What are you currently reading?

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

There's an excellent 10-episode Russian tv adaptation of The Idiot as well.

TD: starting:

I think you're talking about this drama. It looks very interesting and I may purchase the dvd soon.

[nico1616]

Interesting. Apart from the famous Grand Inquisitor passage, I've yet to read this one.

I don't get that Grand Inquisitor story, for me it drags and drags, but it should be one of the highlights of Karamazov...

[Florestan]

Turgenev - Virgin Soil

[AnotherSpin]

I don't get that Grand Inquisitor story, for me it drags and drags, but it should be one of the highlights of Karamazov...

True

[Ganondorf]

[Henk]

Highly interesting.

[AnotherSpin]

Highly interesting.

I've been thinking about how posthumanism might relate to some ideas in Indian philosophy. Posthumanism sees humans as fluid and changeable, not tied to fixed identities. That feels quite close to certain Indian views—like the idea of Brahman, an infinite and unchanging reality that goes beyond individual selves. Posthumanist thinkers also question the notion that humans are completely unique, and they explore what it means to have an identity that isn't fixed or centered only on the human. Indian philosophy often sees the self as something temporary and always open to change, which really aligns with that idea. Curious to hear what you think—do you see a connection here too?

[Henk]

I've been thinking about how posthumanism might relate to some ideas in Indian philosophy. Posthumanism sees humans as fluid and changeable, not tied to fixed identities. That feels quite close to certain Indian views—like the idea of Brahman, an infinite and unchanging reality that goes beyond individual selves. Posthumanist thinkers also question the notion that humans are completely unique, and they explore what it means to have an identity that isn't fixed or centered only on the human. Indian philosophy often sees the self as something temporary and always open to change, which really aligns with that idea. Curious to hear what you think—do you see a connection here too?

I think you're right, your idea of posthumaminism conforms quite well with my knowledge, though of course it's broader. Indeed this philosophy encompasses many things.

Ferrando also borrows from Thich Nhat Hanh, a zen-buddhist whose books I read, for example his notion 'inter-being' which argues that everything is connected, and also Krishnamurti. So indeed, there is a connection with historical non-western traditions. But it's also very contemporous, there's no contradiction in this.

Btw, I read that brahman and atman can fuse, the notion of 'non-duality', somewhat the core of Indian philosophy, which is my reference as a novice to discern Indian philosophy from buddhism.

Posthumanism speak to me. 'New eyes' to see myself and the world, this I find very satisfying.

[AnotherSpin]

I think you're right, your idea of posthumaminism conforms quite well with my knowledge, though of course it's broader. Indeed this philosophy encompasses many things.

Ferrando also borrows from Thich Nhat Hanh, a zen-buddhist whose books I read, for example his notion 'inter-being' which argues that everything is connected, and also Krishnamurti. So indeed, there is a connection with historical non-western traditions. But it's also very contemporous, there's no contradiction in this.

Btw, I read that brahman and atman can fuse, the notion of 'non-duality', somewhat the core of Indian philosophy, which is my reference as a novice to discern Indian philosophy from buddhism.

Posthumanism speak to me. 'New eyes' to see myself and the world, this I find very satisfying.

I see. I will try to dig deeper into Ferrando.

Reality, true Reality is called Brahman. When Brahman is seen as residing within a living being or object, it's referred to as Atman. That's the basic idea, without getting too complicated.

I've read some books by Thich Nhat Hanh, an interesting author. I find the history of Vietnamese Buddhism compelling, especially during the years of the recent wars.

Jiddu Krishnamurti is a bit hard for me to connect with, though I often recall some of his insights. But I'm very interested in the other Krishnamurti — U.G.Krishnamurti, or simply U.G.

U.G.'s books are freely available. He was a rather radical figure who didn't believe in copyrights or making money from spirituality. If you're curious to explore his work, The Mystique of Enlightenment might be a good place to start.

[ritter]

Giovanni Testori: Luchino.



Giovanni Testori (1923 - 1993) was a prominent Italian writer of the second half of the 20th century. His collection of short stories Il Ponte della Ghisolfa was the literary source of Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers.

Visconti and Testori had been close, and this book is a poetic homage by the former to the latter. It must have been written in early 1972 (Visconti suffered a stroke that year, and this is not mentioned in the text), but was withdrawn by the author prior to publication due to a falling out with the film director. Apparently, Visconti edited out the scenes in his movie Ludwig in which Testori's companion, Frenchman Alain Toubas, played a minor rôle, and this angered Testori.

The text only resurfaced a couple of years ago.

[ultralinear]

The Eastern Front  by Nick Lloyd



Now surely the definitive single-volume English-language account of this conflict, well deserving of all the praise it has garnered.

[Karl Henning]

I am keeping reasonably faithful to MacDonald's Phantastes, but I've also started Lord of the Rings afresh. I'm not saying it's the greatest book in the world, only that I always get drawn right back into it.

[Karl Henning]

I've also started Lord of the Rings afresh. I'm not saying it's the greatest book in the world, only that I always get drawn right back into it.

I will take a minute to laud the superbly crafted second chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Shadow of the Past." This chapter has the burden of exposition of density to a degree rare in books so widely popular, interweaved so well with character-relevant narrative that it flows freely and dulcetly. It reminds me of the episode in The Hobbit where Gandalf (with Bilbo at his side) needs to break it gently to Beorn that he is presently going to host a party of 13 dwarves.

[ritter]

Sticking to Italian 20th century literature, with Mario Soldati's collection of three short stories —more like novellas, actually— A cena col commendatore.



Soldati (1906-1999) was well known in Italy both as a film director (a curious piece of trivia is that he not only participated in writing the screenplay, but apparently even directed some scenes of King Vidor's War and Peace) and as a writer. The commendatore in this book is not that of Mozart and Da Ponte —although reference is made to that fictional character— but a retired opera impresario who tells the stories in post WW2 Milan, shortly before his death.

The stories were collected in book form in 1950, and successful enough to be published in English by Knopf and French by Plon just a couple of years later.

[Florestan]

Gambling, booze, cigars... only the chicks are missing. 

[ritter]

Well, Soldati clearly was a bon vivant. He received the Premio di Letteratura Gastronomica in 1959, and compiled a 829 page book on his travels through Italy in search of well-known or obscure wines (initially in three volumes between 1969 and 1976)

[SimonNZ]

Finished / started:

[AnotherSpin]

The recently deceased Frederick Forsyth's novel is an effortless read, but you can tell it's built on some seriously solid ground. He did his homework. The way he lays out how power actually works in Russia feels uncomfortably accurate — detailed enough to make you forget you're reading fiction. Real political names from the '90s pop up not just for flavour, but to give the whole thing a near-documentary weight.

But the real kicker? This was written in the mid-90s, and yet there's a character — a fascist-leaning strongman, obsessed with total control — who looks an awful lot like a certain present-day bunker-dweller. Either Forsyth had a crystal ball, or (more likely) he just understood how Russian politics operates. When your options are fake reformers on one side and shady sadists on the other, it's only a matter of time before a dead-eyed ex-KGB type slides into power. If it hadn't been Putin, it would've been someone just like him. The system was always going to cough up that kind of monster.

The book takes its time, but it builds a pretty grim picture: Russia as the battleground between good and evil, with noble, Russian-speaking Anglo-Saxons slyly manipulating the few honest locals into standing up to the soulless machine. All good, as far as moral tales go. But here's the thing — and for me, it's the one key correction: the real dividing line between good and evil doesn't run through Russia itself, but rather, snugly along its borders.

[Mandryka]

I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level undernéath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstacy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird,—the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!


Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! And the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!


No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.

[DaveF]

I caught this morning morning's minion, king-...

Can I recommend that your next reading should be