Florencia

It's the first time I read Scheler. This work, originally entitled Die Stellung des Menschen im Kosmos (1928), was a bit tough to follow. “A bit tough”, who am I kidding? It was painfully difficult, I'm not that familiar with philosophic anthropology, but I want to.Well, he tries to explain the little detail that is the essence of man, his relationship with animals and plants, and his metaphysical origin and place. He writes about the idea of human nature, according to different conceptions on the matter. He explains the main difference between a man and an animal, rejecting both doctrines of a same theory. Intelligence, spirit, freedom. Man is the being who can say "no", the ascetic of life, unlike the animal that always says "yes" to reality, no matter what. It was a complex read that left me with more questions than certainties.

I think it's a little mistake to judge Kafka considering only "The Metamorphosis". There's a whole different view on things in some of his stories. You're not going to find a nice, warm, fuzzy, Care Bear kind of book (that line made sense in my mind). But some of his stories do show another side of him. I personally like the psychological twisted, complicated, claustrophobic and absurd ones with a weird sense of humor (yes, he can be funny) and infinite interpretations. But that's just me.I liked most of his stories, a few names come to mind (I don't know why and in no specific order): “A Hunger Artist”, a disturbing yet beautiful story about an alienated artist; “In the Penal Colony”; “Eleven sons” and its poetic descriptions; “A dream” (loved its disquieting atmosphere --is that making sense?); “The Great Wall of China”; “A Report to an Academy” (fresh air); “The Problem of Our Laws” that gives you a feeling of despair, because you find yourself being governed by people (noble people) you'll never meet with their rules that you're not supposed to understand; “A Fratricide” (kind of shocked me); "The Cares of a Family Man", short stories like that leave you thinking about what the heck he was writing about.Kafka is a complicated writer, that's true. But the difficult ones often help you to see ordinary things from another perspective. And yes, that's not always sunshine and rainbows, but that's the other inevitable side of life. He mostly described awful, absurd, stressful, weird and confusing situations that human beings experience on daily basis. Sadly, I can relate to his labyrinths of endless bureaucracy. A lot.This writer is not for everyone. And there's nothing wrong with that. In my humble opinion, it was a man who was able to write, among many other things, something like “Before the Law” (a parable that appears in one of my favorites novels); such a familiar feeling. So my connection with him was instantaneous. (It's a shame that mostly happens with people that died a couple or hundreds of years ago. No Lake House around here, huh? God, I hated that movie.) Anyway, “Before the Law” is a short and great example of one of the many sides a Kafkaesque universe has.

Another of the four haiku masters. A man with a tough life that wrote beautiful poetry. Issa, definitely my cup of tea. (Get it?) People, nature, plants, animals, insects. A heartfelt writing with a twist. I read this one, months ago, when I didn't even know who Issa was: Look, don't kill that fly! It is making a prayer to you By rubbing its hands and feet. So, I started babbling, as usual. Before Issa looked at it, that fly put its little hands and feet on rubbish and stuff and then flew over somebody's food and probably contaminated the whole thing; however, he sees a lovely prayer there. It's worth reading his works.

Little drops of nature. I really liked Basho's poetry. You might think that haiku writers are just lazy guys that could write a whole book with 50 little poems. But not everybody can say that much in just three lines. There's a 5-7-5 syllable structure to play with, and you have to be able to capture nature's astonishing moments in a couple of words. It was a nice read.

This is no Little Prince, that's for sure. You must kill the fox, burn the rose, murder the businessman, if any of them tries to take control over your princedom. There's no time to be nice! There's only time to seem to be nice. At the end of the day, it's better to be feared than loved, if you can't be both. But, keep in mind chapter 23. Anyway, The Prince was written in the 16th century, and some of its ideas are too contemporary. It's a major treatise that influenced political leaders, through history. He's widely regarded as the father of modern politics, by taking away any trace of theology and morality from his works. (That's something no one has ever said before.) I should have read it long ago, but everything has its time, I guess. So, there's a lot of concepts that should stay in the book. A few you can apply in ordinary circumstances. But, it delivers what you're waiting for, if you want to know how to have and keep power to yourself, no matter the head you're crushing, and all with a straight-forward prose. It's short, easy to understand --even though the concept of achieving glory, power and survival, no matter how immoral you have to be..., it's not tough to get; THAT we get. All that cruelty, wickedness, immorality; all those things apparently needed to achieve greatness, printed long ago in the form of a little book, just like that... From a twisted point of view, sometimes, it's almost a bit funny. I enjoyed this book. “There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you.” Nice.

This is one of my most precious memories of my childhood. Before going to school, sometimes after, I used to go to a nearby kiosk and buy some chocolates. But these chocolates weren't ordinary. They came wrapped with tiny books inside. With the fables of Jean de La Fontaine. That's one of my earliest independent contacts with literature that I can remember, so I really treasure those fables. I didn't know they were such classics of the 17th century. I found them entertaining so I started collecting them (since I've never liked chocolate that much, I used to give it to my friends :P ), and eventually, they led me to Aesop. Thanks to my grandma, actually, my GR back then. The Lion and the Mouse, The Ant and the Grasshopper, The Cat and the Mice, The Mice in Council, The Fox and the Grapes, and The Fox and the Stork, all favorites of mine. Damn, now I'm nostalgic. Ok. I hope you enjoy my "it has nothing to do with the book" review. I gave it 4 stars, at first, but now I'm a mix of books, images and nostalgia so, a big 5 it is.

I don't like these kind of genres, that much. But Poe is a beautiful exception. He's brilliant at creating weird atmospheres, although sometimes it seems those descriptions are too long, with women dying all over the place. However, it's not difficult to get into the stories and feel real emotion.I really liked William Wilson, I liked Ms. Found in a Bottle, The Oval Portrait, the art of losing a wife by gaining a painting. Ligeia, I don't quite get it yet. That one and others are creepily ok. Death, terror, murders, madness, vulnerability, loneliness. A nice journey in a truly interesting writing style. I need some Seinfeld now.

You just have to read this. Even if you're a Christian, you should read about every point of view, to form or change (or not) your own. Russell explains complicated things which such clarity, a little of humor... It doesn't get tedious, at all. Take "The argument of design", for instance. I really cannot believe it. Do you think that, if you were granted omnipotence and omniscience and millions of years in which to perfect your world, you could produce nothing better than the Ku Klux Klan, the Fascisti, and Mr. Winston Churchill? Really I am not much impressed with the people who say: "Look at me: I am such a splendid product that there must have been design in the universe." Therefore, although it is of course a gloomy view to suppose that life will die out -- at least I suppose we may say so, although sometimes when I contemplate the things that people do with their lives I think it is almost a consolation -- it is not such as to render life miserable. Too funny. You could then talk about free will and that's acceptable; we could discuss it until we reach the point of uncomfortable silence because we both know we're not going to change our minds, and then we'll have a cup of coffee and never leave the safe "weather conversation" zone, again. Or, at least, for a couple of days. Because, if I'm one of the products on which design in the universe is based... That's something only my mom would say. Anyway, my point is, he's that clear. His thoughts are written with the wit and simplicity of great philosophers. The moral and emotional questions are a key ingredient in this outstanding essay that tries to explain "a religion based primarily and mainly upon fear". You can like it or not, but it's still a memorable work.

These things always create conflicts in me. I liked it, it's a major philosophical work. Kierkegaard's influence on contemporary thinking is unquestionable, thanks to little details such as being the first existentialist, having an incredibly creative mind that made him a relevant figure in literature, psychology, theology... However, it's not something I can relate to, or agree with (I'm not quite comfortable saying this, but well, it's the truth). Reflections about anxiety, which, according to Kierkegaard, existed even before the original sin. He states that it can make you sin, but it also may lead you to salvation. He's not talking about just one form of anxiety, he explores a lot of them. This book may give you a new perspective on life, if you can relate to its content. If not, it's still a truly interesting reading. I read this a while ago and, although it wasn't easy, I'd like to come back to it, someday.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the book is always better than the movie. In this case, it was just... different. I have to admit I made a little mistake: I watched the movie first, years ago. So, I was hoping something else, obviously. It's a novella, a quick read, so Holly doesn't have many pages to reach the too-obnoxious-level; that's a good thing. I liked (I think) that Holly, but I loved Hepburn's Holly. I don't feel the same way about the film's Mr. Yunioshi. an offensive stereotype with endless teeth. I think most of us agree with that. However, it's not fair to compare. Book and movie, two different things.Capote's descriptions are very detailed; you can almost picture yourself living in that old brownstone, sharing moments with the characters. He uses colorful and effective metaphors that also kept me interested in this story.Anyway, this is one of those books you should really read before watching the movie. Just a suggestion.

New review after watching the movie that I shouldn't have watched but I did anyway* Spoiler alert *First reviewFitzgerald's writing style is brilliant, simple. He wrote a great story in a few pages. It's easy to read but it doesn't underestimate the reader; it's beautifully written. Above all the superficiality of the characters, their strange yet familiar vision of the world, there's a story of love, regret and lost hopes. I recently bought this book. With all that Di Caprio fever, I wanted to read it before I surrender to the temptation of watching the movie (that ruined a couple of books for me). Maybe I should have read this before, but it's never to late to read about a dreamer and his never-ending quest. Yes, you can reinvent yourself from nothing until you reach the point of absurd materialism; however, that seems a bit easier than reaching to that green light that a lot of us can't even see.Post-movie review The other day, I finally watched the movie. And thank God I didn't watch it before reading the book. I didn't like it that much. It was such a vulgar freak show to watch. Like a weird circus with nice (and sometimes too over-the-top) visuals, lousy anachronistic music (at times) and poor content. The actors are fine, I liked their performances (despite Luhrmann's inability to understand the characters' real personalities; I hope that wasn't on purpose), but the movie, that adaptation is just too bizarre for me. I mean, reading the book was a delightful experience. Fitzgerald's beautifully written lines are now vulgar images.Anyway, that film made me think about this novel again, so I re-read a couple of chapters and some of my notes. And there are some things I didn't write about. For example, what a bitch Daisy turned out to be. I kind of like her at first, but then, she wasn't better than any of those selfish people that Fitzgerald described so perfectly:They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.I didn't get that, at first, even though the author is telling me she and Tom are the same, right there. “Idiot, read again, it's there. Do you want me to spell it for you?”. I'm guessing I didn't want to believe Gatsby spent his whole damn life chasing a dream that was beneath him. In the end, he wasted his life for someone that just wasn't worth it. He created Gatsby out of nothing to be with Daisy; for God's sake, he died for her. Whatever. They’re a rotten crowd,’ I shouted across the lawn. ‘You’reworth the whole damn bunch put together.’True.Another thing I didn't point out in my previous review was Gatsby's lonely death. A new-rich man, victim of society's most delusional rumors, that threw amazing parties attended by hundreds of people, suddenly, dies in the most pathetic solitude; people were to busy to pay their respects. Sure, they didn't know him, most of them, but you had an open bar, free food, music and stuff for quite some time, was it too hard to stop by and wave at his tomb? That's just common courtesy.He died almost alone (I don't want to spoil this even more). That's one of many ironies life mischievously gives us. When you're up, you're surrounded by hundreds of friends, everyone's free for partying. When you're down (or dead, in the worst-case scenario), only a couple of them stay at your side. The real ones. Those you know you can count on. Because everybody is there for whatever you need, until you need something...This book reminded me I love humanity, as a concept, I think... but I don't like people. Certain people. The ones I know. Most of them. And they probably don't like me. So it's a tie. No hard feelings.

I don't know what's wrong with me. I started this book just fine, Mann's writing was something familiar to me, I liked it. But then, it began to bore me to death. This happened a couple of years ago. But still, I think I'm going to give it another shot. Soon. In a couple of days weeks. Definitely before Christmas.

Bueno, ya que estoy, hago la misma aclaración para este libro. Como no se sabe qué aclaración es, ya que luego se pierde el hilo de las "actualizaciones", remito a la reseña-aclaración de [b:Inferno|15645|Inferno (The Divine Comedy, #1)|Dante Alighieri|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1333579470s/15645.jpg|2377563]. Supongo que en estas líneas podría haber mencionado cuál era la aclaración para que no deba recurrirse a la aclaración de Dante. Y supongo que también podría haberme tomado el tiempo de buscar sinónimos de aclaración. Pero pocos contarán cuántas veces repetí "aclaración".La segunda es la vencida.

Reading Borges is always a challenge. When you read his stories, it seems you're reading everyone else's. There's a lot of references in his work, and if you want to truly (kind of) understand it (or begin to), you have to do a little research. He ends up being an invaluable teacher. Labyrinths, mirrors, libraries, dreams, fantasy, religion, philosophy, epistemology. My love for philosophical literature began with this author. My all-time favorite story is “Las Ruinas Circulares”; the power of thoughts. “Con alivio, con humillación, con terror, comprendió que él también era una apariencia, que otro estaba soñándolo.” What a beautiful line to end a story. (I prefer quoting Borges in his own language, my language. I do the same with English-speaking writers. Being able to read JLB in Spanish is a privilege.) "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" is another jewel with a line I never forgot: (…) los espejos y la cópula son abominables, porque multiplican el número de los hombres. I also liked “La lotería de Babilonia”, “El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan”, “Funes el memorioso”, “La biblioteca de Babel” (brilliant). And... I should stop here. I loved every piece of amazing and confusing literature this guy wrote. So, this is a useless, too subjective review because I absolutely love Borges' writing. Despite the fact he makes me feel plain stupid, most of the times. JLB and his blindness, nice oxymoron. He saw things beyond the ordinary human eye. He created universes, troubled authors, fake books, never-ending labyrinths and a unique way of writing about all that and more.He's one of those great writers that makes you feel like everything has already been written.

A normal review

 

A painting. A young man who meets a new friend that introduces him into hedonism. Same young man now is willing to do anything to maintain his youth and beauty, while his soul becomes tremendously corrupted.

The plot's interesting and well-written. It depicts society in late 19th century England. However, the narcissism, the wish of eternal youth, the superficiality, the unscrupulous acts in order to get what people want, they're all things that can be seen in any century.

The characters are well-developed.

I really like Wilde's writing. Funny. Witty. Profound.

 

 

A "completely about the book that doesn't go off-topic and doesn't refer to the author (a 'non-shelf author', may I add) except for that one positive observation, so he won't feel insulted, even though this guy died in 1900" kind of review. Effective, huh?

 

-

 

Yup. Boring.

Suddenly, rating seems just fine.

So, in the 16th century, 13-year-olds were able to fall in love and commit suicide, all in less than a week. Now, they get upset if they don't get the 1.000 likes they require in social networks. Newbies.

This is the greatest love story of all times. Yes, it happened in less than a month (and there are men that after 10 years of being in a relationship, still aren't ready to get married). I can't imagine what would have happened in a six-month marriage. “New home, a couple of kids –a challenge to mother nature but time's not important here. After weeks of fighting over little things, Romeo developed a drinking problem, Juliet was heavily depressed, the kids fell in love with their neighbors at a birthday party. Three deaths by stabbing and 6 months later, big divorce.”

Either way, they were doomed. That's what happens when you rush into things.

I love Shakespeare. The man described love, hatred, and all kind of human miseries with such a brilliant writing. He had an outstanding way of exploring his characters' psyche. Hamlet, for instance? Only the greatest tragedy of all times. But Romeo and Juliet... Even though I can't say I really dislike it, it wasn't my cup of tea.