Category Archives: Books

Current Reading

Assholes: A Theory (2012)

By Aaron James

Page 5:

[t]he asshole:

(1)    allows himself to enjoy special advantages and does so systematically;

(2)    does this out of an entrenched sense of entitlement; and

(3)    is immunized by his sense of entitlement against the complaints of other people.

So there.

The Absolute at Large, by Karel Čapek, 176 pages (1922)

This is a satire by Czech writer Karel Čapek. An invention creates unlimited resources, except food, and a byproduct of religious devotion to it by all within its grasp. After most of the world is destroyed because of religious fervor arising out of each community’s belief in the righteousness of its own absolute as opposed to competing absolutes, well, you’ll have to read the rest of this to find out.

The Third Reich at War, by Richard J. Evans, 926 pages (2008)

This is the final book in the trilogy of book by Richard J. Evans about the Third Reich. The human hatred. The destructiveness. The suffering and needless deaths. The senseless war. The downfall of Hitler and his sick cohorts. Inglorious Basterds is the way it should have ended, but the reality for the Third Reich was less dramatic, more sobering. And painful beyond measure for the people whose lives and families were destroyed. Highly recommended read.

The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann 854 pages (1924)

After reading The Coming of the Third Reich, I thought I would take a quick detour and re-read Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. At 854 pages and in 6-point type in the Everyman’s Library edition, it is a long book. (If you really care, the book is set in BEMBO and appears to be about 10-point type.)

The book was first published in 1924, but apparently Thomas Mann began writing the story before the outbreak of the first great war. There are characters and events, but the story is more about ideas, philosophies, and, at times, a war of words and minds.

The best time to read this book is in the midst of studying advanced literature, history, and philosophy. Thirty years later, between beers, it’s a little more difficult to digest.

Suffice to say, Hitler probably never read this book, and as a recognized German 20th century German classic, those are two reasons alone to read this tome. At least once. I’ve read it twice. In English. Next time auf Deutsch?

 

The Complete Novels (1939-1967) 787 pages, by Flann O’Brien

The Complete Novels (1939-1967) 787 pages, by Flann O’Brien. At some point while reading O’Brien’s At Swim-Two-Birds, you realize that O’Brien has taken you on a dizzy journey of unapologetic and very funny virtuoso writing. Like Cormac McCarthy with irrepressible humor. The Third Policeman is disturbing. Probably would have kept a sober Edgar Allen Poe up at night. I admit I found The Poor Mouth, The Hard Life, and The Dalkey Archive less accessible and less interesting.