I didn't get the book at all when I read it in high school. Last year I decided to read it again. I cried and cried. The difference is that now, after nearly 70 years of life experience that include things that had not yet happened to me when I was his age, I understood Holden completely.
Lord of the flies was mandatory reading for me in middle school. I didn't like it either but it did come to mind during Covid Plandemic as the novel talks about mass psychosis of the sheep.
The two worst books I have ever read were Lord of the Flies and Catcher in the Rye. Of course, we were required to read these in high school (now over fifty years ago).
One of the best books I have read is Humankind: A Hopeful History, by Rutger Bregman, which tells a true story about children marooned on an island, as well as many other stories about human kindness and helpfulness.
I'm trying to think of the books I had to read in school. The only one I remember was 10th grade - "The Good Earth," which I enjoyed. I also remember watching the movie "Shane" in school, which makes me think we might have read the novel upon which it was made. "Shane" is one of my favorite movies. I don't even think I had to read 1984 in high school or college. I might have had to read "Catch-22," which was great if maddening and hard to read because everyone was so insane. I think about that book a lot these days.
My wife reads about three books a week, more in the summer. One of her favorites is perhaps my favorite book - "Lonesome Dove." She has gotten a lot of boys to start reading by reading that one.
I vividly remember an elementary school teacher reading us "Charlotte's Web." I think every kid had that book read to them by a teacher.
As a child I had great difficulty learning to read, to tie my shoes, and to tell time (on a clock). I struggled and little by little accomplished all three. But I hated reading, and oftentimes did not read the assignments (but just listened to discussion in class which was enough to pass the tests!
As a young adult I learned I was dyslexic. I was so glad that I did not know this as a child, because I would have used that as an excuse not to work so hard! Now I read all the time.
I remember many of my classmates reading George Orwell's 1984 in high school, but I never got around to it, until . . . the year 1984! I also read Animal Farm that year.
You're welcome. I think they call it a real version of the Lord of the Flies, or something like that (but the children who were stranded on the island for a year or more were much more considerate of each other).
Maybe 16 or 17 years ago, Kevin Barrett (who now has a Substack site) wrote an article titled "Twilight of the Psychopaths." I don't know if it is easily available on the internet anymore (it is probably archived), but I recommend it as a companion piece to Humankind: A Hopeful History, to understand the complete picture.
All of us have good points and bad points - we all can do good or evil. In my experience, the vast majority of people generally treat others with kindness and respect.
The problem, as I see it, concerns people with strongly psychopathic personalities who end up at the "top of the pyramid" and control a lot of our lives through government, "education," the media, and such. Many people who are not psychopathic go along to get along. A well-written book, The Franklin Cover-up, by John W. DeCamp, highlights the corruption in business, the government, courts, and police, and is the most disturbing book I have ever read (though I highly recommend it).
Another book in which I have now read the first eight chapters, The Rape of the Mind, by Joost Meerloo, goes into a lot of the psychology used to control people. I have taken a break from this book to reread Here I Stand, by Paul Robeson. Written in 1958, it deals with many of the same issues we face today.
I guess I shouldn't read it then. I think we did have to read "To Kill a Mockingbird" in high school. That was good - written by an Alabamian ... just like "Forrest Gump," which gave us "Stupid is as Stupid does" - the greatest line in literature or cinema history!
I'm pretty much off now. I've been banned and had my account suspended too many times to count. Facebook (the company) doesn't like people like me. They really don't.
My reading of Catcher in the Rye 57 years ago almost flatlined me. But I was resuscitated by my youthful vigor. I can barely remember any of Holden's travails of that weekend of dejection that he wrote about.
You mentioned your interest in precious metals a couple of times.
In case you are not familiar with 321gold, its a good site for interested readers, and it links to Kitco.
PMs are poised for a bull run, but they are volatile and will go through corrections for cheaper buying. And in addition to the hard item and mining stocks, consider Royalty Funds like FNV, RGLD, WPM, others.
Sorry, not sorry for dabbling in such advice...It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Have some is what I say.
The Bidenites have ruined the economy and are killing the dollar.
When I wrote this, precious metals were a great interest of mine ... they still are. I happen to believe the "markets" for precious metals are as phony as can be. The Establishment and financial press portray us as "bugs" .... to protect the fiat printing and the dollar as the world currency (IMO).
While the current trend and predictions favor PMs beginning a secular bull market, there can be little doubt that the Fed manipulates this market dimension also.
As the dollar continues to lose value, we shall see how the Fed holds forth.
Thanks, Johnny D. I love hearing from anyone else interested in precious metals. Before I was an "anti-vaxxer," I was a "bug." I will probably ending up writing a few topics on precious metals. If I do, I hope you share your educated thoughts on the topic.
The Coen brothers made this into a 20 minute short movie which is included in the vignette collection "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs." This is 6 short movie episodes which entertain as the Coen brothers do with some morbid themes.
The All Gold Canyon movie vignette is the 4th episode in this movie collection, and tells the Jack London short story with Tom Waits starring as the grizzled gold prospector who strikes it rich in an interesting cinematic display of pocket hunting. This technique of prospecting is nicely described by London in his short story.
This is a good way to spend 20 minutes, and as far as gold goes, I am at least sure of this statement!
One has probably seen even rosier forecasts over the past 10 years. And indeed, the metals might go parabolic. But they tend to be very volatile and one has to have patience and prudence...just like the Jack London pocket hunter referenced in the comment above.
The only final surefire manipulation tool "they" can exercise is to outlaw PMs and attempt confiscation as FDR did back almost exactly 90 years ago, on April 5, 1933 with Executive Order 6102... "forbidding the hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States."
At that point the PMs become an underground black market item.
If we get to that point, then things have probably broken down pretty bad.
Ha! I'm still glad I (finally) read it to see what all the fuss is about. It is considered one of the more influential books in America literature. It's a short book too. That helped me finish it. My wife gives it a "like." If something touches or affects people, who am I to say they are wrong? I just wrote a column saying I like college football and it bugs me that some people look down their noses at me because of this. To each his own, I say. The most important book I've read in my lifetime was "The Real Anthony Fauci" - the book the Establishment says nobody should read!
Yes, that's me getting back to Covid topics, but I stand by my belief "The Real Anthony Fauci" COULD be the most influential/important book of our lifetimes. If someone believes his arguments and "evidence," this person believes that the entire "science" establishment is now FUBAR and most of government and the important organizations are "all in" on lies/fraud/conceit. Basically, many important things the Man on the Street Believes are ... wrong. If 30 million (not 1 or 2 million) American adults read this book and reached the same conclusions, this rotten system would be instantly discredited and many of the Powers that Be purged and/or discredited. I think this alone would save millions of lives in the future - and help the economy. I think most of our scientists and scientific and medical organizations are focussing on the wrong things. I don't think we're going to get the proverbial "cure for cancer" as long as this system is our template.
I need to read "No More Vietnams." I also have no doubt that most of the most important books have not been read by nearly enough people. That's probably by design too.
I read Catcher in the Rye back in the 60’s, along with e.e. Cummins and Jack Kerouac. I was quite the beatnik wannabe. Thank God it did not stick. However I really liked all that stuff back then. Your writing about that book makes me think I should read it again because it was so many years ago that I have forgotten what it was all about.
That's okay - Great time to be a Dawgs fan. You've got a great coach and Georgia is a breeding ground of excellent high school football programs, full of top-flight prospects - and Georgia basically has the state to themselves. For these reasons, I think Georgia can remain one of the top powerhouses in college football for decades more.
If you have a chance, listen to Paul Robeson sing "Water Boy." In the second verse, he goes into details about the monetary shenanigans of LBJ and FDR.
Easter Sunday this year is the 125th anniversary of Paul Robeson's birth.
I didn't get the book at all when I read it in high school. Last year I decided to read it again. I cried and cried. The difference is that now, after nearly 70 years of life experience that include things that had not yet happened to me when I was his age, I understood Holden completely.
This!!
Maybe I should re-read it because I hated it in high school too. It irritated the hell out of me!
Horrid book. On a par with "Lord of the Flies".
Lord of the flies was mandatory reading for me in middle school. I didn't like it either but it did come to mind during Covid Plandemic as the novel talks about mass psychosis of the sheep.
Didn’t like it either - Holden is completely not like-able ...kinda like Hillary or Kamala
The two worst books I have ever read were Lord of the Flies and Catcher in the Rye. Of course, we were required to read these in high school (now over fifty years ago).
One of the best books I have read is Humankind: A Hopeful History, by Rutger Bregman, which tells a true story about children marooned on an island, as well as many other stories about human kindness and helpfulness.
I'm trying to think of the books I had to read in school. The only one I remember was 10th grade - "The Good Earth," which I enjoyed. I also remember watching the movie "Shane" in school, which makes me think we might have read the novel upon which it was made. "Shane" is one of my favorite movies. I don't even think I had to read 1984 in high school or college. I might have had to read "Catch-22," which was great if maddening and hard to read because everyone was so insane. I think about that book a lot these days.
My wife reads about three books a week, more in the summer. One of her favorites is perhaps my favorite book - "Lonesome Dove." She has gotten a lot of boys to start reading by reading that one.
I vividly remember an elementary school teacher reading us "Charlotte's Web." I think every kid had that book read to them by a teacher.
As a child I had great difficulty learning to read, to tie my shoes, and to tell time (on a clock). I struggled and little by little accomplished all three. But I hated reading, and oftentimes did not read the assignments (but just listened to discussion in class which was enough to pass the tests!
As a young adult I learned I was dyslexic. I was so glad that I did not know this as a child, because I would have used that as an excuse not to work so hard! Now I read all the time.
I remember many of my classmates reading George Orwell's 1984 in high school, but I never got around to it, until . . . the year 1984! I also read Animal Farm that year.
Sounds familiar.
I would struggle through 1st chapter, lightly skim the book until struggling through the last chapter.
Was good enough for that solid D I was always so proud of.
Pass or fail.
Thanks, I'll look for it. Counterpoint to Lord of the Flies?
You're welcome. I think they call it a real version of the Lord of the Flies, or something like that (but the children who were stranded on the island for a year or more were much more considerate of each other).
Maybe 16 or 17 years ago, Kevin Barrett (who now has a Substack site) wrote an article titled "Twilight of the Psychopaths." I don't know if it is easily available on the internet anymore (it is probably archived), but I recommend it as a companion piece to Humankind: A Hopeful History, to understand the complete picture.
Humankind: A Hopeful History appears to make a great companion to "Twilight of the Psychopaths". I looked it up: https://www.scribd.com/doc/30991791/Twilight-of-the-Psychopaths-by-Dr-Kevin-Barrett http://proliberty.com/observer/20080306.htm Appears I had once red it. Humans are bad, but are socially trained to be so. (Inherent psychopathy may perhaps be an exception, but even then, psychopaths go to to great lengths to train their children to also be psychopaths.)
Glad you found a link to the article.
All of us have good points and bad points - we all can do good or evil. In my experience, the vast majority of people generally treat others with kindness and respect.
The problem, as I see it, concerns people with strongly psychopathic personalities who end up at the "top of the pyramid" and control a lot of our lives through government, "education," the media, and such. Many people who are not psychopathic go along to get along. A well-written book, The Franklin Cover-up, by John W. DeCamp, highlights the corruption in business, the government, courts, and police, and is the most disturbing book I have ever read (though I highly recommend it).
Another book in which I have now read the first eight chapters, The Rape of the Mind, by Joost Meerloo, goes into a lot of the psychology used to control people. I have taken a break from this book to reread Here I Stand, by Paul Robeson. Written in 1958, it deals with many of the same issues we face today.
Thanks, Bill. I need to read all of these books.
Man, I detest LOTF!
I guess I shouldn't read it then. I think we did have to read "To Kill a Mockingbird" in high school. That was good - written by an Alabamian ... just like "Forrest Gump," which gave us "Stupid is as Stupid does" - the greatest line in literature or cinema history!
The two books that my students LOVED universally: Their Eyes were Watching God and Of Mice and Men.
Great discussion, tons of opportunities for empathy.
Can empathy be taught ?
I believe so. If it isn’t taught at a young age at home, it’s quite difficult, but I wouldn’t say impossible.
That's interesting.
I was raised in a home where we were taught to treat others (including animals) as you would want to be treated.
(Southern Baptist)
But while I had the ability to feel sorry for people and animals I don't think I had empathy until my mid teens.
I was taught the same. You’re right, I mean maybe it’s hard to truly feel it until you’re mature. It helps to see adults having it, that’s for sure.
I read The Catcher in the Rye when I was a teenager. I really loved it. I think both of us are too old to enjoy it now Bill.
Get off Facebook and concentrate on Substack! 🤩
I'm pretty much off now. I've been banned and had my account suspended too many times to count. Facebook (the company) doesn't like people like me. They really don't.
My reading of Catcher in the Rye 57 years ago almost flatlined me. But I was resuscitated by my youthful vigor. I can barely remember any of Holden's travails of that weekend of dejection that he wrote about.
You mentioned your interest in precious metals a couple of times.
In case you are not familiar with 321gold, its a good site for interested readers, and it links to Kitco.
http://www.321gold.com/
PMs are poised for a bull run, but they are volatile and will go through corrections for cheaper buying. And in addition to the hard item and mining stocks, consider Royalty Funds like FNV, RGLD, WPM, others.
Sorry, not sorry for dabbling in such advice...It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Have some is what I say.
The Bidenites have ruined the economy and are killing the dollar.
When I wrote this, precious metals were a great interest of mine ... they still are. I happen to believe the "markets" for precious metals are as phony as can be. The Establishment and financial press portray us as "bugs" .... to protect the fiat printing and the dollar as the world currency (IMO).
That's interesting.
It would make sense that the PM markets are manipulated just as fiat currency is.
The graph lines over time, dollar value, stock value and PM value look nearly identical.
While the current trend and predictions favor PMs beginning a secular bull market, there can be little doubt that the Fed manipulates this market dimension also.
As the dollar continues to lose value, we shall see how the Fed holds forth.
Thanks, Johnny D. I love hearing from anyone else interested in precious metals. Before I was an "anti-vaxxer," I was a "bug." I will probably ending up writing a few topics on precious metals. If I do, I hope you share your educated thoughts on the topic.
Jack London wrote a fun short story, "All Gold Canyon" which you can read in its entirety here...http://www.online-literature.com/london/49/
The Coen brothers made this into a 20 minute short movie which is included in the vignette collection "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs." This is 6 short movie episodes which entertain as the Coen brothers do with some morbid themes.
The All Gold Canyon movie vignette is the 4th episode in this movie collection, and tells the Jack London short story with Tom Waits starring as the grizzled gold prospector who strikes it rich in an interesting cinematic display of pocket hunting. This technique of prospecting is nicely described by London in his short story.
This is a good way to spend 20 minutes, and as far as gold goes, I am at least sure of this statement!
I never thought about it.
I always assumed as we are told by the "experts" that the PMetals were a hedge or safe bet.
Don't know why I keep believing.
I have lost my shirt, health, pants and had the rug pulled out from under me so many times.
I think PMs are going to be a safe bet.
PMs are real money after all.
Here is a very recent rosy forecast...https://thedailygold.com/gold-to-4000-in-2025/
One has probably seen even rosier forecasts over the past 10 years. And indeed, the metals might go parabolic. But they tend to be very volatile and one has to have patience and prudence...just like the Jack London pocket hunter referenced in the comment above.
The only final surefire manipulation tool "they" can exercise is to outlaw PMs and attempt confiscation as FDR did back almost exactly 90 years ago, on April 5, 1933 with Executive Order 6102... "forbidding the hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States."
At that point the PMs become an underground black market item.
If we get to that point, then things have probably broken down pretty bad.
Hope for the best.
Onward
When the SHTF happens junk sliver will be the thing to have.
But I have also heard (read) that it's safer and more profitable investing in the companies that actually mine PMs.
Would like to get Bills take on this in his upcoming article.
(You gna do it, you know it)
Hilarious.
😆🤣 I can relate with this nobody gets my husband (dark)Humor 🤷♀️
Like food
That made me, I mean it really did and all.
Oddly, also reading Catcher for the first time at the moment as it seems a number of others on Twitter have confessed to lately. Hmmm.
Amazing.
I was about to hit “Like” when I caught myself. Instead I am going to give you “one of these”
👍 From a Bill Rice and Rodney Dangerfield Fan
No, please, somebody hit the "like" button!
LIKE
Thank you I feel so much better.
I like to think I'm well read or is it red, anyway, I've never read any of the so called litter classics.
I prefer biographies.
Glad to hear not missing anything with CR
Ha! I'm still glad I (finally) read it to see what all the fuss is about. It is considered one of the more influential books in America literature. It's a short book too. That helped me finish it. My wife gives it a "like." If something touches or affects people, who am I to say they are wrong? I just wrote a column saying I like college football and it bugs me that some people look down their noses at me because of this. To each his own, I say. The most important book I've read in my lifetime was "The Real Anthony Fauci" - the book the Establishment says nobody should read!
There you go
Pandering again.
Trying to get covid points
Ha
My most influential book.
Richard Nixon
No More Vietnams
I think I'm the only person who red it.
Yes, that's me getting back to Covid topics, but I stand by my belief "The Real Anthony Fauci" COULD be the most influential/important book of our lifetimes. If someone believes his arguments and "evidence," this person believes that the entire "science" establishment is now FUBAR and most of government and the important organizations are "all in" on lies/fraud/conceit. Basically, many important things the Man on the Street Believes are ... wrong. If 30 million (not 1 or 2 million) American adults read this book and reached the same conclusions, this rotten system would be instantly discredited and many of the Powers that Be purged and/or discredited. I think this alone would save millions of lives in the future - and help the economy. I think most of our scientists and scientific and medical organizations are focussing on the wrong things. I don't think we're going to get the proverbial "cure for cancer" as long as this system is our template.
I need to read "No More Vietnams." I also have no doubt that most of the most important books have not been read by nearly enough people. That's probably by design too.
I have friend who has studied this book for hidden meaning. I was forced to read it in my curriculum.
My friend drew my attention to Holden - the Australian produced car.
Caulfield - a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
References to weather which were more typical of a Southern Hemisphere setting.
I read Catcher in the Rye back in the 60’s, along with e.e. Cummins and Jack Kerouac. I was quite the beatnik wannabe. Thank God it did not stick. However I really liked all that stuff back then. Your writing about that book makes me think I should read it again because it was so many years ago that I have forgotten what it was all about.
Enjoy the Masters. One of the best weekends of the year.
My favorite sporting event ... except for any Bama football game.
Got to tell you my friend, you won't like it but I'm a Dawgs fan.
That's okay - Great time to be a Dawgs fan. You've got a great coach and Georgia is a breeding ground of excellent high school football programs, full of top-flight prospects - and Georgia basically has the state to themselves. For these reasons, I think Georgia can remain one of the top powerhouses in college football for decades more.
If you have a chance, listen to Paul Robeson sing "Water Boy." In the second verse, he goes into details about the monetary shenanigans of LBJ and FDR.
Easter Sunday this year is the 125th anniversary of Paul Robeson's birth.
I'm 2 years older. I read it about 5 years ago. The only thing I remember is a pedophilia subtext.
I missed that!