Reading the 20th Century discussion

Jon Ronson is another author I really like


Are you a fan?

Have you read anything by him?

I've just started The Psychopath Test (2011) which I've been meaning to read for ages.

Have you read it?

It's fascinating so far.

What if society wasn't fundamentally rational, but was motivated by insanity? This thought sets Jon Ronson on an utterly compelling adventure into the world of madness.

Along the way, Jon meets psychopaths, those whose lives have been touched by madness and those whose job it is to diagnose it, including the influential psychologist who developed the Psychopath Test, from whom Jon learns the art of psychopath-spotting. A skill which seemingly reveals that madness could indeed be at the heart of everything . . .

Combining Jon Ronson's trademark humour, charm and investigative incision, The Psychopath Test is both entertaining and honest, unearthing dangerous truths and asking serious questions about how we define normality in a world where we are increasingly judged by our maddest edges.

Read this a few years back and thought it was pretty decent.

Also picked up "The men who stare at Goats" and is currently on the shelf but haven't opened it yet - for some reason it doesn't really appeal to me but for 10p at a book sale who can complain?

Also noted that he appeared on "The Peston Show" on Wednesday which was quite surprising as it's normally about politics. Didn't hear what he had to say but maybe a viewpoint/new book? on a current political issue. Interesting to see him in person - at first glance he looked a bit like a cross between young versions of Elvis Costello and John Lennon - took me a bit by surprise, to be honest.

Yes, he's quite unassuming looking in person


He's currently touring a new show in the UK, his new show is called...

Tales from The Last Days of August and The Butterfly Effect

In this brand new show, Jon will recount his recent adventures in the porn world - based on his hit podcasts The Butterfly Effect and The Last Days of August. It’ll be a mysterious, funny, sad tale about porn, kindness, violence, bad thoughts, and the wonders of remaining curious. There will be new stories, never before heard audio, some very strange (PG rated) bespoke porn film clips, and maybe some special guests too.

Jon Ronson’s nonfiction books include So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, The Psychopath Test, Them: Adventures With Extremists, Lost At Sea and The Men Who Stare At Goats. All have been international and/or New York Times best-sellers, translated into more than 30 languages, and his two TED talks have been watched 15 million times.

The Butterfly Effect has the same level of detail and widescreen storytelling that you would expect from a television documentary - Financial Times

An eye-opening and often heartwarming exercise in breaking taboo - NME on The Butterfly Effect

By the by, if you're an Audible subscriber you can listen to the seven part Audible series of The Butterfly Effect for free.




Here's a welcome note from Jon Ronson:

Hi everyone,

Welcome to The Butterfly Effect. It's sort of about porn, but it's about a lot of other things. It's sad, funny, moving and totally unlike some other nonfiction stories about porn - because it isn't judgmental or salacious. It's human and sweet and strange and lovely. It's a mystery story, an adventure. It's also, I think, a new way of telling a story. This season follows a single butterfly effect. The flap of the butterfly's wings is a boy in Brussels having an idea. His idea is how to get rich from giving the world free online porn. Over seven episodes I trace the consequences of this idea, from consequence through to consequence. If you keep going in this way, where might you end up? It turns out you end up in the most surprising and unexpected places.

So if you're thinking, why do I want to listen to a show about the tech takeover of the porn industry, I have two things to say:

1. Why wouldn't you want to listen to a show about the tech takeover of the porn industry? That's a great idea for a show.

2. Would you want to listen to a show about three women destroying a mysterious Norwegian man's stamp collection? Well, that happens at the end of episode 2. At the end of Episode 3 a woman becomes convinced that she played a part in a murder committed by an Italian priest. At the end of Episode 4 a boy in Oklahoma is forced to move to a house on the very, very edge of his town.

I hope you like our show,
Jon

I've just finished The Psychopath Test (2011)


It's another provocative and fascinating book by Jon Ronson

Here’s my review

Essential reading.

4/5

David Icke - now there's a character and a half!!

Icke gets a brief mention in The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry

Good to know you're a fellow fan carissa. Which is your favourite of his books?

I've yet to read those two carissa however hope to put that right before much longer

More of podcast than a book, The Butterfly Effect (2017) is a free audiobook series for Audible customers.

Jon Ronson is as interesting and provocative as ever.

Here’s my review

As usual Jon Ronson inserts himself into the narrative and makes the perfect guide to another fascinating story.

4/5

The Last Days of August (2019) follows on from The Butterfly Effect (2017) and like that Audible exclusive, it's more of podcast than a book.

Jon Ronson is always interesting and provocative and I was quickly engrossed in the sad tale of porn star August Ames who committed suicide in a park in the Conejo Valley in December 2017.

Here’s my review

3/5

Somehow I'd not got round to reading The Men Who Stare at Goats.


I have now...

It's depressing, jaw dropping, sporadically funny, and plain bizarre.

Here’s my review

I appreciate Jon Ronson’s unerring ability to find intriguing stories having read and listened to most of them

In The Debutante (2023), an Audible Original, Jon Ronson investigates Carol Howe, a former debutante who became a neo-Nazi. She then became a government informant. One possibe scenario suggests that, if the authorities had listened to her, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing might have been foiled.

Review here...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

4/5

I've finished….


The Castle: Adventures in a World of Unraveling Men

by

Jon Ronson


I loved it. His gonzo-adjacent style, self-deprecating neurosis, gentle bemusement, and an eye for absurd detail are again front and centre. The subject matter includes male alienation, tech bro excess, modern radicalisation, and AI loneliness, and so is quite bleak and yet Jon Ronson makes the content funny and compelling but without trivialising the real world consequences

I'll write a review soon

A solid four stars - 4.5 if I did halves

Thanks nigeyb.

Review....


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

4/5


Well worth reading, especially if you're a JR fan