Azriel’s Comments (group member since Jan 21, 2023)

Azriel’s comments from the Reading with Comrades group.

Hey thanks for the recommendation Steph! I hadn’t heard of Tokarczuk before reading your post, and now I’m really interested in reader her recently translated “The Books of Jacob” (which apparently is regarded as her masterwork). I love historical fiction and it’s a great way of breaking up the super dry non-fiction I usually stick to.

Better late than never right!

2022 was a crazy year for me, but also one of the best catalysts for encouraging my personal reading was starting my position at my local public library.

My favorite reads fic and nonfic this last year were;
-My reread of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Invisible Man
-My read of Virtue and Terror by Maximilien Robespierre Virtue and Terror
- I also read all of Stephen Kotkin's Stalin Biography (vol.1-2) ( Stalin: Volume I: Paradoxes of Power, 1878-1928 )( Stalin: Waiting for Hitler 1929-1941 ) so when finished I could jump into Grover Furr's reply and rebuttal to Kotkin ( Stalin: Waiting for ... the Truth. )

My goal this year is to read and log more books than I have in the past, trying my best to give a review when possible. I want to increase my grasp on key theoretical works by revolutionary authors. I plan on reading texts new to me (like those written by Stalin, Mao, and Che) and revisiting essentials I need to brush up on (like Lenin and Engels). I also want to not burn myself out with heavy reading and sprinkle some light and noteworthy fiction, from authors like Steinbeck.

Heyo comrades, I'm Azriel (he/him) (I go by more casually Azzy). Currently, I am residing in Tempe AZ, but plan on moving back to my home state of California for work and economic purposes. I have always been a big history person and ended up majoring in it! While my fascination with history in my early youth was focused on ancient history of the near east & Mediterranean, in high school I found myself engrossed in the history around the Bolsheviks and later the USSR. Since my exposure this type of history I have radicalized over the years, from a milquetoast progressive who had felt electoralism was the only viable means of change, to a committed communist who can't stop at just Marx's work. My interests are spread all over the place, and range from the intersection of spirituality/theology with radical politics, to cooking with ingredients not easy to find near me!

I am excited to join and see all the discourse about whatever we are all engaged in reading!