i dont know why the previous post makes people think im mad at someone

of course its always possible that i am subconsciously, and im unaware of it because my eq is below average

oh wells



i know not many people read mine blog anyways, cos its kinda a retarded place, where i say stupid things on stupid subjects

but yeah

since someone requested it, i shall post on the 15 books thingum

although i think the answers are embarrassing and its against my better judgement

its probably opening a can of worms because the books you recall say alot about you

and im opening myself up to some form of psychoanalysis

well to all the budding shrinks out there



Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. They don’t have to be the greatest books you’ve ever read, just the ones that stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.



1. Lord of the Rings- i shall consider it as one book, although its really three, cos i read a copy which had all three inside, and because its really split into 3 for marketing purposes. No one starts on "book one" without reading all 3 unless of course the person gives up, but that's the case for illiterate people. For those who havent read it, its really an epic, epic story. That being said, it isnt my favourite tolkien tale, mine being the children of hurin, but the main story is the must read.



2. The Great Divorce- one of his harder to grasp books, this book by CS Lewis is a metaphorical perspective of heaven and life. Some of the characterisations and visualisations were so vivid and real that i still remember them



3. The Problem of Pain- yes, another CS Lewis book.... im really proud of rankings 1-3. (after that it falls apart) i feel this book encompassed the more important arguments Lewis put forward



4. The Mathematics of Love- a book by Emma Darwin. i have no idea why i rmbr this one, maybe it has something to do with reading it during the more trying times i had during army, so it was a form of comfort... mmmm, this book i bought for its title. It's not bad in it that the author plays around with the concept of time, and also switches between prose styles. The themes are *gosh* about how love develops against the expectations of society.....mmm..... actually when i look back, the themes of love were actually quite controversial and taboo but oh wells.



5. Midnight's Children- this booker of booker's prize winner was epic, intense, graphically absorbing, but also one of the most laborious readings i have had to undertake- maybe thats why i remember it. what i dont recall at first, is how much i identified with one underlying theme, that we always assume that we're special, and destined for greatness, but maybe our destiny lies in our passing, in that we exist to be destroyed eventually



6. A grief observed- the most personal book in CS Lewis' apologetic canon, although this one isnt apologetic. it's Lewis writing at his most vulnerable, after the death of his wife. I love how it shows that this great man actually came close to doubting everything, but how he hung on to grow through the pain.



7. Blink- i rmbr this because of the circumstances i was in when i read it. i borrowed it without permission from someone's bag in australia while i was stuck there during an overseas military exercise. its interesting, but ultimately not very beneficial..... something about how our first impressions are actually very useful

8. Vampire Chronicles- by anne rice. This is good vampire fiction, not the chic lit that stephenie mayer churns out. i still go by my stand, that any guy who reads stephenie mayer shouldnt be called a guy

9. Oscar and Lucinda by peter carey, another booker winner, its a really screwed up story about love.... hahaha.... its really enthralling after the romance blooms but entirely ironic when it ends...... i loved it because its a love story that makes u scratch your head going w.t.h. instead of feeling all warm and fuzzy inside

10. Adventures of kavalier and clay by micheal chabon. a clever and witty book about escapism and confinements one thing i dont get is why of the 2 micheal chabon books, both have gay characters....

11. Fight Club- pulp fiction with anarchial themesd, whats there not to love

12. A scanner darkly- another screwed up books, this time on drugs, and how we're all manipulated by the system.

13. 1984- the book about big brother, what i rmbr abt it was the idea of double think, the ability to think 2 seperate opposing thoughts at the same time

14. Time traveller's wife- i can see why so many people loved this book, but i didnt really like it that much. a nice love story, and although the manipulation of time in fiction was creative, i still felt the whole timeless love thing was cliche

15. Animorphs #23- Gosh, i dont know why i still remember this book, its the first book i cried reading, and its not really touching, just a screwed up story about cosmic irony and unfairness

as you can see, i tend to remember books that have screwed up themes, or if they're really ironic
im not sure what it says about me, id rather not think about it, because i dont think id really like the answer

of course when i try to think about the books i should be recalling, books such as blue like jazz, and gilead and even the bible come to mind
the question thus must be asked, so why dont i recall them instead

why isnt the bible at the top of the lists, like it should be, if i was a good sterile fundamentalist right wing, gun totting christian

although it is consolation to myself that blue like jazz may have made it to the list if it was say the top 20
in all honesty,
i can say that i disagree with the Lewis' observation that Christian authors tend to have more depth
not because he was wrong, but because the Christian literature of his time, and that which i get now is so different
honestly i feel that aside from Lewis and a few other authors such as marilyn robinson, christian writers tend to be boring, sterile and unintelligent

and yes, back to the bible,
it is interesting, and greatly applicable
it is God's inspired word and all that
but i dont know
i dont read it as much as i should for lack of interest
and fear of being identified with those whom, read it alot, read into it alot,
and wield it all around throwing verses around trying to apply its principles literally
making me wince at their lack of theological depth, lack of imagination, and lack of maturity

all that being said, i know some really Godly men and women, who know scripture well, and know how to use it
but i know too many who abuse it
yes, God can use a plumber and all that, although i gave up reading the plumbers book because it's an insult to call it a book,
men of God should acknowledge their frailties and that they arent the most intellectual and theologically superior people,
wad happened to Gods tools being broken vessels, the foolish, and meek,
why are christians now using condescending tones, and taking the "morally high" ground
its one thing to be set apart, and another to be Amish

im sorry for ranting,
as u probably can tell, since ur a budding psycho analyser
im probably borderline neurotic
just a side note, i say you're a psycho analyser, because if you blog surf,
either you're a voyeur, or you think you can read people well
im saying this out of personal retrospection
maybe im so off canter that my observation is skewed
oh wells