All the books you've never read

I'm using the term 'education' in a broader sense than A-levels/degrees/etc. Drug and alcohol education is not what it could be in the UK. I love booze, and as with prior drug use, I enjoy the rituals associated with the intoxicants as much as the intoxicants themselves. Social groups the world over thrive on their idiosyncratic rituals, as long as they're moderated.

The binge mentality isn't a problem for all of us, but the country's infrastructure is clearly put under great strain by the abuse of alcohol, cocaine, heroin, blah blah blah. It still seems to be a culture struggling to maintain an oxymoronic status quo - that of taboos and excess.

Don't bring the Quo into this...

@BringMeMyFix

oh I in that sense you describe ... I understand your response more clearly.

I have a friend who's a well-established drug and alcohol counsellor on the South Coast - you get to hear some interesting stuff. I'm talking about general trends and recurrent situations, of course. He does respect his clients' privacy.

All drug-use should be heavily ritualised. Then we wouldn't need any laws.

My Dad used to roadie for the 'Quo, btw. Back when they were all hippy and shit.

I sampled 'Pictures of Matchstick Men' and juxtaposed it with a similar riff by Jacques Dutronc*.

*I may have been drunk and a little bit high at the time

If every thread drifted off to drugs and alcohol, they'd probably all start to move at a rate of knots like this one has been tonight. :)

"Books are drugs." Discuss.

Plato - The Republic ... Confused the shit outta me in the first few chapters .. intend to try to understand meta-physics.... but I prefer understanding proper science first.

In that case I'd recommend looking at some Pre-Socratic philosophy first, i.e. study a bit of Thales, Anaximander, Heraclitus, and Parmenides (not a lot to read, as we only have fragments) to set the context for Plato. Then don't read The Republic in isolation, as that makes it much more difficult, but together with some other dialogues, including the Parmenides, the Theaetetus, and the Sophist. These are all a bit of a handful, but being works of utter genius more than reward the work that you have to put in. NB The Republic isn't Plato's last word on a lot of things and a lot of things that occur in it are picked up again in other dialogues.

If every thread drifted off to drugs and alcohol, they'd probably all start to move at a rate of knots like this one has been tonight. :)

"Books are drugs." Discuss.

Drugs (including alcohol) are books.

Drugs (including alcohol) are books.

Depends how drunk and interesting the label is.

I've never read any Jeremy Clarkson. Never. Fucking. Will

stop baiting him............;-)

"The doors of perception- Heaven and Hell" Huxley as you all well know, a good exploration of the subject. Terrence McKenna anyone? had mates into him some time ago, never got round to reading him though, Im too outgoing for those types of experiences.

Food of the Gods is a good read. TIKHAL and PHIKAL by Alexander Shulgin are great. Man that guy has got a lot of mental strength to cook his own RC's and experiment with them

http://www.mdma.net/alexander-shulgin/pihkal-tihkal.html

I had an argument in the pub about Harry Potter the other day that reminded me of this thread. If you can get a kid, or an adult for that matter, reading for pleasure, then they are further ahead than the posers who, when asked which books they like, list off the same fashionable, 'literary', sub-undergraduate authors with cool covers as all their mates that they never actually read but which they think that having on their shelves will make art-school girls want to do them.

At least the people reading harry potter books are enjoying them.

I remember all those rites of passage books like the one about the bloke who had lizards on his shoulders and buggered off into the desert to see if he would turn into an eagle or whatever. Utter bollox. Blake, Huxley all that stuff you had to read in between taking vast amounts of LSD, Mushrooms and the like when one was a teenager.

Had some of the best nights of my life when I was on LSD. I was fortunate enough never to have had a bad trip or even a bad episode during a trip. Except the Mcdonalds incident, which I don't like to talk about. I guess it is cos I am of particularly strong mind or I am just mind numbing dull. Which is more likely to be the case.

I got bored with red wine and cult movies as my distractors when coming down off acid, and tried reading instead.

BINGO!!!

It was an amazing experience. You tend to get through 200-300 page novels in a single sitting, absolutely devouring the text, and it's really obvious when the author's voice overpowers the narrative voice, IYSWIM.

A really nice way to end a trip, especially if there's no sex to be had – although a come-down post-coital read is equally acceptable :)

@Plurabelle.
good point well made actually. Getting the younger generation actually reading something is difficult enough today, personally Im going for indoctrinating as many as I can with bike related stories and not Rowlinginit or Madge.
some of those 'coming of age' novels are amazing, like Hesse "Narziss and Goldman" (I think that’s the title but its been a while) although sure many like Casteneda fit into a stage of the life cycle.
anyway, less drugs -more books.
good suggestion above, im going to relate the story of Tomas and Teresa during next available bedtime, but who can name the book?

@Plurabelle.
good point well made actually. Getting the younger generation actually reading something is difficult enough today, personally Im going for indoctrinating as many as I can with bike related stories and not Rowlinginit or Madge.
some of those 'coming of age' novels are amazing, like Hesse "Narziss and Goldman" (I think that’s the title but its been a while) although sure many like Casteneda fit into a stage of the life cycle.
anyway, less drugs -more books.
good suggestion above, im going to relate the story of Tomas and Teresa during next available bedtime, but who can name the book?

Unbearable Lightness of Being, innit. Do I win a puppy?

more drugs = more books

Speed reading, FTW.

well done sir- should elicit plenty discussion on sex-morality-partnership I would have thought.
Staffy pup with studded collar be acceptable?

well done sir- should elicit plenty discussion on sex-morality-partnership I would have thought.
Staffy pup with studded collar be acceptable?

She's a very clever bloke, that Plurabelle.

well done sir- should elicit plenty discussion on sex-morality-partnership I would have thought.
Staffy pup with studded collar be acceptable?

Awesome. I'll set him on people who disagree with my interpretationz.

Except the Lamborghini incident, which I don't like to talk about.

Hmmm ...

strokes chin

Hesse "Narziss and Goldman" (I think that’s the title but its been a while)

"Narzi ß und Goldmund" in German. Probably "Narzi ss and Goldmund" in English.

I had an argument in the pub about Harry Potter the other day that reminded me of this thread. If you can get a kid, or an adult for that matter, reading for pleasure, then they are further ahead than the posers who, when asked which books they like, list off the same fashionable, 'literary', sub-undergraduate authors with cool covers as all their mates that they never actually read but which they think that having on their shelves will make art-school girls want to do them.

At least the people reading harry potter books are enjoying them.

Oh, I do agree that pseudo-(semi-?)literary ponces are worse. But it's a bit of a desperate dilemma to have to choose between the two. Then again, it was an argument in the pub. :)

Oh, I do agree that pseudo-(semi-?)literary ponces are worse. But it's a bit of a desperate dilemma to have to choose between the two. Then again, it was an argument in the pub. :)

The best type, Oliver.