Another book in Spanish done. I was not expecting to like this one as much as I did - I found it an absorbing read, and the themes of living with and Another book in Spanish done. I was not expecting to like this one as much as I did - I found it an absorbing read, and the themes of living with and through anticipatory grief really resonated....more
Will always hold a special place in my heart for being the first real literary fiction I read in Spanish. Some stories were a tad more violent than myWill always hold a special place in my heart for being the first real literary fiction I read in Spanish. Some stories were a tad more violent than my stomach could handle, but overall I really loved them and want to read more Mariana Enriquez....more
In recent years I've been drawn to books that are pretty thinky - sci fi novels and short stories, nonfiction, essays, and poetry. Lonesome Dove felt In recent years I've been drawn to books that are pretty thinky - sci fi novels and short stories, nonfiction, essays, and poetry. Lonesome Dove felt like a departure, in that it is more of a straightforward (albeit layered) epic story and character study. At 858 pages, you get a lot of perspectives, a lot of character storylines, and a lot of man-made and natural violence.
At times I wondered if it really needed to be this long, but it's very well-written and I think the length captures how long the journey from Texas to Montana felt, and gives ample space to attach to the characters.
I read that McMurtry said he wanted to deromanticize the American West of popular imagination, but thinks he failed to do so. And this is a Western that comes with all the baggage of that genre, but it's also the western, the book that most people probably think of when we talk about Westerns.
One of the books strengths is that it's harsh and unafraid to kill its darlings. The violence and death is often pointless, due to bad luck, misunderstandings, and unnecessary risk due to ego. I have been frustrated recently by romanticized views of death and dying in media, and this book felt validating in the way it delivered deaths to its characters in ways that felt more real, painful, and random....more
There are a lot of aspects of and themes in this book that would make you think it was a perfect fit for me: written by the author of A Tale for the TThere are a lot of aspects of and themes in this book that would make you think it was a perfect fit for me: written by the author of A Tale for the Time Being, crows, animism, Buddhism, libraries, and coming of age. But I borderline hated it? The themes and integration of some philosophy being the only thing that kept me hanging on to the end.
The main characters are not written to the top of their intelligences. The mother, Annabelle, is childlike and annoying. The son, Benny, is one-note and ignorant. Their ineptitude really challenged credibility. They did not feel like real people to me. Like I have trouble believing a 14 year-old boy doesn't know who the Nazis were and had never at least heard of the name Socrates.
The romanticization of public libraries, hearing voices, and books vs. digital grated my nerves. Also, author self-insert as a character? I guess at least that's book club fodder.
Overall, hugely disappointing and made me wonder where the editor was. Ruth Ozeki is a talent, but this was a poor execution of her idea, in my opinion....more
2.5 stars. This was just OK - I think I wanted something more researched, more surprising, and less recapping what most of us are probably already thi2.5 stars. This was just OK - I think I wanted something more researched, more surprising, and less recapping what most of us are probably already thinking. Dederer is an engaging writer, but I don't feel like I'm walking away with new thoughts on the topic....more
3.75 stars. A very well-plotted multiverse novel with some good twists and queer romantic tension. There was something about the setting that just did3.75 stars. A very well-plotted multiverse novel with some good twists and queer romantic tension. There was something about the setting that just didn't grab me or that felt a little under-explained, but I could see this making a popular TV series or movie....more
3.5 stars. I saw this recommended as a good supplemental book on loving-kindness, which has been the focus of my meditations lately. The book spends a3.5 stars. I saw this recommended as a good supplemental book on loving-kindness, which has been the focus of my meditations lately. The book spends a lot of time focused on grievances in relationships, and addresses that well - I just don't have that many grievances at the moment, so it felt harder to apply to my life at times....more
I love the way Ted Chiang thinks and wonders, and the notes he has in the back of the book for what inspired each story really enhanced the experienceI love the way Ted Chiang thinks and wonders, and the notes he has in the back of the book for what inspired each story really enhanced the experience....more
The writing is beautiful, and it is clear that Powers did deep research on the subject of trees. For the first 100-200 pages, I really loved the book. But my admiration for the book waned as the plot started to drag and I had more trouble ignoring the fact that he probably could have benefited from hiring some sensitivity readers....more
What a beautifully written book on Judaism and the sacredness of time and the Sabbath. I heard about this book on the Ezra Klein show, and am so glad What a beautifully written book on Judaism and the sacredness of time and the Sabbath. I heard about this book on the Ezra Klein show, and am so glad I was inspired to check it out. I'm giving it 5 stars because it is one of those books that changes the way I'm looking at the world and thinking about living my life. Writing like this is going to stick with me:
Every one of us occupies a portion of space. He takes it up exclusively. The portion of space which my body occupies is taken up by myself in exclusion of anyone else. Yet, no one possesses time. There is no moment which I possess exclusively. This very moment belongs to all living men as it belongs to me. We share time, we own space. Through my ownership of space, I am rival of all other beings; through my living of time, I am a contemporary of all other beings.
I do not currently observe any sort of Sabbath, though I am drawn to the idea of implementing something like it in the future. When doing the media deprivation week for the Artist's Way, I saw so much benefit in disconnecting from screens, entertainment, and obligations.
Heschel on time:
There is a realm of time where the goal is not to have but to be, not to own but to give, not to control but to share, not to subdue but to be in accord.
There is much enthusiasm for the idea that God is present in the universe, but that idea is taken to mean His presence in space rather than in time, in nature rather than in history; as if He were a thing, not a spirit.
Unlike the space-minded man to whom time is unvaried, iterative, homogeneous, to whom all hours are alike, qualitiless, empty shells, the Bible senses the diversified character of time. There are no two hours alike. Every hour is unique and the only one given at the moment, exclusive and endlessly precious.
Jewish ritual may be characterized as the art of significant forms in time, as architecture of time. Most of its observances - the Sabbath, the New Moon, the festivals, the Sabbatical and the Jubilee year - depend on a certain hour of the day or season of the year.
The source of time is eternity.
Heschel on the Sabbath:
There are really two kinds of Shabbat experiences: those of the fall and winter months, when the Sabbath begins around 4:00 on Friday afternoons and ends around 5:00 on Saturday, and those of spring and summer, when the Sabbath starts at 8 or 8:30 and ends at 9:00 or even later. In the winter months, our Friday nights continued long after dinner as my parents sat at the table, drinking tea and reading. During the spring months, the long Shabbat afternoons became the peaceful and quiet focus of the day.
It is a day on which we are called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the mystery of creation; from the world of creation to the creation of the world.
It must always be remembered that the Sabbath is not an occasion for diversion or frivolit; not a day to shoot fireworks or turn somersaults, but an opportunity to mend our tattered lives; to collect rather than dissipate time.
"The Sabbath is a reminder of the two worlds - this world and the world to come; it is an example of both worlds. For the Sabbath is joy, holiness, and rest; joy is part of this world; holiness and ret are something of the world to come." (quote from Al Nakawa, Menorat ha-Maor)
It is not a date but an atmosphere.
The Sabbath is no time for personal anxiety or care, for any activity that might dampen the spirit of joy.
The only thing detracting from my full enjoyment of this text was my understanding that Heschel was a Zionist who believed that violence was justified in that ideology, and there were some uncomfortable traces of that in here. But it was written in 1951, there are multiple ways you could interpret Israel while reading, who knows what he would think now, and we are all complex people....more
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