JJoyce Yu > Recent Status Updates

Starting with Christopher Columbus: the atrocities, not the heroics. Bravo. I already like this author.

The author kinda sounds like a douchebag and I’m a bit suspicious of his credentials lol. Discount bin at the strand booth outside of Central Park let me down! Lol

Mike is so precious

I’m very confused. Is this whole book a metaphor..? Is it another fever dream book?!

Picked this up at a strand book kiosk in the discount bin outside of Central Park! The Roman Empire is currently my Roman Empire.

Damn. Pope Francis was the shit. Such respect. “How I long for a church that’s poor and stands for the poor.” I wish for his sake there’s a heaven and he’s living his best life up there. People suck as a rule. But occasionally you read about people like pope Francis and it warms my cold dead heart. I don’t know how he could stand to be part of something as ugly as the Catholic Church tho.

Jesus Christ the Catholic Church just gets from worst to worster. What shameless assholes how do they face the pious poor people that donated all that money that’s supposed to do good!! Hate it here. Felt so icky at the Vatican museum and St. Peter’s basilica. Depressing that nothing really has changed since Martin Luther!

Just want to note for myself that we went to an opera at La fenice on our recent Italy trip. AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CONDUCTOR. Ok he didn’t collapse and die like scene 1 of this book but he did collapse and the performance did not finish. The whole time we were watching the paramedics work on the conductor I was thinking omg it’s just like death in la fenice!!!

Wow I’m a total convert to logotherapy. It addresses a lot of the issues I see with psychotherapy (childhood>>>). I wonder why it isn’t more widespread in the U.S. I’ve only ever had therapists that practice psychotherapy. I don’t agree that nihilism is an existential necrosis. I subscribe to it but I’m still content in my life and contributing positively to society according to my values.

Seems impossible to criticize a holocaust survivors account… but man’s purpose in life… in that context versus the context of modern day life. Is incomparable. Seeing the experience of camp life through a psychological lens is fascinating and sadly (lol what does that say about my own life) I recognized a lot of the coping mechanisms.. but unclear why that has to mean there’s inherent meaning to life

I don’t think life inherently has meaning but let’s see if this book changes my mind!

Side bar imagine your therapist is a holocaust survivor. How would I ever dare to complaint about anything ._.

Author is funny

Not as gripping as the last holly book we read but still good! Not sure how Stephen king just churns them out lol

Holy misogyny lol. I was told this book was progressive for the 60s but I guess dirty old men exist in every time period haha. Although I fully acknowledge women writing men is also a thing, it doesn’t feel as much as a scourge as men writing women lol. I could be wrong but I feel like male objectification tends to err on the side of overcompetence while in this book I got “she’s not stupid for a girl” lols

Almost caught on this WIP. Still love it so much. And love zeebee3! Will be sad to say goodbye to the characters!

Was embarrassed to read this on the train in Italy haha but I’m happy I’m able to read it all! (The difficulty level is like a children’s book tho. The real challenge is reading Alchemised in Italian haha)

The second half of renaissance history is so sad! I understand Machiavelli better now. It’s actually helping me justify voting yes on prop 50 tbh. Machiavelli would vote yes but he’d be heartbroken to do it too. Guicciardini is still a piece of shit tho. If he were alive today he’d be maga or an ice agent for sure.

Love that Sarah called this the fast food of horror/mystery. Totally agree. It’s an unending wild ride (I finished it in one sitting on a 12 hour flight) and if you don’t think about it too much it’s all very satisfyingly tied up at the end. Entertaining throughout!

The first non fiction i wanna dnf in a while. It’s so dry…… just seems that the author stuffed in anything that had vespasiano’s name on it whether it’s interesting/contributes to the narrative or not………

I have 6 pages of notes on these lectures. Did I study this hard in hum core?! Or for any of my degrees?! Haha.

I love that there are practical, feasible, and effective solutions at the end. I feel like this type of books often times don’t. Play based childhood!

Mike reminds me of rocky from project Hail Mary! Adorable

Cute! If my brilliant friend is a thematic representation of my childhood this is the visual representation. So nostalgic!

Renaissance scribes/illuminators hiding Easter eggs like “as many as 100 images of men and monkeys defecating” in a book of hours among biblical verses and calendar of feast days has got to be my favorite fact I’ve learned about the renaissance. Love that toilet humor will truly always be peak and timeless sense of humor haha

It’s here!!!!!!!! Signed copy from the strand!!! I’m not ready tho. AH. I’m scared

Finally have time to pick this up again. (The 1938 bombing of Barcelona by fascist Italy was setting for one of the scenes!!!! Always crazy when my different interests in fiction and nonfiction converge!)

I don’t want this lazy river journey to end! Been loving this fic. Kinda not been feeling dramione anymore since secrets and masks was such a let down but this delightful fic is keeping me going haha. It’s kinda perfect for starting Alchemised too. Whenever things get sad I’ll pretend that universe is just a bad dream and you do it for me is the real universe.