TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
June 14, 2017
Though a busy and tiring month it sure was, there was still a lot of time to feed the old addiction in May.
And as addictions go, they need sustenance. What follows are my chosen literary drugs of choice, with some new literary spices to add additional flavor.
The Art Of Non-Fiction by Ayn Rand
Having read two books by Rand, and having them offer much for rumination, I got The Art Of Non-Fiction to dig deeper into Rand’s process of writing. Thankfully, book offered much to glean from, and it showed what Rand’s latitude and precision can accomplish in works of non-fiction. A review of it can be read here.
Bradbury Stories – 100 Of His Most Celebrated Tales by Ray Bradbury
Short stories are not something I usually read, although have always held an interest in. Having ruminated upon that, the work of Bradbury, which I had held in high esteem for some time, seemed like a great place to dive in. I am only a handful of stories in, but the book is vintage Bradbury in bite-sized chunks. It’s definitely a book that I will take my time reading given its colossal size.
Strange Candy by Laurell K. Hamilton
Along the same lines as the Bradbury book, this book is also features short stories. The topics of this book are considerably different – being sci-fi, paranormal, and fantasy – but still hold great interest to me.
Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy
This book is about maximizing efficiency. Wanting to get more done on a daily basis, centering upon Maximum Achievement was a straight forward choice. The book was excellent for my tastes; here is a review of it.
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Following the notion of maximizing efficiency, this book followed the same previous thread. That said, taking a look at the title, it’s easy to be skeptical considering many books make claims but do not deliver. Thankfully, this book was worth the effort. With that in mind, there are various editions of this book, and after doing some research, for my purposes the first edition of the book seemed best given it covers the nuts and bolts process. Later editions change a bit, while also adding a lot of seemingly unnecessary information. That’s merely what I learned from reading reviews.
What I can say for sure is that the first edition offered much purchase. Some of it common sense, but quite easy overlook as well. Since adding more efficiency to my daily routine is paramount, this book was another no-brainer.
As A Man Thinketh by James Allen
The work of James Allen was unknown to me up until a few weeks ago. Synchronicity being what it is, ‘out of nowhere’ the book popped up in my radar and quickly seemed like something that I was meant to read, as uncanny as it sounds. Fortuitously, Allen’s words are not only brilliant, but they are insightful, and even poetic in a way. I have never read a writer like him.
The book focuses on mindset and the thoughts one harbors. Although overlooked by some, a lot of evidence is beginning to show that whatever intention and thoughts people hold in their mind does have a conscious effect on our environment. Books like The Biology Of Belief by Bruce Lipton Ph.D., Lynne McTaggart’s The Intention Experiment, The Field, as well as many other books cover components of this idea.
In any case, Allen merely espouses being a master of the self and of your thoughts.
A dash of his work follows:
“Every thought-seed sown or allowed to fall into the mind, and to take root there, produces its own, blossoming sooner or later in act, and bearing its own fruitage of opportunity and circumstance. Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bear bad fruits.”[1 ]
Most people including myself have seen this play out on a daily basis once my attention was focused precisely on it.
Beyond that, though, the work of the author was so sensible and mindful that I sought out more of his work. However, before purchasing one of his other books, I luckily stumbled upon a book called Mind Is Master. This book happens to be a collection of all of the works of the author and sure saves a lot of money if one was planning to buy all of his books. That will be featured in next month’s book haul.
Star Wars Rebel Rising by Beth Revis
Being an avid fan of Sci-Fi and Star Wars, I bought this book wanting to examine where the franchise is going considering the considerable increase in Star Wars books over these last few years. I have attempted starting it twice, and the second time got slowly into it, only to get bogged down early on. This book just isn’t as engaging as the other ones. I will read it, but after a few samplings I’m not holding my breath. I hope I am wrong though!
The Art Of Description by Mark Doty
The Art Of Description popped up within one of my streams on social media, and having liked the blurb, I got one at AbeBooks. It is short but engaging book, and having now read it I really enjoy and appreciated the author’s unique method of examining a wide array of descriptive examples. A review for this book will soon follow.
Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg
A few trusted friends suggested this book. Given my penchant for wanting to know more about history, and fascism in particular (given its considerable increase over the years) this book seemed to be a great place to go to task. Witnessing the evolving political climate over the last decade, the information in this book is becoming even more important for the future, which was also one of the leading reasons for wanting to research this further.
Fat For Fuel by Dr. Mercola
Fat For Fuel is a veritable treasure trove of information about health that’s written in a cogent and accessible manner, that also outlines the many benefits of healthy fats. Its in-depth approach helps individuals come to terms with many of the myths that have been expounded by mainstream press and Big Pharma. The book also offers some solutions for those with significant health problems such as cancer. It really is a great book, and anyone with any type of disease should contemplate on reading it. A review of this book can be seen here.
The Vanishing American Adult by Ben Sasse
This book is a dire warning of what the future holds. The author examines many of the causes that have increasingly brought about less capable younger generations than their forefathers. Not only is there a decline in education, but self-sufficiency is nigh non-existent; the newer generation just isn’t as robust as prior ones. That’s only the beginning, though. There are many other disturbing considerations. Thankfully, the author also ruminates upon some solutions as well. A review of this book can be seen here.
The Virtue Of Selfishness by Ayn Rand
As a strong proponent of individuality, Ayn Rand stands unlike none other. Rand was rather outspoken in her views of the Individual against the Collective that pushes conformity. This book examines those circumstances and analyzes them from various viewpoints. Only about a quarter of the way through the book, but it’s been vintage Rand as one would expect.
The Romantic Manifesto by Ayn Rand
In this particular piece Rand delves into what she believes are the key tenets of art and its role in life. Having never read nor found anything of substance regarding this topic in Academia, I am hoping this book leaves much for rumination. Haven’t had time to delve into it though.
Why I Write by George Orwell
This book has four parts, and only one held great interested me, which was Orwell’s insight into Politics and the English Language. The others were useful, just not as intriguing. The language part alone was worth the price, which wasn’t much. Although the section wasn’t long, it was still great on substance, like one would expect from the father of DoubleThink.
Last Words by George Carlin & Tony Hendra
Throughout his life, George Carlin was known for his no-nonsense straight forward approach to various subjects. This is one of the main reasons why I wanted to learn more about him, especially given that this approach in life is rarely seen, although it’s much needed. A review of the book will be posted sometime in the future after having read the book.
Like last month, a handful of books were found at garage sales, which cost next to nothing. This month also featured some rather fortuitous finds as I was able to find George R.R. Martin’s A Dance With Dragons and James Patterson’s Beach Road for mere pocket change. There was another book, but that was commandeered by a friend. What’s up with some people? Sheesh.
All things considered, though the month had its fair share of obstacles, I was still able to have enough time to read quite a bit. I am certainly looking forward to finishing these books.
In any case, how was the month for the rest of you? Found anything intriguing and portentous lately? Feel free to share any recommendations or insights below. Be well!
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[1] James Allen, As A Man Thinketh, p 14.
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About The Author:
Zy Marquiez is an avid book reviewer, inquirer, an open-minded skeptic, yogi, and freelance writer who studies and mirrors regularly subjects like Consciousness, Education, Creativity, The Individual, Ancient History & Ancient Civilizations, Forbidden Archaeology, Big Pharma, Alternative Health, Space, Geoengineering, Social Engineering, Propaganda, and much more.
His other blog, BreakawayConsciousnessBlog.wordpress.com features mainly his personal work, while TheBreakaway.wordpress.com serves as a media portal which mirrors vital information nigh always ignored by mainstream press, but still highly crucial to our individual understanding of various facets of the world.
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