Capsule Book Reviews (William Blake, Fray, All Quiet on the Western Front)

Goodreads.com is a website that should be on every bibliophile's bookmarks. You can keep track of what books you're reading, have read, and want to read. Other features including seeing what your friends (or favorite authors) are reading, trivia, and forums. But my favorite feature is the review function where you can give a book a star rating (1-5) and write a little blurb about it. These capsule reviews come from my Goodreads page.

Blake: Poems by William Blake (Everyman's Library, 1994)

William Blake was a mystic poet who was not afraid to challenge the religious and political views of his day. Like the other Romantic poets, he creates beautiful images of nature especially in Songs of Innocence); but he is not naive and understands the natural and moral evil that haunts the universe and provides haunting imagery of evil and demonic power. Blake also brings up some interesting philosophical questions in his longer poems The Everlasting Gospel and Marriage of Heaven and Hell where he ponders if there is really a dichotomy between reason and desire and attempts to solve the ancient Dionysian/Apollonian problem. Blake's prophetic poems are slightly denser than his other works and derivative of other sources like the Bible and Paradise Lost, but they are a valiant attempt at world-building. 4/5 Stars


Fray by Joss Whedon and Karl Moline (Dark Horse Comics, 2003)

Not Whedon's best work, but it is interesting seeing a concept to see a "Slayer" who is even more amoral than Faith. The plot was a bit of a rehash of season 1 of Buffy and the art was shaky in spots. However, this cyberpunk world was extremely interesting and may have even influenced Firefly... The latter issues especially shine along with the relationship between Melaka and her siblings Harth and Erin. 3/5 Stars


All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (Vintage Books, 2009)


I read this book in 11th grade, and it has had a great impact on my thinking as a pacifist. Through reading this book, I realized that soldiers are pawns of their government and neither hurt nor hindered by the outcome. The humorous conversation among the soldiers about the war leaders fighting in a ring for each other's country especially proved this point. All Quiet also contains uncanny juxtapositions between peaceful nature images and brutal, grotesque battle scenes. It also reveals the vulnerable nature of humans because no character is spared from fickle death, not even the protagonist. In conclusion, All Quiet on the Western Front is an excellent, balanced look at the mind and actions of the "lost generation" of 1918. You will not look at war or good and evil the same way after reading this novel.


So what do you think of these books? Any books you would like me to review? Please comment below.

Random thoughts

I couldn't get any bleeding rest on the last day of Outreach Week, so here's a blog. Sorry, for the stream of consciousness style. So, life's all about identity right? We wear tons of different caps. I'm a Christian first and foremost, saved by grace through faith. Going through trials, like losing my Grandpa, my dad's affairs, and switching schools, have really solidified this faith.

Another identity I wear is geek or nerd or otaku. OK, scratch that last one. I'm not that much into anime. (Do have a couple shows like Blood+ and Gun X on my Netflix Instant Queue though and enjoyed the Wolverine Anime and the random, yet hilarious comedic stylings of Bobboobo or however you spell his name). For example, I would rather have a 12 hour LOTR marathon in my dorm room with a small, select group of people than go out to the beach with a BUNCH of people, like two whole dorms combined. Hobbits and pizza> sand, surf, loud Jesus pop . This is why a RiffTrax Thor/ Super Smash Bros. party appeals to me more than an all night kegger. Maybe, the kegger would be cool if Felicia Day, Joss Whedon, Brian Michael Bendis, and an undead  Steve Jobs were there...

Quick follow up: You know you're a geek if you say something completely random on the spot, and people take it as canon. Take Harry Potter for example. A dude at a post-Outreach Week dinner plucked out three of my dainty ginger hairs. After doing that, I said, "If you mix those hairs with eye of newt and toad broth, you can become invisible." The norms bought it hook line and sinker even though I basically ad-libbed my quip off Macbeth. (Good old Will Shakes)

But how do I mix my faith, geekdom, love for more highbrow culture (mythology, history, literature, dabblings in philosophy), and identity as a citizen of a polis (United States) into one cohesive brew? Right now, I have no idea. Faith, geekdom, and academia are easy. As long as glorify God through my passion for comics, film, gaming, TV, fandom etc. and thirst for knowledge, everything works out in the end. (I really think there were be scholars in Heaven...) However, being a citizen is different. I like to stay reasonably politically informed through BBC, Huffington Post etc, but I think I'm falling into the same partisan trap that I point out in other people.

Despite my heart to help the poor in society through homeless ministries in my college, I feel distracted by a need for identity. I know I'm a Christian, but at the Christian college I go to, my debates aren't about the big stuff (was Jesus God?, is the Bible inerrant, does the gospel really save?), but about the small stuff (Old Earth vs. Young Earth, can a Democrat be a Christian (shoot me) ). I haven't even mentioned that I think that Hell is an emotional state after death, not a literal hot pit. How can fire and complete darkness coexist, literally and logically speaking?

But, despite my struggles, I've decided to weather the small storms and carry on. I really love the diverse ethnic environment at my college, especially coming from WASP-y Roanoke, Virginia. Hopefully, I can build some strong relationships with the professors in my department. Extremely pumped to hang out with Dr. Horner next Friday, which could have been Wednesday if it wasn't for my general ed Math mandatory money lecture.

That comes to my final rant. Money. Money really ticks me off because you can't live with it or live without it. Money can help you satisfy your basic needs (food and water) and complex wants ($40 philosophy books, weekly comic book run), but it can also lead men and women to sell their souls to profit. It would be cool if the ideal of pure socialism could actually work, and people didn't care about how much private property they had and their salary size and concentrated on being creative and improving culture and civilization, but that will never happen until Heaven or the millennial kingdom, depending on your eschatological view which I don't have currently. Sorry, back up preacher guy at PCB who tried to sell me on pre-millenialism. I must study Revelation personally and try not to hold dogmatic views on that book like a guy named Calvin who didn't write a commentary on it and didn't let his preachers preach on it. Since I moved to CA, I literally have heard three sermons on the Book of Revelation, probably more than in my entire life time.

So, really sorry about this mostly incoherent post about money, identity, faith, school, being a geek, politics etc., and I'll leave you with this quote from Plato. (whose theory of Forms does really float my boat, but the boat is beginning to sink)

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

Nota bene: Plato probably didn't say this, but he is a boss...