Reviews and Comments

avatar for geniodiabolico

Dave Slusher - Books

geniodiabolico@bookrastinating.com

Joined 2 years, 10 months ago

I read largely science fiction and comics with some non-fiction mixed in. I'm warming up to mystery with Bosch and the Slow Horses books.

Follow on Fediverse

This link opens in a pop-up window

reviewed Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking

Meik Wiking, Meik Wiking: Little Book of Hygge (2016, Penguin UK)

Denmark is often said to be the happiest country in the world. That's down to …

Nice Morsel of Wisdom

I got exactly what I wanted from this book. It was a quick, pleasant read in between much heavier books. I heard about it from the Help Hole podcast but it was an easy sell. Of everywhere I visited for work, Copenhagen was my favorite.

I live near the coast of South Carolina which you might not think of as a home of hygge. I did finish it on a rainy day while cuddled up with a dog which seemed appropriate. Later in the day I was running errands downtown. Although I am limiting carbs, I did opt for a pastry just for the spirit of it.

Even outside of Denmark this is not a bad way to think about your approach to life. Take the moments of simple pleasures, of love and laughter where you can find them.

reviewed On some faraway beach by David Sheppard

David Sheppard: On some faraway beach (2009, Chicago Review Press)

Interesting Subject Written About in Ultraviolet Prose

  1. Eno is clearly an interesting guy with a wide range of intriguing interests and projects.
  2. Behavior is described in this book with a wink and an elbow to the ribs and a "what an insouciant cut-up" that seems to be verging dangerously close to sex pest territory.
  3. David Sheppard knows a lot of big words and he wants you to know that. This lends his prose an obdurate opacity that renders the celerity of rendering cogition of his auctorial prowess a glacial mien. Now imagine 500 pages of that.

It was worth reading for the interesting subject matter. The prose style made me put it down for months at a time more than once. The first 20%, everything prior to meeting Bryan Ferry, bored me shitless.

reviewed Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

Oliver Burkeman: Four Thousand Weeks (Paperback, 2022, Vintage)

The average human lifespan is absurdly, outrageously, insultingly brief: if you live to 80, you …

Be Generous to Yourself and Don't Measure Every Second of Your Life

A good antidote to both "grind culture" and "enjoy every moment to the fullest" mindsets. Rather than opposites, these outlooks are almost the same. Put pressure on yourself to achieve specific outcomes at all times. Turns out this is not the recipe to happiness.

reviewed Television's Marquee Moon by Bryan Waterman

Bryan Waterman: Television's Marquee Moon (2011)

Lightning Struck Itself

On the plane ride and during the downtime of this Las Vegas vacation I read the 33 1/3 book about Marquee Moon while listening to the album over and over. Most was history and background and just this morning did I get to the breakdown of the actual songs. That was the best part, reading the dissection while hearing the actual tunes. Book was kind of wanky but the experience was fun.

The biggest insight I took away was that Verlaine was a twin and that this album is full of doubling imagery. In the the title track he even repeats words

I was listening Listening to the rain But I was hearing Hearing something else

Much like Television itself the book is maybe a little too hip and cerebral for its own good but I did feel lifted by the experience. Elevation don't go to my …

reviewed Never get angry again by David J. Lieberman

David J. Lieberman: Never get angry again (2018)

A holistic look at the underlying emotional, physical, and spiritual causes of anger cites the …

Moderately Useful, Kind of Weird

Mostly filler with a few chapters towards the end with actionable advice.

It was straight up peculiar to read a book written in 2019 that for every time used "he" or "him" for every single pronoun of a nonspecific person except once - when talking about people reacting hysterically. Leaves kind of a gross feeling.