riley > Recent Status Updates

I’m sorry what just happened

First Banville book—super excited. One chapter in and absolutely ASTOUNDED already by his writing. Phenomenal prose.

“For over and all other considerations is the fact that wars are not won at GHQs or defeats avoided there but on the field of battle. An intact and fully manned general headquarters is of no use to a nation if its field army is smashed and disorganized.”

“The British imperialists down the ages owe in the main, their successful conquests of many peoples to the technique of ‘divide and conquer.’ They have consistently urged class against class, district against district, creed against creed, and in the resultant chaos of warring sects and factions, they established themselves and maintained their rule of exploitation.” Tiocfaidh ár lá… one day.

Reading this plague develop makes me think (obviously) about how quickly COVID really just passed us by… only 5 years ago the whole world was shut down. I didn’t see my closest friend for a whole year and she only lived 30 minutes away. The vaccine came out and the whole ordeal was sort of swept under the rug by anyone who didn’t lose someone from it. C’est la vie?

Literally can’t sleep, this book is truly scaring the hell out of me.

Suuuuuper hyped. Already a couple chapters in and can’t wait for more.

Reading so sporadically during lulls at work, so gonna take a while to finish this one. But it is gripping so far—praying no(t too much) (inevitable) propaganda!

Craving a Murdoch type read right now.

“Curious to think that we would almost certainly have been friends had we not been two young ‘heroes’ at the beginning of a new nation, each aware that at the summit there is a place for only one. As it turned out, neither of us was to reach the highest place. I hurled Hamilton from the mountain-side, and myself fell.” Absolute banger.

It is so hard for me to read short story collections I’m a fake English major.

Two quick thoughts before I finish the book and write a real review:

1. I know a lot of Alexander’s known life has been sprinkled with myths through the thousands of years, but it still boggles my mind that this man actually existed.

2. Each chapter I finish, my low opinion of Creation gets lower. That story would have been on the level of scripture if it was in Renault’s magical hands.

Dear Lord please let me read and enjoy more fiction this year 🙏

“The First Generations” chapter is a real stand out so far; unbelievably interesting and every claim he makes is so clearly made.

Writing my senior thesis on Iris Murdoch so let the rereads begin…

Chapter 3 hit me like a freight train.

So far I think I like The Whisperer in Darkness the most, but Cthulhu hit, too. Got two more left. Excited for At the Mountains of Madness to get a bit of a change of setting.

Reread number three LFG

Sadly will never finish this book because I have now quit my job at the bookstore where I was borrowing this from and I do not have a spare 17 dollars to give to the Brits. But I will say it was very interesting and I did enjoy reading it. Bummer!

RALPH LANYON <3 U R SO REAL

thanking em forster for the great coincidence that i read plato’s phaedrus before reading this book