This is a blog about important and influential written works. 
 
The most comprehensive book list is the Philosophy list - the story of thought - comprised of a variety of texts, including Plato's Republic, War and Peace, The Wealth of Nations, Animal Farm, The Art of War, and countless others.  I've also included a list of important histories and a list of fiction, including science fiction and fantasy, as a counterbalance to the histories.  Some major works have been left out because I've previously read them, I'm not interested in reading the work in question, or I want to keep the lists somewhat manageable and a particular notable work simply didn't catch my eye.  In general, my goal is for the fiction and history lists to compliment the main philosophy list.  

My impressions of a particular work, upon finishing, will not be formal or comprehensive, nor will I attempt to put on an analytical "hat" related to a particular academic discipline.  After completing a book, I will write a short summary of my impressions and thoughts, some of which may be unintentionally grouped under one or more of the various disciplines, (including hard and soft sciences); the summaries will also include my own personal intuitions, feelings, presuppositions, or other extrapolations of, or lack thereof, the author(s) original intent.  Each write-up will be followed by a number rating of 1 - 10, (and denoted in [bold] on the reading list pages upon completion), which is a subjective way for me to numerically capture my overall sentiment and enjoyment of the work in question.     
 
In other words, this blog is in essence a personal meditation and scholarship with the goal of becoming a more intelligent and well rounded individual, (and hopefully a better writer).  Of course, I'm more than flattered if others find my writing insightful and/or entertaining, but please, take it all with the proverbial grain of salt ;)



Spoken language was perhaps the greatest invention of mankind, allowing proto-human species the ability to animate their reality in ways never before.  It was with language that the mind and the surrounding world, perhaps, were first abstracted in any primary sense.  Objects and actions became sounds and combinations of tones, understood on some level by a collective group.  
 
Generations upon generations of spoken languages created elaborate story tellers and orators, venerated by their society for uncanny memories and animated presentations.  In some cultures, the oral traditions were headed by master orators whom endured years of training to obtain their prestigious titles.  
 
With the advent of inscribed symbols - and with them traditions of writing - stories, histories and thoughts - both of the mundane and concrete, and of the more abstract - entered the world more permanently.  Ancient tales were passed on and written down over time, philosophies were recorded and evolved, histories and memoirs were copied and translated; so today we can look into the past to review where our thoughts and minds have come, how we should act now and why, and of course, where we may be headed as a species.    
 
We cannot begin to have any comprehensive understanding of our own thoughts and perceptions, or by extension how to live properly, nor any real context of history or fiction, without a philosophical foundation. Our own perceptions and social norms are often taken as granted, but make no mistake, the journey and development of our ideas and moralities were never given, nor were they necessarily self evident.

One reasonable place to begin our spirited study of philosophy is in Mesopotamia with Gilgamesh, for a little insight into the foundations of the hero's journey and the advent of recorded morality.
 
To renew the walls of Uruk, we must first travel beyond them.
 
-E.B.                 ​