Trying to mourn Robert Anton Wilson
I suppose it was overdue. I knew last week already that he had died, and yet I waited to think much on it until today. His poor health hasn’t been a secret for some months now, so it wasn’t unexpected. But beyond that, it just seems like the wrong direction to mourn him.
He always advocated living fully, and said at times that he believed the time would come when we could live forever. I never bought into that myself, but his enthusiasm for such seemingly whacky ideas was contagious.
It’s a little trite to say that someone changed your life. Other people alter the course of my life nearly every day. But it isn’t often that a book makes me look at the world in an entirely different light. It’s rarer still when that happens twice with the same author. Illuminatus! in the summer of 1996 and Prometheus Rising a few years later both had a profound effect on my worldview.
The fact that I realize that’s a little crazy and I don’t care is further proof that I bought into RAW’s work more than most.
January 16th, 2007 - Posted in Books | | 0 Comments
The One Book by Mom
Ok so I need to add my 2 cents (in this case 10 cents) to this book thing. This will be my first post so stay with me I tend to ramble, I’ll try to stay on track. oh yeah my spelling’s pretty bad too. Then if you’ve ever read my dad’s email’s you’ld know where I get that from.
1. One book that changed your life.
Power of Myth by Joseph Cambell. This should be required reading. It made me change my way of thinking about so many things from religion to super heros to basic human psychology. This is one book that I would gladly have taken a highlighter to (if I believed in marring books in such a horrible way.)
2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Other than Good Night Moon, Baby Angels, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Love You Forever……Oh that’s right this is for adults. Unlike Michael I have read many books more than once. In fact my freshman year at college I only took a few non-school books with me and read and reread them several times. The one that sticks out in my mind most is Wishes by Jude Devreaux. I must have read this at least 10 times. It’s funny and has such a good love story to to it. Yes I would reread it again. In fact I’ll have to look for it to put on the palm.
3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
Wow, this one I have to think about: “How to Survive on a Desert Island”. Seriously other than the Ice & Fire books I don’t know if there is one that I could read every day.
4. One book that made you laugh:
There Should Have Been Castles by Herman Raucher. My sister loaned me this book, but I liked it so much I kept it. To qoute Michael “Amazon seems to think it’s out of print. scandalous!”
5. One book that made you cry:
Love Story by Erich Segal. So many books have made me cry but this is the first one I remember. It’s said you always remember your first.
6. One book that you wish had been written:
The first one by me. Everyone says the first is the hardest. Maybe if I had the first one done the rest would be eaiser. Oh, Michael said the question is which book you want to read not write. In that case, a sequel to There Should Have Been Castles, the chacaters in that are so great that I would love to have seen them again.
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
I have read some bad books, many I never finished. I can’t truely say one shouldn’t have been written. Someone, somewhere thought each book was a good idea. Every author puts so much work into a book that I don’t think it’s fair to anyone to say something shouldn’t have been written.
8. One book you’re currently reading:
I’m always reading one of the Ice & Fire books. I think the current reread is A Clash of Kings. I’ve just started Reckless by Amanda Quick. It’s the first romance novel I’ve read in 2 years or more.
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
Bearing Right: How Conservatives Won the Abortion War by William Saletan. I got the book for Christmas 2 years ago and it’s still sitting on my shelf. It’s the last dead tree book I got. I think if it had been for the palm I would have read it by now. It’s so inconvenient now to not have a book that fits in my pocket or is backlit so I can read it anytime, anywhere, except when the batteries die. Dead tree books never die they just take up to much space. Back to the book: it’s a look at the politics behind abortion laws and how both sides work the issue. Now don’t blast me as pro-choice, I’m not and I will go on the record to say it’s wrong and I’m completely against it. I wanted the book to strengen my argument in support of life.
10. Now tag five people:
If you answer Michael you can answer mine.
August 12th, 2006 - Posted in Books | | 0 Comments
The One Book
I’ve seen this crop up a few places. No one actually asked me to chime in, but then no one asked me to blog. So there we are. I couldn’t manage to fit in Lord of the Rings or Song of Ice & Fire, mostly becuase they’d be in 4 categories each.
1. One book that changed your life.
Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson. I have a long list of books that have expanded my worldview and made my life better, but Prometheus Rising and related ideas in Wilson’s other work (especially Quantum Psychology and the mind-boggling Illuminatus!) are a lasting touchstone. RAW is a truly wonderful author.
2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Dune by Frank Herbert. I almost never read books twice, but I’ve been through each of the first four Dune books three times, plus a fourth reading of the original. Each time I tease out a new level of meaning or a slight little tidbit I’d never noticed before. Each time I’m every bit as engrossed as I was at age 15 when I first picked it up.
3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
Ulysses by James Joyce. Assuming a long enough stay on said island, I might finally be able to dedicate enough time to the endeavor to fully comprehend the whole thing. Does my island allow Cliffs Notes or some selected scholarship as well?
4. One book that made you laugh:
Focault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco. (Amazon seems to think it’s out of print. scandalous!) A nearly perfect book that could have fit in several places on this list. “There are four kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics…”
5. One book that made you cry:
Searching For The Sound by Phil Lesh. Yes, I cry reading books, and since I usually read on my lunch hours, I can occasionally be seen crying by myself in the middle of Godfather’s or Wendy’s. It must be a ridiculous sight. I told my wife that I cried when Lesh got to the part where Jerry died, and she pointed out to me that it wasn’t as if I didn’t know it was coming.
6. One book that you wish had been written:
I’d like to see some in-depth, Bob-Woodward-style behind the scenes coverage of business of major league sports. Maybe I just haven’t looked hard enough.
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Try as I might, I can’t think of one. The world is better off with more ideas rather than fewer.
8. One book you’re currently reading:
The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins. Proof that believing scientific explanations of life doesn’t have to diminish the wonder you feel about existence.
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
Eye Of The World by Robert Jordan. It’s been recommended to me enough times by enough people that I will eventually have to submit to it.
10. Now tag five people:
Honestly, I’d just be happy if I got any responses.
August 12th, 2006 - Posted in Books | | 0 Comments
