Summer passing

suspended zone
The beginning of the rest of my life

I went on a bit of a book binge recently since I joined GoodReads. Below is a list of books I read, including a bunch of YA literature that was rated highly on the site.

Booklist:
The Barrytown Trilogy (3.5/5)
The Alchemist (2/5)
Time Traveler's Wife (2.5/5)
The Midnighter's Trilogy (3.5/5)
The Uglies Trilogy (4/5)
Twilight Trilogy (3/5)

None of this list really consists of great literature, but they were all pretty fun to read. I liked the Barrytown Trilogy a lot, revolving around the lives of Rabbitte family in Dublin. The books complement each other nicely, building up to a nice cohesive whole, but the gem of the three is definitely The Van. The Van is about Jimmy Sr. (the best character out of the trilogy) who starts a fish and chips truck stand with a friend and the hysterical, sad, moving situations that follow. I can't judge totally subjectively, because I read all the novels in order, but maybe it wouldn't be as powerful without the other books as well (i.e. the character development you see in Jimmy Sr. as he confronts the fact that his daughter is pregnant).

The Alchemist and Time Traveler's Wife are both totally overrated books. Referring to the first, I know that self help/enlightenment books have to be overly simplistic and trite, but this one is really going too far. My problem with the Time Traveler's Wife (probably accentuated by the fact that I was aware of its existence for a long time before I tried reading it) is that it that the writing style is mediocre though the concept of the story has so much potential. What is worse, is that Niffengger puts in all these pop culture and literature references in an attempt to make this into some kind of loftier literature, which it is absolutely not. I expected more from the reviews I read beforehand. Additionally, Clare and Henry are too good looking and "attractive" as people. They are also way too well read, artsy, and cool...which is not at all convincing. However, it was fun to read unlike the first, which was kind of a drag.

The last several trilogies fall into the YA (young adult) category of lit. It is mildly embarrassing to admit, but I am unapologetic about liking these types of books. Scott Westerfield writes sci-fi topics in a realistic way. I really liked the Uglies trilogy especially...where he presents all these interesting ideas in a highly digestible and entertaining way. The Moonlighters trilogy doesn't end that strongly in my opinion, but it was also highly entertaining. Finally, the Twilight series (now a major motion picture), was pretty ridiculous, but I still enjoyed it. I have a weak spot for vampires and sappy romance.

Some Books

On this trip, I finally had time to read some books including Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb, a book recommendation from Nancy. This is one of the first nonfiction books I have finished (or even started on) in a long time. The main idea behind the book is that the role randomness plays in our lives is much greater than we suspect and that as humans we tend to overemphasize and overestimate the effects of causality. Taleb continues to explain how randomness permeates all aspects of our lives whether we are conscious of it or not.

Taleb also talks briefly about how to live in the face of a world filled with randomness, pointing out the fact that we are constantly fooled by our humanity and our emotions. As people, we are programmed to be loyal to ideas, causes, etc (due to emotions, rationalization by emotions). This blind loyalty can be helpful or harmful to us, and is something we should be aware of. Some of the ideas Taleb presents sound Daoist to me (i.e. the wise man knows he knows nothing, the Way cannot be explained through any human models/language). For himself, Taleb believes that the best way to live in a world of randomness is to combat it through "wisdom, upright dealing, and courage." Although most of the ideas presented in the book are not new ideas, he combines these ideas in a funny and insightful way. I definitely recommend Fooled by Randomness to anyone.

All this reminds me of some lines from Wordsworth:

Is aught so certain as that man is doomed
To breathe beneath a vault of ignorance?
The natural roof of that dark house in which
His soul is pent! How little can be known--
This is the wise man's sigh; how far we err--
This is the good man's not unfrequent pang!
--From the Excursion, Book 5th, The Pastor

Another book I finished this week, similar in some aspects to Fooled, was recommended to me by Lisa. The book was the Knight in Rusty Armor by Robert Fischer, a parable about a knight that goes on a quest on the path of truth to shed himself of his armor (which has become permanently lodged to himself, so much so that squirrels have to chew up nuts and push them through his visor for him). He has to endure trials upon the path of Truth including the castles of Silence, Knowledge (self), and Doubt. It echoes the same themes of the danger of clinging to your beliefs and how to live true to yourself. The knight learns from Merlin, his entourage of wood animals, and ultimately himself that ambition from the heart is what will make you happy and beautiful not ambition from the mind. His final trial is to jump off the cliff of Truth into an abyss of the unknown. Thus he is set free by his willingness to embracing the unknown. Awakening on a plain he reflects that, "he almost died from all the tears he had left uncried," and goes on to live life as an awakened soul.

I have nothing more to say after reading all this advice on the good life, except easier said than done and that I still think Wordsworth says it best:

On that best portion of a good man's life,
His little, nameless, unremembered, acts
--From Lines Written A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey