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Little, Big by John Crowley

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That Explosive Book: Dr. Mary L. Trump Explains Donald Trump

Author: Aasemoon

20 Jul

So I heard about this book at the end of last week, picked it up on Friday evening and about 36 hours later, it was finished. I had a hard time putting it down, you could say.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. There’s so much accusations flying towards this book already. There’s a lot of assumptions that this is a cry for attention, or an attempt at cashing in, or…. It becomes very hard to believe any of that nonsense after actually reading the book. It’s also not, well, boring. Or repetitious. Or a book full of empty accusations.

What it is, is honest, well reasoned, sharp… and courageous! Really, this woman is risking quite a lot by coming out with all of this. And I sincerely doubt she thinks she’s going to have any significant personal gain here. In fact it appears she’s got quite a history of absolutely not profiting from anything to do with that accursed family!

This is a book of answers and explanations.

Especially since his appointment in 2017, there has always been quite a lot of speculation around who Donald Trump really is. Is “this all” just an act? Is he secretly very intelligent? Is he really that incompetent? What the hell is he really about? Why is he so inconsistent? His very special brand of not making any sense or showing any consistency, together with his fountains of faux confidence and bad jokes, seem to have somehow created him an air of charismatic mystery. One that seems to appeal greatly to the poor souls buying his act, and keep everyone else guessing. Well, this is why this book had to happen.

Dr. Mary Trump, who as it happens is a clinical psychologist, is the niece of Donald Trump, and the daughter of the man who was considered the black sheep of the Trump family. She had not only spent time with this toxic family, but has also experienced first had the depths of their depravity. In his book, she clarifies who Donald Trump really is, what he really is, and precisely how he got to where he is today. The book demystifies the hell out of the living lie that is Donald Trump, dealing an awfully ruinous blow to someone whose only talent is to put up a show. A show so loud and so flashy that it manages to blind a ridiculously large number of people. This book is a magical pair of glasses.

Trump has already started Tweeting his disapproval. On one hand he’s calling it all lies, on the other hand he’s accusing the author of breaching NDAs. [I mean… if she has nothing on you, Mr. Trump, then what are the NDAs for and why are you in such a state of fluster?] Unseemly allegations are already going the way of the author, and it’s probably only going to get more complicated from here. She’s risked going up against Donald Trump in a fashion that can actually truly hurt him, despite having first hand experience what kind of hell could get unleashed on her.

So much of the criticism she’s already receiving, is coming from people who haven’t actually read the book and have no interest in evidence. And the attacks are so predictable, trying to assassinate her character rather than address the facts she’s putting on the table. But as Trump’s own actions manage to disintegrate his fictional image further, as more and more people, including his own followers, start questioning his claims, I hope more people will put swift and harsh judgement of this book and it’s author on hold until they’ve read it, and given it’s truth a chance.

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Filed under: Authors, Books, Politics, Psychology, Reading

The Wandering Earth by Liu Cixin

Author: Aasemoon

7 Jul

Ah… I just wanted to say that I finished reading this, and you should too. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. I can’t say anything more because it’s a Liu Cixin book. Which means that it’s as twisty and shocking and unexpected as it can possibly get. And so if I say anything, I could be spoiling it for you.

What I can say, is just what I said when I was reading his Three-Body Problem. Liu Cixin has a truly unique writing style. His seemingly flat, spartan tone slowly moves you forward in what feels like a eventless, dull road for a while. And then suddenly a door opens and you fall head-first into a bottomless pit. You go back and read that passage a few times just to make sure that you did in fact read what you think you just read. And you say to yourself “what the…. what in the…. no that can’t be…..”.

While The Three-Body Problem is a long procession of many of such pits and you keep climbing out of one and falling into the next, The Wandering Earth is a miniature version of that. Just a couple of pits closer to the end of the road, so you get a taste of what the author can do.

And yes, in case everything I’ve said is giving you the wrong idea: I am in fact saying that I enjoy reading Liu Cixin immensely. And I am saying that you should definitely read his books. And now I’m going to go decide which book of his I’m reading next.

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Filed under: Authors, Books, Literature, Liu Cixin, Reading, Sci-Fi

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!

Author: Aasemoon

26 Apr

During my early teens, I was told by a few people whose opinions I respected, that I should read “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!“, and that I would find a “kindred spirit” in the legendary physicist! So I started reading the book, and then “life” happened and I never got to the last couple of chapters.

Given how much I enjoyed reading as much of it as I did, I don’t quite understand how it is that it took me this long to go back and finish the book. But now I have, I have re-read the whole thing and finally finished it. And what a treat it’s been. =)

I really am grateful to the people who originally suggested the book to me. I must say I did indeed find a kindred spirit in there. The book taught me a few things when I first read it, and now after all these years, once again, even more.

The early chapters to do with Feynman’s childhood and youth shenanigans gave me a feeling of acceptance [I don’t know how else to describe this] as a kid. Now, at the spot where I stand in my life, given what I have experienced for myself, I can relate to the experiences and views of the adult Feynman much better. His experiences within academia, and the human society as a whole, make a lot of sense.

So thanks for getting me to read the book. Took me a while to finish it but hey, I think it may have been for the best.

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Filed under: Authors, Books, Life, Physics, Reading, Richard Feynman

James Gleick: The Information + Chaos

Author: Aasemoon

6 Jan

Yup, these are not new. I read Gleick’s “The Information” quite some time ago, and halfway read “Chaos” as well but didn’t get the chance to finish it until just recently. Now I’ve finally finished Chaos as well, and enjoyed it greatly.

The two books I’ve read of him so far both have this interesting style of writing. He chooses a monster of a topic, and then goes about describing everything there is to know about it in a spherical fashion. He talks about the whole history of the topic, every important development that makes the topic what it is today, and he really likes to go deep into the lives of people who played a role in it. Scientists, researchers… he likes to talk about their lives, their eccentric habits, biographical bits that you may just not find in your standard biography book. His books as a result are quite fun to read…

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Filed under: Authors, Books, Math, Science

Stephen King’s “The Green Mile”

Author: Aasemoon

1 Mar

I have no idea how many times I’ve watched the movie. The Green Mile is one of my all time favourites.. it’s one of those movies that I just randomly re-watch every once in a while just because. But up to very recently, it hadn’t even come to my attention that there even was a book! Perhaps partially because so far I haven’t been such a big fan of Stephen King’s writing, and I didn’t even know this was one of his.

Last month a friend of mine asked me what I thought of the book, and a couple of hours later I actually started reading it. I was a little worried that the book wouldn’t be that good, or that it would be too different. Fortunately as it turned out the usual rule applied here too and the book was in fact better.

Reading the book you get to know the characters much better. Their personalities, thoughts and circumstances of their lives have been much better described. And then there’s the mouse. In the movie you do fall in love with the mouse, but in the book you properly get to know the mouse. There is much more to him and his story, and he is perhaps the 2nd main character in the book. And I absolutely love that.

Paul Edgecombe’s story is also better told in the book. There is in fact quite a bit about him that doesn’t make it to the movie, including a very meaningful last chapter. That last chapter was hard for me to read…so very emotionally intense, and it gives you much to ponder about. Mind you it doesn’t really change the story or how it ends, but it does paint a move vivid picture of Paul Edgecombe.

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Filed under: Authors, Books, Fantasy, Movies, Supernatural

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Author: Aasemoon

20 Jul

Recently I was asked if it’s a good idea to watch the Cloud Atlas movie first, or to read the book. I almost always read the book first, but in this case, I came across the movie before the book. But that’s alright, the movie couldn’t possibly have spoiled the experience of the book…

I watched Cloud Atlas a couple of years ago, and was thoroughly impressed. I figured this must be an exceptional example of a situation where the movie didn’t totally destroy the book. Some months after that I read the book…. Well, as good as the movie is, the rule still applies, the book is infinitely better.

The book is written in quite a unique shape, an amazing structure, with such subtleties that can never be imported into a movie. The relationship between the characters in different timelines are described in such elegant ways. And well, there are major story bits and implied meanings in the book, that make the book much deeper, much more complex and in some parts much darker than the movie.

So yes, the book wins once again…. since you have the choice, read the book first. 😉

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Filed under: Authors, Books, Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Reading, Sci-Fi

Thanos: Infinity Revelation

Author: Aasemoon

9 Jun

This is probably recommended reading for anyone who wondered why I was thoroughly annoyed with what the Guardians of the Galaxy movie looked like, and what it was missing.

I guess it’s already pretty clear that Adam Warlock is my all time favourite comic character [closely followed by the Silver Surfer]. In fact most of what I’ve read of Marvel Cosmic throughout the years, has somehow been the result of following Adam Warlock’s trail… this actually includes Guardians of the Galaxy.

Since Warlock’s annihilation at the end of DnA’s Guardians a few years ago, I’ve been waiting quite impatiently to see him surface again. During the Annihilators mini series, Magus managed to come back for a very short while, and then got captured and put back into the cocoon by the Annihilators. Not that I had any interest in seeing his slimy purple face anyway. And since then there was absolutely nothing, ’till now.

Recently Marvel released Jim Starlin’s new “Thanos: Infinity Revelation”, which somehow took me a while to hear about, but I had to read it since Thanos happens to be my favourite Villain. So I got myself the digital copy… and lo and behold, here comes Adam Warlock, hitching a ride back to existence with Thanos, no cocoon needed this time. =D You can imagine my utter excitement… YAY! Finally!!

To make things even better, the book is simply brilliant. Jim Starlin is the author who made Warlock into what it is, and he’s done it again. This is basically the archetype of the story line that got me interested in Marvel Cosmic in the first place, a million years ago. And I must say I haven’t seen the like of it for quite a long time.

The plot explores a situation in which the universe is re-created in 2 versions, one based upon the mind and soul of Warlock, and the other after Thanos. The story is very abstract, it’s mostly self discovery for these two characters, and it’s more a philosophy lesson than anything else. This, is why I love Adam Warlock in the first place. Oh, and then Silver Surfer makes an appearance too. How about that? Is this the perfect book or what?

As I wrote in the beginning, this is what you should look at if you’re wondering what all the fuss was about when the Guardians of the Galaxy movie came out, disappointing many of the Cosmic fans. This is generally what we’re looking for, and this is the sort of thing Guardians has always offered, before the movie happened. An intelligent plot, meaningful ideas and characters, and a respectable amount of food for thought.

Of course now I’m totally in love, since last week I got my hands on the hard cover version of the book [as usual thanks to KABOOOM], and it even looks fantastic!! It’s not very clear in the pictures I’ve posted here, but on the cover Thano’s head is a glossy print while the rest of the page has a matte finish, giving you the feeling that Thanos is coming right at you from the depths of the abyss. 😉

And this is not the end of it, Jim Starlin is soon to release another one of the same “series”, called “Infinity Relativity”. I’m currently dying to read that one.

If you’re living in the Zurich vicinity, you can pick up a copy of this at the KABOOOM comic book store.

And yes, if Warlock keeps looking 2 different ways to you for no apparent reason, it’s not you, it’s him.

Perfection. Everyone I love is in there!

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Filed under: Adam Warlock, Art, Authors, Books, Comics, Sci-Fi, Silver Surfer, Thanos

Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century

Author: Aasemoon

3 Jun

So I read this one too, by Sean Patrick. And I really really enjoyed the cover design. Nothing else really that interesting about this book though. Turned out to be basically a motivational essay by a Tesla fan. That about sums it up.

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Filed under: Authors, Books, Reviews, Tesla

Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture

Author: Aasemoon

13 May

Recently [while I’ve not been doing any blogging] I’ve been doing a lot of re-reading. One of the books I recently re-read – ok, not exactly re-read but more like re-skimmed, just because I find it quite entertaining somehow – is Ross King’s book on “Brunelleschi’s Dome”.

Long story short, I now know that Ross King is probably one of my favourite history / art authors. This was the first book I read from him, as per the recommendation of a historian friend, and really had fun with it.

I think what I most enjoyed about the book is that it doesn’t feel like your classical history textbook. You’re not bombarded by a bunch of what most academics might consider important facts. Instead there’s attention to some personal and rather entertaining details in regards to the people and events involved. You get a good picture of why a certain character behaved a certain way or what was going on inside their head.

Now I’m just going to have to figure out which of his books I’m going to read next. Any suggestions?

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Filed under: Authors, Books, History, Reading

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