Another reading group, 'The Classical Style,' has been indexed

 

For years, we have had online reading groups at this blog, with posts that discuss a book a section at a time  and comments by other readers. In each case, I have put together links for each book, so that if you want to read it later, you can read the blog posts  and the comments. All of those links may be accessed by scrolling down the right side of this page.

I spent some  time today creating a page with links for all of the posts by Eric Wagner about The Classical Style by Charles Rosen, so now that's available, too. 

Here are other online reading  groups, indexed by links: Illuminatus!, Vineland by Thomas Pynchon, Natural Law by RAW (the Hilaritas version), Prometheus Rising by RAW, Nature's God by RAW, The Widow's Son by RAW, The Earth Will Shake by RAW, Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov, The Beethoven Quartets by Joseph Kerman, Email to the Universe by RAW, Cosmic Trigger by RAW, Coincidance by RAW, Masks of the Illuminati by RAW and Quantum Psychology by RAW. Read or re-read one of these books and see what the rest of us had to say about it! Again, look at the right side of the page and scroll down to find the book. 

I probably need to figure out a way to make it easy to find all of these reading groups. Maybe I will put up a list. 

The next online discussion group will be for the Schrödinger's Cat trilogy. That will start in January, using the one-volume edition; more details soon. 

Oz Fritz on Hermetic material in Schrödinger's Cat.

Diagram from the new Oz Fritz blog post

In January, we will start an online discussion group on Schrödinger's Cat. Oz Fritz isn't waiting for the discussion of this seminal RAW work to begin; he has a new blog post up, "Robert Anton Wilson, The Rosy Cross and The Night of Pan," which discusses RAW's use of Cabala in the work. Oz remarks,

"This may seem fanciful to those who don't know Wilson or wish to deny his Cabala. The book Maybe Magick, scheduled for release at the end of this month (October, 2026) has a couple of articles (at least) that illustrate the complexity of his Cabalistic reckoning. Another example can be found in the introduction I wrote for Lion of Light."

And in the same post, Oz calls the trilogy a "Manual of Shamanism."

I'll have details up soon about the planned reading group. 

'Tales of Illuminatus' Kickstarter fulfillment completed [UPDATED]

 

Bobby Campbell has announced that the trade paperback of the first three issues of the Tales of Illuminatus trade paperback of the first three issues  (pictured) and the paper edition of Skeleton Key #1 (Michael Johnson's zine of commentary) have been mailed to people who had them included in their Kickstarter packages.  I'm pretty sure that completes fulfillment for all of the people who supported the project with their pledges for the third issue. UPDATE: See Spookah's comment. 

The Beatles available for everyone

The Beatles in August 1966, the month Revolver was released (with disc jockey Jim Stagg). Public domain photo, source. 

I've had trouble finding anybody else  yet who thinks this is a big deal, but I think it's a big deal! If you live in the U.S. and you have a library card for a public library, you can likely listen to any Beatles album or song you like, for free, without advertising.

The reason for this is that most public libraries in the U.S. offer Hoopla Digital, a product accessed via a smartphone app or website that offers streaming movies, TV shows and music albums, along with digital books and comic books. While Hoopla offers many (but not all) classic rock artists, including the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Led Zeppelin and The Who, it did not have The Beatles (although it had solo albums by former Beatles.)

A few days ago, however, Hoopla suddenly announced it had the rights for the Beatles. I immediately checked out Let It Be (Super Deluxe) (57 tracks), Revolver (Super Deluxe) (63 tracks) and Rubber Soul (Super Deluxe) (68 tracks). I didn't listen to any albums, super deluxe or otherwise, I just reveled in being able to listen to songs such as "Drive My Car," "Norwegian Wood," "Rain" and "Nowhere Man" over and over again. 

A couple of posts on this blog of possible interest: "Yellow Submarine bleg,"  (see the comments), "I think I know where the yellow submarine in 'Illuminatus' comes from" and "Why 'Revolver' is the best Beatles album for RAW fans." 

A Joseph Matheny manifesto

In his latest newsletter, Joseph Matheny provides a look at what he's attempting with his latest work in progress, Art is War. 

"ART IS WAR, and I have never been more convinced of that than now. If you are an artist, this is your call to arms (your art is your praxis).

"Be a ronin instead of joining and supporting the feudal castles, i.e., the corporate raiders taking over the world of art, such as Disney, A24, and a plethora of other similar parasites.

"Seek out and support independent artists and/or make your own.

"Form art groups and, instead of falling for the old divide-and-conquer tactics corporate feudalists use to keep us separate and weaker, support each other. Bind together."

More here, including book notes, links and information about a new book, anonymously written, on "The joy of being nobody." 

Update from Ben Graham

British Discordian writer Ben Graham, who recently announced the completion of the novel Savage Jubilee and a new edition of the previous novel in the series, Electric Tibet, has an update in his latest newsletter:

"Thanks to everyone who’s pre-ordered copies of my two interconnected novels, Electric Tibet and Savage Jubilee. Although they won’t be officially published until January 14, 2027, I’ll be sending out the first batch of pre-orders in the next few days. All pre-ordered copies are signed and hand numbered, and you can get them exclusively at bleedingcheekpress.bigcartel.com - if you’re buying both books, don’t forget to use the code UNDERGROUND23 at checkout to get a £5 discount."

At the link, there's an excerpt of the first few pages of Savage Jubilee. 

New Jesse Walker podcast

A recent photo of Jesse Walker posted on Facebook. Wait, we found somebody who still uses a typewriter? 

This sounds pretty good. From Jesse Walker:

"I went on a podcast hosted by a couple of ex-CIA guys. It was about 30 minutes of them asking me questions about one of my books, then about 20 minutes of me asking them questions about life in the CIA."

The book of course is Jesse's The United States of Paranoia. The podcast is called Mission Implausible, here's the link to Jesse's episode. 

Bonus link: Judy Woodruff interviews Jesse on how conspiracy theories shaped America. 

'War on some drugs' update: Murder at sea

Jacob Sullum, senior editor at Reason magazine

Jacob Sullum, routinely excellent when writing about what Robert Anton Wilson called the "war on some drugs," has a new piece up at the Reason magazine website, "How Murdering Suspected Drug Smugglers Became the New Normal."

Sullum discusses the Trump administrations policy of "remotely killing 227 people in cold blood without any semblance of due process" (as of late August this year) and then goes into detail about just how immortal and illegal the program is. As you might expect, the same people who bombed an Iranian girls school insist they are never wrong when they order a boat strike. 

My Halloween reading this year

 

I enjoy Halloween, and each October I try to do Halloween-related reading. 

Last year, I did well. I read a sprawling old Gothic novel, Melmoth the Wanderer, by Charles Robert Maturin. Very atmospheric. 

This year, I am about halfway through Twice As Dead by Harry Turtledove, a fantasy about a detective in Los Angeles, a few years after World War II. It has vampires, ghosts, etc. Not really scary, but Halloweenish and fun. 

Before the month ends, I hope to get to the Standard Ebooks edition of The Return by Walter de la Mare.  

As Brett Cox mentioned in a recent blog post, A Night in Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny also is a possible Halloween read. "There are people who reread it every October, a chapter a day for 31 days," he noted. 

Michael Johnson's 'Illuminatus!' skeleton key

The skeleton key zine, left, with the trade paperback of the first three issues of Tales of Illuminatus! Bobby Campbell illustration. 

Folks who purchased certain packages of items in the Kickstarter campaign got a nice bonus: Illuminatus Skeleton Key #1, by R. Michael Johnson. it's a pretty hefty publication, 44 pages along, and it explains both the ongoing adaptation by Bobby Campbell and also many of the allusions the original trilogy. Michael says he has read Iluminatus! about 20 times and he is the ideal person to tackle such a project.

I haven't received my paper copy in the mail but I have downloaded my PDF version and I have been reading it. I assume at some point it will be available as a standalone, but I haven't spotted it yet at, for example, the Weirdoverse gift shop on Etsy. 

Here is a bit in Michael's essay about how immersive the original trilogy was:

Consider: when you sit with a text - comix, films, novels, whatever - when you’re engaged with the text...you’re gone, man. For the time being you’re “in” another world - the “world” of the novel, comic, or film...and what is “reality,” then, anyway? Sure, your engagement with other worlds doesn’t negate your primary reality - you know, the one where you gotta get out of bed and brush your teeth? That one? It’s as real as it gets, no? But notice how “real” certain texts seem to you when you engage with them in all those times which are spent in non-primary “reality.” Are these Other Worlds a threat to my primary “reality”? This is something we are all faced with, all the time, though we might not annotate it this way. Or so I submit to you as something true: when we leave our primary reality for the realities contained in books and other media: our minds meld with these alternate realities. 

Certainly for many people (such as me), reading Illuminatus! was a life-changing experience. I know a guy back in Tulsa who has a very fancy edition of Lord of the Rings, and he told me he re-reads it every year. At this point, my friend must really have Frodo,  Gandalf, et al. in his head! 

Lots  more Michael discussion of Wilson and Shea at the Overweening Generalist Substack. 

Eric Wagner's P.G. Wodehouse recommendations

The Standard Ebooks cover of Leave It to PSmith. 

Eric Wagner noticed on Goodreads that I had read a P.G. Wodehouse novel and commented on it. As I knew Eric has read a lot of Wodehouse, I immediately took advantage by asking for his recommendations. Here is what he sent me:

"I thought about what Wodehouse novels to recommend earlier today. Code of the Woosters and Leave It to Psmith seem to top the list. Since you've read the former, I would recommend the latter. I love Leave It to Psmith. Oz Fritz also enjoyed that novel. I've taught that novel a bunch. I also love Psmith in the City and Luck of the Bodkins. Wodehouse considered Mike his finest book because he felt he had captured the feel of a cricket match in it. I loved that book (published in the USA as two volumes: Mike at Wrykyn and Mike and Psmith). Many Americans don't like that novel as much as I do, however. I also love the Jeeves, Mulliner, and golf short stories. 

"I also love the whole Blandings series."

Oz Fritz adds, "Yes, I also highly recommend Leave It to Psmith. I found it brilliant and very funny."

I got interested in Wodehouse when Gregory Arnott sent me a copy of Code of the Woosters. 

Many Wodehouse books have entered the public domain, including quite a few of the titles Eric recommends. See for example these listings at Standard Ebooks. 

Christina Pearson needs help [UPDATED]

Christina Pearson (with friend)

UPDATE: The surgery had to be postponed to Oct. 27 . Details here. 

Robert Anton Wilson's daughter, Christina Pearson, who runs the Robert Anton Wilson Trust, was scheduled to have open heart surgery today and has asked for help with expenses with a Gofundme appeal.

Here is her posting on Facebook:

"Dearest friends and family of heart! 

"I am heading into open-heart surgery day after tomorrow, and am asking for your emotional, mental, spiritual & financial support as I go through this. I’ve been quiet lately, for which I apologize as I know at least some of you like to get updated ♥️. About my going’s on… 

"It’s a long story which I hope to share soon, but right now I am working to reduce financial stress so my recovery goes as well as possible as I do still need income from working but will not be able to work much for at least the next two months! 

"So if you can assist without it being a burden, it would mean the world to me and I will deeply appreciate it! 

"All my love, in All ways!"

Christina Pearson

Another writer I like to promote: Roger Zelazny [UPDATED]

 

Lord of Light, the best-regarded novel by American science fiction writer Roger Zelazny, has recently been nominated for the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award. This was good personal news for me, as it gave me all the excuse I needed to read it again. I finished it late Sunday night. I read my autographed paperback copy, signed by the author after the science fiction club I belonged to brought him to the University of Oklahoma. 

Zelazny has long been a favorite of mine. When I lived for years in Oklahoma, it felt like many of my favorite writers were from Cleveland -- Zelazny, Harlan Ellison, George Alec Effinger -- although by the time I finally moved here, all of them were gone (Zelazny was dead, the other two had long moved away). 

My Zelazny top five:

...And Call Me Conrad/This Immortal
Lord of Light
Isle of the Dead
The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny
The Dream Master

Ken Gammage's top five:

Lord of Light
Isle of the Dead
Nine Princes in Amber
The Guns of Avalon
Jack of Shadows

Ken: "Before I tell you my Top 5, let me clarify I am not ranking them by some illusory objective quality. These are just my favorites, easy for me to choose based on number of re-readings." Also: "Arriving at a Top 10 would be trickier but would probably include Doorways in the Sand."

Ken is a San Diego fan and writer who has been a friend for decades. 

Roger Zelazny by F. Brett Cox is a good critical study. (Brett is a writer and scholar and an old friend. Official website. which has a podcast on the Zelazny book that I'd missed.)

(When I was a teen, Brett and Ken had a bicoastal fanzine.) 

UPDATE: I sent a link of this blog post to Brett, and he chipped in with his top five list, with a few comments: 

"Lord of Light
The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth and other stories
Nine Princes in Amber
A Night in the Lonesome October
"He Who Shapes," "Home Is the Hangman," "24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai"

"Lord of Light is, well, Lord of Light. The Doors of His Face collects almost all the early stories that helped make his reputation, including "A Rose for Ecclesiastes," which, in retrospect, may have had more of a long-term impact on me than any other sf story. When I first read it, Nine Princes in Amber didn't affect me as much as Zelazny's other stories, but revisiting it when working on my book, I found it a strikingly effective novel. 

"A Night in the Lonesome October may seem an odd choice, but at least it's not colored with any nostalgia--I confess I had never read it until I starting writing about Zelazny. It's a delightful novel in its own right, and it's pretty much the only one of Zelazny's works outside the Amber series that has its own subfandom--there are people who reread it every October, a chapter a day for 31 days. And it means a lot because it was Zelazny's final standalone novel and showed he could still try something new and make it his own.

"The last book on the list doesn't exist, of course. But I wish it did. I really think a book that collected those three excellent novellas--one each from the 60s, 70s, and 80s--would be a perfect Zelazny retrospective and also a great introduction to Zelazny's work for anyone not previously familiar with it."

Brett was sitting next to me at the 1986 Worldcon when "24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai" won a Hugo. We were both very pleased. 

Literary links:

Michael Johnson on the odd wanderings of books. 

The 2026 souvenir book, a free PDF download for everyone, for the 2026 Worldcon in LA.