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Aug. 7th, 2014 10:34 pmIt occurred to me as I sat reading tonight, comfy in my armchair, that it is hard to recommend books to others. Oh you can...but sometimes, it really depends on how the other person thinks, how their brain is wired, or heart. Some books resonate, some do not, and there's really no way of explaining why or how come. Sometimes its easier to explain why they don't.
Have similar issues with apartment hunting - it's not always easy to explain why a particular apartment doesn't work for you.
But back to books...the book I'm reading now, Magic Breaks, resonates with me on a deep spiritual level, it's beyond mental. I just get it. But I can't really recommend it to others - because I don't believe they will. It's similar to my experience in watching Buffy, I was always reluctant to recommend it to people - it either worked for you on that gut level or it didn't. You either saw a metaphorical journey of a girl slaying her fears, her demons, and slowly climbing out of the madness of adolescence, into the uncertain chaos of adulthood, to the peace of wholeness and knowledge of who she was. Or you saw a cheesy tween show about a blond killing vampires with a lot of soap operaish plot twists, and comic book sensibility.
Which makes it hard to recommend things or even discuss things we love. We sort have to go into the discussion with the realization that it is highly unlikely we'll see it or understand it or perceive it in the same way. And not see that as necessarily a bad thing, but a gift - since it provides us with another perspective and another angle.
In other words - realize that when you share a book or tv show or work of art with another -- you must be open to a perspective contrary or contradictory to your own, and embrace it as yet another way of seeing the world, as opposed to a personal critique.
Because how on earth could it be personal?
All we can do is attempt to communicate how we perceive our reality, our world, our loves and hates, and obsessions - we really have no control on how others react to them or perceive them. But we can choose, I think, to be more positive in our embrace of their views. Which I also think is a far easier said than done. Particularly when they slant towards the negative or are critical.
The book I'm reading now, Magic Breaks - lovingly retells in new ways ancient Persian myths. Such as the myth of the Queen of Babylon, Semiramis. These books unlike most urban fantasy novels celebrate female goddesses and rulers of power. Many of which are lesser known by the Western World. The myths of Persia, Russia, India, and Asia are recreated here. For a former cultural anthropology major - who specialized in Goddess mythology, this is heaven.
Plus it is told in such a different manner, the power is not denigrated. The Goddess not made out to be evil, nor is her power. So much as ambiguously gray. A breath of fresh air, after reading Butcher, Zelzany, and Martin - who all appear to harbor boyish fears of the primoridial mother deep within their psyches - or at least some vestige of it.
Have similar issues with apartment hunting - it's not always easy to explain why a particular apartment doesn't work for you.
But back to books...the book I'm reading now, Magic Breaks, resonates with me on a deep spiritual level, it's beyond mental. I just get it. But I can't really recommend it to others - because I don't believe they will. It's similar to my experience in watching Buffy, I was always reluctant to recommend it to people - it either worked for you on that gut level or it didn't. You either saw a metaphorical journey of a girl slaying her fears, her demons, and slowly climbing out of the madness of adolescence, into the uncertain chaos of adulthood, to the peace of wholeness and knowledge of who she was. Or you saw a cheesy tween show about a blond killing vampires with a lot of soap operaish plot twists, and comic book sensibility.
Which makes it hard to recommend things or even discuss things we love. We sort have to go into the discussion with the realization that it is highly unlikely we'll see it or understand it or perceive it in the same way. And not see that as necessarily a bad thing, but a gift - since it provides us with another perspective and another angle.
In other words - realize that when you share a book or tv show or work of art with another -- you must be open to a perspective contrary or contradictory to your own, and embrace it as yet another way of seeing the world, as opposed to a personal critique.
Because how on earth could it be personal?
All we can do is attempt to communicate how we perceive our reality, our world, our loves and hates, and obsessions - we really have no control on how others react to them or perceive them. But we can choose, I think, to be more positive in our embrace of their views. Which I also think is a far easier said than done. Particularly when they slant towards the negative or are critical.
The book I'm reading now, Magic Breaks - lovingly retells in new ways ancient Persian myths. Such as the myth of the Queen of Babylon, Semiramis. These books unlike most urban fantasy novels celebrate female goddesses and rulers of power. Many of which are lesser known by the Western World. The myths of Persia, Russia, India, and Asia are recreated here. For a former cultural anthropology major - who specialized in Goddess mythology, this is heaven.
Plus it is told in such a different manner, the power is not denigrated. The Goddess not made out to be evil, nor is her power. So much as ambiguously gray. A breath of fresh air, after reading Butcher, Zelzany, and Martin - who all appear to harbor boyish fears of the primoridial mother deep within their psyches - or at least some vestige of it.