Surrendering Thomas Pynchon

Last Saturday night I bought three books–the first new books I have gotten for myself in quite a while.

Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged was a book that really opened my eyes and made me question the world I live in.

William Shatner’s Leonard, so far, is a touching tribute to the late Leonard Nimoy and has taught me so much about television history.

Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow–the book that I had actually set out that day with the intention of buying–was just awful. Absolutely dreadful. I made it a hundred pages in and only had the vaguest idea of what the hell was happening.

It’s supposed to be a Great American Novel. It’s apparently one of the greatest works of fiction produced in this country in the last fifty years or whatever. I just could not understand a damn thing Pynchon was trying to say, no matter how many times I read and re-read the same pages. I was having the opposite experience than I had with Atlas Shrugged. I was getting no knowledge or enjoyment, even after a hundred or so pages.

I had to surrender to Thomas Pynchon…

Actually, no. I did not surrender to Pynchon. I surrender Pynchon. Despite the cold and wet snow pouring down, I made the trek back to the mall after Alexis left for work and I returned it. There was no point leaving it on my bookcase. If, after I study literature more and gain more patience I feel like I’m ready to attempt to decipher it again, I will buy it again. But for now, I’m good. It was nice to have that $22 back in my pocket.

This is it, though. I made a written vow to myself to never give up on a book again. As a writer and English major, I must read and read a lot. Even the works that have no appeal to me whatsoever I must read and finish. My bookcase must be filled until I am forced to buy more and start filling those. No library without books, no mancave without a library.

My last surrender…

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The Book That Shook Me to My Core

On Saturday night by after Alexis and I got home from our long date day on the town, I settled into bed and had to decide what new book to read after I finished Shantaram.

Remembering that I told her dad I would read Ayn Rand after, I started Atlas Shrugged. I got about 130 pages in before passing out (we had walked over ten miles that day and I honestly don’t know what was allowing me to stay up even that long). When I woke up and had breakfast yesterday, I picked the book back up again. I never set it down.

I’m not going to go into too big of a review or anything, but it really opened my eyes. For a book written in the fifties, she could easily be talking about today and the current political climate in the United States. It should be mandatory reading for everybody, on both sides of the political playing field. Nowhere else, outside of recorded history, has there been a better damning of socialism and an apologetic for capitalism. Issues of freedom and human worth are as much at stake today as they are in the novel.

This is what true science fiction is supposed to be–a warning of the dark future that lies ahead if we proceed down the same path we are now. Everybody needs to read this book.

Getting Ready for Intermittent Fasting

My eating and pop-drinking habits have greatly improved since I first started posting on here about losing weight. I have no scale at home to see if I actually have lost weight or not, but Alexis says she can see some progress already, and I’ve been relying on the belt more than I usually do. We will see in the long-run how I’m doing.

My biggest issue, as is the case with most overweight people, is not working out and being active as it is dieting. Usually when I start clean eating, I can usually go a couple of healthy meals before caving in and cheating.

Breakfast is always the easiest; lunch is less of a struggle.

Dinner, however, is where I usually fail.

So, Alexis and I are making it really, really easy. We are getting rid of dinner!

We will commit to a good breakfast, pack ourselves a protein shake and snack to take to work, have another good and healthy lunch, and then stop eating for the day at 6pm. The fasting will go on all night and end at 10am the next day, repeating itself until Lex and I decide we don’t want to do it anymore.

I sometimes go some days without eating a meal or so, and apart from really enjoying the food when it finally comes, I never had any problems. I’m actually really excited, because unlike fads like Keto or purposely starving yourself there are few, of any, pitfalls of this. And if something comes up and we will have to have dinner like if we got invited out or something, then it’s not going to kill anything.

We are starting all this tomorrow. Hopefully it will help.

A Mini Review of Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel was really good! Larson’s acting was questionable at times, but she did a good job. It’s not just a build-up to Endgame, it’s a nostalgic franchise opener that helps open up a new dimension to the MCU, a place for it to move forward into once the Avengers saga is over. Don’t wait for it to come out on DVD—go see it. Not the greatest movie, but a good one nonetheless.

I Want to Help You Guys Out

I’m not the greatest blogger or anything. I only have about 1600 followers and lately I’ve been getting less than 200 views a day. But from what people have been telling me, my blog is huge compared to theirs.

I don’t know how much help I can be, but I’d love to help some of you guys out.

Let me advertise your blogs for you! Let me delink certain posts or run a post or review about your blog. If I can, let me talk about you on here so that other regulars of mine see you and stop by to take a look at your own blog.

It’s not much, but people have done it for me and it always means the world to me. I continue to get a few new subscribers every week (sometimes daily) so CrapPile is growing.

If you’re interested, shoot me an email or comment below and I will be in touch!