Farmer Giles of Ham

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1. rossdavidhNov 2023
   21/24, and I have to say that there were a lot more tough calls than I expected. One wonders if reading JRRT's works has been tested as an antidepressant. I think "Farmer Giles of Ham" was pretty upbeat...
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2. fellowniusmonkDec 2021
   This list of books may sum up my entire personhood, some I read at a young age.

   Thinking Fast and Slow. After you read it take a course on statistics & probability.

   The Art of Strategy

   The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance

   Armor by John Steakley Great book of fiction, helped me understand PTSD.

   Read a lot of Asimov, robot series, foundation and short stories starting with The Last Question.

   Jules Verne

   Mark Twain, various stories but particularly the Diary of Adam & Eve

   The Jungle Book by Kipling

   Lost Horizon

   Robinson Crusoe

   Dune Series

   Enders Game and sequels.

   The Odyssey

   The Count of Monte Cristo

   Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card because it helped me understand that a cultures internally consumed fiction tells you about its values.

   The book of Ecclesiastes. The book of Job. Leviticus 25. Galatians 5:22-23. Romans 2:15. Luke 18:1-8. The minor prophets. Bible generally if you want to deep dive, I did once upon a time.

   25th chapter of the First Epistle of Clement of Rome

   Aristotle, Socrates.

   Thus Spake Zarathustra

   Through Gates of Splendor Peace Child

   Let Freedom Ring. I was working illegally (as I recall) as a 15 year old teenager for Sean Hannity (as a w2 employee through a proxy) when this book came out and along with my personal interactions with him at the time it helped clarify that he is not a person whose opinion holds any weight or even much thought. I remember at the time thinking it was unbearably poor reading.

   Farmer Giles of Ham. If you've already read the hobbit, LOTR, etc. it helped me understand the framing of Tolkien way better.

   Then read Pride and Prejudice through the lens of Farmer Giles of Ham. Calling it a romance novel is a disservice.

   A James Bond Novel. I can't remember the name but there is one in particular that describes why he always acts so overtly and not spy-ish at all. The explanation helped me understand why you should throw yourself fully into work projects and helped me get over fear of mistakes. It made me a far better consultant as well while I was doing that.

   So good they can't ignore you & deep work.

   How to win friends and influence people.

   Run Silent, Run Deep.

   The Communist Manifesto

   The Christian Manifesto

   From Dawn to Decadence.

   Romance of the 7 kingdoms.

   Life together.

   There's a big yellow book about the 6 day war, it's very detailed and blow by blow, I can no longer remember its name but it impressed upon me the chance and vagaries of war.

   The Free Will Defense. Alvin Plantinga (and the various philosophic revuttals/conversations)

   In Defense of the Kalam Cosmological Argument. William Lane Craig (and the various philosophic revuttals/conversations)

   No little people. Francis Schaeffer

   The Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich.

   The Rails Way. 1st edition.

   Javascript. The good parts.

   Visual quick start guide to SQL.

   ^These three are probably the most important books I ever read, they probably changed the trajectory of my life more than any others on the list.

   Midnight's Children. Rushdie

   Roberts Rules of Order.

   The four loves

   Love languages

   A once popular anti catholic tract called "The Trail of Blood".

   Basically there is truth, falsehood, history, emotion and understanding in all these works, synthesizing these particular books made me who I am today. There are many others but these are the ones that come quickly to mind and whose titles I can still mostly recall.

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3. 082349872349872Oct 2020
   For another take on dragons in particular: Farmer Giles of Ham.

   and for monsters & maidens in general: https://blog.plover.com/book/myth/princess-andromeda.html

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