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M

M

I think the main question we should ask any book is, is it powerful enough to convert us to its way of seeing the world? And the main way I should approach a book is by asking, am I open enough to the possibility that this book might change me?

"Few things have happened to me, though many things I have read. Or rather, few things have... more »
  • Tonga
  • member since January 30, 2008

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M’s last login was 10 hours ago. show recent activity »

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Public Notes

  • elisa

    elisa says

    PS: I might even use some of the explanations here to add to my review now that it's clearer in my head... I sometimes have to sort through my feelings about books before I can talk about them :-)

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    I felt this short excerpt from the book itself was more telling then anything I could say... at the time.
    This short fiction book about the experience of a young girl survivor of the Rwanda genocide is just as much about survival as about growing up despite extreme hardships. Life goes on and its lessons must be learned (The fact that some people might have a great facade yet be all rotten inside; or, on the contrary, look ugly or deformed but have a big heart... as the quote from the book tells in its own words.). A genocide is something I have not witness and hopefully never will, and when I wrote that short review, I almost felt that I had no right, having the comfortable life that I have, make comments on something so far from my reality, knowing that even my imagination has its limit regarding such an experience. I hope this makes more sense :-)
    And I hope all is well in your world,
    ~e

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Matthew S

    Matthew S says

    Thank you. It was a great book I found in a dusty corner of a book store, got to love those corners.

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    I saw you read Fahrenheit 451; one of my favorite :-)
    How did you like Montague? And what did you think of Clarisse? I would have loved to know more about her...

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bunny Posh

    Bunny Posh says

    nope, i haven't. i'm not in such a lack of time as you are, but i still have absolutely no idea. i wish you the best of luck with your decision! :)

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )
  • mark s

    mark s says

    :) I'd be happy talking about Aristotle's categories, his work with elements...heck even his time travel theories:D As I stated, take your time in responding. I don't mind:)
    Hope you enjoy them...er...those books you will be eating...*offers mustard*

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )
  • mark s

    mark s says

    Not a problem. As Heinlien grew, so did his work. Starship Troopers was one of his early works (1959). When he was younger, Heinlien was in the military. Some of the early works represent this mentality. The idea that people who were laying their lives on the line to protect their fellow humans were the only ones worthy of citizenship was a very big theme in some of those works. This idea that the government is defended by the military, the people are defended by the military, that those protected should not only be grateful but indebted to those who give themselves and their lives to protecting them is an idea beyond academy, but ingrained in a lot of people in the military. Troopers had a lot of military ideal floating around, but alot of what was in it was not quite developed.

    Space Cadet was a juvenile book. Once again it was created in the time after WWII for the United States. It was written in fact, in 1948. Less than 3 years after WWII ended. This was before Korea and long before there was ever a Vietnam. It mirrors the US mentality to a degree. The best and the brightest, the most moral elite, guarding humanity. This was also well before the Civil Rights era ever kicked off. Rimind you of the US right after WWII? Total War? Where the entire society was geared toward the war effort. Women in factories, people rationing everything from shoes to food, recycling for the war effort things like comics and even hair.....Its actually a fascinating look at the post war mentality.

    However, like the rest of America, Heinlein matured with his writing. Stranger in a Strange land is an odd mix of hippie free love and rights. While his older stuff was indeed on the military side of things. Books Like Double Star, Orphans, F. Freehold dealt with a wide variety of topics. I will Fear no Evil has an old rich guy implanting his mind into someone else's body to stay alive...only to have to come to terms he is in a woman's body. THe moon is a harsh mistress deals with a penal colony on the moon. Double Star is about an actor who is hired to double as a politican, then finds himself trapped in the position. Lazarus Long, the man who was his own father. Number of the Beast is a wierd time travelly book.

    Trust me, the military stuff is just the tip of Heinlein. I guess the problem is that I enjoy the military stuff and wind up recommending it rather than other later books:) Heinlein was truly one of the masters of Science fiction. He comes a long way from 1948 or so. However by the Number of the Beast he began to lose his faculties...it shows particularly in that book...yet he was still writing interesting stuff...a little bit wierd..but..

    I hope that makes some sense to you. The puppet masters was pretty good too. Like a lot of stuff you have to understand when it was written. I mean the use of asbestos gloves just drives ya wild in some of his works, you want to shout that it causes cancer:) In the 40s no one had any idea about space travel. Many people just assumed that there was air on the moon, that there may be martians, and that Venus was a twin watery planet of earth...or covered in dense jungle. By 69 we had hit the moon and knew a heck of a lot more. At the same time, the US went from WWII to vietnam. Talk about huge moral changes and outlooks. The US went through the civil rights era, vietnam, the cold war....His career went from 47-48 with Rocket Ship Galileo all the way to 1987. In the beginning it was quite military rah,rah, rah...but by Stanger in a Strange Land around the vietnam era...he began to think that maybe perhaps all the military was not quite so golden.

    Tell you what. I challenge you to read Double Star and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (I'd say Friday, but that has an early Heinlien feel to it). 2 books to match your 2. Sorry if I rambled too much. No apology needed for the late reply:) I am afraid I ramble a lot myself. If you read those 2 and still don't like Heinlien, call me a delusional Bastard..and reccommend me some Olaf Stapledon:P Respond as quickly or slowly as you need:) I'm in no hurry.

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bunny Posh

    Bunny Posh says

    well, my reason was pretty shallow so i suggest you not to listen to me. i didn't find it interesting enough, that's all. i have a few more years till i start the university and, with that, pick my major, so i'm pretty much just trying to find something that i'll be passionate about. and, even though i love sociology in practice - not in theory, tho - i just can't imagine myself studying about it for four years. and i strongly believe that we have to pick something that we love, and we're passionate about.

    posted 7 months ago. ( send a note )
  • mark s

    mark s says

    Ouch, saw your review on Space Cadet. What was so horrible with their views?

    posted 7 months ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    Lord M,

    All is well here despite the rainy spell we've had the last few days, but good stories keep the mind off the weather :)

    No worries, we had both made assumptions about each others' whereabouts (which is kind of funny!) and were off by many many kilometers! I do hope this petition does something positive, I will let others know about it as well.

    You are right: The Hunger Games are a young adult books and to be honest, I wasn't too keen on reading it until a friend of mine raved about it. She is a librarian and I know her taste in books pretty well so I was a bit surprised at her reading it. But I was not disappointed. It is probably one of the better modern dystopian novels if you like that genre. I'm not sure it can compete with Ender's Game, that book stands above many in many regards but in my mind, especially in the fact that it is so well written that one forgets the hero is a 7 year old. I had not heard of Battle Royal until just now and looked up the movie trailer and it seems different in feel.

    I'm now reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which is a children's book really, but the pictures were so beautifully made, I could not help it. It is like being pulled into a silent movie.

    All the best ~ e

    PS: I can't remember if you read french or not, or if you like poetic writing but since you're in Canada, maybe you can find Pieds Nus dans L’Aube by Félix Leclerc, who is a poet, signer-song-writer from Québec. I very much enjoyed his style.

    posted 8 months ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    PS: It wasn't presumptuous at all. We've known each other long enough (even if in a smallish sort of Shelfari way), and exchanged enough of ourselves for you to know that if there is an action that can be done for the greater good - especially one as simple as signing an online petition - you should never have misgivings in asking. Ever. :-)

    posted 8 months ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    Hello Lord M,

    Wow! Visiting the Amazon rainforest is the dream of many people. You are one of the lucky one :-) Well, the US is now represented: I signed the petition although I have to admit that I am very illiterate on the issue of rainforest logging. It is not something we hear lots about around here, like many other pressing issues that are utterly dismissed or ignored by the media... and the people. I'm glad you are involved.

    I'm about half-way through Markings, which, I find, you cannot read like other books but must ponder one bit at a time... which is not a bad thing; it forces me to slow down. I'm also reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Have you read it? It is very good so far.

    Take care! Hope all goes well in Brazil.
    ~e

    posted 8 months ago. ( send a note )
  • capira

    capira says

    Ha Ha! When it's not raining the East coast of Scotland is wonderful! I think this book was set in a later decade - when I was there in the early 60s it was still part of the University of St. Andrew's and we were a fairly buttoned-up generation ( no drugs and hardly any sex) - we lived on cigarettes and beer but the atmosphere in the book was still evocative of my student life.
    Have you read any other Atkinson's books?

    posted 8 months ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    Oh! too bad! I so enjoy long responses... but I have to admit that any response from you, short or lengthy, is enjoyable :-)

    I believe Into the Wild, the movie, is inspired by the book, which is based on a real life experience. It does involve some snow as the ultimate wilderness sought by the main character is Alaska. I have not red the book and I don't know that I would, having seen the movie. I would miss the musical part too much, I think.... but that's just me.

    Markings by Hammarskjold was a present from a friend who found it absolutely life-changing in its honesty. I am reading it little by little, meditating on some passages that strike me as touching or simply appropriate for the actual goings-on of my own life. I have not red The Prophet but some passages so I would not be in a position to compare the two, but I do believe that Markings is insightful and human. Have you read it?

    I am not in Louisiana as I might have let you believe. Although my family has ancestral ties over there, I'm actually in Maine, which is in the north-east, and jump the border back to Quebec, Canada whenever I have a chance, which is not as often as I would like, but the proximity helps tremendously in keeping in touch with loved ones. What about you? I thought you were in Toronto for a while there, or did I misunderstand?

    posted 8 months ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    Dear Lord M,
    I hope you are well! It's been a long time :-)
    It has now been a few months since my head was in that book but from memory, I enjoyed Mme. Michel's narrative best, maybe because I could associate with her more (although we have very different lives), but mostly, I think, because of the double life she tries mostly successfully to lead in face of the tenants she feels don't respect her. It made me thing of the people we often judge at first glance, not expecting or anticipating their depth. I, like you, did not agree with every philosophizing or conclusions Paloma and Renee made, but they rang true to me with their judgmental thoughts and their protective shells. A few things I took from this story is that the only way to get to really know someone is to put aside judgement of people and also that there is no way we can connect with everyone; some people's personalities just don't match. An other thought that Paloma's side of things made me think of is that a lonely person is rarely a happy person, whether she is physically alone or emotionally disconnected. The human soul needs connections :)
    A movie I saw recently treated on that very subject. I don't know if you have seen it: Into the Wild. If you have not, I highly recommend it. And the soundtrack is great too.
    Again, hope all is well!
    Take care,
    ~e

    posted 8 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Mariam S-is getting back into reading(thank you manga!)

    Mariam S-is getting back into reading(thank you manga!) says

    haha, yes, i love totoro. and they are the best bands!

    posted 9 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Jassu1979

    Jassu1979 says

    It's British (and Commonwealth) literature and culture. Not exactly a "breadwinner", if you want to play it safe, but that probably applies to all of the humanities, anyway. It'll take more than a little luck to gain a foothold in academia - but I'm willing to take that chance.

    posted 9 months ago. ( send a note )
  • mark s

    mark s says

    *lol* does that mean I talk waaay too much?

    posted 10 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Zombie Kitten

    Zombie Kitten says

    Thank you. I like to think that I have very eclectic tastes and interest, and liking one thing doesn't preclude liking another. Although most people would probably term that a poser instead of open-minded or honest.

    posted 10 months ago. ( send a note )
  • mark s

    mark s says

    I would recommend a familiarity with the Greek philosophers prior to Nietzsche simply for the fact that much of his philosophy does reflect his knowledge of it, and make one or two references. Plato and Neoplatonic thought lead straight to existentialism, so you are looking at a good foundation. Especially you should read up on "the Cave" references.
    There is no problem with Nietzsche and Christianity. His references to God being dead were generally cultural, not that the Being itself/himself/herself was dead. Most of Nietzsche deals with the cycles of the Herd and basic existential reasoning. He does have harsh criticisms for Christianity, but they mostly deal with the worldly stuff. Master-Slave mentality, the function of it in European society, etc. A large portion of it is interesting to digest. If he was an atheist, which has never been found conclusive, that would be for his own faith, not mine. Philosophers use different frames to view the world. A different lens for each if you will. I find Nietzsche mostly concerned regarding secular issues...From Nietzsche, Hegel and Foucault are tangent. You should perhaps read them after him if you like Nietzsche.
    Nietzsche is one of several existentialists I enjoy. Others are Buber, Tillich, Kafka, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, etc...never could stomach Sartre though;P I left most of my philosophy books off the shelf simply because I rarely find people who want to discourse about it...and didn't want to seem like one of those people who put on airs. A good series of books to start with would be Copleston if one was just getting into philosophy. The Presocratics book and Hacketts "Thales to Aristotle" on my shelf would be a decent general introduction to Greek Philosophy. From there you could move on directly to works like the Phaedo, Republic, etc. The Republic is one that is the basis for so much else. Then a bit of Aristotle. From there I went into Neo-Platonism, Medieval Philosophy,a little bit of Descartes then to the Existentialists and Modern. ;P But feel free to go your own path.
    If you ever want to talk monads or Maslowe's Peak, Zeno's paradoxes, or Aristotle's theories on time travel the door is always open:)
    I have heard of Hyperion, never read it. I'll certainly have to look into it. I'm almost finished Psycho Shop by Bester and Zelanzy. My TBR pile is simply huge:D

    Darn. Funny thing is that guy who won the Cann Film Festival, Luke Matheny kinda looks a bit like SPike....maybe he could do it?

    posted 10 months ago. ( send a note )

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