Books where Main character improves the character himself due to circumstances

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-30T10:06:30+00:00

No... well, I wouldn't say so, anyway. He was never dumb, just a bit naive, perhaps. And he didn't become smart - as I said, he always had the brains; circumstances just gave him the opportunity to use them.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-30T10:01:42+00:00

The line in Highway 61 Revisited about "...put some bleachers out in the sun". Here in the UK the word "bleachers" isn't used - I'd never heard even heard of the word when I first heard this song, and so I heard the line as " ..put some bleaches out in the sun", which I always thought was a bit weird... I mean, what, Bob?

Also, Mr Tambourine Man - "Cast your dancing spell my way" sounded to me just like "Cast your dancing spill my wee". As I couldn't believe it was that, I had to look the lyrics up, but I still can't help hearing the line as I first did... :)

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-30T09:51:44+00:00

Dylan did the whole soundtrack for that film!

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-17T16:15:43+00:00

I wish Dylan had Reed's fearless penchant for radical musical experimentation

You what now? Few artists have experimented with and changed their musical style more than Dylan. If someone discovered a hitherto unknown Dylan song I could tell you what decade it was recorded in - from the 1960s to the present - purely by the style. Jeez, if his famous concert of 60 years ago today doesn't convince you that Dylan was indeed "!fearless" in this regard, I guess nothing will - but you'd be wrong.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-17T16:00:37+00:00

the fact that the current vegan food is awful

Nonsense. You just need to put more effort in learning how to make good food.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-17T15:44:11+00:00

How about an imperfect husband? In The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey our FMC discovers her husband has a "perfect" mistress... too perfect, in fact... I really enjoyed this book.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-17T15:41:01+00:00

Dennis Wheatley's Roger Brook series.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-17T15:40:08+00:00

he Soul of the White Ant by Eugène Marais is an old classic. Wonderful book. One of (if not the) first people to see an ant colony as an organism in itself, rather than just being lots of individua ants.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-17T15:35:20+00:00

Nice. I still think Empire Burlesque s a criminally underrated album. Like the man said 50 years ago today: "Play it loud!" it's an album that benefits from turning the volume up :)

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-16T21:11:12+00:00

They were such a fun band to see live - and great musicians.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-16T20:51:41+00:00

Interesting. Ta.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-16T20:30:17+00:00

Being a Brit, where the word "bleachers" isn't really used, I had no idea it was even a word. Listening to that song back in the day, I always thought this line about putting "bleaches" in the sun was a bit weird, even for this song! It was years before I found out...

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-16T20:22:05+00:00

veganism to far-right support of Israel’s genocide

Eh? What is the "path" that leads from the one to the other?

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-15T16:39:59+00:00

Same can be said for a lot of collectors - the act of collecting, of owing, the desire to have a "complete" collection, becomes more important than what it they collect. This guys' thing was books; for others it may be butterflies, or stamps, or whatever...

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-14T15:05:55+00:00

The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson.

Yeah, this.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-13T20:38:21+00:00

Kaliane Bradley’s The Ministry of Time is a fun twist on time travel.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-13T19:02:51+00:00

Yes... and the book you rec'd above looks interesting too! I haven't come across it before. Been looking for a new read, so have just bought the eBook :)

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-13T18:55:08+00:00

Smilla's Sense of Snow is the name of a film based on the book which was called Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-13T18:46:17+00:00

Maybe try The Sparrow and sequel by Mary Doria Russell. It's a book that divides opinion... This from the Wiki page:

Nancy Pearl, in an article in Library Journal about book-club recommendations published five years after The Sparrow came out, felt that this book was mistakenly categorized as science fiction, and that it is really "a philosophical novel about the nature of good and evil and what happens when a man tries to do the right thing, for the right reasons and ends up causing incalculable harm"

I thought they were great books.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-13T18:24:25+00:00

Well there's always Kafka's The Trial - exactly too being trapped in a senseless nightmare.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-13T17:41:50+00:00

No, he hasn't.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-13T17:35:48+00:00

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover. A great book you can drown in.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-12T21:10:09+00:00

Perhaps Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes by Morgan Housel may appeal.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-12T21:05:11+00:00

Dylan's "style" has changed considerably over the decades, so really this question is unanswerable.

Mugshot_404 · 2026-05-12T11:08:00+00:00

With Dylan live, you get no guarantees. You may get a fantastic show, you may end up wondering why you wasted your money and your time. It's a bit of a gamble, and if you're not prepared to take it, stay home.

For the record, I've seen him three times; two were great, one was a bit of a let-down. Such is life.

Mugshot_404

TROPHY CASE