Daniel Keast started reading I who have never known men by Jacqueline Harpman
This month's book club pick
Reviews and Comments
Computer programmer living in Exeter, UK.
Loves open source, retro video games, food, and anxiously watching the unfolding UK political catastrophy.
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Daniel Keast finished reading River Kings by Cat Jarman
A history book that follows a bead that was found in a Viking grave in Repton across to asia where it was likely made. The book details bioarcheology involving comparing the makeup of teeth and bones to show whether people in gravesites are migrants where they likely came from. I'd never heard of that before, and found it all very interesting.
I really enjoyed the first section, but as it went I guess by necessity it became less grounded and more full of could haves and might haves.
Daniel Keast finished reading The Machine Stops by Edward Morgan Forster
"The Machine Stops" is a science fiction short story (12,300 words) by E. M. Forster. …
A short story from 1909.
It feels like a cliche to say a dystopian story predicted the modern world, but wow.
Daniel Keast stopped reading Food for Life by Tim Spector
This was from the library, but I returned it after the first section. It seems pretty good, but it's too soon after I read ultra processed people for me I think. It has the same messages really, avoid UPF, eat whole foods, mostly plants. Ignore health claims on packaging, the gut microbiome seems important, but most stuff about single nutrients/vitamins/antioxidants etc is bunk. Maybe I'll come back to it another day.
Daniel Keast finished reading The Odyssey by Homer
The Odyssey (/ˈɒdəsi/; Greek: Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems …
This was the Rieu translation, which apparently initiated the Penguin Classics series. It is in prose rather than attempting to translate into poetry. It was very clear and easy to read.
It was surprisingly gruesome and violent in parts, detailing gore and dismemberment. I'm all for it, though the section about stringing up the maids that were "disloyal" is a very uncomfortable read for what are supposed to be the actions of a hero.
Like the Iliad it can be quite repetitive, but that's from the nature of it being epic poetry that was recited from memory. I guess likely not told in one go either, so it almost acts like the "previously on..." sections on TV serials.
I like that it is told non-linearly, and from multiple perspectives. I had the impression that the story of Odyssius was essentially an episodic "and then this happened" tale.
I was going …
This was the Rieu translation, which apparently initiated the Penguin Classics series. It is in prose rather than attempting to translate into poetry. It was very clear and easy to read.
It was surprisingly gruesome and violent in parts, detailing gore and dismemberment. I'm all for it, though the section about stringing up the maids that were "disloyal" is a very uncomfortable read for what are supposed to be the actions of a hero.
Like the Iliad it can be quite repetitive, but that's from the nature of it being epic poetry that was recited from memory. I guess likely not told in one go either, so it almost acts like the "previously on..." sections on TV serials.
I like that it is told non-linearly, and from multiple perspectives. I had the impression that the story of Odyssius was essentially an episodic "and then this happened" tale.
I was going to put that it was nice to read an adventure story that doesn't follow the whole "hero of a thousand faces" Joseph Campbell monomyth. The wikipedia page for that lists it as an example though.
Daniel Keast finished reading Good Pop, Bad Pop by Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker having a clear out of his loft space talking through some of the things he finds. I didn't know much about him really, but fancied something quite light to read and it was on offer. I'm glad I picked it, I found his perspective on life and music interesting as a fellow awkward nerd that seems to be in a slower gear than the rest of the world a lot of the time.
One of the outstanding classics to emerge from the Holocaust, Man's Search for Meaning is …
The first section details the authors time in Aushwitz, which of course was hard going and fascinating.
The second section is a more detailed explanation of his type of psychotherapy called Logotherapy. It is about how people can suffer any type of hardship as long as they perceive there to be some meaning to their life. It seemed to be rooted in stoicism, but I know nothing about psychotherapy so I'm not sure I grasp the details clearly.
There was a section at the end about "paradoxical intention" which was talking about an approach to get over hangups. For instance if you can't sleep, stop trying so hard. It felt pretty out of place to be honest.
Wikipedia says there is some controversy about the book, how he is misleading about how much time he spent in Aushwitz, how he was really in another camp. I don't really get the …
The first section details the authors time in Aushwitz, which of course was hard going and fascinating.
The second section is a more detailed explanation of his type of psychotherapy called Logotherapy. It is about how people can suffer any type of hardship as long as they perceive there to be some meaning to their life. It seemed to be rooted in stoicism, but I know nothing about psychotherapy so I'm not sure I grasp the details clearly.
There was a section at the end about "paradoxical intention" which was talking about an approach to get over hangups. For instance if you can't sleep, stop trying so hard. It felt pretty out of place to be honest.
Wikipedia says there is some controversy about the book, how he is misleading about how much time he spent in Aushwitz, how he was really in another camp. I don't really get the issue. It also says that he came up with Logotherapy before being in Aushwitz, rather than during but I thought that was clear in the text. I don't think either of these points are gotchas, and I'm suspicious of the reason they're prominently raised.
Daniel Keast finished reading Eric by Terry Pratchett
Eric, stylized as Faust Eric, is the ninth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. It was …
Very short and very silly. I have a real soft spot for Rincewind, and the early Discworld books.
Daniel Keast commented on Eric by Terry Pratchett
Eric, stylized as Faust Eric, is the ninth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. It was …
Very short and very silly. I have a real soft spot for Rincewind, and the early Discworld books.
Daniel Keast rated Ultra-Processed People: 4 stars
Daniel Keast finished reading Ultra-Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken
A book detailing how our food has been systematically replaced by food-like products.
Not much particularly new to me, having read In Defence of Food by Michael Pollan and Spoon Fed by Tim Spector. It's good to remind myself of this though, and try to focus on minimising the amount of UPF I consume. Not easy though!
This definitely rings true to me:
Many of the other products we buy are engineered to drive excess consumption; our phones and apps, our clothes, our social media, our games and television. Sometimes these can feel like they take much more than they give. The requirement for growth and the harm it does to our bodies and our planet is so much part of the fabric of our world that it’s nearly invisible. You may find that abstinence from some of these other products is helpful too.