A few weeks ago, I saw a thread on here which listed the best books people have read in their lives, which inspired me. 4 months ago, my girlfriend and I broke up and I am still have difficulty dealing with it, but I have found a salvation outside of going to the gym to workout! After reading that thread pertaining to the books, I told myself that I am going to “put a dent” into reading from the list of top 100 English Novels of all time. And in the past 6 weeks I have read:
Catcher in the Rye (#64) by JD Salinger
Catch-22(#7) bu John Heller
Slaughterhouse Five(#18) by James Vonnegut
and just finished Brave New World(#9) by Aldous Huxley
I find myself reading at night rather than watching tv and even on the weekends…I go to Borders and read. I sit on the same couch every weekend and I just sit there and read. A part of me is hoping that I will bump into some wonderful girl there (hey!..a guy can hope right)…but for the most part, it is just so darn relaxing. I just feel like a better person now that I am reading all these classic books. Jeez…I hope I dont sound like too much of a lame ass here…haha. I think I am going to pick up A Farewell To Arms by Hemingway next.
Probably a dumb thread to write, but I just wanted to share that with all of you. So not only am I making my body stronger through training, but now my mind is getting quite the workout lately too! Alright, I’m a dork…I’ll go now…haha.
I have read the first three. I used to read a lot, five books a week, sometimes more. I fell out of the habit when I moved farther away from the library. For a while I stuck to non fiction and learned a lot there.
Reading is good for your brain I think. It works it in ways that the blue idiot box (TV) doesn’t. I guess you’ve figured that out though…
There are few things better than a good read!
Regardless of the subject matter, reading soothes the mind and ignites the imagination in its own unique sort of way.
Damn, honey! I’m proud of you too! Not many people turn the TV off and pick up a good book, and certainly less do it to ward off a post-relationship funk. And yes, if you make it a regular thing to be on that couch in Borders, your chances of running into a female of similar intersts is pretty good. Same thing if you run/bike/hike the same path at the same time each week. I’ve met some of good friends on my trail (and I get to borrow their dogs - huge benefit for me!) that I hike every Sunday afternoon.
Like I once read: Where you are (mentally) is very close to the total sum of all you’ve read.
So keeping the pipeline of books full and flowing is never a waste. Just take some time once in a while to let it sink it (digest it) and burp the excess ever so often. =0)
Congratulations. You’re starting to kick ass now, I can feel it. Do yourself a favor: Blow up your TV. Or, perhaps better, simply disconnect your cable service. Movies are cool.
Dude, this was the best thread I’ve read in weeks. Seriously!
Well, Tigre, I have to admit, I am somewhat disappointed with the content of the thread after reading both the subject line and the beginning of the first sentence.
I completely thought this was going to be talk of you finally hooking your shit up with that waitress from Snapplebee’s.
That being said, Master Tigre, I am still very proud of you and your endeavors to expand your horizons. This is a marked accomplishment and you should feel excellent.
Now, is that James or Kurt Vonnegut? You should check into more novels by the latter, as he’s a very interesting author.
Good call! I’ce got a lot more time to read stuff I want now that school’s out. I just put the stereo on & have at it. Here are the books I’ve read in the last 3-4 weeks:
The War on Freedom - Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy - Greg Palast
The Vanishing Country - Mel Hurtig
The Fight for Canada - David Orchard (this guy will be PM next year if he can get leadership of the PC Party on thurs.)
I’ve started Aristotle’s Politics, but it’s so dry I don’t expect to be done in a long time. Next on the list I think is Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.
Be extremely proud of yourself. I didn’t have a tv growing up, so I read for entertainment. My parents swear up and down that it was the best thing they ever did, and I’m inclined to agree with them. Right now, I’m assembling my summer reading list, and quite a few military histories are on it. Have you tried Mark Twain? His short stories are wonderful. One final thing, earlier this year, I was watching a class interact with each other. Just on a hunch, I asked them who read books for fun. Without fail, the thoughtful, insightful kids said yes, while the bimbos and lugnuts all looked at me like I’d lost my mind before saying that they maybe read a magazine now and then. If you spend much time in front of the tv, I’m convinced it dooms you to simplistic, superficial thinking. Good books teach you a complexity of thinking, they draw you in to the story, they make you work. Tv does just the opposite
Excellent Tony!! It’s always nice when someone has a mind to go with the body they’ve worked so hard at.
And Paul, I so relate. You’re a teacher, right? Me too. And boy, can you ever pick out the kids who read for fun from the pack. And, even though I grew up with a television in the house, my parents hardly ever turned it on, and weekly trips to the library were part of our family routine.
Recently I spent almost 2 weeks in bed with pneumonia, too dopey to watch a whole movie and hating the daytime programming. My honey went to the library and came back with a stack of books for me - all John Irving, not sure why. So I curled up under my cats and my blankets and read A Widow for A Year, A Son of the Circus, The Hotel New Hampshire and The Fourth Hand. It was so nice to be reading for pleasure, not for a course I was taking or as research for something I was teaching. Aaaahhh, the joy of being sick enough to have no responsibilities!!
Very cool and you should be proud of yourself. I’ve heard that once you hit 30, your personality is set and that people tend to be less open to new learning at this point. I tend to disagree with this and feel that reading is probably the best way to continue learnig til the day you die. I love to read simply for the sake of gaining new knowledge, even if it’s in an area that I’ll never be exposed to. I read a lot at work during down time at the fire hall. Nothing like getting paid to read and it beats watching crappy tv or playing cards. Of course reading always comes after work outs or grappling. The only thing better than getting paid to read is getting paid to work out and roll on the mat with the guys.
Thanks all. I didnt think anyone would respond to this, but it is nice that you did. Definetely brighted up my day.
Timbo…you crack me up my man. I thought about that when I originally wrote this thread using the heading “proud of myself”…cause people would assume that I grew a sack and said something to my favorite Applebee’s waitress…haha. Alas, I did not. I think I might have missed my opportunity. I went in twice over the weekend and she wasnt there. She might have gone home for the summer. So, sorry to disappoint all of you…haha. Oh, and by the way…Slaughterhouse Five was by Kurt Vonnegut…not James…I goofed on the name. I will check out his other stuff though…that was a fascinating book.
These past few months have been a HUGE bummer for me due to my ex and I breaking up. First and foremost…the weight room is my release. When I go there, I can just forget about my sadness and hit the weights and hit em’ hard. Shoot…all I have to do is think about the jerk she is with now (if you only knew the crap he has done and said about me!!)…and I am good to go. In the past…weekends were the time that my ex and I would spend together, and the first few weeks after we broke up…I DESPISED the weekends cause all would do is mope around the house and act all depressed. Then I saw that thread on the books and told myself, “you know what Tony…you need another hobby darn it!” So I went to my local library and started on the top 100 english novels. And going to the bookstore is so awesome! I swear to god the couch they have there is the most comfortable couch I have ever sat in! I am almost tempted to just lay down and take a little nap while I am there…haha. But, I think I would get some weird looks if I did that. I am hoping that I will walk through the training/exercise section one day and see a t-vixen browsing through a Tudor Bompa book or something…how cool would that be?? In any case, thanks for all the great feedback everyone. Nice to know that I’m not a dork afterall…haha.
Tigre, like I said, man, you should still be proud of yourself, and you’re so far from being a dork, it’s not even worth addressing.
Now, I’m not sure I’ll disagree that you’ve yet to grow a sack, as you’ve let a beautiful young lady (and possibly potential T-Vixen) slip away without an effort. But that’s a moot point, my friend.
Many an individual–myself included!–have taken out his/her negative energies in all the wrong ways. Contrastingly, you’ve bettered yourself and expanded your own horizons. All the while you’ve continued your training. I would have never guessed from the tone of your posts and conversations with me that you were feeling blue.
Paul:
Have you read much by Keegan? He writes on fairly conventional topics but he does so in an interesting and more analytical way. His first was Face of Battle which was more of just a stylistic blueprint for his other stuff, although I hear that it is read not just at sandhurst (where he lectures), but also in US and other military acadamies.
Polar Princess: Yes, I teach high school sophomores in suburban D/FW, and there are days in which a really big bottle of Drambuie seems to be the only cure for my day. Makes dieting hard!! It’s bound to get worse, next year I have Freshmen! Emckee, the only book I’ve read by John Keegan is A History of Warfare. The one I just finished (and promptly loaned out, was How wars are won by Bevins Alexander. Great read, full of historical examples which just thrilled me.) One of the many I’m in the middle of right now is On Killing by Dave Grossman.
As far as Borders, I have a Barnes and Noble in my neighborhood, were the staff knows me by sight. And after the manager broke me of the habit of leaving bookmarks, or dog-earing the pages (well I didn’t want to lose my place, did I?) they’ve been fantastic. Yes, those couches are wonderful, I wish I had one at home!
After High School my Girlfriend and I broke up. I was in preety bad shape, evidence by the fact that a year later I sitll harbor alot of feelings for her. That summer I commited myself to basically reading the entire works of Shakespeare. I actually got through nearly all the comedies and tradgedies (although in high school i had read several giving me a good head start). It helped greatly. I hope this helps and you get the feeling that you are on the right road, good luck.
