that no one can hear the whispers
they’ve lit the world so bright
that no one can see in the dark
they’ve told so many lies
that no one knows the truth now
they’ve ruined all of nature
and told us to play in the park
In Praise of Shadows — Junichiro Tanizaki
I’m currently reading The Power of Chowa, wherein Akemi mentions this book in passing. When i read the name of the writer i was sure i had some of his books in my pile of books waiting to be read, and sure enough, one of those books was this one.
So i put aside The Power of Chowa for a while and gave this a read to fully understand the impression that Akemi was trying to give.
And wow, this is definitely one to put on the shelf next to The Book of Tea. Both books have wonderful passages of ranting, but it’s intelligent ranting fuelled by a genuine passion for something truly precious; and in between the passages of ranting one gets some wonderful, thought provoking passages of delightful, descriptive writing: this book is like a painting in words.
Written in the 1930’s — concerning Japan’s modernisation — it’s news to me to read how, even before WWII and the surrender to the USA, Japan’s desire to ape American culture was already underway. But, that aside, i do feel that Junichiro fails to appreciate that even in the west we have lost so many of our own shadows. It seems that most of my life, here in Europe, we have been hell bent on illuminating everything to ridiculous levels, banishing all shadow wherever it may lurk.
The never ending pursuit of cleaning out the dirt and dust and any corners where it may lurk: banish the shadows for your own health’s sake! The continued insistence on ridiculous levels of cleanliness and sterility within and without our homes, which has lead to ever lower immune function and plenty of allergies along with it.
And it’s not just the shadows, it’s any semblance of quiet we will blast sound into. Where now can we truly be quiet and stare into the night sky and see the stars as they truly are? When was the last time you truly experienced the peaceful quite and shadows of the real world without modern technology to protect and coddle you? Or are you one of the new people, ever terrified of what unknowns may be lurking there where you hear and see nothing but vague outlines and impressions?
I agree with Junichiro, we have lost something truly precious.
The only thing i would say about this book is that, for me at least, the “Afterword” would be better placed as a “Foreword”. I just feel that it would focus ones attention on certain things a lot more if they had been pointed out before hand instead of afterwards. I will definitely be reading this again at some point before i die and when i do i will definitely read the “Afterword” first.
Junichiro’s Page
#japan #junichirotanizaki
The Machine — P. Djèlí Clark
Available to read for free, right now, in the online magazine, Every Day Fiction – Dec 2010.
A wonderful little short that gives one a pause for thought.
Next up on my Djèlí reading list will be Wings for Icarus.
P. Djèlí Clark’s Page
#fantasy #pdjeliclark
Dopamine Nation — Anna Lembke
I recently discovered Anna when she appeared on the two podcasts below. So i immediately got hold of this book and decided to put all my other reading on hold and dive straight in: some times i feel some things are just that important.
So having listened to the two podcasts was there anything more to be learned from the book?
Yes.
Without a doubt, both podcasts were great in their own unique ways, Rich and Michael approach this topic from two very different angles and flavour their podcasts accordingly, and when it comes to the book i think that the reader will find their own bag within it.
One thing Anna isn’t within this book is judging and preachy: she’s not telling anyone what to do or what not to do. Anna simply lays out a bunch of case histories and how the human propensity to seek pleasure and minimise pain within this age of abundance is what is ultimately causing so many problems. The reader can make their own mind up as to where they are on this wild and crazy spectrum of addiction that is plaguing our age and species, and also what they may wish to do about it.
Super good and definitely a book to put on the shelf next to The Pleasure Trap: if you haven’t read that then seriously, get reading that too.
But, whether you wish to take the time to read Dopamine Nation or not, i do hope you’ll take the time to listen to the podcasts: both are different, so please don’t just listen to one.
The Rich Roll one is available on video if you prefer it that way:
Anna’s Page
#addiction #drugs #dopamine #annalembke
Stroboscopic — Alastair Reynolds
You’ll find this in the collection, Deep Navigation.
I get the distinct feeling with this short story that Alastair was just having some fun with an idea. And why not?
Basically, there’s a game that involves some newly discovered, alien lifeform that the solar system’s best gamers are invited to play. There’s also a bit of politics involved, with the goodies v baddies, evil corporation thing going on in the background as well.
It’s ok, only 4 stars for this instead of Alastair’s usual 5, but like i said, this one just seemed like he decided to have some fun for a change.
Next up on the Alastair Reynolds timeline, from 1998, it’s On the Oodnadatta.
Bye for now.
Alastair’s Page
#scifi #alastairreynolds
The Black God’s Drums — P. Djèlí Clark
Take some super good fantasy with a good African/Caribbean flavour, season with a nice hint of steampunk, and bake slowly for a few of hours in an althist New Orleans: what more can you ever want from a book?
This good length novella is from around the same time as Djèlí was writing the Dead Djinn series, and with all of these stories you really pick up on the time in Djèlí’s writing that he begins to introduce steampunk elements into his unique and wonderful style of fantasy.
A really well written, really enjoyable read.
For my next P. Djèlí Clark story, i’m going back in time. I managed to track down some earlier stories of his that i missed: gotta read them all. First up of those will be The Things My Mother Left Me.
Djèlí’s Page
#fantasy #steampunk #pdjeliclark
Paradises Lost — Ursula K. Le Guin
Available in the collections, The Birthday Of The World and Other Stories, and The Found and the Lost.
One of my favourite Le Guin stories, which takes place inside a generation ship built inside a large asteroid trundling across space towards a distant Earth-like planet.
The problem with a generation ship is that after a while it becomes the only home the people on board have ever known, which can eventually lead to factions forming around the purpose of the mission. Why should these later generations live and end their lives according to an idea from a planet and peoples that have nothing to do with them whatsoever?
Ursula’s Page
#scifi #ursulakleguin
Spirey and the Queen — Alastair Reynolds
You’ll find this in the collection, Zima Blue and Other Stories.
It’s looking like all of Alastair’s early writings were short stories, and this is another one in the long list. You certainly get to see how Alastair worked on his craft as a writer, cutting his teeth on these sci-fi ideas neatly wrapped up within a few hundred Kindle Loc Points.
Spirey and the Queen was written at a time when Alastair was just beginning Revelation Space and there’s certainly aspects of self aware machine vs human going on within this. It’s a really good story, but, and it’s a big but, the beginning is all rather all over the place in terminology and nomenclature. It’s like you’re thrown into this completely blurred out reality and slowly, over time, like in an opticians appointment, Alastair gradually finds the right lenses and all gradually becomes clear.
In Zima Blue and Other Stories, Alastair comments at the end of this story, that he’d like to come back to Spirey at some point in the future and explore what happened afterwards: which i would really look forward to reading.
So while i do feel this could have been better served had Alastair given it a novella length and explained things a lot more as we went along, i won’t throw the baby out with the bath water, it’s still, certainly, a good short story.
Coming next in the Alastair Reynolds reading list wil be Stroboscopic.
Alastair’s Page
#scifi #alastairreynolds
The Blue Zones, Second Edition — Dan Buettner
There’s a lot of interesting stuff contained within this book. Good luck if you can find yourself in a situation where you have all the support and society around you that allows you to achieve these things.
Sadly, most of us simply don’t have the land available to farm our own organic vegetables and fruit for every meal, most people don’t live in places where they can drink pure water that isn’t some other town’s poorly-treated sewage dumped upstream into the river that fills the local reservoir, and most people don’t get to live in places free of all the traffic, and industrial, produced noise and air pollution.
Most people won’t ever be surrounded by family and friends their whole lives that would support, share and help them in achieving the same organic wholefood, stress free, pollution free, clean living lifestyle that is espoused in these stories.
I’d heard a lot of good things about this book and i really was looking forward to reading it. Having read it, i just find most of it disingenuous, in that it is utterly ridiculous to suggest that most people could have a lifestyle like this even if they wanted to. But hey, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, maybe you can find some things within to help you.
It’s even suggested at the end of the book that you build your own blue zone. Good luck with that, i sincerely hope you can find yourself some space in this ever more overpopulated world that leaves less and less space free from air pollution, light pollution, noise, junk food, bad people, traffic, noise, industry, habitat destruction and all the rest of modern society’s garbage: because that’s what you need to do. Maybe when Antarctica finally melts you’ll find some nice, free, unpolluted land, but i reckon the corporations will have beaten you to it with massive military, mining and construction projects.
My biggest gripe with this book is that there are far better ways for people to be thinking about improving their health and longevity in today’s modern societies. This book suggests 10 extra years of healthy life, but consider, when it’s becoming more and more common that people are sick and diseased and reliant upon medication to survive in their 30’s and 40’s, is 10 extra years all you really want? I want 40 or 50 years of extra healthy life and this book isn’t offering that at all.
Dan’s Page
#danbuettner
A Tale of Woe — P. Djèlí Clark
You can read this for free or buy the issue over at Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
A wonderful short story following a Sister of the Order of Soothers as she attempts to get to the Grand Benevolence of the Holy City of Aurth. Fantasy at its best.
And . . .
. . . it’s free to read as well: what more can you ever possibly desire? Perhaps a super big mug of cocoa while you read it, made the way you really like it?
Next up in my P. Djèlí Clark reading journey is The Black God’s Drums.
P. Djèlí Clark’s Page
#fantasy #pdjeliclark
Byrd Land Six — Alastair Reynolds
You’ll find this in the anthology, Deep Navigation.
In this short we’re off to an Antartic research station, in Marie Byrd Land: oh yeah, you get to learn about real stuff with Alastair.
Anyway, someone’s been playing with quantum entanglement and has totally messed all kinds of things up for the people at “Byrd Land Six”, and also on the Moon, where the other half of the entangled pair is residing.
Once again, super good sci-fi from a real physicist: we like!
Next up in the Alastair Reynolds timeline is Spirey and the Queen.
Alastair’s Page
#scifi #alastairreynolds
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