[teestub]

I’ve never read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell but “Sparks” has been compared favourably, so if you liked that I suspect you’ll like this one.

Biiiiiiig recommend, alongside Piranesi also from Susanna Clarke if you haven’t read that. I’ll give this one a go!

I’ll let you read me in on the old solve et coagula afterwards 😆

[Falling Down]

 

Sorry Fiend! I did fear sounding like a right knobhead writing this down and then reading it back.

JB - Whoops, yeah Taylor (where did I get Walker from?). It’s a great read and I’m sure you and Ellie will enjoy it. Very Sheffield which is why I’m sure she followed you on Twitter.

As for the others, I’d leave the Davies until you’re in the right mood as it’s chunky and dense. The Pasulka is a good entertaining read, probably similar to the book Sean suggested as it has got lots of California high desert scenes in it too. Madden’s not too dense, but a bit of a mindblower. 

The Thiese has f-all to do with UFOs and is a lovely read.

Yeah I’ve read Higg’s KLF book. It’s good and funny (I think I talked about on here too) and of course they nicked pretty much everything from RaW and his associates at the time.  His two books on William Blake are brilliant.

Funnily enough, per KLF, last night, I discovered that this https://www.klfrs.com/dispatches-from-the-k-line runs through the street we live on, passing through the house nextdoor but one.

[Dolly]

Nice one, Ben, lot of interesting sounding stuff to explore there...

The Stirrings: Catherine Walker.

It's Taylor innit? Been intrigued by this since - weird flex alert - she followed me on Twitter (no idea why). Will pick up a copy as Ellie was curious too and is squarely in the core audience.

High Weirdness: Erik Davies.
American Cosmic (UFOs Religon and Technology) : Diane Pasulka.
Unidentified Hyper Object: James D Madden
Notes on Complexity, A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness, and Being: Neil Thiese

These all sound great! Which would you recommend first? Have you read John Higgs' book on the KLF, I will have recommended it many pages back? Touches on similar ground although no doubt in a lighter manner. Also reminds me I ground to a halt half way through a McGilchrist tome a couple of years back... need to revisit.

I haven’t finisehed it either and I’m not sure it’s “necessary “ TBH.

[Dolly]

I know I’ve mentioned it on another thread but Ecos Travels in hyper Reality is IMO the perfect amalgum of Euro pride scintillating intellect withering dismissal of the US and an expression of “what’s wrong” with modern culture. It’s old but still spot on IMO with genuine LOL moments

[Falling Down]

That’s a great book Dolly.

On McGilchrist, I agree with you about the second half of Master and his Emmisary. It would have been a better book without that.

[Falling Down]

(Not a dig FD, love your reviews and some of these do look great, I've just bought notes on complexity)

Hehe thanks Duma. I’ll be interested to hear what you make of it.

[ToxicBilberry]

Notes on Complexity is Ok, although at times it feels like the author is working in political metaphors to support his own belief systems. One of the strongest proponents of philosophical idealism is Bernardo Kastrup who’s book - why materialism is baloney, does a better job of explaining it. One of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in this field is Rupert Sheldrake’s ‘The Science Delusion’ where he describes looking for consciousness in the brain as akin to looking for a TV program in the back of the set.

Personally I’m a bit drained with the hard problem of consciousness exploration, lots of it seems to be about men trying to find and replicate ‘God’. Ray Kurzweil and Martine Rothblatt must be waiting with baited breath.

I prefer Roger Scruton’s analysis that whatever the answer is, it’s not to be found in words but in how we interface with the ‘world’ in a non symbolic and symbolic way.

[ToxicBilberry]

Funnily enough this quote I just found, by Martine Rothblatt, sums up part of the message of the book-

‘I’m transcending the border of my body to connect with a greater creator collectivity. I’m transcending white or black to just be a person. I’m transcending flesh to be a consciousness. I’m transcending Earth to be part of the galaxy. I’m transcending limitations to be unlimited.‘

Now get yourself down the Terasem chapel and transcend to the digital Omega point! 😆

[TobyD]

Malice by Keigo Higashino; a very good Japanese murder mystery novel which is as surprising as the other things of his that I've read. That said, I didn't love it as much as the Detective Galileo series which I've read all of. The characters in Malice aren't as well developed as the others and it depends more on the clever, twisty plot. Still very much worth reading, however.

[Falling Down]

I’m confused TB. What book?  Do you mean Complexity? If so, I don’t think Thiese is anywhere near proposing the sort of garbage that Kurzweil and Rothblatt rattle on about. In fact I’d hazard a guess that he’d be downright dismissive.

(I’m very familiar with Kastrup’s work. I like it). 

Also if you’re curious about scientism then can I suggest reading Bruno Latour and Etienne Soreiuex (particularly Les Différents modes d'existence, 1943) over Sheldrake?

[ToxicBilberry]

Hi FD, yes I meant Complexity. It was a nicely written book with lots of anecdotes and good use of analogy and metaphor which helped me understand some complex ideas a bit better. My criticism which is probably due to weariness with the approach, is the constant examination of Eastern Mysticism through the lens of Western Empiricism. It has a utilitarian feel to it where by 'science' can be used to end 'suffering' and bring equitable harmony to the universe. (In Spengler's analysis this would be evidence of the incommunicable nature of cultures.) For example he juxtaposes idea of the delusion of authority in the localism of the ant colony with a transcendent state which can be extracted from the metaphysical realm to join with material life. My point about Martine Rothblatt and Ray Kurzweil is not that the author will be interested in them, but they will be interested in him.

Thanks for the other author suggestions I'll have a look, I'm not sure I'm intellectually qualified to read work by French authors, I do like Simone Weil and her rather simplistic approach to this conundrum where 'Love of God is pure when joy and suffering inspire an equal degree of gratitude.' That is if God is the metaphysical realm Complexity is referring to.

[Falling Down]

Thanks TB that’s helpful, although I didn't take away the same message that science could help to end suffering, but hey, we pour ourselves into books and take away things in different ways right?

The Souriau book is available in English (sorry I was being a wanker quoting in French, I wouldn’t have a clue how to read it either), as The Different Modes of Existence. Latour wrote an extensive introduction which is good.

[ToxicBilberry]

Thanks! I'll take a look at those, I have just listened to a cambridge lecture by Latour on Modes of Existence - I've got to say I find it hard to be motivated by the French post-modern philosophers, it's the playing with language and everything is a social construct etc. I prefer to believe in fundamental truths such a beauty and natural order.

[Falling Down]

OK. For the record though, Latour wasn't a post-modernist, nor a social constructivist.

Go well, and please take good care of yourself as, yet again, you appear to be picking a deliberately contrarian position and a provocative, aggressive stance on several other threads on here. I wonder what that is like for you and how isolating it is?

I'm pretty sure everyone else here on UKB also shares your desire for beauty so I'd invite you to lean into that and find some common ground perhaps?

[ToxicBilberry]

Thanks TD I shall persist with trying to understand him. Re - the rest, I’m good. Cheers