Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Reading is Fun-damental...

I've recently gotten back into reading in a big way. When i started out in the community I read A LOT. And very little of it was pick up related. Then for the last whirlwind couple of years I have been really stuck on just reading about PU and sports. Well I decided that had to change after hanging out with Future and CaptainJack and feeling very uneducated.

So I decided I was going to read a book a week, and so far I am well ahead of schedule. What's fascinating is the way my mind constantly relates everything to self-improvement and game. I think reading non-PU stuff is one of the best things you can do for your game as it makes you WAY more interesting than most people and it helps you see the world from an outsider's perspective. You can also recommend books to girls, which always goes over really well.

So here's my list that I'm reading now;

I just finished Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. It was amazing. This is the book that made people faint at various public readins, so be prepared for some gruesome shit. Overall it's one of the coolest books I have ever read about victim mentalities and the constant reasignment of blame that most people have. It also is a scorching indictment against reality TV and the how much people are willing to go through to be semi-famous(fear factor anyone?). It was awesome and a fast read I got through it in about 3 days.

Fight Club- I'm halfway through and realizing how good of a job David Fincher did in translating it to the screen.

The Romantic Manifesto by Ayn Rand- I'm also halfway through this and it's amazing! But her writing style is like getting stabbed in the brain with an icepick...except less fun. And seriously if she says Psycho-epistemology one more fucking time I am going to dig her corpse up and do very bad things to it.... Really fascintaing stuff on percepts and man's constant struggle to express his own view of the world even when it's not correct.

Freakonomics- i read half of this online and was intrigued, but it has to wait a bit.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra- I'm halfway through this, but it keeps depressing me. There's a lot of interesting stuff he's trying to say here, but his overall bitter tone and judgement are a bit much at some points...

Rich Dad Poor Dad- Haven't started it, but I have literally heard NOTHING but good stuff about it.

Iron John by Robert Bly- I know nothing about this but TD recommended it very highly.

Fire in the Belly by Sam Keen- ditto

Sperm Wars by Robin Baker- Such doctrine in the community i figured I should read it

The Red Queen by Matte Ridley- Ditto

So that's my reading list for awhile, luckily I fly a lot so there's a ton of time for me to read.

I love book recommendations so PLEASE if there's something life changing that you read recommend it.

S

34 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:19 PM

    These are good:

    Life of Pi
    A Million Little Pieces

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  2. Anonymous2:47 PM

    As a Man Thinkth by James Allen. A classic and great for inner game. By favorite book.

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  3. Anonymous2:56 PM

    HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR ANY MAN:

    _The Way of the Superior Man_

    _Think and Grow Rich_

    _The Power of Now_

    HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IF YOU LIKE THIS SORT OF THING:

    _King, Warrior, Magician, Lover_

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  4. Atlas Shrugged, also by ayn

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  5. Atlas Shrugged also by Ayn

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  6. A million little pieces was all fake the author recently got sued and they started to recall it. Good one Jackass :P JK

    I read the way of the superior man but wouldn't mind re-reading it.

    i was actually planning on leaning more toward philosophy and literature than Self-help. But thanks. Keep em coming.

    S

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  7. Anonymous3:35 PM

    Growing up I worshiped Bruce Lee. I studied him everyday for almost 3 years. I truly believe that had a major impact on my positive outlook that I have towards life.

    I really do think that I can do anything if I just put my mind to it... and his writing had a lot to do with that. BTW Bruce was Philosophy Major so if you are into that sort of thing:

    The Warrior Within - very good book. It's "The philosophies of Bruce Lee to better understand the world around you and achieve a rewarding life.

    Striking Thoughts, Bruce Lee's Wisdom for daily living - I have never read this one but it is supposed to be pretty good. Positive attitude, non reactive type stuff.

    Also Bruce lead an extraordinary life. After his death, his wife wrote a book called, "Bruce Lee: The man only I knew." by Linda Lee. I haven't read it in a while, but it was excellent! Talk about self improvement and discipline... this guy did to martial arts what MM did to the community.

    Also Renaissance Man was recommending a book by the same guy who wrote Guns Germs and Steel... called The Third Chimpanzee. It's basically an in depth view of tribal psycology (so I am assuming you have already read it). That is next on my list of books to read.

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  8. Anonymous3:44 PM

    I also read a book a week.

    The Alchemist by Coelho is one of the best books I've ever read. Also, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max is by far the funniest book I've ever read. Both are easy reads and can be finished in a day or two.

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  9. Hey Sinn,

    Glad to see that you are reading good novels,like Chuck Phaulunik. Gruesome scenes in it-like that swimming pool incident!OMG!ouch.He also wrote Choke-which I think is actually his best.

    If you like Chuck P, then you will love Irvine Welsh.Seriously, his stuff is 24 Carat gold-effortless gets high brow intellectual praise and street kudos.If you saw the movie Trainspotting, read the follow up, Porno.
    It is intelligent, witty, hilarious and teaches you a lot about human sexuality.
    There is a character in it called Juice Terry- the funniest and most alpha literary character ever.

    Atomized by Michel Houellebecq is a mind bendingly excellent novel-google it.
    Catch 22 by Josephy Heller,Birsong by Sebestian Faulks,Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.Great,great books.
    Love in a Time of Cholera and 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez are considered masterpieces.I loved every page of them.
    Anything by Philip Roth or Paul Auster is worth reading.
    This list may help:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml

    Forget about the staples of the community- like Sperm Wars, Red Queen, Selfish Gene etc. I read them and they can be summarised in a few paragraphs.Focus on reading great literature instead.
    You obviously know how attraction works- you don't need to geek out on the theory.Great works of literature broadens your mind,affords you unique psychological insights, gives you culture,maturity and wisdom beyond your years.

    Also, most intelligent girls read -it is a HUGE DHV to be well read and you can easily create wide and deep rapport by passionately and intelligently discussing books that both moved you. I fucked one girl simply by talking about 100 Years of Solitude!!Lit-Crack,seriously!! A good book shelf in your pad is essential as it builds comfort as girls will invariably thumb your books and get excited when they spot a book they have a deep,emotional bond with and then DHVs you etc.I am surprised no-one in the community really mentions this.

    More importantly,reading makes you complete as a person.
    Man, I wish more people in this community read good books!!

    keep smiling,
    W

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  10. Rich dad, Poor dad, is bomb.com, I've heard it all, several times.

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  11. I have freakonics if you want to borrow it

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  12. Sinn,
    Survivor by Phaulunik- great indictment on mainstreaming sub-culture. Pre-reality TV and is probably written from a different perspective than what you've read.

    "The Prince" by Macchiavelli- I read a lot of philosophy books over the summer to help me become a better decision maker; who better to learn from than the power obsessed without clouded vision?

    "Art of War"- San Tzu (it's amazing how something written thousands of years ago is still relevant)

    "Cesar" & "Othello"- Shakespeare

    "The Greatest"- Muhammad Ali

    "Lies and the Lying Liars who tell Them" & "Oh the things I know"- Al Franken, great comedy.

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  13. Anonymous5:40 PM

    V for Vendetta was written by Alan Moore, and in Moore's own words V and Moore himself are anarchists. The V symbol in the movie is the Anarchist symbol inverted. Since you love the movie so much, you should read George Orwell's "Homage To Catalonia", his account of his participation of the 1937(?) Spanish Civil War. He fought on the side of the libertarian socialists, or the anarchists, and other than what is going on here www.thetake.org, it is the only large scale anarchist society before that government (yes, Anarchism is a form of government, not just random chaos) was dismantled by the Bolsheviks, and the fascists, along with the help of USA, Britain, and other European powers. If you like that, you should probably follow that up with Anarchism by David Guerin, but just skip the first section, and read the 2nd and 3rd sections.

    I would also read these two web pages:

    http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/EA11Aa02.html

    and

    http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FA05Aa01.html

    because they really recommend some good books.

    Kurt Vonnegut: Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse 5

    Howard Zinn's A People's History Of The United States

    John Steinbeck's The Winter Of Our Discontent

    Jack London's: White Fang, Call Of The Wild, The Iron Heel

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  14. Actually Moore asked that his name be taken off the movie.

    There's quite a few major differences between the 2 and on recent re-reading of the graphic novel, I much prefer the movie.

    S

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  15. Anonymous6:42 PM

    Yeah, Moore did ask that his name be taken off the movie, but he's asked that his name be taken off of all of the movies that have been based on his stuff.

    The Wachowski brothers are political out the ying yang, and they're the ones who really played up the Anarchist symbolism. This website that breaks down the political content of the movie The Matrix is pretty good: www.why-us.org.

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  16. Anonymous6:47 PM

    The breakdown of The Matrix movie: http://www.why-us.org/movie.shtml

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  17. If I could recommend one book, it would be:

    Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time and the Texture of Reality by Dr. Brian Greene.

    It will fuck you in ways that women can only dream of.

    :]

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  18. First, it's Sun Tzu, not SAN. But, you are correct - it is a pivotal work and one of the first assigned readings at most Top 20 MBA programs.

    "Good To Great" by Jim Collins is my contribution. If you are looking for a great study of how good businesses become great, who are their leaders and what those traits are, then this is for you. It was "life changing" in a business way (which, BTW, lead to other positive changes).

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  19. Anonymous7:34 PM

    It will fuck you in ways that women can only dream of.

    Cryptic Fox, I am stealing that line!

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  20. Anonymous8:19 PM

    The Ayn Rand book You want to read is "The Virtue of Selfishness." Pretty eye-opening and you can probably read it in an hour or so.

    Ron Reich

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  21. Anonymous8:56 PM

    I've read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and I recommend it...but get it from the Library.

    Check out The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, it blew me away.

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  22. When you read Rich Dad Poor Dad you'll feel like Kiyosaki has the grammar and spelling of a 3rd grader but he'll still motivate the shit out of you to get rich.

    Read anything by George Orwell if you haven't already, the big guns of course being 1984 and Animal Farm. 1984 will fuck you up the same way Slaughterhouse 5 will.

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  23. I just finished fight club a month ago and it was pretty good. They really did a good job of making it into a movie. After that I read A Clockwork Orange. That was a crazy book! Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a must read. I read it twice and I am trying to follow into the same footsteps right now, truly life changing. One Minute Millionaire was also pretty good. Chuck Klosterman has some pretty interesting books too. His book Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs was good and he's got a new one out I think that I heard was great. If you like comics read 300 by Frank Miller. It is almost identical to the trailer. It's pretty rad. I've been getting into alot of those graphic novels lately, V for Vendetta was awesome too.

    HeroiC

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  24. I just finished fight club a month ago and it was pretty good. They really did a good job of making it into a movie. After that I read A Clockwork Orange. That was a crazy book! Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a must read. I read it twice and I am trying to follow into the same footsteps right now, truly life changing. One Minute Millionaire was also pretty good. Chuck Klosterman has some pretty interesting books too. His book Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs was good and he's got a new one out I think that I heard was great. If you like comics read 300 by Frank Miller. It is almost identical to the trailer. It's pretty rad. I've been getting into alot of those graphic novels lately, V for Vendetta was awesome too.

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  25. Anonymous10:13 AM

    freakonomics is shit, abortion chapter has been proven wrong, KKK chapter is wrong conclusion and shouldnt even be in the book (2 jew authors dishing hate on whitey) sumo chapter is obvious, selling bagel chapter is poor analysis and comes to wrong conclusion, teachers cheating is obvious. Parents raising kids chapter is too boring to read. Name chapter is the only value in the whole book. Way over rated.

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  26. Haroun and the Sea of Stories
    Salman Rushdie

    Great friggin post!

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  27. Anonymous12:51 PM

    If you are reading Palaniuk definitely check out "Survivor"... a close second behind fight club.

    Also get into an author named Martin Amis... hasn't written a good book since the mid-ninties but wrote two masterpieces in the 80s.

    "London Fields" is probably his best novel but "Money" is my favorite.

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  28. Anonymous2:04 PM

    'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini.

    Once you read it, you'll realize why it's being made into a movie. I literally couldn't put it down until I finished it.

    I've recommended it to a couple lady friends and they've all loved it.

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  29. I have been reading a bunch of advertising books and old/middle English for school.

    I'd recommend some of the advertising books just for the uncanny resemblance they have to the seduction community.

    "Media Literacy" by Potter (I love the concept of knowledge structures...I'd like to write more about this but I should be focused on studying).
    "My Life in Advertising & Scientific Advertising" By Hopkins
    "Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind" By Ries & Trout

    I am also reading "The Einstein Factor" by Wenger & Poe, which I am only half way through. It's seems to be the most useful thing I've read recently that was not required in a class.

    I recommend it to anyone interested in exploring the possibility of increasing mental abilities and cognitive function.

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  30. Audiobooks are the way to go. Unabriged and read by the author. There are so many random times during the day that you can listen (walking down the street, driving, in the bathroom) that you can listen to it, and for me it is much easier to concentrate.

    I have a list on my new years resolution list on my blog (doing alright with those too!)

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  31. i LOVE hermann hesse, especially "narciss and goldmund" and "steppenwolf", though i don't know how good the translations are, cause being austrian, i read the originals.
    there are tons of great life-philosophy in these books and they are far less depressing than nietzsche (which i really like anyway).

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  32. i really LOVE hermann hesse, especially "narciss and goldmund" and "steppenwolf", though i don't know how good the translations are, cause being from austria, i read the originals. there are tons of great life-philosophy in these books, while being far less depressing than nietzsche (which i really like anyway).

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  33. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  34. Anonymous2:25 PM

    Personality and Motivation by A. H. Maslow.
    parts on self-actualization are tight stuff.


    Sting

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