I'm reading Socialism Betrayed now and taking notes to Blackshirts and Reds. Both a refreshing break before diving into capital vol 2 😅

Blackshirts and reds, by Michael Parenti (rest in power comrade).

Also thank you for the picture of Ho Chi Minh too (I miss him so much...).

I'm going to plug Psychological Warfare in the Strategy of Imperialism yet again, it's an absolute must read to understand the roots of modern western propaganda

november8ph.ca/psychological-warfare-in-the-strategy-of-imperialism-v-l-artemov/

I'm working on The Jakarta Method by Vincent Bevins. There was this almost surreal moment reading it where it hit me that the cold war was possibly (probably?) entirely one sided. It's been very instuctive, I hadn't gotten such a good view of the CIA's machinations before reading this

I just reread Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense" and Tom Hayden's "Port Huron Statement". Something I do from time to time as a reminder that no matter how much things might appear to change, how little they actually do. They are as relevant today as they were when written.

Can someone recommend me good reads on 邓小平 (Deng Xiaoping) and 陈云 (Chen Yun) please?

I've been currently reading on the Spiral of Silence, by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. Been trying to understand people's behavior a little better. I'm hoping the books and research done helps me find ways to understand what I have to do, to fit in, and how to then direct people to be better versions of themselves, instead of them following me around, because I happen to say what they agree with.

Currently on foundations of Leninism chapter 4-5 not sure what notes to take though it’s tiny bit hard to understand some phrases and concepts made

• Hadji Murad by Leo Tolstoy. Some recollections of the historical figure of Hadji Murad, an Avar resistance leader during the caucasus war against imperial Russia who eventually defects to Russia. It's an interesting read, a bit niche but it shows the disdain Tolstoy himself had against Nicholas I and the atrocities committed by the army, my favorite chapter was one where we see the POV of the tsar and Tolstoy depicts him as an idiot with basically unlimited power and a group of sycophant yes men around him, kinda funny and eerily reminds me of Trump.

• America, America a New history of the new world by Greg Gandrin (just started)

I think i am gonna pick up some of the books recommended by J.W. Mason here: https://jwmason.org/slackwire/2025-books-part-1/ , The corporation in the 21st century sounds interesting.

I am re reading Wheel of Time right now and my veins are filled with hate for rafe judkins.

Imperialism the highest stage of capitalism by Ya Boi Lenin

It's good, but I have difficulty understanding why Lenin is talking about numbers for German/French banks. Granted I'm only 30 pages in and will continue, just a bit confused so far.

I've been watching some modern Chinese "Red" shows and they mention Edgar Snows's Red Star over China multiple times, and I've heard it mentioned before, so I decided it's time to read it. Overall very informative and enjoyable account of China's revolutionary years and Mao's personal development from a run of the mill liberal to the Mao we all know and love.

As a teaser here's Snow talking to some random Chinese on a train when he was about to reach the Communist controlled territories:

“But in Szechuan don’t people fear the Reds as much as the bandits?”

“Well, that depends. The rich men fear them, and the landlords, and the officials and tax-collectors, yes. But the peasants do not fear them. Sometimes they welcome them.” Then he glanced apprehensively at the old man, who sat listening intently, and yet seeming not to listen. “You see,” he continued, “the peasants are too ignorant to understand that the Reds only want to use them. They think the Reds really mean what they say.”

“But they don’t mean it?”

“My father wrote to me that they did abolish usury and opium in the Sungpan [Szechuan], and that they redistributed the land there. So you see they are not exactly bandits. They have principles all right. But they are wicked men. They kill too many people.”

Then surprisingly the greybeard lifted his gentle face and with perfect composure he made an astonishing remark. “Sha pu kou!” he said. “They don’t kill enough!” We both looked at him flabbergasted.

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I've begun Maurice Cornforth's Materialism and the Dialectical Method to see if it's a good replacement for Georges Politzer's Elementary Principles of Philosophy in my intro Marxist-Leninist reading list. So far, so good! Really enjoying the clarity of Cornforth, something he has in common with Politzer.

I've been reading Excession by Iain M. Banks. It's part of The Culture series. I'm about halfway through the book and it feels like the story is just started to begin. Kind of annoying but a good read all the same

For the last few weeks I been going through the Red Rising series for the first time, starting Light Bringer today. Overall it's been really enjoyable to read and analyze the themes and framing therein. Definitely something I'd recommend to the right person (anyone with critical thinking and media literacy that is)

I noticed I was getting slowly burnt out on reading theory. Haven't been as consistent in the past few weeks as I would like.

I'll take a short break from it and read some fiction, mainly to keep the habit up. I find I'm less likely to want to read if it always feels like studying.

I know some people tend to read multiple books concurrently, but I never tried it. How does that work out?
When I start reading a book, I just read it to completion before starting another one, regardless of fiction or non-fiction.