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Communalist

he/him | Uni Professor, teaching English Lit since 2018. Love Fiction & Nonfiction. Researcher in anarchist studies.

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Level 3
My Taste
The Ecology of Freedom: The Emergence and Dissolution of Hierarchy
How to Build Municipalist Communes: Prefigurative Politics, Economy, Social Ecology, Education & Self-Governance (Voices of Anarchy: Radical Fiction and Thought)
Critical Thinking Unchained: From Formal Logic to Dialectics of Emancipation (Voices of Anarchy: Radical Fiction and Thought)
Jackson Rising Redux: Lessons on Building the Future in the Present
Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution by Peter Kropotkin
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The Ecology of Freedom: The Emergence and Dissolution of Hierarchy
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Communalist commented on a post

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  • suggestion

    Gates Taller Than Trees by Mason Carter

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  • Post from the Tiny but Mighty Nonfiction forum

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  • suggestion

    Gates Taller Than Trees by Mason Carter

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  • Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution by Peter Kropotkin
    Communalist
    Feb 20, 2026
    5.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 5.0Characters: Plot:
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  • Into the Wild
    Communalist
    Feb 20, 2026
    5.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 5.0Characters: 5.0Plot: 5.0
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  • The Sandbox
    Communalist
    Feb 20, 2026
    4.5
    Enjoyment: 3.5Quality: 3.5Characters: 4.0Plot: 4.0
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    I always have had a an inclination towards aesthetics of absurdist and existentialist fiction. This genre has this vibe overall which seems so much demonstrative of the pessimistic and absurdist nature of reality. In the same vein, Edward Albee's The Sandbox is one of the classics from this genre. It primarily depicts the shallowness of human connections and exposes hypocritical display of affection. No doubt! It's worth checking out.

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  • The Piece of String
    Communalist
    Feb 20, 2026
    5.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 5.0Characters: 5.0Plot: 5.0
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    Guy de Maupassant's short fiction have this characteristic of weaving profound themes into seemingly common plot. In similar manner, this short story story so magnificently demonstrates damaging nature of social judgements. It's also pleasing and kinda nostalgic to read. This makes it one of my favourite short fictions from him.

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    Level 3

    Level 3

    250 points

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  • The Ecology of Freedom: The Emergence and Dissolution of Hierarchy
    Thoughts from 3% (page 8)

    (Reading Introduction Part) Marx's analytical concept of exploitation is quite narrow, encompassing only material expropriation, to be specific; the extraction of surplus value from labour value of workers by capitalist owner. Hierarchy goes beyond and encompasses all forms of domination centered systems where elite exercises its power over its subordinates. Marx's analysis targetted accumulation of capital as the problem while Bookchin's lens of decoding Hierarchical Systems dives deeper and views accumulation of power as the problem; be it in form of capital, political power, social power etc. An elite is identified by its function as an individual/group that accumulates power and exercises it over subordinates in a system of hierarchy, without necessarily exploiting them materially. Bookchin defines hierarchy as a "complex system of command and obedience" and unlike Marxist analytical constructs narrow in scope, this framework exposes modes of domination within multitude of hierarchical systems, i.e. ethnic elite dominating subordinates from other ethnicities, political elite legislating and making laws to dominate its subordinated masses, and male elite subordinating women.

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  • Communalist entered a giveaway...

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    Angie Caedis giveaway

    Sifting Sands (Blood of the Durit, #1)

    Sifting Sands (Blood of the Durit, #1)

    Angie Caedis

    All Ren wants is to see another sunrise, but when you grow up with people cursing your very existence, that’s easier said than done. As someone touched by the gods, she keeps far from the cities and the dangers they pose, preferring to keep to the endless and isolating sands of the Jahaer Desert. She’s managed to keep the marks that identify her as a daemon out of sight for this long, but when her camp is raided, and her allies have fled, there’s nowhere left to hide.Captured and taken to the heartless city of Denheir, Ren has only one goal—survival. She’s never embraced her gift of sight, but now she might not have a choice. Face to face with the most notorious man on the Continent and his desire for the power coursing through her veins, Ren must submit to the fate the gods have dealt her or fight. Good thing she’s never been one to yield.With new threats at her back and old ones plaguing her dreams, Ren is thrust into a journey of self, survival, and new alliances as she tries to escape a life she never asked for. The future is murky, and though she’s spent her whole life running from her gift, she just might realize that true power is as inevitable as the gods themselves.

    ebook100 copieseverywhere

    Communalist entered a giveaway...

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    Penguin Publishing Group giveaway

    Home Before Dark

    Home Before Dark

    Riley Sager

    What was it like? Living in that house. Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism. Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction. In the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?

    print10 copiesUS only

    Communalist commented on a post

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  • Read First/Suggestions Here!

    Hello! I want to first express this is not even close to an exhaustive list nor conversation. When planning this quest, I hoped to be inclusive not only to the range of topics, but also to the levels of entry or knowledge to readers.

    Many of these topics require serious contemplation, internal deconstruction, additional inquiry and analysis, but also time to engage within the conversations (which is what Pagebound is for!). Likewise, I wanted to ensure space for joy, resistance, and community.

    The quest contains 50 titles and leans more towards US/Western-centered topics, though a few options are not solely US-related or have some form of US relation. To keep this quest well-rounded, but curated to a specific criteria, moving forward this quest will focus on social identity related to social justice in the US. With a range of entry levels, the goal is to be introductory, though a few books have more intermediate texts and knowledge.

    Key principles of social justice defined by the United Nations: 1. the recognition that different people have different needs and circumstances (equity), 2. ensuring that everyone has access to the resources and opportunities they need to succeed (access), 3. enabling all individuals to play in role in the political, economic and social life of the communities (participation), 4. protecting the human rights of all individuals (rights) and 5. valuing and respecting differences between people, such as race, gender, and sexual orientation (diversity)

    The goal is to not overlap too much with similar, future quests, though that may happen organically. With nonfiction being a large conversation, if I feel a suggestion is better suited for a similar niche quest, I may recommend that suggestion elsewhere, unless I think it fits well within both/multiple spaces. Suggestions that fit that criteria may be added quarterly, though that is subject to change.

    My intent is only to provide the opportunity for these conversations to happen, not to be the lead or leader in any capacity because I am still learning and deconstructing myself.

    Please add suggestions to this forum so everyone can keep track of what is being suggested. This is a large quest with a large range, and so I'd like to ensure all topics are included, but to not be too overwhelming immediately to new readers. Please additionally read all suggestions first before commenting so the forum is not overwhelming with repeat suggestions! I encourage everyone to either upvote or reply to the comment with your input/agreement/disagreement/commentary.

    Happy reading. ❤️

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  • Communalist commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

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  • Books on education and academia?

    Hi folks, does anyone have any recommendations for nonfiction books about education? They could be on educational theory or pedagogy, analyzing or critiquing academic culture, anything along those lines? I work at a university so this topic is super relevant to me!

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