Henrik's profile

37 ratings | 40 reviews
avg rating: 4.03

Henrik's bookshelves

read (33)
currently-reading (7)
to-read (24)
horror (26)

fantasy (13)
philosophy (9)
scholarship (7)
thriller (7)

magic-realism (7)
to-buy (7)
science-fiction (6)
romance (1)

realism (1)

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Henrik is currently reading

	08/14 Henrik is currently reading: Trollbundet (Sagaen om Isfolket, bok 1) by Margit Sandemo bookshelves: currently-reading, fantasy, magic-realism, romance	my rating:
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	08/18 Henrik gave to: Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy (Paperback) by Ekaterina Sedia bookshelves: currently-reading, fantasy, horror, magic-realism	my rating:
	recommended to Henrik by: Weird Tales Magazine ad read in August, 2008 Henrik said: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 3 comments
	07/26 Henrik gave to: Elminster's Daughter (Forgotten Realms: The Elminster Series) by Ed Greenwood bookshelves: currently-reading, fantasy	my rating:
	recommended for: anyone enjoying high-magic, action-paced fantasy, rpg based novels, modern "pulp fantasy" read in July, 2008, has a copy to sell/swap Henrik said: "I am about halfway into this book now. So far, so good:-) The rating so far is only based on the first part, and I'd like to, in advance, warn any potential readers of my reviews that when I rate a Forgotten Realms novel I do it on the terms that ...more " add a comment

Henrik's recent updates (rss)

August 19

Henrik gave

to:
Return to Lovecraft Country fiction anthology (Triad Publication, 6)
by Various
bookshelves: horror

my rating:

recommended for: Lovecraftians
read in August, 2008

Henrik said: "This looks like a book-like fan-fiction publication. I've read a couple of stories in it by now, and while some are rather unpolished it looks promising.

A Month or Two Later:

I still haven't read all the stories, but it does inde...more "

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Henrik made a comment in the group Happy & Brainy Group—Philosophy in Everyday Life topic:

Henrik wrote: "Hi again,

I've decided (chosen) to leave this discussion. I no longer find it as productive as I ...more "

New comment on Werner's review of The Conservative Tradition in America

Henrik wrote: "Thanks for this indepth review, Werner. I am Dane, and live in Europe, but perhaps I ought to take a...more "

reply to this comment

Henrik read and liked Werner's review of The Conservative Tradition in America:

"Actually, I read this book through, piece-by-piece, in the college library at odd moments during my junior college days in the early 70s, but never checked it out. Since I couldn't at first remember if I'd read it all the way through, and felt I nee...more Actually, I read this book through, piece-by-piece, in the college library at odd moments during my junior college days in the early 70s, but never checked it out. Since I couldn't at first remember if I'd read it all the way through, and felt I needed a refresher before reviewing it, I decided to reread it. That was an interesting experience; the book contributed a lot to my own intellectual formation as a college student, so I was reviewing my own spiritual/ideological pilgrimage as well as the book in the last few days.

In itself, the book is not a great intellectual masterpiece, or anything resembling it (in fact, it has the academic "print or perish" dictum stamped all over it as its probable major reason for existing); it is somewhat disjointed, with several of its thematic chapters being reworked articles that were originally published separately, and Guttmann's conclusions often don't seem to follow from the examples he adduces. It could also be said of him that, as E. E. Evans-Pritchard remarked of A. E. Crawley, he "is not a particularly lucid writer." Despite the title, this is not a narrative history of Conservative thought in America, but a series of sketch surveys of particular writers --and Guttmann often seems to devote as much or more attention to writers he is arguing were NOT Conservative [the capitalization is his] as to those that he concedes were. Nor, as an avowed socialist and skeptic, is the author very sympathetic to his subject (though, in his conclusion, he allows some merit to Conservative ideals). Nevertheless, this work does have strengths that made an important impression on me as a youth.

First, while I don't share his rigid definitions (more on this below) Guttmann makes the important point that not every claimant to the label "conservative" actually is so; in fact, the "libertarian" cult of unbridled laissez-faire economics represented by National Review and Barry Goldwater has virtually nothing in common with Conservatism in the tradition of Edmund Burke, and the political alliance between the two was not a marriage made in heaven. (Forty years later, this point has been made clearer by the split between the paleo-conservatives represented by The American Conservative and the GOP of Bush and McCain.) As a young man who'd grown up in an ultra-"conservative" church and a small-town Iowa community dominated by the Republican party, and who defined myself automatically in "conservative" terms, this was eye-opening and liberating, helping me to realize that my visceral discomfort with Big Business and cutthroat economics had good conservative credentials, and that knee- jerk labeling is a poor substitute for substantive thought. Second, being a literary rather than a political scholar (he argues that the political weakness of Conservatism in America from the get-go made it more important as a literary than as a political movement), Guttmann has a fresh perspective on the discussion, which was interesting to me as a reader of literature. Finally, the book just presented a wealth of fascinating factual information about American intellectual history, and an introduction to a number of thinkers I'd never heard of, such as Joseph de Maistre, Orestes Brownson, and the Southern Agrarians of the 1930s. All of this is presented in a fairly jargon-free style that makes for a quick read (though the author's occasional untranslated Latin or French words and phrases can be irritating!).

Perhaps the major weakness of the book is Guttmann's rigid insistence on defining Conservatism strictly as a viewpoint whose essential features are support for social and economic inequality and a union of Church and State, and rejection of political democracy and of the idea of natural human rights. (The main reason Conservatism by his definition is so rare in America is that he defines it in terms which practically no American since 1776 would be prepared to accept. :-) ). In a time of socio-economic and political breakdown and flux, those of us who don't fondly imagine the coming of a Utopia invented full-blown from a drawing board that's a pure blank look rather to past thought as a guide for the present and the future. IMO, speaking as someone who sees himself as a paleo -conservative, we can find useful models in a conservatism whose essential features, rather, are support for caring communities bound together by face-to-face relationships, for tradition as a shared social glue that gives continuity to our society, for stable and loving families based on faithful monogamous marriage, for private property as something everybody ought to have, for the rule of law as opposed to the rule of unbridled power, and for voluntary acceptance of religious truth (which, as Guttmann recognizes, has a prophetic as well as a priestly tradition) as the highest moral and philosophical authority --a conservatism which can draw from Locke and Jefferson as well as from Burke....less "

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August 18

Henrik said "yes" to attending the event: Enter to Win REASON REIGNS.
date: August 31, 2008 12:59PM
location: Goodreads - Authors page (book giveaways), United States
description: How are you?

Please visit the Author Giveaways. My novel, Reason Reigns, is listed (3 sets: US, US + 15 countries, US + the world).

Thank you. Have a fun day.

All the best,

Ilyn Ross
Henrik said: Thanks for the invite, Ilyn:-)

August 17

Henrik marked as to-read:
Pride of Baghdad (Paperback)
by Brian K. Vaughan, Nico Henrichon
bookshelves: to-buy, to-read

my rating:

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Henrik read and liked Christina Stind's review of Pride of Baghdad:

"I tend to be more of a word person than an image person and when reading graphic novels, that's not a good thing. This graphic novel however has such stunningly beautiful artwork that it's impossible to overlook. I found myself looking and absorbing ...more "

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New comment on Christina Stind's review of Pride of Baghdad

Henrik wrote: "A fine reminder that I have to get my hand on this one. Thanks!:-) "

(see all 2 comments)

New comment on Christina Stind's review of Ønskebørn - 12 ærlige fortællinger om at blive mor

Henrik wrote: "Sounds interesting. Also, it surprises me to hear there are more books about fatherhood than motherh...more "

(see all 2 comments)

Henrik read and liked Christina Stind's review of Ønskebørn - 12 ærlige fortællinger om at blive mor :

"I'm supposed to be a first time mother in just 10 days! It's a bit scary so I've been trying to find some books to help me with this very life-altering event. It seems like there are lots and lots of books telling about how to take care of your child...more "

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see all 33 of Henrik's books »

Henrik's groups (recent posts)

Writerpedia — 360 members — last activity 21 minutes ago
This is a place to share knowledge. If you are writing and need to know something maybe someone here can give you an answer.

Happy & Brainy Group — 232 members — last activity 44 minutes ago
This group is for book lovers who:

* are happy & benevolent (or, want to be)

* want to have a good time

* crave to flex their min...more

Supernatural Fiction Readers — 14 members — last activity 7 days ago, 10:34PM
This is a group for people who enjoy all types of supernatural fiction (scary or not), set in our own world: ghost stories, vampires, witches and sor...more

events Henrik is attending

event: Enter to Win REASON REIGNS
date: August 31, 2008 12:59PM
location: Goodreads - Authors page (book giveaways), United States
description: How are you?

Please visit the Author Giveaways. My novel, Reason Reigns, is listed (3 sets: US, US + 15 countries, US + the world).

Thank you. Have a fun day.

All the best,

Ilyn Ross

Current reply: yes change your reply »

Henrik's friend comments

showing 1-6 of 6. (add a comment | view all)

from Ilyn

1 day ago, 02:54AM

Thanks a lot, Henrik.

Have a wonderful day. Best regards.

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from Ilyn

10 days ago, 06:21AM

Hello Henrik,

How are you? Have a fun day.

I look forward to reading your posts.

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from Bradley

29 days ago, 07:38AM

Thank you for allowing me the honour of being your friend. =)

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from Ilyn

07/18/2008 04:05AM

Hello Henrik,

Thank you for being my friend. When you have the time, please visit the Happy & Brainy Group.

Have a great day!

Best regards,

Ilyn

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from Henrik

12/12/2007 03:39AM

Hehe. Thanks. But actually it's from Paris...

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from Christina Stind

12/11/2007 10:05PM

Hey - I like that you finally put a picture up! And this is the one from Praque, right? It's really cool!

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Henrik's friends (21)

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