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For me it feels like quite a long read, and Seneca’s thoughts sometimes are a bit hard to follow (dude was from the Roman Empire and old as fuck, can’t blame him). But I still am learning so much from him. He’s making me learn more from life, as well.
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Yes I realize this is far more than one book, but I read all of these stories in very close succession & I believe they shaped me into the guy I am today. These are all very sensitive-young-man-core, but what can I say? I was a sensitive young man.
I have a very complicated relationship with Mother & Father. When I was first introduced to Kafka, it was like meeting my soulmate. I don’t have it in me to go into much detail at this moment, but being condemned to death by drowning for failing an aging father who can sense a deeply felt resentment; waking up one day to find you’ve turned into a disgusting bug after sacrificing so much for a family that cares so little— these are ideas that deeply rattled & resonated with me personally at the age that I read them. I resolved to try to live differently.
Death of Ivan Ilych was simply further exhortation for me to not live my life according to convention, to pursue wealth, status, family life for their own sakes. I think every single one of us has it in us to become an Ivan Ilych without even realizing. I was totally rapt & manic upon finishing this one I still am today, to some degree.
Portrait of the Artist really spoke to me as well. When Stephen looks at his father & realizes he’s a fool, and that he wants to be nothing like him. The moment when he sees the girl in the water & he becomes so horny he decides to dedicate his life to the pursuit of beauty, to aesthetics, to being an artist. The entire ending segment written as first person journal entries filled me with a lot of hope.
Emerson is the man. Great way to shock the materialist reductionist, the comformist, the busybody, & the consistent, conventional company man out of your system. Probably made me a more annoying person when alls said & done. Oh well.
May 12, 2024
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Recently, I read Siddhartha & Catcher in the Rye. Both protagonists, Siddhartha & Holden, were relatable for different reasons. Siddhartha’s quest for knowledge and Holden’s recognition of the performative nature of everyone around him - of their inauthenticity.
Holden is frustrating though - he’s a stagnant character through and through - and the lack of growth leaves him in a mental hospital at the end of the story. A setting I’m sure many of us on here are familiar with.
I don’t want to ruin Siddhartha for anyone, but the lessons about balance resonated deeply with me as a Libra ♎️
Jan 20, 2024
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Heavy read but helped me learn so much.
Jun 11, 2024
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it controls our lives so much I think we forget that it’s actually in a little box of glass and metal and that WE are the ones who use it, not the other way around.
i wanna turn mine into a photo album, reclaim the purpose of it as a place to just share photos of nice moments whenever I feel like it. Fuck social media anxiety these are just little icons on my phone so who caressssss
Jan 7, 2025
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prioritize seeing friends and family over your to-do list. since I live in another country, I learned to do that anytime I have a chance.
do I have this really important thing I need to do for uni? yes. will I do it? after lunch with my grandma and coffee with my friends, thank you very much. they might die, and my work unfortunately cannot.
Jan 9, 2025
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whatever it is, and for whatever reason you have, do it even if you’re scared. Do it ESPECIALLY if you’re scared. Being scared means that it’s important, and if it’s important then well, you should do it !!!
Jun 11, 2024