Jon Reading Books > Recent Status Updates

There's some compelling stuff here, but it's all thrown together in such a summarized fashion that it doesn't have the emotional impact it would were it to be written in the style of ASOIAF.

Of course, then we'd never get it, because GRRM would never finish it.

Some neat little worldbuilding additions here, and some compelling characters. But a GRRM book without much dialogue or character development is like a chocolate chip cookie without the chocolate chips.

Abercrombie's prose took a noticeable jump in quality with each stand-alone novel. There are some real knock-out passages in Red Country. Looking forward to his newest this upcoming Fall.

I had a long flight recently in which I was dozing in and out of sleep while listening to the audio version of this... So I've picked up bits and pieces but I'm not sure what I've missed.

Time to double back and re-read...

Abercrombie's knack for dry humor plays well with his cynicism.

I think perhaps I'm burned out on Murakami.

A million years ago I was a history undergrad focused on Roman Civ, so this is far more in my historical wheelhouse than Homer's work was. I understand the contemporary world in which Virgil was writing and I'm taking great joy at the footnotes thus far.

I loved Fagles' work with Homer, but I've chosen Ahl's new translation to switch it up a bit. I will consume some Fagles via audio alongside Ahl's written work.

KJV and Gatsby are done, so it's back to C&P, which is feeling very much like the calm before a storm at this point.

"The exhilarating ripple of her voice was a wild tonic in the rain. I had to follow the sound of it for a moment, up and down, with my ear alone, before any words came through. A damp streak of hair lay like a dash of blue paint across her cheek, and her hand was wet with glistening drops as I took it to help her from the car."

"For a moment the last sunshine fell with romantic affection upon her glowing face; her voice compelled me forward breathlessly as I listened - then the glow faded, each light deserting her with lingering regret, like children leaving a pleasant street at dusk."

Always a joy to dip back into Martin's world. I've picked up the audiobook version read by Roy Dotrice and it's... Well, not so great. But I still love these books regardless.

Rejoice, friends! No more bible updates spamming your feed!

Jude: A short book in which Jude continues John's rants against what were seen as movements heretical to Christianity.

Revelation: The closing book of the Bible, and an important one. Apocalyptic, complex. Surprisingly, I rather enjoyed it. I read it metaphorically, and I can see how troublesome and damaging it could be to read it literally. Yikes, Christians.

Also—finally, "666" appears. yay!

Review forthcoming.

1, 2, & 3 John: Ugh. These books are representative of the chaos of early Christianity, launching into tirade against heretical teachings while at the same time featuring striking contradictions within its own texts (example: man will always be a sinner and must repent / man is born of god and thus cannot sin).

It's indicative of the growth of Christianity and the need for a more organized, bureaucratic orthodoxy.

James: A book that reads like the wisdoms and seems to disagree with those Pauline books preceding it in terms of redemption via faith vs. good works.

1 & 2 Peter: Supplemental reading casts doubt that these were actually written by Peter, as the Greek is fluent and the prose poetic even though Peter was an Aramaic-speaking Jewish fisherman. The second book is particularly aggressive in its criticisms of the lapsed.

Fitzgerald's prose packs a whallop.

Hebrews: What stuck with me most from this book was the grasping at straws to relate Jesus-as-divinity to the oldest books of the Hebrew bible. Great effort seems to be made to tie continuity to the New Testament here.

Titus: Echoing Timothy in its distaste for the Jews (although Cretans are included, which I found humorous), and its stressing the coming bureaucracy of the new church.

Philemon: A single page but a vastly important book to me. Inside which Paul discusses an escaped slave of a friend, and urges the friend to take the slave back. No commentary whatsoever is made on slavery being inherently evil and wrong. Laughable.

1 & 2 Thessalonians: The books are growing shorter as I continue. Most notable are some of the most direct attacks on the Jews in the New Testament so far are found here.

1 & 2 Timothy: Did you know the Bible forbids women from teaching or holding authority positions over men? You do now. This book is chock full of discussion on ecclesiastical organization and rhetoric damaging to gender equality.

Philippians: Interesting how quickly the charismatic, non-threatening, cult-leader-like Christ has disappeared after the Gospels to be replaced by the divine one in this book. The aggression shown towards potential heretics is equally striking.

Colossians: Doesn't differ much from prior Pauline books. Supplemental reading indicates it is now believed this and Ephesians were not actually written by Paul. Interesting.

Shogun begins not in Japan, as one might expect, but on the Dutch ship Erasmus sailing the Pacific before steeping us in exposition describing the European Great Schism.

Nonetheless, it remains compelling. The situation on the Erasmus are nearing critical mass, with many dead and dying of scurvy and mutiny seeming near before the ship runs aground on a reef while attempting to reach Japan.

Galatians: Paul seems more insecure in this letter, defending his apostleship and retierating the unnecessary act of circumcision among gentiles joining the Jesus movement.

Ephesians: Beginning oddly with an enormous single sentence, this book stresses the otherworldliness of Jesus and lays out some dogmatic principles stressing the holy justification of the church, rather than allowing it to remain a manmade entity

Beginning a second read to coincide with my continual irezumi work being done.

I hear FX is looking to make a new adaptation of the book. Hope it turns out well.