reread

This was a challenging nut to crack for me, and I love Miller's writing. I grabbed it on a whim at a used shop many, many years ago, figuring it had to be good. It's a lot different than his fiction, however, and after reading about 1/3 of the book I had to put it down--it was very heavy going, packed with his thoughts and philosophical musings, often about authors and books that really are not part of what the average person encounters today. Thankfully, Miller doesn't actually dwell too much on specifics that date the writing, but usually just takes his subject as a jumping off point to be wildly enthusiastic about life and reading. I found multiple passages worth underlining and writing margin notes about to ponder until the next time around, and lots of food for thought to use in my own life.

I finally finished the book fifteen years after starting it. Re-reading much of the beginning and reviewing things I underlined and wrote reflections on were interesting. In many ways I have not changed in my passions over certain ideas.
Overall, this is the kind of book I need to have an uncluttered mind and free time in my day for--it's not light reading and many passages have to be re-read many times for understanding and absorption.
Plus, the typeface is small and dense and rather hard on the eyes, thus not really making the book itself a physical pleasure to read, which is unfortunate given the subject. I've noticed a few of Miller's books have this kind of printing.

في هذا الكتاب يقص لنا هنري ميلر قصة حياته لكن مع الكتب.
بشكل عام الكتاب مثير للملل إذ أنه يحتوي على الكثير من الكتب التي لم نطلع عليها، لكنه بالنسبة لأي قارئ شغوف هو متعة مميزة.

The struggle of the human being to emancipate himself, that is, to liberate himself from the prison of his own making, that is for me the supreme subject.

The indirect method of education: as with the ancients, his technique consisted in indicating that "it" was not this, not that. Whatever "it" was, and of course it was the all, he taught me never to approach it head on, never to name or define. The oblique method of art. First and last things. But no first and no last. Always from the center outward. Always the spiral motion: never the straight line, never sharp angles, never the impasse or the cul-de-sac.
He had a way of never closing a subject. He was content to skirmish and reconnoiter, to throw out feelers, to dangle clues, to give hints, to suggest rather than to inform. Whether one wished it or not, he compelled his listener to think for himself. I can't recall ever once receiving advice or instruction from him, yet everything which issued form his mouth constituted advice and instruction... if one knew how to take it!

Why do you martyrize yourself and cause suffering to everyone with whom you come in contact? Understand, rather, who you really are, how truly insignificant and vulnerable is the being you call you, and which you recognize in your own shape, and to what extent, on the contrary, the real you is immeasurably your spiritual self - and having understood this, begin to live each moment to accomplish your true mission in life revealed to you by a universal wisdom, the teachings of Christ and your own conscience. Put the best of yourself into increasing the emancipation of your spirit form the illusions of the flesh and into love of your neighbor, which is one and the same thing.

One of the reasons why so few of us ever act, instead of reacting, is because we are continually stifling our deepest impulses.

I have often wondered, if suddenly we were all privileged to function perfectly, what we would do with our time.

Meditate on free time!

I am one of those individuals frequently accused of reading into things more than they contain, or more than what was intended. This faculty of overlooking - for it was an overlooking and not a failure to see properly - what the critical mind terms mere play-acting, this faculty which I deliberately nurtured, was born of a refusal to accept things at face value.

#الكتب_في_حياتي لــ #هنري_ميللر

ومع اني لا احب طريقة سرد الكاتب ولا يعجبني اسلوبه الا ان كل شي يكتب عن القراءة والكتب يستحق ان يقراء ويستحق ان نعطيه فرصه بغض النظر عن الاعتبارات الاخرى لانه يعطينا طاقة وشغف وحماس ويفتح افاقنا الى عوالم غائبه عنا
احببت المقدمة التي بدأ بها ميللر كتابه كانت شامله وغنيه وممتعة بطريقة جميييلة لكن اسهابه في وصف بعض الكتاب وحبه لهم وشغفه بهم لم يعجبني احسست به بعض المبالغة لو انه اكتفى بنبذة حيه عنهم وعن كتبهم لكان افضل من كل هذا الحشو الممل
لكن يضل كتاب منعش وخاصة اذا كنت قراءت او اطلعت على بعض الكتاب والكتب التي تكلم عنهم والذين اغلبهم بالمناسبة فرنسيين كما اعجبتني اقتباساته لمقولة كتّاب او بعض مقتطفات من كتبهم احسستها ملهمه

I'm a huge Miller fan and somehow never knew that this book existed. To my surprise that turned out to be my favourite book of his. Here we see him as an old wise man, not so much into lewd anymore, but more into Zen contemplation and thinking. That's fascinating to see his brain working, seeing him being alive through these words more than most of actually alive authors. I was upset that the book has finished and did not contain promised list of the recommended books. But I forgive that. The book itself is an experience of learning patience and controlling your desires: when reading I felt so torn between desire to continue obsessive reading and desire to run to the bookshop to buy the book he writes about. Miller transmitted this feeling of fascination with life and reading as form of life very well. The book is really a revelation to me, my personal one, as it's the first time in my life that "what i felt inside, he had a perfect words for". "I" as I am being now at this moment. So I'll just shut up and list all my favourite quotes from the book:

* "The purpose of this book, which will run to several volumes in the course of the next few years, is to round out the story of my life. It deals with books as vital experience."

* "It is not a critical study nor does it contain a program for self-education."

* "One of the results of this self-examination—for that is what the writing of this book amounts to—is the confirmed belief that one should read less and less, not more and more."

* "The vast body of literature, in every domain, is composed of hand-me-down ideas."

* "If it be knowledge or wisdom one is seeking, then one had better go direct to the source."

* "And the source is not the scholar or philosopher; not the master, saint, or teacher, but life itself—direct experience of life."

* "I tell you of things that brought some relief at the start. There was also the water, gurgling at intervals, in the water-closet pipes... A boundless despair possessed me."

* "liberty, independence do not exist, and I am full of contempt for, and at the same time take pleasure in, my helplessness."

* "The more and more I realise that I have always led the contemplative life. I am a sort of Brahmin in reverse, meditating on himself amid the hurly-burly, who with all his strength, disciplines himself and scorns existence. Or the boxer with his shadow, who furiously, calmly, punching at emptiness, watches his form. What virtuosity, what science, what balance, the ease with which he accelerates! Later, one must learn how to take punishment with equal imperturbability."

* "I know how to take punishment with serenity, I try fructify and with serenity destroy myself: in short, work in the world, not so much to enjoy as to make others enjoy (it’s others' reflexes that give me pleasure, not my own). Only a soul full of despair can attain serenity and, to be in despair, you must have loved a good deal and still love the world."

* “Each day,” says Miguel de Unamuno, “I believe less and less in the social question, and in the political question, and in the moral question, and in all the other questions that people have invented in order that they shall not have to face resolutely the only real question that exists—the human question. So long as we are not facing this question, all that we are now doing is simply making a noise so that we shall not hear it.”

And have pages and pages, but let's not waste space previous political regime gave us.

Una splendida chiacchierata con Miller. Chi è stato così cieco da notare solo le parti sessuali leggendo Tropico del Cancro qui non potrà fare a meno di essere travolto dall'incredibile entusiasmo per la vita e dalla forte vena poetica e letteraria di Miller. Si parla solo di libri, scrittori, essere umani e senso dell'esistenza.

Non dico sia una lettura leggera, ma personalmente le sue parole mi hanno coinvolto così tanto da renderla tale. Miller divaga molto, talvolta è ripetitivo e si ha l'impressione lasci delle parentesi aperte, ma è grazie a questo che si ha la sensazione di parlargli vis-à-vis. Anche gli aspetti più mistici della sua concezione filosofica, nonostante abbastanza distanti dalla mia interpretazione della realtà, sono risultati stimolanti grazie alla sua voce.

Tra i molti meriti di questo libro, ho percepito in modo più veritiero la differenza tra la sua epoca e la nostra che studiando sui testi di storia. I suoi insegnamenti sono più umani, per questo toccano le corde giuste. Splendido il capitolo "Leggere al gabinetto", tra tutti questo ha avuto un effetto immediato sulla mia vita.

Il classico modo di dire per cui il difetto di alcuni libri è che finiscano troppo presto, non mi è mai sembrato più vero come in questo caso. Un po' di Miller ogni giorno rinvigorisce l'anima e la passione per la letteratura, non se ne ha mai abbastanza. Cosa chiedere di più, gioiose lezioni di vita con cui colmare l'anima e consigli di lettura con cui saziare la mente. Grazie Henry, grazie di cuore.

Consigliato a chiunque ami la letteratura e la vita.

كتاب كان يمكن أن يُختصر لخمسين صفحة بسهولة، يكتب هنري ميللر وكأن قارئه يملك كل الوقت المتاح في العالم، يحتاج لإعادة تحرير قاسية وشرسة، استطرادات و تنقلات تختبر صبر القارئ في كل الفصول، و ربما كان كل ماسبق هو السبب الرئيسي في نسيان المترجم/دار النشر لاضافة فهرس للكتاب، حيث نفذ صبرهم هم أيضًا هه
أنصح بالانتقال للكتاب التالي على الرف.

Long, boring, unnecessary...

Had to stop reading it 120 pages in. Very, very boring. The author seems to have a basic point- reading is unnecessary, the essential thing is to live life- and he manages to prove his point by explicitly saying that the most important influences in his life came from non-writers. But even though his main point is debatable, what put me off completely was his exaggerated, verbose, long and drawn out praise of some writers of his liking, such as Blaise Cendrars and Lou Jacobs. I really, really cannot deal with intelligent men who cannot see the ridicule of worshipping someone. One loses all sense of reality when one decides to make an idol of other person just because their work (or deeds) please them. Miller does exactly that here, and he somehow looked as a very immature person, even considering the fact that he's widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the last century.

I hope I don't feel as disappointed by his actual books as I was disappointed by his digressions here.

ياالله
وأخيرا انتهى مشواري مع هذا الكتاب
٤٥٠ صفحة
قرأتها خلال ٣ أشهر!
احترت في عدد نجماته
والمنصف أنها ٢،٥
عشا مع صفحاته الجميلة وتجلياته الساحرة أوقاتا ثمينة
أما إسهابات ميللر في سرد مئات الأسماء من الكتّاب والكتب التي لا أملك عنها أدنى فكرة فقد شعرت بأن الملل قد قتلني أثناءها
في رأيي لو كان لي من الأمر شيء
لاقتطفت أقل من ٢٠ صفحة من هذا الكتاب
هي التي تكفي من يريد قراءته فقط لاغير
ربما تكون لي عودة مع اقتباسات متنوعة منحته نجمتين ونصف
أقول ربما
لأنني توقفت عن إعطاء وعود لا أستطيع الوفاء بها
:)
أول كتاب أكمله في ٢٠١٦
والقادم إن شاءالله أجمل

يستعرض ميللر كما هو واضح من عنوان الكتاب الكتب التي أثرت فيه وساهمت في تنمية خياله استعراضا تفصيليا بحيث يذكر بطبيعة الحال العنوان ،الكاتب وبأي لغة قرأه وملخص واحيانا يتعدى ذلك بحيث يذكر الاحداث التى صاحبت قرائته وحالته اثناء قرائته ،كما يستعرض الكتاب الذين أثروا فيه وفي نظرته للحياة بشكل خاص جان جيونو Jean Giono وبليز سندرار Blaise Cendrars ما يوضح شغفة بالأدب الفرنسي كما لا يخفي اعجابه بالادباء الروس كـ تولستوي Tolstoï، تشيخوف Tchekhov وولعه الشديد بــ Dostoïevski رغم انه لم يخصص له فصل خاص مثل مافعل مع الكتاب الفرنسيين واكتفى بسرد مقارنة بينه وبين الشاعر الأمريكي Whitman أو ربما كان ينوي ان يخصص له فصلا كاملا في الاجزاء الاخرى كما كان قد خطط لكن لم تر النور واكتفى بهذا الجزء فقط والعديد العديد من الكتاب والشعراء والفنانين والممثلين وعناوين الكثير الكثير من الكتب .

تجربة ثرية مع الكتب يشاركنا إياها هنري ميللر حيث الكتب في حياته كائنات حية تعيش فيه و يعيش فيها .

أكثر شعور يراودك كعربي أمام هذا الكم الكبير من الكتب و المؤلفين المذكورة أسماءهم في الكتاب هو المرارة جراء غياب الترجمات العربية و أحيانا إنعدامها تماما ، بل هناك أسماء مؤلفين معروفين في بلدانهم لهم عشرات الكتب أسماءهم غائبة تماما عن المحتوى العربي و لا أثر لهم في الويكيبيديا .

أعجبني فيما أعجبني تفسيره للدوافع النفسية التي تجعلنا ننتقي كتبا معينة دون غيرها .

وأخيرا ، في رأيي المتواضع أن هذا النوع من الكتب يؤلفه صاحبه لمعجبيه بالدرجة الأولى الذين يكونون قد قرأوا كل كتبه أو معضمها ليكون شيئا أشبه بالمراجع التي توضع في آخر الكتاب - أو قل آخر المسيرة - لذلك تمنيت لو كنت قرأت بعض كتب هنري ميللر قبل هذا الكتاب حتى أتخلص من شعور "التطفل" الذي لازمني طوال صفحات الكتاب ، حيث شعرت أني أقطف ثمرة لم أتعب قبل أن أستحقها .