Reading “The Cosmic Puppets” Philip K. Dick. I am in my summer mood nowadays so very little Internet or blogging until later maybe in September. But occasionally there will be a post or two about what I am up-to or what I am reading… “The Cosmic Puppets” is a mind-bending novel by renowned science fiction author Philip K. Dick. Set in a small town called Millgate, the...
Picked up this book today as part of my summer reading list. Excited about it… Life, a User’s Manual by Georges Perec is a captivating literary masterpiece that intricately weaves together the stories of the diverse inhabitants of a Parisian apartment building. With meticulous detail, Perec explores the hidden secrets, desires, and peculiarities of each character, transforming the building...
My first book from my summer reading, light and enjoyable… started reading “Pineapple Street” by Jenny Jackson Darley, the eldest daughter in the well-connected, old money Stockton family, followed her heart, trading her job and her inheritance for motherhood but giving up far too much in the process; Sasha, a middle-class New England girl, has married into the Brooklyn Heights family, and finds...
Started reading another book by Izumi Suzuki which was recently published in English: “Hit Parade of Tears” and I am half way finished. It’s really good and I recommend it. Izumi Suzuki, a Japanese counterculture icon of the nineteen-seventies and eighties, lived a life that was as tumultuous as her work was unique. As an underground actor, erotic model, and science-fiction writer, she left a...
Picked up J.G. Ballard’s “Empire of the Sun” from a library as audiobook recently. It is a semi-autobiographical novel that tells the story of a young boy named Jim who is separated from his parents during the Japanese invasion of Shanghai in 1941. As a result, he is forced to navigate through the harsh realities of war, including famine, disease, and imprisonment...
“When we see something we recognize in the phenomenal world, like a cloud, we say it is there, it exists. And when we can no longer see it, we say it is not there, it no longer exists. But the underlying truth is that it still exists, even if its appearance has changed. The challenge is to recognize that thing in its new forms. This is the meditation on signlessness.” – Thich...
But in Zen, and in other schools of the Mahayana, it is often taken in a more figurative way, as that the process of rebirth is from moment to moment, so that one is being reborn so long as one identifies himself with a continuing ego which reincarnates itself afresh at each moment of time. – The Way of Zen by Alan W. Watts
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Picked up and reading “Tales of Pirx the Pilot” which is a collection of science fiction stories written by the renowned Polish author, Stanislaw Lem. First published in 1968, this book has since become a classic of the genre, and continues to captivate readers with its imaginative exploration of the possibilities and limitations of space travel. The book’s protagonist, Pirx the Pilot, is a...
Started reading today Cory Doctorow’s Red Team Blues. This is a thrilling novel centered on the subject of cryptocurrency fraud that offers a thought-provoking glimpse into the inner workings of the world. Meet Martin Hench, a successful 67-year-old who has spent his career in Silicon Valley. He is unmarried and lives in a luxurious touring bus named The Unsalted Hash, which he purchased...
“Collins believes this restlessness is far more important and powerful than simple ambition or raw intelligence. It is the foundation of resilience, and self-motivation. It is fueled by curiosity, the ache to build something meaningful, and a sense of purpose to make the most of one’s entire life.” (Brent Schlender, Rick Tetzeli, and Marc Andreessen, Becoming Steve Jobs)
