Book Group

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Chrisull Aug 2020 6:52pm, 3 Aug 2020 16,385 posts	0 Chrisull I finished the KLF book and why they burned a million pounds, while I was on holiday, digressions aplenty on things like magic (Alan Moore summoning demons), usury (the practice of charging interest on loans), situationism, discordianism (Robert Anton Wilson - and how the conspiracy of the Illuminati started on the Playbody letters page) and fake religions, very little on the KLF (I'm not really a fan, although Bill Drummond has fascinated me for a long time) but yeah it was pretty great and actually did a pretty good argument/speculation for why burning a million wasn't totally the absolute dickheadish act it initially appears to be. It helps that they don't 100% know why they did it. It now has acted as a launch pad to take me into this: amazon.co.uk which is quote "An exploration of the emergence of a new psychedelic spirituality in the work of Philip K. Dick, Terence McKenna, and Robert Anton Wilson" which despite the horrifically dry and new-agey tone of that summary, is actually a deeply technical text book dissection of the drug experiences and resultant "manias" of the above three individuals and how it affected their work/creativity. This one is requires a dictionary alongside (eschatogical, hermeneutics, perennialism anyone?) but is fair taking my head off. It's absolutely fascinating, starts with a potted (sic) history of 60-70s drug culture, but veers off into some totally whacked out cul-de-sacs, tangents that certainly demand a re-assessment of how we look at the world, understand consciousness and pathologise mental health disorders. Reading it alongside Utopia Avenue currently (which is fun light reading), which seems somehow very apt.
LindsD Aug 2020 9:52pm, 3 Aug 2020 39,511 posts	0 LindsD I like the sound of that.
Columba Aug 2020 10:36pm, 3 Aug 2020 20,095 posts	0 Columba Sounds interesting, Chrisull. Eschatological I know (end-of-the-world discourse). Hermeneutic is one of those words which I keep looking up, then (having looked it up) think I've got, only to find next time I come across it that I've forgotten what it means again. Perennialism - well, I know perennial, so I suppose it's just the -ism from that.
Chrisull Aug 2020 11:04pm, 3 Aug 2020 16,386 posts	0 Chrisull Columba - that's what got me perennialism and perennial - not the same (well in the book's comtext). Spiritual perennialism is summed up elsewhere as "one mountain many paths" - ie there are many ways of reaching the same heaven/nirvana/utopia etc etc, they all share one truth. But it's only when I saw it several times used in contexts where the first sense didn't really make sense that I thought to look it up!
Diogenes Aug 2020 2:37pm, 4 Aug 2020 51,691 posts	0 Diogenes I'm a fair way into A Single Thread now. I'm reserving my judgement, for now. Will the discussion thread be up soon? I added another couple of books to the TBR pile earlier: The Body, by Bill Bryson, and Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernadine Evaristo. I've been wanting to read the latter for ages.
Sharkie Aug 2020 2:49pm, 4 Aug 2020 16,284 posts	0 Sharkie Raffo has just bought The Body, Dio. Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is the Bryson he loves above all others. Me, I still like The Lost Continent best. And although he was a little disappointed with the ending he has just finished A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman, translated from the Hebrew by Jessica Cohen. He says it is is the best translation he's ever read. High praise indeed of Ms. Cohen.
McGoohan Aug 2020 2:55pm, 4 Aug 2020 46,362 posts	0 McGoohan Oops, just set up a thread Have a link fetcheveryone.com/forum/a-single-thread---august-2020-book-group-discussion-er-thread-61559
LindsD Aug 2020 3:03pm, 4 Aug 2020 39,532 posts	0 LindsD I finished Climbers this morning. I enjoyed it, but was strangely unsatisfied. I think I might need to read it again. There's A Lot of description, which is not really my thing.
McGoohan Aug 2020 3:04pm, 4 Aug 2020 46,363 posts	0 McGoohan Soz for the delays folks - I was off last week and didn't do much other than biking and walking. All links, polls, discussions, piccies up now.
LindsD Aug 2020 3:05pm, 4 Aug 2020 39,533 posts	0 LindsD Not sure whether I should do the thread thing next, or Consider Phlebas, or Lincoln in the Bardo.