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We gave out copies of books our late friend loved at his memorial, and I picked this one. Introduced by Aldous Huxley and written by his wife, this unconventional 1963 self-help book contains a series of “recipes,” embodied psychological practices to aid in living life well. I trust, although the title recipe is a bit dated, these recipes can make a difference, but they‘re so involved and wacky that I would only use them in a crisis, to be honest!

My favourite, and I love the ambiguity over the interpretation (I rarely agree with historians when it comes to most topics on literature and poetry, and this time is no different) 🤍🤎.

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#bookspin 9
#doublespin 17
#november2023
#bookspinbingo

A small group of well-to-do gather to spend a summer at Crome. Each brief chapter could almost be read as its own short story, (one of which seems to have evolved into A Brave New World). I didn‘t find it particularly exciting or eventful but there were humorous moments as Huxley mocks and humiliates his cast of self-centred socialites. 5/10

Had some good quotes but there were only an actual few pages about the account of what happened. Most of the rest is philosophical babble about religion which gets old after a few pages. Huxley wasn‘t a fan of poes, either. Which I should‘ve taken that as a sign to not trust it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I read Brave New World and liked it, so I‘m sort of bummed about this one.

Careful, this is not a sequel, nor a prequel, nor a novel. It's non-fiction and despite the age of the book still read-worthy! Huxley compares his novel with the society he lives in about 30 years after BNW was published. And we still deal with all the topics he mentions: overpopulations. surveillance, ressources. While I reading I often had images of recent events in mind and I wondered what Huxley would say to the world at its current stage.

Few people now believe in the Devil; but very many enjoy behaving as their ancestors behaved when the Fiend was a reality as unquestionable as his Opposite Number. In order to justify their behavior, they turn their theories into dogmas, their bylaws into First Principles, their political bosses into Gods and all those who disagree with them into incarnate devils.

This is how New Year‘s Day should be spent.