Easterling's reading list 2010

2009-12-17 [All_Most PUNK]: Have you read The Lies of Locke Lamora?

2009-12-17 [Easterling]: Yep. :) I finished it last night, actually.

2009-12-17 [All_Most PUNK]: I got it 5 days ago. Will read it in January, surely.

2009-12-17 [Easterling]: I liked it. It was very well-written with many details.

2009-12-17 [All_Most PUNK]: Looked that way to me. I hope it will live up to my expectations.

2009-12-17 [Easterling]: We'll see what you think of it... Tastes could be different, though.

2010-01-07 [Viking]: At this rate, you're going to hit your goal by the end of the month!

2010-01-08 [Easterling]: Well... x) It sure looks like that right now, doesn't it? But there's a long way to 40 and I don't always read this much in one week.

2010-01-08 [Easterling]: Now go and read my new review! :D

2010-01-08 [Viking]: *goes to read new review*

2010-01-13 [All_Most PUNK]: I has started reading "The Lies Of Locke LAmora" now! :O

2010-01-14 [member181737]: I've found reading Arndt, Meister Eckhart and William Law (Emerson's also a good addition^^)at the same time to be pretty cool, and beneficial. Your mileage may vary :-)


Cheers

2010-01-20 [Easterling]: Punk: How do you like it so far? :)

Forlatt: Hm.. I was thinking of reading Meister Echart, too, one day because it's also a huge classic. I don't know if I like him, though, it might be too much "up-in-the-clouds" for me.

I like Arndt more than I think I would, especially the prayers. Sometimes it's hard to understand the way of thinking when it comes to self-denial and so on. It's very different from the modern way of thinking. But that's interesting to discover, too.

Who is William Law? I don't know if I've heard about him.

2010-01-21 [member181737]: I’ve found most people have that view of Eckhart ;)

I enjoy Eckhart in that he reached within Christianity and became conscious some similarities between Christianity, and an older tradition. Namely, that through focus on the internal nature of our soul we can come to know its source. In English: Through devotion, mental discipline and silence we can focus on the source of our spirit, and thereby come to know God, and the universal spirit within all life. (God is surely all, isn’t “he”?) This sorta Neti, Neti view used to be called Apothatic Theology in the Middles ages. (If my memory serves! :P)

In essence, they’re not ideas belonging Christianity alone (he along with others such as Luther suffered for his mysticism), but they share some belief. It’s a lot of Eastern (Vedas), and Transcendental thought but I believe in Cardinal Virtues, or ideas, so I don’t mind knowing some people came up with the same ideas a long time before :)

Regarding Arndt, it took me a while to understand a lot of it, but I came to much the same conclusion you have.

William Law was a “Theological Writer” from the 18th century. A Practical Treatise Upon Christian Perfection and A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life are good introductions into his thought as they pertain to the more “rigid” (lack of a better term) Christian Thought. As far as his Christian Mystic works go, most towards the end of his life will suffice. (http://www.passtheword.org/William-Law/; also has links to some of his earlier works)

Know of any other good Christian Writers? My knowledge of them goes about as far as I’ve said, plus dudes like Schopenhauer (Save the pessimist works), Aquinas, and Emerson.


-Nicoles

2010-01-22 [Viking]: Are you going to read all of Stieg Larsson's books this year?

2010-01-22 [All_Most PUNK]: I loved The Lies Of Locke Lamora. I devoured in little more than 2 days (and week days, when I don't really have a lot of time to read). I'm looking forward to get the second volume as soon as possible.