C. G. Jung

The State of the Reader: 6/30/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 6/13/21         The State of the Reader: 7/14/21–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 3

Total: $4.98

Books Finished: 1

Title: Black Helicopters
Series Title: Tinfoil Dossier
Author: Caitlín R. Kiernan
Date Added: April 19, 2021
Date Started: May 31, 2021
Date Finished: June 30, 2021

Cover of Black Helicopters by Caitlín R. Kiernan (Tinfoil Dossier #2)Media: eBook/Kindle

I think the author lost a bit of the thread in the gimmick.  I could tell she was going for a meta sort of narrative where the presentation was just as muddled and strange as what was happening within.  Each chapter took place in a different time, place, and focused on a different character from the last.  The problem with this is in trying to show the lack of cohesion, the novel suffered from the same.  Where Agents of Dreamland bounced between around two perspectives and times and did a good job with its Lovecraftian mythos, this did too much to be scattered.  There was one chapter where the characters’ dialogue was all in French.  I was able to understand a little of it, but there was no translation provided, and this was common throughout for other things.  I get the desire to have a sense of being unmoored, but there’s a difference between making a novel obsucre and making the presentation such.  I hope I’ll be better able to clarify when I review, because (fittingly or ironically), I’m having trouble making myself clear lol.

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The State of the Reader: 6/16/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 14 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 6/2/21         The State of the Reader: 6/30/21–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 1

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

Title: Black Helicopters
Series Title: Tinfoil Dossier
Author: Caitlín R. Kiernan
Date Added: April 19, 2021
Date Started: May 31, 2021

Cover of Black Helicopters by Caitlín R. Kiernan (Tinfoil Dossier #2)Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 50%

I’m not as into this one as I was the first one.  It jumps around a bit more than Agents of Dreamland, which only had two viewpoints.  While I get the stakes are upped and we’re seeing the expansion of what happened in the first novel, it can be a bit hard to keep up with…or maybe it’s just me.

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The State of the Reader: 6/2/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 4 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 5/19/21         The State of the Reader: 6/16/21–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 7

Total: $29.49

Books Finished: 2

Title: They don’t make plus size space suits
Author: Ali Thompson
Date Added: May 16, 2019
Date Started: May 19, 2021
Date Finished: May 21, 2021

Cover of They don't make plus size space suits by Ali ThompsonMedia: eBook/Kindle

I think I wanted a little bit more from this as in more stories.  It was very short, but a very exemplary first effort.  I follow the author on Twitter.  She’s not shy with her opinions, and I hope she writes more.

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The State of the Reader: 5/19/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 8 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 5/5/21         The State of the Reader: 6/2/21–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 1

Books Finished: 1

Title: The Library at Mount Char
Author: Scott Hawkins
Date Added: August 10, 2016
Date Started: March 31, 2021

Cover of The Library at Mount Char by Scott HawkinsMedia: eBook/Kindle

I do not know how to talk about this book.  I have literally never read anything like this before, and you need to understand…I’ve read thousands of books, seen hundreds of movies, and played/watched a myriad games.  Yes, it has aspects of many other stories, but unlike my other comparisons, nothing is really one to one.  It’s an apotheosis and revenge story.  There are sentences that contain hilarity and horror all in one.  I cannot talk to you about this book.  It may be the best one I’ve read all year.

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The State of the Reader: 5/5/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 7 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 4/21/21         The State of the Reader: 5/19/21–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 1

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

Title: Psychology and Alchemy
Series: Jung’s Collected Works
Author: C. G. Jung
Date Added: July 20, 2019
Date Started: April 9, 2021

Cover of Psychology and Alchemy by C. G. JungMedia: Paperback
Progress: 4%

I think I read about two paragraphs a session with this, because there’s just so much to absorb.  I haven’t even gotten to anything alchemical yet lol; I’m still in the introduction which is about the religious and psychological problems of alchemy.  Again, I’m really considering jumping back and forth between these heavier volumes.  Like after I finish the introduction for this, I might read the next chapter of Ireland’s Immortals then after that maybe start something else.  I don’t know; I need to figure out a good system for it.

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The State of the Reader: 4/21/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 8 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 4/7/21         The State of the Reader: 5/5/21–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 6

Total: $31.94

Books Finished: 1

Title: Agents of Dreamland
Series: Tinfoil Dossier
Author: Caitlín R. Kiernan
Date Added: October 31, 2020
Date Started: March 30, 2021
Date Finished: April 19, 2021

Cover of Agents of Dreamland by Caitlín R. Kiernan (Tinfoil Dossier)Media: eBook/Kindle

The close of this came abruptly, which I suppose is how normal people will experience the end of the world.  It was very much in the spirit of Lovecraft with more horrifying questions for each answer.  Each chapter had me wondering when the hell it was taking place, which is pretty meta for one of the characters who mentally travels through time.

I bought the next book immediately (as seen in the Purchased section above).  It has a mien of both Lovecraft and a hardboiled detective story, not a combination I’ve seen before.

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The State of the Reader: 5/20/20

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 4 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 5/6/20         The State of the Reader: 6/3/20–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased

Yeah, I spent a lot of money on research materials over the past month.  I actually should’ve included the top two last week, but I guess I forgot?  The film studies book has been on my radar ever since I heard about it in a video I watched a few months ago.  That literally screams FFVII at me, and I knew I’d need it for critical analysis of that.  It’s not an uncommon paradigm, and I guess I’m just surprised I haven’t really seen anyone else talking about since it’s such a major influence in that narrative, but video games are a bastard medium *shrug*.  The Jung alchemy book was a must buy after watching Reinstall Paul’s Silent Hill analysis, because (of course) I thought about FFVII and the alchemical influences in that.  I only have/had a passing knowledge of alchemy e.g. lead into gold, but had no clue it was so universally prominent.  Now that I know a little more, I’m picking it up everywhere, so I need to learn more about it.

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The State of the Reader: 3/25/20

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 5 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 3/11/20         The State of the Reader: 4/8/20–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Books Finished: 1

Title: Desdemona and the Deep
Series Title: Dark Breakers
Author: C. S. E. Cooney
Date Added: July 24, 2019
Date Started: March 5, 2020

Cover of Desdemona and the Deep by C. S. E. CooneyMedia: eBook/Kindle

This has the lowest rating out of all of the books in the trilogy, but I enjoyed it.  I think I might know why people didn’t, but I thought the overriding message paired well with the delectable writing style is enough for four stars.  What amuses me is I saw a video about Phossy Jaw the other day.  It’s an actual thing, and it’s just as horrible as Cooney describes in her book.  So yeah, this novel was a really good castigation of shitty capitalists/capitalism as well as portraying a spoiled rich girl who isn’t to the core.  Also queer and trans representation, though I’d want an actual trans person to decide on if the latter is decent.  Not my lane, loves.

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The State of the Reader: 3/11/20

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 8 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 2/26/20         The State of the Reader: 3/25/20–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Books Purchased

  • 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley: Including Gematria and Sepher Sephiroth by Aleister Crowley – $17.77 @ Amazon

Books Finished: 1

Title: Pestilence
Series Title: The Four Horsemen
Author: Laura Thalassa
Date Added: January 26, 2018
Date Started: February 24, 2020
Date Finished: Marcy 4, 2020

Cover of PestilenceMedia: eBook/Kindle

It seems somewhat irresponsible if not downright cruel to praise a book called “Pestilence” during an epidemic, but current events aren’t the author’s fault.  This book has a very good chance of being my best of 2020…which again is almost brutally ironic for present events.  It could be both hilarious and heartbreaking in the same sentence.  It made sense psychologically, and the main character is a total bad ass.

William Faulkner is quoted as saying, “The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict,” and I think Thalassa would’ve made him proud.  I need to hold off on reading the next book War only because I need some time to emotionally process this.

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The State of the Reader: 2/26/20

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 5 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 2/12/20         The State of the Reader: 3/11/20–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Books Purchased

Books Finished: 3

Title: The First Girl Child
Author: Amy Harmon
Date Added: September 17, 2019
Date Started: January 17, 2020

Cover of The First Girl Child by Amy HarmonMedia: eBook/Kindle

The ending was a little bit confusing/cluttered, but the overall experience was excellent.

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