Reading Update

Listened to this mellow recording of Whitman’s Song of Myself. (Yes, it gave me more clues to Cain’s Jawbone, but it was also nice to listen to.)

The Egyptian Book Of The Dead

That collection of funerary texts. Didn’t fully follow everything, but I liked the “different texts covering the same part of the underworld journey” aspect, and that parts of said journey involved declaring yourself to be various gods - the deceased is identified with Osiris throughout, but I hadn’t expected that to be extended to other gods. My favorite of the lines telling the crocodile to piss off: “I am safe by reason of my charm; my fist is among the flowers and I will not give it unto thee.”

Bonus egyptian god family tree from the internet

My Nantah Story by Tan Kok Chiang

In 1953, a private Chinese-language university was created in Singapore - Nanyang University, commonly known as Nantah. In 1980, the government merged it with the University of Singapore. This book, written by an early alumnus, covers the history of Nantah’s creation and its demise, with a goal of highlighting Nantah’s accomplishments in contrast with the government narratives and interference with it.

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Empress Of The World by Sara Ryan

Breezy f/f YA, enjoyed spending a day with some smart stupid teenagers and their shenanigans at nerd summer camp, complete with the protagonist’s need to over-analyze. The three bonus comic stories at the end of my library copy were sweet too.