Angury

Incredible that it's almost the end of the year. I have read 25 books this year which I am pleased about, especially given the hectic job I started in August. I wanted to quickly post to check if anyone had read or heard of The Magus by John Fowles? I couldn't find any threads on this forum, but having just read the first ten pages, I know it is a book I am going to love.

I've just looked it up and it sounds like an interesting book, particularly with the emphasis on case studies. Perhaps what makes it even more interesting is the recent critical review of it in The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, which is essentially a moan about Neuroscience and Psychoanalysis being two completely different fields. I always find these types of debates stimulating to read. Would you recommend the book? I finished reading Stoner by John Williams last week. One of the best books I've read in a long time if I'm honest. On the face of it, it sounds rather dull; it is about the life of a English professor in an American University. He gets married, has an affair, has a kid and then dies. It is basically a story about his ordinary life. I've become more attracted to these types of books recently. I no longer find thrillers or books around quests etc as much fun to read. I really enjoy books that emphasise the ordinary life and the gems that can be found in our day to day workings. Stoner just illustrates how meaningful and intricate our lives can be, no matter how dull we may think they are on the surface. I'm now back to reading my tome, Indian Philosophy Volume 1. I suspect I'll have finished Volume One by next week. It's very well written and explains difficult concepts in a clear way. It's particularly interesting to read how what I had assumed to be Western concepts were actually written about and discussed in Eastern Philosophy a long time beforehand, including questions on immortality, the good life and 'true' reality. I always used to find the idea of asceticism rather odd, yet the way it is described in this volume sheds light into its history and reasoning behind it. It actually makes it sound more appealing than the current materialism and obsession with status that we have in modern society.

How's October been treating you? Hope it's been full of joyous reading!

Thanks vodkafan. How's your reading going? I have finally finished reading Middlemarch by George Eliot. I had to take multiple breaks while reading the novel which slowly grew longer and longer, until I became a bit fed up with the slow speed of my reading and decided to sit down and properly read the book in one sitting. I only came across Eliot recently after she was mentioned in an interview with the author Zadie Smith. I became interested in her background and the topic she wrote about, and decided to give Middlemarch a go. While the novel is in a lot of ways a product of its time, the insight of the human mind and the emotions we battle are resonant even today. The book follows several characters and their families in a small town in England, and goes through the ups and downs of life, from young love to marriage difficulties to financial woes and the question of identity and how one is seen within society. I wasn't actually expecting it to be such a profound book, and I think it is a book worth reading multiple times. It offers insights that go beyond the characters lives and really stay with you after you've finished the book - the definition of a good book imo. After being so impressed by Eliot, I have had a look at some of her other works and have now added Daniel Deronda to my reading list. I'd love to hear from anyone who has read this novel in comparison with Middlemarch (or indeed, people's favourite books by Eliot so I can have a dig around some bookstores).

Apologies for not updating the blog recently - I have just started my new job and it has been very busy. I've just been reading a chapter of Middlemarch every few days to keep up with my reading, which I am starting to enjoy now. I took a break yesterday to read Adam Kay's This is going to hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor which I was recommended by a few people. It has received great reviews, and I finished it in a day as it was so good. It's a collection of diary entries outlining Adam's job mainly in Obs and Gynae over a ten year period. He is a very funny person, and his anecdotes are hilarious to read through, as well as giving an insight to working in the NHS today. His last chapter in particular is a harrowing read, and it's a book I'd highly recommend to anyone interested in this type of area. Anyway, I am back to Middlemarch, although I doubt I'll finish it any time soon.

Ooh, would you recommend the Isle of Wight? It sounds like a nice place for a break. I love finding gems in second hand shops, but I never buy from them because I prefer my books to be new (selfish, I know). Some of those books sound very interesting though. Which one are you reading at the moment?

I haven't updated this blog in a month as I've been on holiday and have been reading a very long and difficult book called A Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant. I am by no means an expert in Philosophy, but I became interested in Metaphysics after completing an online philosophy course. I started reading introductory books on the topic and watching lectures on Youtube, yet the author that I repeatedly found myself becoming more and more interested in was Kant, and his theories of space and time. A Critique of Pure Reason is not really aimed at amateurs, and I did a lot of background reading beforehand. I read Hume's 'An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding', Kant's Prolegomena and three separate online lectures on Kant's work before starting the Critique. It took a very long time, mainly due to Kant's heavy writing style but also because of the different terminology he used which meant I had to almost learn a different language. But the more I read, the more fascinated I became by his perception of the world. After more than a year, I have finally finished and I can honestly say it was worth all the hard work. Reading the Critique has given me a new respect for philosophy and I have now added several more philosophers to my to-read list. It's amazing how much of an impact philosophy can have on your life - it's a pity that it has a reputation for being a subject that should only be studied in universities. While reading the Critique I had to make copious amounts of notes and highlight various pages to make sure I could look back and clarify my understanding. Here is the end product (the green bits are all stickies I have added to pages which are filled with my notes): With my mind fully set on philosophy, my next book is going to be Volume One of Two of Indian Philosophy by Radhakrishnan, one of India's most well-known philosophers and intellectual.

I have been on and off reading Middlemarch by George Eliot. I am one of those people who leaves a book half way then comes back to it months later - frustrating, I know. This is mainly because I like reading a mixture of fiction and non-fiction at the same time, and depending on my mood I change books half way. Anyway, I decided to take a break from fiction and read The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker. It caught my attention after I noticed it had won The Pulitzer Prize in 1974. It covers our fear of death from a psychological perspective, using theories from Sigmund Freud, Otto Rank and Kierkegaard to explain our day-to-day neuroticism, particularly in the modern world, and how we can escape it. It sounds like a heavy topic but Becker explains these psychological theories in a very clear manner, linking them to our day to day lives from childhood onwards. He also offers a dissection into modern life (well, life in 1974) and tries to explain the rise in neuroticism in todays world - something that I find very thought-provoking. It is by no means a challenging read and it will teach you things about yourself that will make you look at your thoughts and behaviours in a different way, but it is not a book you can finish in a day. It takes a while to appreciate these numerous theories over the centuries and how they link in with the evidence we have today. However, if you have an interest in this subject then I would certainly recommend this book whether you are a beginner or Professor of Psychology.

I would highly recommend using this guide when choosing what to read from the Discworld series: There are several different story arcs based around certain characters. Pick a character you want to follow, and start at the beginning of their arc. I would recommend starting with Death - they are some of my favourite books by Pratchett. Once you start reading the Discworld series you'll never look back.

I think where you're based does have a large impact. I am currently in a capital city surrounded by mainly university students. I very rarely come across someone reading when I walk around the city centre or take public transport. However, I am currently in the process of moving to a small little town, with the closest university roughly an hour away. I've only visited it twice so far, but each time I have been surrounded by people reading: in coffee shops, on the train, in the park etc. I do wonder if a large part of this has to do with how young (or old) you are. Most of my friends who are at university just don't read books that much anymore. And the ones who do read just wouldn't be seen doing it in public because y'know.. it's 'weird.' Maybe I have the wrong type of friends..

Oh god, that sounds awful. I can't imagine getting the tube in this sort of weather with all those countless people. A few of my friends went to visit Buckingham Palace yesterday and I was just thinking of awful it must be for the Queens Guards in those massive bearskins. I guess with hot countries, they are used to hot weather and plan for it accordingly (such as aircon). Here in Britain it's just not for us. I have to walk forty minutes to get to an appointment later this afternoon and am tempted just to get a taxi. If I walk I'll probably arrive there as a piece of gloop.

I've had trouble sleeping at night as well. I live on the top floor of a building with no air con and windows that don't fully open. It's actually cooler for me to go outside and sit in the shade than swelter up in my room. I like hot weather when it's the holidays, I'm lying around drinking a pint and enjoying myself. Not when there's no a/c.

Also wanted to add, I just google'd this guy - thanks for the recommendation. I am always inspired by medics who have gone beyond their sphere into things like art, literature and language. According to wiki he also taught himself English and German - definitely someone I will look into.

The weather in the UK is horrible at the moment. Too hot. I'm melting.

I passed, but the real test will be when I start working in August with real patients. I agree. I reread my post and I think it came across as more judgemental than I meant it to be - apologies. I think this matters a lot. The way we subsconciously react to someone reading or the novel they hold in their hand tells us a lot about ourselves, our society and the culture we reside in. I don't think anyone is arguing that people openly react to someone reading a book. Certainly in Western culture where we hold personal autonomy in such high stead, a vocal reaction is frowned upon (contrast this to somewhere like India where I have had personal experience of people commenting on what I am reading right next to me!). I think the discussion to be had is how we subconsciously react to others reading in public - and I believe we all react in some way, based on our own opinions of the novel, or of reading, or of someone reading in public. It is these internal reactions that make humanity so interesting - if this were a discussion about only our external reactions, I think this discussion would dry up pretty quickly. I concur.

From what I have read in David James post, he didn't say anything about people making the 'same assumption' about people, simply that everyone makes a judgement. Perhaps we interpreted it differently, but using an example of serial killers is similar to mine of Paedophilias - i.e. that they tend to illicit strong emotions in people: To use another example, I was travelling to an exam in London a few weeks ago and was reading a heavy tome about medicine. I am sure many people who saw me reading it who had no experience of healthcare would just make an assumption that I worked in that area, while someone who was perhaps familiar with that text (say, another healthcare professional) may have made a different judgement about me. The point is, a judgement is still being made. Again, in David James's post he specifically says: Hence, surely Brady is specifically a good example in this context as it is recent and therefore in the public's mind compared to say The Yorkshire Killer. I think it's important to appreciate that this type of thought process goes beyond literature - it wasn't a comment specifically at you, apologies if it came across that way!

Do you believe that there are people out there who do not make any sort of judgement about another person? I'm sorry, but the fact that we are human and live in a society with other human beings means that judgements will always be made about us and we will make judgements about others. We are not perfect, and nor should we be. We make judgements on other people based on their clothing, their skin colour (yes, this is difficult to swallow, but even subconsciously many of us do - and I will be the first to raise my hand and admit it), their job, their car, their house and so on. The types of books we read in public simply add another layer to this exterior we show to the world. Why else would we choose to buy a Porsche instead of a Toyota, or wear a dress from Dolce & Gabbana instead of Topshop? As human beings we make judgements on others based on our own experiences and what we have learnt from others. We view the world through categories - it's how our brain is able to condense all the information around us into understandable chunks. We put people into boxes and make assumptions about them, whether we want to or not. No matter how open-minded you think you may be, whatever background you come from, whatever social class, however educated or however diverse your life experience, you will do this. This is not just my own opinion - it has been well documented in countless psychologica research studies. A judgement about another person does not have to be vocal. Most of the judgements we make about other people are subconscious - we may behave differently towards other people, change the tone of our voice, our body language or our facial expressions. Most of the time we aren't even aware of it. The people I would be most cynical about would be those who claim to be so open-minded that they make no judgements about anyone based on anything. Is there such a thing as being so open-minded that your own brain falls out? Applying this to literature, there will always be certain books that will be at the top of the 'hierarchy' (e.g. Leo Tolstoy, Marcel Proust) and those that are at the bottom (Fifty Shades of Grey). And the types of books we choose to read in public will lead to some sort of judgement from others depending on the position they take upon this hierarchy. True, not everyone will make the same judgement on the same book. It does, as I have said, depend upon our own personal experiences, including whether we have read the book ourselves or simply heard of it on the news or on the reading list for Oxford University. But we are all judgemental to some degree, and certain books will illicit a stronger reaction than others for most people. Just as an example, a few years back I was reading this book: I am sure this book would have turned heads in any public setting. And the opinions of others about me based on this book would be even more different if I had been say, a man in his late fifties rather than a young female. It's not right, and it certainly isn't fair, but it does happen. What is important (imo) is to be aware that we are all susceptible to such thought processes and to acknowledge when they occur. Covering our ears and pretending to be societies' version of politically correct will be helpful to no one. It is important to have this discussion because it teaches us so much about ourselves, including where these prejudices came from and how they impact the way we interact with others. Even on this forum I am sure people have made assumptions about me based on my avatar and signature, the way I structure my sentences, my vocabulary and my ideals. Because Brady has been all over the news recently due to his recent death, and he can stimulate some intense emotions amongst the general public due to the words that have been used to describe him by the media ('monster', 'evil').

I will admit that I do not have the self-confidence to not care what people think about what I am reading. In the same way that I dress well when I leave my house, I make a decision whether to bring a paper copy or kindle version of my book. As another example, would you judge someone reading the Daily Mail? I think all of us are judgmental to some extent, and do care what other people think of us, even if it's not the book we read in public. I think it is reasonable to assume that some people will form opinions on what you are reading (if they have heard of the book). It is only natural to jump to a conclusion based on our own experiences - I used the example of someone reading The God Delusion earlier.

^ My reading diary. But basically they can be broken down into: Fiction (trying to focus on the classics at the moment) Philosophy Psychology Medical Humanities Medical Anthropology What about yourself? I was on the train the other day and someone was reading a short novel opposite me. I couldn't see the title but could tell by the colours that it was a Penguin Classic. That certainly piqued my interest and I spent the rest of the train journey trying to discreetly read the title. So I think it doesn't even have to be about the title of the book, but just its appearance. To be honest, if I see someone reading a Politics book, I assume they either study politics or work in politics. I wouldn't assume that the book they are reading reflects their views, as my (limited) experience is that people don't generally read political books otherwise. Bare in mind that most of my friends are university students, so obviously this is from my very limited perspective. I would be more likely to gauge someones political stance by their social media posts for example. I think The God Delusion (or something similar by one of the well-known atheists) is a good example of a book where I would probably make an unconscious and prejudiced (negative) assumption about the reader. Not because I disagree with any of the work, but because my experience of people who are fans of such books is that they can be very vocal about their views and close-minded about anyone who disagrees with them (ooh, controversial).

I do think that people will judge you based on the book you are reading - and even if they have never heard of the title, they will merely judge you on how big the book looks. I have had personal experience of this when reading in restaurants/public transport/cafes etc. It's interesting to note that I've noticed people give an occasional glance even when I am reading my kindle (and I have to admit I have done the same to other people) because I rarely see people reading in public anymore. The positive thing is that people will come up to you and start chatting about the book you are reading or just make a passing comment, so you can meet people with similar interests just by reading in public. Generally, I think reading in public, no matter what you are reading, will give off a certain (positive) air compared to scrolling through your iPhone which is the norm. I think Politics is such a polarising subject that many people probably would jump to certain conclusions (and depending on their own beliefs, form very positive or negative views based on that) if you were to read those types of books. Not so much with Karl Marx because his work is pretty much a cornerstone of many university reading lists now, but particularly with more recent politicians and their autobiographies etc. I'd compare it with someone reading a magazine - if you see someone reading the Writers Now magazine you would assume that they have an interest in writing. Likewise, I think if you see someone reading a political book geared at a certain party, you will make similar assumptions. I think reading a political book in public would give off a different vibe compared to any other book you may read, because everyone has their own beliefs regardless of their interest in politics itself, and it can illicit a lot of strong emotions.

Out of interest, which fantasy books have you had difficulty with? I've never really associated fantasy with extreme violence for some reason.

How do you measure quality writing? I've often wondered what makes famous books so popular, and I think a large part of it comes down to how current society perceives that book and how ground-shattering (and indeed acceptable) the book is in terms of its ideas and writing style for that time period. I think these prizes are very specific to time and place rather than any objective measurement of 'good writing.' Instead, I think it is a measure of how these books illustrate the shifts in thinking - after all, the judges who choose the winner are also products of that society. As a thinking point, would the recent Booker Prize have won the same prize ten years ago?

I thought that episode last night was the best so far. Was hooked to the TV screen from beginning to end. Especially loved