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bolo

wizard145@bookwyrm.social

Joined 2 years, 2 months ago

anarchist/relationships antiwork/pro thought philosophy/existentialism absurdism/surrealism prioritize art/prioritize sloth

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bolo's books

To Read

Philosophy

David Foster Wallace: A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (Paperback, 2010, Abacus (UK))

love the essays- narrative doing too much

This was the first DFW book i have read in my life. ironically due to the essays in this i also have now watched my first D. Lynch movie in my life. i would say that this book was reccomended to me as an introductory piece to the body of DFW’s work because of its essays, variety, and philosophical bendt. I do feel that it would be a stronger rating and more impactful if he had kept it at the level of essay, philosophy and added a modicum of well positioned and poignant narrative. BUT NO. there are HUNDREDS of useless extensive dostoyevskyesque in detail excruciating sentences of fictional narrative to get through in this book. i am now at the stage of my human life where i do not feel any sense of disloyalty in skimming and subsequently skipping as much of a written piece as i need to …

David Foster Wallace: A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (Paperback, 2010, Abacus (UK))

Content warning plot points

Slavoj Žižek: Like a Thief in Broad Daylight (2018, Penguin Books, Limited)

Devoured it, Regurgitated Some

This book is relatively consumable for philosophy. I used it in my life to dip my toes back into reading philosophy and frankly its my first brush with a modern version of that classic essence. The topics are coursing and relevant, his accent and speech patterns penetrate the pace, and many of the points are formally disagreeable. In probably an enjoyable way. CONS: for myself who is cinema ILLITERATE the in depth: "let me explain the whole plot of a 3 hour movie to you in a crowded bar with loud music playing”, is a REAL annoyance. Nonetheless quick read, and something i feel my life is better for having read. Is he my new favorite philosopher guy?? absolutely not. Have i used his thought experiments as material for starting conversations, absolutely.

Slavoj Žižek: Like a Thief in Broad Daylight (2018, Penguin Books, Limited)

This book is relatively consumable for philosophy. I used it in my life to dip my toes back into reading philosophy and frankly its my first brush with a modern version of that classic essence. The topics are coursing and relevant, his accent and speech patterns penetrate the pace, and many of the points are formally disagreeable. In probably an enjoyable way. CONS: for myself who is cinema ILLITERATE the in depth: "let me explain the whole plot of a 3 hour movie to you in a crowded bar with loud music playing”, is a REAL annoyance. Nonetheless quick read, and something i feel my life is better for having read. Is he my new favorite philosopher guy?? absolutely not. Have i used his thought experiments as material for starting conversations, absolutely.

Slavoj Žižek: Like a Thief in Broad Daylight (2018, Penguin Books, Limited)

Devoured it, Regurgitated Some

This book is relatively consumable for philosophy. I used it in my life to dip my toes back into reading philosophy and frankly its my first brush with a modern version of that classic essence. The topics are coursing and relevant, his accent and speech patterns penetrate the pace, and many of the points are formally disagreeable. In probably an enjoyable way. CONS: for myself who is cinema ILLITERATE the in depth: "let me explain the whole plot of a 3 hour movie to you in a crowded bar with loud music playing”, is a REAL annoyance. Nonetheless quick read, and something i feel my life is better for having read. Is he my new favorite philosopher guy?? absolutely not. Have i used his thought experiments as material for starting conversations, absolutely.

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reviewed Closely watched trains by Bohumil Hrabal (European classics)

Bohumil Hrabal: Closely watched trains (1995, Northwestern University Press)

an epitome of czech literature

this is the book that got me back into reading again after probably a year hiatus of enjoying or devouring any one thing thoroughly. its gorgeous, funny and a lovely contrast to the tolstoy i read before. not a slam at tolstoy. just reading this knowing my czech country is like realizing for the first time that only mark twain could write mark twain, only dostoyevskii could write dostoyevskii, and in fact only bohumil hrabal could write closely watched trains. its an epitome of czech literature in its most accessible and yet graphic, bloody and stunning. i think the accessibility of the book comes through its subtle shadowy humor and implication of sex in almost everything. this is what i mean by it is czech at its finest.

Jean-Paul Sartre: Being and Nothingness (2003, Routledge)

Being & Nothingness is without doubt one of the most significant philosophical books of the …

stars for effort

obstinately verbose, unnecessarily long and i mean that as a long winded person. it took me almost two years to finish it and i felt a guilt spectrally enforced by sartre himself when i picked up other books to take my mind off this MONSTROSITY. grueling. i agree with him 35% of the time and that is FAR TOO LOW OF A PERCENT to read EIGHT HUNDRED AND ELEVEN PAGES (not including biblio) of a text as dense as this. i did it in the end to say that i did it, and it turns out, nobody cares. ahahaha

reviewed Closely watched trains by Bohumil Hrabal (European classics)

Bohumil Hrabal: Closely watched trains (1995, Northwestern University Press)

an epitome of czech literature

this is the book that got me back into reading again after probably a year hiatus of enjoying or devouring any one thing thoroughly. its gorgeous, funny and a lovely contrast to the tolstoy i read before. not a slam at tolstoy. just reading this knowing my czech country is like realizing for the first time that only mark twain could write mark twain, only dostoyevskii could write dostoyevskii, and in fact only bohumil hrabal could write closely watched trains. its an epitome of czech literature in its most accessible and yet graphic, bloody and stunning. i think the accessibility of the book comes through its subtle shadowy humor and implication of sex in almost everything. this is what i mean by it is czech at its finest.

quite alright

i ate it whole. it was sad as usual and per russian protocol had very little to break the clambering fall of the sadness onto the reader. it did not leave a bruise. i will remember it for the sentiment it brought me, and not for any literary feat itself. a quite alright book.

i ate it whole. it was sad as usual and per russian protocol had very little to break the clambering fall of the sadness onto the reader. it did not leave a bruise. i will remember it for the sentiment it brought me, and not for any literary feat itself. a quite alright book.

finished reading Closely watched trains by Bohumil Hrabal (European classics)

Bohumil Hrabal: Closely watched trains (1995, Northwestern University Press)

this is the book that got me back into reading again after probably a year hiatus of enjoying or devouring any one thing thoroughly. its gorgeous, funny and a lovely contrast to the tolstoy i read before. not a slam at tolstoy. just reading this knowing my czech country is like realizing for the first time that only mark twain could write mark twain, only dostoyevskii could write dostoyevskii, and in fact only bohumil hrabal could write closely watched trains. its an epitome of czech literature in its most accessible and yet graphic, bloody and stunning. i think the accessibility of the book comes through its subtle shadowy humor and implication of sex in almost everything. this is what i mean by it is czech at its finest.