Hamster > Recent Status Updates

Apparently Goodreads is a bully and won't include books I only reviewed and never updated in my Year in Review. So fine, you win, I'll do the bare minimum necessary for updates.

Day 300(ish) Update:

100 days later and we're still in the early 70s. That is my favorite decade for music, so for the most part I'm pretty happy. But we do still get into the weeds sometimes, and it makes me wonder if this level of thoroughness was really necessary. And if we really want to get into what's most important to music history, shouldn't Piano Man be prioritized over whoever Alex Harvey is?

A Christmas Carol review - I think this book is a myth by C. S. Lewis's definition of the word: a story that is so powerful in its content that the prose hardly matters. Which is to say that regardless of the considerable strengths and weaknesses of Dickens's prose the novella is still amazing.
(I know I almost always mention Lewis in my reviews - when you've read this much of an author he kind of lives in your head)

Day 200 Update: (a few days late)

I confess I'm a little unimpressed with some of the late 60s selections. Far too much time is wasted on repetitive psychedelic rock. Great albums are left off the list so a bunch of junk could be there instead. But anyways, their 70s picks have been pretty great so far, so I'm happy again.

Narrative of A. Gordon Pym - Poorly constructed, going from gritty survival tale to absurd travelogue. But it is really interesting and compelling in both sections. The ending is frustratingly abrupt, but also fascinatingly enigmatic. And the afterword justifies it in a hilarious way. So I guess Poe's one "complete" novel is fine. 2.5 to 3 stars.

I'm saving all my thoughts for the end, but I have to write about "The Spectacles." It starts out as a cheesy Victorian love story, kind of fun but not particularly great. But in the back of your mind, you keep thinking, "This is Poe. There's got to be some twist." It's wild to me what weird things I'll let Poe write because I think he'll make it interesting. But I was right. And the twist is indeed spectacular.

This is certainly a good lesson in music history, but it leaves a bit to be desired as a lesson in good taste.

Can't say I would recommend slogging through this by yourself, but as a communal activity it can be a lot of fun.

No clue when I'll read Heretics, but I finished Orthodoxy so I'll give some brief thoughts.

Chesterton is just so delightful to read. He makes the world/life beautiful. His vision of Christianity is inspiring.

I don't agree with all of his theology. His identification of Christianity as a European religion can be concerning at times. But for the most part what he has to say is great.

Not to mention he's just fun.

Not sure when I'll finish this, but I might as well say that The Four Quartets is brilliant. The poetry is beautiful - I love the wordplay - and the philosophy is excellent. His use of poetry and writing as an example of his philosophical ideas is really cool. The way he meshes that with theology and reflections on time is quite impressive. Great poem - I hope to read more of his work soon.

Just reading one essay for now. Will probably pick this back up in the summer.