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[Matthew]

On the third volume of Thomas Merton’s journals now, and there continues to be a very scary undercurrent of deep psychological problems among the monks in Gethsemani – I mean people flat-out going crazy. And this is supposed to be the golden era of religious life too. Very sad.

[JSngry]

The Nag Hammadi Library in English

[ghost of miles]

Almost done with volume two of Thomas Meton's journals Entering the Silence: Becoming a Monk and a Writer. About half of this volume appeared in Merton's book The Sign of Jonas. It is very interesting to see Merton struggling with so many aspects of his life; with silence, the other monks, himself, and his constant complaining; sometimes you just want to tell the guy to shut up. OTOH, it must have been difficult for Merton's superiors to figure out what to do with him, and he was overworked. I wonder how much the income producing aspect of Merton's life came into the decision making of his superiors. I wasn't like Merton was the cash cow, but he was one of the few monks there who could bring in extra money during a time when the money was needed. The writing and insights improve greatly after Merton's ordination, but you still can sense that his mind was struggling to break out on the confines of Gethsemane. Merton's journals are challenging, as I find myself struggling to come to grips with Merton.

PS (very late edit for a question): Does anyone know if there is an english translation of La Mort de Jean Madec by Brian Parain? I've googled, and nothing? My french could never get through it

Thanks for your reflections on these, Matthew--I'm hoping to eventually work my way through Merton's journals as well.

[rdavenport]

Just finished "Wouldn't It Be Nice", the Brian Wilson autobiog.

I never much cared for the Beach Boys (though I had the obligatory "Pet Sounds") and this didn't do anything to change that.

[BillF]

Finished Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality by John Gribbin. An excellent book, and now I'm only fifteen years behind on having a layman's understanding of quantum theory. Woohoo!

I'm now five pages into The Human Stain by Philip Roth. I've never read Roth before; can he actually keep this up? An amazing start!

My favorite Roth is Goodbye, Columbus from the beginning of his career, but if you like The Human Stain I recommend American Pastoral.

[Matthew]

On the third volume of Thomas Merton's journals now, and there continues to be a very scary undercurrent of deep psychological problems among the monks in Gethsemani – I mean people flat-out going crazy. And this is supposed to be the golden era of religious life too. Very sad.

Finished volume three, and it is a scary volume for sure. The main problem Merton deals with is the need to leave his monastery and find real solitude. That dream, was of course, denied. The problem for Merton was not just going somewhere else, but it was with the Chamber of Commerce religion that was rampant in Gethsemani Abby, a shallow, formulistic religion that Merton felt was a lie, had no reality to it. This all showed itself in the great unrest that runs throughout this volume; Merton is all over the map in terms of his relationship with God, with the community, and with himself. A lot of sadness comes through on this volume, and it ends on a depressing note: Merton told to give up any thought of leaving; Merton stuck with a superior that does not understand him; his prayer life very much effected; his feeling of complete isolation from his brothers, with a decided turning to visits from artists and friends to fill the increasing emptiness he finds.

[Niko]

Finished Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality by John Gribbin. An excellent book, and now I'm only fifteen years behind on having a layman's understanding of quantum theory. Woohoo!

remember this as a fine book - too bad physics knowledge never stays with me longer than four weeks (so i stopped trying), that book was one two or three things i noticed when i first came into my girlfriend's former room in her parents house (she has dozens of these books but kinda lost interest, wonder what she was like back then); wish i remembered everything as easily as discographies... just read the booklet of the dupree bolton uptown cd, my first uptown cd... (haven't said this so far but felt it quite a bit: welcome back!)

Edited June 4, 2009 by Niko

[Jazzmoose]

I can certainly relate to that! My brain should have finished rejecting the entire book in another week or so...

[thedwork]

Finished volume three, and it is a scary volume for sure. The main problem Merton deals with is the need to leave his monastery and find real solitude. That dream, was of course, denied. The problem for Merton was not just going somewhere else, but it was with the Chamber of Commerce religion that was rampant in Gethsemani Abby, a shallow, formulistic religion that Merton felt was a lie, had no reality to it. This all showed itself in the great unrest that runs throughout this volume; Merton is all over the map in terms of his relationship with God, with the community, and with himself. A lot of sadness comes through on this volume, and it ends on a depressing note: Merton told to give up any thought of leaving; Merton stuck with a superior that does not understand him; his prayer life very much effected; his feeling of complete isolation from his brothers, with a decided turning to visits from artists and friends to fill the increasing emptiness he finds.

well... that sounds phenomenally interesting. i've heard much about Merton and have read snippets. what's the name of this book and would you think it an ok book for my 1st Merton?

i'm reading this right now:

great long form music writing. finished the pieces on Dock Boggs, Phil Ochs, and Jason And The Nashville Scorchers. but what i was persoanally most interested in was the piece on Chris Thile. that guy is scary. been listening to his duets record w/ Edgar Meyer. they're both aliens. excellent writing in this 'bookazine.' it's a real pleasure.

and i'm also reading this right now ('bout a 1/3 of the way through):

great, in-depth interviews w/ fascinating artists: joey baron, tim berne, peter brotzmann, jack jack dejohnette, hamid drake, ken vandemark, bill frisell, greg osby, susie ibarra, etc... great book. so far i'm enjoying it much more than a book i finished a couple weeks ago:

for me, not as exciting or illuminating as the Peterson book somehow. oh well...

[Morganized]

Finished Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality by John Gribbin. An excellent book, and now I'm only fifteen years behind on having a layman's understanding of quantum theory. Woohoo!

I'm now five pages into The Human Stain by Philip Roth. I've never read Roth before; can he actually keep this up? An amazing start!

My favorite Roth is Goodbye, Columbus from the beginning of his career, but if you like The Human Stain I recommend American Pastoral.

I just finished American Pastoral. Interesting read.

Working on Upton Sinclair's "Oil" now.

[Matthew]

Finished volume three, and it is a scary volume for sure. The main problem Merton deals with is the need to leave his monastery and find real solitude. That dream, was of course, denied. The problem for Merton was not just going somewhere else, but it was with the Chamber of Commerce religion that was rampant in Gethsemani Abby, a shallow, formulistic religion that Merton felt was a lie, had no reality to it. This all showed itself in the great unrest that runs throughout this volume; Merton is all over the map in terms of his relationship with God, with the community, and with himself. A lot of sadness comes through on this volume, and it ends on a depressing note: Merton told to give up any thought of leaving; Merton stuck with a superior that does not understand him; his prayer life very much effected; his feeling of complete isolation from his brothers, with a decided turning to visits from artists and friends to fill the increasing emptiness he finds.

well... that sounds phenomenally interesting. i've heard much about Merton and have read snippets. what's the name of this book and would you think it an ok book for my 1st Merton?

What I'm reading are the private journals (there are seven volumes) of Thomas Merton that he kept before and after he entered the Trappist monastery in Kentucky, and what you quoted are my thoughts for Volume Three. After Merton died, it was his expressed command in his will that these journals not be published until 25 years after his death. I can see why, a lot of forth-right comments about the situation and monks in Gethsemani Abby, where he spent most of his adult life. There is a lot of "inside" stuff about religious life and practices, and it is easy, if you don't have a good grasp of the context, to get lost. A good first book is either The Seven Story Mountain, which is Merton's autobiography of his life, of his conversion to Catholicism, and his entery into Gethsemani Abby a mere two/three years after his conversion. It is an interesting read, but as Merton himself acknowledges, a good bit of sanctimonious writing at times. It's a good book none the less. If you're interested in Merton's religious side, The Sign of Jonas is a very good start. This book takes you from Merton's study for the priesthood, to after ordination. Merton also struggles with a number personel and religious issues in this book. It is in a journal format, an easy read, but insightful at the same time. In fact, as I'm typing this, The Sign of Jonas might be the best way to be introduced to Merton, and after this, Seven Story Mountain as a way to get the basic outline of his life. Though, I must admit, the journals are very good, and if you like more immediate writing, and do not mind "monastic gossip," they are well worth reading. I keep on going back and forth on Merton, I've read him for a long time, and he was the one writer I read the most before my own conversion to Catholicism. I thought I had left him for good, but now, after many years, he coming back into my life. Strange, really, how that happens.... I can go on a whole lot more on Merton, but I better stop now, and in fact, I'm not sure I even answered your question!

Edited June 6, 2009 by Matthew

[A Lark Ascending]

A nice story, if very imitative of Louis de Bernieres. Idyllic Basque community in first half - loving families, comic characters, harmless mischief; then sudden tragedy with the bombing; then the rebuilding. He also throws in vignettes of Picasso, the planning of the Condor Legion etc as Bernieres did with Mussolini in Captain Corelli.

Still, very enjoyable and has made me want to read:

[Shawn]

H.P. Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth

[jlhoots]

Mayra Montero: Dancing To Almendra

[thedwork]

Finished volume three, and it is a scary volume for sure. The main problem Merton deals with is the need to leave his monastery and find real solitude. That dream, was of course, denied. The problem for Merton was not just going somewhere else, but it was with the Chamber of Commerce religion that was rampant in Gethsemani Abby, a shallow, formulistic religion that Merton felt was a lie, had no reality to it. This all showed itself in the great unrest that runs throughout this volume; Merton is all over the map in terms of his relationship with God, with the community, and with himself. A lot of sadness comes through on this volume, and it ends on a depressing note: Merton told to give up any thought of leaving; Merton stuck with a superior that does not understand him; his prayer life very much effected; his feeling of complete isolation from his brothers, with a decided turning to visits from artists and friends to fill the increasing emptiness he finds.

well... that sounds phenomenally interesting. i've heard much about Merton and have read snippets. what's the name of this book and would you think it an ok book for my 1st Merton?

What I'm reading are the private journals (there are seven volumes) of Thomas Merton that he kept before and after he entered the Trappist monastery in Kentucky, and what you quoted are my thoughts for Volume Three. After Merton died, it was his expressed command in his will that these journals not be published until 25 years after his death. I can see why, a lot of forth-right comments about the situation and monks in Gethsemani Abby, where he spent most of his adult life. There is a lot of "inside" stuff about religious life and practices, and it is easy, if you don't have a good grasp of the context, to get lost. A good first book is either The Seven Story Mountain, which is Merton's autobiography of his life, of his conversion to Catholicism, and his entery into Gethsemani Abby a mere two/three years after his conversion. It is an interesting read, but as Merton himself acknowledges, a good bit of sanctimonious writing at times. It's a good book none the less. If you're interested in Merton's religious side, The Sign of Jonas is a very good start. This book takes you from Merton's study for the priesthood, to after ordination. Merton also struggles with a number personel and religious issues in this book. It is in a journal format, an easy read, but insightful at the same time. In fact, as I'm typing this, The Sign of Jonas might be the best way to be introduced to Merton, and after this, Seven Story Mountain as a way to get the basic outline of his life. Though, I must admit, the journals are very good, and if you like more immediate writing, and do not mind "monastic gossip," they are well worth reading. I keep on going back and forth on Merton, I've read him for a long time, and he was the one writer I read the most before my own conversion to Catholicism. I thought I had left him for good, but now, after many years, he coming back into my life. Strange, really, how that happens.... I can go on a whole lot more on Merton, but I better stop now, and in fact, I'm not sure I even answered your question!

thanks for the reply matthew. though i've got a ton of reading/listening/writing on my plate at the moment, i'm hoping to get to some Merton in the next couple months. probably that Sign Of Jonas you've suggested. thanks again...

[sal]

Just finished reading Camus' "The Myth of Sisyphus". Oh man.

[rostasi]

[Niko]

H.P. Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth

wish i'd know where i've put my books of lovecraft short stories...

[ejp626]

H.P. Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth

wish i'd know where i've put my books of lovecraft short stories...

Well, you can replace it with this: http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=223

I have to say I find it amusingly perverse that LoA would publish this. On the other hand, this looks like one of their skimpier collections. Most of their volumes are complete writings or short stories or nearly so, but some are really disappointing in that they are just random collections or "best ofs". That appears to be the case here, where there are several collections from other publishers even longer than this version.

[king ubu]

Peter Gay's classic on the Weimar republic:

not that surprising as I know some about the subject alreay, but a very good synopsis, and also a pleasure to read.

[B. Goren.]

[sal]

"The Stranger" - Albert Camus

[king ubu]

"The Stranger" - Albert Camus

How does it hold up?

I still have lots of respect for Camus, but somehow I tend to file most of his books in the "stuff I liked when I was 16" box... the post-humous "Le premier homme" might be different, and also more generally his philosophical position seems to hold up quite well (much better than Sartre's, for sure), but I'm no expert there...

[king ubu]

I forgot: "c'était le soleil qui lui poussait au crime" - or how does that great sentence go?

Edited June 11, 2009 by king ubu

[T.D.]

Recently finished Anthony Burgess's The Devil's Mode (old book picked up used), which has some very interesting short stories/novellas (e.g. one based on Shakespeare/Cervantes, one on Der Rosenkavalier, one on Faust, a couple on colonial Malaya and one on Debussy).

Finishing one of Jeffrey Tayler's travel books, Glory in a Camel's Eye, which is OK but not his best.

About to start Larry Devlin's Chief of Station, Congo, which has been on the to-read list for a while.