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Ten Books to Shape the Mind
Dec. 16th, 2017 06:00 pmI've been thinking a lot about the "ten books" meme shadowkat threw in my direction. In the end, I'm picking books that have shaped my way of thinking--not necessarily the "best," but the ones that made me who I am today...
1. The Five Hundred Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss
Maybe the first book I remember reading. A fairy tale, a political allegory and a marvel of cartoon design. I still feel the same sense of wonder reading it now as I did when I was a kid.
2. Metamorphosis and Collected Fiction by Franz Kafka
Is Joseph's affliction a physical transformation or a spiritual malaise? Doesn't matter. The metaphor is perfect, and its power has seeped into my writing ever since. I also love Kafka's aphorisms and small fables, which perfectly encapsulate the bleakness of our godless world. Fun for all ages!
3. No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre / The Myth of Sisyphus and other essays by Albert Camus
Speaking of the bleakness of our godless world, here come the French existentialists! I literally said "L'enfer est les autres" YESTERDAY, while we were nearly clipped while driving in the snow. The male protagonist of No Exit also taught me an important lesson: don't talk big unless you can back it up.
As for Camus, shadowkat and I have referenced the Sisyphus essay many times on the ATPo board; but his essay on suicide is one of the cornerstones of modern existentialism.
4. Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
Borges blows my mind every time. His takes on religion, time, memory, and literature warp reality in the most beautiful way. Recommended for Philip K. Dick fans looking for new horizons.
5. Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words
How to write a smart comedy sketch. A virtual bible for joke construction.
6. Candide by Voltaire
The ultimate bildungsroman. A good chunk of modern literature would be impossible without this book. (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is Candide in space. For that alone, Britain owes France a debt.)
7. The Essential Ellison by Harlan Ellison
For me, Ellison was the first writer who combined a mastery of the fantastic with the sense that the story started from deep in his gut and had to come out. His best stories are always deeply personal, filled with rage and pain and blinding intelligence. His essays show him as he is in public appearances: the cranky Jewish man I want to be when I grow up.
8. Bullfinch's Mythology
An invaluable resource. More than a compendium of myths, an entry point into the vast, collective unconscious of our species.
9. Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Dr. Strange was my gateway to the idea that there are worlds beyond our own--magical, terrifying places connected to the central mysteries of the multiverse. Steve Ditko's artwork introduced me to psychedelia and abstract expressionism, and I see Ditko every time I see Miro or Dali.
And as for Stan, he may be a shameless huckster, but the man knows how to tell a ripping yarn. What I always loved about Lee's Doc is that even though his opponents were usually more powerful (by a large margin), Doc found a way to out-strategize and out-think them all. A good lesson for a wimpy kid to learn.
10. Animal Man / The Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison and various artists
In the battle between Brits Who Write Literate Superhero Comics, most people prefer Alan Moore (Watchmen, Swamp Thing, Miracleman). I prefer Morrison, mainly for his playfulness. I've already raved about the Doom Patrol here, an amazing pastiche of Borges, Dadaism and avant garde cinema. But Animal Man left an even deeper impression. Morrison played with the medium here, with characters looking out at the reader from the panel ("I see you!"), cartoons leaving diaries filled with despair--and all of it culminating with our hero journeying through a Limbo of Forgotten DC Characters to meet his creator, Morrison himself.
I know a lot of people on my flist don't like the meta, but Morrison didn't use the self-referentiality to be cute. He used the finale to reflect on why he wanted to write these stories. My favourite part is when he ruefully looked back on why he killed Buddy's family. He did it to be "realistic." But, said Morrison to the reader (and himself), why does "realism" in comics have to mean cruelty and death? Why can't it be kindness and mercy? So Morrison sent Buddy back to his family, and I never looked at a "character meets his writer" story as a gimmick again.
1. The Five Hundred Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss
Maybe the first book I remember reading. A fairy tale, a political allegory and a marvel of cartoon design. I still feel the same sense of wonder reading it now as I did when I was a kid.
2. Metamorphosis and Collected Fiction by Franz Kafka
Is Joseph's affliction a physical transformation or a spiritual malaise? Doesn't matter. The metaphor is perfect, and its power has seeped into my writing ever since. I also love Kafka's aphorisms and small fables, which perfectly encapsulate the bleakness of our godless world. Fun for all ages!
3. No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre / The Myth of Sisyphus and other essays by Albert Camus
Speaking of the bleakness of our godless world, here come the French existentialists! I literally said "L'enfer est les autres" YESTERDAY, while we were nearly clipped while driving in the snow. The male protagonist of No Exit also taught me an important lesson: don't talk big unless you can back it up.
As for Camus, shadowkat and I have referenced the Sisyphus essay many times on the ATPo board; but his essay on suicide is one of the cornerstones of modern existentialism.
4. Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
Borges blows my mind every time. His takes on religion, time, memory, and literature warp reality in the most beautiful way. Recommended for Philip K. Dick fans looking for new horizons.
5. Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words
How to write a smart comedy sketch. A virtual bible for joke construction.
6. Candide by Voltaire
The ultimate bildungsroman. A good chunk of modern literature would be impossible without this book. (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is Candide in space. For that alone, Britain owes France a debt.)
7. The Essential Ellison by Harlan Ellison
For me, Ellison was the first writer who combined a mastery of the fantastic with the sense that the story started from deep in his gut and had to come out. His best stories are always deeply personal, filled with rage and pain and blinding intelligence. His essays show him as he is in public appearances: the cranky Jewish man I want to be when I grow up.
8. Bullfinch's Mythology
An invaluable resource. More than a compendium of myths, an entry point into the vast, collective unconscious of our species.
9. Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Dr. Strange was my gateway to the idea that there are worlds beyond our own--magical, terrifying places connected to the central mysteries of the multiverse. Steve Ditko's artwork introduced me to psychedelia and abstract expressionism, and I see Ditko every time I see Miro or Dali.
And as for Stan, he may be a shameless huckster, but the man knows how to tell a ripping yarn. What I always loved about Lee's Doc is that even though his opponents were usually more powerful (by a large margin), Doc found a way to out-strategize and out-think them all. A good lesson for a wimpy kid to learn.
10. Animal Man / The Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison and various artists
In the battle between Brits Who Write Literate Superhero Comics, most people prefer Alan Moore (Watchmen, Swamp Thing, Miracleman). I prefer Morrison, mainly for his playfulness. I've already raved about the Doom Patrol here, an amazing pastiche of Borges, Dadaism and avant garde cinema. But Animal Man left an even deeper impression. Morrison played with the medium here, with characters looking out at the reader from the panel ("I see you!"), cartoons leaving diaries filled with despair--and all of it culminating with our hero journeying through a Limbo of Forgotten DC Characters to meet his creator, Morrison himself.
I know a lot of people on my flist don't like the meta, but Morrison didn't use the self-referentiality to be cute. He used the finale to reflect on why he wanted to write these stories. My favourite part is when he ruefully looked back on why he killed Buddy's family. He did it to be "realistic." But, said Morrison to the reader (and himself), why does "realism" in comics have to mean cruelty and death? Why can't it be kindness and mercy? So Morrison sent Buddy back to his family, and I never looked at a "character meets his writer" story as a gimmick again.
