What I’m Reading

So, I’d like to take this opportunity to discus what I’ve been reading lately. Since I did this last, I finished the three items I mentioned, Voyage to Arcturus, Moby Dick, and The King in Yellow. I found all of them, in a way, disappointing. The first was too weird, though I admittedly was drawn to read it because it was extremely weird. However, I never felt that it used that weirdness as well as other over-the-top stories, like Alice in Wonderland. Instead, it seemed the author knew what he was saying, I think it a form of Gnosticism, but was trying to hide his meaning (admittedly, mysticism seems inherent to Gnosticism). Moby Dick, on the other hand, I am more fearful to critique. It is a classic, and there were wonderful parts to it, but I found the ending less than satisfying. Perhaps it is in this case not the fault of the writer but the reader. I was lost in the last quarter of the book. It made no sense to me. This is a little different than my complaint regarding Voyage to Arcturus: In the one, the author seemingly wanted to obscure his meaning, in the latter, I think the author was expressing something as deep as the ocean itself; the first was seemingly disguising his philosophy so it would seem deeper than it was, and the second was actually grappling with the unknowable. The King in Yellow, being a collection of short stories, had its highs and lows. On the whole I liked the writing, but only liked it, never loved it. In the end, my judgment of it may be a matter of taste.

But what am I reading now? Primarily, there are five books I have been enjoying:

American Gods

This book gives a good taste of modern fantasy, and I have found that it provides an interesting perspective to things. Admittedly, I do not think that I agree with its refrain, believe everything, but I would be a poor thinker if I did not engage with viewpoints different than my own. So far I like it, and am curious as to how the plot will resolve.

The Lottery and Other Stories

I mentioned recently my growing admiration for Shirley Jackson, and I bought a collection of her short stories. They are almost comical, in a dark twisted way, and her insightful characterizations remind me of P. G. Wodehouse.

One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich

This book is very short—it itself could be easily read in a day—and is terrifying, insightful, and horribly depressing; it is very Russian. It follows the day of a prisoner in the Soviet Gulag. It is very sobering to read.

The Wind in the Willows

I never read this book as a child, and I only recently procured a copy. The first chapter was mesmerizing. The prose is delightful, and the tone perfectly captures a Romantic wonder of nature and nature’s beauty. It is a tale accessible to children with content suitable for adults.

Idylls of the King

The final entry, the Idylls of the King, I happened upon within a collection of Victorian Poetry. In this collection, there was a poem titled, Morte D’Arthur, and it was such a delight and wonder to read that I had only one regret, it was too short—I wanted more. Then, as I continued to read Tennyson, I realized that there was a whole book of poems he wrote about King Arthur.