Books are Good, Actually

For April, we read Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky! We discussed some of our misgivings with the tactics Alinksy described, the two people who recommended this book (surprising but at the same time...unsurprising), the categorization of haves and have-nots, means to an end, big tent organizations, and being on a CIA list.

May - Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes Du Mez

June - Blood in my Eye by George Jackson

For March, we read State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin! We discussed our history with him, Kautsky, opportunists and what their goals are, how we can/cannot wither away the state, the problem with the dictatorship step and Sonic the hedgehog!

Liberation School Questions - https://www.liberationschool.org/study-guide-the-state-and-revolution/

April - Rules for Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky

May - Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes Du Mez

June - Blood in my Eye by George Jackson

For the month of February, we finished up (well in the case for Jimmy...) The Dawn of Everything! In this episode we discussed why Angela didn't finish and the elusive chapter 11.5, how we felt the book defined states and other aspects of political power, bird chirping, cheesecake making, and discussion of critiques that were levied at the book. We also got sidetracked by communist sonic fan art. 

https://mronline.org/2021/12/20/the-dawn-of-everything-gets-human-history-wrong/

March - State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin 

For the month of January we started The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow! We discussed our history with pre-history and anthropology, failing of high school history, trying to define freedom, misconceptions of "tribal" life and a side bar about Guns,Germs and Steel. 

February - Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow Chapters 7 - 12

March - State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin 

New year, late start but we read in December Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton! We discussed our very tepid background on the author, Black Panther Party, the concept of revolutionary suicide and reactionary suicide, solitary confinement, cults, and the legacy of Black Panther Party itself. It gets a little spicy at the end ;) 

Articles referenced:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mood-swings/201008/revolutionary-suicide 

https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=34268 

January - Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow Chapters 1 - 6

February - Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow Chapters 7 - 12

March - State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin 

For November, we read Reform or Revolution by Rosa Luxemburg! We discussed Bernstein's and Luxemburg's position, just shitting on Bernstein, had a lot of side bars about vanguard parties and revolutions in history, pre-mature revolutions and changing our outro! 

Resources: https://www.socialistrevolution.org/reform-or-revolution-a-reading-guide/

December - Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton

For spooky October, we read Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill. We discussed changing narratives, our previous knowledge of the time period of the book, what we think is the connection between the CIA and Manson, and remind everyone to not do speed!

November - Reform or Revolution and Other Writings by Rosa Luxemburg 

December - Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton

For September we read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer. We discussed our initial thoughts and impressions, how the book approached science and spirituality, reciprocity and gift economy, vibing with verbs, and potentially smoking peyote. 

Discussion questions from: 

https://medium.com/fwslibrary/braiding-sweetgrass-discussion-questions-eb7d3e0dc9ff

https://inspiredepicurean.com/braiding-sweetgrass-book-club-questions/

Upcoming Books:

October - Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill

November - Reform or Revolution and Other Writings by Rosa Luxemburg 

December - Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton

For August, we read Abolish Silicon Valley by Wendy Liu! We discussed our parallels with the author's journey, the naivety of the Cathedral and the Bazaar, we review her steps and how we think they didn't go far enough, and if we would join a start up and more! 

Wendy Liu on Trash Future - https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-trashfuture-31139233/episode/abolish-silicon-valley-feat-wendy-liu-36102326/ 

Upcoming Books

September - Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

October - Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill

November - Reform or Revolution and Other Writings by Rosa Luxemburg 

December - Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton

For July, we read and discuss Settlers by J. Sakai. We go over our impressions of the book, how this compares to People's History, failure of leftist organizations, J. Sakai's thesis, criticism and how to try to scam our way to a history master's program. We had a guest commentary from Angela's partner! 

Sites mentioned:

https://thecharnelhouse.org/2017/05/15/dont-bother-reading-settlers-by-j-sakai/

https://skeptomai.substack.com/p/j-sakai-mim-and-anarchism

https://old.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/lyt97l/information_about_j_sakai/

https://libcom.org/article/when-race-burns-class-settlers-revisited-interview-j-sakai

August - Abolish Silicon Valley by Wendy Liu