Since many of us have a three-day weekend and are big fucking dorks, it feels behooveular to recommend some books to alla youse! (This is how intellectuals speak in New Jersey, from whence I sprang forth one demonic October in the waning days of the Carter Administration).
Below, please find a brief list of books that you may love, hate, or find utterly unremarkable. Pretend you are at my little apartment, which is dominated by a ginormous bookshelf! I am giving you these books! You are accepting them, or throwing them back at me! We are yelling! Now we are dancing a violent but thrilling pas de deux and throwing books at the walls for fun! Now we are laughing! We are friends again! We are drawing pictures of Robyn because we love her and wish to have her autograph perhaps! (I love you more! — Robyn)
Okay! Here we go!
A book for if you want to read something hauntingly beautiful
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler - This astonishing yet scarily relevant novel blew my mind all over my face. Also, Octavia Butler had many jobs throughout her life, including potato chip inspector! She wrote fiction on the bus in Los Angeles! Learn more about her via The Huntington, where her extraordinary archive resides.
A book for if you don’t know philosophy but want to start
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius - This Roman Emperor wrote a lot of thoughtful things in his little Barbie pink diary with a lock on it between approximately the years 161 and 180. Apparently, he had read Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and decided to embark on a journey of self-improvement. There are gorgeous sculptures of him and, not to brag, but he and I have the same hair type and texture. Italians, am I right? Robyn? Am I right? (You are right! — Robyn)
Side note: The unification of the Italian states occurred in the 19th century, but then some stuff happened after, and the Roman Empire technically unified some of the region in the third century BCE, anyway whatever, I’m doing anachronismsisms for sport and we can’t accurately call him “Italian” like Christopher Moltisanti or that horny dad Michael Imperioli plays on “The White Lotus.” Imperioli is also a talented writer, not unlike Marcus Aurelius.
Okay anyway, you can read about a hundred different English language translations of the journal that I think he originally penned in Koine (common) Greek, a.k.a. Very Old Greek Words. To my knowledge, these words of advice were not intended for anyone but the author himself. It’s interesting to learn how this deeply powerful man spoke to himself when nobody else was looking. Which leads me to…
A book for if you vant to be ah-lone
Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton - Lesbianism: ever heard of it? I first read May Sarton when I was a wee lass of 24. She was such a prolific poet and author, and you can start anywhere and see if you like her stuff. This just happens to be where I started. She was meditative, grumpy, grouchy, enthusiastic, loving, romantic, weird, hardworking, tired, energetic, and gay gay gay gay gay.
A book for if you want to listen to a nice accent
The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer - Plot twist: THIS is an audiobook! Pico Iyer has a lovely voice. He is a very good writer. Here, he reads to you about chill stuff. Oh also, he goes to visit Leonard Cohen in this book! It is a sequel, of sorts, to Iyer’s essay “The Joy of Quiet.”
Okay, go forth and enjoy one or all or none of these books! And please do make your own weekend reading suggestions below. Grandma loves when you have nice ideas for each other, awwww.
(We are on a holiday half-ass weekend here, because we love the labor movement, so please consider the first post today to be the OPEN THREAD so we can leave this for important book discussions!)
Hi! Movie thread is up.
The inclusion of Meditations has provoked this long-time lurker (5+ years?) to leave his first-ever non-comment.
No book has changed my life more. Marcus Aurelius writes with a practical and human perspective you would not think possible for a man of power. Highly recommend.