Discuss books you are currently reading now? (MANGA EXCLUDED)

Jan 13, 2020 8:18 PM

Offline

Sep 2017

106

Most of the way through The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton. It's pretty hilarious and is full of interesting paradoxes and juxtapostions... almost too many, but the best ones vividly illustrate the absurdity of life and the search for meaning - and also the absurdity of not searching for meaning - while still being mostly tongue-in-cheek.

Very, very British.

Jan 19, 2020 6:51 PM

#5302

Tap_Dancin_Kaiju

Offline

Sep 2019

528

Been making good progress through Turning Darkness Into Light. Sequel to the Lady Trent books.

I really like how Marie Brennan can fuse the magical into the mundane real world and it not feel like a fantasy setting, just sucks me right in.

Jan 24, 2020 4:48 PM

#5303

lunamaria87

Offline

Dec 2014

25

Currently reading Murakami's 1Q84. I am on book 2 (out of 3) so far. Its a surreal fiction novel and goes between two characters/stores: Aomame, an assassin and Tengo, an cram school teacher/author. I don't want to say too much as I don't want to ruin the plot. But it involves a cult and trying to figure out whats reality. Fantastic read so far.

Jan 24, 2020 6:01 PM

#5304

Murau

Offline

Jul 2014

6989

Finished The Wings of the Dove by Henry James. Gona read more James and pick up The Golden Bowl now.

edit: 5/5 btw James is a beast

MurauJan 24, 2020 7:20 PM

Jan 25, 2020 12:27 PM

#5305

gswelcome

Offline

Aug 2008

1601

Currently reading Edward Snowden's book Permanent Record, had to pick it up after seeing him on Joe Rogan.

Jan 25, 2020 6:25 PM

#5306

MustardVampire

Offline

Aug 2019

101

I'm currently reading Eragon.

Mustard is amazing 🖤

Feb 14, 2020 9:46 AM

#5307

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564491

stickyfingersx said:
House of Chains - Malazan Book of the Fallen, Feeling like reading the best, books could possibly offer. Recommended to anyone who likes epic fantasy along the lines of ASOIAF. It's that good. Like say, Malazan is simply Game of Thrones on steroids (Though very different).

My husband keeps telling me I've read this, but I don't remember a damn thing about it. So this is next on my list...

Just as soon as I finish "Senlin Ascends" by Josiah Bancroft. The way he writes, wow. I wish I had his gift/skill. Just beautiful. A hard book to put down lol but dammit I have shit to do today! Like finding the next two in the series.

Feb 14, 2020 9:32 PM

#5308

Mistur-Jostur

Offline

Mar 2017

111

Currently, Lord of the Rings though it takes patience to get through. It's veeeeery slow. It's my second read through.

Also The Future of the Mind by Michio Kaku. A very good piece of nonfiction that explains our current knowledge of the brain and where that knowledge will take us in the future.

Feb 15, 2020 12:10 AM

#5309

seiyuudreams

Offline

Dec 2015

14

i'm currently rereading Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn. it was a middle school favourite and i couldn't get it out of my head in years

i'm also trying to finish The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. bit of a fun read for me except that i've been dragging out the last chapters OTL

Feb 16, 2020 12:07 AM

#5310

loganphill06

Offline

Feb 2020

1

usagiko said:
I'm totally a bookworm. I'm in the middle of so many books I've lost count. Anyway, here's what I'm reading right now:

-Brave Story by Miyabe Miyuki

-Blood+: First Kiss (novelization) by Ikehata Ryo

-The Dalai Lama: The Universe in a Single Atom - the convergence of science and spirituality by the Dalai Lama

-Me and Mister Darcy by Alexandra Potter

-Atonement by Ian McEwan

-Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals with Autism

-Henry and June by Anais Nin

-Nightwood by Djuna Barnes

What novels are you reading, MAL members? Remember, manga is EXCLUDED. Light novels are okay.

Great usagiko!! Thank you for your valuable information. I'm going to start from today..

Feb 16, 2020 6:41 PM

#5311

Drosonomad

Offline

Feb 2020

5

(Ready Player One) Saw the movie, wonder how'd it be as a book. Plus the movie was a lot better than I thought it would be,

Feb 19, 2020 6:07 AM

#5312

Annie_Goo

Offline

Dec 2015

99

I'm reading The Art of Learning by Joshua Waitzkin. It's a great book for the first hundred pages, it offers a lot of insight on how to build healthy learning habits, but it falls off after that in my opinion.

Club for Fighting Game lovers : https://myanimelist.net/clubs.php?cid=77600

Feb 19, 2020 2:38 PM

#5313

KamijouToumaIB

Offline

Jan 2017

1835

Toaru Majutsu no Index Genesis Testament. I still love this series.

Feb 19, 2020 5:52 PM

#5314

EpicSaxGuy

Offline

Jun 2011

437

I've started Metro 2033. As a guy who loves post-apocalyptic fiction, I had to get my hands on this. It's looking good so far, seems convincing and immersive.

Feb 19, 2020 7:54 PM

#5315

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564491

Currently reading Reading Jazz by Robert Gottlieb. I watched Kids on the Slope recently, etc. The book's divided into 3 or 4 sections and the first 300 pages are all interviews with various jazz musicians. It's a nice time capsule of a 50 or so year period most don't think about, but so far the first 100 pages have confirmed the pseudo-intellectualism around jazz that I suspected was there. But hey, we'll see.

Mar 8, 2020 8:10 AM

#5316

Chisuku

Offline

Jan 2020

530

Looks like this thread is kind of dead.
Welp, I'm here to revive it.

Currently reading "Love's Executioner & Other Tales of Psychotherapy" by Irvin D. Yalom (in German it is "Die Liebe und ihr Henker"). I plan to read other books from him as well. It is quite interesting to get a glimpse of the therapists point of view from the therapy sessions and considering I have my first appointment by my therapist soon, I am quite intrigued on how our counseling sessions will look like.

Mar 9, 2020 8:35 PM

#5317

ChadAznable0079

Offline

Feb 2015

1170

im currently reading

Desperate measures by W. Darrin Weaver ( book about the firearms used by the volksturm in the final hours of WW2

The Great Betrayal by Ian Smith ( memoirs of the prime minister of Rhodesia 1965-1979, leading the country through the UDI and the Rhodesian Bush War)

Mar 10, 2020 10:36 PM

#5318

Nette

Offline

May 2013

7130

Just started reading the first of the Night Lords Trilogy of Warhammer 40k novels.

I always forget how intense the writing is in these books. It is enjoyable though since I am not used to the perspective of Chaos Space Marines.

♡ Harder Daddy ♡

Mar 11, 2020 2:27 AM

#5319

Theo1899

Offline

Jun 2016

12845

Applied Integral Calculus by L.N. Tsitsas
I have to get a passing grade soon.

MEA·MENTVLA·INGENS·EST

Mar 16, 2020 2:51 AM

#5320

nerd_64

Offline

Oct 2017

636

Agatha Christie's ABC murders and After The Funeral.
I really have to finish the ABC murders cuz I have less than 20 pages left........

Mar 16, 2020 5:34 PM

#5321

finestseeker17

Offline

Nov 2015

496

The fourth chapter has many things to offer. This chapter made me notice that, clearly, each main character represents certain approaches & views to our life as a human being. Since Alyosha is the hero of this story, it’s pretty much Alyosha-ism against the others, no? LOL you wish. We still have hundreds of pages to explore.

On a personal level, Alyosha reminded me of myself, not my whole entire self, of course, since Alyosha is just way too idealistic to be true. I’m talking about Alyosha’s faith in all humans & his non-judgmental, tolerate anything policy. It is described that Alyosha tolerated them all not with condemnation but with bitter sadness. A few weeks ago, I had a conversation on death penalty with my mother. I told her that ever since I was a kid I could never agree to her & my father’s words of condemnation toward terrorists & criminals (including murderers & rapists) whenever they saw news about those individuals on TV. I remember them saying things like, “They deserve to die.” or “Why does the media blur their faces? They’re clearly guilty.”. I really don’t know why but listening to their words agitated me.

Another interesting thing about Alyosha is the fact that no one could either frighten or astonish him. This sounds so unrealistic but it truly hits me as “so true” after my long streak of existential crisis & depression. Some interesting things to consider here are that he suddenly decided to live with his father out of nowhere & the fact that he didn’t say or do anything emotional at his mother’s grave. Clearly Dostoyevsky is onto something here.

I could relate to Alyosha’s “avoidance” of vulgar & perverted stuff. Too bad we got internet porn, unlike in Alyosha’s times.

Alyosha is depicted as a natural-born beacon of light. Everybody’s fond of him. He could even make his father aware of things that were buried deep down under his debaucheries. His “love”, gratitude & regrets toward his first wife. I think it’s safe to assume that Dostoyevsky will use Alyosha to convey his own ideals to us readers.

Fyodor Pavlovich suddenly turned from a filthy & beyond repair character into a redeemable & very “humane” individual. All this simply because of Alyosha’s presence in his life.

The most interesting stuff from Chapter 4 for me is definitely the conversation about the hooks. The conversation was so profound, it stirred my soul. That “casual” talk about heaven & hell, about redemption & punishment, about morality. The logical inquiry from ceilings to hooks was just perfect. “But there aren’t any hooks there”, of course Alyosha’s the one who said this. “Yes, yes, only the shadows of hooks.” Indeed, only the shadows of the hooks.

“How do you know there aren’t any hooks?” afterwards Fyodor implied that perhaps Alyosha would change his mind (about the hooks) after living in the monastery but, at the end, he concluded (perhaps a kind of intuition & even hope from his part) that nothing's gonna change Alyosha’s world. Not even the monastery. So, there are no hooks after all?

Dostoyevsky’s description of a realist’s faith truly is close to my heart. I’m a Christian myself, sort of, just like Dostoyevsky. I always went to Catholic schools & my father always brought me to Sunday school each week. It was cartoon & anime time for other kids, but not for me. It was time to hear about dubious stuff like Noah’s Ark & Sodom and Gomorrah. Thankfully there were always some cool stuff like Jesus’ lovely parables, Paul’s heartfelt & open-minded letters, David’s beautiful psalms, Jeremiah’s bitter but hopeful contemplation & Ecclesiastes’ wisdoms.

I was never a fan of miracles, even the ones that Jesus did. Not that I disagree with Jesus doing His things. I just didn’t & still don’t see the appeals of miracles to my own life (and even to all of mankind). Miracle always sounds very contextual to me. Therefore Dostoyevsky’s usage of Thomas’ infamous episode with Jesus was just perfect. It was not that Thomas doesn’t have faith. Thomas already has that faith in him. It’s exactly because he already has that faith in Jesus’ teachings & ideals, he wanted to test & question it. This is basically just Dostoyevsky’s own experience with his own faith. Both Dostoyevsky & Alyosha wanted to believe that much in all that goodness, just like Thomas.

Even though I don’t see myself as religious, I’m forever indebted to my Catholic schools & church for giving me so many good & irreplaceable values that shaped me as an individual.

Elder Zosima is still an enigma here in this chapter. I pondered hard about what Dostoyevsky’s trying to say through the Elder here in this chapter. I have some ideas but those ideas are so vague with little to no basis, other than my intuition LOL. All in all, just like Dostoyevsky said, these elders were & are always there with us, even today. Spiritual teachers, gurus, miracle preachers, motivators, life coaches and all that. Most of them were & are, of course, scammers. Just ask John Lennon. By the way George Harrison was the Alyosha of the group after all.

Even though Alyosha, at some point, truly believed the Elder & his miracles, Dostoyevsky implied that perhaps, at heart, Alyosha’s simply looking for that justification & backings for his own ideals. Meeting the Elder (someone he sees as the embodiment or proof that all the good things do exist) was the answer he needed so badly, for his own sake, for his own sanity.

I must say I feel the same way as Alyosha when I was in college and even in grad school. I looked everywhere for professors & other students that could give me justifications of my ideals. I simply cannot stand on my own at the time (maybe I still feel the same way to a certain extent, I dunno).

Mar 16, 2020 9:57 PM

#5322

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564491

finestseeker17 said:

The fourth chapter has many things to offer. This chapter made me notice that, clearly, each main character represents certain approaches & views to our life as a human being. Since Alyosha is the hero of this story, it’s pretty much Alyosha-ism against the others, no? LOL you wish. We still have hundreds of pages to explore.

On a personal level, Alyosha reminded me of myself, not my whole entire self, of course, since Alyosha is just way too idealistic to be true. I’m talking about Alyosha’s faith in all humans & his non-judgmental, tolerate anything policy. It is described that Alyosha tolerated them all not with condemnation but with bitter sadness. A few weeks ago, I had a conversation on death penalty with my mother. I told her that ever since I was a kid I could never agree to her & my father’s words of condemnation toward terrorists & criminals (including murderers & rapists) whenever they saw news about those individuals on TV. I remember them saying things like, “They deserve to die.” or “Why does the media blur their faces? They’re clearly guilty.”. I really don’t know why but listening to their words agitated me.

Another interesting thing about Alyosha is the fact that no one could either frighten or astonish him. This sounds so unrealistic but it truly hits me as “so true” after my long streak of existential crisis & depression. Some interesting things to consider here are that he suddenly decided to live with his father out of nowhere & the fact that he didn’t say or do anything emotional at his mother’s grave. Clearly Dostoyevsky is onto something here.

I could relate to Alyosha’s “avoidance” of vulgar & perverted stuff. Too bad we got internet porn, unlike in Alyosha’s times.

Alyosha is depicted as a natural-born beacon of light. Everybody’s fond of him. He could even make his father aware of things that were buried deep down under his debaucheries. His “love”, gratitude & regrets toward his first wife. I think it’s safe to assume that Dostoyevsky will use Alyosha to convey his own ideals to us readers.

Fyodor Pavlovich suddenly turned from a filthy & beyond repair character into a redeemable & very “humane” individual. All this simply because of Alyosha’s presence in his life.

The most interesting stuff from Chapter 4 for me is definitely the conversation about the hooks. The conversation was so profound, it stirred my soul. That “casual” talk about heaven & hell, about redemption & punishment, about morality. The logical inquiry from ceilings to hooks was just perfect. “But there aren’t any hooks there”, of course Alyosha’s the one who said this. “Yes, yes, only the shadows of hooks.” Indeed, only the shadows of the hooks.

“How do you know there aren’t any hooks?” afterwards Fyodor implied that perhaps Alyosha would change his mind (about the hooks) after living in the monastery but, at the end, he concluded (perhaps a kind of intuition & even hope from his part) that nothing's gonna change Alyosha’s world. Not even the monastery. So, there are no hooks after all?

Dostoyevsky’s description of a realist’s faith truly is close to my heart. I’m a Christian myself, sort of, just like Dostoyevsky. I always went to Catholic schools & my father always brought me to Sunday school each week. It was cartoon & anime time for other kids, but not for me. It was time to hear about dubious stuff like Noah’s Ark & Sodom and Gomorrah. Thankfully there were always some cool stuff like Jesus’ lovely parables, Paul’s heartfelt & open-minded letters, David’s beautiful psalms, Jeremiah’s bitter but hopeful contemplation & Ecclesiastes’ wisdoms.

I was never a fan of miracles, even the ones that Jesus did. Not that I disagree with Jesus doing His things. I just didn’t & still don’t see the appeals of miracles to my own life (and even to all of mankind). Miracle always sounds very contextual to me. Therefore Dostoyevsky’s usage of Thomas’ infamous episode with Jesus was just perfect. It was not that Thomas doesn’t have faith. Thomas already has that faith in him. It’s exactly because he already has that faith in Jesus’ teachings & ideals, he wanted to test & question it. This is basically just Dostoyevsky’s own experience with his own faith. Both Dostoyevsky & Alyosha wanted to believe that much in all that goodness, just like Thomas.

Even though I don’t see myself as religious, I’m forever indebted to my Catholic schools & church for giving me so many good & irreplaceable values that shaped me as an individual.

Elder Zosima is still an enigma here in this chapter. I pondered hard about what Dostoyevsky’s trying to say through the Elder here in this chapter. I have some ideas but those ideas are so vague with little to no basis, other than my intuition LOL. All in all, just like Dostoyevsky said, these elders were & are always there with us, even today. Spiritual teachers, gurus, miracle preachers, motivators, life coaches and all that. Most of them were & are, of course, scammers. Just ask John Lennon. By the way George Harrison was the Alyosha of the group after all.

Even though Alyosha, at some point, truly believed the Elder & his miracles, Dostoyevsky implied that perhaps, at heart, Alyosha’s simply looking for that justification & backings for his own ideals. Meeting the Elder (someone he sees as the embodiment or proof that all the good things do exist) was the answer he needed so badly, for his own sake, for his own sanity.

I must say I feel the same way as Alyosha when I was in college and even in grad school. I looked everywhere for professors & other students that could give me justifications of my ideals. I simply cannot stand on my own at the time (maybe I still feel the same way to a certain extent, I dunno).

Mar 17, 2020 3:56 PM

#5323

finestseeker17

Offline

Nov 2015

496

_oak said:

Take your time. I'm not going anywhere :)

Mar 17, 2020 7:12 PM

#5324

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564491

I am currently reading Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind, and Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.

Mar 17, 2020 11:12 PM

#5325

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564491

finestseeker17 said:

_oak said:

Take your time. I'm not going anywhere :)

Mar 18, 2020 2:34 AM

#5326

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564491

finestseeker17 said:

The fourth chapter has many things to offer. This chapter made me notice that, clearly, each main character represents certain approaches & views to our life as a human being. Since Alyosha is the hero of this story, it’s pretty much Alyosha-ism against the others, no? LOL you wish. We still have hundreds of pages to explore.

On a personal level, Alyosha reminded me of myself, not my whole entire self, of course, since Alyosha is just way too idealistic to be true. I’m talking about Alyosha’s faith in all humans & his non-judgmental, tolerate anything policy. It is described that Alyosha tolerated them all not with condemnation but with bitter sadness. A few weeks ago, I had a conversation on death penalty with my mother. I told her that ever since I was a kid I could never agree to her & my father’s words of condemnation toward terrorists & criminals (including murderers & rapists) whenever they saw news about those individuals on TV. I remember them saying things like, “They deserve to die.” or “Why does the media blur their faces? They’re clearly guilty.”. I really don’t know why but listening to their words agitated me.

Another interesting thing about Alyosha is the fact that no one could either frighten or astonish him. This sounds so unrealistic but it truly hits me as “so true” after my long streak of existential crisis & depression. Some interesting things to consider here are that he suddenly decided to live with his father out of nowhere & the fact that he didn’t say or do anything emotional at his mother’s grave. Clearly Dostoyevsky is onto something here.

I could relate to Alyosha’s “avoidance” of vulgar & perverted stuff. Too bad we got internet porn, unlike in Alyosha’s times.

Alyosha is depicted as a natural-born beacon of light. Everybody’s fond of him. He could even make his father aware of things that were buried deep down under his debaucheries. His “love”, gratitude & regrets toward his first wife. I think it’s safe to assume that Dostoyevsky will use Alyosha to convey his own ideals to us readers.

Fyodor Pavlovich suddenly turned from a filthy & beyond repair character into a redeemable & very “humane” individual. All this simply because of Alyosha’s presence in his life.

The most interesting stuff from Chapter 4 for me is definitely the conversation about the hooks. The conversation was so profound, it stirred my soul. That “casual” talk about heaven & hell, about redemption & punishment, about morality. The logical inquiry from ceilings to hooks was just perfect. “But there aren’t any hooks there”, of course Alyosha’s the one who said this. “Yes, yes, only the shadows of hooks.” Indeed, only the shadows of the hooks.

“How do you know there aren’t any hooks?” afterwards Fyodor implied that perhaps Alyosha would change his mind (about the hooks) after living in the monastery but, at the end, he concluded (perhaps a kind of intuition & even hope from his part) that nothing's gonna change Alyosha’s world. Not even the monastery. So, there are no hooks after all?

finestseeker17 said:

Dostoyevsky’s description of a realist’s faith truly is close to my heart. I’m a Christian myself, sort of, just like Dostoyevsky. I always went to Catholic schools & my father always brought me to Sunday school each week. It was cartoon & anime time for other kids, but not for me. It was time to hear about dubious stuff like Noah’s Ark & Sodom and Gomorrah. Thankfully there were always some cool stuff like Jesus’ lovely parables, Paul’s heartfelt & open-minded letters, David’s beautiful psalms, Jeremiah’s bitter but hopeful contemplation & Ecclesiastes’ wisdoms.

I was never a fan of miracles, even the ones that Jesus did. Not that I disagree with Jesus doing His things. I just didn’t & still don’t see the appeals of miracles to my own life (and even to all of mankind). Miracle always sounds very contextual to me. Therefore Dostoyevsky’s usage of Thomas’ infamous episode with Jesus was just perfect. It was not that Thomas doesn’t have faith. Thomas already has that faith in him. It’s exactly because he already has that faith in Jesus’ teachings & ideals, he wanted to test & question it. This is basically just Dostoyevsky’s own experience with his own faith. Both Dostoyevsky & Alyosha wanted to believe that much in all that goodness, just like Thomas.

Even though I don’t see myself as religious, I’m forever indebted to my Catholic schools & church for giving me so many good & irreplaceable values that shaped me as an individual.

Elder Zosima is still an enigma here in this chapter. I pondered hard about what Dostoyevsky’s trying to say through the Elder here in this chapter. I have some ideas but those ideas are so vague with little to no basis, other than my intuition LOL. All in all, just like Dostoyevsky said, these elders were & are always there with us, even today. Spiritual teachers, gurus, miracle preachers, motivators, life coaches and all that. Most of them were & are, of course, scammers. Just ask John Lennon. By the way George Harrison was the Alyosha of the group after all.

Even though Alyosha, at some point, truly believed the Elder & his miracles, Dostoyevsky implied that perhaps, at heart, Alyosha’s simply looking for that justification & backings for his own ideals. Meeting the Elder (someone he sees as the embodiment or proof that all the good things do exist) was the answer he needed so badly, for his own sake, for his own sanity.

I must say I feel the same way as Alyosha when I was in college and even in grad school. I looked everywhere for professors & other students that could give me justifications of my ideals. I simply cannot stand on my own at the time (maybe I still feel the same way to a certain extent, I dunno).

finestseeker17 said:

Mar 18, 2020 3:02 AM

#5327

finestseeker17

Offline

Nov 2015

496

_oak said:

Let's subtract the talk about Dostoyevsky out of the spoiler. This way it feels a little bit more comfortable, at least to me haha.

What? I hope you don't feel pressured or anything. I would feel bad if you feel that way. I don't want clever conversation. I never want to work that hard. I just want someone that I can talk to. I want you just the way you are. I don't expect, let alone want, you to share your private matters to me. I also don't want you to force yourself to reread The Brothers Karamazov because of me. I only want you to just be yourself. You only need to comment on my posts. Of course, it would be a nice gesture & I would feel flattered if, somehow, you put that extra effort to reread some parts of the novel. If you do it because you really want to do it & you have the time for it then yes, I would be flattered. Please just act normally & casually, whatever those words mean haha.

Ah, the vagueness & the intuition haha. Don't think too much about it. We're not some literature or philosophy students analyzing The Brothers Karamazov here. It's the same with that "effort to reproduce what is taken" you mentioned. Ah, how I love your explanation on it. Please, just be who you are. That's more than enough to me. Remember that vanilla? LOL. It's inside you after all. Just be yourself, okay? Please. As if my vocabularies are better than yours. Are you slandering me here?

You're so cute. You're contradicting yourself by using the Underground Man as an example here. His verbalizing was, probably, the only reason why the first part of Notes from Underground was so enchanting. I already said that I have a crush on that mind who produced those humble but enchantingly sweet words on CD. So what's to be afraid of here? I won't bite you. At least, not for now, maybe.. ;)

So true. That's the only reason why I've been rewatching Ghibli & Satoshi Kon's movies recently. That's also one of the reasons why I've started rereading The Brothers Karamazov, other than to make you notice me, of course. I must say that I really need to read that novel. Of course you're the trigger for it but after some contemplation, I know I really need to read it now. For my own sake. There's a reason why I'm back on MAL after 3+ years. Most people here are troubled IRL, especially forum posters LOL.

But, I'll be honest too here. This is also my way to communicate with you since both your PM & comments are disabled. So yeah, don't take the novel discussion too seriously. I only want to talk to you and this is my compromise for your no friends policy LOL

EDIT:
@_oak whaat? You're online and already posted your reply? LOL. Thank you very much. I'll respond to it immediately. Maybe in a day or two. Thank you very much :)

finestseeker17Mar 18, 2020 3:42 AM

Mar 18, 2020 7:57 AM

#5328

Lria

Offline

Jul 2013

34

The Wicked King by Holly Black ♥
It's the second book in The Cruel Prince series (a trilogy). I'm not into the faerie world, I'm not also a big fan of fantasy books but this book is an exception. it's so dark, twisty and full of surprises. I love the world building, the description of nature, and the characters are so smart. finally there's a girl protagonist who's not stupid and nagging all the time, she's smart, she's ambitious and she's ready to do whatever it takes to reach her goals. there's a fierce fight over the throne which gives you GoT vipes and an unexpected romance.

briefly and without spoiling much; Jude is a mortal girl who's dragged into the faerie world by her adoptive father (a fae) who also killed both her biological parents when she was little.
Cardan is a faerie prince, he's the sixth and the last child of king Eldred, he has curly dark raven hair, his eyes are black with a golden circle around the pupils, his skin is described to be very pale like the moon, his back is scarred from his abusive elder brother. "I am no murderer" that what makes Cardan different from the fae folk, he doesn't have lust for blood but that doesn't make him less wicked. he's very manipulative and cold. he's also sarcastic. I'm not going to spoil his past, it's enough to know now that his father despises him, he was considered a child of misfortune and neglected by his own mother.

In The Wicked King, when an unexpected coup happens Jude finally has the chance to put her hands on the throne by bounding the king Cardan, who does everything in his power to humiliate her and undermine her, even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

I tried not to spoil the important parts, that's why some of what I said in The Wicked King's part doesn't make much sense but I hope you give it a chance because it's worth it :3

Tell me what do you think of my review? Open for discussion! ♥ ♥ ♥ Have a nice day minna-san ♥ ♥ ♥~

LriaApr 6, 2020 10:18 AM

Mar 18, 2020 8:27 AM

#5329

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564491

finestseeker17 said:

Let's subtract the talk about Dostoyevsky out of the spoiler. This way it feels a little bit more comfortable, at least to me haha.

What? I hope you don't feel pressured or anything. I would feel bad if you feel that way. I don't want clever conversation. I never want to work that hard. I just want someone that I can talk to. I want you just the way you are. I don't expect, let alone want, you to share your private matters to me. I also don't want you to force yourself to reread The Brothers Karamazov because of me. I only want you to just be yourself. You only need to comment on my posts. Of course, it would be a nice gesture & I would feel flattered if, somehow, you put that extra effort to reread some parts of the novel. If you do it because you really want to do it & you have the time for it then yes, I would be flattered. Please just act normally & casually, whatever those words mean haha.

Ah, the vagueness & the intuition haha. Don't think too much about it. We're not some literature or philosophy students analyzing The Brothers Karamazov here. It's the same with that "effort to reproduce what is taken" you mentioned. Ah, how I love your explanation on it. Please, just be who you are. That's more than enough to me. Remember that vanilla? LOL. It's inside you after all. Just be yourself, okay? Please. As if my vocabularies are better than yours. Are you slandering me here?

You're so cute. You're contradicting yourself by using the Underground Man as an example here. His verbalizing was, probably, the only reason why the first part of Notes from Underground was so enchanting. I already said that I have a crush on that mind who produced those humble but enchantingly sweet words on CD. So what's to be afraid of here? I won't bite you. At least, not for now, maybe.. ;)

So true. That's the only reason why I've been rewatching Ghibli & Satoshi Kon's movies recently. That's also one of the reasons why I've started rereading The Brothers Karamazov, other than to make you notice me, of course. I must say that I really need to read that novel. Of course you're the trigger for it but after some contemplation, I know I really need to read it now. For my own sake. There's a reason why I'm back on MAL after 3+ years. Most people here are troubled IRL, especially forum posters LOL.

But, I'll be honest too here. This is also my way to communicate with you since both your PM & comments are disabled. So yeah, don't take the novel discussion too seriously. I only want to talk to you and this is my compromise for your no friends policy LOL

EDIT:
@_oak whaat? You're online and already posted your reply? LOL. Thank you very much. I'll respond to it immediately. Maybe in a day or two. Thank you very much :)

what do you mean about spoilers... sorry I didn't get you :(

@finestseeker17 ..hello.. thankyou so much .. my thankyous may be annoying or perhaps too formal, but I feel thankful, so.. :)

I'll come back later and write to you.. there's so much on my mind, I'm kind of in limbo.. thankyou for the heartfelt correspondence.. and I'm sorry..

https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=1829818&show=0#msg59378732

^^ Arigato gozaimasu.. :)

removed-userMar 20, 2020 8:53 AM

Mar 18, 2020 11:20 PM

#5330

finestseeker17

Offline

Nov 2015

496

@_oak

You already said your greetings in your previous post and please enough with the "many thanks" haha. Whaat? I doubt someone so dumb could write such sensitive & sweet things on CD. Please. This much is mere copy, paste & type. I'd rather do this than watch some dumb stuff on TV. Also, I only do this because I want to do this.

I'm doing quite well. How about you? Whoa twice? When's the first time you read it? High school? College? Don't worry about it. I already write about this on my previous post. I like you just the way you are.

Oh by the way, did you read it in English? If yes, whose translation? I'm reading David McDuff's translation by the way.

LOL please don't change. I love this kind of comment :) In terms of narration & style, Tolstoy himself commented that Dostoyevsky's writing style was bad. On his writing style, Dostoyevsky himself commented that if he got paid as much as Turgenev, he definitely could produce better writings haha! He's not one of those poetic & artsy literature guys, he studied military engineering after all.

Ah, this is why it's always so interesting to talk with girls. Most girls tend to relate emotionally with things they read. On Mitya, yeah, so true. Now I feel sorry for not mentioning poor Mitya haha.

Now that is an interesting scene. Whoa this turned into a proper discussion after all. I'm quite unsure about that scene though. Maybe because the translator of the version I read, Mr. McDuff, gave a note on that "oblique rays of the setting sun". Setting sun is sentimental & could be a happy moment but we all know what happens after the sun sets. Darkness, right? This is why I'm quite confused. The translator said that the setting sun was one of Dostoyevsky's favorite images. You even mentioned the madness in her expression. In your opinion, what was on Alyosha's mind at the time? I would be extremely confused, anxious & filled with agonizing but indescribable emotion if I saw my own mother with that face. He saw the face of a tortured person, not just any person, his own mother, at such an extremely young age.

Just be yourself, okay? You don't have to type anything if you don't want to or don't feel like it. You don't even need to reply. Just ignore parts that you don't find interesting and I'll take the hints. I'm a big boy after all haha.

Whaaaa? What's with this sudden enthusiastic talk about reformation & "we all one"? Are you a member of some freedom fighter group? Should I support your cause? Who's your leader? Do you have some plan for a coup d'etat? Seriously though, what are you talking about? 1+1=2 :p If you're talking about marriage, I prefer 2 children myself, so the result is still 2 ;)

See? You're very Alyosha. I may have misunderstood your post here but do you see Alyosha (and maybe yourself) as transcending anything through love? It sounded like you are, somehow, lost in your own love LOL. It sounds like you don't know what your own ideals or perhaps even your own individuality. Well, in case of Alyosha, so far in this early chapters, his life is defined only by other people & his love for other people & all the good things.

Wut? What's with this sudden gospel quote? Where did you come across this quote again? You said that you're not a Christian so I'm sure you didn't heard it oh so many times at church like me LOL. Yup, "corn of wheat" isn't that poetic though.. hence Christians prefer the use of "lily of the valley" as symbolism :p

You should feel sad. He's a bitter & sad man indeed. He's a broken man. He's a gambler. He devoted himself to military engineering & I'm sure he's a good student judging by all the talks about science in Notes from Underground. He almost got executed & sent to Siberia. Whoa. He wasted a lot of time & opportunities for the "normal" & better life. I'm more interested in his second wife though LOL. Since I can see a lot of myself in Dostoyevsky & the characters in his story, I want to know what kind of woman could love that kind of broken man. Sonia is just too good to be true LOL

Religion is a personal thing, my angel. Did we agree on this my angel thing? LOL. Seriously, though, I'm even more impressed with you. Dostoyevsky's writings have strong Christian influences & references in them and yet you could still relate to him on such a personal level. How amazing is that? They are metaphorical, indeed, love is universal after all.

Do you believe in miracles, _oak? Like I said, miracles are contextual. It depends on the situation, the time, the place, the reason, the message, etc. Miracles only happened to solve specific problems or to convey specific messages to specific people. On a practical level, miracles only solve problems temporarily. It's an instant solution after all. Hence miracles are like donations. Donations never solve "real" problems. Our meeting here was a kind of miracle though. At least for me. Reading your posts was a spiritual experience.

Also, I'm a Protestant, a Reformed Christian, or whatever, so my church service is more like a college lecture but with some singing & prayers. I went to Catholic schools though so I'm familiar with the ritualistic & miraculous side of religion but yeah, those aren't for me. Maybe this is why I have a lot of troubles after I graduated from college. I don't believe in magical stuff. I always want to solve the real problems and yet people don't care anymore about ideals & all the good stuff, so yeah, I was so confused & frustrated. Prayers & rituals won't solve those problems, that I know for sure.

Hooks were definitely a Russian Orthodox thing LOL. It's a symbolism, my dear. You should read the passage to get the context. Fyodor Pavlovich was simply talking about how he was quite sure that he's going to hell. The devils already put their hooks onto him to drag him down to hell when the time comes. Alyosha said that he didn't see any hook, implying that he didn't judge his father & he didn't believe that his father's gonna go to hell. The shadows of the hooks means that we're living under the shadows of hell. We don't know for sure if it exists. We don't know whether there will be any judgment or punishment. Most common religious people only live to avoid hell & attain heaven. Superficial, indeed. Fyodor Pavlovich is, in a way, worse than those normal "religious" people. He didn't believe in religion but surely, he's still afraid of what to come, knowing his age. Alyosha gave him his reassurances & peace of mind.

Whoa I should be careful with spoilers here. But, I doubt other people really read this and I don't see any real plot-wise spoiler so far.

Who are you? Do people who love Dostoyevsky think alike? I really really love this. *sigh* If I met you sooner, I wouldn't get all this mess with my grad school & career LOL

Where do you find your comfort & support, my MAL crush? Nope, I'm here conversing with you because I am actually trying to figure you out & get to know you better :p This is basically a kind of date for me haha.

Whoa my reply is soooo freaking long. Please don't feel pressured. I tend to talk a lot online because my mind is more active than my mouth LOL. Just reply when you have the time or feel like it, okay? Also, don't hesitate to ignore some parts. Just be yourself :)

finestseeker17Mar 19, 2020 3:11 AM

Mar 18, 2020 11:39 PM

#5331

finestseeker17

Offline

Nov 2015

496

_oak said:
what do you mean about spoilers... sorry I didn't get you :(

LOL sorry for the confusion. I'm assuming you're gonna edit this post, right? I'll just wait for the edit then. Sorry for being so annoying & persistent.

I was talking about moving our talk about Dostoyevsky outside the "[spoiler]". That way, our posts, somehow, wouldn't be so off topic. It's for my own sake, basically. But, my reply about Dostoyevsky turned out to be soooooo loooong and to make it more presentable, I decided to put it inside another "[spoiler]" haha. I'm such a mess LOL

If you really feel bad, how about make me your MAL friend instead? You can disallow friend requests again afterwards and you can set your PM to "friends only". Your friend, Art, would feel jealous though and that's a good thing because I could tease him more on our PMs.

I won't stop doing this Brothers Karamazov thing though. Posting it here definitely force me to understand what's really going on. I want to fully internalize the values I got from reading this LOL. Writing definitely helps with understanding my own thoughts & feelings.

finestseeker17Mar 19, 2020 3:15 AM

Mar 19, 2020 4:53 AM

#5332

johnnyy55

Offline

Mar 2020

17

Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe. I rated it 4/5 stars. It was a very fun, litRPG with an interesting concept and good storytelling.

Mar 19, 2020 5:11 AM

#5333

Theo1899

Offline

Jun 2016

12845

The SAS survival handbook by John "lofty" Wiseman. It includes some very creative ways to hunt and build a makeshift home all accompanied by illustrations. I expected to find ways to survive the coronavirus but it's a very good read despite not including any of that.

MEA·MENTVLA·INGENS·EST

Mar 20, 2020 9:28 AM

#5334

StormShaun

Offline

Sep 2019

402

Let me just...
*Turns to bookshelves*

Okay, I got a couple.
- Wolf & Parchment: Sequel series to Spice & Wolf (Be warned if you look it up, there's spoilers for S&W).
- Mortal Engines: It was a gift, and I haven't been into YA fictions since high-school, but I've gotten into it. Yet, there are still parts where I'm like, "Oh Tom; been basically brainwashed by a crazy society of cities on wheels."

Apart from that, I'm waiting for Sanderson and Feist to complete their next works (Cosmere and Feist's new world). Just finished Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind, and... I enjoyed a good part of it; but reflecting on it and I'm still internally debating if I want to grab the next one or not. If not, I've got a few books that I've rescued from being thrown away that I can dig into. As a genre reader, I really want to get into sci-fi... should probably start with Sanderson's sci-fi, since it'll start me on familiar ground. Yet. I've got one called The Technician that looks rather promising.

"You know you've reached peak quality when a doujin is better than the actual source series." (Eg. To LOVE-Ru)

Just to list a couple of biases.
Likes: A good story, characters, writing, romance, a good plot twist or something that breaks expectations (In a good way), 'backstory' and justice.
Dislikes: Bad romance, too much fanservice, the harem genre, yuri, yaoi, and bad writing.

Mar 27, 2020 8:38 AM

#5335

eazy_m

Offline

Feb 2020

21

I'm reading Women by Charles Bukowski and I am extremely unhappy with it. I picked it up because I enjoyed Post Office, which was about his years spent leading low-class life, but Women is more or less about seducing women now that he is acclaimed writer. It might have been eye-opening when it came out and I admire his honesty, but I am going to ditch this one and move to something else.

Mar 27, 2020 8:59 AM

#5336

Yudina

Offline

May 2016

967

eazy_m said:
I'm reading Women by Charles Bukowski and I am extremely unhappy with it. I picked it up because I enjoyed Post Office, which was about his years spent leading low-class life, but Women is more or less about seducing women now that he is acclaimed writer. It might have been eye-opening when it came out and I admire his honesty, but I am going to ditch this one and move to something else.

Bukowski blows, so the fact you're unhappy with something by him is a start in the right direction.

Mar 27, 2020 9:56 AM

#5337

eazy_m

Offline

Feb 2020

21

Yudina said:

eazy_m said:
I'm reading Women by Charles Bukowski and I am extremely unhappy with it. I picked it up because I enjoyed Post Office, which was about his years spent leading low-class life, but Women is more or less about seducing women now that he is acclaimed writer. It might have been eye-opening when it came out and I admire his honesty, but I am going to ditch this one and move to something else.

Bukowski blows, so the fact you're unhappy with something by him is a start in the right direction.

In my opinion the Post Office wasn't completely bad, it showed the other side of wonderful USA and some of the stories from the times when he was a postman were funny. I am surprised he was that popular though.

Mar 27, 2020 10:15 AM

#5338

Yudina

Offline

May 2016

967

eazy_m said:
In my opinion the Post Office wasn't completely bad, it showed the other side of wonderful USA and some of the stories from the times when he was a postman were funny. I am surprised he was that popular though.

Bukowski caters to a particular segment of the population that unironically believes that alcoholism is a personality trait and not a debilitating illness. He really captures the attention of a lot of naive younger readers who connect with drinking a lot of alcohol and smoking while writing.

In short, it's a lot of unsubstantial aesthetic posturing that is not particularly very aesthetic to start with. There might be some stuff that's worth investigating but on the whole I find him mostly undeserving of the attention he's received.

Mar 27, 2020 10:35 AM

#5339

eazy_m

Offline

Feb 2020

21

Yudina said:

eazy_m said:
In my opinion the Post Office wasn't completely bad, it showed the other side of wonderful USA and some of the stories from the times when he was a postman were funny. I am surprised he was that popular though.

Bukowski caters to a particular segment of the population that unironically believes that alcoholism is a personality trait and not a debilitating illness. He really captures the attention of a lot of naive younger readers who connect with drinking a lot of alcohol and smoking while writing.

In short, it's a lot of unsubstantial aesthetic posturing that is not particularly very aesthetic to start with. There might be some stuff that's worth investigating but on the whole I find him mostly undeserving of the attention he's received.

I suspect his books might also have had a certain shock value when they came out which contributed to the popularity.

Mar 27, 2020 2:14 PM

#5340

photophobic

Offline

Dec 2016

2052

recently finished catch-22: can't remember the last time i laughed out loud whilst reading a book.

AnimeFreak-San said:
is this a male gender issure...human issue...mental illness perhaps?

Mar 28, 2020 9:51 AM

#5341

Yudina

Offline

May 2016

967

Reanot said:
I have big brain, big brain....mmmmm, post modernism....mmmmmm, Pynchon.....MMMMMMMMM, James Joyce....MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, PROUST!

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81KBldResmL.jpg

You do know that only one of the authors you named is considered "postmodern" right?

And Infinite Jest is a vacuous sack of mediocrity. That you'd put DFW next to the other names gives me the impression you only really follow what 4chan or some basic pseud's guide to literature tells you to say.

Mar 28, 2020 6:47 PM

#5342

N44K00

Offline

Oct 2019

17

Flights by Olga Tokarczuk.

It's very interesting. most of the sections deal with either travel or anatomy/physiology, which i read as being two different perspectives on the same question of trying to the find the true "self" or "soul" within a human being. Travel situates the person in social context and anatomy/physiology does so in a physical context, one is top-down, the other is bottom-up. I'm a little over halfway through on only my first reading so I'm not quite sure where this is going, but it's a very interesting thesis to start off with.

Mar 29, 2020 9:45 AM

#5343

LoveLikeBlood

Offline

Jul 2014

6838

The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima. I know it's prose, but his writing is expressive in ways that one would associate with poetry. I adore it. Along with the wonderfully haunting The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea, this might solidify Mishima as one of my favourite authors.

Take care of yourself

Mar 30, 2020 3:36 AM

#5344

N44K00

Offline

Oct 2019

17

ThatRazorGuy said:
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima. I know it's prose, but his writing is expressive in ways that one would associate with poetry. I adore it. Along with the wonderfully haunting The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea, this might solidify Mishima as one of my favourite authors.

I remember this poetic sense, even in translation it, carries over. He has a gift for beautifully making ink alive.

Mar 31, 2020 2:53 PM

#5345

RandomFriday

Offline

Aug 2016

471

The Magicians by Lev Grossman.
Just finished the first book of the series. It was OK overall. I liked the unlikable characters in that book. They are much more realistic than your to-go overpowered hero protag. However for the majority of the book it describes the nature of magic very detailed which I somewhat disliked. If there is any hardness in fantasy like in SF this book would be very hard fantasy.
I am not sure if I should continue on the trilogy.
And no, I have not seen the syfy tv series.

Mar 31, 2020 2:57 PM

#5346

TobiOrNotTobi

Offline

Apr 2014

2571

I'm currently reading Paris Underground by Etta Shiber and The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Both are really good books! For the next decade I plan to read as many book as I can from the 1920s as tribute.

Ha. Ha. HA. HA. HA. HA. HA. HA.
I'm laughing because you got hurt.

Apr 3, 2020 4:30 PM

#5347

finestseeker17

Offline

Nov 2015

496

I’ve just finished the second book from the first part of Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. This post is just my personal notes & commentaries by the way. Might as well dump it here cause I don't see any harm.

This is also a fascinating chapter. Dostoyevsky clearly didn’t believe in those healing miracles but we could see that he’s not fully against it when we read the latter part where he described the Elder’s interactions with the “women of faith”.

At first, Dostoyevsky’s description of the so-called healing/miracle was definitely negative. He even described that some clerics only did those healing stuff for show. Not so different with our current world, isn’t it? What pains me the most was Dostoyevsky’s description of why those women were so entranced. Those shows only worked because those women had suffered so badly deep down. “Gross.”, that’s my reaction when I read it. Funny thing is we still have those kinds of shows. It’s the 21st century and yet humans are still suffering & falling for the same old trick. Yes, I’m talking to you idol priests & preachers who provide the so-called healing & miracle. Pfft. Playing with trance-state & ecstacy. Other religions & forms of spiritualities are also plagued by this very same problem.

In a philosophical sense, scientific endeavor is a profound “religious/spiritual” activity. Sadly, science is just too dry. Yes, dry. Life’s not only about logic after all. What should we do then if both religion & science cannot provide us with the answers? Easy. Hedonism & utilitarianism. I wish the answer’s that easy but, hey, this is why we read The Brothers Karamazov, right? Just me?

The Elder’s interactions with the “women of faith” were fascinating. The Elder didn’t do anything magical or enchantingly wise, at all. He only said some ordinary or normal stuff. Dostoyevsky’s definitely onto something with this. Those women were only comforted because the Elder’s the one who said those words to them. What’s so different about this Elder? Probably his reputation, his appearance, his communication skill & his earnest gestures, e.g. he stopped the woman who was about to say some incriminating stuff out loud and told her to whisper into his ear instead.

Perhaps, the main reason why the Elder’s so different was the fact that he truly believed in all those things he said himself?

The fact that both the hero of this story & the dead baby’s name were Aleksey is the proof that Dostoyevsky truly poured his honest thoughts & feelings into this story. He had a son named Aleksey who died at the exact same age as the baby in the story.

This is a light but quite wholesome chapter.

Ah, Lise.. Such a tease. Young love is always fun. Her honest conversation with the Elder was definitely heartwarming to me.

I don’t know about other people but for me, her mother’s conversation with the Elder was definitely some words to live by. Maybe it only sounds so convincing to me because of my own experiences prior to this. Just like how I didn’t really feel anything in particular about Kiki’s Delivery Service when I watched it as a teenager but when I watched it as a dude in his late 20s, that movie became one of the best movies of all time to me.

I cannot really relate to the mother’s feelings when she said she wants reciprocated love & praises but the Elder’s story about the doctor is definitely relatable to me. I like how Dostoyevsky distinguished between humanity & an individual human being. The more you love humanity, the less you love an individual human. The more you get disappointed with humans, the more you love humanity. You could say that I’m foolish but yeah, I’m a fool. This exact same issue cost me & my parents a lot of time & money recently.

I guess the Elder already gave me the answer. Maybe I was already on the right track but the act of active love was just too much for me. I fell into despair. I don’t want to blame other people cause yes, I love humanity. I want them to do the right thing. You may say that I was being selfish, imposing my own ideals toward other people but no, some things are objectively good. If you could be good, why the heck you did the opposite of good? So, yeah, I gave up. I ruined & blamed myself. To me, it’s never about people not doing the things as I wanted. It’s always about what’s the point of being good if other people aren’t doing the same thing? What’s the point of all those ideals of humanity? What’s the point of blaming Hitler & those disillusioned Germans? What’s the point of the Declaration of Human Rights? To hell with that. We’re all animals after all, right? What’s the point of blaming those murderers & rapists then? Just go back to the ancient ages where we built our own kingdoms. Or yeah, just act silly and foolish with your TikTok or whatever.

Welp this turned into a rant quickly. Maybe I should post this in a blog instead but nope, this thread is dead anyway and people don’t discuss Dostoyevsky. People only gave testimonies about their spiritual experience & enlightenment after reading Dostoyevsky..

Now this is what I call an excellent coffee table discussion.

Seriously, though, why don’t many people talk about all this anymore? Back in my college years, there were only a handful of law & political science students who were genuinely interested in having this kind of discussion. Probably because nowadays we have TikTok. Thinking & feeling are for the weak. Life is meant to be enjoyed, bruh. Indeed. I wish it was & is that simple for me.

People who can feel comfortable with the oh so many uncertainties & unknowns in life truly are the winners of our current society. Curiosity only kills the poor cats.

This is such a wholesome chapter. Too bad Mitya arrived at the scene before we got to see the continuation of that hot discussion about the place of church inside a state. I could predict the ending though. Although Pyotr Aleksandrovich was making some admirable statements, he would surely only be more embarrassed & frustrated if the conversation continues with him.

Pyotr Aleksandrovich & Fyodor Pavlovich truly were besties. Dostoyevsky was truly mocking the so-called Russian old progressives & francophiles. Sadly, we still have a lot of Pyotr Aleksandroviches in our parliaments around the world. Those old politicians who don’t even know the real values of democracy & humanity. We live in such an ironic world.

The real people who truly understand what is happening always either live a reclusive/ascetic life or live on the edge as tireless activists. In my country, I saw some of their successors with my own eyes; young people who passionately study philosophy or theology, young people who passionately join non-governmental organizations & young people (mostly law & political sciences students) who attended many leftist discussions & read many leftist books. Their futures are obvious: veteran activists, social justice & environmental advocates, cultural preservationists, university professors, writers, musicians & religious/spiritual leaders. It’s the same cycle over and over. After all, there’s nothing new under the sun.

Unlike Ivan, the real intellectual, Pyotr Aleksandrovich joined the discussion only for the sake of his own ego. He didn’t even see that he was making a fool out of himself among that crowd. He entered the discussion & made some retorts on such a superficial level. He genuinely made me feel bad for him.

The discussion was truly wholesome though. That debate about the place of church (or religion in general) in a state. That classic talk about secularism & theocracy.

Here we could see Dostoyevsky’s borderline fanaticism toward Russia & Russian Orthodoxy. I could understand him though. As a former Catholic schoolboy, I certainly adore the values & lifestyle of the humble Fransiscan monks & nuns of my schools. Sadly, just as Pyotr Aleksandrovich vaguely implied, churches aren’t practical. Churches don’t know much about real people & tend to be out of touch, or worst, judgmental toward the commoners. On the other hand, commoners are way too complicated for churches to handle. Just take a look at TikTok. It’s a complicated issue deep down. Sure, it’s just for the fun but if we really dig deeper, we surely will discover the messy state of our current society with our confused hedonism & utilitarianism.

Why the heck am I talking about TikTok again here?

The true intellectual, Ivan, only entertained the discussion earnestly, unlike Pyotr Aleksandrovich, but surely, deep down Ivan has his own doubts, or perhaps pessimism, towards the Elder’s beautiful soliloquy. I mean, who doesn’t? Unless you’re Alyosha, of course.

Apr 7, 2020 7:48 PM

#5348

PennyPinch

Offline

Dec 2014

79

Thanks to Covid, been on a reading spree.

Currently reading the Intelligent Investor.

The book does feel outdated with some of the bonds not existing anymore and the evidence to support the author's points are referenced from historical data in the 40s-50s. Thankfully, the note in the end of each chapter provides further clarity albeit still a little bit outdated.

The tips and pointers are still valuable for any investor. The great thing is I feel whether a beginner or intermediate level holder, everybody can derive some benefits off of this.

Apr 8, 2020 12:39 AM

#5349

Peepin

Offline

Mar 2018

384

Warhammer 40k: Dark Imperium. Despite my lack of interest in Ultramarines, I do love anything related to Death Guard. I'm only three chapters in though so I haven't really formed an opinion on it yet.

Shuba

Apr 8, 2020 1:21 AM

#5350

gamergirl001

Offline

Mar 2012

295

read the three books of crazy rich asians.

im picky about what books to read. i got 2/3 of its a dogs journey/promise, but need the 1st book lol.

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