For all eight of you that have followed this, I apologize for my inconsistencies. It's been an interesting few months of summer. I've learned a lot about myself and life. And I've been wondering about everything concerning knowledge, and the reading of books, and the obscurity that all information can bring.
Here's what's been accomplished in July, August, and September:
July:
Dandelion Wine
Ghosts
Kafka's Parables and Paradoxes
Give me a "J"
An Enemy of the People
The Wild Duck
Till We Have Faces
August:
Light in August
WWI British Poets
The Bronze Bow
Philosophy
Stella
Love Poems: Emily Dickenson
W.H. Auden: Selections
Mere Christianity
10 Books That Screwed up the World
Lord of the Flies
Sept:
Animal Farm
1984
Blood Meridian
The Raid
White Noise
The Giver
The Crucible
The Art of War
The Grapes of Wrath
Sophie's World
The Screwtape Letters
Emily Dickinson Poetry
It seems that September has been a month of death in the midst of what I've been reading. I didn't choose it such intentionally, but nevertheless so. It is the one thing that human beings cannot avoid: along with birth. It would seem that I have nothing else to add.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
One Month Down.
I've been on a novella reading binge since finishing East of Eden. Large books are more intimate, but they can (especially when you have assigned yourself an inordinate amount of reading) take on the sensation of a wet bog, dragging all production down. So I dove into brief, less-than-two hundred-pagers with the hopes of bringing it all back.
I believe as of the night of May 31st, 2010, fourteen books have been read. I'm not sure on the exact page total, but it is somewhere between 2250 and 2600 I think, not too bad. Here's a list of the collage:
The End of the Affair- Graham Greene
To the Gas Chamber, Ladies and Gentlemen- Tadeuz Borowski
Cannery Row- John Steinbeck
The Procession- Khalil Gibran
To Believe in God- Joseph Pintauro
About a Boy- Nick Hornby
Meditations in an Emergency- Frank O'Hara
Tao Te Ching- Lao Tzu
East of Eden- John Steinbeck
Anthem- Ayn Rand
Antigone- Sophicles
The Love Girl and the Innocent- Alexander Solzhenitsyn
The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho
What's on Your Mind- Merlin Carothers
I'm off to a good, maybe even excellent, start for June. I've finished The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brian, and am on pace to finish a book a day for about the first week (with all my side projects). Keep reading. I think the month of June's book will be Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, but this is just preliminary speculation.
Steinbeck is amazing.
I believe as of the night of May 31st, 2010, fourteen books have been read. I'm not sure on the exact page total, but it is somewhere between 2250 and 2600 I think, not too bad. Here's a list of the collage:
The End of the Affair- Graham Greene
To the Gas Chamber, Ladies and Gentlemen- Tadeuz Borowski
Cannery Row- John Steinbeck
The Procession- Khalil Gibran
To Believe in God- Joseph Pintauro
About a Boy- Nick Hornby
Meditations in an Emergency- Frank O'Hara
Tao Te Ching- Lao Tzu
East of Eden- John Steinbeck
Anthem- Ayn Rand
Antigone- Sophicles
The Love Girl and the Innocent- Alexander Solzhenitsyn
The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho
What's on Your Mind- Merlin Carothers
I'm off to a good, maybe even excellent, start for June. I've finished The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brian, and am on pace to finish a book a day for about the first week (with all my side projects). Keep reading. I think the month of June's book will be Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, but this is just preliminary speculation.
Steinbeck is amazing.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Rounding out the first month.
It's been a while since I've posted anything, but that doesn't mean I've been lax with my reading. I'm actually relatively happy with my progress thus far. Just about five minutes ago I finished Anthem by Ayn Rand, pushing my monthly total to, I believe, twelve. I'm not sure where my page count is at, but it has to be behind schedule. It will probably take me four months to read the 9,000 pages instead of the intended three, but overall I'm impressed with my fortitude.
Anthem explores the connection between the concept of "we" versus the concept of "I." Rand was a proponent of objectivism, or egoistical hedonism, which promoted the philosophy of putting the self first. This is not initially a very attractive approach, but once you read the book, you at least see where Rand is coming from. The "we" mentality is basically that of peer pressure. If humanity is taught that they are part of a collective, and the collective's will is best, it allows for gross conscious deadening. I think Rand was trying to say that if you lose sight of the fact you are an individual, and have an independent mind, that in of itself is holy, you become inhuman. Where I would depart from Rand is her (I'm saying this from an assumptive position) belief that man is essentially good, and it is his nurturing that makes him digress from such. I believe if objectivism ran rampant, it could not promote happiness.
East of Eden (EOE) was as life changing as a non-Biblical book can be. Steinbeck found and saw something in his mind's eye, pertaining to humanity, that truly makes sense. In man's battle with good and evil, there must be a choice, a determination that takes place, that directs how he evolve. Heritage may be a strong factor, but choice is still there. This thought is presented through a modern re-telling of the story of Cain and Abel (in EOE Caleb and Aron) and the Hebrew verb "Timshel," which is best translated as "Thou mayest." When God speaks to Cain regarding his attitude about his sacrifice being less than Abel's, he says "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him" (Genesis 4:7). This "thou shalt" is better translated as "you are able to" or, "thou mayest" alluding to the fact that humanity, man, has the ability to combat, and defeat, sin.
In EOE, the various ways Timshel can be inserted into the human condition is explored. Forgiveness, greed, avarice, lust, depression, and any other vice that humanity struggles with can be faced and defeated.
I'll try to keep up with a weekly post, but that is all I can promise right now. Additionally, I've began a rating system for all of the books I've read, and hope to pass that on. It is on a 1-5 scale.
East of Eden 4.75
Anthem 4.00
Read on.
Anthem explores the connection between the concept of "we" versus the concept of "I." Rand was a proponent of objectivism, or egoistical hedonism, which promoted the philosophy of putting the self first. This is not initially a very attractive approach, but once you read the book, you at least see where Rand is coming from. The "we" mentality is basically that of peer pressure. If humanity is taught that they are part of a collective, and the collective's will is best, it allows for gross conscious deadening. I think Rand was trying to say that if you lose sight of the fact you are an individual, and have an independent mind, that in of itself is holy, you become inhuman. Where I would depart from Rand is her (I'm saying this from an assumptive position) belief that man is essentially good, and it is his nurturing that makes him digress from such. I believe if objectivism ran rampant, it could not promote happiness.
East of Eden (EOE) was as life changing as a non-Biblical book can be. Steinbeck found and saw something in his mind's eye, pertaining to humanity, that truly makes sense. In man's battle with good and evil, there must be a choice, a determination that takes place, that directs how he evolve. Heritage may be a strong factor, but choice is still there. This thought is presented through a modern re-telling of the story of Cain and Abel (in EOE Caleb and Aron) and the Hebrew verb "Timshel," which is best translated as "Thou mayest." When God speaks to Cain regarding his attitude about his sacrifice being less than Abel's, he says "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him" (Genesis 4:7). This "thou shalt" is better translated as "you are able to" or, "thou mayest" alluding to the fact that humanity, man, has the ability to combat, and defeat, sin.
In EOE, the various ways Timshel can be inserted into the human condition is explored. Forgiveness, greed, avarice, lust, depression, and any other vice that humanity struggles with can be faced and defeated.
I'll try to keep up with a weekly post, but that is all I can promise right now. Additionally, I've began a rating system for all of the books I've read, and hope to pass that on. It is on a 1-5 scale.
East of Eden 4.75
Anthem 4.00
Read on.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Gravity of the Situation.
Last week I took it pretty light. I had to graduate, clean my apartment, host a friend, and thus was only able to finish the two works, Cannery Row and The Procession. But this week I've hit the books with both barrels. I finished The End of the Affair (a lovely British pun) by Graham Greene Sunday night, This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen by Tadeusz Borowski last night, and To Believe in God by Joseph Pintauro and Sister Corita today.
Prominently I have been wondering about Borowski's work. For in it he describes, from a non-Jewish perspective of Auschwitz and Birkenau, the millions of humans who willingly walked into gas chambers and crematoriums. Even those who knew what was to befall them went willingly. Why? How could so many allow themselves to be led silently to such a fate? According to the book, the gas chambers were some of the more merciful ways human life was taken, and yet it was all done without complaint.
It seems quite a few thoughts of mine have been given to this general slant: how would I behave if the most basic aspects of what I know as humanity are taken from me? I've decided that I don't. It would be unfair, and rather egotistical I believe, to deceive yourself with the notion that you are going to rise above the muddle, until you know what you are made out of. You can hope and pray that you would do the right thing, deny your bestial side for the sake of what Cormac McCarthy calls "the fire," but you will never truly know until the moment comes. Life is rife with braggarts who fell in their moment of trial.
A certain officer's story exemplified this utter confusion. His name was Schillinger. He bragged of personally killing over ten thousand individuals during the duration of Auschwitz, through "the fist, the club, or the revolver." The last day of his life, he went to take a woman from the gas chamber lines, apparently to use in his personal quarters. She refused, and threw gravel in his face, causing his revolver to drop from his hand. She "snatched it up, firing several shots into his abdomen," before being herded with the rest of the lines into the gas chamber. As Schillinger lay on the ground, his life expiring, he was heard to say "O God, my God, what have I done to deserve such suffering?" I just can't wrap my head around it.
Time advances along. Soon I will be headed into East of Eden, and in the meantime will try to land on some less weighty books. I'm doing well though, I actually am reading more than I'm buying for once, and if this trend continues for most of the summer, I'll be nigh finished with my pile. A rather hastily concocted estimate would probably put me at 500 pages thus far, but I'm reading About a Boy which is quite the page turner (as far as ease, not necessarily interest) and registers in at about 300 pages. Keep May 29th on your calendars, and good luck.
Prominently I have been wondering about Borowski's work. For in it he describes, from a non-Jewish perspective of Auschwitz and Birkenau, the millions of humans who willingly walked into gas chambers and crematoriums. Even those who knew what was to befall them went willingly. Why? How could so many allow themselves to be led silently to such a fate? According to the book, the gas chambers were some of the more merciful ways human life was taken, and yet it was all done without complaint.
It seems quite a few thoughts of mine have been given to this general slant: how would I behave if the most basic aspects of what I know as humanity are taken from me? I've decided that I don't. It would be unfair, and rather egotistical I believe, to deceive yourself with the notion that you are going to rise above the muddle, until you know what you are made out of. You can hope and pray that you would do the right thing, deny your bestial side for the sake of what Cormac McCarthy calls "the fire," but you will never truly know until the moment comes. Life is rife with braggarts who fell in their moment of trial.
A certain officer's story exemplified this utter confusion. His name was Schillinger. He bragged of personally killing over ten thousand individuals during the duration of Auschwitz, through "the fist, the club, or the revolver." The last day of his life, he went to take a woman from the gas chamber lines, apparently to use in his personal quarters. She refused, and threw gravel in his face, causing his revolver to drop from his hand. She "snatched it up, firing several shots into his abdomen," before being herded with the rest of the lines into the gas chamber. As Schillinger lay on the ground, his life expiring, he was heard to say "O God, my God, what have I done to deserve such suffering?" I just can't wrap my head around it.
Time advances along. Soon I will be headed into East of Eden, and in the meantime will try to land on some less weighty books. I'm doing well though, I actually am reading more than I'm buying for once, and if this trend continues for most of the summer, I'll be nigh finished with my pile. A rather hastily concocted estimate would probably put me at 500 pages thus far, but I'm reading About a Boy which is quite the page turner (as far as ease, not necessarily interest) and registers in at about 300 pages. Keep May 29th on your calendars, and good luck.
Monday, May 3, 2010
And Thus it Begins
I've officially started. To the right of my bed is the traditional smattering of folded shirts, discarded clothes once worn, but not dirty enough to advance to the laundry bin, a set of cones used in ultimate frisbee, and, oh what is that? Is that Cannery Row by John Steinbeck? Why it is. How quaint. Cannery Rom is the story of a group of vagabonds and the daily events and people that surround them in their quest for comradary, (along with the occasional free meal and drink). It is very similar, thus far, to Tortilla Flat, another Steinbeck work, but with a little more wisdom and darkness.
But that's not what I really wanted to bring up. Over the weekend, I finished a book of poetry by, and brief biography of, Khalil Gibran. It is titled "The Procession," which refers to the movement one's mind takes as they mature. It went hand-in-hand with a topic that came up in my Thursday night Bible study, regarding dreams and hopes. For in "The Procession" there are two voices, that of the sage, and that of the youth, that bring up their viewpoints regarding different topics such as: The Illusory World, Life and Sorrow, Religion, etc. Here's a sample entry:
Of Life and Sorrow
Sage:
Life is but a sleep disturbed
By dreaming, prompted by the will;
The saddened soul with sadness hides
Its secrets, and the gay, with thrill.
Youth:
In the forest no one sorrows,
Nor is one downcast by grief.
Zephyrs carry but compassion
When they whisper to the leaf
Give to me the reed and sing thou!
Let the song erase the sorrow,
For the plaint of reed remaineth,
When the past rejoins the morrow.
There is an argument going on between the Youth's opinion of nature being the preeminent educator of life's potential, and the Sage's stance that life itself is the greatest teacher. Here we seem to have the Youth arguing that there is no reason to be sad: in nature you just live. While the sage is saying emotions are a masque for the heart's true feelings.
I don't want to get too far into the interpretation of this work, and I thought this section was one of the weaker ones (or I understood it the least), but I hope it gives a brief overview of the book's setup, which I found thought-provoking and intriguing. I would give it probably a three and a half out of five. It is a great conversation starter, and challenges the mind. But I'm excited to add the first piece of this summer's reading to my bookshelf: it is a rather cathartic experience for me.
Back to Steinbeck. I bought East of Eden today. Until then, read. And share.
But that's not what I really wanted to bring up. Over the weekend, I finished a book of poetry by, and brief biography of, Khalil Gibran. It is titled "The Procession," which refers to the movement one's mind takes as they mature. It went hand-in-hand with a topic that came up in my Thursday night Bible study, regarding dreams and hopes. For in "The Procession" there are two voices, that of the sage, and that of the youth, that bring up their viewpoints regarding different topics such as: The Illusory World, Life and Sorrow, Religion, etc. Here's a sample entry:
Of Life and Sorrow
Sage:
Life is but a sleep disturbed
By dreaming, prompted by the will;
The saddened soul with sadness hides
Its secrets, and the gay, with thrill.
Youth:
In the forest no one sorrows,
Nor is one downcast by grief.
Zephyrs carry but compassion
When they whisper to the leaf
Give to me the reed and sing thou!
Let the song erase the sorrow,
For the plaint of reed remaineth,
When the past rejoins the morrow.
There is an argument going on between the Youth's opinion of nature being the preeminent educator of life's potential, and the Sage's stance that life itself is the greatest teacher. Here we seem to have the Youth arguing that there is no reason to be sad: in nature you just live. While the sage is saying emotions are a masque for the heart's true feelings.
I don't want to get too far into the interpretation of this work, and I thought this section was one of the weaker ones (or I understood it the least), but I hope it gives a brief overview of the book's setup, which I found thought-provoking and intriguing. I would give it probably a three and a half out of five. It is a great conversation starter, and challenges the mind. But I'm excited to add the first piece of this summer's reading to my bookshelf: it is a rather cathartic experience for me.
Back to Steinbeck. I bought East of Eden today. Until then, read. And share.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
A pretentious voice leading the masses
Yesterday a divulgance was made at a used book store. $49.50 was spent purchasing a stack of eight books ranging from Kahlil Gibran to Tim O'Brian. One problem with this whole ordeal is that I've become a unflinching numericist: I cannot purchase a book without gauging its font size, page length, whether or not it will be an attribute or detriment to this challenge. It's a habit I'm trying to rid myself of, or at least hinder it enough so that it doesn't get in the way of quality book purchases. But really, do Dover thrift editions really have to be so thrifty? Or Norton's Anthologies try to cram 7,485,209,309 words onto every page?
Let us not be deterred though, fellow 9000-pagites, and begin to the pressing in of pagination. I 'spose we'll count May 1st as the official start date (forgive me all of you whose colleges don't end as soon as UD's) and hopefully the postings are fast and furious. The first discussion's date will be Saturday, May 29th at a currently fiestly debated location (Laura K. and Anna S. are the leading candidates, but perhaps a coffee shop shall trump all) at 5 P.M.
Let us postulate for a while, what that will mean. X amount of people will have been through, perhaps, Steinbeck's greatest work, along with approximately 2300 pages of work. Matt Finn will be halfway through Atlas Shrugged, becoming more and more objectivist. I'll have read the sufist works of Gibran, existentiality of Dostoevsky, and balanced them all against (hopefully) the Pentateuch, while Aaron has learned 234 new ways to catch fish.
That's all folks, this was a study break for me. I'm looking forward to hearing from you shortly.
Let us not be deterred though, fellow 9000-pagites, and begin to the pressing in of pagination. I 'spose we'll count May 1st as the official start date (forgive me all of you whose colleges don't end as soon as UD's) and hopefully the postings are fast and furious. The first discussion's date will be Saturday, May 29th at a currently fiestly debated location (Laura K. and Anna S. are the leading candidates, but perhaps a coffee shop shall trump all) at 5 P.M.
Let us postulate for a while, what that will mean. X amount of people will have been through, perhaps, Steinbeck's greatest work, along with approximately 2300 pages of work. Matt Finn will be halfway through Atlas Shrugged, becoming more and more objectivist. I'll have read the sufist works of Gibran, existentiality of Dostoevsky, and balanced them all against (hopefully) the Pentateuch, while Aaron has learned 234 new ways to catch fish.
That's all folks, this was a study break for me. I'm looking forward to hearing from you shortly.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
A General Challenge
Hey everyone. I've returned the world of blogging. It is to issue a general challenge for this coming summer, which I will approximate as mid-May to mid-August: see if you can read one hundred pages a day for 90 days, or 9000 pages. There will be no specifics as to the genre or type of materials; it is just for the purpose to share what literature is relevant and affecting you at the moment. Right now today, I'm going to try to read the Bible (1283 pages), East of Eden, and a plethora of smaller works. I probably won't post anything before graduation (May 8th) but I just wanted to give everyone a heads up. Until then....work on your lists.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
