#5: Twilight of the Idols by Friedrich Nietzsche

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100 books, book review, books, Nietzsche, philosophy

The typical book of philosophy seems to be roughly 30 percent real insight and 70 percent over-inflated language.  Nietzsche’s formula is just a little bit different.  He offers 70 percent insight, 20 percent attitude, and 10 percent beastly mustache.  The result is a book like Twilight of the Idols, which I finished last night.  Subtitled “How to Philosophize with a Hammer”, Idols is Nietzsche relaxing a bit and taking aim at the empty concepts that have become the idols of the modern age.  He sets his sights on targets ranging from Socrates to Christianity to Kant to democracy in general.  Nietzsche is never one to pull his punches, and this book is an excellent example.

At the core of the book is Nietzsche’s central tenet that life should always be affirmed.  His chief criticism of most of the so-called ‘idols’ is the tendency to suppress the will to life.  Spiritualism at the expense of sensuality and philosophies that seek to equate reason with virtue at the expense of the body are decadent and deny the will to life.  This decadence has caused the development of a false reality in the West, which manages to place more importance on a theoretical ideal existence than the actual existence we all enjoy.  Christianity is a victim of this same judgment.  The longest section of the book features some of Nietzsche’s most withering criticisms.  Taking aim at some of his contemporaries and recent predecessors, Nietzsche proceeds to rip ‘modern culture’ to shreds.  He again urges a revaluation of all values, as traditional morality has become life-denying and should be replaced by a truly life-affirming ethic. 

This book was outstanding.  While it lacks the depth of argument to be found in Beyond Good and Evil or On The Genealogy of Morals, Twilight of the Idols features some of Nietzsche’s most cutting criticisms.  His use of sarcasm and insult can be highly entertaining, and this book finds him being deliberately provocative.  The result is sometimes outrageous but never dull. 

The Current Count

5 Read, 95 To Go

#4: The Mauritius Command by Patrick O’Brian

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100 books, book review, books, history, literature, Patrick O'Brian

Last night I finished my fourth book of the year, which also happens to be the fourth book of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series.  The Mauritius Command opens with Jack Aubrey ashore, beset by domestic cares at his cottage, where he lives with his wife, infant twin daughters, mother-in-law, and toddler niece.  Stephen Maturin arrives with news that Jack is to take command of the HMS Boadicea and lead a squadron in the attempted capture of French-held islands Mauritius and La Reunion in the Indian Ocean.  The French have recently added four large frigates to their forces on the islands, making the task extremely difficult.

Jack accepts the command with enthusiasm and sets sail in his new ship for the Cape.  With the full support of the Admiral of the Cape station, Jack hoists his pendant as a Commodore and proceeds to the islands.  His plans are successful (with the aid of Stephen’s intelligence work) and La Reunion is captured.  Unfortunately, various setbacks delay the attempt on Mauritius.  Just as the situation is again in hand, the Admiral arrives and supersedes Jack, claiming all of the glory after Jack’s hard work.  This tremendous blow is offset by the news that Jack’s wife has given birth to a son.

As with all of the Aubrey/Maturin books, The Mauritius Command is a highly entertaining read.  O’Brian’s use of the logs from real battles lends an authenticity to the narrative that heightens the excitement.  By the fourth book, the reader comes to see the cast of characters as old friends, but O’Brian manages to keep them vibrant and interesting.  Patrick O’Brian is perhaps the greatest author of historical fiction ever to put pen to paper.

The Current Count

4 Read, 96 To Go

Awesome Zorba the Greek Game

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books, dance, games, movies, music

I’ve made no secret of my love for Nikos Kazantzakis’ Zorba the Greek.  It was my favorite book out of the seventy-five I read in 2011, and the movie based on the book is an undeniable classic.  In the final scene, we see the spirited Zorba teaching his straight-laced boss a classic Greek dance.

Now it gets even better.  You too can dance with Zorba the Greek, thanks to this awesome game.  It is a Dance Dance Revolution style game, but with the 8-bit look of the classic Mario.  For some reason I just can’t seem to beat Zorba…

#3: 100 Best Beatles Songs by Spignesi and Lewis

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100 books, book review, books, music, The Beatles

My third book of the year was a Christmas gift from my brother Sam (an affectionate nickname for my sister-in-law Kim).  Stephen Spignesi and Michael Lewis’s 100 Best Beatles Songs: A Passionate Fan’s Guide is exactly what it sounds like, a ranking of what the authors consider the 100 best Beatles songs.  The authors offer background information, lyrical interpretation, trivia, and recording notes on each of the 100 songs.  It is packed with information and photographs about the band and their music.  My favorite part was the information included about promotional videos and scenes from the various Beatles films that feature some of these songs.  I know The Beatles’ music like the back of my hand, but I have never seen the films.  The videographic information inspired me to look up many of these classic scenes online.  I especially like this clip of “If I Fell” from “Hard Day’s Night”:

This clip kills me.  Ringo being cranky about the drums that “loom large in his legend” and John’s tongue-in-cheek balladeering to brighten his mood are hilarious.

The Beatles are the greatest band of all time.  Period.  If you don’t believe me, pick an album and listen all the way through.  Even their earliest material is remarkable.  I enjoy rankings like this because they inspire me to sit down and really listen to some of the songs I have overlooked.  Every night this week I have put on a Beatles record (and I mean a record, way better than a CD) and just listened.  The Fabs music is astounding, made even more so by the fact that they broke up before they were thirty.  The Beatles owned the 60’s and redefined music forever.  Not bad for a bunch of twenty-somethings.

The Current Count

3 Read, 97 To Go

#2: Sand and Foam by Khalil Gibran

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100 books, book review, books, literature, philosophy, poetry

The work of Khalil Gibran has been a wonderful discovery for me over the past year.  Despite being one of the most popular authors of all time, and the third best-selling poet in history (according to Wikipedia), I had not heard of him until partway through college.  Even then I did not read any of his writing.  That changed last year when I read The Prophet.  I was immediately hooked on Gibran.  I read three other Gibran works in 2011, and chose another for my second book of 2012.

Sand and Foam is a difficult book to classify.  It is part poetry, part philosophy, part parable, and entirely genius.  Gibran manages to put simple truths into words that are both beautiful and profound.  Consider this line:

“I am ignorant of absolute truth. But I am humble before my ignorance and therein lies my honor and my reward.”

That level of self awareness and honesty is remarkable in any man.  Gibran’s influence over the past century has been much greater than many people realize.  As this New Yorker article points out, his quotes pop up everywhere.  A prime example: the opening line of The Beatles’ song “Julia” is a paraphrase of a line from Gibran’s Sand and Foam.  When The Beatles use you as a lyrical inspiration, you’ve done pretty darn well.

The Current Count

2 Read, 98 To Go

Best Books of 2011: The Top Ten

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100 books, books, literature

Picking up where I left off a few days ago, here is my top ten books of 2011.  It took a lot of deliberation to cut it down to these ten.  You can check out my honorable mention list here and the full 75 here.

#10: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre

The quintessential Cold War spy story, replacing the glitz and glamor of James Bond with the grit of the real world.  Le Carre’s story of a washed up spy used as a pawn in power politics is surprisingly poignant.  This book is absolutely a modern classic.

#9: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

Kesey’s novel about the inner workings of an insane asylum is one of the most disturbing but inspiring books I have ever read.  The book features anti-hero Randle Patrick McMurphy, one of the great modern literary figures.  Read the book, watch the movie, and thank God for whatever dash of sanity you possess.

#8: Suttree by Cormac McCarthy

McCarthy is an author with a tremendous reputation in modern literature.  I am happy to say that this book lived up to McCarthy’s fame.  Telling the story of Cornelius Suttree and his band of homeless associates, Suttree is a darkly humorous look at humanity from the underside.  This book’s ranking suffered in comparison to The Road, also by Cormac McCarthy (and appearing higher on my list).

#7: Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut’s heartbreaking story of Howard Campbell is both humorous and depressing.  Through subtle wit, Vonnegut reminds us that the person we present to the world is the person we are, whether we realize it or not.  Read it and remember the value of sincerity in everyday life.

#6: Cancer Ward by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

The very first book I read in 2011 remained one of my favorites throughout the year.  It follows Oleg Kostoglotov as he undergoes treatment for cancer in a Soviet hospital.  At once an examination of the harsh nature of Soviet rule and a look at the frailty of all existence, this book is not easily forgotten.

#5: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Gibran’s slender volume about a fictional prophet preaching a final sermon before departing a village is more like poetry than simple prose.  The philosophy espoused by the titular prophet is one of inclusion and love.  We all would do well to take his words to heart.

#4: A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Though For Whom the Bell Tolls still ranks as my favorite Hemingway book, A Farewell to Arms runs a close second.  Hemingway uses the heartbreaking love story to highlight the depth and power of emotion.  Set against the backdrop of World War I in all its dehumanizing horror, this story reminds us all that an individual’s feelings can be overshadowed by war but not destroyed by it.

#3: Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche

This book is Nietzsche at the top of his philosophical game.  It is direct and profound, calling all accepted social and ethical norms into question.  Whether or not you agree with Nietzsche, you cannot ignore him.

 

#2: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

This book is beyond all description.  McCarthy has turned the story of a father and son trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world into a timeless epic that offers hope in the face of unspeakable horror.  If this man doesn’t win the Nobel Prize in the next few years there is no justice.

And the number one book I read in 2011 is…

Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis

 I tend to become obsessed with authors, and Kazantzakis was my obsession for 2011.  Zorba presents the classic struggle between spirit and intellect, with the titular Zorba representing the wildness within us all.  Stunning in its originality, this book will make you both laugh and cry out at the strictures society has placed on our individual spirits.

Hope you enjoyed the list!  I look forward to many more excellent books in 2012.

#1: Light in August by William Faulkner

Tags

100 books, book review, books, literature

More than a week into the New Year, I finally finished my first book.  Yesterday I completed William Faulkner’s Light in August.  I have only read two other Faulkner novels, The Sound and the Fury in high school and As I Lay Dying in 2010.  I enjoyed both of those works and looked forward to this book with high hopes.  Faulkner did not disappoint.

Light in August weaves together the stories of three main characters.  The first is Lena Grove, a young woman from Alabama who went to bed with Lucas Burch on the promise that he would marry her.  She gets pregnant and Burch skips town, promising to send for Lena when he has a good job and has set up a home.  After months without word, Lena sets out on foot.  She eventually reaches Jefferson, Mississippi, where Bruch is part of a small whiskey bootlegging operation (under the name of Joe Brown).

The second major character is Joe Christmas, who started the bootlegging operation.  Christmas was an orphan who appears white but has been told from a very young age that he is part black.  He was adopted by a strict Christian farmer who tried to force Christmas to adopt his puritanical ways.  Christmas rebelled and ran away.  After decades on the road, he eventually comes to Jefferson and begins an affair with a woman long since shunned by the town for her sympathy to the black race.

The final major character is Gail Hightower, a disgraced minister in Jefferson.  He is obsessed by the story of his grandfather, who died in a Confederate cavalry raid on the Union stores in Jefferson.  This obsession caused him to seek the appointment to Jefferson following seminary.  His singular focus on the events of the past drives his wife away, and she is eventually killed in scandalous circumstances.  The resulting disgrace causes Hightower to lose his position, but he stays in Jefferson as something of a hermit.

The lives of these three characters are brought together by the murder of Christmas’ mistress.  Lucas Burch/Joe Brown tells the police that Christmas is guilty and a manhunt ensues.  Hightower’s only remaining friend, Byron Bunch, falls in love with Lena and tries to shield her from Burch/Brown.  Christmas is captured and his long-lost grandparents ask Hightower to lie and establish an alibi for the murder.  In the end, Christmas is killed trying to escape, Burch/Brown flees from Lena and her newborn baby, and Hightower is left to reflect on his life and prepare for his death.

This was a phenomenal book.  I went through a bit of a funk halfway through and didn’t seem to make much progress, but I don’t blame the book.  Once I applied myself, I got back into a groove and couldn’t put it down.  Faulkner goes beyond establishing a simple setting.  He creates an atmosphere where you can feel the history of the characters guiding their actions and determining their fates.  The themes of loneliness, racism, religion, and love are all profoundly explored in the course of the narrative.  It is a wonderful example of a master artist at the top of his craft.

The Current Count:

1 Read, 99 To Go

Best Books of 2011: Honorable Mention

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100 books, books, literature

Much thought went into this list…

As promised, here is my list of the best books I read in 2011.  This is a very subjective and unscientific list, with my personal enjoyment being the primary criterion used to make the selections.  The second criterion was recommendability (oh yes, new word), meaning I tried to pick books that I thought my readers might also enjoy.  Please don’t consider this list an effort at serious literary criticism.  That said, on to the list.

 

Honorable Mentions

I will start with the honorable mentions of the past year before moving on to the top ten tomorrow.  These books didn’t quite make my top ten for 2011, but they were too good to leave out completely.

 

 

Deliverance by James Dickey

This story of perseverance and determination in the face of unspeakable hardship is a beautiful piece of writing.  It tells the story of four urban men on a canoe trip gone horribly wrong.  Intense, engaging, frightening and vivid.  One of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read.

 

 

 

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

This novel blew me away.  It’s depiction of familial dysfunction is both poignant and hilarious.  Franzen has a gift for creating characters that are at once outrageous and utterly believable.

 

 

 

 

 

Report to Greco by Nikos Kazantzakis

 Described as Kazantzakis’ fictionalized autobiography, Greco is one of the most honest spiritual confessions I have ever read.  The author presents his intellectual and spiritual development for all to see.  His descriptions are beautiful and his philosophy is sincere.  This is not a book to casually read.  It is a book to savor.

 

 

 

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre

Le Carre is the king of the spy story.  Tinker, Tailor centers on retired super-spy George Smiley, who is investigating a mole at the top of British Intelligence.  The plot keeps you guessing until the very end and the writing is wonderfully intelligent.  I can’t wait to see the new movie version!

 

 

The War of the Roses Tetralogy by William Shakespeare

Consisting of Henry VI, Parts 1, 2, and 3, and Richard III, the War of the Roses tetralogy is an outstanding example of Shakespeare’s dramatic prowess.  All of the plays are very enjoyable, but Richard III is definitely the best.  Read all four of them to get the entire story.

 

Stay tuned for the top ten tomorrow!

Goodbye to 2011

Tags

100 books, books

New Year’s Day always leaves me a bit dumbfounded.  Has it really been an entire year since last New Year’s?  At the risk of sounding like a cliché, this is a day for reflecting on the past and preparing for the future.  On this blog, that means taking a look at what I read in 2011 and gearing up for another run at 100 in 2012.  We’ll start with a look at my reading stats for the past year.

• Total Books Read: 75 (Click Here for the List)
• Total Pages Read: 19,411
• Average Book Length: 258.81 pages
• Best Month: July, 14 Books Read
• Worst Month: May, 1 Book Read
• Blog Views: 14,382

I am pleased with my stats this year, despite falling 25 books short of my goal.  The purpose of my challenge was to provide focus for my intellectual efforts and keep myself mentally fit.  I definitely think I accomplished that.  This year saw an eclectic mix of books from many different genres, time periods, and countries.  I enjoyed some more than others, and later this week I will post my Top 10 Books from 2011.  Until then, Happy New Year!

#75: 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

Tags

100 books, book review, books, literature, movies, Science Fiction

At long last, here is my final review from 2011.  Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is an unusual book.  It came out after the movie of the same name, but is not a novelization or adaptation of the movie.  It was written by Clarke at the same time that he and Stanley Kubrick were developing the screenplay for the film.  Kubrick wanted Clarke to develop depth for the story, which would help him make decisions regarding how he would shoot the film.

The film version of 2001 is one of my all-time favorite movies.  The effects are groundbreaking and Kubrick is one of the greatest visual storytellers the world has ever known.  The film is also perplexing.  It is the cinematic equivalent of Hemingway’s iceberg method, with ten percent of the story visible.  Clarke’s novel helps to provide context.  It is a good read, but is most enjoyable as an addition to the film.

The Final Count:

75 Read, 25 To Go