Category: Books (Page 17 of 22)

These are posts about books from the blog Base and Superstructure. Occasionally I’ll read a book worth talking about, and write some thoughts on it. These cover a wide range of topics from the blog.

The ABCs of Socialism

July 2, 2020 / baseblogger

I tried to buy The ABCs of Socialism one time. I messed up and bought The ABCs of Capitalism instead. Doing the best I could with the situation, I read the pamphlets and wrote an overview. As it turned out, they’re a – decent, not great – socialist overview of capitalism.

This time I bought the real thing: The ABCs of Socialism, from Bhaskar Sunkara‘s Jacobin crew. Like much of what’s going on in the Jacobin world, it’s influential among many people in the social democratic-to-socialist left. And I think it has much to offer people in that camp.

Summer Reading List (2020)

June 11, 2020 / baseblogger

With summer upon us and coronavirus lingering in the air, I bring to you a new season’s installment of the reading list series! The public library in Iowa City remains closed, and so I’ve had to get creative about where I find materials. In some cases, I’m reading some things on my shelf I put there years ago.

Without further ado, here are 5 books I’ve recently read.

In The Dream House

May 7, 2020 / baseblogger

I get a feeling of uncanny accuracy when I read In the Dream House. Not because I’ve ever been in an abusive relationship. I haven’t, and I hope things stay that way forever. It’s because the road – both geographical and description of place – looks so familiar and yet so far away.

Carmen Maria Machado wrote the book, and she wrote it about her relationship with an abuser who’s part of writing communities in Iowa City. Their relationship spans the U.S., but it mostly spans the distance between Iowa City, Iowa and Bloomington, Indiana.

I live in Iowa City, and I used to live in Bloomington. 6 years of the former followed by 12 years – and counting! – of the latter. Setting aside a year in Minneapolis, I’ve lived half my life in these two places.

The Naked Sun: On Social Distancing

April 16, 2020 / baseblogger

There’s not much to do in Iowa City other than read – or make cloth masks – given the fact of coronavirus and COVID-19. As I said earlier, one of those recent books is The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov. I dropped a hint in the earlier post that The Naked Sun is relevant to our current situation. How? By revealing the slow social disintegration of the planet Solaria.

Let’s think a bit more about that.

Stay-at-Home Reading List

April 6, 2020 / baseblogger

Yeah, I know. I just put out a reading list for the spring. But there’s reading, and there’s reading, right? With stay-at-home orders in most states, we’re now doing the latter. And not a moment too soon, because we don’t need to mess around with coronavirus and COVID-19.

Lots of you are under stay-at-home orders! Even Florida now. As it happens, I live in Iowa and I’m not. This has led to much wailing and gnashing of teeth among local liberals. But if you can’t – or won’t – leave the house, you’re probably looking for something to read.

Maybe I can help with that. Here’s what I’m reading under my personal stay-at-home order.

Category: Books (Page 17 of 22)

The ABCs of Socialism

Summer Reading List (2020)

In The Dream House

The Naked Sun: On Social Distancing

Stay-at-Home Reading List

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