The Content Reader

This is one of those popular help yourself books that seems to overflow these days. However, it defies all the good advices we have been given during the last years, that is; stay positive. Manson says: "Let's be honest; sometimes things are fucked up and we have to live with it."  Right! That is life after all. "One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful." Sigmund Freud  With this quote in mind Manson argues that values such as "pleasure, material success, always being right, staying positive", are poor guidelines for a persons life. After all, some of the greatest moments in our lives are " not  pleasant, not successful, not known, and not positive". Which leads him to the belief, and I am bound to agree with him, that it is the individual who is responsible for everything in his/her life. We just have to act due to external circumstances. We are not always in control of all aspects of our...

This weeks book beginning and page 56 highlight is from a recently purchased book. It is rather new and I thought it will help me not worry to much. It is The Subtle Art of not Giving a F*ck  - a counterintuitive approach to living a good life by Mark Manson. Book beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader "Charles Bukowski was an alcoholic, a womanizer, a chronic gambler, a lout, a cheapskate, a deadbeat, and on his worst days, a poet. He's probably the last person on earth you would ever look to for life advice or expect to see in any sort of self-help book. Which is why he's the perfect place to start."   The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice The truth is that there's no such thing as a personal problem. If you've got a problem, chances are millions of other people have had it in the past, have it now, and are going to have it in the future. Likely people you know too. That doesn't minimize the problem or mean that it should...

Hello, I am back! Long time no see. I have been busy with the last things of, as it seems, a long move. Living like a nomad, no internet and no time to sit down and reflect. I did have time to read though and took the opportunity to read from my shelves, meaning I don't have to move all of the books. I have given away a lot of them. Due to smaller space in the future, I do give away, or terrible thought, through away some books. I only keep those I really loved a lot. This, of course, does not prevent me from buying new ones. I had a couple of hours to fill downtown Brussels the other week, and ended up in a beautiful bookshop, Filigranes . You can have a cup of coffee or a light lunch here, sitting among the books. It is heaven, n'est pas? They also have a section of foreign books and I went though the English one. It is always interesting to see what kind a books a foreign book shop decides to sell. It is not always the same sort of books as would be highlighted in the UK a...