The Kingdom of Awe

A blog about finding the wonder in life

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Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

This Is Why Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is More Awe-Inspiring than Mistborn

It’s a rare book these days that blows me away or leaves me thinking about them for years. That’s why it was such a pleasure reading the Mistborn series and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel. I lost myself so completely to the magic Sanderson and Clarke wove that I often forgot I was reading something a human had made up. Since I read both these books at roughly the same time and enjoyed them so much, it seemed natural to compare the two. Both of them are awesome. But which is the most “awe-inspiring”?

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Wax On, Wax Off with Rumi

In my last post on Rumi I discussed the similarities between the techniques used by Mr. Miyagi to teach Daniel-san how to be a student and Rumi’s own techniques for training the reader how to be open to the Masnavi’s teachings. I made the claim that similar to Mr. Miyagi’s unusual training of Daniel-san, Rumi uses difficult teaching techniques in the Masnavi to (1) test whether his readers have “the right stuff” for spiritual learning, and (2) force his readers to leave behind any preconceived notions they might have, so that they will be open to Rumi’s teachings.

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