Reflections Of Books I Read In 2024
Short thoughts and bits about the books I read this year.
Invisible Cities
Putting this at the top of the list because it is my favorite even though I haven’t finished it. This book is a slow burner. It is comprised of tiny vingettes of describing fictional cities. It is intensly calming. I have it on my bedside table to pick up if I need to settle my mind before bed.
Not for everyone but can take you to new places in so few words. If you need an escape this is it.
Dune
Yes, I followed the crowd here. But I have fallen in love with the world of Dune. Feels like Star Wars for adults in a lot of ways.
Frank Hurbert doesn’t fill in a lot of visual details and I’m a very visual person. The 2021/2024 movies were my saving grace to understanding the story more fully.
Dune Messiah
This one was hard for me to grasp and made me want to re-read this and Dune. Anxiously waiting for this movie as well.
One thing I do love is getting to read about the effects of Paul’s rise to power. I connect with the religious symboligy.
The Creative Act: A Way Of Being
Some of my favorite quotes from this book:
Art is choosing to do something skilfully,
caring about the details,
bringing all of yourself to make the finest work you can.
It is beyond ego, vanity, self-glorfification, and need for approval.
The act of creation is an attempt to enter a mysterious realm.
A longing to transcend. What we create allows us to share glimpses
of an inner landscape, one that is beyond our understanding.
Art is our portal to the unseen world.
Don’t let the scale of your imagination get
in the way of executing a more practical version of your project.
The Story of World War II
A fantastic overview of whole war. There’s so much to cover about the war and this does a great job of hitting all the major events while diving down into personal stories to add color.
I hated history in school but this was more memorable telling. Truly amazing what people did back then to fight for justice.
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
I have not quite finished this one (9hrs left of a 50+ hour audiobook) as it started to get into the attrocities the Nazis inflicted on the their enemies. Was a bit hard to listen to.
This is a deeper look into the German side. It takes from the documents of the trials of the Nazis and any other recovered information. It starts with the state of Germany before the war and Hitler’s rise to power. The point I stopped listening was near the end of the war.
Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975
My grandfather served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam and I wanted a little window into what he lived through. I could not imagine living during that time.
American was on a quest to eliminate communism but it seems they did not pick the right battle here. It makes my gut hurt thinking about all the young men that got drafted into this war.