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August 31
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Alex
is currently reading:
Agenda for a New Economy
by
David C. Korten
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
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Alex
is currently reading:
Post-Scarcity Anarchism (Working Classics)
by
Murray Bookchin
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
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August 23
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Alex
gave  to:
Brave New World
by
Aldous Huxley
bookshelves:
fiction
read in August, 2010
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my rating:
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Alex said:
"
this was a page-turner, much more interesting to me now than it was in high school.
i like Huxley's positing of the necessity of struggle, pain, and solitude for a fulfilling life. and i think the projections he makes about a world of amu ...more
this was a page-turner, much more interesting to me now than it was in high school.
i like Huxley's positing of the necessity of struggle, pain, and solitude for a fulfilling life. and i think the projections he makes about a world of amusement and pleasure that just makes people passive and obedient is prescient. our consumerist society approximates this vision in frightening ways, and for that reason alone this book elucidates much and is worth reading.
however i disagree with the assumption of the author that the advance of technology and social control leads to a reduction in unhappiness. instead, we've seen the spread of capitalism causing yet more and more misery, spread across the world. the development of distractions like sex, drugs, and rock and roll are used to cover up the scars of our agonized planet and communities.
i think George Orwell's dystopia of 1984 is more frighteningly believable, yet Brave New World is fascinating in its own, perhaps complementary ways. also, Huxley is a very good writer, and this book flows a lot easier than 1984.
(less)
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Alex
marked as to-read:
The Origin of Capitalism: A Longer View
by
Ellen Meiksins Wood
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
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Alex
marked as to-read:
Empire of Capital
by
Ellen Meiksins Wood
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
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August 22
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Alex
marked as to-read:
On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (On Writing Well)
by
William Knowlton Zinsser
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
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Alex
marked as to-read:
If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit
by
Brenda Ueland
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
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Alex
marked as to-read:
Native Son
by
Richard Wright
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
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Alex
marked as to-read:
The Story of My Life (Bantam Classic)
by
Helen Keller
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
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Alex
marked as to-read:
Nowtopia: How Pirate Programmers, Outlaw Bicyclists, and Vacant-lot Gardeners Are Inventing the Future Today!
by
Chris Carlsson
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
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