Ok. Whew.
It took me almost 10 minutes to find this blog again. Thank God Google runs my life.
Over the past few years I've had trouble keeping up with how many books I've read (I'm pretentiously keeping count), so I hope that writing a short review about it will help me remember.
I would like to dedicate them to my friends Yes-I-Get-The-Most-Reading-Done-In-A-Dark-Room-Don't-Tell-My-Mom Book Club member, Yelena and Don't-You-Dare-Tell-Anyone-I-Have-A-Blog Dan.
So this week I read The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. I've read all of Riordan's books and I what I like about them is what I usually like about most YA/Juvie novels, good pace. Kids these days are ADD and I'm an adult who can proudly say, "where is my iPhone?!? I must click something on it now!!". So I can appreciate wanting to keep the readers attention. Short chapters, also a plus.
What really sets it apart though is that it's informative without being preachy. I don't need preachy. I'm a mother-fucking ADD-ult (who reads kid's books). This year I also read a book penned by Riordan, the first novel in The 39 Steps series. Now that, was preachy. Apparently there's a fine line. In The 39 Steps, the children had to solve clues based on the life and history of Ben Franklin. At the end of the book, the next set of clues were to be centralized over Mozart. I cannot pinpoint WHY the facts and learning was so heavy handed in the 39 Steps and not in the Percy Jackson books, but perhaps it was in character development. A know-it-all sister is more likely to bash you over the head with knowledge than for a group of ADHD teens who are scrambling to remember every bit of knowledge about a foe before it destroys them.
The Mark of Athena was a typical good Riordan ride. Plenty of action, character development, and forward motion toward the final battle without skipping over the mini-boss battle on the way. Riordan has really honed his Gladius penning these novels. They are strong, but not overtly formulaic, entertaining without being incendiary, suggestive without crushing the imagination.
The weakness most prominent was the number of characters. Riordan does a fine job recapping what we read last year, but it does take a long time and with 7 major characters and a legion of minor ones (deities both Greek and Roman, bad guys, good guys, satyrs) it gets a little muddy. Riordan does a good job balancing the action between the main characters (each chapter is narrated by one of them) but it's just barely all worked clearly in my brain. By then he had to gloss over some possibly interesting secondary story action in order to build a well paced climax. The secondary characters also get a little under written: a satyr who only wants to kill things and watch mixed martial arts, a set of twin giants who want to be in show business, a too-proud spider. Riordan has a tendency to boil down, possibly too far.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Sunday, June 22, 2008
GUEST BLOG by FIONNEGAN MURPHY
Lamb by Christopher Moore
First I think I should mention that I love when classics are re-imagined. Remixes of songs, mashers, collage art, and modern day fairy tales are among my favorite things. When it comes to re-imagining the classics, you can't get much more classic than the story of Jesus.
Christopher Moore takes up the arduous task of filling in the HUGE time of Christ's life that is not told in the gospels of the New Testament. His vehicle for the story is Biff, Christ's childhood friend. Biff is the person in Jesus' life that God gives him to watch his back, clean up his messes, and kick a little ass when he has to. Biff lies, cheats, fights, and helps guide the Messiah as he travels to find each of the three wise men who visited him on his birth. Their objective? To teach Jesus how to be the Messiah properly.
While Jesus is learning how to perform his miracles, find peace in his own soul, and heal the world around him Biff is learning how to make explosives, poisons, and fight with the best of the Kung Fu masters of the East. A better bodyguard for the son of God couldn't be found.
The story is funny and touching and written in a very grounded and refreshingly non-poetic manner. Biff swears and fights with Jesus constantly over women, money, food, and just about any other vice that there is. But the two friends are inseparable and it is clear that without him Jesus wouldn't have been more than another murdered Jew in a Roman occupied country.
The book is not meant to be scripture, it is just fun to think about. Despite that, I think that Christopher Moore does a good job creating a very realistic world around the two travelers.
On a scale from 1 to "HOLY CRAP THAT WAS LIFE CHANGING!" I give this one a thumbs up and an "Atta boy. You should check this out."
Special thanks to Leia for supplying the book. You're the best.
I will post another blog as soon as I finish The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I'm 3.7/7 books in.
Keep reading, Leia & Fionn
First I think I should mention that I love when classics are re-imagined. Remixes of songs, mashers, collage art, and modern day fairy tales are among my favorite things. When it comes to re-imagining the classics, you can't get much more classic than the story of Jesus.
Christopher Moore takes up the arduous task of filling in the HUGE time of Christ's life that is not told in the gospels of the New Testament. His vehicle for the story is Biff, Christ's childhood friend. Biff is the person in Jesus' life that God gives him to watch his back, clean up his messes, and kick a little ass when he has to. Biff lies, cheats, fights, and helps guide the Messiah as he travels to find each of the three wise men who visited him on his birth. Their objective? To teach Jesus how to be the Messiah properly.
While Jesus is learning how to perform his miracles, find peace in his own soul, and heal the world around him Biff is learning how to make explosives, poisons, and fight with the best of the Kung Fu masters of the East. A better bodyguard for the son of God couldn't be found.
The story is funny and touching and written in a very grounded and refreshingly non-poetic manner. Biff swears and fights with Jesus constantly over women, money, food, and just about any other vice that there is. But the two friends are inseparable and it is clear that without him Jesus wouldn't have been more than another murdered Jew in a Roman occupied country.
The book is not meant to be scripture, it is just fun to think about. Despite that, I think that Christopher Moore does a good job creating a very realistic world around the two travelers.
On a scale from 1 to "HOLY CRAP THAT WAS LIFE CHANGING!" I give this one a thumbs up and an "Atta boy. You should check this out."
Special thanks to Leia for supplying the book. You're the best.
I will post another blog as soon as I finish The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I'm 3.7/7 books in.
Keep reading, Leia & Fionn
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Flash Blog! Four Books! One Post!
My dear readers, thank you for waiting so long for a post! I love you!
I've got four great books for you that I've read over the month since we last talked!
The Blithedale Romance by: Nathaniel Hawthorne
If you've graduated high school you've read The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne's most renowned novel. But, if you've read other Hawthorne, you know he's so much more! TSL hardly taps into his dark creativity. You get glimmers of it, but nothing like his short stories. After reading Danielewski, you see where Hawthorne could have been his forefather and mentor. The Blithedale Romance gives you a little more of his creep. About three enigmatic people observed by a friend, the poet Coverdale, as they all try to begin a socialist based farming community. Hollingsworth and Prisiclla hover around mysterious Zenobia. Hawthorne mixes a simple love triangle with mysticism, death, and magic.
If you are short on time and want to get a hit of Hawthorne, pick a book of his short stories. My favorites are The Artist of the Beautiful, Young Goodman Brown, and Rappaccini's Daughter.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
This book was this years winner of the Pulitzer for Fiction and for very good reasons! If you are familiar with McCarthy's books or just movies based from his books (All the Pretty Horses and No Country for Old Men) you expect bloody gore. This book isn't short on suspense but on the gore. Beautifully written, you are sucked into a post apocalyptic America following a man and his son. They are continuously scrounging for food and safety when everything burned and scavenged. They refused to abide by the new law of the land: cannibalism, where men impregnate women to eat the baby, they are in constant fear for the boys life. It's a delicate balance for the man to give his son a safe place to be without worries and how to teach him to be safe in a world that would do horrible things to him before eating him.
Now don't think this is a zombie book, it's a beautiful story about survival and the depths of mankind. If I had a rating system, this one would get the highest rating.
Naked by: David Sedaris
This guy is hilarious. Do those things really happen? Is his family really like that? You betcha. Sedaris' books are usually written in short story format. This book is no different with it's fill of whores, Jesus freaks, quadriplegics, and crazy old ladies. I recommend listening to Sedaris' books on tape. Much funnier to hear him read you stories that you wouldn't believe.
The Cheese Monkeys by: Chip Kidd
This is the book for anyone who remembers their first year of college, especially if they were an art major. This is the story about guy who thinks that an art major at State University is the way to go. He has the craziest teachers, like the one who pours water on her angry cat so the class can do speed sketches. He makes the weirdest friends: the southern belle Maybelle Lee and the drawing, daring, and adventurous Himillsy. His life is as normal as any until he is stuck taking Intro to Graphic Design. This is no ordinary art class, no ordinary teacher, and no ordinary assignments. It pushes him to see his world like he never could and figure out where his life is going.
If you would like to be reminded of your first year of college in a way that makes you say, "Thank god that isn't me" or "It happen's just like that". This book is for you. The Cheese Monkeys is also got some interesting typography that makes the book even more fun to read. I give it a high score!
I've got four great books for you that I've read over the month since we last talked!
The Blithedale Romance by: Nathaniel Hawthorne
If you've graduated high school you've read The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne's most renowned novel. But, if you've read other Hawthorne, you know he's so much more! TSL hardly taps into his dark creativity. You get glimmers of it, but nothing like his short stories. After reading Danielewski, you see where Hawthorne could have been his forefather and mentor. The Blithedale Romance gives you a little more of his creep. About three enigmatic people observed by a friend, the poet Coverdale, as they all try to begin a socialist based farming community. Hollingsworth and Prisiclla hover around mysterious Zenobia. Hawthorne mixes a simple love triangle with mysticism, death, and magic.
If you are short on time and want to get a hit of Hawthorne, pick a book of his short stories. My favorites are The Artist of the Beautiful, Young Goodman Brown, and Rappaccini's Daughter.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
This book was this years winner of the Pulitzer for Fiction and for very good reasons! If you are familiar with McCarthy's books or just movies based from his books (All the Pretty Horses and No Country for Old Men) you expect bloody gore. This book isn't short on suspense but on the gore. Beautifully written, you are sucked into a post apocalyptic America following a man and his son. They are continuously scrounging for food and safety when everything burned and scavenged. They refused to abide by the new law of the land: cannibalism, where men impregnate women to eat the baby, they are in constant fear for the boys life. It's a delicate balance for the man to give his son a safe place to be without worries and how to teach him to be safe in a world that would do horrible things to him before eating him.
Now don't think this is a zombie book, it's a beautiful story about survival and the depths of mankind. If I had a rating system, this one would get the highest rating.
Naked by: David Sedaris
This guy is hilarious. Do those things really happen? Is his family really like that? You betcha. Sedaris' books are usually written in short story format. This book is no different with it's fill of whores, Jesus freaks, quadriplegics, and crazy old ladies. I recommend listening to Sedaris' books on tape. Much funnier to hear him read you stories that you wouldn't believe.
The Cheese Monkeys by: Chip Kidd
This is the book for anyone who remembers their first year of college, especially if they were an art major. This is the story about guy who thinks that an art major at State University is the way to go. He has the craziest teachers, like the one who pours water on her angry cat so the class can do speed sketches. He makes the weirdest friends: the southern belle Maybelle Lee and the drawing, daring, and adventurous Himillsy. His life is as normal as any until he is stuck taking Intro to Graphic Design. This is no ordinary art class, no ordinary teacher, and no ordinary assignments. It pushes him to see his world like he never could and figure out where his life is going.
If you would like to be reminded of your first year of college in a way that makes you say, "Thank god that isn't me" or "It happen's just like that". This book is for you. The Cheese Monkeys is also got some interesting typography that makes the book even more fun to read. I give it a high score!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
GUEST BLOG by FIONNEGAN MURPHY
When deciding to read Mark Z. Danielewski one must be prepared for a thought provoking, intense, and hopefully exciting read. It will not be a relaxing escape. Mr. Danielewski writes books so that his readers will learn how to read the world around them better. They are challenging works that break down the standard rules to which novels adhere. He uses unusual typography to break down the way words are placed upon the page, and even uses color. The effect is a new and exciting way of reading that gives important meaning and moves the story in a bold and adventurous way.
House of Leaves, for example, is a series of stories weaved amongst one another. Our narrator (whose voice we hear in footnotes) has stumbled upon a manuscript that is in pieces. He decides to put the story back together. The result is that we get the original manuscript, the narrator’s thoughts as he’s putting the book together, and the footnotes from the original author of the manuscript. The beauty of this piece is the complex way that each story intertwines. It can be argued that the narrator’s story is at the beginning of a similar right of passage to the main character in the manuscript.
The other wonderful thing is that in the end are letters from the narrator’s mother and a series of poems that inspired House of Leaves. The book is more frightening as I look back on what transpired that I felt as I read it, but I know people who were terrified as they went through. It is also beautifully romantic, in a strange and hidden way. I find this kind of romance to be really satisfying. It isn’t too saccharine or overplayed. The romance you find, however, is strong and smart. Also, upon reading it a second time (with a notebook nearby) I have found a lot of very smart historical and mythological research that is shown clearly AND disguised throughout.
His other books are Only Revolutions and The Fifty Year Sword (T50YS), Both of which are equally as interesting and well written as House of Leaves, but in different ways. Mr. Danielewski is continuing to search for new ways of telling stories by writing them down. T50YS is about revenge, hate, forgiveness, and love. It’s a great ghost story with delightful imagery. Only Revolutions is about two sixteen year old kids who are in love and immortal. They’re sent here to destroy the world. Can their love prevent the destruction of everything, or will the world collapse under the friction of their speed?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Book Review: Christopher Durang Explains It All For You
Do you like twisted comedies? You like beating up people? Do you hate Catholicism? Do you love Sigourney Weaver? Then you will love Christopher Durang Explains It All For You.
This book is a compilation of six of Christopher Durang's plays: "The Nature and Purpose of the Universe", "'Dentity Crisis", "Titanic", "The Actor's Nightmare", "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You", and "Beyond Therapy". In reading through the plays in order they were presented, I noticed that the plays were becoming more "normal" or I was going "crazy".
"The Nature, etc, etc, etc" is a play about an f-ed up family and religion. There are agents of God who play most of the extraneous characters (even hookers) and the Mann family. The mother, Eleanor is continually beaten upon by her sons and husband. It's not supposed to be funny, but it is. We are supposed to feel sorry for Eleanor, and we do. Reading this play made me horrified at myself and that someone could write something so mean. Everyone in Eleanor's life walks all over her and kicks her ass. She has such a horrible life and wants to die until she is told by one of the agents of God that he is coming back to rescue her. I don't know if I should tell you if she escapes her horrible life. Redeeming Quality: I've never seen ass-kicking so vividly described and it makes you feel like you lived a normal life.
"Dentity Crisis" is the only play of this series that I've seen produced and I really enjoyed it. The audience is met with Jane, a young girl who has just tried to kill herself. We pity her. Then we meet her mother. Her mother, Edith Formage, invented cheese in France, she invents banana bread in front of your eyes by jamming a banana into several slices of bread. Then we meet Jane's brother/father/grandfather/lover, Robert. He is my favorite part and is a great character for any comedy actor. Durang writes this part so well that it is easy to delineate who the actor is protraying. Oh, by the way, Edith and Robert are lovers, in almost every form that he takes (gross). Then finally we meet Jane's therapist who has a sex change with his wife. No one believes Jane that none of this is normal, she is stuck in a cyclone of crazy. Does she get out? Redeeming Quality: The character of Robert. Extremely well written. Makes you feel like you're not crazy (unless you are, then you feel more crazy.) A fun, short read.
"Titanic" is the most sexually overt plays of the collection. Durang himself was known to burlesque his heart out, so it only makes sense. The play takes place on the Titanic. Everyone sleeps with everyone even if they are in the same family, or not. It's very confusing keeping track of Lidia's character and who she really is. Is she the daughter, the lesbian lover, the baby's mama, or the son's girlfriend? Obscuring the lines is something that Durang obviously likes to do in his plays, obviously just to mess with us or to make a statement. Lidia carries an animal in her vagina, too. Yes, he goes there: she feeds it. The Captain has may scenes with a dildo strapped to his face. This play is rated R. Redeeming Quality: The Captain's wife (who we never see) keeps running around the ship playing a sound cue record of ships hitting icebergs. Funny.
"The Actor's Nightmare": ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLAYS and most popular of Durang's works (it's normal-like too!) George Spelvin is an understudy, but he doesn't remember being an understudy. He just appears in a theater with no notion of how he got there, but everyone recognizes him. In the course of the show, he plays four different leading men, not knowing anything but basic, common knowledge of the plays. This is a wonderful role. I also love this play because there is a stage manager as a character. You can tell that Durang has fun writing this and poking fun at Noel Coward, Shakespeare, and Samuel Beckett. This play is extremely short and very witty. I recommend it. Redeeming Quality: Every single word of it. It's wonderful.
"Sister Mary Ignatious" is Durang's poke at Catholicism. We're at a presentation made by Sister. We meet Thomas her Catechism student. We see how brainwashed he is. We meet some old students and see how they turned out. No so good. They turn on Sister. I was kind of turned off by this play, but that could just my natural aversion to religion. Since I didn't grow up Catholic I think I miss a lot of what Durang is trying to say, unless of course it's, "religion can brainwash you". Redeeming Qualities: Sister is a great role for an older woman. The ending is quite surprising.
LASTLY, "Beyond Therapy": yet again, a lackluster play. This one is focused at relationships and therapy. What is healthy? What is normal? What are the boundaries between patient and doctor? How does a relationship function, basically? Why is a waiter never around when you need one? This play is about two people who go to therapy and meet each other through a personal ad. This play is about taking control of who you are and who you want to be. I wasn't very impressed or amused. Redeeming Quality: One of the therapists barks. (Crazy.)
All in all I will say this collection is interesting. It grossed me out. It bored me. It made me giggle. Made me want a cookie. That's not to bad. Also, Durang includes, with almost every play, his helpful hints about how to make the show a success. That's nice of him.
In a Nutshell: Borrow it from me and read "'Dentity Crisis" and "The Actor's Nightmare". Unless you're a crazy person or in a mental institution, then read all the others.
This book is a compilation of six of Christopher Durang's plays: "The Nature and Purpose of the Universe", "'Dentity Crisis", "Titanic", "The Actor's Nightmare", "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You", and "Beyond Therapy". In reading through the plays in order they were presented, I noticed that the plays were becoming more "normal" or I was going "crazy".
"The Nature, etc, etc, etc" is a play about an f-ed up family and religion. There are agents of God who play most of the extraneous characters (even hookers) and the Mann family. The mother, Eleanor is continually beaten upon by her sons and husband. It's not supposed to be funny, but it is. We are supposed to feel sorry for Eleanor, and we do. Reading this play made me horrified at myself and that someone could write something so mean. Everyone in Eleanor's life walks all over her and kicks her ass. She has such a horrible life and wants to die until she is told by one of the agents of God that he is coming back to rescue her. I don't know if I should tell you if she escapes her horrible life. Redeeming Quality: I've never seen ass-kicking so vividly described and it makes you feel like you lived a normal life.
"Dentity Crisis" is the only play of this series that I've seen produced and I really enjoyed it. The audience is met with Jane, a young girl who has just tried to kill herself. We pity her. Then we meet her mother. Her mother, Edith Formage, invented cheese in France, she invents banana bread in front of your eyes by jamming a banana into several slices of bread. Then we meet Jane's brother/father/grandfather/lover, Robert. He is my favorite part and is a great character for any comedy actor. Durang writes this part so well that it is easy to delineate who the actor is protraying. Oh, by the way, Edith and Robert are lovers, in almost every form that he takes (gross). Then finally we meet Jane's therapist who has a sex change with his wife. No one believes Jane that none of this is normal, she is stuck in a cyclone of crazy. Does she get out? Redeeming Quality: The character of Robert. Extremely well written. Makes you feel like you're not crazy (unless you are, then you feel more crazy.) A fun, short read.
"Titanic" is the most sexually overt plays of the collection. Durang himself was known to burlesque his heart out, so it only makes sense. The play takes place on the Titanic. Everyone sleeps with everyone even if they are in the same family, or not. It's very confusing keeping track of Lidia's character and who she really is. Is she the daughter, the lesbian lover, the baby's mama, or the son's girlfriend? Obscuring the lines is something that Durang obviously likes to do in his plays, obviously just to mess with us or to make a statement. Lidia carries an animal in her vagina, too. Yes, he goes there: she feeds it. The Captain has may scenes with a dildo strapped to his face. This play is rated R. Redeeming Quality: The Captain's wife (who we never see) keeps running around the ship playing a sound cue record of ships hitting icebergs. Funny.
"The Actor's Nightmare": ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLAYS and most popular of Durang's works (it's normal-like too!) George Spelvin is an understudy, but he doesn't remember being an understudy. He just appears in a theater with no notion of how he got there, but everyone recognizes him. In the course of the show, he plays four different leading men, not knowing anything but basic, common knowledge of the plays. This is a wonderful role. I also love this play because there is a stage manager as a character. You can tell that Durang has fun writing this and poking fun at Noel Coward, Shakespeare, and Samuel Beckett. This play is extremely short and very witty. I recommend it. Redeeming Quality: Every single word of it. It's wonderful.
"Sister Mary Ignatious" is Durang's poke at Catholicism. We're at a presentation made by Sister. We meet Thomas her Catechism student. We see how brainwashed he is. We meet some old students and see how they turned out. No so good. They turn on Sister. I was kind of turned off by this play, but that could just my natural aversion to religion. Since I didn't grow up Catholic I think I miss a lot of what Durang is trying to say, unless of course it's, "religion can brainwash you". Redeeming Qualities: Sister is a great role for an older woman. The ending is quite surprising.
LASTLY, "Beyond Therapy": yet again, a lackluster play. This one is focused at relationships and therapy. What is healthy? What is normal? What are the boundaries between patient and doctor? How does a relationship function, basically? Why is a waiter never around when you need one? This play is about two people who go to therapy and meet each other through a personal ad. This play is about taking control of who you are and who you want to be. I wasn't very impressed or amused. Redeeming Quality: One of the therapists barks. (Crazy.)
All in all I will say this collection is interesting. It grossed me out. It bored me. It made me giggle. Made me want a cookie. That's not to bad. Also, Durang includes, with almost every play, his helpful hints about how to make the show a success. That's nice of him.
In a Nutshell: Borrow it from me and read "'Dentity Crisis" and "The Actor's Nightmare". Unless you're a crazy person or in a mental institution, then read all the others.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
This Blog is Now on Myspace!
Don't fret! I'll still be here, but I will also be posting this blog on my myspace in the effort to get more readers and more discussion going! It sucks to be doing double duty, but this is the sacrifice I will make for my new hobby!
So if you would like to read my blog while surfing myspace, head to: www.myspace.com/tekiaustin
So if you would like to read my blog while surfing myspace, head to: www.myspace.com/tekiaustin
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Commenting on Comments!
My good friend Travis said this:
So that's two votes for books on tape/CD and David Sedaris. Now Travis, are you the reason that Life of Pi didn't work when I checked it out?!? ::glare?:: About Summerland, although I've only read Kavalier & Clay, I do know that Summerland was written as a children's books, so then the stories might have been up a different kind of literary road, i.e. simpler, easier plot lines to follow. Plus, Wonder Boys was made into a movie, which means it had to be pretty good. Have you seen the movie? What did you think? I feel a future post coming up about books to movies.
So that's two votes for books on tape/CD and David Sedaris. Now Travis, are you the reason that Life of Pi didn't work when I checked it out?!? ::glare?:: About Summerland, although I've only read Kavalier & Clay, I do know that Summerland was written as a children's books, so then the stories might have been up a different kind of literary road, i.e. simpler, easier plot lines to follow. Plus, Wonder Boys was made into a movie, which means it had to be pretty good. Have you seen the movie? What did you think? I feel a future post coming up about books to movies.
- Fionn said this:
I don't think you're sad. I think you're happy and spunky. I thought you were sad at the time. I really enjoy reading Neil Gaiman and Mark Z. Danielewski. What do you recommend to someone who enjoys a good fantasy story?
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I'm going to give another vote for books on tape/CD.
I made it through Life of Pi commuting to/from SU however long ago and Summerland on the way back from visiting Lesley in Mississippi. It is amazing how much I loved Wonder Boys and how much I hated Summerland.
A vote for Sedaris too. Quite amusing.