Reading Pam Montgomery’s wonderful Plant Spirit Healing to augment my regular Wednesday night herbalist teaching zoom. Recently revisited 1984 and found it to be truly horrifying. Also Matthew Wood’s dense treatise The Extracellular Matrix - more herbalism. And Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice. Nothing really too light!
Helen Thompson's "Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century". A voice rightly taken seriously by those who aren't just on the fringes, but whose vision is merciless with regard to the predicaments we face. This might just be one of those "Silent Spring"-type books that tips a balance, but who knows...?
Luca Boldoni, Itaca: Isola dalla Schiena di Drago. It's in Italian. I am wondering, though, if there are any good, recent travel books / memoirs / writing in English on the theme that Baldoni is working: Ithaca, its meaning, the evidence for Odysseus, the evidence for a historic Homer. (It helps that Ithaka by Cavafis is one of my favorite poems.)
Francesca Matteoni, Dal Matto al Mondo: Viaggio poetico nei tarocchi. Matteoni is examining each of the major arcana with a short (four or five pages) essay. Then we'll get into the suits and the court cards. The tarot are powerful--as a portrait, as a look into where one is. Matteoni quote many poets: she's a fan of W.B. Yeats and Eliot (for the famous reference to Madame Sosostris...).
Curzio Malaparte, Kaputt. This book is available in English. Malaparte was Italian and worked as a journalist and writer "behind the lines"--in occupied Poland, Ukraine, Romania, and Croatia. He has a special fondness for the Finns, who were then fighting the Russians.
Malaparte's style is evocative, multilingual, incantatory. Horrifying, also. Highly recommended.
Not a spoiler-alert;
The book ends with the line: "The flies won."
Which I think of as I witness the cheerleading for war, any war, just so it's war, the transparent propaganda, and the wreckage of whatever rudimentary moral compass some people seem to have had.
Not yet, so far as I can tell from her publisher, Effequ. She has published on folklore and the occult in English--so you my want to do a search on-line for her name, Francesca Matteoni, and see if it links you to English publications.
Each human gets to pick how they want to worship and feel a belonging. For me, I think the world got worse when humans gave their gods a "human face", but, that said, the humility preached by Jesus, well, pretty good, right? The arrogance to think Yahweh thought of all this stuff first, well, it's simple. Still, not mine to tell him, and I won't begrudge any human for being incorrect in thinking, logic, or belief, so long as they aren't hurting anyone.
I also occasionally write a Substack over at www.devilsdispatch.com. I haven’t been super active on it lately because of life things, but when I have time and thoughts, that’s where I put them.
Oooh, I've got a bundle for you! First up; "WOMB TO THRIVE: The Missing Keys to Heal Yourself, Your Family and the Planet. Co-authored by 26 people with multi-disciplines related with pregnancy and childbirth, this book offers a chance to birth the change we wish for ourselves, our families, and our world." Then I am reading a group of books all related to the mysteries of nature, soil and electromagnetism. Books include the topic of The Round Towers of Ireland by Phillip Callahan, Thomas Sheridan, Henry O'Brien (there are numerous books about the round towers, but these 3 authors, in my opinion, understand the underlying premises). In addition, I am adding all of Viktor Schauberger's books such as The Fertile Earth, Hidden Nature and The Water Wizard. Add in Rudolph Steiner's "Agriculture" and you have tremendous potential for regenerating the soil and re-energizing life on earth.
You’re welcome to poke around my Substack. I come from the world of theatre so my lens on current technocratic take over can get a bit dramatic at times.
The book I just finished is by Barbara Marx Hubbard called Conscious Evolution. Where you look to the past and myths to colour the present, she looked to the future. She died in 2019 but I wonder what she would have thought about this whole transhumanist agenda taking afoot.
As a retired librarian, my favorite question to ask or answer has always been “What are you reading?” My current hard book is Bobby Kennedy Junior’s ‘The Real Anthony Fauci.’ It is brutal and hard to stomach but so well documented as to be undeniable. Medium hard is ‘Hillbilly Elegy, a Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis.’ Discusses the economic and cultural decline of the descendants of Scotch Irish immigrants to the US (Appalachian/Rust Belt). They are known for their toughness, feuds, loyalty to family, gun-toting, fighting spirit and mistrust of all authority. The author is a child of this culture and describes his life among the hillbillies in honest and thorough detail. When economic survival in their mountain homes forced mass movement to the northern steel mills, their roughneck character persisted. When those industries also declined, closed and moved away, these these folks were left holding fistfuls of nothing. Similar to black migration from the Deep South to jobs in midwestern auto industry.
Honestly I have to get past the sort of S. F. Bay area 80's/90's/ chaos magic faint lingering vibe because it reminds me of skeezy older magician dudes when I was young but when I do yes I think his writing is of worth.
I'll stick with just one from the stack: Seeking the Sublime Cache by William Berger. It's a collection of powerful reflections on opera, and it's made for surprisingly a propos companion to Ani.Mystic for me. Berger gets into pace of life, ritual in drama, and dispelling the pretense that usually ruins opera. Some good discussion of 19thc euro nationalisms to boot.
Reading Pam Montgomery’s wonderful Plant Spirit Healing to augment my regular Wednesday night herbalist teaching zoom. Recently revisited 1984 and found it to be truly horrifying. Also Matthew Wood’s dense treatise The Extracellular Matrix - more herbalism. And Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice. Nothing really too light!
Helen Thompson's "Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century". A voice rightly taken seriously by those who aren't just on the fringes, but whose vision is merciless with regard to the predicaments we face. This might just be one of those "Silent Spring"-type books that tips a balance, but who knows...?
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/disorder-9780198864981
With my age and eyesight, my reading is pretty much limited to the internet.
The Uncontrollability of the World by Hartmut Rosa
Marriage: The Mystery of Faithful Love by Dietrich Von Hildebrand
Currently reading:
Luca Boldoni, Itaca: Isola dalla Schiena di Drago. It's in Italian. I am wondering, though, if there are any good, recent travel books / memoirs / writing in English on the theme that Baldoni is working: Ithaca, its meaning, the evidence for Odysseus, the evidence for a historic Homer. (It helps that Ithaka by Cavafis is one of my favorite poems.)
Francesca Matteoni, Dal Matto al Mondo: Viaggio poetico nei tarocchi. Matteoni is examining each of the major arcana with a short (four or five pages) essay. Then we'll get into the suits and the court cards. The tarot are powerful--as a portrait, as a look into where one is. Matteoni quote many poets: she's a fan of W.B. Yeats and Eliot (for the famous reference to Madame Sosostris...).
Curzio Malaparte, Kaputt. This book is available in English. Malaparte was Italian and worked as a journalist and writer "behind the lines"--in occupied Poland, Ukraine, Romania, and Croatia. He has a special fondness for the Finns, who were then fighting the Russians.
Malaparte's style is evocative, multilingual, incantatory. Horrifying, also. Highly recommended.
Not a spoiler-alert;
The book ends with the line: "The flies won."
Which I think of as I witness the cheerleading for war, any war, just so it's war, the transparent propaganda, and the wreckage of whatever rudimentary moral compass some people seem to have had.
The Tarot book sounds pretty cool. Is there an English version?
Not yet, so far as I can tell from her publisher, Effequ. She has published on folklore and the occult in English--so you my want to do a search on-line for her name, Francesca Matteoni, and see if it links you to English publications.
The Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century by Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein! For fiction, I'm rereading The Hobbit.
The usuals
Stephen Jenkinson
Charles Eisenstein
Books about permaculture
Dr. Tess Lawrie
Martin Shaw
Paul Kinsgsnorth
Caitlin Johnstone
Eric Aspen Marley
Very similar to my bookshelf. How are you faring with martin shaws current conversion to christianity? I'm not sure how I feel about it
Each human gets to pick how they want to worship and feel a belonging. For me, I think the world got worse when humans gave their gods a "human face", but, that said, the humility preached by Jesus, well, pretty good, right? The arrogance to think Yahweh thought of all this stuff first, well, it's simple. Still, not mine to tell him, and I won't begrudge any human for being incorrect in thinking, logic, or belief, so long as they aren't hurting anyone.
wow. this is reflects my thoughts exactly. and indeed, each to there own but its interesting to see the process
The Wild Wisdom of Weeds by Katrina Blair (late adopter)!
The Missing Lynx: The Past and Future of Britain's Lost Mammals by Ross Barnett (gripping writing, new very old wisdom)
Slow probably for the next 2 year read: The Matter with Things by Iain McGilchrist!
I’m reading Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.
I also occasionally write a Substack over at www.devilsdispatch.com. I haven’t been super active on it lately because of life things, but when I have time and thoughts, that’s where I put them.
That's definitely one I'd like to reread. Just nearing the end of Armageddon In Retrospect.
Oooh, I've got a bundle for you! First up; "WOMB TO THRIVE: The Missing Keys to Heal Yourself, Your Family and the Planet. Co-authored by 26 people with multi-disciplines related with pregnancy and childbirth, this book offers a chance to birth the change we wish for ourselves, our families, and our world." Then I am reading a group of books all related to the mysteries of nature, soil and electromagnetism. Books include the topic of The Round Towers of Ireland by Phillip Callahan, Thomas Sheridan, Henry O'Brien (there are numerous books about the round towers, but these 3 authors, in my opinion, understand the underlying premises). In addition, I am adding all of Viktor Schauberger's books such as The Fertile Earth, Hidden Nature and The Water Wizard. Add in Rudolph Steiner's "Agriculture" and you have tremendous potential for regenerating the soil and re-energizing life on earth.
You’re welcome to poke around my Substack. I come from the world of theatre so my lens on current technocratic take over can get a bit dramatic at times.
The book I just finished is by Barbara Marx Hubbard called Conscious Evolution. Where you look to the past and myths to colour the present, she looked to the future. She died in 2019 but I wonder what she would have thought about this whole transhumanist agenda taking afoot.
As a retired librarian, my favorite question to ask or answer has always been “What are you reading?” My current hard book is Bobby Kennedy Junior’s ‘The Real Anthony Fauci.’ It is brutal and hard to stomach but so well documented as to be undeniable. Medium hard is ‘Hillbilly Elegy, a Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis.’ Discusses the economic and cultural decline of the descendants of Scotch Irish immigrants to the US (Appalachian/Rust Belt). They are known for their toughness, feuds, loyalty to family, gun-toting, fighting spirit and mistrust of all authority. The author is a child of this culture and describes his life among the hillbillies in honest and thorough detail. When economic survival in their mountain homes forced mass movement to the northern steel mills, their roughneck character persisted. When those industries also declined, closed and moved away, these these folks were left holding fistfuls of nothing. Similar to black migration from the Deep South to jobs in midwestern auto industry.
I adjourned RFK Jr halfway through, it's a lot to take in, but will get back to it soon. The depths of evil he describes are deeply unsettling.
Currently with active bookmarks:
Prolegomena To The Study If Greek Religion- Jane Ellen Harrison-
The Dream Of Arcadia - Van Wyck Brooks
The House Of The Net- The Magical Symbolism of the Hieroglyphs- Wendy Berg
Medical Nemesis: The Expropriation of Health- Ivan Illich
Iamblicus- On The Mysteries
Books on Fire: The Destruction of Libraries throughout History- Lucien X. Polastron
Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives- The Life and Teachings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
Changeling- Aidan Wachter.
love all of aiden wachter
Honestly I have to get past the sort of S. F. Bay area 80's/90's/ chaos magic faint lingering vibe because it reminds me of skeezy older magician dudes when I was young but when I do yes I think his writing is of worth.
Some excellent choices by Elspeth Annora Fremantle.
I'll stick with just one from the stack: Seeking the Sublime Cache by William Berger. It's a collection of powerful reflections on opera, and it's made for surprisingly a propos companion to Ani.Mystic for me. Berger gets into pace of life, ritual in drama, and dispelling the pretense that usually ruins opera. Some good discussion of 19thc euro nationalisms to boot.
Laxdaela Saga.
Spans the conversion of Iceland. Lot of limb lopping and dead people that won’t give up.
The Populist Delusion.
New title by youtuber Academic Agent.
Bread in The Wilderness by Thomas Merton.