Books and More Books
Hello everyone. How are you? I am sure that you said something positive because everyone says positive things to avoid talking about things that have been bothering them because apparently it is uncouth to start prattling on about your problems the second someone says hello to you. Or perhaps it's just a sort of accepted truth that no one really wants to be in a good mood and see someone they haven't seen in a while and suddenly get essentially blasted with everything that is wrong with that person. So yeah. Good to know that you are all doing well on the surface unless you are on. ^_^
So I thought about talking about my lovely little life and all the fun going on here. When I say fun, I mean the whole "my basement flooded and I was without running water for three days, my sister owes me fifty bucks for a cell phone bill, my stereo died and no amount of kicking it will revive it anymore, this has possibly been one of the worst weeks of the year with the exception of one in an earlier month" kind of way. Yeah. It's been a really fucking great week. Particularly the paying for the plumber to unclog my main water line so we could actually shower and stuff. That was excellent on many many levels. Let me tell you that there is nothing more fun than having to bail out your bath water on the front lawn because you can't drain it or it will end up soaking your carpet in the basement. *le sigh*
But the good news is that I survived. I didn't think I (or possibly a few other choice people who decided this would make my life difficult this week) would at one point but I am here, nonetheless. Hooray. You are all thrilled. I can sense it in your silence.
So on to the more important part of my post, that being a run down of some of the books that I have read or attempted to read over the summer. You know, I never used to be able to give up on a book but some of them are too painful to get through. Thus, I have gotten into the bad habit of not finishing the bad ones. That and I'm sorry but I have in upwards of thirty books, possibly more, that are just waiting to be read. I have a vast amount to read and I see it this way, I could waste precious life on a book that was poorly written or I could actually be reading something enlightening or entertaining or both. And with that excuse, I will tell you about the different things I have just read this summer and what I am currently reading. (You know you are a geek when...)
-The Pagan Christ by Tom Harpur. A decent enough book all things considered but the style got the better of me in the end. I don't presume to know more than the author or anything but I think it was definately not written for people who already have a working knowledge of Paganism. I did find it interesting in some ways but I just couldn't really get excited reading things that I had either already read about or that I had guessed. (ie. That all religions are connected at their core through common elements) Still recommended for those who are interested in theology, just for thinking material if nothing else. Unfortunately, as I said before, the style is what ended up killing me in the end. I couldn't take the fact that the author was just punching the "let's repeat everything I have already said over and over" button so often that I felt almost insulted by it. After a while, it felt like he was almost distrustful of the audience and had to make specific mention of how his evidence related back to the original topic over and over again. It got too annoying and after a while, I just couldn't read it anymore. So I will unfortunately have to stick a "Did Not Finish" on that book but I left the book mark in for the future when I might end up feeling a touch more generous with my time.
-The Hour Before Dark by Douglas Clegg. Very wonderfully done. Too many paperback novels are difficult to get into and I was happy to report that this was not one of them. It's kinda funny because Matt and I were talking about this once and he was telling me that he had finally caved to this idea of reading an entertaining book. As I finished The Hour Before Dark it struck me that this is the kind of book that he meant. Too often, I end up reading novels by authors who have either skimped the characters to the point where you couldn't care less who they are or they develop Anne Rice syndrome where they refuse to let go of the little details that, while sometimes interesting, are nearly always difficult to read through. Anne Rice writes about interesting characters. Now if she could only go through the eight million descriptions of the things going on around those characters, maybe it would be easier to actually read her work. Ahem...back to the novel. Yeah, I found it to be an entertaining read and easy to get through. Makes me more excited for the vampire novel that he has coming out in October.
-A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Very interesting thus far. I am still reading it but I find that with this, I have to actually be in the mood to read it. It moves fast and despite the weird language they speak, it's fun stuff. I look forward to finishing it. I know, skimpy for a review thus far but I have been trying to write a book and a short story, knit a scarf and read three books at the same time. It's a bit of a delicate mix and every once in a while, something gives. I do hope to have the whole thing finished in the two and a half weeks before classes begin though. More on it then.
-Neuromancer by William Gibson. Just started reading it last night so this will be brief but it's pretty freaking good thus far. I am really enjoying the difference in the fictional atmosphere thus far. I have to say that it is a bit jarring in a way because of the way it is written. I have to sink a little deeper into the story before I can get a better idea of what's going on but this is usually the case with any book. I look forward to getting through this one too.
-Gothic Grimoire by Konstantinos. Okay before anyone starts in on me about a) buying anything associated with Llewellyn or b) buying something that seems pretty goofy as this book does on the surface, I will remind everyone that enlightenment can come from anywhere based on the person and their personal needs...so there. So yeah, a lot of people zero in on Llewellyn and in some cases, I will hand it to them because this publisher does tend to put out a crap load of Pagan/Wiccan books from authors who may or may not actually know what they are talking about. But whatever. I do believe that I posted a most fantastical rant somewhere back in my journal about how it doesn't matter if you learn from an "ancient" tradition or a book. If it speaks to you in a way that makes sense, it works. That said, this book thus far impresses me. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical at first because there are so many "gothic" (or "gothique" if you will) writers out there that will write a ton of pretentious dribble for other pretentious assholes to read and spout off at random. This guy, luckily, isn't one of them. In fact, one of the most impressive things that I like about his writing style is that for a Pagan author, he assumes a certain amount of intellegence in the reader. I find that this is something that often lacks in books on Paganism and it's kind of nice to finally read a book that doesn't treat you like you're four or retarded...or both. The author does tend to add a few little gothic flares but they aren't emphasized and I find that if nothing else, it adds to the style in a way that doesn't take away from what is being written. I look forward to continuing with it.
And that, my friends, is what I have to offer you in terms of my literary pursuits for the remainder of summer. I hope to finish them all but this is highly unlikely. Oh well. It will make the next two weeks interesting.
So I thought about talking about my lovely little life and all the fun going on here. When I say fun, I mean the whole "my basement flooded and I was without running water for three days, my sister owes me fifty bucks for a cell phone bill, my stereo died and no amount of kicking it will revive it anymore, this has possibly been one of the worst weeks of the year with the exception of one in an earlier month" kind of way. Yeah. It's been a really fucking great week. Particularly the paying for the plumber to unclog my main water line so we could actually shower and stuff. That was excellent on many many levels. Let me tell you that there is nothing more fun than having to bail out your bath water on the front lawn because you can't drain it or it will end up soaking your carpet in the basement. *le sigh*
But the good news is that I survived. I didn't think I (or possibly a few other choice people who decided this would make my life difficult this week) would at one point but I am here, nonetheless. Hooray. You are all thrilled. I can sense it in your silence.
So on to the more important part of my post, that being a run down of some of the books that I have read or attempted to read over the summer. You know, I never used to be able to give up on a book but some of them are too painful to get through. Thus, I have gotten into the bad habit of not finishing the bad ones. That and I'm sorry but I have in upwards of thirty books, possibly more, that are just waiting to be read. I have a vast amount to read and I see it this way, I could waste precious life on a book that was poorly written or I could actually be reading something enlightening or entertaining or both. And with that excuse, I will tell you about the different things I have just read this summer and what I am currently reading. (You know you are a geek when...)
-The Pagan Christ by Tom Harpur. A decent enough book all things considered but the style got the better of me in the end. I don't presume to know more than the author or anything but I think it was definately not written for people who already have a working knowledge of Paganism. I did find it interesting in some ways but I just couldn't really get excited reading things that I had either already read about or that I had guessed. (ie. That all religions are connected at their core through common elements) Still recommended for those who are interested in theology, just for thinking material if nothing else. Unfortunately, as I said before, the style is what ended up killing me in the end. I couldn't take the fact that the author was just punching the "let's repeat everything I have already said over and over" button so often that I felt almost insulted by it. After a while, it felt like he was almost distrustful of the audience and had to make specific mention of how his evidence related back to the original topic over and over again. It got too annoying and after a while, I just couldn't read it anymore. So I will unfortunately have to stick a "Did Not Finish" on that book but I left the book mark in for the future when I might end up feeling a touch more generous with my time.
-The Hour Before Dark by Douglas Clegg. Very wonderfully done. Too many paperback novels are difficult to get into and I was happy to report that this was not one of them. It's kinda funny because Matt and I were talking about this once and he was telling me that he had finally caved to this idea of reading an entertaining book. As I finished The Hour Before Dark it struck me that this is the kind of book that he meant. Too often, I end up reading novels by authors who have either skimped the characters to the point where you couldn't care less who they are or they develop Anne Rice syndrome where they refuse to let go of the little details that, while sometimes interesting, are nearly always difficult to read through. Anne Rice writes about interesting characters. Now if she could only go through the eight million descriptions of the things going on around those characters, maybe it would be easier to actually read her work. Ahem...back to the novel. Yeah, I found it to be an entertaining read and easy to get through. Makes me more excited for the vampire novel that he has coming out in October.
-A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Very interesting thus far. I am still reading it but I find that with this, I have to actually be in the mood to read it. It moves fast and despite the weird language they speak, it's fun stuff. I look forward to finishing it. I know, skimpy for a review thus far but I have been trying to write a book and a short story, knit a scarf and read three books at the same time. It's a bit of a delicate mix and every once in a while, something gives. I do hope to have the whole thing finished in the two and a half weeks before classes begin though. More on it then.
-Neuromancer by William Gibson. Just started reading it last night so this will be brief but it's pretty freaking good thus far. I am really enjoying the difference in the fictional atmosphere thus far. I have to say that it is a bit jarring in a way because of the way it is written. I have to sink a little deeper into the story before I can get a better idea of what's going on but this is usually the case with any book. I look forward to getting through this one too.
-Gothic Grimoire by Konstantinos. Okay before anyone starts in on me about a) buying anything associated with Llewellyn or b) buying something that seems pretty goofy as this book does on the surface, I will remind everyone that enlightenment can come from anywhere based on the person and their personal needs...so there. So yeah, a lot of people zero in on Llewellyn and in some cases, I will hand it to them because this publisher does tend to put out a crap load of Pagan/Wiccan books from authors who may or may not actually know what they are talking about. But whatever. I do believe that I posted a most fantastical rant somewhere back in my journal about how it doesn't matter if you learn from an "ancient" tradition or a book. If it speaks to you in a way that makes sense, it works. That said, this book thus far impresses me. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical at first because there are so many "gothic" (or "gothique" if you will) writers out there that will write a ton of pretentious dribble for other pretentious assholes to read and spout off at random. This guy, luckily, isn't one of them. In fact, one of the most impressive things that I like about his writing style is that for a Pagan author, he assumes a certain amount of intellegence in the reader. I find that this is something that often lacks in books on Paganism and it's kind of nice to finally read a book that doesn't treat you like you're four or retarded...or both. The author does tend to add a few little gothic flares but they aren't emphasized and I find that if nothing else, it adds to the style in a way that doesn't take away from what is being written. I look forward to continuing with it.
And that, my friends, is what I have to offer you in terms of my literary pursuits for the remainder of summer. I hope to finish them all but this is highly unlikely. Oh well. It will make the next two weeks interesting.