the years following the 2008 collapse but it is now going up again. Anyway, interesting stuff.

I just got doene with it last night, but have you read Capitalist Realism? It kinda dovetails that. Plus, his mentor is batshit insane, so thats fun

Well, Capitalist Realism looks very interesting after reading about the author. I am familiar with zero books and have a bunch of them on my “to read” list. So I assume you are referring to Zizek as the mentor. He’s entertaining but I haven’t delved into his works. I see CR is at my local B&N ... i’ll pick it up.

Nah, I mean the gibbering moonbat Nick Land, who has such a hard on for capitalism that he believes that it will only be perfect by becoming a Lovecraftian entity that destroys humanity

Well I am wrapping up CR and I love it. It meshes well with Baudrillard. What I love about it is that it references my favorite movie that I never find other authors referencing - Videodrome! One area he doesn’t delve into enough is mass media and perpetual entertainment.