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    I'm reading 'It' currently. I love how it captures all the fears and wonders of being a kid and playing with friends, a bit like Stand By Me/The Body did. It's a pretty hefty book but it's all killer/no filler so far.

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      "What distinguishes Eckhart from most later theologians is that he says the word “God” the way a carpenter says “wood” or a swimmer says “water”. He knows what he is talking about. And if his words remind us again and again of Vedanta, Zen or the Sufis, surely this is because those who truly See, See the same thing. Still, it would be wrong to think of him as some kind of eccentric or stray: he is part of a broad tradition of Christian thought that begins with the Gospel of John and survives until the late 17th century. Eckhart speaks the same language as other Mediaeval theologians, though with an accent of his own.”


      An interesting and very thought provoking book by one of Europe's greatest mystics. If you believe religion, especially western religion, has always been a destructive, supressive, morally bankrupt hive of hypocrisy then read this book and think again. Wisdom never ages.

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        Been reading "Pygmy" by Chuck Pahlaniuk.

        I'm not that impressed with it, there's a bit very early on where a school bully gets badly bummed, traumatically, yet is still allowed to hang around as some kind of 'love interest' character, and with seemingly no real care, the extremities of what has recently happened seemingly amounting to nowt.

        I think that would futch someone up a tad, maybe?

        It's irking me. I know Chucky is trying to write a Frankie Boyle type of thang in book form but I just find stuff like that irritating with no explanation,also see the 'bloody baptism' episode where no repercussions even seem to occur.

        I will finish the book because the premise is a fun one to me, I just hope it gets funnier. It's the sort of book that really kicks me in the arse and makes me wanna write a book.

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          I finished The Gardens of Niburu, which I enjoyed and moved on to Paradox Bound:
          "Eli’s willing to admit it: he’s a little obsessed with the mysterious woman he met years ago. Okay, maybe a lot obsessed. But come on, how often do you meet someone who’s driving a hundred-year-old car, clad in Revolutionary-War era clothes, wielding an oddly modified flintlock rifle—someone who pauses just long enough to reveal strange things about you and your world before disappearing in a cloud of gunfire and a squeal of tires?
          So when the traveler finally reappears in his life, Eli is determined that this time he’s not going to let her go without getting some answers. But his determination soon leads him into a strange, dangerous world and a chase not just across the country but through a hundred years of history—with nothing less than America’s past, present, and future at stake."

          It's decent fun with a pretty ridiculous McGuffin at the core of it, but if you can get past that, you'll probably enjoy it.
          I found the main characters likeable, but the character of Harriet was pretty closed off all the way through, which made her hard to like. She had her reasons, but it didn't make hanging out with her a joy.

          Just started up #7 of the John Milton series, Headhunters. I love this series and if you like Bond or Reacher, I strongly urge you to check out the series. The first book, The Cleaner, is usually in an offer.

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            I was sad to finish Stephen King's It last night. The sheer depth of character and town history builds a hugely satisfying story ... and the message of the mysteries and wonders of childhood is so beautifully captured. A really special book. Right up there with The Stand.

            Next: Mr Mercedes.

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              The Confessions of a Misfit by Mokokoma Mokhonoana

              Interesting book. It reminds me in many ways of Henry David Thoreau's famous Civil Disobedience. Both philosophers share similar views on human nature and society, which is quite surprising given that Thoreau was a white man born into wealth and privilege, where as Mokhonoana is a black man born in South Africa during the apartheid - so the complete opposite of privilege.

              Some select quotes:

              “If human beings weren’t ‘dumbable’ enough to be made soldiers, war would be nothing but an exchange of swear words between a handful of individuals.”

              “The news is glorified gossip.”

              “Needs are imposed by nature. Wants are sold by society.”

              “The office’ is a cemetery of dreams.”

              “Generally, people need less than a quarter of what they want.”

              “Somebody is born.
              Somebody goes to school.
              Somebody learns to conform.
              Somebody types a CV.
              Somebody gets a job.
              Somebody follows orders.
              Somebody gets a golden watch.
              And then, eventually,
              Somebody dies.
              And, a Nobody is buried.”


              “School forces unique individuals to think, act, and, look alike.”

              “Schooling is a manufacturing process whereby the raw material called curious boys is turned into products called obedient men.”

              “Ambition’ is ‘greed’ rebranded.”

              “He who is ready to die for his country is a fool. For he didn’t choose where he was born; and where he was born didn’t choose him.”

              “Most people believe most of the things they believe only because they believe that most people believe them.”

              “Life punishes those who have things in abundance by making them worry about petty things like: what to wear, or, which car to drive.”

              “Security is a double-edged sword: While a fence sure protects the fenced; it also imprisons the protected.”

              “Smartphones are tools which fools fiddle with when they are around people that they don’t have the courage, or, the intellect, to converse with.”

              “A slave that acknowledges its enslavement is halfway to its liberation.”

              “We preoccupy ourselves with what we had — or what we want to have — at the expense of what we have.”

              “Ownership breeds slavery: with every single thing that you acquire, comes a new worry of not losing that thing.”
              Last edited by Zen Monkey; 14-08-2018, 11:24.

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                Some really good, some patronising and somewhat contradictory, and some drivel.

                Naturally, he should appreciate any disagreement with his theories, as it demonstrates independence of thought

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                  I finished and loved Headhunters. Usual high standard from Mark Dawson.
                  Much better and consistently thrilling than the Reacher series.

                  Moved on to Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines and also enjoyed that, but it was a bit more pulpy.
                  The concept is superheroes surviving after a zombie apocalypse, which is silly, but fun.

                  I'm now on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August:"SOME STORIES CANNOT BE TOLD IN JUST ONE LIFETIME.Harry August is on his deathbed. Again.
                  No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes.
                  Until now.
                  As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. "I nearly missed you, Doctor August," she says. "I need to send a message."
                  This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow."

                  It's a story of reincarnation, but it's not gripping me as much as Replay did, which is still one of my faves.

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                    Maybe, I don't know what he might appreciate. But I do know he does more than merely philosophise: http://www.mokokoma.com/bio/

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                      After having the first three volumes for years, I spent a year quite a while ago tracking down the other 4 volumes of Clamp Manga Tokyo Babylon.

                      Just started to read it a week ago finished it just in the last hour.

                      God damn it so sad!!!

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                        Originally posted by prinnysquad View Post
                        Some really good, some patronising and somewhat contradictory, and some drivel.

                        Naturally, he should appreciate any disagreement with his theories, as it demonstrates independence of thought
                        "To go 2 steps forward, one must take 2 steps back"

                        The key to being Zen is basically travelling to where you already are. Something like "the answer was in you all along".

                        Or

                        "the path you choose is also a path which has chosen you".

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                          Originally posted by Zaki View Post
                          "To go 2 steps forward, one must take 2 steps back"

                          The key to being Zen is basically travelling to where you already are. Something like "the answer was in you all along".

                          Or

                          "the path you choose is also a path which has chosen you".
                          Basically, it's "A Squash and a Squeeze":

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                            Just finished Mr Mercedes. After 'It' it was like reading a short story in a detective magazine, but an enjoyable one, despite the trashy nature and odd cliche. In fact, that trashy flavour, along with a likeable main character and a classic detective vibe were enough to make me buy book two in the trilogy ... which I'll be starting later today.

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                              I finished some William Gibson book last night. I was reading it a few pages a night very late and I have been so tired that, each night, I had forgotten what I read. So I have almost zero idea what happened in the book.

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                                I'm close to finishing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I expected it to be good, sure, but I also feared it might feel a bit 'of its time'. None of that. It's incredibly well written, witty and had me smiling throughout.

                                I think I'll read The Jungle Book next.

                                Neil Gaiman is a fan of both Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling and his appreciation for both was evident in The Sandman, which in turn made me decide to read them.

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