2026 05 Trobada club de lectura en anglès a la Biblioteca.

Aquest passat 08 de maig es varen trobar a la Biblioteca alguns dels membres del club de lectura en anglès. Parlen "The Unterthered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself" by Michael Alan Singer. Els varem demanar que ens fessin un petit resum i ens han comentat el següent:

"This Friday (May 8th 2026) we met to discuss the book The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself  by Michael Alan Singer. A self help book that challenges us to change ourselves for the better by implementing some at first glance, basic simple principles. 

What would it be like to free yourself from limitations and soar beyond your boundaries? What can you do each day to discover inner peace and serenity? The Untethered Soul offers simple yet profound answers to these questions. 

Like the majority of books in this genre, there is so much that can be taken and applied towards our daily lives. The author really drives the point home throughout the book what is to be consciously aware (the conscious Self) versus the psyche. These are two very different aspects which people often conflate when describing "who am I?"

Once we truly grasp this separation and understand where we sit in ourselves, we can then take back control of our lives in a substantial way. Plenty of us deal with this persistent voice in our head, commenting on everything we do or interact with. As Singer would teach us, this voice is not who we are. It's a fundamental part of taking the first step in loosening the burden of life and pursuing true happiness.

While this all sounds wonderful, who wouldn't want to experience eternal bliss while silencing the anxious/fearful/critical noise in our minds i.e. psyche. 

Unfortunately as the group began to dissect the chapters more and share their own attempts, things quickly began to fall apart. Ultimately while presenting as a very simple manuscript towards enlightenment, this simplicity becomes a double edge sword. 

The unanimous opinion is that the text is too simple so that its not practical and/or without real answers. Answers like how to deal with situations that a newcomer may face when taking on the paramount task of unburdening oneself from oneself. We are told we are the only thing getting in our way and somewhat left to our own devices when its all said and down. The way Singer writes is very Black and White as far as life is concerned with no concern for the nuisances life presents. 

I must reiterate there are many inspiring, thought-provoking points throughout the book. However our group couldn't ignore the veil of a guru selling snake oil. Amongst the group we even began to discuss similarities to American Christian Evangelical preaching. Our deep dive left us with more questions than when we started and perhaps that's exactly what Singer was going for. While that does not inherently make this a bad read it does not feel genuine. Especially not when it is consistently told to the reader how utterly simple this entire process of discovering inner peace is.

I will say in isolation there are chapters that do help us to think differently and counteract the psyche. And judging from the overwhelming admiration for this book online, it's clear Singer's words have helped several. For our group it just missed the mark. We're aware he's continued with another in the series, perhaps we'll review that someday. Who knows life can be strange like that sometimes.

        William Loyd"

2026 03 Club de Lectura en anglès a la Biblioteca

El proppassat 06/03/26 el club de lectura en anglès es varen trovar a la Biblioteca per parlar de Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder. Aquest és el resum que ens han fet arribar de la seva trobada!

 

"Our book club session on Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder generated a lively and thoughtful discussion. The book provoked strong reactions, both because of its reassessment of George Orwell's marriage to Eileen O'Shaughnessy and because of the way Funder constructs her narrative.

Funder's central aim is to challenge the way literary history has traditionally been written. In many biographies of Orwell, Eileen appears frequently but is rarely treated as a person in her own right. Instead, she is often reduced to the vague role of "his wife." Wifedom attempts to redress this imbalance by reconstructing Eileen's life from scattered fragments of evidence and examining how her presence has been minimised or overlooked in the historical record.

One particularly interesting element of the book is the discovery of six letters that Eileen wrote to her friend Norah Myles. These letters only came to light in 2005, long after many of the major Orwell biographies had already been published. They reveal a witty, ironic and perceptive voice that contrasts sharply with the almost invisible figure presented in earlier accounts. In one letter written shortly after her marriage in 1936, Eileen reports that Orwell had been irritated that their wedding interrupted his work and jokes that she planned to write to everyone once the "murder or separation had been accomplished." Moments such as this allow readers to glimpse Eileen's humour, intelligence and emotional resilience.

As readers, many of us experienced a gradual shift in our emotional response as the narrative unfolded. While Orwell's literary reputation remains immense, Funder's portrayal of his private life left some readers feeling increasingly uneasy. The husband who emerges from the narrative can appear emotionally distant, neglectful and at times insensitive. In contrast, Eileen gradually becomes a far more compelling figure. Funder portrays her as intelligent, witty, resilient and perceptive—someone whose intellectual companionship and emotional support were deeply intertwined with Orwell's life and work.

At the same time, several members of the group found the narrative quite dense. As the book progresses, Funder increasingly inserts her own reflections on the research process. She describes the excitement of discovering new material, the frustration of working with incomplete archives and the anger she feels when Eileen is dismissed or ignored in earlier biographies. Because Funder's voice becomes increasingly interwoven with the narrative, some readers occasionally struggled to distinguish clearly between historical evidence, interpretative reconstruction and the author's own perspective.

Despite these reservations, the group agreed that Wifedom raises important questions about how literary reputations are constructed and whose contributions are remembered. By drawing attention to the often invisible role of women in the lives of celebrated male writers, the book invites readers to reconsider the enduring myth of the solitary literary genius.

Another theme that emerged during our conversation was the intersection of class and gender in the relationship between Orwell and Eileen. Several members pointed out that Orwell's background as an Eton-educated man seemed to carry with it a certain sense of entitlement. His literary ambitions appear to take precedence over the practical and emotional realities of shared life. This raises broader questions about the extent to which male writers have historically relied on the largely invisible labour, support and sacrifices of women.

Perhaps the most lasting impression from our discussion was the sense that Eileen emerges not as a secondary figure overshadowed by Orwell, but as a thoughtful and complex woman in her own right. Through Funder's reconstruction, she becomes visible as an intelligent, perceptive and courageous individual whose life and voice deserve far greater recognition in literary history."

Moltes gràcies!