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Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

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Little, Big by John Crowley

Never before in my life, have I ever read a book that talked so incredibly much, without saying anything at all.

I picked up this book because I kept hearing good things about it, and because I came across reviews that compared it to another couple of books that I have enjoyed. So I decided to give it a try. What a mistake. One review I read recently, said something about a 500-something page book feeling like thousands of pages. That is so true.

About 80% of the book is empty, pointless, over the top descriptions. So so many words in such pretentious language, meaning to sound all deep and meaningful, and in the end communicating absolutely nothing of value. Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed my share of well written books that feel more like paintings. This just wasn’t one of them, there was no beauty, just words upon words upon words.

And then there was all those brackets. Right in the middle of all those run on descriptions, there were brackets injecting other run on descriptions. About 3 times on each page.

As for the actual story of the book, well…. there is one. A very weak one. It’s a fairy tale that, I think, is meant to be some kind of metaphor for life, or some such. But it’s just a very bland story in the end. The whole tale could have been told in about 20 pages. And yet there were 538. The gosh darned book took me forever to read, because I simply had no interest in reading it and I kept reading other books in between. It really did feel like thousands of pages.

So I guess it’s clear that I don’t recommend the book. If you happen to have a somewhat similar taste to mine, it’ll be torture and a huge waste of your time.

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.

 

The Wandering Earth by Liu Cixin

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.

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!

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.

Design Management – Related Books | The Alexander W. White Consultancy

I recently finished reading this and well…. hmmm…. it didn’t offer as much as I expected. It’s mostly life style suggestions for looking after your telomeres. But for what it is, it’s worth a read.

The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer by Elizabeth Blackburn | Goodreads

Finished reading this some time ago. It was recommended by a historian friend with a special interest in Arthur.

This is an interesting read if you’re curious about the reality of King Arthur. The book discuesses the historical figure[s] and events that form the basis for the legend of King Arthur. There’s a ton of historical and archeological references and a good deal of something that feels like historical detective-work, showing that King Arthur, his knights of the round table and even Merlin are more than just fictional characters.

The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry

In the past few years somehow we were bombarded by similarly themed young adult novels of exploding popularity that were of course also divoured by Hollywood and made into a whole lot of cheesy movies.

Honestly I’m not very happy about how Lois Lowry’s “The Giver” quartet also got shuffled in, as yet another one of these. I read the series a couple of years back, and there are certain aspect of it that I still think about from time to time. I find the quartet especially well written, and the stories deep and meaningful, probably a lot more than they’re being given credit for, especially thanks to the rather ridiculous movie.

So if you’ve just seen the movie and ran the other direction, I do ask you to please give the books a chance. It’s possible you’ll find something entirely different in there.

Joss Whedon: The Biography

[Update: Please ignore this post… In the light of who and what we now know this person is, I’m no longer interested in discussing his ideas…]

This is something I read last year, but recently it came up in conversation several times again and I remembered how much I enjoyed reading it.

What I really like about this biography, is that perhaps due to the topic of the book still being alive and very much involved in the writing of it, the book answers some interesting questions. It gives you an idea of what made him who he is, and where some of his absolutely brilliant ideas came from. Or for that matter what was going on in his mind when he made certain decisions. If you’re a fan of Joss Whedon, I very much recommend reading this.

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Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

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.

 cloudatlas[1] 

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

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Hey, I'm Aasemoon, and this is my blog which has been around since 1998. Childhood toy project that ended up growing up with me. You can reach me here: aasemoon.blue

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