What are you reading right now and how is it affecting you? (our own book club, maybe :))

[frankstien]

Charles Bukowski's Screams From The Balcony - Selected Letters 1960-1970
If you love Buk, then this is a must have in your library. Before Bukowski became the literary legend resurrecting poetry from the dead, he spent many years struggling, this tome documents some of this period and it is mind blowing prose of the first most insane order. Want to wake up?--READ THIS.

[frankstien]

Great collections of short stories--

Peter Orner's "Esther Stories"
Short-short stories of power and imagination, creative, sensitive, and offbeat.


Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio"
The father of the modern short story with thought provoking tales of characters in a small town.




The Stories of Raymond Carver
Bare bone minimalist prose, still waters run deep, haunting, funny, they stay with you long after.

[Strat]

I found this book at the library 2 days ago. I didn't know HBS (author of Uncle Tom's Cabin) lived in my hometown. She lived here in the 1870s. This type of book is out of my wheelhouse but I love it so far. It's very slow paced and easy to read. It's nice to hear one's hometown described in almost a poetic way. Reading this book makes me wish we could do away with electronics and return to these times.

[Perdido]

"War for the Hell of It; A Fighter Pilot's View of Vietnam" 2nd Edition

by Ed Cobleigh (Author)

Catchy title.. I think most Vietnam Pilots feel this way about the war.

Ed, "Fast Eddie," Cobleigh served two tours of duty during the Vietnam air war, logging 375 combat sorties in the F-4 Phantom fighter/bomber. In War for the Hell of It, Cobleigh shares his perspectives in a deeply personal account of a fighter pilot's life, one filled with moral ambiguity and military absurdities offset by the undeniable thrill of flying a fighter aircraft. With well-crafted prose that puts you into the Phantom's cockpit, Cobleigh vividly recounts the unexplainable loss of his wingman, the useless missions he flew, the need to trust his reflexes, eyesight, and aggressiveness, and his survival instincts in the heat of combat. He discusses the deaths of his squadron mates and the contradictions of a dirty, semi-secret war fought from beautiful, exotic Thailand. This is an unprecedented look into the state of mind of a pilot as he experiences everything from the carnage of a crash to the joy of flying through a star-studded night sky, from the illogical political agendas of Washington to his own dangerous addiction to risk. Cobleigh gives a stirring and emotional description of one man's journey into airborne hell and back, recounting the pleasures and the pain. the wins and the losses. and ultimately, the return.

From the Author

Inside the Mind of a Fighter Pilot
Fighter pilots aren't known for their literary prowess... War for The Hell of it: A Fighter Pilot's View of Vietnam, a deeply personal account of all the fun I had losing the Vietnam War,

My qualifications for such writing missions? I flew the F-104, F-4, A-4, Jaguar, and the F-16. I was an instructor at the USAF Weapons school, the USN Top Gun school, the Royal Air Force Weapons Instructor school, and I also flew with the French Air Force and the Imperial Iranian Air Force, including 375 combat missions. I try to put on the page what it's like to be a fighter pilot, not just what fighter pilots do in the air.

Simple but interesting book... Initially he discusses how the Air Force was attacking targets in bad weather, at low altitude, while running into mountains.. at night. Then Laser Bombs changed things fast.

Good over view of flying fighters for non-aviators.

[Perdido]

I am listening to more audio books.. to avoid the radio drivel as I drive.

Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds

Robin Olds was many things to many people. To his West Point football coach he was an All American destined for the National College Football Hall of Fame. To his P-38 and P-51 wartime squadrons in WWII he was the aggressive fighter pilot who made double ace and became their commander in nine short months. For the pioneers of the jet age, he was the wingman on the first jet demo team, a racer in the Thompson Trophy race, and the only U.S. exchange officer to command an RAF squadron. In the tabloid press he was the dashing flying hero who married the glamorous movie star. For the current crop of fighter pilots he is best known as the leader of the F-4 Wolfpack battling over North Vietnam. For cadets at the Air Force Academy he was a role model and mentor. He was all of those things and more.

Robin Olds (1922-2007) was a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot. A triple ace, he achieved a combined total of 16 victories in the Second World War and the Vietnam War. Born into an army family in Honolulu and raised in Virginia, he was educated at West Point, where he was an All American football player. He fought in Europe during World War II, and was regarded as the best wing commander in the Vietnam War. He was promoted to brigadier general after Vietnam, and also served as Commandant of Cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

The first chapter discusses advanced Pilot Training for WW II.. in the Army Air Corps.. and they Crashed 9 aircraft in one day. Obviously they canceled training for the rest of the day. The casualty losses just in training were high. Then he gets to the losses among Fighters and especially Bombers in Europe in WW II.

One gains an appreciation for the challenges and sacrifices these men made to win WW II.

[onawah]

Amazing read--"The Bone Clocks" by David Mitchell, author of "Cloud Atlas".
It's about 2 warring groups of "gifted" groups (in the sense of having extrasensory gifts such as telepathy, astral projection, etc.), one Dark, one Light, but from my perspective, it's less sci-fi or fantasy as thinly disguised reality, and it makes me wonder what Mitchell knows.
The predatory group known as the Anchorites prey on other gifted souls, essentially sucking away their soul energy in order to keep themselves young.
Like the cannibalistic, adrenochrome-harvesting Illuminati.
The Light group age normally, but they retain their memories from incarnation to incarnation, and their common goal is to eliminate the Anchorites.
But it's not the plot so much that kept me reading (it's quite long) so much as Mitchell's amazing writing style. Definitely one of my favorite contemporary authors.
Mitchell's first novel, Ghostwritten (1999) won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize (for best work of British literature written by an author under 35) and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. His two subsequent novels, number9dream (2001) and Cloud Atlas (2004), were both shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In 2003, he was selected as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists. In 2007, Mitchell was listed among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World.

[onawah]

Interesting coincidence. I just noticed your post after writing my own book review in post #106, and tonight just before I wrote it, as I was reading toward the end of my current read, "The Bone Clocks", I came across a passage foretelling that the future will be a lot like the past.

Wow. Look at all these books. It’s rare to see so many, these days.”

“Books’ll be back,” Esther-in-Unalaq predicts. “Wait till the power grids start failing in the late 2030s and the datavats get erased. It’s not far away. The future looks a lot like the past.”

Holly asks, “Is that, like … an official prophecy?”

“It’s the inevitable result,” I say, “of population growth and lies about oil reserves.

The section it's in can be read online starting here: https://bookfrom.net/david-mitchell/...ne_clocks.html
The more I read and hear about the Grand Solar Minimum, the more convinced I am that the future could indeed look a lot like the past, and that might be a blessing.

Posted by Strat (here)

I found this book at the library 2 days ago. I didn't know HBS (author of Uncle Tom's Cabin) lived in my hometown. She lived here in the 1870s. This type of book is out of my wheelhouse but I love it so far. It's very slow paced and easy to read. It's nice to hear one's hometown described in almost a poetic way. Reading this book makes me wish we could do away with electronics and return to those times.

[Iancorgi]

I wish I was reading this book:

If anyone has a (free) Pdf link that would be very much appreciated. Alternatively, I'm ready to buy a cheap second hand copy. Thanks.

[Anka]

Posted by Iancorgi (here)
I wish I was reading this book:

If anyone has a (free) Pdf link that would be very much appreciated. Alternatively, I'm ready to buy a cheap second hand copy. Thanks.

I searched for the book here but it is not here
http://https://kupdf.net/search/John%20Blofeld%20My%20Journey%20in%20Mistyc%20China/44
I am so sorry. I will still ask about her and if I find her, I will notify you.
Love,Anka

[Valerie Villars]

Ian, here you go. There are quite a few used copies for sale on abe books. It's one of my favorite places to find old and rare books.

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sea...ic+china&isbn=

[greybeard]

Avalon posts of course, well not all of them.
The Seven Steps to Awakening.
Has Quotes from Ramana Maharshi-Nasargadat Maharaj --Sankara--Sadhu Om and others
Only suitable for serious seekers in non-duality "mode".
Chris

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seven-Steps...s%2C162&sr=8-1

The Seven Steps to Awakening is the most powerful collection of quotes ever assembled on the subject of how to directly experience the true Self whose nature is Infinite-Eternal-Awareness-Love-Bliss and how to bring the impostor self, its tricks and all suffering to a final end in this lifetime. Most books on the subject of Self-realization are written by those who have only conceptual knowledge and no direct experience of the infinite Self. All seven of the sages quoted in The Seven Steps to Awakening lived in the Infinite and their knowledge came from their direct experience of the Infinite Self. The quotes in The Seven Steps to Awakening are doorways to liberation and a loving transmission from the Infinite Self to you. When the impostor self attempts to derail you from your journey to Awakening, reading the quotes in The Seven Steps to Awakening can inspire and encourage you to get back on track. Only the most essential and most powerful quotes that have no distractions or detours were selected for The Seven Steps to Awakening. The first collection of quotes describes how to tell the difference between a conceptual journey and a journey to Awakening. The second points out that the world, etc. is a dreamlike illusion. The third reveals why it is necessary to bring the impostor self to its final end. The fourth is about the importance of increasing your desire for liberation. The fifth is for the purpose of encouraging, inspiring and motivating you to actually practice all seven steps. The sixth is about turning your attention inward. The seventh describes the most rapid, direct and effective method that brings the impostor self, its tricks and all suffering to their final end so that you can remain forever in the true Self whose nature is Infinite-Awareness-Love-Bliss. The Seven Sages quoted are: 1. Nisargadatta Maharaj. 2. Ramana Maharshi. 3. Vasistha. 4. Sankara. 5. Annamalai Swami. 6. Sadhu Om. 7. Muruganar. This book is very helpful for people who are on The Direct Path. This is the second edition.

[Strat]

Forgot to update, I'm still somewhat studying Florida history. Finished the last book and I'm reading this:

It was a cruel place, even for the natives. Still, fascinating read.

[frankstien]

Just finished--Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises


Just started---Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace

[Ernie Nemeth]

Struggling through Swedenborg's Apocalypse Revealed.

Not what I bargained for. Must have been written before he had his revelations...it is quite a tome, that barely says anything worthwhile, being mostly an interpretation of the biblical version of the Apocalypse. Not my cuppa at all. Hoping that toward the end it will pick up, if I can suffer through the rest.

[Eva2]

Am presently reading Gopi Krishna "Living with Kundalini". The author had a rather brutal kundalini awakening in, I believe, 1937. He details his life before, during and after the expansion and shifts in consciousness. Its a very captivating, well written read and he manages to give words to the power and magnitude of his transformations for something that has no language. I'm very close to finishing this book and have found it a hard one to put down.

[Eva2]

Just as a P.S. to my previous post, I think Jurgen Ziewe's trilogy of books - "Multidimensional Man", "Vistas of Infinity" and "The Ten Minute Moment" are definitely worth reading. These are 3 wonderful books chronicling Ziewe's out of body experiences and explorations into higher states of consciousness during 40 plus years of meditation. Of all the books written on OBEs (including Robert Monroe), Ziewe's books are my favourites - they are beautifully and poetically written. Here's one of many 5 star reviews that his books have received: 'This book deals with the reality of our life after death, not spirit communication, but actual visits with all sensory perception in tact using Out-of-Body travel. Jurgen Ziewe has spent over forty years refining his OBE skills via a lifelong practice of deep meditation. The author projects his consciousness into parallel dimensions and non-physical reality systems whilst retaining full waking awareness throughout. He probes into the infinite vistas of human consciousness and brings back detailed accounts of his journeys and observations. The reports gathered followed a strict research protocol, where the author interviewed dead people and visited the higher dimensional realities, from the darkest places to the most illuminated regions of cosmic consciousness and realms which are traditionally referred to as 'Heaven'. These are lively, first-hand accounts providing a narrative which is destined to revolutionize old concepts and perspectives.'

[onawah]

"The Testaments" by Margaret Atwood, sequel to "The Handmaid's Tale" joint winner of the 2019 Man Booker Prize.
Set 15 years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale, narrated by Aunt Lydia, a character from the previous novel; Agnes, a young woman living in Gilead; and Daisy, a young woman living in Canada.
I just finished it and like most of Atwood's novels, it's like a powerful punch to the gut.
It made my nightmares about Mike Pence becoming POTUS seem even more surreal.
He is far Right, would probably do all he could to overturn Roe vs Wade, and some are reporting he and his wife are involved in human trafficking.
Which fits right into the descriptions of the despotic patriarchs of Atwood's Gilead.

[Strat]

I generally don't like reading 2 books at once but I'm doing that at the moment. I'm reading this:

and this

[avatar]

Finished a book called "The Gift of Alzheimer's" by Maggie La Tourelle, after watching an interview with her done by Anthony Peake.
She is a psychotherapist and healer who documented her mother's descent into Alzheimer's disease. It is very uplifting, as she
and her mother connected on other levels.
Also finished a fiction book by Alethea Black, a sort of coming of age story. However, she has a fascinating theory about time and space which I am still processing. See her youtube videos - fascinating stuff. Would love to hear feedback from other PA members on their opinion of her ideas.

[thepainterdoug]

Im a bit dyslexic and so having "Seth Speaks" read to me on audio book from Audible . I listened to 5 quantum physics books in this manner as well
Great for driving.