Joe's Top-Five Breakdown 2013 - A contrast in styles

I do not think I have ever read more varied styles of books in one year than I did this year.  The titles just don't seem to belong together at all.  Yet, I also cannot remember a year when I awarded more perfect five-star reviews than I did in 2013.  Some five-star books did not even make my top five.

I read less books than normal, but a lot more pages (an average of 485 per book through 23).  "The Year of The Big Book" has been everything I hoped for even though not at all what I expected.

This time, I'm putting my top five together right at the front.  I loved each of these.

1.  Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace.  I have written a lot about this book.  It deserved all the treatment it got.  It may end up number two on my all-time list (that's where I'm leaning) by surpassing the great War & Peace.  I wrote about Infinite Jest Here, Here, Here, Here and Here.  Jen has described my mood while reading this book as "grumpy" and then revised that to "gloomy."  Fair.  And, it was amazing.  It just isn't something a person can share.  It's a solitary read and maybe one of the most brilliant pieces of work I have experienced.  It is also messed up.  Very messed up.

2.  (tie) The Last Lion No. 1, Visions of Glory; and The Last Lion No. 2, Alone, by William Manchester.  I have written much about this series as well.  Without these two books, I could never have rated IJ so high.  This was my balance, and it was probably the best written biography series I have ever experienced.  I cannot explain how wonderful these books have been. Part three will have to wait until 2014, but I can't wait.  What a fantastic series.  And, I found the following youtube clip that just gets me every time.  When the cranes lower as the boat passes, it gets a little dusty in here.  Just saying.  I may not have even liked Winston Churchill as a person if I would have met him, but I respect that man so much and consider him a hero of mine.

The Last Lion: Alone - Tension Done Right

(This clip is from the movie "The Gathering Storm" and portrays Churchill's moment of return to relevance after he was finally heard on the merits).

The best nonfiction books can be as riveting as the most intense of adventure stories.  And, the very best authors can make something that would induce sleep on C-SPAN into an explosive jolt for a reader.

For some reason, two of my most intense nonfiction reading experiences were set in British Parliament.  One was H.W. Brands' description of Benjamin Franklin's moment of transformation from Brit to rebel.  The other was William Manchester's description of Winston Churchill bursting back into relevancy after years in the political wilderness when he informed the public by force of will and ruined political careers with one speech. 

I read and loved The Last Lion, volume one: Visions of Glory.  But, The Last Lion, volume two: Alone is taking me to wonderful places.  Most nonfiction books about a topic of interest are fascinating, but only the best can do what William Manchester can do.  I got so fired up reading this scene that I read the whole section out loud to Jen.  She was either genuinely riveted or the best and most patient and tolerant person I know.  (for the record, she said it was "very interesting" - glowing praise from Jen).

In this installment, and the scene that made my week, Manchester takes the reader into a parliamentary debate about armaments.  To set the scene, Churchill has been wandering in the political wilderness for the better part of four years.  He was ignored, mocked, and shunned despite his accurate information.  Then finally, FINALLY, Winston gets his chance to make the case he has been building for years.  And, for the first time in years, the ears arrive to take him seriously.  

From Hell's Heart...

1. There is a notion of “The Great American Novel”, that is bounced around literary circles, and attached to certain books at various times. I do not exactly know what this term means, but I’ve always assumed it’s reserved for those books that are all-encompassing, brilliant tales that speak to everybody, or as close as you can get with one book. There are a few books that already get tagged with being a Great American Novel, but none more so, at least to my ears and eyes, as Moby Dick.

Grrrrr

you know what sucks?

packing the book you're reading to move, then not being able to find it.


hmmmm

An Unforgettable Journey

I want to chronicle an unforgettable journey.
 
It finished with the birth of my daughter under a halo of joy.  But the turning point - the point when everything came full circle - happened during a lonely lunch downtown a week earlier.  The lone-diner must have made some impression giving several fist-pumps in a dusty lounge area.

I hope to explain why those fist-pumps hung a "halo" onto my joy a week or so later.

This is not a book review of Infinite Jest.  Rather, I want to tell about reading that book in a crazy year and how it all led to a cheerful welcome to my daughter, Amalia, with the help of a British Bulldog.  The process included vigorous intellectual challenges to worldview, inescapable illustrations of a farcical and flawed world through a "post-modern" lens (and the worries associated therewith), and, finally, an anchor-drop back to a more "modern" philosophical safe haven that literally parted storm clouds after a flood.

It was a long and brutal battle through serious introspection and macro contemplation shaded with an unsettling skeptical tint... until Winston Churchill reminded me to welcome Amalia to the good in our world as well.

Soft Apocalypse- Review

Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Right now, I needed this book. That is a statement one would reserve for having just read a terrific book, which I can not say I just did, but it would be said in response to a string of monotonous reads that was interrupted by a great one, and I find myself in a quite equal-but-opposite manner. That is to say, I am in a continuity of amazing reads, and I needed a palate cleanser to reset my taste. Or maybe palate greaser, as it were. I've absorbed so many other books that I immensely enjoyed, that I was hit with a Law of Diminishing Returns, and couldn't appreciate what I was reading. Context can be everything, and if disliking this book enhances the next few books, just in comparison, then it was worth it.  

Soft Apocalypse has an interesting concept, an Armageddon that takes decades before anybody notices. " This is how our world ends; with a whimper instead of a bang." It's told through Jasper's eyes, which view how life is slowly eroding in Savannah, GA. With an unemployment rate of around 40%, random diseases killing people (put out by the government!?!???!*), and quasi-terrorists sowing chaos, it's a hard life for Jasper. Especially since apparently, he never knows where his next date is coming from. Jasper spends most of his story complaining about never finding love, or being lonely, which is funny, because he is nearly always with somebody. Why spend time worrying about how civilization is falling apart, when you can hook up with psycho pop singers or married women, or just involve yourself in the mother of all "friends with benefits" relationship. I would have loved to know more about how the world began eating itself (pun not intended, as cannibalism somehow does not make an appearance in this book), but instead we're stuck in the head of Apocalypse's most forlorn lover**. And yeah, he finds true love in the end, and yeah, it's with a girl that he meets way back in the beginning (Soft Apocalypse spans 13 years). And yes, I was long past giving any f--ks about Jasper or society by this point. The second half of SA is better than the first, but only kind of. Jasper is so damn shallow for most of the story, and unchanging even through the decimation going on around him, and every time I felt like I was going to get some answers on what exactly was happening to unmake the world, that was when the author pulled the rug out from under me and began another relationship failure. If society was falling around me or you in the manner of SA, I'm not saying we wouldn't pine for someone to commiserate with. But it might occasionally take a back seat to the actual suffering and despair that was crawling up to our door. Jasper seems content to play the field, and ignore the smoking,burning stands around him. By the time he does start to change in the second half, it feels tacked on, and the ending, which actually brings up an honest-to-god philosophical quandary***, is, by that point, putting icing on a cake long left stale.

*= I'm not going to spend a lot of time complaining about this, but the government just randomly throwing out diseases to (I guess?!?) cull the population makes no damn sense, if you really think about it. Especially given that, in the book, the US is involved in a couple of wars or skirmishes at some point.

**= I've complained about this with female characters in books like Twilight, so I have to say something now...I can not stand it when characters like Jasper are moaning about how they are lonely, or undesirable, even when they have no problem actually finding mates, and/or are beating off potential suitors left and right. There's being humble, and there's being an ass.

***= The decision at the end is this (SPOILER!) - Do you attempt to live in an apocalyptic wasteland, where your two main options are starvation and death, but your faculties are your own? Or do you join a community that protects and feeds you, but the caveat is that you have to succumb to a virus that, while not affecting your health, warps your brain to the point that you are unnaturally happy all the time?



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A List To Pass The Time by Dave and Joe

We like to make lists.  It can be a sickness, really.

This one is about books that made an impact on us. It started as "books that changes our lives" and became more like "books that changed how we feel about books." I'll just call it "books that made an impact."  Although there will be some overlap for top-books-ever lists we've made, these lists include some surprising entries.

We each picked 10 independently.  Our lists are below and include only two overlaps (one of them being The Watchmen, which gives me a reason to post this trailer!).

Fathers, Sons, and Why Men Suck

I've run through a few books without posting, so I'm coming back to a couple of them, for a quick blurb. Also, BONUS MOVIE REVIEW!

Washington by Ron Chernow- When Washington died at the end of this book, I was hit with a wave of melancholy. Joe, as my record-keeper of historical feelings (an important, if unpaid, job), pointed out that I was also sad when Lincoln died while reading Team of Rivals (still #1, btw). That is true, but the emotions came from different places. When reading Lincoln's death, I couldn't help thinking about how much he went struggled, how many people were against him at various points of his presidency, and then how his life was ripped away right when all the work was finally paying off. Washington's passing, on the other hand, came when the job was essentially done, as far as George went.

Plans, Notes, and Randomness

An update of where we are at, book related and otherwise.....

• The final Big Book of the YEAR OF THE BIG BOOKtm has been decided. Starting on Oct 1st, Joe and I will begin reading Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. I bought my copy today, and will finish my Civil War trilogy by the end of September. That may be a stupid promise to make, but stupid promises are what we are all about here. The other 3 (2???...1????) members are welcome to read Pynchon with us, all we ask is that you finish it by the end of the year. BOOM executive decision made.

Infinitely Impactful

Infinite Jest will eventually invade any reader.  If you stick with this book (and I realize that is asking a lot), there will be a point when David Foster Wallace will infiltrate your being.

That moment came for me when a drug addict gave birth to a faceless baby.  I received a warning, so I braced myself, but DFW had a talent for invasion of personal space.  This scene impacted me personally based on two cases of mine, and, much like his manipulative quiz/essay/mind-f#@k from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, I felt abused afterward.

Exploring Villians

I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains by Chuck Klosterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I always love reading Chuck Klosterman, and I have read every book of his.  I think he is equally good at writing essay books and novels, and I seem to be one of few who do not prefer one to the other or think he stinks at one of those things.

This is his first "theme" essay book.  Killing Yourself to Live was more of one journey than one theme, but all the essays were about rock stars who died in various ways.  I really liked the one-theme essay book this time, which focuses on Villains and how our society views them.

I enjoyed when he described Machiavelli as a man who understood the nature of power and  wrote it down too clearly, and I liked that he stuck with an idea of villainy ("the one who knows the most and cares the least") and applied it to various facts we will all remember.  He asks whether it is scarier to deal with a villain with a motive or without one.  I enjoyed the intellectual calisthenics.

Klosterman has a way of devouring a topic.  He sprinkles his writing with pearls of wisdom that leave an impact.  For example, "It has always been my belief that people are remembered for the sum of their accomplishments but defined by their singular failure."

I do not always agree with what he writes (there were some conclusions in the Joe Paterno section I did not agree with), but I always respect his logical flow.

Of Human Bondage-Review

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5/5. One of those things I like to do when I finish a book that I enjoyed, is to find out more about the book, author, and so on. Wikipedia is a boon for this. And has I searched the Wiki, something funny popped off the page. In a couple of different movies/tv shows, a character recommended the book to another, only to have the advice shunned because they, upon hearing the title, believed the book to be pornographic. Which makes me smile for a couple of reasons. I had a similar occurrence when my sibling, seeing the book on my table, immediately said "Yeah, alright Dave, getting duurrrty."

Monte Cristo IV - Soul Searching

I have finally finished The Count of Monte Cristo.  It sinks in slowly like metal-tank-tread resting on a wood block.  It eases its way into the very core of a reader and lingers with its simple reminder to "wait and hope."

It also leaves almost no witnesses.

The part that lingers for me tonight is the notion of removed action, but there are so many fascinating elements that I don't know where to start.  Nothing done by the Count of Monte Cristo himself would ever lead to conviction, much as with his rivals.  And, yet, he remains guilty and  purposeful in his deeds.  He may not pull triggers or open veins, but he orchestrates the opportunistic actions as purposefully as if he had done it all personally.

When I watched the 2002 movie of the same title, I left the theater impressed by the coldness and intensity of the vengeance portrayed.  My memory recorded an intense experience.  I watched that movie again tonight and came away with a different feeling: The movie is tame.

The Crazy Part of Me

I am reading Infinite Jest and only Infinite Jest. Well, at least until I need a break.  And that will happen.  But it will pull at me and call to me even when it repulses me.  

David Foster Wallace is apparently my drug of choice.  He makes me think too much.  His writing is a frustrating fixation, the intake of which I promise myself I can control (denial? Is it a river?).  I love his Vulcan-like intellect, but it wears me out and impacts my sleep.  I love everything about his style, but it can be infuriating at times and makes me see too much behind my eyelids.  I find truths of human psychology and gallows humor scattered in a field of tar and sap.

Dave brought up an analogy of DFW as my "crazy bitch" and I can't shout that down.  I just read Of Human Bondage, by W. Summerset Maugham, which featured a classic terrible girlfriend in American literature.  And, as Dave so well explained, I may have found my "Mildred."

Before I subject the internet to a basic text conversation that led to the analogy, I offer a bit of background.  I read The Pale King early in 2013 and loved it despite its trudging pace. (you can read that Here).  I started IJ shortly thereafter. It was good, but I had other book obligations and decided that IJ requires a certain level of concentration.  So, I proceeded to devour other books, assigned books, and my final book club book to clear the path for my one true fix.  

I have enjoyed my other books, but my peripheral has never lost sight of Infinite Jest.  And, for me, it isn't just about DFW the writer (OK, it is, but not quite 100%), but the subject matter itself as well.  I have written before that the farcical view is often therapeutic and there are parts of my day-to-day life that require a certain level of gallows humor for survival. I'll just say I often see the worst of many parts of life, and a systematically farcical look at a serious world is extremely appealing to me as an intellectual journey and exercise.  

Last week, I finally zeroed in on IJ exclusively.

Mid-Term Report - Joe

Well, this won't take long.  Year of the Big Book has made my mid-term report seem pretty simple.  It seems like I haven't finished anything this year.  But, I'm working on some brilliant  big books that will be finished much later (see, Jest, Infinite).  I will star my early favorites, but my two big books currently under consideration but not yet finish (The Count of Monte Cristo and Infinite Jest) loom very very large on that list.

In fact, I am having such an "experience" with IJ that I will be posting regular updates, which may or may not feature the text exchanges it has inspired.  More on that later.  So, although I think I've read too many short books, I have proof that I am working on some bigger ones:

So, without further ado.

I thought the title referred to alcohol....

"Youth is wasted on the Young." - George Bernard Shaw

"I mean, fuck, Joe, these goddamn teenagers don't even know what they are saying, and they say the most brilliant fucking things, and they follow it up by saying something unbelievably fucking stupid, and it's ridiculous." - some asshole

I was, at one point in my life, thinking I was going to follow in my mother's footsteps and be a teacher. The plan was to teach elementary school kids, because I honestly thought you had to be insane to work with the older youth. Teenagers have always been strange, worrisome creatures for me, even/especially when I was a teenager. Someone who is just realizing their power, without any guide how to use it, to me that's disorienting to engage, because how can you have an idea what someone is going to do or say when they don't even know from minute-to-minute? Thanks, but I'll stick with the 8 year-olds.*

Of Human Bondage - Review

(Mildred is a horrible person)

Of Human Bondage is a unique "Bildungsroman" (coming-of-age story) and made me think in more diverse ways than many of the genre.  Baggs assigned it to me for this year and it was well worth it.

It was easy to relate to whether mundane or deep; it thoroughly explores personal and mental growth; and it exposes in a painfully-realistic example how ultimately vulnerable we all are to circumstances.

Phillip Carey has a club foot.  We all have a club foot in one sense or another.  Replace "club foot" with anything (lisp, stutter, lazy eye, weight problem, flat feet, etc. etc.) and you can relate.  This book most reminded me of how The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break made me and everyone I know who read it feel.  Anyone could understand what it must be like to be the only Minotaur in any given room.  The analogy becomes what it must for the reader.

The Rise of Ransom City-review

The Rise of Ransom City by Felix Gilman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Written as an autobiography of Harry Ransom, an alternate history version of Nikola Tesla, wandering the not-quite-America-but-kind-of-America from The Half-Made World. I liked that Gilman did not just fall back to Liv and John from the first book, and decided to tell a new person's story. I, in turn, liked that Liv and John showed up early, to assist with Ransom's story. And I liked that it was written as Ransom's autobiography, the story he's telling you. I did, until I didn't.

Book Tidbits

It's been a week full of analysis.  A brutal literary attack was unleashed on the larger part of the general public; three literary giants jousted for my attention; and a shocking impact will be made on my top-20-books-of-all-time list. 

Game of Devastation

The first piece of analysis comes on the heels of our massive Song of Ice and Fire chat transcript.  I felt joy in the brutality of the Red Wedding being unleashed on the TV-only Game of Thrones fans.  Finally, the rest of the public can share in the pain of George R.R. Martin's brilliant mind.  Here, enjoy this bit:



I am ashamed to admit just how much I drank this in and frantically searched for reaction.  Twitter was a real-time parade of fantastic reactions and I could not look away.  It was like trying to walk past a "truck vs. clown car" head-on collision without rubbernecking. 

It was like there were clown shoes, red noses and make-up-stained tires everywhere.  I think I saw a trick-flower dramatically rinsing some blood (or paint) from a small part of asphalt. 

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For one short little book, "Plot Against America" is two brotherly stories beating each other senseless in the basement while the parents watch TV upstairs. The first book is an alternate 1940 where Roosevelt is voted out, Charles Lindbergh voted in, and the day is won by Isolationism and Antisemitism. The second is a look at Roth's childhood reflected within the mirror of that alternate history, based on the real-life tensions in his neighborhood.

Not to be THAT parent, but I have a favorite.

I really got into the portrait of 40's America where the negative feelings towards Jews, bubbling under the surface, was suddenly given a gate to roam free; and how that would look to a child who has had the city, and land, that he grew up loving turn it's back on him for no reasons he can understand. Roth's writing is just as good, as the previous book of his that I consumed. The way that current events alternately tear apart and cement together Roth's family, feels like a real life. And there are little touches, like Roth's childhood stamp collection played as adolescent innocence: Held proud, worried over, and eventually lost. I really liked those aspects of the book, which there were not nearly enough of.

Unfortunately, there's the other brother, and man, those other brothers always ruin everything, don't they? (What?) Look, I saw all the books Roth took in for historical context, clearly he did his homework on this one. I just didn't need so much detailed history. Or rather, I didn't want it, when I was enjoying the smaller, personal look at Roth's family. And the plot twist at the end, when it is revealed that famous Lindbergh kidnapping in 1932 was done by the Nazis, in an attempt to eventually place Lindbergh in power so he can force an American holocaust...that took the collective goodwill that Roth had built up and smashed it all over the sidewalk. I have nothing against Alternative History, but the struggle to focus on the parts of the book I liked was tough enough, and a Nazi-Lindbergh conspiracy was the sucker-punch that won the basement war, and left me disappointed. I like "Plot Against America", but I think about what it could have been.


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The Count of Monte Cristo Take Three

I appreciate a good bit of Schadenfreude more than most.  Although I absolutely indulge in the pleasure for sports or trifling matters, there is nothing comforting in vengeance or "joy in damage" as to people's lives.  However, it can make for a rip-roaring story.

I finished part two of our assigned reading for the Count of Monte Cristo for my book club this weekend.  My first few posts inspired me to comment on the greater morality play I anticipated as well as some thoughts on Edmund Dantes as he transitioned from innocent youth to the vengeful Count.  This second section of reading, which took me through 3/4 of the book, displayed only the Count in all his vengeful glory.

The transformation is complete and the Count of Monte Cristo begins his intricate dismantling of the lives of those who have wronged him.  He is cold, calculating and fantastic.  For much of this section, his plans are executed to perfection and he displays how much intricate planning can be accomplished when money supplies are unending.  But, as I approached the later portions of this section, the control begins to slip.

Here comes the inevitable parade of innocent victims, collateral damage and all other symptoms of overreaching so common to the human condition.  He is boldly paving the road of danger so well articulated by Yoda. Anger, fear, hatred, suffering.  They are all on display.

Edmund Dantes, even as the Count, is losing himself yet again.

"Almost a Perfect Book"

SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***

This post contains spoilers.  We take each book in a row, but allow references to flow freely.  So, if you do not want spoilers, go finish the books and come back!  Seriously, you should read these books.  Trust us.  This chat represents but a portion of the conversations any of us have had about the Song of Ice and Fire series.

The following is a chat that included three of us, Joe, Dave and James, on a Thursday evening. We have included a few areas, located in shaded text, dealing with questions in the story.  So, you can read us geek on A Song of Ice and Fire below.   We had fun.

Joe: Should we start GOT?

Dave: what?

James: Joe has an abiding need to finally discuss some Starks... or at least, to include me.

Joe: Well, we did discuss doing that... Starks be hurtin.

Dave: Oh. OH. That's what the chat was... holy shit, I'm a dumbass.

James: so Joe, how long is your list of discussing questions?

Joe: I didn't get to one, so I figure I'd go by book.  Unless you have a different idea... we could just go with the "key" moment from each...

BOOK ONE: GAME OF THRONES

Joe: Must start with poor Ned... Quick thoughts on Ned.

James: I was quite pissed.  It wasn't until the end of book 2 that I realized there would be lots more. Well, I was not surprised, but still pissed.

Bad Decision

"It is hard to appreciate good books if you don't read something crappy every once in awhile." -- JEN

That about says it.  I read Life is Perfect When You're a Liar, by Kelly Oxford, but I need to give context... in short, I blame George R.R. Martin.

In this, our Year of The Big Book, I have been reading some great and heavy stuff.  David Foster Wallace, Alexandre Dumas and George R.R. Martin have had me in a 3-on-1, steel-cage match for the better part of the last two months.  Those guys are heavy hitters and it has seemed a bit much... and I started to feel like Mick Foley taking bumps.

I finished A Dance With Dragons, by George R.R. Martin in what I can only describe as my divide-and-conquer strategy.  I isolated Martin in the corner while DFW and Dumas were distracted only to eliminate Martin with a steel chair and tighten the odds to 2-on-1.   Bloodied, I looked for a reprieve, especially after the patented Martin end-of-book gut slam (and he did it again).

When I knock out a big book, I like to take a break with something light.  Call it a reward for perseverance.  I usually choose a sports book or a comedy book.  I follow Kelly Oxford on Twitter because she is funny and has been billed as a Twitter phenom.  She made me laugh enough that I decided to give her book a shot.  Impulse purchase, and I wish I had just let it be.

Buckeye!

So Joe handed me a book back around Christmas called Buckeye. It's an overview of Woody Hayes and the Ohio State Buckeye football program, published in 1974, it covers alot of ground, from Woody's personal bio to some of the more controversial moments in Woody's behavior.  

Most of you know, I'm a loyal OSU fan.  Having been raised on at least a passing rooting interest in OSU football as a kid, in late high school, I was able to begin to properly understand and respect the greatest college football program in the country.  Woody was long gone by then (he passed in 1987), but his impact on the Buckeye football program is massive, and he among all others helped build OSU into an perennial challenger.  

Let me be clear.  Woody Hayes is fantastic! He's so much better than Bobby Bowden could ever be.  Significantly more authentic than pretty much any of the coaches out there today.  A man of integrity and a true icon in the sport.  I'd also bag on some coach from Virginia or CU if they'd ever been any good at anything besides powderpuff football, but as we all know, that's not necessary.

I love how the writer bags on Lee Corso too.  Made me crack up when I read his brief two sentence overview of Corso's coaching style. 

I also was very happy to read some of the other background politics and organization structure, as it really helped me connect some dots with the way the OSU machine runs its outreach.  We all know the Senator got himself in trouble because of some stupid stuff that Pryor got away with, and his attempt to ignore the rules without realizing the NCAA was gunning for a scapegoat.  But understanding how the recruiting system works for OSU helps explain how Clarett, Pryor, and others really got recruited, and some of the rumors swirling around some of their mis-deeds.  

One of the fun things too was reading about Woody's temper.  He was famous for his temper.  He did some just fantastic things in his rages.  One of the ones I love is this. 

Clemson deserved that!

One last blurb.  Go listen to Urban Meyer explain how tough Woody Hayes was, back when Urban was a fresh faced coach.  Start at about the 3 minute mark.

Go Buckeyes!

Monte Cristo 2: This Time it's Revenge!

March 23 met with a snowstorm, meaning we braved the elements to get Jacob to his promised Laser Tag Birthday celebration.  It also meant cancellation of last week's book discussion about the first 1/3 of the Count of Monte Cristo.  It was rescheduled for Saturday, March 30, and I got to go.

As always it was a good discussion and enlightening.  And, as with all discussions, I revisited it many times in my mind.  However, what I thought was an understood and widely-accepted maxim turned into the crux of the debate. It turns out that revenge has more sympathy as a motive than I ever expected.  I always believed (and still do) that revenge, although a very tempting motive, is ultimately a bad motive.  In my mind, the discussion got turned on its logical head and I've been trying to set it right in my own mind these last few days.

Two concepts raised in the discussion gave me pause.  First was the assertion that "forgive and forget" is selfish and that revenge (as opposed to justice) should be used as a protection for others.  The second was the assumption that anyone's feelings of "forgive and forget" should understandably fall aside once an "extreme" (undefined) injustice happens to a loved one.

I disagree with these points and feel more comfortable giving thorough reasons after reflection.  Forgiveness is gracious, but revenge is selfish, and this should hold true in the face of any injustice suffered.  But, as I will try to explain, I think the confusion resulted from a mixing of revenge and justice (two very different things).  I think we are tempted to fill in the gaps of our always-imperfect system of justice.  Some seem to allow or at least tolerate that those gaps may (or even should) be filled with revenge.  I just cannot go there.

The clip below from Les Miserable is one of my favorite.  The act of kindness and forgiveness from the bishop allowed Jean Valjean a level of self-reflection that inspired actual change and removed a criminal from the lives of others in a way temporary imprisonment never could.  It is also an example of the benefits of grace over revenge.

100th POST: A Chat About Our Blog / Our Clip Show

This is our 100th post in 39 or so months of doing this little blog.  We have fun.  It works for us.  We do not work for it.  Nearly no one reads it, but that's cool.  We enjoy it anyway and it keeps us sane.

So, to mark our 100th post, Dave and I chatted about the blog and our favorite moments and memories.  Is it like those terrible clip shows everyone hates from random 80s shows?  Yes. Yes, it is.  But, we are children of the 80s and that's how we roll.



So, without further ado, we present, the 25booksayear "best-of" post!

Joe: 100th Post!  What is our ratio?

Dave: 60/30 you. (*presuming 10 percent by Alan and James)

Joe: I mean per year/month/week/whatever.

Dave: oh.

Joe: We need to calculate our per month ratio.  Why?  Because numbers.

Dave: uhhhh....3 a month?

Joe: See... now I have to look... I can't even blame you because I brought it up.

Dave: looking... Well, this is the 39th month of the blog, so roughly 2.5 posts a month.  NUMBERS!

Count of Monte Cristo

Well, I am finally reading it.

This was among the very first downloads I ever made on my Kindle.  My original Kindle had it first when I received it as the best gift ever about five years ago.  The Count of Monte Cristo awaited my attention during the entire life-span of that device until its demise on the same day Osama Bin Laden found his end in May of 2011 (you can read about that here http://25booksayear.blogspot.com/2011/05/sunday-bloody-sunday.html )

The book was then resurrected on my new Kindle and awaited its time patiently, forgotten and burdened by solitude.  Only now, as I embark on many new journeys of my own, does it finally illuminate itself to me in e-ink.  And, much like Edmond Dantes, it strikes out at me with great vengeance and furious anger.  (like this...)



I love this book already.  I am so disappointed to miss our first book club meeting about this great work, and so I offer my thoughts for consideration here.  I will happily miss to attend to Jacob's seventh birthday celebration (Happy Birthday, Cub!), but I would love to talk about the book.

This is your fault, Ken Burns. (Thank You)

When Joe declared that 2013 was our "Year of the Big Book", he did so, in Josephian fashion, with his Big Book choices mapped out for maximum effect. I, on the other hand, was a bit blindsided by this. Granted, I read more than a few Big Books a year anyway (already have 3 800+ page books on my list), but I needed a splashy choice. Something huge.  And that's when Joe just shrugged and said " Now you have an excuse to finally read Shelby Foote."

So, last weekend, for about $70, I bought this.....

What? Is it 2013 already?

AND March?!!?!?! Crap on a crutch, I need to get this done.

I've got a couple of hours, and my supplies ( Diet Mountain Dew and An Arturo Fuente Cigar) Without further adu, and a couple of months late, here are my favorite reads of 2012

16. As She Climbed Across The Table by Jonathan Lethem- This is Lethem very well done; trippy, intellectual, and sorrowful. I couldn't even begin to explain the plot, but I could kind of put it this way....imagine if Kubrick's 2001 was an earthbound relationship drama. (Boom, Dave, you've done it again)

Marching Morons

I read Marching Morons by C.M. Kornbluth (a novella) early this year and thought it was pretty good.  It must have been an inspiration for the movie Idiocracy, which was pretty funny, but in that "oh, God, that's just too close to real" way.

Basic premise is that the smart folks become outnumbered and have to prop up and allow the world to function from the shadows while fewer and fewer maintain a level of intellect to keep things functional.  There are times when the world can seem like that, and especially so if you follow politics.

I am trying to illustrate something along those line in my writing project because it has been often on my mind after reading The Marching Morons.  I suppose I cannot eliminate having seen how things function "under the hood" (so to speak) as a possible cause for my recent contemplation.

It seems that many flash-point topics turn people into raving lunatics.  Gun control is the current manic-causing drug of choice among the populace.  It is a rotation.  Abortion, marriage, religion and all the other flash-point topics will come up again when it is their turn.  It all just keeps happening.

Battlestar Gallactica hammered the point home again and again: This has all happened before and it will all happen again.  Which begs the question... Are we getting dumber or have we always been pretty stupid and it just always looks like its getting worse?  I'm not sure one is better than the other.

So, has this all just happened before?  (Lame excuse for a cool BSG trailer)

Sherlock Holmes and the case of the bad TV shows

So after years of putting up with TV shows that attempt to borrow the detective skills of Sherlock Holmes I decided to go to the source. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the original set of stories about the phenomenon of the detective who defines the detective in so many stories over the last 100 years. TV producers, with their pathological lack of unique ideas, have fastened on, again, to this style of character in an amazing display of pandering over the last few years. Even of late, there have been some title character shows, for instance CBS's recent Elementary. However the best of the bunch happens to be Sherlock, from the BBC. That variant is without a doubt the truest to the characters & story lines. It does have its flaws, among them that their version of Sherlock is outright belittling to his companion for far too long, before the writers introduce some trust. Honestly, the recent movies with Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr get this part right much quicker than the rest. That being said, the book is quite a lot of fun. It is well written, and brings the character to light in some very interesting ways. I totally understand why so many people have tried to replicate the style of Holmes. Its kind of magical, and otherwise alot of fun. Go read the classics!

Infinite Jest

Out of the blue, I started Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace.  This might be an insane decision on my part considering that I just finished The Pale King, but I am at a place right now that makes this book particularly appealing.  It just feels necessary that I read this particular book right now.

Why?  Now that is a good question.

Well, I've hit a point where dealing with certain serious matters has taken a jest-filled turn.  I have endeavored to swim up stream of late by taking a jester's view of a stuffy world.  From political debates, negotiations, and the everyday logical flaws that speckle this world like stars in the sky, everything just looks clown-shoes ridiculous to me.

Infinite Jest addresses our entertainment-based society in a silly way.  I recognize that I will enjoy such a topic now more than most any other time.  I started it last night and am hooked.  I would never have thought it possible for me to read two entire DFW books in a row, especially two as long as these two, without losing my entire mind.  It may happen yet (losing my mind, that is).

I may be a glutton for punishment, and it may take me a really long time and several breaks to finish this book, but it is apparently a masterpiece and I want in on that at the moment.

Happy reading all.

The Pale King

(Reprinted from my Goodreads review.)

I used to be a sandblaster at the company I still currently work at. That mostly consisted of me, sitting at a sandblasting cabinet, cleaning off pieces of bronze artwork, so they could be further worked on, welded together, etc. If that sounds a bit boring....good, you've caught on quick. I sat for hours a day, just cleaning artwork after artwork, and it was not a job for somebody who needed constant stimulation. Bluntly, it got pretty damn boring at times. But, I found my way around that tediousness, mostly through blasting music at obscene levels, making little games at blasting pieces in record time, and sometimes, when I needed it, going to that happy place in my head. I found that you can make some really beautiful and strange movies in your own head when needed. Anyways, there was a welder, let's call him N, and once in a while, when he had no work in his department, he would be sent to my department. Which he (and I) hated. N was loud, and brash, and as soon as he started working, the complaining began. Soon enough, I would feel a tap on my shoulder, see him standing there, and the floodgates of bitching began. "Jesus, Dave, how the ---- do you do this all day? I want to shoot myself everytime I have to go back here. What the ---- are you listening to? Dude, if I had to work here every day, I'd shoot myself. How do you sit there like that...are you even listening? Take your --------- headphones off...." 

You get the idea.

Whenever N was working with me, it was horrible, not just for his continued bitching, but also because I couldn't hide the tedium with him around. All the negative aspects of the job, everything that I had tried to shove into dark corners to be able to get something done, was now under an encompassing spotlight glare, and I realized the impossibility of dealing with malaise when you have an irritated songbird on your shoulder who makes it a point to single out each dull and weary condition in front of you. When N was working next to me, what was once a quiet plodding job became horrifically sluggish and dense, and I wondered what I was doing. Which brings me to Pale King....

Because PK is about boredom, specifically the boredom of being an examiner in the IRS, and more pointedly, what kind of people would work, no, more than that, would thrive and seek out such an environment. All the workers DFW writes of are damaged in some way, be it growing up abandoned in an orphanage, raised by a line of deranged, unpredictable matriarchs, or being the type of person who decides at a young age that your goal is to touch every part of your body with your lips, and then achieve that goal up to the various body parts that would be forbidden to the cause. (like the back of the head. I know what parts you were thinking of first, and those parts were reached.) Wallace seems to present these people to say that they are the chosen, that the people who would immerse themselves in that environment are the ones who have not conceived of serious boredom, and thus dullness becomes the exciting vacation, the 8 hours a day where you can get what life never offers on the outside. 

DFW does not talk about the boredom, so much as dump you into the deep end, sink or swim. Several chapters do nothing but drone on, at first glance with no real point. The points were there, but, man, you had to dig. The worst part was Wallace taking the place of existential trilling songbird, seeming to squawk at you during the thickest sections. "Man, how boring is this? I mean, holy cow, this is sluggish!" Especially during the meta-tinged author forewords, which are mindf--ks meant to present Pale King as a true story, and DFW as an actual character in said story. (For the record, pretty sure that isn't true) Every time Wallace talks to the reader in the book, he lies, in a genius sort of way. For example, the first foreword he proceeds to tell how the IRS learned to get Pro-Revenue Service legislation passed by making it the law so boring and dense that nobody would read it, and find out what the IRS was really trying to do. And he does this by making the foreword so boring and dense that you have to struggle to find the point... Mindf--ker. Those antics make the book unbelievably cerebral, and absolutely difficult to plow through.

Despite this, there are numerous sections that are worth the effort. The two longest chapters are also, not coincidentally, the best in the book. One is a conversation between an attractive woman and man who would best be described as a computer, the other is one employee, during an interview, relaying his life story and how he decided to work at the IRS. Both are excellent, as much for what they don't tell as what they do, and both also give the most character development/backstory in PK. There wasn't much of that in the book, but to be fair, that wasn't at all what DFW was going for. As I said, there are many philosophical points being made in Pale King, floating in stupor to be extracted out by thoughtful examination. PK may be the smartest fiction book I've ever read, certainly one of the hardest, but not one I can sell as extremely enjoyable. I want to read more DFW, in the future, but I'm willing to take some time in between dives towards the deep end.

James' Assignments

Bookie - Quiet, The Power of Introverts in a world that just can't stop talking, by Susan Cain:   Also, if you haven't read it, you should read LOTR.  I can't remember if you've actually read that.  Besides, you like big books.

Joe - Raising Cain by Kindlon & Thompson. 

Alan - tbd. 

Baggs! - tbd

I have to figure out what to assign the other two

Dave's Assignments

To Baggs- I give you one of my favorite books of the last couple of years, and while not a book of poetry, certainly a poetically written book.- The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides

To James- How can it be that I, and not you, love Teddy Roosevelt? We have to fix that. - The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris

To Alan- The closest thing to a sports book that I will ever get you to enjoy, and also a book that will fit right in with your sense of humor. - Have A Nice Day by Mick Foley

To Joe- First, a book that will help with your "Big Book" theme for this year.- A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge

Then, a book that will serve as change of pace for one of your big books, and introduce you to the twisted genius of Chuck Palahniuk- Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

I own physical copies of all of these books, except Baggs's, so I am available to lend them out if needed. Baggs, I might need to buy a copy of Suicides, just to have, so if you need to borrow that, let me know.

Enjoy, brothers.

Joe's Assignments

Dave: Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger and The Last Kind Words, by Tom Picirilli.

Baggs: Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin.

James: The Half-Made World, by Felix Gilman.

Alan:  The Last Kind Words, by Tom Picirilli

I think you will each enjoy the assigned books.

The Pale King... or "Messed with by a Ghost"

It took me about two seconds to realize I could never spoil this book for anyone by writing about it now.  Not even if I wanted to.

You cannot spoil this book because it has no resolution, but that is the point.  Life often goes unresolved.  I saw a quote the other day that expressed how unlikely it would be for real life to ever find a publisher.  It is over-long and often lacks resolution.  David Foster Wallace makes that point with his usual brilliant writing.  The book is thought-provoking, smart and hilarious.

DFW never finished The Pale King.  But, it wouldn't have a traditional "ending" even if he had finished it.  In fact, his notes indicate that, although plot lines were drawn out, nothing ever would ultimately resolve.

I have written before on this blog that DFW will mess with you.  He does that in this book as well.  He starts by introducing a concept, and in this book that concept is boredom.  He then discussed that concept and, before you know it, he illustrates it without telling you by creating the experience for you, the reader.  The reader does not realize it until the point becomes obvious.

In this case, he illustrates how to deal with boredom by using painstaking description of tedium.  You then realize that your own patience is being strained and tested.  But, and here is where his talent comes in, he makes you experience the tedium while captive and even engrossed.  How is that possible?  I'm not sure, and it makes me feel toyed with.  I find myself experiencing the sensation he seeks to prove and can only give a side-smile and think "touche, Mr. Wallace... touche."

One of the best examples of his manipulation of the reader is when a character says "rest assured that I am not Chris Fogle, and that I have no intention of inflicting on you a regurgitation of every last sentence and passing thought I happen to recall."

He then proceeds to regurgitate every possible detail and thought within the story.  So, how does DFW illustrate the mundane life in The Pale King?  Here are some:

- He takes you into a stuck elevator for an overly-long articulation of "what's wrong with Americans today" that seems so cliche and typical of every age and generation without having the characters make more than a passing reference of the hours that have gone by.   They pass the time with deep, even if well plumbed, discussion.  You feel the frustration of the character who is not interested while the others blather on.

- He takes you into a traffic jam and describes every single indication of discomfort for every passenger, the construction zone and every delay from traffic to speed bump.

- He takes you into the theoretical scenario of value-maximization that would happen in a progressive tax system where every customer would buy groceries in $5.00 increments to pay the least possible taxes and how that would absolutely happen because of the mythical "rational person" brought to us by theoretical economics.

- He takes you into the scattered mind of a man who cannot stop talking about himself.  You learn about everything from drugs he has used to the motivations to succeed and how impacting his father's death was on his life.  You also learn about the cartoon-ridiculous yet amusing way his father died.  Just try not to be ashamed of yourself for chuckling while this slapstick death is described in hushed tones.  It's... I mean, I chuckled and felt terrible for it.

- He engrosses you in a discussion between a computer-like man and an attractive woman about the concept of attractiveness and the reaction people have to being called interesting.  It is fantastic, but also another way to cut through a lull in the action at a gathering.

- One character sweats so profusely and his mind focuses on everything around him that could cause an outbreak of sweat.  He even tries to determine the level of attractiveness of a woman behind him to avoid allowing her appearance to inspire sweat.   He illustrates how many items one mind can focus on at a time.

- He illustrates the best way to hide information as the sharing of all information.  Specifically, he writes: "abstruse dullness is actually a much more effective shield than is secrecy.  For the great disadvantage of secrecy is that it's interesting.  People are drawn to secrets; they can't help it."  This concept crops up throughout the book.

- He takes you through the process of correcting an administrative snafu with himself as a fictional character (and although he tries to convince you it is autobiographical it is also fictional... and... just... my God... It's hard to say for sure).  DFW, whether real or fictional, jumps hoops to untangle himself from yet another David Wallace and their merged identities.

Other parts I loved included a detailed description of a story about "shit" that ends up explaining a nickname; a beautiful description of a nature scene that ends with speculation that bird chirps might actually be war cries; and a vivid description of flying in a plane.  One description of a cashier being caught picking his nose and the reaction of a customer includes one stream-of-conscious sentence that goes for pages and is just hilarious and disgusting at the same time.

My analysis is that these slices of the mundane-made-interesting illustrate an active, "unborable" mind.

And, that is why I do not feel capable of "spoiling" this book for anyone.  The experience is in the journey.  Knowing that he will discuss the mundane, and therefore knowing what mundane scenarios are featured, can ruin nothing.  The experience of this book is in taking the ride and imagining those mental places through his virtuosic wordsmithing.

This book is boring at times.  But, I can honestly say the boredom is the point.  The journey is not boring.  The book is not boring.  The topic is boredom and the human mind.  And DFW makes you bored so that you understand and even FEEL the frustration of the characters.  It's like an emotional scratch-and-sniff, if that were possible.  Scratch one sticker and feel the frustration of being dragged into a conversation for hours that you don't want while stuck with no way out.  Scratch this other sticker and you are suck in a car that never seems to get to where it is going.  Scratch yet another and feel just as trapped as if you were in a windowless room with a clock, as he describes below:

"Lock a fellow in a windowless room to perform rote tasks just tricky enough to make him have to think, but still rote, tasks involving numbers that connected to nothing he'd ever seen or care about, a stack of tasks that never went down, and nail a clock to the wall where he can see it, and just leave the man there to his mind's own devices."  

Depending on your personal tolerances, some scenes will be engrossing and others suffocating.

Also, DFW's writing is suffocating both in the good and frustrating sense.  There are times when you keep reading and reading with urgency not because there is a climax or cliffhanger, but because his language is so powerful, dense, fascinating and maddening at the same time.  It will make you tired from thought.

I made 179 notes and marks in this book. Here are a few more highlights at random.

- "She might actually have bared her teeth at me for an instant."

- "We think of ourselves now as eaters of the pie instead of makers of the pie.  So who makes the pie?"

"- I know I was nearly always the hero of any story or incident I ever told people about during this period - which, like the thing with the lone sideburn, is a memory that makes me wince now."

- "To give oneself to the care of others' money - this is effacement, perdurance, sacrifice, honor doughtiness, valor.  Hear this or not, as you will.  Learn it now, or later - the world has time.  Routine, repetition, tedium, monotony, ephemeracy, inconsequence, abstraction, disorder, boredom, angst, ennui - these are the true hero's enemies, and make no mistake, they are fearsome indeed.  For they are real."

- "As is well-known, parents can have vastly different ways of expressing love and concern. Of course, much of my interpretation is just speculative - there's obviously no way to know what he really meant."

I also highlighted words I had to look up in the dictionary.  I found 61 and list them below this post.

I cannot stop thinking about this book and even found myself talking to Jacob about how he handles boredom and how he should do so.  I loved it and am very happy to have read it.

WORDS I HAD TO LOOK UP

incised
obtruded
anfractuous
prolixly
anodized
Imbrication
confabulation
aphasia
Solipsismus
limn
florid
agglomeration
Banausic
peplum
logorrheic
circumambient
rictus
obverse
verdant
baize
baronial
unoccluded
orthogonal
blebular
marginalia
punctilious
priapstic
otios
hydrotically
obtundated
desiccated
neologisms
tchotchkes
dyspnea
ipsilateral spasticity
inanitive pica
dextrorotated
surfeit
ersatz
intubatory
semion
trilby
galvanic
etiology
monopsony
efficacious
jejune
anondize
proboscis
didactic
eclat
introrsus
agonists
hypertrophic
polyphony
eidetic
carbuncular
sardonic
eponymous
ontologically

Side Notes

Q: How can anyone take your playoff picks seriously after what happened in Week 17? You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders — maybe it's not as famous as "never get involved in a land war in Asia," but "Never bet on Tony Romo, when the playoffs are on the line!" has to be right up there, right?
—Vizzini, Florin

Please tell me you don't hear the tone.  As soon as I read this, I knew that I will always think of this everytime I see or hear Romo again.  thanks simmons!


Also.  Um.  Bookie, you started book 3 last yr right, so you're counting this year?  just checking

In With The New - Welcome Baggs!

Happy 2013!

As we begin 2013, we will be welcoming our first co-blogger with a Masters of Fine Arts in Poetry (to be fair, he's also the first person on the blog who I had to talk out of blasting Bob Seger to celebrate the end of Finals Week once... so, consider the whole).   Maybe if we ask him real nicely, he will post some poetry on this otherwise uncultured blog.  It would pretty the place up a bit, for sure.

So, we proudly introduce Baggs! (Everyone say "Hi Baggs!" in unison... that's right, both of our readers... just call each other so it will be in unison...  thank you).  Just wait until we debase our high-cultured buddy with the smut we read here!  Ok, I'm kidding, but only sort of. Seriously, it's great to have Baggs here.

As you can see on the banner, this is year has been dubbed "The Year of The Big Book."  As such, we are each going to pick at least one "big book" to read this year.  Our usual criteria is to pick one 750-plus pages, but Dave scoffed at that, so let's make it 1000.  Done and Done.

I will try to tackle Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace.  I hope to hit more than a few other big books, but will sprinkle in some small books for sanity's sake.  The rules are the same as always, with one minor exception.  The exception is that I have basically declared that I will intentionally violate the rules, thus blowing a creation-threatening hole in space and time, if I am assigned to read  Fifty Shades of Gray (or Grey... whatever... and I will NOT look it up).  It's like when I learned about MAD (mutually-assured destruction) while studying political science.

Book finishing Fifty-Shades was like Stalin hearing a whisper from Truman's envoy confirming that the US had developed the A-bomb (that scene brought to us by Winston Churchill in his Tome about WWII).  In short, I'm eyeing a Tim Tebow book or something of that ilk so that I have my own unfathomable weapon just in case he's pondering anything rash.  Unfortunately, as evidenced by his reading of Fifty-Shades, this is like North Korea arming itself.  He doesn't blink! MAD only works as a deterrent when both sides want to avoid destruction.  Book clearly will read anything.  But, as I learned from good-old Abe Lincoln, sometimes you have to break a constitution to preserve it.  I'm not sayin... I'm just sayin (I will not read that book).




So, the rules for Baggs' edification:

We each assign each other a book.  You can veto it only if the other person has not read it (subject to the above MAD scenario).  We each try to read 25 book in the year (in 2013, that should include one BIG BOOK), but anyone can set a higher goal.  We like to write about what we read and discuss books on this page.  Feel free to comment, post or even start a rap war (It has already happened once!).  We encourage each blogger to keep everyone up to date on what we are currently reading and keep a running total of finished books.  We do that with the "What are we Reading" and "Finished Books" sections.  But, really, none of this is compulsory... just for fun.  If you do not read 25 books... we give you some crap or something.  We will probably just make you buy lunch at some point.

It's fun and the page works for us (we do not work for the page).   We are contemplating tracking pages read (it is The Year of The Big Book).  If you want to do that, DO IT!

See, it's pretty simple.

And, since I'm on an 80s movie kick, here's another classic that describes us well (and, although I cannot rule out a panty-raid, I cannot promise it... and it probably just won't happen).