cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/77930327

Historian and scholar of political economy who researches the history of economic thought, austerity, and the political role of economists.

Books:

• Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism

• Escape from Capitalism

• The Golden Hour: Booming Markets, False Narratives, and the Decades That Made Modern Society

“The Book of Disappearance” leans into magical realism by imagining a Tel Aviv where the Palestinian population vanishes overnight, echoing Azem’s family’s real experiences during the Nakba — the mass displacement of Palestinians in the period surrounding the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

This review was copied and pasted from my Storygraph. Consider adding me!

I will always appreciate novels that succeed in western markets  with authentic, informative, and underutilized settings and cultures, especially so when the subject matter so boldly confronts the ceaseless colonial ideologies of the western world. In these aspects, Half of a Yellow Sun hits all the marks.

However, I found the prose, dialogue, character development, political theory, and plot structure to be tremendously underwhelming. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's writing possesses a blunt curtness that was intended, I imagine, to impart a cold and sobering realism upon the reader. For me, however, it encouraged apathy. The characters felt artificial in their conversations with one another, never saying more than a few words before the narration takes over again. Many of the characters will restate the same sentiment in the same way endlessly, as if their purpose is to embody one idea alone. A character's soul-crushing grief is described in whole within the span of fifty pages as nothing more than red eyes and trips to the bar and is never addressed again. Children are forced into atrocious acts and experiences, and the resultant grief is described within two lines. We are told how socialism and nationalism will save the people of Biafra, but we are not told how. The timeline jumps around for no discernible reason.

While the book certainly sparked my interest in its subject matter, it fell short of providing me with the resources to properly engage with it. Biafra's diplomatic and administrative problems were described briefly, but hardly expounded upon. The reader is much like the protagonists in that they are kept in the dark, uncritical.

I'm not a avid reader, but I've read quite a few books. Classics such as 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and The Book Thief.

A lot of people on the internet recommend reading Monte Cristo and so I wanted to read it but the is huge, like 1100 pages? That kind of scares me away, if that makes sense.

I usually read smaller books, like 200-250 pages. So I was wondering how do you read a book that has that many pages? I know the question doesn’t really make sense.

If you are wondering what kind of books I read, here's my humble list. Warning though, there are some ero books in there: My book list

Description

“New Poland” represents the remnants of the surviving government of the Republic. They live in a state of comfort unattainable for others, maintaining access to electricity, clean water, high-quality goods, medicine, and advanced technology. Their ultimate goal is to wait until the surface is cleared of radiation and restore the Polish state.

They consider themselves the only legitimate heirs to civilization and the sole carriers of “pure genetic material.”

History

1. Origins: The Legacy of the Third Reich and Billions of Euros (1997–2013)

The history of “New Poland” began long before the nuclear warheads fell. In 1997, during the catastrophic “Millennium Flood,” Polish authorities received an unexpected gift from a German researcher: a map of secret Nazi underground facilities beneath Wrocław. It was revealed that in 1945, SS forces had built a vast, sprawling network of tunnels under the Fortress of Breslau.

Starting in 1998, the Polish government began a secret study of these sites under the codename “Project Abyss.” In 2001, a large-scale, highly classified modernization of the bunkers began. Billions of euros were siphoned from the state budget under the guise of highway construction. The goal was simple: to create an absolutely autonomous super-shelter for the elite—the country’s top political, financial, and military leadership (designed for approximately 1,000 people).

Simultaneously, in the Owl Mountains, the state completed and modernized another massive German site—the legendary “Riese” (The Giant) complex. The official date for the formation of the unified organization under the codename “New Poland” is considered to be 2013, when the entire infrastructure of the super-bunkers was finalized and mothballed in preparation for the Apocalypse.

2. The Nuclear Strike and Isolation (Post-2013)

When the nuclear conflict erupted, things did not go according to plan. The strike was so sudden that the evacuation plan in Wrocław failed by 70%. Only about 300–350 people—politicians, officials, scientists, and a handful of military personnel—managed to descend into “The Abyss.” Slightly more reached the Owl Mountains (“The Giant”)—about 1,075 selected citizens.

Isolated from the world, these people quickly developed a rigid ideology. They declared themselves the “sole legitimate heirs of civilization.” They despised the ordinary people surviving in metro tunnels and stations, viewing them as “sub-humans” and “genetic trash” (reminiscent of the Enclave from the Fallout series).

In the early years, the leaders of “New Poland” attempted to go to the surface. However, embittered survivors dying of radiation, seeing clean, well-fed officials, hunted them down and brutally executed them. Following this, the organization went deep underground and shifted to a tactic of secret conspiracies.

#Administrative Structure and Political Model

By structure, “New Poland” is a totalitarian technocracy with elements of caste segregation. Society is strictly divided into “Citizens” (pre-war elite, scientists, military, and their purebred descendants) and “Subjects/Slaves.”

Higher Caste: The Nomenklatura Elite

At the top of the pyramid were the survivors of the pre-war government and high-ranking military officers. In “The Giant” complex, absolute dictatorial power belonged to Colonel Andrzej (a former political strategist); in Wrocław’s “Abyss,” it was held by Katarzyna Bondarczuk. This layer lived in luxury: drinking elite pre-war alcohol, using silverware, and engaging in political power games.

Middle Caste: Citizens (“Purebloods”)

This group included rank-and-file scientists, engineers, and technicians who maintained the bunkers’ life-support systems, as well as regular army soldiers. They had access to quality medicine, clean water, and proper nutrition.

Psychological Note: Most ordinary citizens were victims of internal propaganda. The leadership skillfully hid the most horrific details of their operations. For instance, citizens in the Owl Mountains sincerely believed that the blind workers serving the bunker were “mutants” whom the elite had “nobly rescued” and were gradually curing in hospitals.

Lowest Caste: “Skoptsy” (Bio-robots)

The most disenfranchised and numerous category. These were former surface dwellers captured by “harvesting squads.” Their social status was that of a living tool. They were deprived of names, personal space, and basic human traits. They were surgically deprived of their eyes and vocal cords. The Skoptsy were at the bottom of the hierarchy, performing grueling physical labor on dynamos and water pumps in exchange for food and security.

Enclaves (Geography) The faction is decentralized into two main enclaves:

The General Command Headquarters (Complex “Riese” / The Giant): Located in the Owl Mountains, this is the supreme political center ruled by Colonel Andrzej. It houses the main military forces, archives, surviving art pieces, and the strategic leadership for expansion. The Wrocław Sector Administration (Complex “The Abyss”): Located directly beneath Wrocław and led by Katarzyna Bondarczuk. “The Abyss” serves as a forward outpost, a R&D hub, and the primary “resource collection point.”

Propaganda and Mind Control

Social stability was maintained through psychological pressure managed by scientists:

Internal Lies: Colonel Andrzej used his pre-war PR skills to build a system of fake news. Any dissent was suppressed, and information about the outside world was strictly filtered to maintain the illusion that they were the last island of civilization on Earth.

Audio-Hypnosis for Slaves: To prevent riots among the blind Skoptsy, “sweet propaganda” was broadcast 24/7 via megaphones. A calm, soothing voice convinced the mutilated workers that their injuries were a “temporary quarantine measure” and that after 1,000 days of faithful service, their sight and speech would be restored, their children returned, and they would become full citizens. This mental conditioning was more effective than torture. Economy and Logistics

“New Poland” controls the Kamionki valley in Lower Silesia, where they grow oats and vegetables and raise poultry on radiation-cleared fields. The farmland is protected by machine-gun nests, moats, and powerful searchlights.

The energy needs of “The Giant” are met by fuel reserves. Their armored trains, operated by the “Shadows” unit, made dangerous runs to Czech oil terminals (Unipetrol refineries), crossing zones of extreme radiation and biological contamination.

Military

Abyss Garrison: They wear hazmat suits and are armed with Beryl assault rifles (5.56 mm), Glocks, and grenades. Despite their superior gear, they lack combat experience; their commander, Major Wydrzycki, has never been in a real battle.

Giant Garrison: They use camouflage (sometimes with ghillie elements), HK416 rifles, night vision, and Apple-branded radios. Their armored trains are equipped with “Scorpions”—automated ballistae firing iron rods—and heavy flamethrowers for clearing tunnels. The Shadows: An elite unit (commanded by Łukasz Dąbrowski) responsible for high-risk railway missions.

Science and Technology

**Electronics:**They use salvaged computers and radios protected from the EMP. Engineers daily intercepted shortwave broadcasts from a Russian radio amateur in Moscow (Artyom Chyorny).

Medicine: Despite expired medicines, they have professional surgical tools and anesthesia. They test the healing properties of mutated flora on rats.

Biological Warfare: Scientists in “Riese” developed the “Grey Plague” and poisonous neon mushroom spores, used to clear tunnels and control the population of survivors in Wrocław. Notable Representatives

The Abyss:

• Katarzyna Bondarczuk: Head of the complex, spy network curator.
• Maciej Wydrzycki: Special forces Major, military commander.
• Izabella Mędrecka: Quartermaster for the civilian sector.
• Tesla: An elderly scientist in charge of electrification and radio.
• The Healer: A former veterinarian turned chief surgeon who operates on slaves.
• Ania (Iskra): A young spy posing as a scavenger/stalker.

The Giant (Riese):

• Andrzej: Supreme leader, Colonel, former political strategist.
• Tamara: Manager and the Colonel’s mistress (later seized power).
• Adam (The Madman): Former commander of the “Shadows,” imprisoned and later released in 2035.
• Łukasz Dąbrowski: Lieutenant, current commander of the “Shadows.”

Interesting Facts

“New Poland” is the Polish equivalent of the “Invisible Watchers” from Moscow, the “Federals” from Omsk, or the “UK Government” from London.

The leaders possess the authentic Amber Room, which was lost during WWII and hidden by Nazis in the tunnels of “The Giant.”

Colonel Andrzej’s pre-war career involved “black PR” on the internet and creating fake scandals to discredit political opponents.

The “Skoptsy” are told they will be “healed” after 1,000 days of service—a blatant lie used to maintain productivity and prevent suicide.

I’m curious about the experience of other people.

I check Reddit content through my RSS feed and r/books is one of these subreddits in my RSS. I’ve lately seen an influx of books about Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause which I find great. However, I noticed that the comments are immensely dislike regards it and some even hateful towards anything Pro-Palestinian and go very much pro-Israel.

It is as if the pro-Israel propaganda accounts have made their way into the r/books subreddit. I can give an thread example if needed though. The community over there seems so much more hostile and I don't even participate, just lurk lol.

I was wondering whether some of you also noticed this if you are still lurking there.

Note: was not sure in which community to post. This one or the other one in lemmy.world. So apologies if this one was not the correct one.

The Thélyson Orélien controversy raises new questions about whether detection software can be trusted

A lot of people here might already be aware of how AI checkers are unreliable at best, and more often just terrible. What I learned from this article is that they might actually harm some groups of people more than others.

NOTE: The original title of this article was "Bestselling Novelist Dropped from Major Prize over Suspected AI Use". I added the extra context because people might not read the body of the post.

Here are some excerpts that I thought were relevant, with bold emphasis applied by me. Please check out the full article if you want more context outside of what I am highlighting here:

This time, the controversy surrounds C’était ça ou mourir, the first novel by Haitian Canadian author Thélyson Orélien, which has already become a huge success in France. On September 26, the prestigious Académie Goncourt announced it was dropping the title from the longlist for its eponymous literary prize because the prize administrators had concluded it was written with the help of AI. The AI-detection software Pangram determined there was a 100 percent chance the novel was at least in part AI generated.

The author denies using AI, and his French publisher, Grasset, has come out strongly in his defence. Grasset said in a statement that it “strongly objected” to the allegations, which it characterized as “malicious.” The Globe and Mail quoted the French publisher as calling the accusations against Orélien “fake news.” His original French-language Canadian publisher, by contrast, has taken a more measured response to the allegations. The Quebec publisher, Les Éditions du Boréal, told the New York Times, “[A]t this stage, it is impossible for us to confirm or deny the allegations the author is facing.” They went on to say that it is important “not to draw hasty conclusions.”

This is not the first time an award-nominated author has faced accusations of using AI to create written work. Earlier this year, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize encountered criticism after Jamir Nazir’s regional winner, “The Serpent in the Grove,” was accused by social media users of having been written with AI. After a review that included interviews with all the regional winners and examinations of early drafts, edits, and time-stamped emails, the organization that runs the award decided there was no basis to believe Nazir used AI in his writing. The story went on to win the overall Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

The issue of false positives is not incidental: somewhere around 90 percent of the texts used to train large language models are in English, so the French language would throw up difficulties for AI checkers, which themselves use AI to make their determinations. In addition, Orélien is Haitian by background and employs a style of writing heavily influenced by Caribbean oral tradition, which relies on repetition and other tropes often cited as determinants of AI assistance. “I come from a Haitian and Caribbean literary tradition in which poetry, imagery, repetition, and rhythm carry a living voice,” he said in a statement quoted by the CBC. “One might debate my style, but treating its techniques as evidence of artificial intelligence has nothing to do with literary criticism.”

Sutherland, who, like Orélien, is Black, made a similar observation to the Globe about her award-winning story. “This story is rooted in Vincentian oral storytelling tradition, which by nature is formulaic and relies on repetition, rhythm, and patterned language as core elements of their structure,” she said.

The biases and blind spots in AI-detection software are only one issue. Equally troubling is the notion of using AI to detect AI use, an apparent tautology that doesn’t have many safeguards or levels of verifiability. Then there are the people using the software themselves. The accusations against Orélien arose via an anonymous X account run in part by Samuel Fitoussi, a journalist at the right-wing newspaper Le Figaro. His stated reason for using the account to publicize his accusation, according to the New York Times, is that “he thought an anonymous account would be trusted more than his column in a right-leaning newspaper.” Fitoussi may be correct about that, if only because the French right wing has become increasingly antipathetic to immigrant communities in the country.

Stumbled upon this article yesterday. Some food for thought, about something I for sure have taken for granted. What do you think?

Where the Red Fern Grows is about a boy named Billy who saves up enough money to buy two coon hunting dogs. The story is about his adventures and hunts with these dogs that he names Old Dan and Little Ann, and it's a story about their bond with eachother.

If you have ever lost pets as a kid, I highly highly don't recommend/recommend you read this book as it will feel cathartic but it will also paralyze you with sorrow for an hour or a half. Beyond that, it's a neat little book about a boy riding out with his coon hounds and hunting game.

Anthony Heald did an amazing job with the voicing the main character who's a 14 year old kid. He sounded innocent and curious but also desperate whenever the story commanded it. The adults he voices in an accent and they all sound great, there's even a few bawls from the dogs thrown in which sounded amazing so I was really happy with the audiobook adaptation of it.

I have never seen a raccoon or even knew anything about the coon hunting culture in the Ozark mountains but the book is pretty easy to read and you never feel lost. The hunts are a big highlight of these book and some of the more important ones were a thrill to read through.

There's a lot of sensibility in the book as well, it doesn't shy away from the brutality of the hunt or real life but it also tries it's best to show that there can be something noble in it as well or atleast a way to do something more nobly.

There are some really dark scenes and dark imagery in the book but it's not scary per se and a little bit of adventuring thrill makes the book feel engaging and impactful.

I really enjoyed my time with this little book, the pacing is easy and it's a nice journey to go on with a few serious moments.

For my next read, I'm thinking of going to Stephen King's Tower but I don't know the correct way so if there's a chronological order comprising those books and any important ones I could use that or just go through the published order. I'll be listening to them as audiobooks

I've been reading quite a decent amount since I was a kid, and I'm now in my late 20's. I've recently realized that the books I've read in the last couple of years, I struggle to remember much about them.

I can remember the general outline of the story, or most of the major plot points, but any character names or place names I struggle to remember.

I've been going through and reading many fantasy/sci-fi series, and it usually feels like once I get to book 2 of whatever new series I've picked up, I can't remember the previous series I read.

For example, I'm currently reading The Thief series, and really enjoying it. However I'm finding that I can't remember much of the names or characters from the Red Rising series, which I read just before this. I can remember most of what happens, and I remember really enjoying it, but names just get lost entirely.

If you were to ask me what happens in the books I read the last couple of years, I would be able to tell you in quite decent detail, but I'd struggle with any names.

The only exceptions are books I read when I was young, like the Lord of the Rings books or the Hyperion books.

Does anyone else have this issue? How can I better remember details like this?