BOOK REVIEW 2021

This year I made a resolution at new years that I would spend more time this year reading. So far, I have held to that resolution and made considerably more progress this year reading than in previous ones. At the time of writing, June 24, 2021, I have so far downed 14 different titles the longest being 512 pages. The fact is I feel like there is a great benefit to reading and can open your mind and alter the creative part of your brain. Writing even more so but reading simply helps you understand concepts better and gives a person access to a plethora of knowledge. There are a few books that id really love a chance to read. Two titles on my gift/wish list are Jordan Peterson beyond order and Brian Marinescu’s the Immortality Key. If I could get those two books let us say for Christmas or for my birthday id be even better off. One day in March I went to the library to check and see if I could get some of these books but apparently I owe them money for an item I have not returned. Woops! The types of books I’ve been going for are just anything I have in my possession at the time and anything I can snag on my kindle. I recently downloaded the Harvard classics 5-foot shelf edition(On kindle) which has 71 volumes of all of some of the most classic and difficult books ever. I started by just skimming through and seeing all the titles then continued to read the ones that seemed interesting to me. Including Descartes, Homer, Dante, John Milton, Beowulf, Grimm, and Dostoevsky. Out of those authors I read most of Milton poems and the discourse on method, Dante’s Inferno, The Iliad and a few of the short stories by grim. On the to read catalogue is Beowulf from the kindle but also plan on attacking some Tolkien as well. I’ve been feeling extra bookish in these past few months February and may especially and even got to doing math on how long it would take me to read an x number of titles in an x amount of time. For example, 50 pages a day multiplied by 365 days equates to something like 18,250 pages. Divide that by an average 300 pages in a book and you can read somewhere close to 60 300-page books in a year. Not saying that I will or that I am sticking to or even making a goal out of reading that many pages a day. Just that if someone is dedicated, they probably can. I have seen challenges like something like this outside my library on the sign where they seemed to be doing a challenge to see if you could read 50 books in a year or something like it. At the time I was not really into reading all that much and did not think anyone could read that much. Although I must admit I had my doubts into how pathological or boring reading that many books could make a person. But now I am on my high horse riding that same bandwagon.

My favorite fiction title this year is a tie between Ray Bradbury and Shirley Jackson. My favorite religion/spiritual book is most probably a tie between Paradise Lost and Dante’s Inferno. My favorite self-help titles are a tie between Mark Manson and Elizabeth Gilbert. And then my favorite epic is obviously Homer’s The Iliad.

Along with reading a lot recently I have been thinking about ways I could write and update my website with things that seem interesting. Thinking in terms of content I thought id do book reviews to start. So, without further ado here is my favorite books of 2021 in a neat and concise review form.

Shirley Jackson: The Haunting of hill house: Honestly one of the most excellent horror stories you will ever read. It's supernatural and draws in the reader to the history of the house that was born ill. The characters of Theodora, Luke, Elanor and Dr. Montague are perfect trespassers in the house who soon discover its evil as it will claim one of them soon. This book is Horrible and i mean that in the most profoundly good way. If your looking for a fantastic spooky tale for say Halloween then look no further than Hills dale to peak your ghoulish interest. Diving into the occult mysteries of a property with a long history of defamation and death is gripping.

Fiction: Fahrenheit 451, The haunting of Hill house, The Hobbit!

Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451: This is a science fiction that is a profound statement into the life of someone growing up in the 1950's and seeing the world for what it is. I believe the connotation for the three walled television unit Montage's wife uses with her parlor family is related to modern technologies and social media in general. But its this attention narcissism value and new information that parlays itself between the allegorical burning of books as the kerosene wielding firefighter. As if to say, no, books are very important, the constant new information you make in a fiction on a wall on Facebook is the thing that needs burning. I also believe the desensitization of peoples in this fable along with their habit of driving cars really fast is similar to peoples attitudes about sensitive topics or their attention in general. Borderline genius who's bored of his lines, Montage has at his disposal a few books which really peak his interest and made him question the very fabric of truth and reality of the world he lives in. He is Subjugated to the endeavor of burning knowledge.

A powerless society is an untold landscape of misfortune. The application of that misfortune is in itself a horrible show of apathy towards people’s attentions. In this world they will burn book owners at the stake as if they wield some otherworldly supernatural, esoteric, unnatural, and shunned sense of self. It is a witch hunt for the smartest people who entertain the idea that the fabric of their society is reliant on a much more viable and cohesive unit of the sacred truth that is found in literature. To quote Cicero "If a man has books and a garden he needs little else" I want to eat from the rivers of life Montage mentions, looking down the road to a bombarded city landscape. As his sages impart their own share of knowledge toward him. And he them.

The mechanical hound is a new beat in the story that makes for a compelling insight into technologies the future will hold for ray as he seems to hint at the fears of a malevolence that compelled Montage to jump into a river soaked in whiskey, to hide his scent from those trying to apprehend him. To quote Bukowski this time "Love is a dog from hell." The love beat in this story unfolds between Montage and a quirky seventeen year old girl he meets who to him seems odd. Yet, inescapably real is the path her quirks set him on. Also is the disjunctive relationship between him and his parlour wife who he barley seems to recognize. A thing we see unfold when they cant figure out when it was they even first met each other.

Its within the confines of ones home that the destruction is truly completed. Its the utter Pacification of a humans spiritual self. Its either the shattering of the ego or the making it into a parasitic appendage held together with Elmer glue. As if to spend ones time sniffing this glue is the only logical conclusion one may formulate to grip a reality suitable for him. The dialog of reciprocity is lacking and its like fair weather fans meeting at the Superbowl or the latest sports event every waking second as the TV just screams into their seashell headphones. When at any moment one can at their leisure hop in their car and just beat the hell out of it.

The metaphorical end to this chaos is the death of Beatty the fireman. As the war rages on, the implicit truth of Montages heroism takes its grip in an eternal struggle that plays out over the tone of a low flying helicopter and a drug sniffing dog. Its more profound how the conclusion of it culminates with the destruction of the entire city. As if to say, you win montage, the war is over.

Epics: Paradise lost, The Iliad

Paradise Lost: John Milton/Milton’s poems

John Milton is highly regarded in my opinion as one of the greatest writers. Although he was blind. The apparent religiosity and piety in his world of works is basically an analysis of some of the most popular religious views people have. Id go as far to say as it would be easy to conflate some of the views expressed in his work as being in the bible itself. He writes so flagrantly about topics such as Adam and eve’s Eden, Cherubim’s, Arc-angels, Satan and the son of man. He was a religious man and his poems showcase this well.

Stoic Philosophy: Marcus Aurelius: Meditations

Meditations: Marcus Aurelius

“Near is the forgetfulness of all things, and near is the forgetfulness of thee by all”

If that doesn’t ring your bell, then you are superhuman. Everything will fall away is another way to phrase it. Because life is opinion, and the universe is transformation. Your body is a stream, and your soul is dream and vapor. You have three things, breath body and soul. Does it make a thing more beautiful if you say it is beautiful? No because a thing is not changed by praise or blame. It is for this reason it may be important if you can take away your opinion.

“A little time and I am dead, and all is gone. What more do I seek, if what I am now doing is the work of an intelligent living being, and a social being, and one who is under the same law as god?”

It is then important to understand that everything in this life is temporary. Things that have value to you, things beyond your understanding and even things you think you know, are all part of the universal transformation. If everything will fall away, what is stopping you from living contently from this moment forward. That when you wake in the morning let it suffice that you rise to the work of a human. That by being a sentient person with breath body and soul your main purpose in this life is to do good and to do good with God. That you only have a small time allotted here and think of that time in relation to what you are destined to do. “Short lived are both the praises and the praised, and the rememberer and the remembered.”

Self Help: The Subtle Art of not giving a fuck, Big magic Creative living beyond fear, Beyond Order: 12 More rules for life, Caffeine Micheal Pollen

The subtle art of not giving a fuck: Mark Manson: Did somebody say disappointment panda?

Big Magic Creative living beyond fear: Elizabeth Gilbert: Plant a garden, Keep your day job, Dress up nice and flirt with imaginary friends who inspire you. This book is everything I never even expected.

Beyond Order 12 more rules for life: Dr. Jordan Peterson: Clean your room and don’t tell lies, Rescue your father, Treat yourself like your someone responsible for helping. This books got it all!

Caffeine: Micheal Pollen: I have to admit with the coffee I drink on a regular basis this is a must read for me, seeing as I need to dive in a little deeper into this mysterious drink. Supposedly Voltaire drank around 72 cups a day while doing whenever it was philosophers from that era do.

Thank you for reading this! It helps millions!