Bakunin > Recent Status Updates

I am surprised that Adrian Carton de Wiart is not more well known seeing how many wars and adventures he was part of. I am really glad to have found this autobiography by him and to be able to read about an interesting personality from a time quite different from our own.

Can't believe I haven't read this book earlier! I remember my mother recommending it to me two years ago but its taken this long to start reading it. Like one of the reviewers wrote, Sven Olov Karlsson is like a modern Harry Martinson writing about the Swedish countryside. I am mostly impressed by its vivid language and its use of common expressions to evoke a sense of familiarity with the county Västmanland.

"War is a great leveller: it shows the man as he really is, not as he would like to be, nor as he would like you to think he is. It shows him stripped with his greatness mixed with his pathetic fears and weaknesses, and though there were disappointments they were more than cancelled out by pleasant surprises of the little men, who suddenly, became larger than life." [p. 91]

"We were cut off from all our friends and our families. Mails were almost non-existent, but in some ways we were lucky, for no one tried to boost our morale with pep talks or highfalutin education, or to probe our egos with uncomfortable psychiatry" (p. 24)

Need I say more about Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart?

This is an autobiography of the 'unkillable british soldier' - he was shot through the eye, in the groin, stomache, hand, and he crash landed with a plane twice.

So far the prose has been quite pungent. "At that moment I knew, once and for all, that war was in my blood. I was determined to fight and I didn't mind who or what. I didn't know why the war had started and didn't care which side I was to fight" [p. 16]

So far, I am unimpressed by the prose. This book is about an entrepreneur with a flair for drama and a person who was a great deal of fun. How can you then write in such a drab fashion?

This is a biography about one of Swedens most famous entrepreneurs.
As a person he was quite controversial in Sweden during the 90's as he managed to break the state television monopoly while also introducing cell phones to Sweden. Beside that he seemed to be a pretty funny guy so it will most likely prove entertaining to read about him.

I felt I needed something more upbeat after reading a book about the current state of politics in Europe, so I chose the life and times of Richard Strauss (a composer you can't avoid liking!). So far so good.

So far depressing (and yet interesting at the same time).

The lovesong of J. Edgar Prufrock... One of my all time favorite poems

Saw an interview with Sanandaji on the Rubin report a while back where mr. Sanandaji talked about problems related to immigration in Sweden. This book is a thorough investigation of the sociological problems which Sweden is currently going through. So far so good!

This book was on Sam Harris reading list so I though I would give it a try. So far I'm impressed with the common sense explanation of the practice; it makes things easier for a lay man like myself to grasp.
In April I will be going to a 10 day retreat in Bodh Gaya (the place in India where Buddha was enlightened) and therefore any preparation which helps me in my meditation is welcomed.