steve

I agree. @Tommy - please keep political posts in Current Events. I've moved your post to the World at War thread there. If you do not have access to Current Events, you are welcome to request it. Thanks for your cooperation.

Some poetry - Rumi - everything! Life on Mars - Tracy Smith Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear - Mosab Abu Toha Devotions - Mary Oliver Milk and Honey - Rupi Kaur The Wasteland - TS Eliot Me (Moth) - Amber McBride Spirit Boxing - Afaa Michael Weaver Bright Dead Things - Ada Limon The Hill We Climb - Amanda Gorman Of Gods and Strangers - Tina Chang

It is not allowed. Political discussion is limited to Current Events. Thanks for your cooperation.

I’ve read different accounts. Some claim he translated it, others say he supervised or proofread a translation done by one of his acolytes and added an introduction. It seems that the Laozi was under-appreciated in Russia in his time and he made some attempts to change that. Your command of the language should help you get to the bottom of it.

I've read The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment. I was deeply affected by Crime and Punishment but found Brothers to be a bit tiresome and overly theological for my taste.

In short, yes, very much. I'm doing a slow read, one chapter a day, as recommended by @liminal_luke and am a bit more than halfway through. It took me a long time to get into the book. In the beginning I felt a bit like 'who gives a fuck about early 19th century Russian aristocracy/gentry?' Over time I've come to deeply appreciate and respect his masterful portrayal of the human condition through brief but very poignant vignettes - some serious, others farcical, at times quite theatrical or intimate and penetrating. It truly is a timeless novel despite being firmly anchored in time and space. Reading it slowly, something I've never done before, was a little frustrating at first but now an absolute delight as it has given me time to really absorb and reflect on his skill and insight. I generally blast through books, especially if I'm enjoying them. I'm glad I didn't take that approach with War and Peace. Of note for this forum, Tolstoy developed a deep appreciation for Daoist philosophy to the point of translating the Dao De Jing into Russian from English, German, and French translations.

I've read several others by McCarthy including The Road, No Country for Old Men, The Border Trilogy, Child of God, and Outer Dark. I can't really say which is his best but I listed Blood Meridian below because for me it was the most strikingly beautiful and original, even in it's brutality. Kind of like a Hieronymous Bosch painting reimagined through an impressionist lens Some of my favorites in fiction that come to mind are: Blindness - Jose Saramago Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (3 way tie with 1Q84 and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle) Naked Lunch - William S Burroughs War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (not yet finished as I'm reading a chapter a day but no question among my favorites) Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkein One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy City of Thieves - David Benioff Hyperion Cantos - Dan Simmons Silo - Hugh Howey Gaia series - John Varley The Sparrow series - Mary Doria Russell Geek Love - Katherine Dunne Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell The Bone People - Keri Hulme A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, JSPS - Jeremy Leven Kindred - Octavia Butler Remembrance of Earth's Past - Liu Cixin Voice of the FIre - Alan Moore The Book of Form and Emptiness - Ruth Ozeki A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

Slowly working my way through a brilliant book that requires a bit of patience and effort but offers worthwhile rewards. A look at the nature of reality as seen through the eyes of one of the 20th century's most influential physicists.

I’ve moved the Trump post to a new thread in Current Events if anyone wants to go there. Let’s keep politics where it belongs please. Thanks

Spirit is Randy California and Ed Cassidy's old band and soul is a genre of music that didn't really have anything to do with their sound, except maybe for Mr. Skin which was pretty funky!

This one did not sit on my nightstand, I read it in a day. One of the most beautiful books I’ve come across. A novel in verse about two young, wounded people. Breathtaking.

You should now have access

Your journals are set up. Sorry for the long delay @A Flyer of Gy - I somehow missed the notification (or got distracted and forgot about it).

I’m referring to republican genital checks at bathroom doors. Doubt you missed that…. ?

There's been a lot of talk by Christians in my country about dick measuring of late.