In my previous entry, I argued that having a "systems game," adopting and creating personal systems, is a crucial skill for becoming less foolish. The argument expressed as a polysyllogism: Premise 1: Without systems, life navigation will be frustrated.
I'm sitting at the airport and I just finished reading this post and I was thinking "damn I really wish I had a good fiction book to read" and I shit you not, two minutes later an old lady walks by and puts down a book three seats away from me and says "I'm going to leave this here for someone else to read it".
It's a murder mystery by Dick Francis called "Reflex":
'''
Longtime jockey Philip Nore is no ordinary hero. But when he begins to suspect that a racetrack photographer's fatal accident was really murder, he sets out to discover the truth and trap the killer. Slowly, he unravels some nasty secrets of corruption, blackmail and murder--and unwittingly sets himself up as the killer's next target.
or better yet, something a bit more wisdom commons oriented with the capacity for capturing book review info from the community (not just from Peter or worse yet our own individual note stashes that we get caught hoarding without even realizing our growing understanding is destined to die on the vine).
I needed this: " If a system is stifling, then that is not a good system. A good system is a liberating experience." I moved in April, and the morning system I had at my old place became stifling, but I haven't made a new one. One way I framed my use of the system was that the system gives my life a huge boost, but if I don't do it, it's a normal day. It's not 'bad'. And reading this helps me reconnect to the desire for a boost to my day.
Three of my books... eeeh...
Good: Lila: An Inquiry into Morals, by Robert Pirsig
True: The Nine Waves of Creation: Quantum Physics, Holographic Evolution, and the Destiny of Humanity by Carl Johan Calleman
Beautiful: Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
A systems game (really a "systems artistry") is huge, which requires a embodied discernment when a system starts to feel deadening, rather than one that brings aliveness. I start this new book system today, and going to be argus-eyed to when it stops serving me.
A canticle for Leibovitz. An early Sci fi favourite. Filling my suitcase was always a challenge when travelling for work. ebooks were incredibly seductive and practical. A different tool for a different reading purpose. The advent of the smart phone however...
As to my stacks, five was cumbersome, three just about right, but my silos are different. I am not as rule bound. My system definitely a result of existential Wayfinding. The same way I travel. Without guides.
As I look at my current selection, I note that you omit Poetry. Hiking the Irish hills with David Whyte, raising children with Clint Smith, defining Obscure Sorrows with John Koenig. (The current misery Olympics champion.)
Although I admit my system is cumbersome and overwhelming again with five physical books on the go. In addiction to the poetry. “The Myth of Normal” by Gabor Mate for non fiction, and “Drive your plow over the bones of the dead” by Olga Tokarczuk for fiction.
It depends on what room I am in and what’s next to the chair really, which does not really explain my book hoarding. My fortune 🤔
Excellent system. I'll be integrating many of these ideas into my own practice.
I recommend:
* Practical — How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Katy Milkman (little that's new, but a useful reminder of core behavioral science principles)
* Viewquake — Faith After Doubt: Why Your Beliefs Stop Working and What to Do About It (simple developmental model that explores how Christianity can grow up)
* Novel — The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin, Exhalation by Ted Chiang, or Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (I'm prone to agree with Yuval Harari that sci-fi is the most important genre)
Calling to Me:
* Already Awake: Buddhism Meets Psychotherapy on the Path to Liberation by Bruce Tift
* The World Wisdom Bible: Perennial Wisdom for the Spiritually Independent, edited by Rami Shapiro
* The World's Wisdom: Sacred Texts of the World's Religions, edited by Philip Novak
For my part, I hold the opinion lightly, but I do believe there's something crucial about the practice of imagining worlds, particularly when it comes to exploring meaning and purpose. (Star Trek as a concept has been personally helpful to me on this front.)
I also think that the best sci-fi gets at all three of your ontologies listed here: 1) Practical (see how characters' interiority and choices affect their lives for good and bad) 2) Viewquaking (Three-Body Problem did that for me, as did the others I listed) 3) Novel (both in sense of being fiction but also in the sense of being truly new). Sci-fi is a playground for ideas in a way that few other genres can match.
_Of Water and the Spirit_ by Malidoma Patrice Some
_Ethical Loneliness_ by Jill Stauffer
and yeah, these don't fit into your three categories (what i have is essentially an anti-system, very different from what works for you)
after 2 decades of reading pretty much entirely only non-fiction, i've recently taken the plunge back into fiction (and far less "trashy" stuff than i was reading before i took my long hiatus), now reading mostly novels, so here are a few of those that i recommend:
_The Lacuna_ by Barbara Kingsolver
_Crossing to Safety_ by Wallace Stegner
_Crooked Little Heart_ & _Bird by Bird_ by Anne Lamott (gonna read _Rosie_ soon)
the anti-system i use means i don't worry about not finishing (and only rarely decide i definitely won't) -- so right now, there are 38 books that i'm "in the middle of" (though how many of those i will eventually get back to, much less finish, is an open question)
Peter, I see alot of value in this system. It's interesting because I have unconsciously been implementing something close to this system for about a year. Reading three books at one time and purposefully picking one out of the three to be a novel that is enjoyable. I have found that it's difficult to digest multiple non-fiction books (especially if they are viewquake material) at one time, as I usually try to do. I will try to start implementing this system and see if better results emerge. I think a large portion of my angst when it comes to purposeful reading is that I always have to feeling that I "have to read". So those books are always staring at me, unread, on the shelf.
I'm currently 4 deep:
The Brothers Karamazov (novel)(although, very dense and not "enjoyable")
The Return of Quetzalcoatl (viewquake)
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom (non-fiction)
The Return of the King (novel)
To me, it seems that blocking out time might be the key function to this.
I resonate with this, Nathan. When I read too many practical books, I become bored, then dispirited. When I read too many viewquake books, I become disorientated, then "crazy." When I read too many fiction books, I become escapist, then unrealistic. While I am still called to read more non-fiction than fiction, I sense incorporating fiction will serve me well. We'll see.
Or being smart/flexible with your life dynamics. But yes, a consistent commitment one way or Ana other is most definitely needed. I find audiobooks to be my secret weapon for consuming way more material than if I waited for “just the right time, mood and atmosphere to be studious and wisdom consuming”. Such is the life of a “taxi” kid faring dad, driving to and from practices, summer camp/school and god knows wherever else I end up being convinced they need transport to and from...
Systems are extremely important for a lot of people that are neurodivergent. Getting a diagnosis only helped me reinforce why I have always done a lot better when I have created a system for something I was trying to accomplish and for daily living.
Another thought on books I've had recently, is their potential insight into a person's interests & values. In a not to distant Wisdom Commons filled future, what IF instead of pictures of cats or selfishly oriented surface deep blurbs, people listed their top 5ish influential most treasured books. Knowing what one treasures (or more importantly what you want me to think you treasure) can potentially be a very real glimpse of inner being / working.
My current three (ok 4) books:
#1 for subjective understanding: The Art of Spiritual Midwifery, The daiLogos and Dialectic in the Classical Tradition by Stephen Faller
#2 for objective understanding: The Language of Emotions by Karla McLaren
#3 for inner work: Breaking Addiction by Lance M. Dodes
#4 for pleasure: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
Without getting into the details, Faller's book is a honest and genuine inquiry into a topic that he is not only passionate about but has most likely labored with for most of his life. For better or worse, he almost immediately dives towards the deepest crevices of our inner world, which is a journey not likely for the beginner or uninterested passerby. If you'd asked me to review this book 10 years ago I would have scoffed at the notion and most definitely poisoned the well with my rigid IYI at the time thinking. That being said, I'd also like to share undeserved gratitude that life has progressed significantly from then to now :)
About the treasured book list. Great point about projections!
With that in mind, how about this for refinement: Rather than a static list for outward appearance, make it a rolling 3x3 pack FIFO of 1) last three books you read, 2) the three books you are currently reading and 3) the next three books you have on deck. This would be more relevant to current times, but also capture a sense of flow and change. Although as I write this, a new problem comes to mind of books being only one type of media (I think) for personal growth and satisfaction. This book list would be great for avid readers, but would be isolating for the percentage of humanity that grows they wisdom and aptitudes through alternate media such as video, classes, musical/band practices to name just a few equally productive and valuable vehicles for creativity and expansion of consciousness/awareness.
Wow. I find it hard, when I find/happen upon a view quake book to not go full view quake. I kind of had a system of practical/novel/elusive view quake, though I will admit that "practical" entailed books like The Song of Songs in the Middle Ages and books of poetry and study. One of those turned out a view quake book (Merton) and now my reading is all that: at present tearing through Bulgakov's Burning Bush (and all his other trilogy books in a stack on my desk), Martin Laird's Into the silent land (maybe that's practical?), and Rowan Williams' Looking east in winter. I guess that's my system for now, let's see how long before it runs out of steam/adrenaline. But when that happens, I don't seem to have control over it. It's rather lovely.
Very grateful for this piece. It feels SO FAR for me to reach, but it's definitely something I want. Since I got my kindle, I started to say that I used to consider myself a "bibliophile" but that I realize I am more of a "readingphile." But I recently bought a book in Spanish in the Barcelona airport (I live in Boston, but was born in Puerto Rico and migrated at the age of 12.) It has been such a delight to read a real and BIG book of historical fiction. AND to read in Spanish.
I like to use "readwise" to gather my kindle highlights. Let us know if you find a way to digitally capture and aggregate highlights from physical books.
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
Ways of being by James Bridle
I love Vonnegut
I'm sitting at the airport and I just finished reading this post and I was thinking "damn I really wish I had a good fiction book to read" and I shit you not, two minutes later an old lady walks by and puts down a book three seats away from me and says "I'm going to leave this here for someone else to read it".
It's a murder mystery by Dick Francis called "Reflex":
'''
Longtime jockey Philip Nore is no ordinary hero. But when he begins to suspect that a racetrack photographer's fatal accident was really murder, he sets out to discover the truth and trap the killer. Slowly, he unravels some nasty secrets of corruption, blackmail and murder--and unwittingly sets himself up as the killer's next target.
'''
I'll let you know how it is.
Old ladies are so awesome! They deserve and need way more respect than they probably receive.
EVERYONE hug/call your grandma ASAP. Make sure to tell her why you appreciate/prosper/appreciate her life’s “mantle”
Could we have a CJ Goodreads group?
🤔
or better yet, something a bit more wisdom commons oriented with the capacity for capturing book review info from the community (not just from Peter or worse yet our own individual note stashes that we get caught hoarding without even realizing our growing understanding is destined to die on the vine).
I needed this: " If a system is stifling, then that is not a good system. A good system is a liberating experience." I moved in April, and the morning system I had at my old place became stifling, but I haven't made a new one. One way I framed my use of the system was that the system gives my life a huge boost, but if I don't do it, it's a normal day. It's not 'bad'. And reading this helps me reconnect to the desire for a boost to my day.
Three of my books... eeeh...
Good: Lila: An Inquiry into Morals, by Robert Pirsig
True: The Nine Waves of Creation: Quantum Physics, Holographic Evolution, and the Destiny of Humanity by Carl Johan Calleman
Beautiful: Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
A systems game (really a "systems artistry") is huge, which requires a embodied discernment when a system starts to feel deadening, rather than one that brings aliveness. I start this new book system today, and going to be argus-eyed to when it stops serving me.
Tsundoku (積ん読 - buying books but letting them sit on the shelf without reading them. I'm am very guilty of this!
A canticle for Leibovitz. An early Sci fi favourite. Filling my suitcase was always a challenge when travelling for work. ebooks were incredibly seductive and practical. A different tool for a different reading purpose. The advent of the smart phone however...
As to my stacks, five was cumbersome, three just about right, but my silos are different. I am not as rule bound. My system definitely a result of existential Wayfinding. The same way I travel. Without guides.
As I look at my current selection, I note that you omit Poetry. Hiking the Irish hills with David Whyte, raising children with Clint Smith, defining Obscure Sorrows with John Koenig. (The current misery Olympics champion.)
Although I admit my system is cumbersome and overwhelming again with five physical books on the go. In addiction to the poetry. “The Myth of Normal” by Gabor Mate for non fiction, and “Drive your plow over the bones of the dead” by Olga Tokarczuk for fiction.
It depends on what room I am in and what’s next to the chair really, which does not really explain my book hoarding. My fortune 🤔
I was thinking of using Fr. Spitzer five transcendentals, which include love and being. Poetry and holy books might map onto those two.
Yes. Well spotted, The love stack. I had put it aside for the moment. Please do aluminate re Spitzer. Your POV is always welcome in my life mix tape.
A link to Fr. Spitzer's take: https://cainaweb.org/five_transcendentals/#:~:text=These%20five%20transcendentals%20are%20our,feeling%20frustrated%20and%20wanting%20more.
Excellent system. I'll be integrating many of these ideas into my own practice.
I recommend:
* Practical — How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Katy Milkman (little that's new, but a useful reminder of core behavioral science principles)
* Viewquake — Faith After Doubt: Why Your Beliefs Stop Working and What to Do About It (simple developmental model that explores how Christianity can grow up)
* Novel — The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin, Exhalation by Ted Chiang, or Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (I'm prone to agree with Yuval Harari that sci-fi is the most important genre)
Calling to Me:
* Already Awake: Buddhism Meets Psychotherapy on the Path to Liberation by Bruce Tift
* The World Wisdom Bible: Perennial Wisdom for the Spiritually Independent, edited by Rami Shapiro
* The World's Wisdom: Sacred Texts of the World's Religions, edited by Philip Novak
I like the older definition, “Speculative Fiction”
Why do you (or Harari) think sci-fi is the most important genre?
Harari's take: https://www.wired.com/2018/09/geeks-guide-yuval-noah-harari/
For my part, I hold the opinion lightly, but I do believe there's something crucial about the practice of imagining worlds, particularly when it comes to exploring meaning and purpose. (Star Trek as a concept has been personally helpful to me on this front.)
I also think that the best sci-fi gets at all three of your ontologies listed here: 1) Practical (see how characters' interiority and choices affect their lives for good and bad) 2) Viewquaking (Three-Body Problem did that for me, as did the others I listed) 3) Novel (both in sense of being fiction but also in the sense of being truly new). Sci-fi is a playground for ideas in a way that few other genres can match.
I like that. An exercise in the "imaginal," possible worlds, etc.
IMHO, because speculation is very similar to inquiry, which is kinda what we are all striving towards/living.
_The End of Time_ by Julian Barbour
_Of Water and the Spirit_ by Malidoma Patrice Some
_Ethical Loneliness_ by Jill Stauffer
and yeah, these don't fit into your three categories (what i have is essentially an anti-system, very different from what works for you)
after 2 decades of reading pretty much entirely only non-fiction, i've recently taken the plunge back into fiction (and far less "trashy" stuff than i was reading before i took my long hiatus), now reading mostly novels, so here are a few of those that i recommend:
_The Lacuna_ by Barbara Kingsolver
_Crossing to Safety_ by Wallace Stegner
_Crooked Little Heart_ & _Bird by Bird_ by Anne Lamott (gonna read _Rosie_ soon)
_Americanah_ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
the anti-system i use means i don't worry about not finishing (and only rarely decide i definitely won't) -- so right now, there are 38 books that i'm "in the middle of" (though how many of those i will eventually get back to, much less finish, is an open question)
I’m excited to read your notes on The Ignorant Schoolmaster. Definitely gonna steal some pieces of this system, thank you.
Peter, I see alot of value in this system. It's interesting because I have unconsciously been implementing something close to this system for about a year. Reading three books at one time and purposefully picking one out of the three to be a novel that is enjoyable. I have found that it's difficult to digest multiple non-fiction books (especially if they are viewquake material) at one time, as I usually try to do. I will try to start implementing this system and see if better results emerge. I think a large portion of my angst when it comes to purposeful reading is that I always have to feeling that I "have to read". So those books are always staring at me, unread, on the shelf.
I'm currently 4 deep:
The Brothers Karamazov (novel)(although, very dense and not "enjoyable")
The Return of Quetzalcoatl (viewquake)
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom (non-fiction)
The Return of the King (novel)
To me, it seems that blocking out time might be the key function to this.
I resonate with this, Nathan. When I read too many practical books, I become bored, then dispirited. When I read too many viewquake books, I become disorientated, then "crazy." When I read too many fiction books, I become escapist, then unrealistic. While I am still called to read more non-fiction than fiction, I sense incorporating fiction will serve me well. We'll see.
Or being smart/flexible with your life dynamics. But yes, a consistent commitment one way or Ana other is most definitely needed. I find audiobooks to be my secret weapon for consuming way more material than if I waited for “just the right time, mood and atmosphere to be studious and wisdom consuming”. Such is the life of a “taxi” kid faring dad, driving to and from practices, summer camp/school and god knows wherever else I end up being convinced they need transport to and from...
I, like you, am also a taxi dad. Thanks for the audiobook tip.
Systems are extremely important for a lot of people that are neurodivergent. Getting a diagnosis only helped me reinforce why I have always done a lot better when I have created a system for something I was trying to accomplish and for daily living.
Neurodivergents will change the world. ❤️
Another thought on books I've had recently, is their potential insight into a person's interests & values. In a not to distant Wisdom Commons filled future, what IF instead of pictures of cats or selfishly oriented surface deep blurbs, people listed their top 5ish influential most treasured books. Knowing what one treasures (or more importantly what you want me to think you treasure) can potentially be a very real glimpse of inner being / working.
My current three (ok 4) books:
#1 for subjective understanding: The Art of Spiritual Midwifery, The daiLogos and Dialectic in the Classical Tradition by Stephen Faller
#2 for objective understanding: The Language of Emotions by Karla McLaren
#3 for inner work: Breaking Addiction by Lance M. Dodes
#4 for pleasure: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
Faller’s book has been on my radar since I heard Vervaeke recommend it. What was the main takeaway? And understanding someone through their treasured books is a great practice, but could lead to projections: https://i.chzbgr.com/full/7755773184/h70E0E555/i-suppose-you-think-you-understand-me-now
Without getting into the details, Faller's book is a honest and genuine inquiry into a topic that he is not only passionate about but has most likely labored with for most of his life. For better or worse, he almost immediately dives towards the deepest crevices of our inner world, which is a journey not likely for the beginner or uninterested passerby. If you'd asked me to review this book 10 years ago I would have scoffed at the notion and most definitely poisoned the well with my rigid IYI at the time thinking. That being said, I'd also like to share undeserved gratitude that life has progressed significantly from then to now :)
About the treasured book list. Great point about projections!
With that in mind, how about this for refinement: Rather than a static list for outward appearance, make it a rolling 3x3 pack FIFO of 1) last three books you read, 2) the three books you are currently reading and 3) the next three books you have on deck. This would be more relevant to current times, but also capture a sense of flow and change. Although as I write this, a new problem comes to mind of books being only one type of media (I think) for personal growth and satisfaction. This book list would be great for avid readers, but would be isolating for the percentage of humanity that grows they wisdom and aptitudes through alternate media such as video, classes, musical/band practices to name just a few equally productive and valuable vehicles for creativity and expansion of consciousness/awareness.
Wow. I find it hard, when I find/happen upon a view quake book to not go full view quake. I kind of had a system of practical/novel/elusive view quake, though I will admit that "practical" entailed books like The Song of Songs in the Middle Ages and books of poetry and study. One of those turned out a view quake book (Merton) and now my reading is all that: at present tearing through Bulgakov's Burning Bush (and all his other trilogy books in a stack on my desk), Martin Laird's Into the silent land (maybe that's practical?), and Rowan Williams' Looking east in winter. I guess that's my system for now, let's see how long before it runs out of steam/adrenaline. But when that happens, I don't seem to have control over it. It's rather lovely.
Very grateful for this piece. It feels SO FAR for me to reach, but it's definitely something I want. Since I got my kindle, I started to say that I used to consider myself a "bibliophile" but that I realize I am more of a "readingphile." But I recently bought a book in Spanish in the Barcelona airport (I live in Boston, but was born in Puerto Rico and migrated at the age of 12.) It has been such a delight to read a real and BIG book of historical fiction. AND to read in Spanish.
Also, links to the remarkable conversation between Ezra Klein and Maryanne Wolf, "This is your brain on Deep Reading" https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/22/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-maryanne-wolf.html
I like to use "readwise" to gather my kindle highlights. Let us know if you find a way to digitally capture and aggregate highlights from physical books.
Gracias for teaching what you are learning!