Anyone interested in information theory, intelligence (artificial or otherwise), many-worlds interpretations of quantum mechanics, metafiction, the nature of art, or even probabilistic sequence modeling should read Borges’ short stories. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.
1: Hero With A Thousand Faces
A classic book collating world mythologies and psychoanalytical thought to investigate an individual’s core struggle for meaning and purpose. I find that it has informed my appreciation of literature, film, music. More importantly, it helped me understand how I want to live my life and from whence I now choose to derive my personal senses of direction and meaning.
2: Samuel Beckett, Malone Dies
An obtuse, rambling, depressing novel without a sense of momentum or even plot. The narrator or narrators are unreliable, prone to aporetics, and capricious.
Beyond its stark exterior, the prose is, at times, achingly beautiful, the narrator is relatable in his uncertainty and frailty, and the dual struggle for meaning and accepting the absolute absence thereof is invigorating.
It’s book two of a trilogy, but these postmodern novels are enjoyable on their own, and the rare, tenuous grasp on plot or direction makes reading them in sequence seem to be more a suggestion on how to experience them than a strict ordering.
I’ve also been reading The Double (Dostoevsky), but I haven’t progressed far enough to make an informed recommendation.
Many of my lit-savvy friends have never heard of Borges - I had never caught wind of him until about a year or two ago. I was blown away when I read Labyrinths. His writing style strikes a really nice balance between analytical and artistic/philosophical. I found that I got the most out of his stories when I read them in their entirety and reflected upon for a while afterwards.
I would HIGHLY recommend him to other technical-minded people who have interest in the arts. Two stories that I loved were "The Library of Babel" (obviously) and "The South". Two more from a different collection (The Book of Sand) that I think go hand-in-hand with each other conceptually are “The Mirror and the Mask” and “Undr”
> read them in their entirety and reflected upon for a while afterwards.
This. My HS Physics teacher introduced my to Labyrinths. Still the best book recommendation I've ever received. Giving time for each story to absorb is essential. I'd also like to add "The Lottery in Babylon" is an excellent story.
Although seldom mentioned, I hope Joseph Campbell’s work is familiar to many members of this community, because of his influence on George Lucas, Star Wars, and most fantasy and speculative fiction.
There are so many things that so many people say should be "required learning in school". I sympathise the sentiment, but maybe it'd be better to habituate ourselves to somehow thinking about how each of us could solve the problem (for kids) instead of trying to elbow in our favourite subject in an already stuffed-to-the-brim curriculum. Just a thought.
Against my better judgement, I'll go ahead and bite.
There are two things in your comment I want to address. First, I'm not sure what you mean by "the problem," so I'll assume you mean the question of what constitutes a solid education. Second, there's an underlying debate here of another question, what is the purpose of education?
I'd argue the second question begets the first, for how can you determine what constitutes education until you know what the purpose of it is? For example, is the purpose to be trained for a job, or to be able to think critically and ask fundamental questions about the nature of life?
If the answer is the former, then I would agree with you that no lesson should be allowed unless it can be directly followed along to a relevant skill at a job. But I think the answer ought to be the latter, and in that case, the questions posted by Campbell's responses in "Power of Myth" and exploration of ideas and narratives that many of us simply take for granted, compel one to have serious reflection; even better that the pivot is Star Wars, a story with which many people are already well acquainted.
So, while I was using a rather casual colloquialism, hopefully this reasoning justifies its use :)
In case you’re curious as to why I read it, a good friend of mine gave me a copy after he read House of Leaves upon my recommendation a few years ago because it provided further insight into the book.
Had the same thought. On this note, Peterson's reading list [1] is worth pursuing, however I'd dovetail it with less serious books for the sake of levity -- his reading list, like himself, can be pretty serious + severe.
I’m not in any JP fan club or anything, but that’s a bizarre assessment. Jordan Peterson is as far from someone who “tells ppl what they want to hear” as you can get. Which is one reason among a few why he is so unlikeable.
People are masochistic and self hating. They love it when an older man tells them to get your sorry life together bucko. Take small steps, and incrementally work your way up you piece of shit.
Your description of Malone Dies reminds me of Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky. I found it hard to get into at first because the prose was different from most books I've read (might be the translation, but the Narrator is also crazy). After starting and restarting the book a few times to get into the flow, it definitely turned out to be one of my favorite books.
Also, for sci-fi I'd recommend Hyperion by Dan Simmons. This is the first in a trilogy but can be read and be satisfied with not reading the other two (although the second one, The Fall of Hyperion, is very good).
I read the first (Hyperion) one on a recommendation and I think the guy who recommended it to me was also read it based on a recommendation. It makes me wonder what the longest "recommendation streaks" are and what books they could be for.
Now, while the narrative style is different in the later of these books, if you enjoy NFU, I recommend both Crime and Punishment and Demons.
I see Notes From Underground, Crime and Punishment, and Demons/The Possessed as unified by a core set of ideas.
In the first, Dostoevsky states his claims. Crime and Punishment is a case study of what would happen should an individual act upon the ideas of his (Dostoevsky’s) time, and Demons extrapolated this to societal scale.
I may not be in the majority, but I think Demons is by far his best.
Hero With A Thousand Faces is truly amazing. It made me think about archtypes, meaning of live. The next stop for me after that book was famous and mystical The Golden Bough by James Frazer. I highly recommend it. I bought a great edition from Folio [0]
The challenge of reading Borges for a wider audience is to find appropriate translation. The ones he sanctioned, translated collaboratively by Giovanni is out of the market due to copyright tussles with the estate. The translations available in market are by Andrew Hurley which do not quite capture the brilliance of Borges. I started with Hurley's translation of a short story and later chanced upon Giovanni's for the same. The difference was stark. I cannot force myself to read other translation any more, even if it means denying myself further works of Borges.
If you want to get a taste of Jorge Luis Borges, I strongly recommend the short story, The Garden of Forking Paths. Especially if you like twist at the end.
I unfortunately cannot as of yet, having not had the pleasure. I will add it to my list, however!
If you’ve perhaps read any of Beckett’s plays, especially Krapp’s Last Tape, that might be a proper frame of reference. The recollections and musings all take place in a single room where a man is preparing for death, undisturbed apart from nurses or maids who never talk to him.
0: Jorge Luis Borges, Labyrinths
Anyone interested in information theory, intelligence (artificial or otherwise), many-worlds interpretations of quantum mechanics, metafiction, the nature of art, or even probabilistic sequence modeling should read Borges’ short stories. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.
1: Hero With A Thousand Faces
A classic book collating world mythologies and psychoanalytical thought to investigate an individual’s core struggle for meaning and purpose. I find that it has informed my appreciation of literature, film, music. More importantly, it helped me understand how I want to live my life and from whence I now choose to derive my personal senses of direction and meaning.
2: Samuel Beckett, Malone Dies
An obtuse, rambling, depressing novel without a sense of momentum or even plot. The narrator or narrators are unreliable, prone to aporetics, and capricious. Beyond its stark exterior, the prose is, at times, achingly beautiful, the narrator is relatable in his uncertainty and frailty, and the dual struggle for meaning and accepting the absolute absence thereof is invigorating. It’s book two of a trilogy, but these postmodern novels are enjoyable on their own, and the rare, tenuous grasp on plot or direction makes reading them in sequence seem to be more a suggestion on how to experience them than a strict ordering.
I’ve also been reading The Double (Dostoevsky), but I haven’t progressed far enough to make an informed recommendation.