Media I consumed in 2016, volume 1: Nonfiction Books · 11:30pm Jan 1st, 2017
Be sure to stick around for uneducated, unstructured opinions with little depth due to my blurb-like style!
NON-FICTION
Favorite Autobiography read in 2016
Miles: The Autobiography - Miles Davis
Miles Davis doesn't hold back in this autobiography, despite knowing how unpopular or hated his opinions would have made him (he died about a year after this was published, so it probably didn't matter). The man didn't compromise in his music or his life, and reading about his hates and prejudices is amazing in its honesty. He lived by his own rules, acknowledging the inherent darkness (he even used the term evil) in him.
If you like your biographies brutally honest, read it. Also read this next one:
Honorable Mention
The Undisputed Truth - Mike Tyson
Tyson grew up in awful circumstances with shitty parents, and that he even made something of himself (despite his fall) is an amazing story. The best part would be his description of his trial for rape, of which he still maintains his innocence. I also discovered that Tyson himself is a lover of ancient Greek literature and history.
Other Biographies/Autobiographies read
Possibilities by Herbie Hancock
I'm going to practice transcendental meditation for pages and pages on end.
Memoirs of the Life of Monsieur de Voltaire
Guys, Frederick the Great is just soooo gay. I mean holy shit, his gayness reaches up the skies. No, I don't have a broken heart, he's just GAY.
Tolstoy: A Russian Life by Rosamund Bartlett
I'm going to stop writing my wonderful, magnificent works so I can cosplay as Jesus Christ.
The Divine Madness of Philip K. Dick by Kyle Arnold
He considers everything that could have caused PKD's visions, except for the one thing that always made the most sense to me: brain epilepsy.
Blake: A Biography, by Peter Ackroyd
Okay, is it me, or do British writers of biographies/histories always have to inject their personal opinions into what they write?
Favorite History read in 2016
I actually didn't read a lot of history this year. Probably the least I've read since I've been reading.
The Histories - Herodotus, trans. by Tom Holland
I'm probably stretching the terms of History by selecting this, as it's considered biased and inaccurate by historians, but my counter-argument is nyah nyah shut up.
Do you like minute detail of customs and mores? Boy, do I have the book for you. Herodotus's chapters on the Egyptians alone is worth reading this thing, but then you get the Persian invasions of mainland Greece. This is a very detailed and sprawling book, and there's no way I could do it justice with this short blurb style I'm going with (not like I could do it justice anyway), so I'm just going to summarize this alternate tale of the Iliad: Namely, that Helen was in Egypt the whole time (she and Paris were blown off course; Paris was sent home by himself), and Troy would have gladly given her back to the Greeks if she was actually there in the first place.
I also learned that the Greeks weren't one united front; a lot of them, though not a majority, joined with Xerxes and his invading Persians.
Honorable Mentions
The History of Jazz - Ted Gioia
From the almost mythical King Bolden to present times. There's a lot to take in here, and I see myself reading this again eventually.
Playing at the World - John Peterson
An overview of the history of adult board games, from the Prussian Kriegsspiel, to miniatures and consims, ending with the development of the RPG. This book primarily concerns the pre-history and creation of pen and pencil RPGs, though I read it mostly to learn about the development of modern board war games.
The World Turned Upside-Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution - Christopher Hill
This is about the radical Christian sects during the English revolution, such as Diggers, Ranters, Quakers, Levelers, etc. He points out how completely different the history of Christianity in England could have been, especially in terms of personal freedom (these sects were certainly more free than any other Christian denomination at the time) if these sects weren't outlawed. It didn't turn out that way, though... some interesting what-if material in here. Also, there's a minimum of personal opinions in here!
Book read for the sole purpose of shitposting on 4chan's /lit/ board
The Ego and its Own - Max Stirner
You got wheels in your head, man! Stirner's praise of unbridled, immoral egotism. Karl Marx apparently really, really hated this book.
... I cold turkey'd 4chan for probably the third time in my life. I hope I don't get drawn back. It's a waste of time, unlike the rewarding activity of writing pony fanfiction.
Book that thoroughly beat my ass, and required copious amounts of supplementary material to "understand"
Metaphysics - Aristotle
The Nicomachean Ethics and Politics are great, and of course anyone who takes writing seriously should read Poetics. But good lawd, the utter density of this book, and his wacky terms blackened my eyes and bruised my breasts (poetic talk for chest, because I'm male). In his defense, it's allegedly a collection of notes to be delivered at a lecture (and not all together). He seems to be primarily interested in things related to being: essence, substance, subsistence, a first cause, and the importance of movement for time. But really, if you want to know more, there's plenty of stuff on the internet you can read about it. You certainly aren’t going to learn anything from me.
Other
The Adding Machine – William S. Burroughs
A collection of essays. I read a lot of Burroughs last year, and I guess this is the capstone to all that. He’s a big believer in space travel, and I agree with his method on how to teach writing, which is to teach how not to write.
The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers: 1 - SMG Szczepaniak
Interviews with Japanese developers of the 80s and 90s, especially of the personal computer market, which seemed to be dominated by NEC with their 88 and 98 computers. Interesting, enlightening, and so terribly nostalgic. Some of the guys programmed in machine language, which just blows my mind.
And yes, he’s another British writer that has to insert his opinion into the text, and I don’t mean when he asks questions of his interviewees. Maybe it irks because I disagree with him…
The Conspiracy against the Human Race - Thomas Ligotti
Consciousness is an aberration, and life is suffering. We should revenge ourselves against Nature through total extinction of all living creatures, to end suffering and this MALIGNANTY USELESS circle of life. We are but puppets, with no actual free-will, doing only what nature and evolution has put inside us. Once you see the strings, you see the total uselessness of life. The Conspiracy is to make us think life is a positive, is a good thing, instead of the awfulness it truly is. Kill yourself. End it now.
I read this and wonder, What if I just don’t care either way?
…and some books about English grammar, learning French, and basic arithmetic.
Next up: Fiction
Seriously? Another blog post? Where's the next chapter of Cultural Norms, huh? I bet you only have the part where Celestia and Luna discover Ponyville is missing.
You probably aren't even working on it! I bet you're doing another dumb one-shot no one will read, probably about a dragon that hoards job interviews and how Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash fell into it and are forced to take job interviews over and over again, or story about a never-ending cuddlepile that the mane six can't escape from and don't remember how they got there.
You make me sick.
4365199 My senses are detecting a strong dose of satire
4367061
And maybe a goofy method of previewing other stories I'm working on.
4368297 That too