Confessions
St. Augustine
Book II
Ch. 1
Dig into the past to face your corruptions, not for the love of those corruptions, but for the love of God.
Corruption can seem good in one's eyes, but it is not seen so by God.
Ch. 2
Both the good (pure affection) and the bad (unholy desire) boiled up in Augustine making it impossible to distinguish the good from the bad.
"For thy omnipotence is not far from us even when we are far from thee"
I should've sought pleasures free from God's discontent. Where to find such pleasures? Only in God.
Ch. 3
Augustine admits he took as much pleasure in being praised for his sin than in committing the sin itself.
Ch. 4
Augustine stole for the sake of stealing, sinned for sin's sake.
"It was foul, and I loved it. I loved my own undoing. I loved my error - not that for which I erred but the error itself".
Ch. 5
But sin for sin's sake still requires some motive.
Ch. 6
The pears he stole weren't even that tasty. He enjoyed the sweetness of the theft more than the sweetness of the fruit. What made the theft so sweet?
All the vices of man are searching for ends outside of God. Lust replaces love as men seek satisfaction from love from something that cannot satisfy in the way God can. Vices are corrupt forms of going after a need in something other than God. Rightly done the need would have been satisfied in God.
"Thus the soul commits fornication when she is turned from thee and seeks apart from thee what she cannot find pure and untainted until she returns to thee"
Even in sin the sinner is imitating God - setting themselves up as the ultimate law unto themselves.
Augustine wrestles with why he stole the pears. Was he trying to set up a counterfeit liberty? Trying to become omnipotent himself?
Ch. 7
God melts sin away like it's ice. All the sins Augustine confesses are forgiven.
Ch. 8
Augustine loves the sin of theft because of the companionship he got in the act.
Ch. 9
The friendship that brings about sin is a corrupt version of friendship.
Ch. 10
"I fell away from thee, O my God, and in my youth I wandered too far from thee, my true support. And I became to myself a wasteland".
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
The Last of the Mohicans
From Goodreads
The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper
I really loved Cooper when I was a kid. The Last of the Mohicans is full of stuff young boys are supposed to like. It has adventure, danger, nature, a love story that is there without any kissing and a lot of adjectives. As a grownup with a few more books under my belt I can say that I am glad I read it again and I'm glad I'm finished. The romanticism of nature that is such a part of this book no longer grabs my attention like it did when I was younger. But that's a personal flaw and has nothing to do with the book. The adventure and story are fantastic. The romance in the book is definitely a product of its age, and while I'm not rushing out to grab romance novels with Fabio on the cover, I'm not as against kissing books as I was when I was a kid. The Princess Bride showed Fred and I both that stories can be cool even if there's some girly kissing stuff. Lastly, I could've done with a little less adjective play. I'm an adult now and don't have as much leisure time as I did and The Last of the Mohicans could have been as good and as enjoyable with a few less descriptions. But, it's still worth the time to read if you haven't yet.
The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper
I really loved Cooper when I was a kid. The Last of the Mohicans is full of stuff young boys are supposed to like. It has adventure, danger, nature, a love story that is there without any kissing and a lot of adjectives. As a grownup with a few more books under my belt I can say that I am glad I read it again and I'm glad I'm finished. The romanticism of nature that is such a part of this book no longer grabs my attention like it did when I was younger. But that's a personal flaw and has nothing to do with the book. The adventure and story are fantastic. The romance in the book is definitely a product of its age, and while I'm not rushing out to grab romance novels with Fabio on the cover, I'm not as against kissing books as I was when I was a kid. The Princess Bride showed Fred and I both that stories can be cool even if there's some girly kissing stuff. Lastly, I could've done with a little less adjective play. I'm an adult now and don't have as much leisure time as I did and The Last of the Mohicans could have been as good and as enjoyable with a few less descriptions. But, it's still worth the time to read if you haven't yet.
Friday, August 16, 2019
The Virgin Suicides
From Goodreads
I thought this was a very well crafted story with great characters and a clever scaffolding in which the story was built. It left me wanting a little bit more and I think that is somewhat of the allure and what makes the book a good one. At times there was a bit too much polish and had the feel of a bit overwrought shabby chic to it, like cutting perfect holes in expensive jeans and trying to pass it off as gritty originality. Wile the jacket of the book lauding Eugenides as the next great American novelist making his voice known might have been a bit too over pronounced, it is a strong tragedy that is told well. I wouldn't recommend this as a light read, but it isn't so overwhelming to make the sadness mundane. I enjoyed it enough to want to read more of his work.
I thought this was a very well crafted story with great characters and a clever scaffolding in which the story was built. It left me wanting a little bit more and I think that is somewhat of the allure and what makes the book a good one. At times there was a bit too much polish and had the feel of a bit overwrought shabby chic to it, like cutting perfect holes in expensive jeans and trying to pass it off as gritty originality. Wile the jacket of the book lauding Eugenides as the next great American novelist making his voice known might have been a bit too over pronounced, it is a strong tragedy that is told well. I wouldn't recommend this as a light read, but it isn't so overwhelming to make the sadness mundane. I enjoyed it enough to want to read more of his work.
Monday, August 5, 2019
Even Tree Nymphs Get the Blues
From Goodreads
Even Tree Nymphs Get the Blues
Molly Harper
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm not usually down to grab a romance novel but this one was worth the time. The story was great. The characters were enjoyable and not having much experience with a woman's perspective on a romantic read, let alone one housed in a magical realism setting, my mind was stretched and expanded by this book. The dialogue was what thoroughly stood out for me. While the scene between the three men characters felt a little bit off, like it was what women think men could talk like in men's only conversations, it was amazing to read the dialogue in women only conversations. It was an entirely different viewpoint and the story was much more enhanced in my estimation. I think I might have to take on this series and see what becomes of the Mystic Bayou!
Even Tree Nymphs Get the Blues
Molly Harper
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm not usually down to grab a romance novel but this one was worth the time. The story was great. The characters were enjoyable and not having much experience with a woman's perspective on a romantic read, let alone one housed in a magical realism setting, my mind was stretched and expanded by this book. The dialogue was what thoroughly stood out for me. While the scene between the three men characters felt a little bit off, like it was what women think men could talk like in men's only conversations, it was amazing to read the dialogue in women only conversations. It was an entirely different viewpoint and the story was much more enhanced in my estimation. I think I might have to take on this series and see what becomes of the Mystic Bayou!
The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent
From Goodreads
The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent
Larry Correia
Firstly, this was an exceptionally silly, almost stupid book. Secondly, I loved it. The premise was bizarre to begin with - an interdimensional insurance agent's day. Add to it the almost high schoolish level of cramming in of superlatives and insane amount of pop internet culture and it can come off as absolutely stupid. While it reads like a fanzine knockoof of science fiction it does so to sarcastically lampoon the genre, the fans of the genre and even the author himself. This was a highly enjoyable experience and a necessary one after such a heavy read in Uwem Akpan.
The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent
Larry Correia
Firstly, this was an exceptionally silly, almost stupid book. Secondly, I loved it. The premise was bizarre to begin with - an interdimensional insurance agent's day. Add to it the almost high schoolish level of cramming in of superlatives and insane amount of pop internet culture and it can come off as absolutely stupid. While it reads like a fanzine knockoof of science fiction it does so to sarcastically lampoon the genre, the fans of the genre and even the author himself. This was a highly enjoyable experience and a necessary one after such a heavy read in Uwem Akpan.
Say You're One of Them
From Goodreads
Say You're One of Them
Uwem Akpan
Man! I was not expecting to get hit so hard when I picked up this book. I'm not sure what I was expecting; but, whatever it was it wasn't this. I only read this book because it was on my bookshelf. It was actually my wife's book and I just put it on my reading list because we owned it. Some of the stories in this collection of stories were very, very difficult to read. Akpan wrote poignant and brutal depictions of Africa. I would recommend this highly as it is excellent writing. However it is not a light subject matter nor is it hiding behind some metaphoric apparatus. It depicts brutal events as they are.
Say You're One of Them
Uwem Akpan
Man! I was not expecting to get hit so hard when I picked up this book. I'm not sure what I was expecting; but, whatever it was it wasn't this. I only read this book because it was on my bookshelf. It was actually my wife's book and I just put it on my reading list because we owned it. Some of the stories in this collection of stories were very, very difficult to read. Akpan wrote poignant and brutal depictions of Africa. I would recommend this highly as it is excellent writing. However it is not a light subject matter nor is it hiding behind some metaphoric apparatus. It depicts brutal events as they are.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Great Expectations
From Goodreads
Great Expectations
Charles Dickens
Great Expectations is wordy enough without me bloviating about it. The story is well written, tragic and worth reading. But, sometimes reading Dickens is like admiring a massive painting, one square centimeter at a time.
I had never read the "original" ending before this one. I think that it fit better with the overall flow of the novel as a whole rather than what Dickens saw as a happy ending. The problem is Estella. She remains cold, proud and unbreakable. But then, in the happy ending her suffering breaks her. In the original she is bent, not broken. It just makes more sense that way.
Great Expectations
Charles Dickens
Great Expectations is wordy enough without me bloviating about it. The story is well written, tragic and worth reading. But, sometimes reading Dickens is like admiring a massive painting, one square centimeter at a time.
I had never read the "original" ending before this one. I think that it fit better with the overall flow of the novel as a whole rather than what Dickens saw as a happy ending. The problem is Estella. She remains cold, proud and unbreakable. But then, in the happy ending her suffering breaks her. In the original she is bent, not broken. It just makes more sense that way.
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