Joshua R. Taylor > Recent Status Updates

The concepts are explained really well and simply so far! Have also picked up all sorts of ways to think about maths itself too. I never thought of it as an extension of my common sense.

Some female characters might be nice 😅

Man this is a slog, although I seem to remember it gets suddenly better.

I don't think time exists in this book. There's so much nonlinearity.

I think this whole exchange between Lieutenant Scheisskopf and the fat Colonel is so reminiscent of the "Say what again, I dare you" exchange in Pulp Fiction.

"She was shameless, slim, nineteen and aggressive. She destroyed egos by the score and made men hate themselves in the morning for the way she found them, used them and tossed them aside."

I forgot how many characters this book has, and the author chaotically introduces them at the ends of sentences all the time.

'Doc Daneeka was a very neat, clean man whose idea of a good time was to sulk.'

Man after my own heart.

I love absurdism (á la BoJack Horseman) so I'm gonna have a blast reading this.

'Words do not express thoughts very well. They always become a little different immediately they are exposed, a little distorted, a little foolish.'

I think I might have to read this again as soon as I've finished.

'One can beg, buy, be presented with and find love in the streets, but it can never be stolen.' -- Samana

The dialogue has people talking about themselves in the third person which is slightly off-putting. Guessing it's something to do with translation?

Wow this is actually really short

Takes the 'Skins' approach to a coming of age story:
> Here is everything that could possibly go wrong while growing up, probably only a couple of these things will affect you, but as long as you are prepared.

First person, so now I'm stuck in the head of a sensitive teenage boy.

Still on chapter one 🙂 I want to make sure I get everything before I move on

I associate with it, and I feel for the main character and the author. However I don't look forwards to reading it.

Esther has such a gradual descent.

As the book progresses, you get further and further into Esther's mind

Still working through the exercises on Chapter 1 😩 this is going to be a long one folks.

Esther is a very pretty name.

'Let there be a voice to assure them, by day and even while they are asleep, that in spite of all the terror, all the bewilderment and confusion, the ultimate reality remains unshakably itself...'

This is probably the most comforting thing to say to somebody panicking on a psychedelic trip.

'[Mescalin] gives access to contemplation---but to a contemplation that is incompatible with action and even with the will to action, the very thought of action.'

This resonates very strongly with me, and it's why LSD doesn't give you magical powers of creativity.

So far seems like a striking likeliness to being under psychoactive substances ... including all of its rambling and nonsense.

'A Supermarket in California' is so surreal, it's like being taken into the author's dreams.

The Daenerys chapters are definitely the most boring 😴

Getting into this way more than I thought I would! Way less snooze worthy than Lord of the Rings.

Though I don't think I love it enough right now to read the second book.

Page 15, and already ouch my head 😢

I'm definitely getting into this more now

'FitzRoy, who was very odd, chose Darwin [to accompany him on the HMS Beagle] in part because he liked the shape of Darwin's nose' 😂