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What book(s) are you currently reading or listening to? January 20 (discuss.online)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/books@lemmy.world
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Readings:

Still the same books as last week. I don't think it was a good idea to start 3 books at once, I am probably going to focus of Bands of Mourning, which has become really interesting. Still have about 1/3rd of the book to go though.

What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?

For details on the c/Books bingo challenge that just restarted for the year, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and its Recommendation Post. Links are also present in our community sidebar.

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[–] 3 points 9 months ago* (5 children)

Please enjoy.

Along with Naomi Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates works, plus John Ralston Saul's The Unconscious Civilization, Rutger Bregman's Utopia is for Realists and several Massey Lectures, these have shaped my outlook on the world as it is.

Because this came last, for me, it recast this human experiment of ours and the depth of misdirection that is going on now.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (4 children)

    Which Massey lectures would you reccomend?

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    Ill only recommend ones from those I've read. Here are 10. Looking at the list on Wikipedia, I want to read almost all.

    1995 – John Ralston Saul, The Unconscious Civilization

    I didn't realize this was a Massey Lecture when I read it. A fascinating insight into the business culture of management. Forecasted the runaway hit book Bullshit Jobs

    2003 – Thomas King, The Truth About Stories*

    This is the only one recommended that I havent read I do so on the strength of the other book by Thomas King I read: the Inconvenient Indian (which is a game changer, and I should've mentioned in my 1st post).

    • Note: in my research for this post I discovered that, as of November 2025, Thomas King is a self- reported Pretendian. This... complicates things. IMHO, his lifelong contributions outweigh his DNA test. But, really, I don't get a say. See also: Buffy Ste. Marie.

    2004 – Ronald Wright, A Short History of Progress

    Vital. A top 3 pick.

    2008 – Margaret Atwood, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth

    This was the first one I read at the time it was released, knowing it as a Massey Lecture and before the lectures were delivered. She wrote it in early 2008. Published in the summer of '08 and the the bottom fell out of the stock market in September. She then toured Canada saying, and I'm paraphrasing here, "Well, shit. I didnt know I was this right."

    2009 – Wade Davis, The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World

    Wade Davis is a cultural anthropologist. His perspective is fascinating. For everyone who loves Moana he consulted on that film. One of his lectures is about Polynesians expanding across the Pacific.

    2010 – Douglas Coupland, Player One: What is to Become of US

    This, the 50th anniversary, is the first series of lectures that are fictional. Also, the first ones that I attended in person. I'm still waiting for lecture 1 to actually happen.

    2012 – Neil Turok, The Universe Within: From Quantum to Cosmos

    I love these ones because they're accessible science. Top 3.

    2018 – Tanya Talaga, All Our Relations: Finding the Path Forward

    I guess, because of the Thomas King revelations above, these are the first lectures delivered by a person of First Nations descent.

    2020 – Ronald J. Deibert, Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society

    Blew my absolute mind. Top 3.

    2023 – Astra Taylor, The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart

    I love this one. The first lecture, Cura's Gift, captured my heart.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (2 children)

    Whoa, thanks for the detailed reply, this is awesome! Can't wait to take a look!

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Quality over quantity, friend. I've promoted the Massey Lectures for over a decade to anyone who'd listen. Today, you get a detailed response and I get something to refer back to. Non-zero sum gains are the best gains.

    Thanks for your original ask. I'm glad you took interest.

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