Title: Is It Tomorrow Yet? Paradoxes of the Pandemic.
Author: Ivan Krastev.
Genre: Non-fiction, social criticism.
Country: Bulgaria.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2020.
Summary: Beneath the panic and bluster, beneath the confusing speeches and the conflicting advice, the Coronavirus pandemic acted, changing our world in the most profound ways. The tragic human cost and the economic devastation will be assessed and calculated for decades to come. But the pandemic also changed things in ways that are less easily expressed and understood. It has made bare the frayed contradictions of modern life. It has distorted things that seemed simple and settled. It has affirmed plain, uncomfortable truths. In this essay, the author explores the pandemic's immediate consequences and conceives of its long-term legacy. Will things be different for the communities most harmed, and for those who escaped the worst? Where are we now with the US and China, with the UK and Europe? And how do we think our way through the unthinkable?

My rating: 7/10
My review:

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Title: Aunt Dan & Lemon.
Author: Wallace Shawn.
Genre: Fiction, play.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1985.
Summary: The play takes the reader into the world of a young recluse named Lemon (alias Leonora) who spends her nights reading chronicles of Nazi atrocities. Lemon tells the audience about the overwhelming influence in her life of her parents' friend "Aunt Dan," an eccentric, passionate professor whose stories and seductive opinions enthrall Lemon from the time she is a young girl. The relationship that develops between Lemon and Aunt Dan and the conversations that went on in a small hour at the bottom of an English garden form the focus of this play about political orientation and the allure of certain ideas—even when they lead to murder. On the Context of the Play is an essay in which the author looks at the way morality functions in the world and individual lives, and both the temptation and the folly of giving up on the concept by accepting the faulty logic that all humans are vile anyway.

My rating: 7.5/10.
My Review:

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Title: Dinosaurs: 10 Things You Should Know.
Author: Dr Dean Lomax.
Genre: Non-fiction, science, palaeontology.
Country: England, U.K.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2021.
Summary: The author brings these prehistoric creatures to life in 10 bite-sized essays, written for people short on time but not curiosity. Making big ideas simple, he takes readers on a journey to uncover what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur, what dinosaurs ate, how they evolved, what caused them to go extinct, and more commonly wondered-about subjects and fun and unexpected facts of palaeontology.

My rating: 8/10
My review:

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Title: The Tent.
Author: Margaret Atwood.
Genre: Non-fiction, graphic novels, WWI.
Country: Canada.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2006.
Summary: An experimental work of "mini-fictions", or 33 stories and 2 poems. Life Stories speaks of the hunger we have to memorialize special moments, and the writer's attempt to recall and write her own. In Clothing Dreams, the narrator describes her decades' long dream of rifling through a clothing store. Bottle is a dialog between a woman and who appears to be the Devil bargaining for her services. Impenetrable Forest is about trying to save someone who is lost with no desire to be found or fixed. In Encouraging the Young, the narrator, hopelessly and condescendingly, argues that the young should be encouraged. In Voice, a singer at the end of her prime contemplates her co-dependent, hostage-like relationship with her voice. No More Photos is an urge to share and take less photos. Orphan Stories is a piece about the disadvantages and advantages of being an orphan. Gateway is about wandering in a vague, unexpected afterlife. In Bottle II, a voice from inside a bottle of sand whispers mysteriously. Winter's Tales has an older person addressing the young. It's Not Easy Being Half-Divine is a re-telling of the myth of Helen of Troy in modern times, when a young woman married to a police chief takes off with another man. In Salome Was a Dancer, Salomé seduces her Religious Studies teacher because he gives her a bad mark. In Plots for Exotics, a man of color heads down to the plot factory to ask to be a main character, a rare honour in the world of fiction. In Resources of the Ikarians, a self-deprecating islander discusses the community's attempts to raise foreign income. Our Cat Enters Heaven is a bout a cat who arrives in heaven only discover that his heaven is humans' hell. In Chicken Little Goes Too Far, Chicken Little begins a campaign that the sky is falling that messes too much with the established order of things. IThylacine Ragout follows the efforts of people trying to clone and save the Thylacine tiger, and what happens when they do. The Animals Reject Their Names and Things Return to Their Origins is a poem about the animals rejecting their names, as well as all of the symbols and roles we have assigned to them over the years. Three Novels I Won't Write Soon, the narrator lists three silly but compelling ideas for novels she is not planning to expand upon. Take Charge takes form of five dialogues of commanders and their underlings, wherein the commanders ask their subordinates to complete impossible feats, or "the best they can." Post-Colonial speaks of the post-colonial life that the privileged lead, stolen from and merged with other cultures. Heritage House is a tale about the Heritage House where people stored their "heritage" until it all became forgotten and obsolete. Bring Back Mom: An Invocation is a poem about missing your longing for one's mother as an adult, and missing what was taken for granted in one's youth. In Horatio's Version, Horatio from Hamlet offers his view on the story, as well as some observations about human nature and the world. In King Log in Exile, a deposed king muses on his ineffective reign, gradually illustrating that his inertia hid not harmlessness but a corrupt selfishness. Faster is about the human urge to move faster. Eating the Birds is a critique on meat-eating. Something Has Happened points out the change we have undergone in our hearts and beings as humans. In Nightingale, the dead visit one in dreams, and a wife who is visited by her husband's widow realizes everything is not as it seems with her own life. Warlords is about warlords and warlords' warriors, and how the tendency for war-mongering runs through the genes. In The Tent, a writer huddled inside a tent of paper engages in doodling as self-defense, scribbling on the walls in a frantic attempt to keep out encroaching horrors. Time Folds is story about time. Tree Baby is about the process of reincarnation. But It Could Still lists some things that could have been better outcomes of dark situations.


My rating: 7/10
My review:

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Title: Essays.
Author: Wallace Shawn.
Genre: Non-fiction, essays, philosophy, ethics, politics, theatre.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2008, and 2010 (this edition 2010).
Summary: A collection of 16 essays divided into two parts. Up to Our Necks With War (2004) are excerpts from a diary in which the author discusses his feelings on the war in Iraq, the irrationality of calling United States a democracy, and the hypocrisy of being entirely against war and killing in context of human history. In Israel Attacks Gaza (2008), the author explains why so many Jews find the extermination of Palestinians historically justifiable, and how irrational it is for other countries to pander to that belief. In Why I Call Myself a Socialist (2010), the author compares the roles actors play to the roles we all play on a daily basis, and the randomness and unfairness in the illusion of class equality, and how the division of labour and how we view it in our society is inherently immoral. PART TWO: DREAM-WORLD: In Myself and How I Got Into the Theater (1996), the author expounds on the influences that made him become a playwright, from his privileged and liberal upbringing, to his father being a book critic and the innate discomfort Shawn felt that any form of art could be criticized as "bad," a critique nonexistent in the world of theater. Reading Plays (1997) is about the unique experience of reading a play, as opposes to seeing it performed. In Aesthetic Preferences (2008), the author wonders about different tastes and preferences, and philosophizes on the importance of dreams. Interview With Mark Strand (1998) is an interview with the American poet about his poetry and his outlook on the medium, as well as the importance of poetry in the world overall and the ultimate meaning of it. In Writing About Sex (2008), the author talks about why writing about sex is most interesting and most taboo. (Only PART 2 in this post, refer to PART 1 for the rest of the quotes).

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: Essays.
Author: Wallace Shawn.
Genre: Non-fiction, essays, philosophy, ethics, politics, theatre.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1985, 1991, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2008 (this edition 2010).
Summary: A collection of 16 essays divided into two parts. PART ONE: REALITY: In The Quest for Superiority (2008), with remarkable honesty and self-criticism of his own privileged life and upbringing, the author looks at what makes people, particularly in the U.S., feel superior and apathetic to suffering, and how that feeling can be replaced with compassion and love with the help of the arts. After the Destruction of the World Trade Center (2001), written a couple months after the attacks in the form of letters between America and "The Foreign Policy Therapist," the essay empathetically but critically takes a look at what America must honestly come to terms with about its place and reputation in the world. In Morality (1985), the author looks at the way morality functions in the world and individual lives, and both the temptation and the folly of giving up on the concept by accepting the faulty logic that all humans are vile anyway. An "American" Publishes a Magazine (2004), published in a one-issue magazine in response to the Abu Ghraib tortures, discusses Americans' apathy to and in fact dependence on the despicable actions overseas, and the concept of United States in general. Patriotism (1991) discusses what the concept should and should not mean, and how America does not need it. In Interview with Noam Chomsky (2004), the two men discuss a variety of subjects, including political personal responsibility, consumerism, the relationship between people and those who rule them, and the perception of social freedom where there is none. In Bush Proposes Preemptive War (2002), the author discusses how irrational fear of Iraq is, and how both illogical and unethical it would be to go to war with it. The Invasion of Iraq Is Moments Away (2003) are excerpts from a diary that discuss the imminent invasion of Iraq, and the United States' relationship with its leaders, as well as its attachments to its privilege. (Only PART 1 in this post, refer to PART 2 for the rest of the quotes).

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: Famine, Affluence, and Morality.
Author: Peter Singer.
Genre: Non-fiction, essays, philosophy, ethics.
Country: Australia.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1972, 2006 (this collection and preface 2016).
Summary: A collection of 3 essays. Famine, Influence, and Morality (1972), one of the most famous essay in applied ethics and inspired by the starvation of Bangladesh Liberation War refugees, argues that affluent persons are morally obligated to donate far more resources to humanitarian causes than is considered normal in Western cultures. In The Singer Solution to World Poverty, the author lays out a formula to calculate how much each household and person should be donating to charity every year. In What Should A Billionaire Give—And What Should You? (2006), Singer gives examples of some of the most generous philanthropists, and suggests the wealthy are able to contribute on a much larger scale than they are to elimination of poverty all across the globe.

My rating: 7.5/10.
My review:

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Title: The Second Plane: September 11, Terror and Boredom.
Author: Martin Amis.
Genre: Non-fiction, fiction, essays, short stories, 9/11, politics.
Country: England.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2001-2007 (this collection 2008).
Summary: A collection of 12 essays and 2 short stories. (Essays 8-14 in this post, refer to PART 1 for essays 1-5 and 2 short stories.) In What Will Survive of Us (2006), using the phone calls coming from United 93 shortly before it went down in a field, and reviewing Paul Greengrass's United 93, the author makes an argument that love is the last emotion of the dying. Conspiracy Theories, and Takfir (2006), examines the horrific coincidences that enabled Osama bin Laden’s progress from down­-and­-out cave-dweller, to the chief symbol of Islamist terrorism. Bush in Yes-Man's-Land (2006) is a review of the book State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III by Bob Woodward, which is extremely critical of Bush's conduct around 9/11, and Iraq invasion. Demographics (2007) is a review of the book America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It by Mark Steyn. On the Move with Tony Blair (2007) is an essay that the author wrote about following Tony Blair on his Farewell Tour, from England to Germany to the White House to Iraq. In An Islamist's Journey (2007) is a review of the book The Islamist: Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw Inside and Why I Left by Ed Husain. September 11 (2007) talks about the naming of the disaster, and its symbolic meanings.

My rating: 7.5/10
My review:

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Title: The Second Plane: September 11, Terror and Boredom.
Author: Martin Amis.
Genre: Non-fiction, fiction, essays, short stories, 9/11, politics.
Country: England.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2001-2007 (this collection 2008).
Summary: A collection of 12 essays and 2 short stories. (Essays 1-5 and 2 short stories in this post, refer to PART 2 for essays 8-14.) The Second Plane (2001) is an essay written right in the wake of 9/11, detailing the impact and proposing solutions for going forward. The Voice of the Lonely Crowd (2002) is an essay about creative writing after 9/11, as well as the author's views on religion and religious ideology. In The Wrong War (2003), an essay, Amis presents why he believes America is going to war with specifically Iraq, and America's problematic foreign policy in the Middle East. In the Palace of the End (2004) is a short story from the perspective of one of the doubles of the son of a fascist dictator in an unnamed Middle-Eastern country. Terror and Boredom: The Dependent Mind (2006) is an unsparing analysis if Islamic fundamentalism and the West's flummoxed response to it. The Last Days of Muhammad Atta (2006) is a short story that follows ring-leader Atta and his inner-thoughts as he prepares for flight the morning of September 11, 2001 and continues until seconds following him crashing American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Iran and the Lord of Time (2006) expounds on the role of Iran in the conflict, and looks into the ways of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

My rating: 7.5/10
My review:

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Title: Discourse on Colonialism.
Author: Aimé Césaire (translated by Joan Pinkham) (essay Robin D.G. Kelley).
Genre: Non-fiction, politics, social criticism, race, political dissent, history.
Country: Martinique, France (essay U.S.).
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1950 (essay 1999, interview 1967).
Summary: This classic work profoundly influenced the generation of scholars and activists at the forefront of liberation struggles in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The author describes in a poetic style the brutal impact of capitalism and colonialism on both the colonizer and colonized, exposing the contradictions and hypocrisy implicit in western notions of "progress" and "civilization" upon encountering the "savage," "uncultured," or "primitive." He reaffirms African values, identity, and culture, and their relevance. In the introductory essay, The Poetics of Anticolonialism (1999), Robin D.G. Kelley provides context and clarifications on Césaire's life, politics, and philosophy, and the poetical as revolt that he utilizes to communicate his views. Also includes an interview (1967) conducted by Haitian poet and militant René Depeste at the Cultural Congress of Havana.

My rating: 8.5/10
My review:

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Title: The Spirit of Terrorism and Other Essays.
Author: Jean Baudrillard (translated by Chris Turner).
Genre: Non-fiction, essays, 9/11, politics, sociology, philosophy.
Country: France.
Language: French.
Publication Date: 2002.
Summary: A collection of 4 essays. In The Spirit of Terrorism, the author argues how 9/11 represented a foundational terroristic reaction to US-led modernity and globalization, and the advantages the terrorists have in their symbolic war against the West's "no-death" policy. Requiem for the Twin Towers speaks of the symbolism of the Twin Towers, tied into theie architectural structure, and the symbolism of them coming down as related to the reality of the spectacle. In Hypotheses on Terrorism, the author looks on the West's victim mentality, and develops the theory of terrorism as an accident of the Good, as a reaction to oppression, what he deems the "sovereign hypothesis." The Violence of the Global is an expansive view on the effects of thought patterns, dogmatisms, and to a lesser extent, arrogance on a worldwide scale, and what makes the West's culture so susceptible to terrorism.

My rating: 8/10
My review:

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Title: The Educated Imagination.
Author: Northrop Frye.
Genre: Non-fiction, essays, lectures, literary criticism.
Country: Canada.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1962 (published 1964).
Summary: A book of 6 lectures. In The Motive for Metaphor, Frye attempts to answer such questions of literature as: What good is it? What is the social value? What is the place of the imagination that literature addresses itself to in the learning process? and Will we outgrow it?, as well as comparing the ways of literature and science. In The Singing School Frye talks about all literature being inspire by other literature, and examines the conventions on which Western literature and mythology are primarily built. In Giants in Time, Frye addresses the question of reality in literature, as well as the progressive element in its study and teaching. In The Keys to Dreamland, Frye looks at the roles of both writers and readers of literature, as well as speaking on where the inspiration for literature does, and doesn't, come from. In Verticals of Adam, Frye discusses the place of literature in education, and how to teach literature, especially to children. The Vocation of Eloquence is addressed to readers rather than writers, consumers of literature, and explains “what literature can do and what its uses are, apart from the pleasure it gives."

My rating: 8.5/10.
My review:

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Title: Look Big: And Other Tips for Surviving Animal Encounters of All Kinds.
Author: Rachel Levin (essays by Brooke Borel, Bonnie Tsui, Chris Colin, Vanessa Hua, Samin Nosrat, Rebecca Flint Marx, Peter Orner, and Diana Kapp).
Genre: Non-fiction, how-to guides, animals, humour, essays.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2018.
Summary: As humans encroach on wild places, encounters with animals—from bears, bison, mountain lions, and mice to turkeys, ticks, rats, and raccoons—have become increasingly commonplace. But, wait, what are the rules for facing a moose up close? Do you run from a coyote or stand your ground? How deadly, really, are black widow spiders, rattlesnakes, and sharks? Listed alphabetically from alligators to woodpeckers and packed with expert tips and fascinating animal facts, the book is a must-have survival guide for outdoor, urban, and suburban encounters alike. It also includes 10 essays of personal experiences (some excerpts from longer works on the subjects): In Ants in the Minivan by McKenzie Funk, the journalist describes his horrifying experience with ants in his car, and taking the power back. In Grizzlies in Alaska by Peter Fish, the writer recounts his experiences when his "vacation" turns out to be being dropped off alone on an island for a day to survive, where he encounters a mother bear and her cubs. Bed Bugs on My Mind by Brooke Borel is an excerpt describing her awful insomnia and experiences with bed-bugs. Cockroaches in New York (Of Course) by Bonnie Tsui is a classic New York tale of a bad cockroach infestation, a fancy, expensive pest-control device, and the horror that it resulted in. In Coyotes in my Face by Chris Colin, the journalist describes his first experience camping alone, and coming face-to-face with a coyote. In Deer in the Suburbs by Vanessa Hua, the author describes how hitting deer where she grew up was a right of passage, and the poignant lesson she learned while watching her biology teacher dissect a pregnant doe. Mice in the Backseat by Samin Nosrat is a cute story of the woman trying to get a mouse out of her car. Bunnies in the Backyard by Rebecca Flint Marx, the writer describes her love for bunnies in her childhood, and the memorable time when her dog had killed one. Raccoons in the Kitchen by Peter Orner is a humorous story about encountering two giant raccoons unapologetically feasting in one's kitchen. In Rats in the Bedroom by Diana Kapp, the writer describes living behind a construction site, and having her home overrun by rats as a result.

My rating: 7.5/10
My review:

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Title: Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche.
Author: Haruki Murakami (translated by Alfred Birnbaum and Philip Gabriel).
Genre: Non-fiction, journalism, terrorism.
Country: Japan.
Language: Japanese.
Publication Date: 1997-1998.
Summary: It was a clear spring day, Monday, March 20, 1995, when five members of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo conducted chemical warfare on the Tokyo subway system using sarin, a poison gas twenty-six times as deadly as cyanide. The unthinkable had happened, a major urban transit system had become the target of a terrorist attack. In an attempt to discover why, the author talked to the people who lived through the catastrophe—from a Subway Authority employee with survivor guilt, to a fashion salesman with more venom for the media than for the perpetrators, to a young cult member who vehemently condemns the attack though he has not quit Aum. Through these and many other voices, Murakami exposes intriguing aspects of the Japanese psyche. And as he discerns the fundamental issues leading to the attack, a clear vision of an event that could occur anytime, anywhere, is achieved. Includes the essay Blind Nightmare: Where Are We Japanese Going? that explores the "us" versus "them" mentality with which the Japanese viewed the attack, and suggests way to reconcile what happened personally, and on a national level. (Refer to PART 1 for the rest of the quotes.)

My rating: 8.5/10
My review:

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Title: Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche.
Author: Haruki Murakami (translated by Alfred Birnbaum and Philip Gabriel).
Genre: Non-fiction, journalism, terrorism.
Country: Japan.
Language: Japanese.
Publication Date: 1997-1998.
Summary: It was a clear spring day, Monday, March 20, 1995, when five members of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo conducted chemical warfare on the Tokyo subway system using sarin, a poison gas twenty-six times as deadly as cyanide. The unthinkable had happened, a major urban transit system had become the target of a terrorist attack. In an attempt to discover why, the author talked to the people who lived through the catastrophe—from a Subway Authority employee with survivor guilt, to a fashion salesman with more venom for the media than for the perpetrators, to a young cult member who vehemently condemns the attack though he has not quit Aum. Through these and many other voices, Murakami exposes intriguing aspects of the Japanese psyche. And as he discerns the fundamental issues leading to the attack, a clear vision of an event that could occur anytime, anywhere, is achieved. Includes the essay Blind Nightmare: Where Are We Japanese Going? that explores the "us" versus "them" mentality with which the Japanese viewed the attack, and suggests way to reconcile what happened personally, and on a national level. (Refer to PART 2 for the rest of the quotes.)

My rating: 8.5/10
My review:

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Title: The Open Garden: A Story with Four Essays.
Author: Christopher Milne.
Genre: Non-fiction, essays, fiction, literature, short stories, ecology, nature, religion, Christianity.
Country: U.K.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1985, 1988 (this collection 1988).
Summary: A collection of 4 essays and 1 short story. (Essays in this post, refer to PART 2 for the short story.) In the essay The Open Garden, the author discusses his approach to gardening and his understanding of the term "garden", as well as offering his interpretations of the symbology of the Garden of Eden. Efficiency and the Oil Beetle. is an essay that criticises our society's over-specialisation and search for over-efficiency, as compared to the fascinating anatomy and purposes of the oil beetle. The Egg, the Fox and the Dagger is the essay that examines the relationship humans have with animals and the natural world, and the relationship they should strive for to heal it. Beetles to Betelgeuse is an essay that highlights the importance of knowing the proper names of the plants, animals, insects, and stars around us in order to fully appreciate and connect to them and the natural world.

My rating: 8/10
My review:

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Title: Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things.
Author: Lafcadio Hearn.
Genre: Literature, fiction, short stories, mythology, folklore, horror, ghost stories.
Country: Japan.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1904.
Summary: In this collection of 17 short stories (of which one is an autobiographical non-fiction) and 3 essays, some being a translation or re-telling of traditional Japanese ghost tales and oral folklore, touch upon the essence of the cultural beliefs, practices, superstitions, and fears. In The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hōïchi, a gifted blind biwa (lute-player) is summoned by a samurai to play for a prominent assembly several nights in a row, unaware that his hosts are of dark and ghostly origins. Oshidori is a story of a hunter that kills one of a pair of mandarin ducks, and is haunted by its heart-broken mate. The Story of O-Tei is about a young man that loses his promised love on her fifteenth birthday, but is given a seemingly impossible promise on her death-bed that they'll be together again sometimes in this lifetime. Ubazakura is a story of a faithful and noble wet-nurse, who makes the ultimate sacrifice to protect the child under her care. In Diplomacy, a man about to be executed promises his executioners to come back and haunt them, but the clever master asks for proof of the evil intent, with a cunning ulterior motive. Of a Mirror and a Bell describes a woman who puts a spell on a bell before committing suicide, and the symbolic meaning the bell has taken on in the cultural beliefs of the region. In Jikininki, a travelling Zen priest that stays alone in a village with a recently deceased man, discovers the origins of the tradition that forbids anyone to be in the village after midnight following a death. Mijuna is a story of a man who meets a horror while out alone at night. In Rokuro-Kubi, a warrior priest encounters and has to reckon with Rokuro-Kubi, goblins that leave their bodies behind to gather as heads at night and do evil. In A Dead Secret, a priest is summoned to the house when a passed on lady's spirit refuses to move on from her rooms. Yuki-Onna is a tale of a young man that encounters the deadly spirit of winter and lives to tell the tale, but has to keep her secret for fear of bad consequences. In the Story of Aoyagi, a travelling soldier falls in love and weds a mysterious woman he meets living alone with her parents in the woods, but she may not be what she appears to be. Jiu-Roku-Zakura is a story about a cherry blossom tree, and a beautiful sacrifice one man makes to keep it blooming. In The Dream of Akinosuké, a man falls asleep on a field and has a fantastic dream of fantastic adventures in a strange land, and his dream has a surprising origin. Riki-Baka is a story of reincarnation, wherein a young boy with mental deficiencies passes away, and is believed to have been reborn into a wealthier family. Hi-Mawari is an autobiographical story of the author and his friend in their childhood in Wales, have a run-in with a harp-playing vagabond. Hōrai describes the a painting on silk and the beliefs and legends associated with Hōrai by the Chinese during the Qin Dynasty. INSECT STUDIES: Butterflies is an essay that describes myths, beliefs, and legends connected to the butterfly from Chinese and Japanese folklore and histories. Mosquitoes> is the author's ode to the insect, concurrently decrying how annoying but impossible to get rid of they are. Ants is an essay that posits that ants are actually at the top level of ethical and social development, and humanity's possibility of one day reaching that perfection.

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: Gratitude.
Author: Oliver Sacks.
Genre: Non-fiction, essays.
Country: UK.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2013, 2015 (this collection 2015).
Summary: A book of 4 essays. In Mercury (aka The Joy of Old Age) (2013), the author reflects on old age, a long life lived, and death, while looking forward to his eightieth birthday. In My Own Life, knowing he only has months to live, Sacks reflects on the life he has led, and the feelings of gratitude and equilibrium he feels as he comes to the end of it. In My Periodic Table, Sacks talks about his life-long love affair with physical sciences, and how he comes back to it in light of his own upcoming death. In Sabbath, the author tells of his upbringing in an Orthodox Jewish family, his break away from the religion due to his homosexuality, and the slow process of reconciliation with his family and faith, especially the concept of the Sabbath.

My rating: 8.5/10.
My review:

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Title: The Four Horsemen: The Conversation That Sparked an Atheist Revolution.
Author: Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett (foreword by Stephen Fry).
Genre: Non-fiction, debate, religion, philosophy.
Country: U.K.
Language: English.
Publication Date: Conversation 2007, transcribed into this volume and essays added in 2019.
Summary: At the dawn of the new atheist movement, the thinkers who became known as “the four horsemen,” the heralds of religion's unraveling, sat down together over cocktails. What followed was a rigorous, path-breaking, and enthralling exchange. This is the transcript of that conversation, augmented by material from the living participants. These 3 essays, followed by the discussion (and introduced by Stephen Fry), mark the evolution of their thinking and highlight particularly resonant aspects of this epic exchange. Each man contends with the most fundamental questions of human existence while challenging the others to articulate their own stance on God and religion, cultural criticism, spirituality, debate with people of faith, and the components of a truly ethical life. The Foreword by Stephen Fry introduces the four main personages and the contribution they have made, together and individually through their books, on the debate of how religion affects our lives - from policy making to personal integrity. In The Hubris of Religion, The Humility of Science, and the Intellectual and Moral Courage of Atheism by Richard Dawkins, the author highlights the amount of made-up inaccuracies in religion as contrasted to science, which loves and strives to answer the mysteries of the world through scientific process and logic, and the moral courage one must possess to be a true atheist. Letting the Neighbours Know by Daniel D. Dennett encourages people to let others in on their beliefs, and while arguing against illuminating churches and houses of worship, proposes to re-purpose and bring them about to a more truthful and logical "dogma". In In Good Company by Sam Harris, Harris talks about the passed-on Christopher Hitchens, as well as the other Horsemen, and their legacy of truth, and underlines the courage and moral fortitude that an atheist possesses when he lives an honourable and honest good life.

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: In Praise of Shadows.
Author: Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (trans. by Thomas J. Harper and Edward G. Seidensticker).
Genre: Non-fiction, philosophy, architecture, art.
Country: Japan.
Language: Japanese.
Publication Date: 1933.
Summary: An essay on Japanese aesthetics, exploring everything from architecture, jade, food, and toilets and combining an acute sense of the use of space in buildings, to descriptions of laquerware under candlelight and women in the darkness of the house of pleasure. The essay is both a historical work documenting a period when many in Japan grappled with the breakneck speed of Westernization, and a timeless celebration of the beauty and elegance of simplicity. Nearly a century removed from its first appearance, the work offers a surprisingly contemporary lesson in the values of subtlety and restraint. The Foreword by Charles Moore, American architect and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects introduces the books, highlighting how familiarizing ourselves with the Japanese aesthetic and the beauty of shadow and darkness, can shift our perspective on everything. In the Afterword (1977) by Thomas J. Harper, the translator explains Tanizaki's seemingly haphazard writing style that may appear abrasive to a Western reader, as well as expanding on the social circumstances in which Tanizaki was moved to write the essay and a quickly modernizing and changing world.

My rating: 9/10.
My review:

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Title: The Street.
Author: Mordecai Richler.
Genre: Non-fiction, autobiography, religion, politics, immigration, short stories, war, WWII, Judaism, politics, bildungsroman.
Country: Canada.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1969.
Summary: This collection includes 11 memoirs. In the Going Home Again, the author introduces his most formative years on St. Urbain street while he was in Junior High, and speaks about returning to Montreal and his impressions in 1967, as an adult. In The Street, the author describes returning to St. Urbain street in 1953 after a few years in Europe, and once again introduces the Jewish neighbourhood in which he grew up, and the many stores and characters on the street. In The Summer My Grandmother Was Supposed to Die, the family is put under an enormous and heart-breaking strain when the grandmother who moves in with them with only a month left to live, ends up staying for seven years. In The Red Menace, the author describes the two main political disputes on St.Urbain - liberals versus communists. In The Main, Richler discusses the street that united the five streets around it that made up the Jewish ghetto where he grew up, the racial tensions between French and English-speaking Canadians, Jews, and gentiles, and the changes that WWII brought to the Jews living around Main Street neighbourhood. Pinky's Squealer sees four boys from the Main street vacationing in Prevost come across a beach that bars entrance to Jews, and decide to steal the sign proclaiming so. In Bambinger, to make a little extra income, the family lets out a room to a refugee fleeing Hitler's Europe, but the narrator despises the giving up his room, as well as the unwelcome intrusion and discipline that the stranger intrudes into their home. Benny, the War in Europe, and Myerson's Daughter Bella is a story of Benny, who is not smart enough for schooling and comes back from the war in Europe injured and with severe PTSD, and the grocer's daughter, Bella, who tries to bring Benny back to himself. Making It with the Chicks describes Richler's and his guy friends' difficulties throughout their adolescent and teenage years fitting into the world of dating, romance, and sex. In Some Grist for Mervyn's Mill, the family rents out a room to a young writer, but the longer the neighbourhood, the family, and the sought-after Molly work their hopes for Mervyn's brilliance and inevitable success into a frenzy, the more it begins to look like perhaps Mervyn's reputation is perhaps severely premature. The War, Chaverim, and After tells of the author's zealous involvement in Zionist organizations and causes during WWII and his highschool days, and the quick dissolution of the group after graduation.

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: The Devil and Tom Walker and Other Selected Stories.
Author: Washington Irving.
Genre: Fiction, literature, short stories, fantasy, horror, ghost stories, humour, non-fiction, essays, autobiographical, travel and exploration, romance, hunting, Native Americans.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1819, 1820, 1835, 1839.
Summary: This volume collects 8 short stories and 13 essays. (Stories 13-21 in this post (2 short stories and 7 essays), refer to PART 1 for 1-11). In The Mutability of Literature (1819), an essay, the author "discusses" changing literary tastes and impermanence of greatness and literature with a folio in the Westminster Abbey library. Rural Funerals (1819) is an essay that delights in and discusses country funeral traditions. In Westminster Abbey (1819), an essay, the author takes a contemplative tour of Westminster Abbey, excerpted from his notes on Westminster Abbey. Stratford on Avon (1820) is an essay of the author's trip to the birth-town of Shakespeare, and serves as a tribute and ode to the bard. Traits of Indian Character (1820) is an essay that paints a sympathetic portrait of Native Americans, detailing how the White Man took advantage of and outright butchered Native Americans to obtain land. English and French Character (1835) is an essay that humorously highlights the difference between the French and the British. The Tuileries and Windsor Castle (1835) is an essay that compares Tuileries Palace with Windsor Palace. In The Guests from Gibbet Island: A Legend of Communipaw Found among the Knickerbocker Papers at Wolfert's Roost (1839), the peaceful community of Communipaw, a preserve of Dutch burghers on the island of Manhattan, is terrorized by one of their own, who appears to have become a pirate and made the quiet village his hide-away. In The Legend of Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa (1939), normally fearsome Don Munio offers refuge to a group of Moors, generally hunted and killed, travelling for a wedding, but many years later chance throws Don Munio and the young man to whom he had shown mercy once again, under dark circumstances.

My rating: 8.5/10
My review:

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Title: The Devil and Tom Walker and Other Selected Stories.
Author: Washington Irving.
Genre: Fiction, literature, short stories, fantasy, horror, ghost stories, humour, non-fiction, essays, autobiographical, travel and exploration, romance, hunting, Native Americans.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1819, 1824, 1832, 1835.
Summary: This volume collects 8 short stories and 13 essays. (Stories 1-12 in this post (6 short stories and 7 essays), refer to PART 2 for 12-21). In Rip Van Winkle (1819), a lazy and laid-back Rip Van Winkle, residing in a small village at the foot of Catskill Mountains, goes up to the mountains and encounters a strange party of revellers there, and after partying with them wakes up to a seemingly completely altered world the next morning. The Author's Account of Himself (1819) is an autobiographical essay that describes Irving's love for travel, and his different impressions of America and Europe. In The Specter Bridegroom (1819), a young man charged with letting his murdered friend's bride-to-be and her family know the wedding is now off makes a drastic change of plans when he's faced with the incredibly beautiful bride and is overwhelmed by the welcome of her family. In The Wife (1819), a wealthy gentleman suddenly reduced to poverty and terrified to shine light on the fact, learns a valuable lesson about happy matrimony and a worthy wife. The Voyage (1819) is an essay that details the author's ocean voyage from the United States to England, and the dangers of traveling across the Atlantic. The Devil and Tom Walker (1824) is a story about Tom Walker and his wife, who both make the mistake of making a greedy bargain with the devil their end of which they may not be willing to uphold. The Adventure of the Mason (1832) is a tale about an impoverished mason who gets asked by a priest to conduct a secretive and shady job, which pays off handsomely years down the road. The Governor and the Rotary (1932) describes the bitter feud between the governor of the fortress of Alhambra, and the captain-general of Granada, in the midst of which the fortress stands. The Grand Prairie—A Buffalo Hunt (1835) is an essay about hunting buffalo and the lonely, haunting beauty of the prairies, excerpted from his book A Tour on the Prairies: An Account of Thirty Days in Deep Indian Country. Rural Life in England (1819) is an essay that describes the English character and its love for rural countrysides. The Art of Bookmaking (1819) is a humorous essay in which the author describes how fiction authors borrow and steal liberally from the authors that come before them, some to an extreme degree. In The Widow and Her Son (1819), the narrator reflects on family love and loyalty when he is acquainted with the story of the local widow who tends to her son after he returns from a military conscription at sea.

My rating: 8.5/10
My review:

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Title: The Lady in the Van.
Author: Alan Bennett.
Genre: Non-fiction, humour, old age, diaries, social criticism, class struggle.
Country: U.K.
Language: English.
Publication Date: Diaries from 1969-1989 (essay 1989, this compendium 1994).
Summary: This is a true account, excised from autobiographical memoirs mostly in the form of diaries, of Miss Mary Shepherd, an eccentric tramp of uncertain origins, who parked her van in Bennett's garden "for a short while," and stayed for fifteen years. After her passing, Bennett attempts to unravel her history to uncover what had reduced her to life on the streets and brought her to Camden Town.

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: Books v. Cigarettes.
Author: George Orwell.
Genre: Non-fiction, essays, books on books, politics, autobiography, satire.
Country: U.K.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1936, 1940, 1946, 1952. (This collection in 2008).
Summary: A collection of 7 essays. Books v. Cigarettes (1946) compares the costs of reading to other forms of recreation, including tobacco smoking, and discusses claims that books are too expensive. Bookshop Memories (1936) is a reminiscence of the author's time spent working as an assistant in a second-hand bookshop in London. In Confessions of a Book Reviewer (1946) Orwell discusses the lifestyle of a book reviewer, and criticizes the practice of reviewing almost every book published, which gives rise to this lifestyle. The Prevention of Literature (1946) is concerned with freedom of thought and expression, particularly in an environment where the prevailing orthodoxy in left-wing intellectual circles is in favour of the communism of the Soviet Union. In My Country Right or Left (1940) the author seeks to reconcile his intense feeling of patriotism and his left-wing views. How the Poor Die (1946) is the author's recollection of having to stay in a public ward in a hospital in France, and the treatment of establishments like that of the poor, the sick, and the dying. Such, Such Were the Joys (1952) is a long autobiographical essay that recounts Orwell's years in St.Cyprian Academy, and the many lessons about failure, authority, and the lies that children believe that he had experienced there.

My rating: 8.5/10.

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Title: The Complete Madeline: Madeline, Madeline's Rescue, Madeline and the Bad Hat, Madeline and the Gypsies, Madeline in London, Madeline's Christmas. (+essay The Isle of God (or Madeline's Origin) by the author, and Introduction by Anna Quindlen.)
Author: Ludwig Bemelmans.
Genre: Fiction, literature, children's lit, poetry, picture books.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1939-1956 (Compendium in 1993, afterword .
Summary: A collection of all 6 Madeline books - stories about a brave, bold, and adventurous 7-year-old girl attending a boarding school in Paris with 11 other girls, under the care of their teacher, Miss Clavel. Madeline introduces the title character, and deals with her having to be taken to the hospital to have her appendix out. Madeline's Rescue (1953) finds Madeline falling into the Seine and being saved by a dog, which the girls consequently (though against the rules) wish to keep as their own. In Madeline and the Bad Hat (1956), the Spanish ambassador moves in next door to Madeline's school, but his son Pepito turns out to be a mean and spoiled boy in need of a lesson. In Madeline and the Gypsies (1959), Madeline and Pepito run away to join a group of traveling gypsies. In Madeline in London (1961), Madeline, Miss Clavel and the girls go to visit Pepito at his new home in London, and acquire a retired horse as a gift. In Madeline's Christmas (1956), Madeline is the only one not sick over Christmas, and while taking care of everyone she helps a magician who returns the favour in a magical way!

My rating: 9/10.
My Review:

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Title: M. Butterfly.
Author: David Henry Hwang.
Genre: Literature, plays, romance, race (+social criticism, cultural studies, racial studies).
Country: U.S.
Language: English
Publication Date: 1988.
Summary: Based upon a true story that stunned the world, the play opens in the cramped prison cell where diplomat Rene Gallimard is being held captive by the French government—and by his own illusions. In the darkness of his cell he recalls a time when desire seemed to give him wings. A tome when Song Liling, the beautiful Chinese diva, touched him with a love as vivid, as seductive—and as elusive—as a butterfly. How could he have known, then, that his ideal woman was, in fact, a spy for the Chinese government—and a man disguised as a woman? In a series of flashbacks, the diplomat relives the 20-year affair from the temptation to the seduction, from its consummation to the scandal that ultimately consumed them both. But, at the end, there can only be one answer: For whether or not Gallimard's passion was a flight of fancy, it has touched off the most vigorous emotions of his life. Only in real life can love be so unreal.

My rating: 9/10.
My review:

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Title: The Glass Menagerie (+The Catastrophe of Success).
Author: Tennessee Williams.
Genre: Literature, plays (+essay, social criticism).
Country: U.K.
Language: English
Publication Date: 1944 (+1947).
Summary: A story of a family whose lives form a triangle of quiet desperation. Amanda Wingfield lives in a St. Louis tenement, clinging to the myth of her early years as a Southern belle, having been abandoned by her husband many years prior. Her daughter Laura, who wears a leg brace, is painfully shy and mentally frail, and often seeks solace in her collection of small glass animals. Amanda's son Tom is desperate to escape his stifling home life and his warehouse job. The brewing conflict finally erupts when, under Amanda's instructions, Tom brings his friend Jim home for dinner as a "gentleman caller" for his sister, but the visit spells ultimate doom for the family. Catastrophe of Success (1947) is an essay Williams wrote about his experience with suddenly being plunged into fame and wealth, and his belief on how toxic that kind of atmosphere is for an artist.

My rating: 8.5/10.
My review:

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Title: The Haunter of the Dark and Other Stories.
Author: H.P. Lovecraft.
Genre: Fiction, literature, short stories, novellas, horror, thriller, mystery, vampire fiction, fantasy, occult, animals, zombie fiction, mental health, alien fiction, art.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date:
Summary: A collection of 18 stories, 3 novellas, 1 poem, and 1 essay. The Haunter of the Dark (1935), a story in the Cthulhu Mythos, is about a young man who explores a cursed church and finds an artifact that summons a great and horrible being. In Polaris (1918), a part of the Dream Cycle, a man is haunted by a dream of a city and a people he believes himself to belong to, until he is convinced his waking life is actually a nightmare he cannot wake from. The Doom That Came to Sarnath (1920), a part of the Dream Cycle, tells of a people who inhabited the city of Sarnath thousands of years ago, and who destroyed all the Moon-originated, Pagan, lizard-like inhabitants of a neighbouring city, with disastrous consequences. The Statement of Randolph Carter (1920) is a testimony of one of Lovecraft's recurring characters, Randolph Carter, who attempts to explain the disappearance of his companion, the occultist Harley Warren, by telling of how the two men searched for a portal to an underworld in an ancient graveyard's tomb, and of what followed when they found it. In the tale of The Cats of Ulthar (1920), a part of the Dream Cycle, an unnamed narrator relates the story of how a law forbidding the killing of cats came to be in a town called Ulthar. In Celephaïs (1920), a part of the Dream Cycle, a man named Kuranes, alone and dispossessed in contemporary London, dreams again and again of a mysterious city called Celephaïs, until he begins to slip away to the dream-world entirely. In The Other Gods (1921), a part of the Dream Cycle, a high priest and prophet attempts to scale the mountain of Hatheg-Kla in order to look upon the "Great Ones'" faces, and upon reaching the peak finds an unexpected horror. In Herbert West - Reanimator (1921), an unnamed narrator describes his many years of working with Herbert West, a doctor obsessed with re-animating corpses, with horrifying and tragic consequences as West's experiments become equally more unethical and successful. In The Unnamable (1923), Randolph Carter meets with his friend Joel Manton, and as the two sit upon a weathered tomb, Carter tells Manton the tale of an indescribable entity that allegedly haunts the house and surrounding area. In The Shunned House (1924), the protagonist and his uncle, Dr. Elihu Whipple, have nurtured a fascination with an old, abandoned house For many years, tracking the mysterious, yet apparently coincidental sickness and death of many who have lived in the house for over one hundred years. The Horror at Red Hook (1925) describes the story of how Detective Malone acquired his terror of heights, by investigating a stint of kidnappings and disappearances, and uncovering a monstrous hellish landscape in the basement of a cult in Brooklyn. Pickman's Model (1926) revolves around a Bostonian painter named Richard Upton Pickman, who creates brilliant but horrifying images, and the narrator who discovers a chilling secret of the artist's inspirations for his ghouls and monsters. In The Silver Key (1929), a part of the Dream Cycle, Randolph Carter discovers, at the age of 30, that he has "lost the key to the gates of dreams," but when his dreams help him find it again, he gets his wish, with a twist. In The Strange High House in the Mist (1926), a part of the Dream Cycle, Thomas Olney visits a mysterious house on the top of an inaccessible cliff, the front door of which opens to a sheer fall, and meets the inhabitant of the house, as well as some of his both invited and uninvited guests. In the novella The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (1927) (unpublished in Lovecraft's lifetime), a part of the Dream Cycle, when Randolph Carter's prayers to the dream gods to allow him to reach a beautiful city he only glimpses from afar in his dreams go unanswered, he sets out on an epic quest to find the Great Gods that takes him through most of Lovecraft's Dream Cycle lore, and meets many monsters and unexpected friends alike among the way (many of whom are characters previously mentioned in Lovecraft's works, Dream Cycle, and Randolph Carter stories). The Colour Out of Space (1927) is a tale in which an unnamed narrator pieces together the story of an area known by the locals as the "blasted heath" in the wild hills west of Arkham, Massachusetts, which was hit by a mysterious asteroid which subsequently spread a strange illness. The History of the Necronomicon (1927) is a very short work describing the fictional occult grimoire Necronomicon, an infamous element used and reference back to in several Lovecraft stories. Fungi from Yuggoth (1929-1930) is a poem, or a series of 36 sonnets. The first three poems concern a person who obtains an ancient book of esoteric knowledge that seems to allow one to travel to parallel realities or strange parts of the universe, but later poems deal more with an atmosphere of cosmic horror, or create a mood of being shut out from former felicity, and do not have a strong narrative, though they often reference other stories and themes in the Lovecraft universe. In The Shadow Over Innsmouth (1931), a novella that is part of the Cthulhu Mythos, the narrator investigates a mysterious town called Innsmouth that has a sordid history of human sacrifice, mating with, and sometimes becoming fish-like humanoids known as the Deep Ones. In The Dreams in the Witch House (1932), a part of the Dream Cycle, Walter Gilman rents an attic apartment rumoured to curse its inhabits with premature death, previously belonging to an accused Salem witch who disappeared without a trace, and after visiting different dimensions and having horrible visions, the house eventually reveals the horrors it hides and the reasons behind them.  In The Thing on the Doorstep (1933), another story in the Cthulhu Mythos, Daniel Upton is approached by his friend who is convinced his wife is using his body to allow her evil father-in-law to possess it, and the man's behaviour as things progress quickly indicates something sinister indeed. The Shadow Out of Time (1936) is a novella that indirectly tells of the Great Race of Yith, an extraterrestrial species with the ability to travel through time by switching bodies with any given species and studying it, while the displaced mind inhabits the alien's home and body. The story is told through the eyes of Nathaniel Wingate Peaslee, who gets possessed by a creature for a length of a few years during which he falls into an "amnesia," and after waking up from it is haunted by fragmented but persistent and realistic dreams, or, as he begins to suspect, memories, from when his mind inhabited a different body during the earth's ancient undocumented past. Supernatural Horror in Literature (1927) is an essay in which Lovecraft examines the beginnings of weird fiction in the gothic novel, and traces its development through its biggest and most influential writers and works, discussing why they were good or not, and how they had influenced the development of the genre.

My rating: 8/10.
My review:

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Title: Light and Liberty: Reflections on the Pursuit of Happiness.
Author: Thomas Jefferson.
Genre: Non-fiction, politics, philosophy, religion, economics.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: Between 1775-1826 (this book in 2004).
Summary: In stately measured cadences, these 34 essays provide timeless guidance on leading a spiritually fulfilling life. Eric S. Petersen has culled the entirety of Thomas Jefferson’s published works to fashion original essays on themes ranging from patriotism and liberty to hope, humility, and gratitude. The result is a lucid, inspiring distillation of the wisdom of one of America’s greatest political thinkers.

My rating: 8.5/10.
My review:

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Title: The Art of Peace.
Author: Morihei Ueshiba (compiled and translated by John Stevens).
Genre: Non-fiction, philosophy, martial arts.
Country: Original material in Japan, book published in U.S.
Language: English (translated from compiled Japanese material).
Publication Date: November 10, 1992 (drawn from material between 1900-1969).
Summary: These teachings, selected from the writings, teaching, and lectures of show that the real way of the warrior is based on compassion, wisdom, fearlessness, and love of nature. Drawn from the talks and writings of Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969), founder of the popular Japanese martial art known as Aikido, the book offers a non-violent way to victory and a convincing counterpoint to such classics as Sun Tzu's Art of War.

My rating: 9/10.

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Title: White Rabbit: A Psychedelic Reader.
Author: Various.
Editors: John Miller and Randall Koral.
Genre: Fiction, non-fiction, anthology, drugs, short stories, essays, literature.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: April 1, 1995.
Summary: This mind-expanding volume examines the literature on drugs and drug users in a comprehensive anthology that allows adventurous readers to experience the full range of both medicinal and recreational pharmacopoeia, from opium to ecstasy, as captured by some of the world's most imaginative writers. In Search of Yage (1975) is a letter written by William S. Burroughs to Alin Ginsberg about taking Yage in Macau. Westward (1973) by Peter Matthiessen, an excerpt from The While Leopard, tells of the author's experience taking LSD with a woman named D. In The Man with the Golden Arm (1949), an excerpt from the novel of the same name, "Frankie Machine" visits a dealer named Louie for his fix of morphine. Opium (1866) by Florence Nightingale is an excerpt from the writing she had done after coming back from the Crimean War with a damaged back about how opium had helped her pain. The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1952) by Amos Tutuola, an excerpt from the novel The Palm-Wine Drinkard and His Dead Palm-Wine Tapster in the Dead's Town, is about a man who goes in search of his dead palm-wine tapster when he falls off the palm and dies, and gets sent to capture Death with a net in exchange for directions. Drinking Absinthe with Van Gogh (1888) by Paul Gauguin is a short excerpt from the author's writings about drinking absinthe with the famous artist. The Electric Cough Syrup Acid Test (1993) by Jim Hogshire is a short story in which the author tells of his experimentation with Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide (cough syrup). Detox Diary (1930)** by Jean Cocteau is a tale of the author's addiction to opium, and his recovery therefrom. The Achieve Of, the Mastery of the Thing (1981) by Laurie Colwin is a short story about a young professor's wife who has spent every day of her marriage high on weed and doing not a hell of a lot, a fact to which her husband is completely oblivious. In The Sign of Four (1890)** by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, an excerpt from a novel of the same name, Sherlock Holmes takes cocaine and talks to a disapproving Watson about the uniqueness of his mind that sometimes requires it. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1965) by Philip K. Dick, an excerpt from a novel of the same name, discusses colonists on Mars who take a drug called Can-D that "translates" them into alternate bodies and situations, far from their dreary existences. Soma (~between 1500-1200BC), an excerpt from a hymn of the Rigveda, talks about the benefits of soma, a Vedic ritual drink of importance among the early Indians. Ferrari (1989) is an excerpt by Miles Davis from his autobiography Miles, and describes a couple of coke-related occurrences from his life. The Doors of Perception (1954) is an excerpt from an essay of the same name by Aldous Huxley that describes an afternoon of taking mescaline and reflecting on the effects of the drug both on his body and mind. The African Fang Legends is an excerpt from a creation myth of the Fang people in northwestern Africa, wherein a religious discipline called Bwiti relies heavily on the psychotropic qualities of the eboka bush, and includes two first-hand accounts of initiates' experiences on the drug. The Double Room (1869) by Charles Baudelaire is a prose poem which describes the poet's near-erotic appreciation of laudanum. Kathmandu Interlude (1989), an excerpt from True Hallucinations by Terence McKenna, wherein he takes LSD and DMT in Kathmandu, Nepal and has sex with a woman on the roof. Down the Rabbit-Hole (1865) is an excerpt from the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, wherein Alice falls down the rabbit-hole and has to experiment with some eatables to regulate her size. When the Going Gets Weird, the Weird Turn Pro (1971) is an excerpt from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream**, and describes the moment the drugs hit Thompson and his attorney as they drive to Las Vegas. Hasheesh (1854) is an excerpt from the article The Vision of Hasheesh, in which the author experiences an intense trip on hasheesh in Damascus. The Taking of Majoun (1972) is an excerpt from Paul Bowles's autobiography Without Stopping, in which he describes how plentiful majoun was in Tangier, and the way he took it. Comedy of Thirst (1872) by Arthur Rimbaud is an excerpt from a poem of the same name that deals specifically with absinthe. Wormwood (1890) is an excerpt from the novel Wormwood: A Drama of Paris, which is about Gaston Beauvais, a well-bred banker, and his absinthe-soaked descent into hell, and tells specifically about when he decides to try absinthe for the first time. Psychedelic Sessions (1964) by Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner and Richard Alpert is an excerpt from the book The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead, that serves as a guide to using psychedelic drugs, and focuses on the reasons and goals, dosages and types of drugs, and the preparation and setting for the trips. Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1821) is an excerpt from an autobiography of the same name that deals the author's laudanum addiction and its effect on his life. Mister Morpheus (1930) by Roger Gilbert-Lecomte (known as Mister Morpheus, Public Poisoner) is a piece in which Gilbert-Lecomte personifies the narcotic drive as Mister Morpheus. Coca (1884) is an essay by Sigmund Freud originally known as Über Coca, in which he expounds and advocates for the use and usefulness of cocaine for many physical, as well as therapeutic, maladies. Postcards from the Edge (1987) is an excerpt from the autobiographical novel by Carrie Fisher, which chronicles Hollywood's fascination with drugs in the 1980s. The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870) is an excerpt from the novel of the same name by Charles Dickens, in which characters go looking for an allegedly murdered Edwin who has allegedly been spotted at an opium den. On Hashish and Mental Alienation (1854) by J. Moreau de Tours is an excerpt from one of the earliest documents describing the action of hashish and hallucinations under its effect. LSD (1962) by Alan Watts is an excerpt from the book The Joyous Cosmology, in which he discusses the effects of LSD. In Opium Nights (1840) is an excerpt from a letter from Elizabeth Barrett Browning to Mary Russell Mitford, in which she describes the relief opium brings her for pain, especially going to sleep. On Ecstasy (1986) by Sean Elder is an article that describes the author's forays into and experiences with ecstasy. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) is an excerpt from a novel of the same name, which describes Dorian taking comfort in opium inside an opium den after committing a brutal murder. The Story of Caliph Hakem (1843) by Gérard de Nerval is an excerpt from a novella of the same name about about the founder of the Druze faith, in which hashish plays an essential role in this adventure of the mythical caliph. The Blood of a Wig (1967) by Terry Southern is a short story about the cutting edge drug culture of the mid-60s and the trailing edge culture of literary pretentious and mawkishly sleazy men’s magazines. Kubla Khan (1797) is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, known as Kubla Khan; or, A Vision in a Dream: A Fragment, and was composed one night after he experienced an opium-influenced dream after reading a work describing Xanadu, the summer palace of the Mongol ruler and Emperor of China Kublai Khan.

**Refer to the title link for the original entry with quotes and information.

My rating: 8/10.

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Title: Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III: More Stories of Life, Love and Learning.
Author: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Kimberly Kirberge.
Genre: Non-fiction, stories, poems, recovery, drugs, addiction, death, animals, teens.
Country: U.S.
Language: English
Publication Date: April 2000.
Summary: Inspirational true stories and poems mailed in by teenagers, ranging on topics from love, to death, to friendship.

My rating: 7/10

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Title: Natural History of Religion
Author: David Hume.
Genre: Non-fiction, philosophy, religion.
Country: U.K. (Scotland).
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1757
Summary: In this essay, Hume pioneers a naturalist account of the causes, effects, and historical development of religious belief.

My rating: 6/10
My review: Some of what Hume says in this essay rings true with my own views, and I enjoy both the eloquence and the logic, but the essay for the most part rings to me elitist, in parts hateful, and overall very tenuously backed up. What I found the hardest to get over was Hume's over-simplification, complete lack of understanding, and surprisingly ignorant treatment of the Pagan religions. It is ironic that he doesn't seem to realize that a lot of the Pagan religions share his naturalist approach. The essay carries a misleading title, as very little actual history is touched upon, and almost all the sources Hume uses for his research are isolated examples from classical history. Through his eyes - an elitist 18th century scholar, who seems convinced that all ancient civilizations are ignorant savages - to me he doesn't paint a very compelling or palatable picture, though he hits the nail on the head several times nonetheless, particularly in connection to psychology and hypocrisy of religion in general.

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Title: On Truth
Author: Harry G. Frankfurt.
Genre: Non-fiction, philosophy, essay.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2006
Summary: A follow-up to his essay 'On Bullshit' in which Frankfurt develops the argument that individuals should care about the truth, regardless of whether they intend to be truthful.

My rating: 8/10

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Title: On Bullshit
Author: Harry G. Frankfurt.
Genre: Non-fiction, philosophy, essay.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1986 (Raritan Quarterly Review journal), January 1st, 2005 (book).
Summary: A philosophical essay that presents a theory of bullshit that defines the concept and analyses the applications of bullshit in the contexts of communication, and explains the division between bullshitting and lying.

My rating: 8/10

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