CxD #270: Best reading experiences of '23ππ; Favorite song of '23πΆ; Favorite film of '23π¬
They deem me mad because I will not sell my days for gold; and I deem them mad because they think my days have a price. ~ Kahlil Gibran
I had an aspiration to make my days of 2023 founded upon stillness, health, and clear-focused attention on whatever was before me. I succeeded some of the time.
Part of that practice was to protect a reading block of about two hours every day where I had nothing to do but sit and read and think and be.
I ended up exploring 52 different worlds, one a week. Mostly no indigestion.
I also wanted to write a reflective review about all of them, but records show I only published the first 33. So there are 19 reading orphans.
If I punted all the remaining reviews as yet to be written for the new yearβor used my Sunday in this fashionβ I would no doubt feel sad and would fall behind and then guilt would poke my ribs and Iβd become busier than Iβd like, so yβall who follow my reading adventures on this humble rag will have to make do with my goodreads tab to see the quantified results below, sans personal commentary.
An obvious shortcoming are the ratings. They donβt translate. Magic Mountain is a gargantuan work of art, and yet some bizarre elfin voodoo held it back from receiving the full 5 starsβ maybe on the re-read as Mann suggests, its full glory will burst forth.
Meanwhile, the pithy non-fiction history of Sicily, as one example of the discongruity in the star system, which I read while in Sicily over the summer was a punchy and skillful primer on that enchanted island, so a mere 3-stars felt too withholding. But the four stars for each are not equivalentβ relative to one another Magic Mountain is a 5-star beastπ¦, with humble Sicilyβs history clocking in closer to 3 stars. I hope yβall understand what Iβm saying.
3. My Top 5 favorite reads of the year:
What was your favorite reading experience of β23 that shaped your character the most for having encountered it?
Iβm making availbe for free this article from the New York Times about our lingering confusions and how to get back on our collective horses and to remember to be good:
CxD favorite song of β23:
Favorite cinematic experience in β23: Fourth screening and now 24 years old. But wow. If you want a film to help you explode the notions you may have about your own characterβ¦
May your last day of β23 be full of the perfect combination of ease, rest, peace, adventure, love and kindness.
β€οΈ,
K