So, what books are you reading right now?

I’m currently indulging in a bit of popular culture with Game of Thrones.

@fuse: Did you continue with the Hesse? I read…Daemon/Damien, whatever it was called, a year or two ago and have been tempted to get stuck into some more of his stuff but I can’t help but remember a kind of wetness to his works :laughing: I don’t know, something about the books and the gospel-seeking devotees of his works just puts me off…

Hey Trevor,

Wetness? What? lol, I decided to continue where I left off with Nietzsche instead. I’ll get back to Hesse eventually.

Yeh…wetness…it’s hard to explain because that’s just my lasting impression of him, but his books are about the inner self, and destiny, that kinda crap…I also remember a sense of passivity in his writing, placid and passive. Wetness. Maybe he was gay…

Yeah, he’s definitely concerned with the inner self. And I might be able to relate to what you mean about passivity… I’ve read Siddhartha, Demian, and Steppenwolf now and all three novels develop in dreamlike fashion, as if the narrator is a more or less passive observer of a series of surreal events. Is that at all what you meant? Anyhow, Steppenwolf was the most nonlinear and subsequently the most difficult to read, while Demian is my favorite of the three because I relate to its story and characters the most.

I guess I just struggle to take the whole “search for self” subject seriously…Siddharta was the other one I had read but forgotten about. Huxley can also be a bit too wishy-washy like Hesse, they’re work is deeply related, but Huxley has a cyncial vein running through him and his work which is his saving grace. Maybe this is what Hesse lacks - teeth. His work has no bite, it’s all gums. Soft, wet gums.

:confused:

Ah…no bite you say? I understand that. Although, I personally think Hesse has an enormous bite, but maybe it’s too subtly expressed or maybe only certain types of people are receptive to it. I think the “search for the self” theme appeals to people who have often been internally conflicted and who tend to be introspective about their struggles and their identity. …like moi.

And the subtlety I am talking about refers to the seemingly vague and indistinct “message” of each of his novels. In all his stories about finding oneself and living authentically, I think Hesse’s intent is always positive. I think he is looking more to inspire a like-minded reader to continue in his/her own journey of the self than to impart any distinct “moral” or knowledge.

And I like Huxley, too. Brave New World was one of the best books I read growing up in terms of the incredible stimulation it provided for new thoughts and ideas. If I ever get the time, I want to read Point Counter Point next.

The wetness metaphor is interesting. …soft, wet gums. It reminds me of kissing.

Different people like to kiss and be kissed (romantically) in different ways. For instance, if I am making out with a girl I prefer slow, concentrated, sometimes very light, teasing kisses. I like the subtlety and sensation of it. I have had girlfriends, though, who like to kiss furiously, almost violently – but that’s rather boring and mechanical to me.

So in a similar way, while I seem to experience the bite of Hesse’s novels for some reason, you don’t for a related reason. I dunno. Just thinking. And I thought the kissing analogy was funny.

This made me think of Hoffmann, particularly The Sandman. It doesn’t really have a bite, nor did I get the feeling of soft, wet gums, but … it kind of nibbles.

Anyway, I’m still on Aristotle. But I picked up Timothy Williamsons The Philosophy of Philosophy earlier. So far (I’m on ch. 2) it’s been both thought-provoking, extremely interesting, and something of a disappointment.

Are you implying he’s too subtly expressed for my dim intellect? :wink: :laughing:

Same here; I haven’t read Point Counter Point but I have managed to read Island and Eyeless in Gaza, both of which I recommend.

Maybe :stuck_out_tongue: Or you might just not have the attention for it if you find his writing uninteresting.

I started reading Paolo Coelho’s The Alchemist, finally. I’d been planning to read it for so long and I finally have read first 22 pages. I like it actually:)

YouTube mp4

But then that suggests I have some form of attention deficit. How about, I simply dislike his writing, but that in no way reflects negatively upon my character. :handgestures-thumbupright:

Sure, but I wasn’t referring to any type of disorder. Preferences affect attention. Nothing deficient about that.

And I don’t consider ADD to reflect negatively on a person’s character anyway.

BESIDES, do you think I would aim veiled insults at you? I’m not the passive aggressive type.

Don’t worry fuse, I was just jesting around. :wink:

got’cha :slight_smile:

Prometheus Rising
-Robert Anton Wilson

This is a cool book. It’s written by one of the major figures in the new age/drug movement, but I think pretty much everyone here would agree it’s surprisingly scientific, and in no way really focuses on drugs, as I think it was written after he had matured into the enlightenment stage. It’s funny. It’s short, and concise. I loved this book.

Basically it focuses on what he calls the 8 stages of awareness. It doesn’t really matter if you think there are 8, or whatever; what matters is that he presents a series of exercises at the end of each chapter which tackles it from different viewpoints (druggie, scientist, skeptic, wide-mouthed believer) that, even if you just read them, illustrates his perspective pretty well: he’s trying to blend all of these, as no one is really any one particular.

The more I type the more I don’t do justice to this read-it-in-a-couple-hours type book. Check it out.

And maybe a RAW youtube sometime…

video.google.com/videoplay?docid … 9478350203

Is that anything like Leary’s eight-circuit model of consciousness?

It is exactly that.

Sold. I’ll look it up right away.

EDIT: Found a free pdf download here.

i am re-reading “The China Study”…i think it is a spectacular and highly disturbing book…