Book Recomondations

[deeby]

Just started reading "Children of Ash and Elm, A History of the Vikings", it's ok so far -- too early to form an opinion

@T_M have you read "Metro 2033"?

[T_M]

Just started reading "Children of Ash and Elm, A History of the Vikings", it's ok so far -- too early to form an opinion

@T_M have you read "Metro 2033"?

I have not. From what I read on wikipedia, it looks like something I would enjoy. Thanks for the referral!

[strapping]

Interesting books I've read in semi-recent times

The Trouble With Being Born - Emil Cioran.
A pessimistic book of aphorisms and contradictions on despair and the human condition. Upon initial inspection, Albert Camus' approach to the absurdity and contradiction of the world is empowering and almost cheery (half joking), Cioran's is depressive and engulfing. To me, their works are contradictory and complimentary, despite Cioran's academic ego driven dislike of Camus. To fight the absurd is a losing battle - Camus fights it knowing it's a losing battle, because he does not consider the other solution (suicide) to be "noble". Cioran on the other hand, states that "Without the idea of suicide, I'd have killed myself right away."

His metaphysical unbelonging, his antinatalism, his (possibly apocryphal) description of God as "an amateur craftsman" and his love of uselessness/disaster make him an interesting and welcome read.

His dark and dry humour often seems lost on Western audiences, making his works seem darker than they really are. Beneath Cioran's gloominess however, is his warmth, humour and understanding.


Force; Subvert - both books by Dan Cleather
Cleather is a strength and conditioning lecturer, weightlifting coach

Force book on biomechanics and the forces of sport and training, focusing on the mechanics side of things. Coming from the background I did it wasn't huge for me, but I still enjoyed it. On the other hand, it's an excellent read for most coaches and I thoroughly recommend it. Many technical recommendations and ideas in sport are based on a fundamentally poor understanding of physics and biomechanics - I think this book does a great job of explaining it to the not-quite layperson.

I've not finished it but Subvert by Dan Cleather is a book on scientific philosophy and the barriers to good science. The first half of the book is on the history of science and the structures that comprise scientific practice today, and how that affects the outcomes. The second half of the book is on the philosophy and scrutiny of the scientific method itself, which has become its own little religion.


Laziness Does Not Exist - Devon Price.

Written by a social and behavioural psychologist and professor, who is openly unhinged on social media (goals).

This book is an examination into the notion of laziness itself, the history of the idea of laziness, how it affects us and how we can move on. It is a self help book that is the antithesis of most self help books. It doesn't promise you a $25 instruction manual to bang supermodels and make a million dollars in 6 months (in either order). It's not a book that teaches you "self care" to increase your productivity. Instead, it is a book that offers a different and refreshing perspective on laziness as a human instinct, a way to survive and thrive in the longer term. It also highlights the necessity of compassion, curiosity and context to understand a person's behaviours, whether it be apparent laziness, overwork or otherwise.

[T_M]

Interesting books I've read in semi-recent times

The Trouble With Being Born - Emil Cioran.
A pessimistic book of aphorisms and contradictions on despair and the human condition. Upon initial inspection, Albert Camus' approach to the absurdity and contradiction of the world is empowering and almost cheery (half joking), Cioran's is depressive and engulfing. To me, their works are contradictory and complimentary, despite Cioran's academic ego driven dislike of Camus. To fight the absurd is a losing battle - Camus fights it knowing it's a losing battle, because he does not consider the other solution (suicide) to be "noble". Cioran on the other hand, states that "Without the idea of suicide, I'd have killed myself right away."

His metaphysical unbelonging, his antinatalism, his (possibly apocryphal) description of God as "an amateur craftsman" and his love of uselessness/disaster make him an interesting and welcome read.

His dark and dry humour often seems lost on Western audiences, making his works seem darker than they really are. Beneath Cioran's gloominess however, is his warmth, humour and understanding.


Force; Subvert - both books by Dan Cleather
Cleather is a strength and conditioning lecturer, weightlifting coach

Force book on biomechanics and the forces of sport and training, focusing on the mechanics side of things. Coming from the background I did it wasn't huge for me, but I still enjoyed it. On the other hand, it's an excellent read for most coaches and I thoroughly recommend it. Many technical recommendations and ideas in sport are based on a fundamentally poor understanding of physics and biomechanics - I think this book does a great job of explaining it to the not-quite layperson.

I've not finished it but Subvert by Dan Cleather is a book on scientific philosophy and the barriers to good science. The first half of the book is on the history of science and the structures that comprise scientific practice today, and how that affects the outcomes. The second half of the book is on the philosophy and scrutiny of the scientific method itself, which has become its own little religion.


Laziness Does Not Exist - Devon Price.

Written by a social and behavioural psychologist and professor, who is openly unhinged on social media (goals).

This book is an examination into the notion of laziness itself, the history of the idea of laziness, how it affects us and how we can move on. It is a self help book that is the antithesis of most self help books. It doesn't promise you a $25 instruction manual to bang supermodels and make a million dollars in 6 months (in either order). It's not a book that teaches you "self care" to increase your productivity. Instead, it is a book that offers a different and refreshing perspective on laziness as a human instinct, a way to survive and thrive in the longer term. It also highlights the necessity of compassion, curiosity and context to understand a person's behaviours, whether it be apparent laziness, overwork or otherwise.

I'm glad I resurrected this thread...some interesting new material I'm not familiar with.

I'm getting close to that stage in life where I worry about how much time I have left to read all the books I still haven't read...and the list keeps growing!