The Book Of The New Sun By Gene Wolfe

5/29/2024- I have read a couple things during my short hiatus from my website. The most Important of these is The series "The Book of the New Sun. I had been planning on reading this for sometime, thinking I would probably like it a lot. I would say to date it is probably my favorite thing I Have ever read. It is probably the most bad ass thing I think I have ever read or maybe just consumed in general. It is really hard to get into because the plot is pretty dense. It is a story that takes place 1 million years in the future and it is after humanity has already peaked. So we used to be able to travel space and stuff and now we have sort of regressed but we remember that time still. This story is pretty overtly Christian not only symbolically but also allegorically I would say. When they asked Gene Wolfe what you could compare this book too his only response was the bible. As funny as it is to say I would really have to agree. I'm not sure how many of you are well versed in scripture, I myself have read often for probably 7 years now. When you read the bible for example especially the KJV. You need to read slowly because the text is quite dense and there is a lot to absorb. With BOTNS it feels really similar. The prose is so dense that it feels like you really can't skim or give it anything but your undivided attention. There are many passages as well where the main character, Severian is deeply reflecting or remembering something. The details of these introspections are typically paramount. What I enjoyed about this a lot was when he would reflect, I typically would also do some sort of reflection on a similar subject. This is a story that some how demands you do so. Gene Wolfe is truly genius. I am unable to even properly express some of the ideas that are being put to page here. He has a way of making you feel something as you read that almost feels like some kind of forgotten nastalgia. It seems like it makes you remember something that is has almost past the horizon of your memory. It all sounds so funny and makes me feel so silly but damn this shit is so sick. He also didn't make up even one word for this book and he is using a lot of words most people have never heard of. I was popping google open damn near every 5 minutes learning something I had no Idea about. Anyways I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. It can be a bit confusing at times but it is so worth it! As far as enjoyment goes I think- #3 Sword of the Lictor- is the most fun to read and was probably my favorite. I think it has the best action scenes from the series.

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

5/29/24 - Powerful stuff! I really enjoyed this. I am a big fan of self help stuff via metaphysics. I also read some Deepak Chopra stuff which I probably prefer to this but also covers different topics. When it comes to books like this though I will usually take a few things that I really like and incorporate them into my life. There is definitely some major stuff here though. Really helped me reflect on some aspects of forgiveness especially. It also gives some good perspective on dealing with anxiety ect. Pretty quick one so give it a rip. It is a major best seller so you can find it basically anywhere. Thanks to Jake because he got it for me!

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

5/29/24 - While I was gone I also read this bad boy. This is basically the book equivalent of like oceans 11 or something like that. It is a lot of fun with very high stakes. Good characters. Some of the pacing was annoying to me. I felt like it would stop and shift perspectives at bad times, which would make me put the book down instead of powering through to see what happened. That is basically my only complaint. If you are looking for a rocking good time with cool characters this is a great choice.

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin

3/23/2024- This week I read The Tombs of Atuan which is the second Earthsea book. I think I might like this one more than the first one. This one feels almost like it could maybe stand alone. The context of the first book helps but it almost feels like this should have been a pulp series. Like Gor or Conan or something like that. Like where it just drops Sparrowhawk in a new situation each time and he does another adventure without a lot of reference to the other books. I kind of wish that were the case. It feels like he is an under utilized character in that way. To me he is the cool like quintessential wizard. Anyways this was a lot of fun.

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

3/15/2024- I ordered the next two earthsea books on ebay so while I am waiting for those I decided to read after dark. I have been intrested in reading 1Q84 by Murakami but that's a long ass book and a big commitment so I wanted to read something else by him before I took that on. After dark moved really fast like it was over before I felt like was really tapping into it i guess. Not in a bad way just in a way of like it expressed the idea that it was and then it was done. It was a really cool perspective and felt almost like I was reading a play. Didn't love this translation if I am being honest, There was a lot of times when I was reading and it felt very translated. Sometimes there would be a phrase or something that I could tell was most likley one word in japanese. Anyways still worth the time. Good quick one that I will definetly chew on for a little bit. If anyone has any thoughts or anything, or even like some sick recommendations let me know.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

3/13/2024- This week I read a Wizard of Earthsea which is like a fantasy classic as far as I know. I had read Left hand of Darkness last year which is another of her books so I was excited to check this out. That being said, I really enjoyed it. It is a quick read and honestly breezes through the story. This would be like my only major complaint is just that I want to know more about certain stuff that goes on. There are like 3 more books though or maybe more I'd have to look so maybe it gets more into the nitty gritty on those ones I'm not sure. Anyways Sparrowhawk which is the main guys like nickname is so bad ass. Any name that includes hawk is so bad ass in my book. Also just cool fun fantasy stuff in genral. I am a sucker for wizards. I'd have liked to know maybe more about like how the magic works but they will probably cover that in the next book I imagine. I will read the next two for sure and then I'll see. from what I have read online those are the ones about Sparrowhawk.

Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse

3/8/2024-I read Steppenwolf this last week and honestly it is a new favorite of mine. It was crazy like fully wild style. It gave me hella perspective on stuff like should you kill yourself and why not. Also does any of this matter or whatever and a bunch of other stuff like that. I don't want to give to much away but it addresses stuff like that and self loathing a lot. That is something I have dealt with a lot and so this honestly hit me super hard. When I was done I wanted to like smile and cry or something. A good amount of the prose is truly poetic. I found myself going back and reading some of the lines again and again because they struck me so. Anyways please read this book I will probably read the rest of his stuff.

Siddartha by Herman Hesse

2/15/2024-I read this this week as well. Was really cool. Felt a lot like a folk tale and such. Like kind of heavy handed with the symbolism but it felt needed for how quick the story was. Got me thinking a lot about eastern wisdom and such. I feel like if I knew more about the Hindu religion it would be more meaningful. Hella worth the read super quick and big recommend. You will walk away with hella new perspective.

Slaughter House 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

2/15/2024-This is a classic and I wanted to knock something out this week. Super sick and worth the time. Obviously this is such a classic for a reason. Mad intresting perspective on religion, war, and who is responsible for it all. Also made me think a lot about how responsible are you as just a citizen. Very cool to read with stuff thats going on rn in the real world.

Dune by Frank Herbert

hell ya Dune was so sick. I read Dune this week. I knew it was supposed to be a classic but I didn't know how hard this would rock or how into it I would be. The world and everything feels hella real. Like something about it feels very true if that makes sense. The characters are sick as hell. I am super into the universal mind stuff in this and all the stuff about how time and the future works. I think everyone should read this it is super bad ass and I'm sure the movie will be good but there is a lot of underlying stuff in here that would really add the experience. I will probably read Dune Messiah and the next one, I think after that they are not about Paul.

Do Androids Dream of Electric sheep? by Phillip K. Dick

This is the book that Blade Runner is based on if you didn't know. Tanner told me to read this shout out to Tanner my dog! This shit rocks hard it is similar to Blade Runner which I had seen but also had a lot of stuff that is not in the movie. Very cool ideas about God and what is real and who the heck are we! Big time worth the read and quick one too!

The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercombie

This was recommended to me by the homie Adam so shout out to Adam. This shit was pretty bad ass. Pretty gritty and violent right from the jump which I was down with. It's not like so violent that it's yucky though. It's got some pretty Tolkien esq vibes but what fantasy doesn't!? Some parts of the story were a little half-baked for me but the characters were so gangster. Each chapter is from the perspective one of 6 people. I was rocking with basically all of them. I was hoping for crazier lore drops throughout the 3 books but I didn't really get that at all to be honest. There is so good lore don't get me wrong but wanted some bigger twists and turns, there were some big ones though. Anyways I had some complaints but honestly I really loved this and would recommend anyone to dive in. Super bad ass and cool and lots of fun to read.