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The Kite by Somerset Maugham – one of my favorite writers, author of The Man With The Scar https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-man-with-scar-by-somerset-maugham.html and other magnum opera - 10 out of 10

  The Kite by Somerset Maugham – one of my favorite writers, author of The Man With The Scar https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-man-with-scar-by-somerset-maugham.html and other magnum opera   10 out of 10   The kite is yet another phenomenal story from the magician Somerset Maugham…he was a god to me, when I was about twenty-two, I spent time in hospitals, and this Magister Ludi made those days and nights not just more bearable, but brought delight, bliss, and he has become one of my two top luminaries   Marcel Proust https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/09/la-prisonniere-by-marcel-proust.html is the other overwhelming creator, he is the proof that Penelope Lively was spot on – and she gave me the chance to worship, despite the fact that I am an atheist, there are a number of Gods – Writers that are worth admiring ‘The novelist has an infinity of choices, He chooses what is to happen, to happens, and in what way he will relate what happens, the picture he const
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The River by Flannery O’Connor – another look at this short story is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-river-by-flannery-oconnor.html - 10 out of 10

  The River by Flannery O’Connor – another look at this short story is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-river-by-flannery-oconnor.html   10 out of 10   Flannery O’Connor is a glorious writer, one of my favorites, when I started reading her magnum opera, eleven years ago, the tales were so overwhelming that I read about the life of the author, how she had peacocks on her southern property, and how religious she was, an aspect we see in the themes of her narratives   Indeed, The River is a faith tale, we have a four- or five-year-old named Harry, albeit he chose to say his name is Bevel, because he knew that the healing priest’s name, which is Bevel, the boy is taken to the River to find salvation, only what happens is not so exhilarating – spoiler alert, it looks like I will tell you the end Flannery O’Connor is one of those luminaries that make me thing again about my atheism – if she was so religious, and she was such a magnificent thinker and human, then why
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The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan - 9 out of 10

  The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan   9 out of 10     This is an impressive, remarkable history book, recommended by The Economist – this time, it was my cup of tea, whereas Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/05/bridget-jones-edge-of-reason-by-helen.html was not exactly exhilarating   At least, not for yours truly, amusing, yes, only the greatest media outlet that I know of has placed it among the top five or ten comedy books, and that my friend The Edge of Reason is not, maybe on the edge between an entertaining read, and one that is rather superfluous, however much we hear of Martin Amis and other luminaries There is a lot about Iran in The Silk roads, and for good reason, we need the insight of learning about the past, to better understand the present, and anticipate some of the future "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" — George Santayana, and we have situations that show the truth of tha
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12 Steps to Compassion by Karen Armstrong – author of A Short History of Myth https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-short-history-of-myth-by-karen.html and other remarkable books - 9 out of 10

  12 Steps to Compassion by Karen Armstrong – author of A Short History of Myth https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-short-history-of-myth-by-karen.html and other remarkable books   9 out of 10   Karen Armstrong is the ultimate expert on religion, I think I remember reading about that in The Economist, for the first time, but during the past few years I have had the chance to read at least five books by this outstanding thinker, expert, that would include 12 Steps to Compassion, but there could be a couple more   I have started with A History of God https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-history-of-god-by-karen-armstrong.html and it could be a landmark, an epiphany (I am still waiting for redemption, miracles) given that Karen Armstrong explains with splendid logic, common sense, expertise, the history, significance… Therefore, some of the obstacles in accepting, receiving, worshipping God have been dismantled and the way is open for a return to the fold of the
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A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O’Connor – this is the best known from the Collection of Short Stories by this another look at this outstanding writer, winner of The National Book Award…and another look at it is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-by-flannery.html - 10 out of 10

  A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O’Connor – this is the best known from the Collection of Short Stories by this another look at this outstanding writer, winner of The National Book Award…and another look at it is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-by-flannery.html   10 out of 10   I was so thrilled, elated when I first read The Stories of Flannery O’Connor that here I am, enthused with taking them on again, and what better in memoriam that A Good Man Is Hard To Find, one of the greatest, which the magician novelist reads and you can find at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQT7y4L5aKU   This is not just humorous – the grandmother is a tragic figure, but she is also ludicrous and makes one laugh, until of course, there is no merriment any more, it is all drama, spoiler alert, I will not be able to stay put, ergo I will keep writing what happens, even if it gives in the plot, so you better stop reading now ‘Grandmother didn’t want to
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No Bed for Bacon by Caryl Brahms and SJ Simon – this novel is included on The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read List – you find it on The Guardian site - 8 out of 10

  No Bed for Bacon by Caryl Brahms and SJ Simon – this novel is included on The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read List – you find it on The Guardian site   8 out of 10   To think that I have been waiting for this to ‘show up’ for so long, and once it became available on the Archive site https://archive.org/ and I have had the chance to read it, either I blew it, or the book is not so formidable after all…granted, the latter hypothesis is the less probable, it is more likely that I am losing my grip   If I ever had it – one issue with No Bed For Bacon is surely the high expectations fallacy, with all that longing to get to this opus, which happens to be near the head of The Comedy Chapter, on the aforementioned list of 1,000 Big Beanos, once it became accessible, and the reading started, I said loudly… What? This is the long-awaited magnum opus; you must be kidding me…   Besides, I must be thinking in terms of Shakespeare in Love https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/08/sha
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The Death of Virgil by Herman Broch is included on The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read List in the Family and Self Section - 8 out of 10

  The Death of Virgil by Herman Broch is included on The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read List in the Family and Self Section   8 out of 10   The Death of Virgil has almost everything it needs to seduce, enchant the reader, not this one though, for it is – or it seems to be – a sophisticated, deep, thought provoking read, except that the audience has to rise to the level, it is one of those issues we find in the psychology classic Flow   https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/10/flow-by-mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-this-is.html by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi   This marvel (Flow, not The Death of Virgil) explains what you need to get to Being in The Zone, have Maximum Experiences, reach the Zenith, and one of the sine qua non aspects is challenges meet expectations, or if you look at graphics, you get a line, then on one side you have boredom, and the other is for burnout Translated for this, and other books, one could be entertained, thrilled, awed (which is one of the elements of posi
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