March 2018 – Page 2 – Muse with Me

www_wednesdays

WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

TheLordoftheRings I’ve still got a lot to go of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, but I’m making my way favourably enough through The Fellowship of the Ring portion. I will hopefully have that done by next week. The fellowship has formed and they are all making there way out of Rivendell, and that couldn’t come soon enough. I can appreciate the lore and backstory built out to a point, but the Council of Elrond went on for quite a long time. I have a feeling my experience is going to fluctuate like this throughout my reading; from enjoying the plot movement and progression to growing weary with the restful periods, unless the pacing changes as their quest goes further along.

Recently Finished

Nothing this week!

Reading Next

FragmentsOfHorror Probably going to start reading Skeleton Crew by Stephen King soon after all, though its stories are not as consistently brief as I would have liked. At the onset is “The Mist” which is over 180 pages long, so it’s a novella in its own right. Some are pretty short, however, so I do want to start it as a supplemental read. I’ll try my best not to have it usurp my priorities. Other than that, I’m likely going to start reading Fragments of Horror by Junji Ito soon. It’s another collection of short stories, about half the length of Shiver, so it should make for a good light reprieve from Lord of the Rings.

Summary

Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl’s theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos (“meaning”)-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.

After watching a short biography on Viktor Frankl I was fascinated by his life story and sought out Man’s Search for Meaning to learn more about his experiences and his theories on psychology. I was particularly drawn to the notion of meaningful suffering and understanding suffering as something as much a part of life as the positive things. It’s also hard not to be compelled by the question of how someone could find meaning to their life in a situation as dire as a Nazi concentration camp. I saw the book not just as an opportunity to learn, but also gain a new perspective on life for myself.Read More »