#213 | September 2024 Recap: Novel to Film Adaptations, Ancient Japanese Literature, and a Memoir on the Meaning of Life

episode SUMMARY:

Douglas Vigliotti recaps the month of September 2024, discussing the emotional crime novel "Mystic River" by Dennis Lehane, the philosophical work "The Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi, the novel and film adaptation of "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk, and the memoir "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi. With quick summaries, insights, and key quotes from the episodes, this recap is a great starter episode for new listeners and readers seeking inspiration. Good books await!

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Welcome back to “Books for Men”, a podcast to inspire more men to read and bring together men who do so as always, with the recap episodes, the first thing that I like to do is send a big thank you to all of you, the listeners. I appreciate you more than you realize, and I wanted to remind you that if you are a regular listener, the number one thing that you could do to support this podcast is to click the subscribe button on whatever podcast platform you listen to it on. This is the number one thing that enables the podcast to get in front of more eyeballs and ears, so I need your support in doing that. Also, if you are interested, this podcast does have a companion newsletter that goes out once a month and rounds up all of the episodes from that month. It's complete with full book and author information, episode summaries, all of my favorite quotes from the books, as well as newsletter-only book recommendations.

(01:13)

So if that sounds like something you are interested in, you could sign up for that on the website BooksforMen.org. All right, so now let's jump into the recap for the month of September 2024. So episode #209 was titled “Mystic River: Why This Dennis Lehane Classic Deserves a Spot on Your Reading List”. So in the episode, I dive into the gritty emotional world of “Mystic River” by Dennis Lehane, a Boston crime novel about friendship, loyalty, and trauma that seamlessly blends drama and mystery. So I also share why the adaptation was so successful to film. It's one of my favorite novel-to-film adaptations. I share another one this month as well. It was a common theme for this month. You'll hear about that in a moment. I also talk about why his distinctive crime-with-heart style is a rarity in today's literary landscape, and ultimately, “Mystic River” is just a masterclass in storytelling, or at least in my mind, and it's a must-read for fans who enjoy thoughtful, yet tragic crime fiction.

(02:31)

One of my favorite quotes from that episode is: “There are threads in our lives. You pull one and everything else gets affected.” Episode #210 was titled “Life Lessons from a Japanese Samurai Who Never Lost a Duel in Over 60 Battles”. So I explore the powerful wisdom of the legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi. In his book, “The Book of Five Rings,” a philosophical work on combat strategy that also offers profound insights applicable to life beyond the battlefield. In the episode, you'll discover how his Zen-like approach to understanding one's opponents can potentially unlock new levels of empathy in your life. This ancient Japanese text unveils timeless lessons on efficiency, adaptability perspective, as I've already alluded to, and probably most importantly, the power of unlearning. One of my favorite quotes from the book is: “Fixation is the way of death. Fluidity is the way of life.”

(03:50)

Episode #211 was titled “From Page to Screen: How ‘Fight Club’ Pushed the Boundaries of Storytelling and Why It Endures”. So as I alluded to just moments ago, it was another one of my favorite novel to film adaptations, and I dive into the cult classic “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk, a transgressive, minimalistic, literary novel that inspired the now iconic film of the same name. I share how this story of an unnamed protagonist battling himself and societal norms became a defining work of nineties art and literature. So I delve into some of the enduring themes of masculinity, mental health, loneliness, and disenchantment, all of which to me make this book and movie even more applicable today than when it was first published. And perhaps there's not a more appropriate novel to share on a podcast titled “Books for Men” because it does tackle the unrest and anxiety of living in the male mind, which as I alluded to, is fervent and alive in today's world.

(05:13)

Although there are many great quotes from the novel and the movie for that matter, one of my favorites is simply, “It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.” And that brings us to episode #212, the final episode of the month—so it was a four-episode month. It is titled “The Limits of Science in Grasping the Human Condition—a Young Doctor on Facing His Own Mortality”. So I discussed the thought-provoking memoir “When Breath Becomes Air” by Paul Kalanithi. He was a neurosurgeon who powerfully explored the profound questions around meaning, purpose, and mortality that arose when he faced his own terminal illness at the young age of 37. So through his deeply personal and eloquent writing, I would say, readers are confronted with existential challenges of what it means to be human in the face of life's fragility. It's more than just a sentimental or sine read, I would say that would be reducing it to something that is trivial in a way and not explorative or deep enough.

(06:36)

This book is a poignant meditation on one of life's most challenging questions, what makes a life worth living? And one of my favorite quotes from the work that I also share in the episode along with many others, is, “Science may provide the most useful way to organize empirical reproducible data, but its power to do so is predicated on its inability to grasp the most central aspects of human life: hope, fear, love, hate, beauty, envy, honor, weakness, striving, suffering, and virtue.” So that concluded the month of September 2024. And as always, if you're interested in any of these books, I highly suggest going back and listening to the corresponding episodes because I dive into greater detail in all of them. Before I wrap this up, I wanted to remind you that the best way to support this podcast is to click that subscribe button on whatever podcast platform you're listening to this on, and also remind you that if you want to connect with me, you can on Instagram @DouglasVigliotti, the only social media that I have. Or by visiting my website, DouglasVigliotti.com.

(07:55)

Lastly, I always like to remind you that if you are interested in listening to some of my work, you can on the podcast “Slightly Crooked: Good Stories, Told Well”, it features two audio books from both of my last works, one being a novel “Tom Collins: A ‘Slightly Crooked’ Novel, and the other being a raw and unorthodox mini memoir titled “mini heartbreaks (or, little poems about life)”. So those are seasons one and two on the podcast. The link for that will be in the show notes. As for this podcast, I want to thank you again for listening and for more information, you could always visit BooksforMen.org.