Figure Drawing

Michael Hampton

★★★★★

The Holy Bible.

Liar Game

Shinobu Kaitani

★★★✰✰

Fun read. The art isnt the best but it has charm, and its easy to overlook for how well the story hooks you in.

Reading one chapter a day with morning coffee is nice.

The Idiot

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Electric Sheep

Philip K. Dick

★★★★★

Heaven

Mieko Kawakami

★★★★★

Super relate with the main character which may be why i always think about this book. A deep dive on insecurity and the harshness of childhood social dynamics. I still question whether changing a part of yourself out of insecurity is pandering.

For an insecurity to be an insecurity its an innate discomfort with a part of yourself that is most of the time completely irrational. As i grow older and come to terms with my insecurities i realize stressing over anything that will never change is permanent hell. I limit myself to things i have the ability to change like my work ethic, teeth(i got braces), crossed eye(i had one too), and body.

For the main character to be judged for something that he saw as a problem is insane, if changing a part of myself will make me a more content person, who is to be the arbiter of my happiness.

Obviously, changing things about you can be a slippery slope and lead to regret but as long as it comes from a place of personal feeling and not outside influence, you should be fine.

Republic

Plato

Berserk

Kentaro Miura

★★★★★

Kentaro is a god amongst men in every realm.

Pure integrity. To know what is capable with your brain, a peice of paper and a pen makes this complex world seem so simple.

Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

★★★★★

You control your reality. The things going into your head are a complete representation of who you will inevitably become.

This book isnt profound in any way. Deep down we know what it takes to be a better person it just comes down to whether we have the discipline or willingess to apply them every single day. The most important things in life are easily forgotten, this is a book of reminders. Make it a goal to read just one line a day.

When the last page is turned you simply flip it over and start again.

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

★★★✰✰

I love sci-fi and i went into this thinking it was gonna be great. This is the most insufferable book ive ever read. Being eloquent and overbearing isnt impressive at all to me, the first half of the book almost gave me a stroke.

The idea is a really horrific thing to think about which is why people love this book and i get why. The things it makes you think about after each chapter was way more fun than actually reading it but i guess thats worth something.

---

Ok, im revisiting this review...i think about this book all the time and I realize now how necessary the insufferable vocabulary of this book really was. It created such a sterile enviroment that played into the disconect you feel when you read it. They took a normal man based on our reality and viewed him as a savage until he actually turned into one. This book does its job well and honestly feels like a horror novel at this point, there is so much that goes into being human. The sacrifice and loss that makes you appreciate everything more, all of it gets ripped away in this society and you're left with humans that are conditioned to operate like robots. Thats what makes it so scary, its not like they are robots, they are just trained to operate like them, the humanity still lies within them.

Id be down to go to the falklands.

Guin Saga

Kaoru Kurimoto

1984

George Orwell