It’s Not Yet Dark by Simon Fitzmaurice, A Recommendation

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It's Not Yet Dark, Recommended Books, Simon Fitzmaurice

It’s Not Yet Dark is a memoir written by Simon Fitzmaurice, who discovers, just as he is starting his married life as a father and husband, that he has ALS, and that he doesn’t have long to live. It is a brave book, and a hopeful book, a tone it strikes without being sentimental.

Simon Fitzmaurice is a director, a video artist, and a writer, so the book has a poetic touch. It almost has the feel of a great piece of creative non-fiction, though every word is true. In a way, Simon Fitzmaurice lives as if his life is a poetic gift, and this memoir reflects that.

The book is relatively short, one hundred and sixty-five pages, and has a narrative feel, with many flash backs and flash forwards, a definite cinematic touch. I read it very quickly, in a few nights. It truly is an inspiring story, well told. I highly recommend picking up a copy and reading it. I know you won’t regret it.

Recommended Read: REQUIEM FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM by Noam Chomsky

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America, Book Review, Noam Chomsky, Requiem For The American Dream

I just picked up this book the other day at Barnes And Noble, and finished reading it in one day, about four hours or so. Maybe because so much of it rang true, so much of it crystalized what I have seen happen in America over the course of a lifetime.

The book is not without faults. It can get partisan, particularly towards the end, but Noam Chomsky has too much intellectual honesty to hide the pertinent facts.

The book covers the ten basic principles behind the current economic, social, and political situation the US finds itself in. I think the most revealing is PRINCIPLE #3: REDESIGN THE ECONOMY. Here Chomsky talks about Financialization, Offshoring, and Work Instability as three of the underpinnings behind the growing income gap. I could not agree more.

The author does not deal with the disastrous War On Drugs, or the hugh military presence in other countries, which is unfortunate. It would have been nice to add two brief chapters to give a more complete picture. But even with that said, whether you are from the left, the right, or an independent like me, this book will help you understand what is really going on in the Unites States these days.

At about 170 pages or so, it is a quick read. But I doubt you will find out more in any current book of any size, than you will discover in this book. It also includes ample references to many actual sources (with full documentation) which bolster his points and give historical perspective. I particularly recommend this book to non USA readers who often don’t get a clear, impartial picture of US events. This will at least give you a backdrop to the tumultuous times the Unites States is going through.

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Alexander Weinstein, Digital Art, Phil Gennuso, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Speculative Fiction

by phil gennuso

This is an illustration for a short story, “Migration”, in a collection of short stories by Alexander Weinstein, “Children Of The New World”, published in September, 2016.

These stories generally fall under the umbrella of speculative fiction, with an emphasis on futurism, and science fiction. The author combines technology, fantasy, humor, and horror, to depict a landscape that may be coming our way in the not too distant future.

A POEM FOR ALL TRUE NOR’EASTERS!

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Nor'easter, Robert Frost

I thought this poem might be appropriate for all of us in the Northeast, waiting on the wintery snow storm. It is a poem by Robert Frost, a poem many of us have read, a deceptively simple poem, complete, and minimalist in its accurate description of a snowy night, reflective and almost reluctant, in its final stanza.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

JOHN KEESE WIT and LITTERATEUR

A recent book I picked up at my local Barnes & Noble, from 1883.

A loving biography of sorts by his son, William.

I have a great BN about 10 miles from me, down on Rt 17, New Jersey. It is one of the few that have a used book store in the rear of the store. For someone like me it is an easy place to get lost in!

This book is old of course and has a great engraving on the frontpiece (with foxing). It is a touching tribute by a son who clearly admired his father and felt that history had bypassed a truly worthwhile man.

I will let you be the judge of that; everyone’s life is truly worthwhile, and we could certainly all write a noble biography of our Dads. I find this biography interesting because it reveals so much about upper middle class life in New York City so long ago.

And I love the long gone art of engraving. There is something an engraving captures that a photograph cannot.

So you see this book was irresistible to me and given its price of less than $10.00 how could I walk by?

 

 

MAKE ME AN OFFER I CAN’T REFUSE!

2014-01-02

MAKE ME AN OFFER I CAN’T REFUSE!

This is my very first day blogging and the category you are viewing, BOOKS, will be one of my major categories for discussion, collection, and sales.

I have a sale site at:

www.amazon.com/shops/philscorner

where there are many, many books available.

Since I may be moving within the next year I am looking to sell as many as possible so if you have any interests, please make me an offer I can’t refuse!

I have biographies, history, religion, philosophy, hugh amount of tech books, mathematics, about 1000 or so books of poetry and hundreds of art catalogs.

I guess you can tell where my interests are!