What are you currently reading?

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Short book (actually a series of lectures transcribed) but with great clarity of insight. I found more than a few quotes that really hit home with me and will share some later. Most of the book is an exhortation to unceasing spiritual struggle for the love of Christ. Abp. Averky also shares practical advice including an analysis of common ways in which sinful ideas or thoughts proceed to manifest in our actions, then finally take hold as deeply ingrained evil habits or passions.

I didn't know until I read this that "asceticism" never originally meant a kind of masochistic unhealthy lifestyle. The original Greek word "askesis" actually refers to "exercise" or "training" in the context of an athlete or soldier. Thus true ascetism is the deliberate development of self-constraint of one's selfish will, the waging of war against one's passions and toward the cultivation of virtues in their place.
 
GodfatherPartTwo said:
Going to leave this thread here for why I will never buy anything from the Wilsons.
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Her and her husband Andrew do debates with feminists and only fans models all the time I think they probably have the most first hand interactions with these people which makes them very qualified to write a book on this topic, the research was very good
For example, she shows in her book that the feminist movement wasnt a grassroots movement but was a top down movement, she talks about the counter protests from other woman who were AGAINST woman voting etc. Dont let a twitter link about her diet and kids schooling put you off, anyway who even went out of their way to write such an insignificant article?
 
GoodShepherd said:
Her and her husband Andrew do debates with feminists and only fans models all the time I think they probably have the most first hand interactions with these people which makes them very qualified to write a book on this topic, the research was very good
For example, she shows in her book that the feminist movement wasnt a grassroots movement but was a top down movement, she talks about the counter protests from other woman who were AGAINST woman voting etc. Dont let a twitter link about her diet and kids schooling put you off, anyway who even went out of their way to write such an insignificant article?
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I'll admit, my first impression of them wasn't the best. They were friends with our former user Brother Augustine until he had a falling out with one of their friends, so they did a hit piece on him. When people show you who they are, believe them. And everything I've seen since then has shown me that they are what they struck me as, grifters looking for an audience.
 
GodfatherPartTwo said:
I'll admit, my first impression of them wasn't the best. They were friends with our former user Brother Augustine until he had a falling out with one of their friends, so they did a hit piece on him. When people show you who they are, believe them. And everything I've seen since then has shown me that they are what they struck me as, grifters looking for an audience.
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Sometimes people have a fall out with other people I dont see why thats a serious reason not to read someones book or dismiss their research, if they had denied Christ and decided to live an immoral unrepentant life then I would understand your concerns but this isnt the case, like Napolian Hill who admitted he practiced necromancy and communicated with the "dead" and from "them" he got the information and inspiration to write his book Think and Grow Rich (I actually read the book many years ago before I found out), this isnt the case with this book and I think its one of the most important books to read in the west right now and in our times as it deals with this very serious problem thats affecting woman, men and families in our western society, a problem thats didnt happen in the eastern Orthodox countries, this is current stuff that we are actually living through. Orthodox priest Father Moses also read the book and spoke highly of it on his Instagram, other friends of Brother Augustine also seem to still hang out with Rachael and Andrew like David Patrick Harry and Jim Bob etc, I actually am not aware of any hit piece or disagreement they had with brother Augustine but to me thats between them, if they didnt deal with each other in the best of ways thats a problem they must sort out with their priests and themselves its really not a big deal in my opinion, if you want I can send the author this twitter link and have her personally respond to those accusations and post the reply on here?
 
Brother Augustine had run afoul of Jay Dyer and the online Orthodoxbro sphere that Dyer is a major player in. The Wilsons were trying to break into that sphere at the time and Dyer had basically told everyone in his Discord server to not associate with BA which I'm guessing is what caused the Wilsons to sour with BA as well even though they had just met IRL and had a positive interaction at some sort of Orthodox conference. Andrew would do these special 'trash talk' streams where he would choose a specific figure that he disliked and spend the entire time dumpling on them an BA was the subject of one. I remember seeing it on The Crucible YouTube channel before they started migrating all their content to Rumble.
 
Wutang said:
Brother Augustine had run afoul of Jay Dyer and the online Orthodoxbro sphere that Dyer is a major player in. The Wilsons were trying to break into that sphere at the time and Dyer had basically told everyone in his Discord server to not associate with BA which I'm guessing is what caused the Wilsons to sour with BA as well even though they had just met IRL and had a positive interaction at some sort of Orthodox conference. Andrew would do these special 'trash talk' streams where he would choose a specific figure that he disliked and spend the entire time dumpling on them an BA was the subject of one. I remember seeing it on The Crucible YouTube channel before they started migrating all their content to Rumble.
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I remember this incident from a few years ago although I wasn't wrapped up in it very much at the time. I did think the hit job on BA was uncalled for.

I bought the book @GoodShepherd recommended, and have read about 40%. I am finding it very informative. They tie feminism in with occult movements and liberal non-Christian thinking going back to the 1800s. I am familiar with a number of details they are bringing up, and can clearly see the patterns she is pointing out.

I recently read Brother Augustine's book on Freemasonry, and it's clear that the things he says about Freemasonry vs Christianity are closely paralleled in the development of feminism.

One of Wilson's points is that the story and history of feminism is entirely told by feminists, typically professors of Women's Studies. Not only are they biased, they actually have no problem presenting false information to make their cases, because they believe achieving effective propaganda is far more important than impartial truth.

That being the case, I think anyone who goes digging and brings out the other side of the story of feminism is likely to be somewhat of a contrarian, and likely has a few skeletons in their own closet. I'm fine with that. I'd like to see the case she makes, and I'm able to take it with a grain of salt and keep her limitations in mind.
 
GoodShepherd said:
Sometimes people have a fall out with other people I dont see why thats a serious reason not to read someones book or dismiss their research, if they had denied Christ and decided to live an immoral unrepentant life then I would understand your concerns but this isnt the case, like Napolian Hill who admitted he practiced necromancy and communicated with the "dead" and from "them" he got the information and inspiration to write his book Think and Grow Rich (I actually read the book many years ago before I found out), this isnt the case with this book and I think its one of the most important books to read in the west right now and in our times as it deals with this very serious problem thats affecting woman, men and families in our western society, a problem thats didnt happen in the eastern Orthodox countries, this is current stuff that we are actually living through. Orthodox priest Father Moses also read the book and spoke highly of it on his Instagram, other friends of Brother Augustine also seem to still hang out with Rachael and Andrew like David Patrick Harry and Jim Bob etc, I actually am not aware of any hit piece or disagreement they had with brother Augustine but to me thats between them, if they didnt deal with each other in the best of ways thats a problem they must sort out with their priests and themselves its really not a big deal in my opinion, if you want I can send the author this twitter link and have her personally respond to those accusations and post the reply on here?
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So, anyway... I'm currently reading the new Blake Crouch book "Famous" and so far it's been a really good read. I'm about half-way through and had an absolute laugh out loud moment because of such an absurd moment.

I'm still waiting for the twist (because there's always some kind of twist is Crouch's books). So far, a very entertaining and easy read. It's a good weekend book.
 
I'm nearly done reading Johnny Reb & Billy Yank by Alexander Hunter, a veteran of the Civil War and the Army of Northern Virginia. Really enjoyed his prose throughout. It's made me want to read more military memoirs from common soldiers, and I went to my local bookstore to pick up a few. They were mixed in with all the history books so it was hard to find any but I came away with a couple (Company Commander, On To Berlin, Blood Red Snow). In the past I've read Storm of Steel and Goodbye to All That and I wanted to ask if anyone here has any recommendations of military memoirs, or maybe even just memoirs in general, sometimes I enjoy listening to someone's experience in life, although now everyone is good at the telling of it.
 
thinkreadwritecode said:
I'm nearly done reading Johnny Reb & Billy Yank by Alexander Hunter, a veteran of the Civil War and the Army of Northern Virginia. Really enjoyed his prose throughout. It's made me want to read more military memoirs from common soldiers, and I went to my local bookstore to pick up a few. They were mixed in with all the history books so it was hard to find any but I came away with a couple (Company Commander, On To Berlin, Blood Red Snow). In the past I've read Storm of Steel and Goodbye to All That and I wanted to ask if anyone here has any recommendations of military memoirs, or maybe even just memoirs in general, sometimes I enjoy listening to someone's experience in life, although now everyone is good at the telling of it.
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I recently finished reading With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge, a first person account from the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa by a 60mm mortar crewman. His son, Henry, recently published a book (The Old Breed, The Complete Story Revealed) containing a lot of the stuff originally not published in With the Old Breed as well as a lot of personal stories of growing up with his father. I read this as well and found them both fantastic. If you have seen The Pacific miniseries on HBO you may be familiar with Sledge as he is a character in the show and the show was partially based on his book.
 
GodfatherPartTwo said:
"I have had kids out of wedlock with two different men."
"I wasn't promiscuous or careless."
Leave It Ok GIF by myHQ
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Apparently she was previously married and had a divorce, I dont see why having a bad past before becoming an Orthodox Christian some how makes her current research and book on feminism invalid? I read her book it was really good, one of the best works on this topic in our day and age, very very important read for us on this forum, I dont know if there are other authors whom you might prefer on this topic but find them and study this modern topic, I dont want to mess up this great thread with too much commenting, @GodfatherPartTwo we shall speak again some other time🙏🏻
 
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Anyone here read this? I bet a few here have. A how-to book written by an 18 year old girl living with her dad in the 70s about how they lived a middle class life on $700 a year each (around $10,000 USD today) by raising chickens and rabbits in their basement, working odd jobs temporarily, selling small things here and there, and just being content with the small pleasures in life. Not being a miser, but more “if you want efficiency, go work in a grimy factory and buy lobster— if you want to live right, go catch crayfish all of a summer’s day.”

I wasn’t raised to be thrifty or all that resourceful at all, and I’ve spent my entire adult life unlearning consumerism and the generally accepted path of college > work > retire (maybe) > die all while getting yourself into debt along the way.

Other good reads on this topic:
  • The 2009-2015 Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) blogs. I wish I applied more of what I read as a teenager back then. You know what’s funny? All the people in the comments section complaining about housing prices in 2013 :)
  • Mr Money Mustache blog
  • Early Retirement Extreme blog
  • No More Harvard Debt blog
  • The Simple Path to Wealth
  • The Richest Man in Babylon
The blogs do lean liberal/libertarian/agnostic/overpopulationists/tree hugger so take the best and leave the rest. Most of the guys who wrote this stuff were engineers which reflects in their writing. These ideas can be easily repackaged for conservative, family-oriented people (and I suspect they are among the more savvy). I am continually surprised how many of these recommendations are a shoe-in for a pious Christian life (live simply, be wise with your money so you can give more, don’t let your body become undisciplined through comfort, etc).

Many people act like you need to make a million dollars a year to afford a large family, but as long as you stay out of debt, avoid lifestyle creep, keep the big 3 costs reasonable (food, transportation, housing) and stay away from typical middle/upper class money sinks, you can have a really good time for not a lot of money. Or at least, you can spend the cash on things that are important to your family instead of car payments, crappy takeout, and travel team sports starting at age 6.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but this stuff has been a huge source of optimism for us in a sea of black pill, and it reinforces the concept that we really do have control over our lives and where we go. I can think of many people in my life who could literally be millionaires if they applied these concepts instead of feeling sorry for themselves and sabotaging opportunities. I wish I was exaggerating, but our thoughts determine our lives.
 
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