First Lines of Jeffrey Kripal's "The Flip"

 "Two impossible true tales.

Scene 1. Twain's Mental Telegraphy. Dressed in his famous white "dontaredam suit," Mark Twain was famous for mocking every orthodoxy and convention, including, it turns out, the conventions of space and time. As he related the events in his diaries, Twain and his brother Henry were working on the riverboat Pennsylvania in June 1858. While they were lying in port in St. Louis, the writer had a most remarkable dream."

Jeffrey J. Kripal, The Flip.

Kripal's book shines a light on a fascinating pattern that doesn't get much attention: individuals who explore inexplicable phenomena (such as the origins of the Big Bang and the implications of quantum theory) often experience sudden and profound shifts in perception. These "flips" lead them to expand their understanding of reality and consciousness, integrating elements of spirituality into their previously scientific worldview.

Kripal argues that this isn't just about materialists turning into spiritualists or scientists finding faith. Instead, he suggests a third way that combines the best of both approaches. His book, supported by deep readings of leading thinkers, philosophers, and scientists, shows how this integration creates a richer, more comprehensive understanding of the universe. Really interesting read!

First lines of Hugh Eakin's "Picasso's War"

 "One afternoon shortly after his forty-first birthday, John Quinn ascended to the top of an undistinguished five-story building on Fifth Avenue. He had come to see the work of an artist who had never been shown in the United States before."

- Hugh Eakin, Picasso's War 

Compelling story of the planning and energy that went into breaking modern art into America. Insightful stories about modern artists, their dealers, and the collectors (well, really just one: John Quinn) that strove to bring the art of Picasso, Braque, et al to the United States. Or, to be more precise, to have this modern art understood by the American public rather than denounced as degenerate. It's hard to imagine pictures arising such passions these days - until you reflect upon the recent trend towards book banning and other censorship and realize that this conservative, puritanical streak has always been part of American society. And, as such, the efforts of Quinn and others are sorely needed to help bring modern ideas and forms into the discussion.

First lines of Jeff Vandermeer's "Bourne"

 "I found Borne on a sunny gunmetal day when the giant bear Mord came roving near our home. To me, Borne was just salvage at first. I didn't know what Borne would mean to us. I couldn't know that we would change everything."

- Borne, by Jeff Vandermeer

I should have loved this book. It's right up my alley: it's set in this harsh, post apocalyptic world where a few plucky survivors eek out a living rummaging through scraps of old technology and evading the dangerous results of genetic experiments gone awry - like Mord, an almost God-like flying bear. Rachel, our protagonist, stumbles upon a mysterious object during a foraging trip, and this is where the book really hits its stride. The object is Bourne, and it's fascinating to see his/her/its transfomration from an object to a pet, then to a strangely human-like cephalopod, and eventually to a childlike weapon. 

And yet. Despite all of these fascinating details, the book left me cold. Rather than marveling at the ineffable mystery of creation like in the Southern Reach books, Bourne tells a tale of people trying to survive in a brutalized world. It was interesting but I felt that the plot's ultimate quest to be a bit trite, his descriptions fascinating but meandering, and the whole thing just too long. 

Don’t get me wrong, VanderMeer is an incredibly talented writer, and I’ll definitely keep exploring his works. But in the end I found Bourne just didn't resonate with me the way his other books have.

 

Despite all these intriguing elements, the book just didn’t do it for me. Unlike VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy, which left me in awe of the mysteries of creation, "Borne" focuses on survival in a shattered world. While it was certainly interesting, I found the plot a bit predictable, the descriptions sometimes wandered too much, and overall, it just felt too long.

 "Borne" is a good book, no doubt about it, but it just didn’t resonate with me the way his other books have.

 

First Lines of Kurt Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions"

 "This is a tale of a meeting of two lonesome, skinny, fairly old white men on a planet which was dying fast.

One of them was a science-fiction write named Kilgore Trout. He was a nobody at the time, and he supposed his life was over. He was mistaken. As a consequence of the meeting, he became one of the most beloved and respected human beings in history.

The man he met was an automobile dealer, a Pontiac dealer named Dwayne Hoover. Dwayne Hoover was on the brink of going insane."

- Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions

This odd book one stands out from the rest of Vonnegut's oeuvre for a few reasons:

• Depressing. Not that Vonnegut's writing contains a lot of positive feelings, but BoC feels particularly grim. Part of it is his meta-commentary about the state of his own life, including his pessimism about writing: "Once I understood what was making America such a dangerous, unhappy nation of people who had nothing to do with real life, I resolved to shun storytelling. ... I would bring chaos to order, instead, which I think I have done. ... It is hard to adapt to chaos, but it can be done. I am living proof of that: it can be done. "
• Drawings. There are a LOT of Vonnegut's drawings in this novel. Too many, in fact. A few make sense but I found so many of them distracting. 
  
• Racism. I don't think Vonnegut is a racist; quite the opposite in fact. Regardless, it's extremely difficult to read his continued use of the N-word - every time it appears it completely took me out of the story.

See Also:  

• Book Review: Kurt Vonnegut's "Bluebeard"
• First Lines of Kurt Vonnegut's "Bluebeard"
  

First Lines of Teju Cole's "Tremors"

"The leaves are glossy and dark and from the dying blooms rises a fragrance that might be jasmine. He sets up the tripod and begins to focus the camera. He has pressed the shutter twice when an aggressive voice calls out from the house on the right. This isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened to him but he is still startled. He takes on a friendly tone and says he is an artist, just photographing a hedge. You can't do that here, the voice says, this is private property. The muscles of his back are tense. He folds the tripod, stows the camera in its bag, and walks away."

- Teju Cole, Tremor. 

The best novels teach you how to read them. It's part of the beauty of the form. Thus, reading a Margaret Atwood is different than readying a Ursula K. LeGuin who is different than reading a Don Delillo or David Mitchell. Each of those authors creates a new reality through their structure and dialog, leading perceptive readers to learn what to pay attention to. This is why good novels are so interesting and powerful; it's like learning how to see through different eyes.

So when I started Tremor, I was patient with the absence of a traditional plot. And as the book continued, I learned that the book is an abstract examination of many things - it's wandering narrative takes in African music, Art bias, relationships, disease, and much more. Narrators change and subjects shift, fiction is blended with non-fiction, and topics that were covered early in the book spiral back to be discussed again. I appreciated how Cole brought these different perceived realities to life, and liked how he helps the reader to see the humanity behind all perceptions. I'll be picking up more of his books soon.