March Reading Log
Did I only finish two books in March?
Well... I guess that I spent much of my possible reading time listening to A Storm of Swords on audiobook. I also spent much of my possible reading time looking for things to do that weren't reading, how badly did I hate one of these books. Guess which one. I'll give you a hint: it's
Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte
I thought that the first 50 pages of this book were brilliant, and called Jenn to thank her for recommending it. Here's a transcript of the conversation.
"Hello?"
"Jenn? It's Dave. Oh. My. Jesus. Wuthering Heights is the funniest book of all time. Seriously, this is transcendentally funny. I'm holding my sides. Wow."
"Umm... Dave? It's not supposed to be funny."
"..."
"..."
"You are shitting me. She's serious?"
"She's serious."
"..."
"..."
"Ouch."
Wow, I hate this book. I'm not even going into it. I am simultaneously proud of and disgusted by myself for finishing it. Yooch.
The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World, by Matthew Stewart
This book was fairly rad. I knew nothing about Spinoza, and now I think Spinoza's super cool. It would probably be a good idea to read a book about Spinoza *not* written by somebody who clearly loves him, but maybe everybody who studies him loves him? Nah, probably not.
Anyway, I was thinking all deeply and whatnot whilst reading this book. I have long claimed that 'twould be impossible to believe in an omniscient God and also believe in free will (the problem being that if God knows what I'm going to do before I do it, then it's not truly my choice; and if God doesn't know what I'm going to do, then he's not omniscient. I'm also confident that there are many, *many* smarter people that have covered this topic, only I went to theatre school and claim this point as if I just thought of it). However, this book made me realize-- thanks, Spinoza!-- that it's also not really logically possible to believe that the aforementioned omniscient God himself has free will, for the same reason. If he knows what he's going to do, it's not ever his choice. He's powerless to change it &c. The obvious rejoinder is "God works in mysterious ways." The obvious re-rejoinder is "That is a total cop-out." The obvious post-joinder (?), then, is "Yeah, well your mom is a total cop-out." And the debate proceeds from there.
So. I enjoyed reading this book. I also enjoy Mom jokes.
I am now in the middle of Thoreau's "Walden." Which I have never read, and which we will get to in April's entry. This should be a big month. David Mitchell has a new novel coming out in six days. I am on the edge of my seat.
Well... I guess that I spent much of my possible reading time listening to A Storm of Swords on audiobook. I also spent much of my possible reading time looking for things to do that weren't reading, how badly did I hate one of these books. Guess which one. I'll give you a hint: it's
Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte
I thought that the first 50 pages of this book were brilliant, and called Jenn to thank her for recommending it. Here's a transcript of the conversation.
"Hello?"
"Jenn? It's Dave. Oh. My. Jesus. Wuthering Heights is the funniest book of all time. Seriously, this is transcendentally funny. I'm holding my sides. Wow."
"Umm... Dave? It's not supposed to be funny."
"..."
"..."
"You are shitting me. She's serious?"
"She's serious."
"..."
"..."
"Ouch."
Wow, I hate this book. I'm not even going into it. I am simultaneously proud of and disgusted by myself for finishing it. Yooch.
The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World, by Matthew Stewart
This book was fairly rad. I knew nothing about Spinoza, and now I think Spinoza's super cool. It would probably be a good idea to read a book about Spinoza *not* written by somebody who clearly loves him, but maybe everybody who studies him loves him? Nah, probably not.
Anyway, I was thinking all deeply and whatnot whilst reading this book. I have long claimed that 'twould be impossible to believe in an omniscient God and also believe in free will (the problem being that if God knows what I'm going to do before I do it, then it's not truly my choice; and if God doesn't know what I'm going to do, then he's not omniscient. I'm also confident that there are many, *many* smarter people that have covered this topic, only I went to theatre school and claim this point as if I just thought of it). However, this book made me realize-- thanks, Spinoza!-- that it's also not really logically possible to believe that the aforementioned omniscient God himself has free will, for the same reason. If he knows what he's going to do, it's not ever his choice. He's powerless to change it &c. The obvious rejoinder is "God works in mysterious ways." The obvious re-rejoinder is "That is a total cop-out." The obvious post-joinder (?), then, is "Yeah, well your mom is a total cop-out." And the debate proceeds from there.
So. I enjoyed reading this book. I also enjoy Mom jokes.
I am now in the middle of Thoreau's "Walden." Which I have never read, and which we will get to in April's entry. This should be a big month. David Mitchell has a new novel coming out in six days. I am on the edge of my seat.