Book Suggestions

You'd have to tell me what kind of book you want to read, that way, I can tailor my recommendation to you. As someone who loves sci fi, your suggestion sounds pretty interesting.

 

anything and everything by alastair reynolds. Start with revelation space and work your way through them

hands down the best sci fi writer. Period

he will totally change your view of what the future will be like

 

I wouldn't recommend what I'm currently reading. Mein Kampf. I'm not reading it as some sort of aspiring neo-nazi, but as an interesting example of applied group psychology.

The first chapter was kind of boring. Hitler is definitely an INFJ, INTJ, or ISTP... and his style is remarkably similar to what you would find in the posts on this forum. His antisemitism is NOT exaggerated by history... it is exhaustingly present in everything I've read so far. (I found that if I mentally substitute "mainstream media" for "Jews", it is at least possible to understand the point he is trying to make, without it being so unexplained as to seem to be from another planet's world-view).

Anyhow, I skipped ahead to a chapter on the importance of speeches. He has some very adept insights into the psychology of changing political alignments. He notes little details, like how people's emotional responsiveness is different at different times of the day: lamenting that in his early years of politics, he sometimes failed to have any impact on his daytime audiences whatsoever. I can't tell if he was more hurt that he couldn't affect his audience (INFJ), or that he couldn't propagate his "world-concept" (INTJ).

What has surprised me is how accessible Hitler's personality is... it's almost homely and naive, and a tiny bit effeminate at times. I just can't imagine some burly ESTJ skinhead reading this book, and not squirming in discomfort, an image which has had me grinning often.

Anyhow, I'll probably read a couple more chapters, because some of his psychological insights are both interesting and useful for effective communication, but I'd much rather spend time reading Aristotle's various works again.

 

Currently reading Yoko Tawada's The Last Children of Tokyo. One of the titular, Mumei, is quite INFJ, 'Mumei had an uncanny ability to read people's thoughts. It spooked Yoshiro sometimes, the way he didn't just sense a person's general mood, but actually seemed to read their minds, as if he were reading a book.' Good novel; a bittersweet, subtle apocalyptic-dystopia.