Monday, November 10, 2008

Hooked

On books.

Yeah, I've rediscovered the joy of reading books. Not that I stopped reading. But in this age of computers, internet, ebooks and audiobooks, I did miss the feeling of flipping pages instead of clicking buttons.

There is a certain kind of relaxation that reading an actual book can give. And once you turn that last page of a really good one, heaven.

The other week, I did a spending spree at a book sale and took home a couple of titles. I'm almost done with the third book and this got me hooked again on Dune.

For many sci-fi followers, Frank Herbert's Dune series is like one of THE books to read. Through Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune, Herbert created a new universe and spawned the saga of the Atreides, Harkonnens, Bene Gesserits, the Spacing Guild, the Fremen and a host of other memorable characters.

After his death, Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson wrote more Dune novels that were basically background stories that set the stage for Dune – the trilogy Prelude to Dune and the Legends of Dune, also a trilogy.

There are some who even philosophize passages in the book that, when one thinks about it, do have some truth or at the very least, some points to ponder especially on the workings of religion and the impacts of ecology to human.

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

This is probably the most-quoted line of Dune. Called the Litany of Fear, I am not really sure if saying it over and over again can indeed make one face its fear. But it is somehow a comforting perspective on the topic.

I am a Dune addict. Like most Dune characters are with melange.

After Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune – said to be the climax – I'm not sure what else will be there to write about it. But as it is fiction, it can really go on forever depending on the author's imagination.

Where will it lead to?

Paul Muad' Dib did say that to know the future is to be trapped by it. And who would want to?

13 comments:

lucas said...

i still enjoy reading and flipping than clicking the mouse too :)

this books sounds really cool eh?

i miss reading novels..hays..

peace out!

the boomerang kid said...

i was already in college when i read dune and yes, na-adik ako agad sa kanya. took me about 10 years to find and read all the books in the series.

still a few years later i saw the movie (directed by david lynch yata, if i remember correctly). naloka ako kasi para ang buong movie ay bangag: parang tumira sila ng melange. si irulan (a young virginia madsen) lang yata ang tugma sa imagination ko.

haven't read any of the new (post-frank herbert) dune books. oki ba?

jericho said...

@ron: nothing sop far beats reading the old-fashioned way ;)
@zen: i'll put it like this: the first 6 Dune books were superb. The prequels toned down on some of the philosophical discourse and concentrated more on narrating the story. maybe because they wanted to answer more on questions like how did the BG, the spacing guild, the atreides-harkonnen conflict, etc start. at the very least, they are entertaining.

KRIS JASPER said...

I hope you have also read my children's storybooks(?)

Im hooked with V-logging now.

And hooking with A, of course (wink wink)

lol.

[G] said...

you forgot to mention that you are also hooked on the guy who sells these books. chos!

Gayzha said...

I have also been a Frank Herbert Fan... and I have memorized that Litany of Fear! Very bayotic kasi siya and your imagination just runs free!

I thought it would be sooo cool to be a Bene Gesserit member ... Jessica! Kwizaq Zadirac (ba?)

Anonymous said...

ebook naman ngayon ang pinagdidiskitahan ko.. kasalukayan kong ineenjoy ang lolita

Anonymous said...

sosyal. buti naman you till have time reading stuff.

musta ka na kapatid, di na tayo nagtatagpo sa ym. lagi na busy...

ingat lagi! ^_^

Dabo said...

Mabuhay! From the Philiiiiippppines!

Dabo said...

ay wala pa la akong comment..

grabe ang tagal ko ng di nagbabasa ng mga libro huhuhu.. nakakainggit ka naman, pahook hook ka na lang..

the boomerang kid said...

hmn... isa pa naman sa nagustuhan ko sa dune series ay ang tuma-tumbling na diskurso on philosophy and religion... yun ang nagre-resonate sa aking isipan... pero baka nga worth a look din itong prequels na itetch... will try to look for these titles in my next expedition sa mga bookshops...

i'm currently reading mary called magdalene by margaret george, a fictional (though based on secular research kuno)take on the life of mary magdalene... so far, okay naman sya... hindi naman mala-da vinci code (buti na lang)...

Coldman said...

ay ang boring..

dapat sa iba ka ma-hook! dyuk. =)

Turismoboi said...

nabasa ko din yang hunters of dune