What book(s) are you reading at the moment?

[Appear]

^^ Great Expectations is probably my favourite bit of Dickens. I hadn't heard what Bloom had said about his writing before - he's right on the money.


I'm currently reading 'For Profit: A History of Corporations' by William Magnuson. He discusses a handful of corporations from history from as early as the Roman empire to the present day to show the good and bad corporations can do (and have done) for society. It's interesting from a purely historical perspective but is really effective in showing how particular economic phenomena like monopolies can play out in the real world. There are also lots of interesting factual tidbits, like the Roman Empire basically having its own G4Ss and Sercos.


Before that I read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - and I'll never be complaining about my job or general circumstances again.

[Percy]

I've just finished John Birds biography and Strangeways: A prison officers story

[Percy]

Originally Posted by Gellerbing

Currently Reading "the rumour", almost finished it then I'll be moving onto Mathew perry's biography

Can i take a wild stab in the dark and guess you like Friends

[Percy]

Currently reading "Scattered Minds" by Gabor Mate

[Merritt]

All the pages are printed upside down in the copy I got from Amazon. I thought maybe it was a novelty thing, like woahhh I'm so high I'm reading a book upside down, but no, I think it's just a printing error.

Still reading it though. Upside down. And the pages go right to left.

[Gellerbing]

Mathew perry's book, only only chapter 2 but interesting so far

[Mike.Kzov]

I've been reading this collection from this strange and brilliant manga artist.

[Percy]

Originally Posted by Gellerbing

Mathew perry's book, only only chapter 2 but interesting so far

I'm looking forward to reading that

[Percy]

Life Undercover: My Life in the CIA

Very interesting so far. Apparently CIA recruits are taught suicide techniques incase of capture. The author is rather tasty to boot.

[Percy]

I've just finished "Life Undercover: My Life in the CIA" by Amaryllis Fox

An outstanding book, one I'd recommend for anyone wanting an insight into the work of a CIA agent.

[Percy]

Paul O'Grady's At My Mother's Knee.

The first of his biographies

[Percy]

Finished the first Paul O'Grady book, about to start the second. The Devil Rides Out.

[Percy]

Finished the Devil Rides Out. Now reading the third part of his biography Still Standing: The Savage Years

[Percy]

Finished O'Grady's Still Standing: The Savage Years. Now on the last part of his biographies Open the Cage, Murphy.

[Appear]

^^ The crematorium book sounds intriguing. I might give it a try. I hope one of the lessons is to cover the urn if you feel a sneeze coming on.

[3stacks]

Wayward pines by blake crouch

Sent from my SM-S908B using Tapatalk

[Mike.Kzov]

A lovely illustrated collection of stories by Edgar Allan Poe. They're beautifully written and psychologically astute. I can see why this Mr Poe made a name for himself.

[Dougella]

^ When i had a few days where i couldn't get my meds recently my partner was a bit concerned that i might fly into a rage and murder him, as he's read some reports of people having that reaction. I can confirm i didn't suffer from any rage though and he is still alive
Seriously though i know some people have a very hard time with antidepressants but for some people like me they are helpful with minimal side effects. So people should probably proceed with caution if their doctor does want to prescribe them.

[Percy]

^ Any good?

[Appear]

Lost Connections - Johann Hari.

Initially I thought this book was going to annoy me because it seemed very 'journalist knows nothing about subject and goes on a journey of discovery that they talk about more than the actual subject itself.' It's a bit like that, but doesn't let the important points get lost and could be quite revelatory to some people.

In essence it talks about the inadequacy of conceptualising depression and anxiety as 'biological issues' and explores the research on the external contributors. Officially, doctors subscribe to the 'bio-psycho-social model' of mental illness, but in practice they're usually only treated as biological problems (by prescribing anti-depressants) or psychological ones.

It gets to the nub of something that always frustrated me about CBT - straight away, you're told your thinking is wrong, and if you stop thinking wrong you'll feel better. There's no acknowledgement that your circumstances could be difficult and likely played a large role in the development and maintenance of your issues. Mood disorders don't spring up in a vacuum.

There's also some interesting stuff around the evidence that shows the way our lives and wider society are structured makes the development of mood disorders more likely.

I did a big module on all this stuff in my psych degree but there's stuff here I hadn't seen before and only makes an even greater case for taking the social determinants of mood disorders more seriously.

[genovese]

^ Sounds like you'd really like this

[Percy]

Originally Posted by Appear

It gets to the nub of something that always frustrated me about CBT - straight away, you're told your thinking is wrong, and if you stop thinking wrong you'll feel better. There's no acknowledgement that your circumstances could be difficult and likely played a large role in the development and maintenance of your issues. Mood disorders don't spring up in a vacuum.

Outstanding observation, your psychology degree was money well spent.

CBT helped a lot in conquering my SA but I wouldn't have made the progress I have if I relayed solely on CBT. There are plenty of people on here for whom CBT was no help whatsoever.

[Chess&Junkfood]

My Life - Bobby Ball

[Appear]

^^^ Oh interesting! Don't think I've read anything by him.

^^ Yeah. I was very anti-CBT but aspects of it have helped me - mainly the behavioural stuff, not the 'thought challenging' BS (of which there are studies showing is at best ineffective and at worst exacerbates people's negative thoughts).

I just think being basically told that your thoughts and feelings are invalid (which is implied by CBT's 'bad thinking' conceptualisation) is unhelpful and isn't the way to engage people in making positive changes in their lives - whether they're psychological, behavioural or in their social or material circumstances.

[genovese]

Originally Posted by Appear

^^^ Oh interesting! Don't think I've read anything by him.

Ahh, then you are in for some spectacular reading

Come back and let us know your thoughts on it. Be interesting to hear a perspective from someone with a psych qualification.

[Percy]

Gabor Mate did a brilliant book on ADHD

[genovese]

^ Aye.

All his others are worth a read

[Merritt]

Finished The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer. It was alright, Bob's loveliness bleeds through, but was only 'occasional smile' funny and the story was a bit 'if this was by anyone else, I wouldn't bother finishing it'.

I have a couple of old 90's novels by Ade Edmondson and Charlie Higson that I'm a bit hesitant to dip into. Worried I'll feel locked in to something a bit dull due to liking the author for other stuff, and then spend 3 months dutifully nibbling at it page by page.

[Percy]

I've finished the fourth and last part of Paul O'Grady's biography. Now reading his last book about life living in the country. "Country Life".

[Laurel]

‘The Truth about Percy’ by Enid Brown.