Just try not to get any on your shirt! (And please forgive the lack of detail, due to covering 3 books at once.)First up:
In the reading group I'm taking part in, the 2nd selection was George Orwell's 1984. It was a fairly enjoyable read, especially once the love interest of the protagonist is introduced about a third of the way in. Dystopian fiction centered around totalitarian governments isn't usually my thing, but Orwell crafts his story skillfully enough for a casual reader to enjoy. Also, I appreciated the shock value of the ending, which I won't spoil here.
Next:
Yep, I recently read yet another book about Lost (I think this is no. 5 for me). Orson Scott Card is the editor of Getting Lost . . . Rest of the Title is Really Long. It's a collection of essays, and as is usually the case with any such anthology, there's some good ones and some bad ones. A few of these were great, but I'd say more than half of them were dull. Anywho, I still haven't stopped processing this show and its effects on my imagination. Not sure when I will.
Lastly:
Herman Wouk's The Language God Talks is difficult to categorize or even describe. Wouk is a fairly renowned Jewish-American novelist who happens to practice Orthodox faith and have an armchair fascination with science. He's written a handful of non-fiction works, and this most recent one is a kind of shot in the dark aimed at illuminating overlap in the spheres of science and religion. But don't mistake this book for a research paper. Wouk stays true to his poetic side and attempts to make his point in images, rather than systematic arguments. It works well enough for me. This subject is kind of a hobby of mine, and I enjoyed reading a different approach to it.
Well, now you're caught up on my reading habits. What have you been reading? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.
Well to begin with, I'm a big fan or Orson Scott Card. His "Homecoming" series was excellent, as was "Ender's Game". All his fiction aside however, he also writes some interesting essays about society and politics.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently reading a few things, and about to start some more quite soon.
"The Sword and the Mind"-Yagyu Munenori
One of the classic works dealing with Zen, and the Martial Arts in particular. It stands next to "A Book of Five Rings", as one of the major pillars in Japanese sword treatises, and is still used today as a source of strategy for businessmen and martial artists alike. Quite good so far.
"The Way of the Shaman" - Michael Harner
Hailed as one of the best overviews of the common "Shamanistic" practices that span both thousands of years, and the globe. It really ties stuff together, not just with regards to "primitive" religions and spirituality, but all attempts by men to attain something greater than their five senses can apprehend.
"A History of God" -Karen Armstrong
Armstrong writes of the shared histories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. How man's quest for the Divine led him down these three routes. I haven't begun it yet, so I can't really say much about it.
Liber Novus(The Red Book) - Carl Jung
Here is the wiki page on this book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Book_%28Jung%29
For 16 years, Jung spent his weekends in a state of "active imagination", and engaged in dialogue between his conscious and subconscious. Characters appeared to him in this altered state of consciousness, and conversed with him and showed him things.
He claimed that all the ideas and material to come from him for the rest of his life was discovered in these periods of delving into his own mind.
He wrote, in illuminated calligraphy, The Red Book. In it he describes his journeys into his own subconscious.
These are the books I'm currently reading/beginning.
Wow, that is some fascinating stuff Gareth. Thanks for sharing. I've considered reading The History of God. Let me know if you like it.
ReplyDeleteSo I'm reading The History of God right now Ken, and its excellent...It's already becoming one of my favorite books.
ReplyDeleteI think you would enjoy it.
Sweet! I'll definitely check it out eventually. Thanks for the recommendation.
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