1- the heart of darkness/ the secret sharer- joseph conrad
2- blacking up; the minstrel show in 19th century america- robert c toll
3- the subterraneans/ pic- jack kerouac
4- judgement of paris: california v france and the historic 1976 paris tasting that revolutionized wine- george m. taber
5- tao te ching- lao tzu
6- sex at dawn: the prehistoric origins of modern sexuality- christopher ryan and cadilda jetha- there's a war on sexuality. sex shouldn't be taken so seriously. it's a fundamental part of life, just as necessary as shelter, clothing, food, water.... the authors, both varying types of psychologists, beautifully illustrate our primal origins within a hunter/forager lifestyle into the post agrarian landscape wherein we have you and i today. they argue that we are promiscuous by nature and that monogamy is a post agriculture societal construct that is detrimental to our well being.
here's a quote
might the contemporary pandemics of fracturing families, parental exhaustion, and confused, resentful children be predictable consequences of what is, in truth, a distorted and distorting family structure inappropriate for our species?
great book to read when you're expecting a child. even better, talk to your spouse about it! i picked this up at the library because one of the authors is always a guest on joe rogan's podcast. very interesting guy. but i didn't know anything about the book. i didn't get passed the introduction before i said to myself, oh fuck. welp......
it was a really good read though, albeit uncomfortable. whether or not you agree with them, they still do open up the fascinating/taboo discussion of monogamy. it's really interesting when they talk about males in their mid forties, 50's who turn to anti depressants and viagra to regain their vigor and ruin families in the process. what the authors are suggesting is that sex is only one part of life, it isn't a sacred entity to be shared only in the bedroom of your special someone. love and sex are different things. they explore many cultures throughout the world (many contemporary) where sex isn't taboo it's encouraged. this is my favorite.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugu_Lakethe authors want to foremost help people in relationships understand the complexity of what it is to be human. somewhere henry miller is smiling