Dracula by Bram Stoker

bmhonline.wordpress.com/2018/11/04/bram-stoker-and-his-dracula

The Forest People by Colin M. Turnbull

This is a study of the Mbuti pygmies. "In this book, the British-American anthropologist detailed his three years spent with the community in the late 1950s. The style is informal and accessible. Turnbull contrasts his forest-living subjects' lifestyle with that of nearby town-dwelling Africans and evaluates the interactions of the two groups ... The Forest People was the version for a general readership of Turnbull's academic thesis, which was published in an expanded, more technical form by Routledge in London as Wayward Servants: The Two Worlds of the African Pygmies" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forest_People) which I have subsequently ordered a copy of. I plan to purchase his second book 'The Lonely African' when the price is within my budget.

Also of interest: Green was the Earth on the Seventh Day by Thor Heyerdahl.

Caliban's War by James A. Corey

This is the second book in The Expanse series for which the TV series is based. In the same way the first book's chapters flicked between the perspectives of Holden and Miller, this one flicks between Holden and other key characters, but yes, more of them now, but I got used to that and enjoy this approach.

I originally got a hold of the first book to read in between watching weekly episodes on Netflix, to help me follow the story line and discover the further depth to it all, and there certainly is that in the books. A little frustratingly though, each of the books don't line up entirely with each of the series and some of the sub-plots are out of joint, but then of course directors need some creative licence; when the first series ended I was only half way through the first book, and likewise when I came to finish this second book (which I needed to in order to return it to the library) the second series had long-since finished. I now await the third series knowing what is coming next, but I'm very much enjoying it; the books flow very nicely.

The Psalms - Penguin Classics
 - Translated by Peter Levi and introduced by Nicholas de Lange

This is the first book in The Expanse series for which the TV series is based. I sought out the book because my sister and I were struggling to figure out what was actually going on in the series; the scene kept flicking from one person and place to the next and we were left at the end of each episode asking "what was going on?".

The book is no different, with chapters alternating between Holden and Miller (even when they finally meet up), except on screen we have others (on Earth and even briefly with Julie Mao) where the book is able to explain more without changing the setting, such as showing Miller figuring out what's going on (the audience of the TV's series is perhaps supposed to feel the detective's confusion - clever if intentional).

James A. Corey is the pen name for two authors and I wonder if they each picked a character's perspective. The book has certainly filled me in on what's actually going on; almost presenting a hidden sub plot when in actual fact just about everything necessary is on screen but is perhaps just lost on all but the smartest and fully-attention-giving audience - this isn't a TV show to give half an eye to while you chat on social media with kids running about the place. Until things really start to unfold a good number of episodes in the book really does assist the viewer although some scenes unfold slightly differently; sometimes this has to be expected for things to convert well to screen, but other times (while they arouse my curiosity) changes seem to be done for no other reason than perhaps the director just felt like it. In these instances it is frustrating when reading the book along side watching the TV series, which is what I've been doing, rather than reading the entire book before turning to the screen (as I would normally do).

Having a little break from the books on Freemasonry topics, I chose this to read since I had been watching a video on Youtube about remote viewing (the two topics, alien abductions and remote viewing didn't seem too far removed).

I had read books by Timothy Good before, namely Unearthly Disclosures back in 2008, and Alien Base back in 2003. There was nothing new in this once since it was published back in 1991 but I read through it quickly, indicating it was a good read.

It was suggested to me that this book by the author of the book behind the "Blade Runner" films, was similar to The Truman Show (starring Jim Carrey) and I can only agree. Interestingly, this book's actual date is based in 1998, the same year The Truman Show film was released, although written back in 1959.

Rosslyn by Tim Wallace-Murphy
 - Guardian of the secrets of the Holy Grail

The author, following on from the ideas of an author he co-wrote with, posits that Rosslyn is one of seven significant sites that each represent one of the seven chakras.

Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays by Bertrand Russell

I discovered Russell (a philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer amongst much else) from an episode and DVD extras of Young Indiana Jones. Also of interest from the same is poet/writer Siegfried Sassoon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell

Downloaded 12/03/18

An in depth book looking into what is God, albeit from a Christian perspective. It first asks 'What has happened to God', then explains the various 'Gods', the 'God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob', 'of Jesus', 'Christ and the Church', 'of the Desert', 'Cloud and Darkness', 'Water and Fire', 'in the Flesh', 'The Eucharistic God', 'The God of the Abyss', 'God the Mother', and 'of Justice'. Then finally the author looks forward and presents 'a manifesto' for 'renewed spirituality' based on these 13 themes.

I originally read this book in 2003, but decided it was time for a re-read. Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas make a good team, I found the occasional quirky comments quite amusing and they helped me wade through the vast amounts of historical background which usually cause me to get bogged down in a book of this type and length.

I've been interested in my dreams for as long as I can remember, and while I have often searched online for clues about the meaning of various things I've never had a book about the topic, that was until this Teach Yourself one found its way into my hands.

It covers not only the various types of dreams and how to interpret them, but also includes a simple dictionary in the second half. As is often the case though with this topic, the author often finds herself on the one hand trying to avoid the trap of making wild claims by instead just stating that "in the past they...", "or so-and-so believed", whilst on the other hand claiming that dreams can predict by using such phrases as "should you dream of such-and-such, then you can expect it to happen." While I like to believe that there can be prophetic dreams (and some notable historic cases will try and prove this point), it is my understanding that most of these types of dreams lead the person, in their waking lives, to follow a path suggested by the subconscious in their dream state, either consciously if a dream is recalled, or more subtly subconsciously if not recalled.

Referred to in The Second Messiah

Downloaded 22/03/18

Another interesting lecture/essay by Annie Bessant, the previous one being An Introduction to Yoga.

Downloaded 16/04/17

I read Sitchin's End of Days book back in 2010. I'm not sure what to make of this one.

Downloaded 16/04/17

I read Sitchin's End of Days book back in 2010. I'm not sure what to make of this one.

For this I listened to an audio book version which I found on Youtube.

The Sign and the Seal by Graham Hancock
 - A quest for the lost Ark of the Covenant

I'd forgotten I'd read this book back in 2012, you can read my views of it here. Somehow it had made its way back on my "To Read" pile, perhaps because I later found a copy at a carboot sale after originally borrowing the title from a library.

I had less patience for Hancock's whittling on about what he'd written in his notebook on this occasion but still managed to produce a page of notes of interest my own.