Komrade’s Comments (group member since Mar 08, 2013)

Komrade’s comments from the Natty Knights group.

The book is written after the (romanticized) history of Miyamoto Musashi, one of Japan's greatest swordsmen.
How does this novel relate to this /fit/ group? It describes a classic "Hero's journey" path, from his humble beginnings and through all the hardships he faces on his way to fame. It also offers an insight into Japanese culture of the time, as well as the Bushido code (although in a somewhat simple and casual way). I believe the novel may offer motivation to those who are on the path of self-improvement, whether it is physical or mental. To give an example, I'll post some of the quotes I remember:

Flutes improve the more they’re played.

If you stare at the stars a long time, you can see them moving.
(I believe the meaning is that if you're patient enough and persevere, you'll improve yourself, even for a tiny bit - feel free to correct me.)

If you like adventure novels, give this book a try.
A fair warning is in place,though: the book is nearly 1000 pages long, though I think there might be a revised edition out. Be prepared to slog through many characters and slow sections, so if you dislike these things, this might not be the book for you.

Kwyjibo wrote: "Hi guys!
Maybe we should just give up on group readings, and simply read what we want then comment here?"
I think this is the best idea so far.
If anyone reads a book they want to discuss, feel free to open a thread about it - I think it's best if we keep such threads in the Book Discussions folder, but if you think the book is too short, you can post here.

My bad,didn't read the poll

Welp,since only 2 people voted on the poll, it comes down to this. Since it's a relatively short book,I assume 10 days are enough?

Well,I sometimes post a thread on /fit/, but most of the people there are uninterested for anything that isn't muh squatz.

I recommend this be the next read
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34...

I read it a month ago, and even though it's a historical novel,which some people find boring, it's very well written,and flows nicely.
Overall,I hope we choose a historical book somewhere in the future.

I was really hyped when I got the book,and I really liked the first ~30 pages. I then slowed down until page 60 because I felt he lost track of what he was trying to prove,and that part of the book(pages 30-60) just didn't feel in line with the rest. That said, I liked it for what it is - not an philosophical discourse on the validity of honing one's body as well as mind - but an essay that contains a single person's thoughts on the relationship between the body,mind and death.
I don't think Mishima wrote this to tell everyone that they should keep their body in the same condition as their mind; I believe he wrote this for himself as much as his readers, simply to compose his thoughts about his transformation. As he puts it - "confidential criticism".
But that's OK - not every book needs to be a serious debate. I feel as this writing style offers a better insight into his thoughts and feelings. Furthermore, I (and, I think, most of us here) share his line of thought. Even though most of us have different reasons to go to the gym/do cardio/sports, we all share one reason to do so - we know it's the right thing to do(to improve one's body), and no matter what anyone says, we will continue to improve, to strive towards the ideal.

I'll just share some of Mishima's thoughts that I found were at the crux of this book:

...feeble emotions,it seemed to me,corresponded to flaccid muscles,sentimentaliy to a sagging stomach...Bulging muscles,a taut stomach and tough skin...would correspond to an intrepid fighting spirit,the power of dispassionate intellectual judgement....

The cynicism that regards all hero worship as comical is always shadowed by a sense of physical inferiority.Invariably, it is the man who believes himself to be physically lacking in heroic attributes who speaks mockingly of the hero;

A powerful,tragic frame and sculpturesque muscles were indispensable in a romantically noble death.

When was the last time you heard of a tale where the hero weak,skinny,or fat?

Finally, a very interesting thought, one regarding individuality:

As the relentless pressure of the steel progressively stripped my muscles of their unusualness and individuality(which were a product of degeneration), and as they gradually developed, they should, I reasoned, begin to assume a universal aspect, until they reached a point where they conformed to a general pattern in which individual differences ceased to exist.

Mishima hated the individuality brought about by words, and strove towards universality through the body. In the end, I like how he understood that the body and mind must both be strong, and that a true warrior(in his eyes) was a man who kept his mind sharp and his body strong as steel. In short - the ideal man is steel.

8/10

Well,it isn't a long read anyway - it's about 100 pages,but they're really short. I've started reading earlier today and I'm already past 30 pages.
I suggest we set sunday/saturday as a date for Sun and Steel and make a poll for the next book.

Same here,I went through all my sources(including #bookz), and managed to find it on 4chan/rs
Here's the link to download it(it's a pdf,but I'm sure it won't be a hassle to convert)
http://www.mediafire.com/download/ni9...

Also,what.cd has ebooks?

I liked many of the themes that Marcus Aurelius writes, but I didn't manage to remember a number of them,mostly because the translation hurts my head(first time reading a book written with "thee"/"thou" etc.).
Some of the themes I liked:
Do not fear death, accept it as a natural occurrence. It doesn't matter whether you die today or 100 years from now - in the end, you were given your time and do not fear passing away.
And remember this,that unto reasonable creatures only it is granted that they may willingly and freely submit unto Providence: but absolutely to submit, is a necessity imposed upon all creatures equally.

Another idea that I liked:
Remember that all is but opinion,and all opinion depends of the mind. Take thine opinion away,and then as a ship that hath stricken in within the arms and mouth of the harbour,a present calm;

A clear stoic idea that you should remain calm no matter what may happen. Because a man is a reasonable creature, he can easily disperse any feelings regarding a subject by simply "willing" them away. Simple, yet near-impossible to accomplish.

There was also a quote regarding the opinions of others,but I didn't manage to find it(forgot to make a note of it). Basically, if you hear another person was talking behind your back, it doesn't matter whether it happened or not - what matters is your opinion regarding the act. If you choose not to be hurt by it, it doesn't matter.

If you have an e-book reader,you can look around for a .mobi or .epub.

I recommend Sun and Steel(non-fiction) or The Road(fiction) as our next group reading.

Feel free to discuss the book,share your opinions with others. Or don't; it's what Marcus Aurelius would've wanted.

So what can a moderator do that an ordinary member can't,apart from creating polls?

Well,seeing as the last book was selected over a month ago,I suggest we open a poll and select a new book, maybe get some discussion on Meditations going...

Post wrote: "Is also seems it would be best if we set the reading time based on how long the book is "
Definitely. Ubik, being around 100 pages, and written as it is, can be read in two to three days, a week at most. I doubt 2 weeks would be enough for either one
of those books in the current poll(maybe 3 weeks for the Myth of Sisyphus?)

Finished the book several days ago,so I had time to organize my thoughts about it. At first I thought it was going to be a mystery novel taking place on Luna, which made the chapters following the bomb explosion a bit dull,until the plot picks up halfway through the book. Yes,it was pretty chaotic,and some of the tension is lost when Joe is left alone and has to find his way to Des Moines - he leaves his car for 10 minutes,and it regressed for over 10 years...then he takes a long plane flight and nothing happens(yes,I know that this is explained later, it just deflated the whole situation).

Also,the whole twist that it was actually Pat who was the cause of everything was very suspicious to me(as she is the first person everyone would suspect),so the whole "it was the kid from the beginning" twist wasn't as big as I was told.

Overall,very nice,enjoyed it greatly(except for the somewhat fast-paced and chaotic prologue).

Skippy wrote: "The huge descriptions for each character before Luna, especially as there were so many, lost me..."
This so much. He spent so much time describing each of them(the only that they have in similar is their outlandish way of clothing) that I forgot nearly all of them,and had to go back and re-read the description for each of them when they came back into the story. The only ones I remembered were Al(token black) and Zafsky(the teenager).

Protoman wrote: "It seems like Ubik is some sort of all purpose spray, judging from the cover of the book. I wonder what would happen if you didn't "avoid prolonged use" though"
Going to the gym no longer productive? Muscles not growing? Not seeing any more gains? Try Ubik! With just a single whisk,you'll be seeing your squats and deadlifts improve tenfold! May cause t-rex mode and loss of nattyness if not used as prescribed.


But seriously,I love the book so far. The plot really picks up at about halfway!

I bought a Kindle mainly because most sci-fi and fantasy books aren't published in my country(or the translation is utter crap). I've been using it for about three years, the only downside is it's not very good for reading pdf's.