Sometimes taking something in all at once can feel overwhelming—like a long vacation from the “normal” world, or even house arrest. I found this a heavy lift in terms of sustained interest, yet it was also a warm and engaging tale. I was told this was an enjoyable, important work, and the fact that Everyman’s Library included it speaks to its literary significance. I’m not typically drawn to the fantasy genre (sci-fi, speculative, and weird fiction are more my lane), so I tend to avoid anything Tolkien-esque or steeped in medieval tropes. The overt Christian critique felt a bit obvious and could’ve been more nuanced. At nearly 1100 pages, you'd expect deep world-building, character arcs, and thematic weight, but too much minutiae distracted from those strengths. Still, I was genuinely pulled in at times, emotionally invested in characters, and caught up in bursts of action. Few books manage to blur the boundary between reader and story for me, but this one did. The first book stands out as the strongest. The second, the shortest, lacks action but sets crucial elements in motion. The third is the most epic, but its narrative has gaps: the Gnostic allegory is unresolved, key antagonists are dispatched too easily, and the titular device plays a surprisingly minor role. Despite its flaws, it's a good fit for young adults or open-minded readers looking for solid storytelling and thoughtful prose. In many ways, it treads the same ground as Harry Potter, though that series may prove more enduring.
.
.
.
.
#philippullman #hisdarkmaterials #everymanslibrary #fantasy #epic #christianity #gnostic #bears #angels #witches #lyrasilvertongue #multidimensional #youngadult

Veterans of Foreign Wars Building
.
.
.
.
#iphonography #raleigh #northcarolina #architecture #brick

watchoo watchin?

look at the stars/look how they shine for you
.
.
.
.
#iphonography #commonplace #architecture #raleigh #northcarolina

Biographies are so niche. Not everyone is interested real people or feels the need to be a completist. It’s like that for me, but I also love my weirdos. New Zealand had a indie music moment in the 80s that remains legendary today. Of dozens, two bands have been anointed as the gods: The Clean, for the first hit record off of the fledgling Flying Nun Record Label and The Chills, who’s songwriting was 1st to capture global interest (this year’s posthumous Spring Board LP is an encomium that unites the origins of the band with its final years…really worth a go). Arguably, Straitjacket Fits completes the trinity. A Lennon/McCartney-esque writing partnership earning a 6-record deal with Arista, they fizzled after 2. This is the origin story of the band’s Lennon and what went down these last 60 years. CARTER IS A FANTASTIC WRITER. He needed to be. While I love the Doublehappys, the Fits and his 2016 solo album, I struggled to understand the longest-standing Dimmer project. He deftly reoriented me and it just goes to show how listening is as much an intellectual exercise as it is an emotional one. Carter’s story is one of struggle and growth, a lower class punk who has been inducted in the NZ music hall of fame, received legacy awards and laureateships. His literary craftsmanship is witty, turns on a dime, observant and honest. Unique editorial decisions kept things linear, but with swirls in the timeline which really helps connect past events to future ones and back again. I came away loving a broader swath of his music than ever before and respecting his life’s path —which possesses a real sense of truth to his personal compass— tremendously. If you’re remotely familiar with New Zealand and the Flying Nun Label / “Dunedin Sound” time period for rock music, check it out.
.
.
.
.
#deadpeopleihaveknown #shaynecarter #boredgames #doublehappys #straitjacketfits #dimmer #newzealand #maori #music #rock #punk #lofi #flyingnun #dunedin #auckland

These need little introduction. The forward author noted that Tom Sawyer is a children’s/teen’s book while Huck Finn is more for adults. That lands in retrospect. Tom Sawyer is a Peter Pan type, always concocting extravagant conceits for imaginary play. I’ve been there, done that, and that’s part of childhood for sure. But I walked away despising his existence — mostly due the contrast of the character arcs in HF and the return of Tom at the end of that book. Both books are adventure novels. HF is also a coming of age story, wrestling with adulthood and all the temptations and bad things men have/do. Huck’s inner compass is what ultimately redeems him. But Tom’s return in the conclusion of HF invoked my disappointment and anger and it ultimately destroys the potential of the novel. Was this intentional? Was this a commentary on the upper societal castes’ remove from the daily struggles of the poor and enslaved? Huck’s capitulation to go with Tom’s plans means our ‘hero’ does not overcome the social order. Despite his ‘friendship’ with the slave, Jim, he’s still not empathetic enough to minimize that suffering. Has the culture indoctrinated him to believe poor people follow behind the affluent; does he believe no one will believe him? Is this the dark underlayment that makes the book great? Or is that an unintended reading and Twain is simply an unserious writer? I think if Twain was conscious of civil rights, he could have used Huck as a foil for Tom’s establishment complacency. But he doesn’t So to hell with Twain, really. A dark book, indeed.
.
.
.
.
#marktwain #huckleberryfinn #tomsawyer #adventure #illinois #mississippi #slavery #fishing #graverobbing #impersonation #ex_libris_jz

2 nights from full, with Mars
.
.
.
.
#leomoon #fullmoon #moon #lunar #mars #february #iphoneography

The Adding Machine is a highly stimulating collection of essays (and previously published articles?). Burroughs has a style that turns nonfiction readily into storytelling. There were times, I was actually not sure if what I was reading was either. Current 2025 events seemed relevant to discussions of politics, control, government, cultural mores and agendas. There’s a bit of a peek-a-boo quality as well, understanding more behind the man if one has not read forwards to their novels or a biographies. Something I will come back to time and time again is his one remark about being an elitist and popular, democratic governing being problematic (because it trends to the lowest-quality / -common denominator characters. Maybe we won’t have that issue any more with the rise of Trump and Musk as they presently disassemble the structures we’ve enjoyed for most of our lifetimes. Like Burroughs, I’ve got enough libertarian/anarchic qualities about my world views. What I cannot stand is tyranny. Life if a cut up, Burroughs viewed life symbolically — mystically. My Education is a collection of entries to his dream journal. Interesting, but for the completist only. I decided 40 pages was enough on a straight go. Perhaps I’ll pop it off the shelf and read a few pages periodically. In fact, the Adding Machine will also be a nice book to return to.
.
.
.
.
#williamsburroughs #theaddingmachine #myeducation #essays #dreamjournal #cutup #sciencefiction #politics #art #reviewofthereviewers #junk #orgoneenergyaccumulator #ex_libris_jz

.
.
.
.
#a24 #midsommar #incense #temple