This is how I finished 2010 - a day in bed with the family: Krista pawing through the hunger games, all the pets cuddled around, Levi watching Police...moreThis is how I finished 2010 - a day in bed with the family: Krista pawing through the hunger games, all the pets cuddled around, Levi watching Police Academy 2 and my nose buried in Patti Smith's story of her life with Robert Mapplethorpe.
They were just kids, broke and living in New York at the end of the 60s, trying to make a life full of art and love from what they could scrape out of the gutters. The story begins in earnest when Patti comes to NY as a teenager and meets Robert one of her first days in town. The book is basically over by the time they become famous - and then she had a band, she toured, touring took her away from the world they had built, they both got famous, she got married, he got sick, etc. It is so much of a story packed into such a short period of time and less than 300 pages.
This is a romantic, lyrical autobiographical rendering of young romance and the frenzied, passionate creative drive that can grasp/create/induce artistic genius. Their shared intimacy, connection & loyalty are the source material for Smith's storytelling. It's clear that her detailed diaries and journals serve as the original draft, reworked into this book, but it reads like a well-told tale, not a diary. The only tip-off is how she remembers so many significant dates. No one remembers that many dates after 40 years unless they kept a diary. I really loved how Smith underlined the significance of particular dates - a gallery opening falls on Joan of Arc's birthday, a song is recorded on her mother's birthday, etc.
CGBGs, Max's, Warhol's Factory, the Chelsea Hotel: these NYC landmarks become landscapes for the story of Robert & Patti's singular devotion. And the parade of celebrities, my god! Of course: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, it goes on and on. The storytelling is tender and spare without a lot of grandiose description obscuring the story. I appreciated her forthrightness - the story stands on its own and doesn't need to be smothered in gravy of adjectives and metaphors. It's weird to say this, but it was not unlike the experience of reading Camus. It is a quick and enjoyable read, and there is a lot to like about the book.
Smith mostly shies away from graphic depictions of Robert's sexuality & photographic subject matter. She didn't understand or relate to that part of his life, and mostly remembers him outside of that context. “Robert’s subsequent excursions into S&M were bewildering and frightening to me…It was hard for me to match it with the boy I met.” For as much as this book is about art (his, hers, theirs, the whole community), she presents herself as largely naive as Robert goes through major life changes - he is bringing home boyfriends, hustling to bring home money, making friends in the gay and S&M worlds, and she is astounded. Is it a cop-out or a respectful distance? I go back and forth about this. She is masterfully constructing the big picture here, but I don't know if it's an accurate big picture. When his homosexuality becomes impossible to ignore, Patti feels as if she has "failed him." He's dead and he can't respond, but maybe he would not agree that she failed him. I am of two minds on this subject.
Despite all that, all in all, this is a fantastic read and is deserving of the applause, awards and laurels heaped on Patti Smith. It's a fascinating, beautifully written window into the New York most of us can only access in our most fantastic dreams (if we can even dream that big). It is a self-conscious and deliberate love poem to youth, freedom, art, genius, destruction, the City, enduring love and Robert. It was a lovely way to wrap up a year & provides much fodder for my 2011 imagination. (less)
What is my deal with aimless people in their post-college twenties and the books they write? You know what, don't answer that.
Avi has a degree from H...moreWhat is my deal with aimless people in their post-college twenties and the books they write? You know what, don't answer that.
Avi has a degree from Harvard (where he wrote a thesis on Bug Bunny? Is that real??) and an impressive background, but no idea how to make a living in the world, or even an idea of what he'd like to be doing. He decides that writing obituaries for the newspaper is a dead-end job (unintentional, but I'm leaving it), so he takes a position as a prison librarian. He's a shrimpy guy from the right side of the tracks, and struggles to find his niche in the prison economy and social hierarchy. It becomes one of those "criminals with a heart of gold" experiences, where the people in prison are, shockingly, actually people. It comes across as sort of naive, privileged & sheltered that he "discovered" this, but whatever. In any case, this book is well-written and it's a joy to read. I mean, the guy clearly knows his way around a paragraph. Many of the stories are moving and interesting, sometimes hilarious and sometimes painfully sad, but the inmates are clearly the star of the show. Ari's personal journey, epiphanies, and evolution are secondary in terms of interestingness, although his fall from Orthodox Judaism is fascinating. From yeshiva to prison library duh duh duh!
I did really enjoy reading this book, though, and I would recommend it to people who care about social justice and modern prisons, but have not read much about it. I would also recommend it to people who care about issues like education, libraries and redemption in a country that maintains a cool 25% of the world's incarcerated population (even more impressive, since we only have 5% of the world's total population). Literacy. Access to legal information. Culture. Comfort. Escape. Etc. Everything a library can be is magnified in prison. At the same time, the library is much more in prison: a mailbox for passing notes across towers, a source of potential weapons, etc. That's what makes Ari's job marginally more interesting than, say, manning the desk at a regular library where the patrons are not 100% convicts.
Strange note: The book is feels like a series of vignettes stitched together. Occasionally, stories are repeated or information is presented twice. It was almost like it had been meant for serialized publication, and then compiled but not edited carefully. Was this a blog or something, before it became a book? It is difficult to imagine someone getting that much mileage out of this, but stranger blog-to-book stories have happened. Anyway, I googled a little and couldn't find a blog that this was based on, so the writing inconsistencies are mysterious & weird. If you know, tell me! (less)
I listened to the audio book of this story mostly while I was driving back and forth between Olympia & Seattle for the holidays. My wife & kid...moreI listened to the audio book of this story mostly while I was driving back and forth between Olympia & Seattle for the holidays. My wife & kid were in the car while I was driving. They don't always appreciate my audio books, but both of them were mesmerized by the story -- even though they were coming into the middle of it. It was really a great example of the transcendent nature of a good story. We left the kid with his Grandma for a few days, and drove home in the dark alone, listening to Katniss's adventures in the arena. Krista & I sat in the driveway for a few minutes, listening, and she demanded that I bring the audio book inside so we could listen to it while falling asleep.
With nothing to keep my hunger games addiction in check, I listened to the rest of the audio book in the dark, long after Krista had gone to dreamland. At 2 am, the final disc finished, I tried to download the next book catching fire from the library website, but there were a few people ahead of me in line.
The queue at the library is sometimes the only reason I ever get any sleep.
Anyway, you can read recaps and summaries of this book everywhere on the internet. This is one of those books that is wildly popular for a reason - it's a fantastic read. It's action-packed, well-paced and starts good discussions if you read it alongside some people. There is a fabulous strong, smart, brave girl protagonist, but it's not an overtly feminist parable. Although it is, in many ways, a feminist text, it's not preachy. And it's post-apocalyptic! There are dangerous genetically modified beasts! The book reflects on subjects of class, privilege, access, identity, community and rebellion in an earnest & thoughtful manner. A++ Would Read Again Can't Wait To Read the Next One. (less)
I picked this up completely randomly because it happened to be available in the audio book section and I was going to spend several hours driving acro...moreI picked this up completely randomly because it happened to be available in the audio book section and I was going to spend several hours driving across Oklahoma & Texas by myself and I have always felt like I should read more Joyce Carol Oates. Apparently goodreads has this on a list of "Worst Books of All Time." I don't know if that is entirely fair, but I can see where someone could get that. This book is often tedious and pedantic. There are many annoying things about it. It has some redeeming features, though, and the writing style is not amateurish or insulting, so there are definitely worse books out there.
The main character is not entirely likable, and since you spend most of your time with her & her thoughts, it can be wearing. Three-quarters thru, I thought suddenly, brightly, "This is a book about Nikki's descent into madness!" I felt like I'd solved a mystery. Unfortunately, it's not really about descent into madness. The book is about one year in Nicole Eaton's life -- the full twelve months after her mother dies. Nikki Eaton moves through the stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, but you're never sure if she's going to make it to acceptance. She moves into her mother's house, wears her mother's clothes, bakes her mother's bread recipes, visits her mother's friends, swims at her mother's gym, and so on. It's like if she could crawl inside her mother's life, she could know her for real and mend all the conflict and tension and mysterious unknowing of the mother-daughter relationship.
Perhaps most note-worthy in this book is the way every character is sympathetically unlikable. They are not unlikeable in a "realistic characterization" kind of way, but if these people existed and you knew them, you would dislike them. They are sort of pathetic humans with kind of empty, disinteresting, lonely little lives. And it is not just like, "people can become unbearable slash unlikeable in their grief" because even the un-grieving characters are unlikeable. I can't think of another book I've read that made me feel this way.
The whole point -- I think it is in the first paragraph and maybe also in the blurb on the back -- is that this is the story of losing your mom. If you can't relate to it now, you will be able to some day. In some way, Nikki Eaton's story is really your story. I get what JCO was going for, but the "universal experience" the author was going for did not really shine through. In some moments, it seems poignant & profound, but on the whole? Eh. Not so much.(less)
Since I really liked Other People's Love Letters and I still guiltily read things like postsecret, picking up this book was an obvious choice. However...moreSince I really liked Other People's Love Letters and I still guiltily read things like postsecret, picking up this book was an obvious choice. However, where I found endless voyeur bliss pawing through other people's love letters, I felt mostly guilty and sad as I read their rejection letters. If the Love Letters book was about how similar the ways we love each other can be, this book is about the very similar way that we hurt each other. And while I am pretty confident in how well I love the people I love, it is a lot more difficult to stare into the ways I hurt the people I've rejected. Mostly this book is quite funny. I don't want to take away from that inherent humor, but it did make me reflect.
The author's gift for anthologizing strangers' private moments is evident. There is a good balance of historic/celebrity rejection here (letters from F Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Jimi Hendrix's military discharge papers, Andy Warhol's famous rejection, etc) coupled with some interesting series (failed swim lessons for Julie, or Mr. Gonzalez's collection of art gallery rejection letters) . The rejections are diverse - creative/career objections, failed romance, failed pick-up lines, political chasms, broken friendships and many parent/child tensions. There are handwritten letters, postcards, facebook messages, notes clipped from gmail and photos of text messages. It is all carefully edited to create a collage spanning at least 100 years of being mean.
I did really appreciate the section at the end. Many of the letters were revisited and explained further - context clues, history, extra information to fill in all the gaps, even occasionally some insight into the outcome or resolution of the rejection. It was a nice feeling of closure that I miss in "found objects" books. Since these letters are consensually submitted by at least one of the parties, there's just a little more context. I appreciated it. (less)
I'm just going to put this out there: this book is not good. I read this book because I once loved FLB but man nothing I love about her early work is...moreI'm just going to put this out there: this book is not good. I read this book because I once loved FLB but man nothing I love about her early work is in this book! I said the same thing when I read How to (Un)cage a Girl and again when I read The Waters & the Wild. Maybe I need to just give up on her. That is painful to think about.
The story is told through a complex narrative, switching back and forth between narrators, perspectives and time without much effort placed on orienting the reader. There is a girl named Katrina (whoa metaphor) who has prescient dreams of things like a tsunami in Asia and 9/11 in NYC. She lives in LA and you are supposed to get the sense of the city being on the verge of a big earthquake - thus, the title "Quakeland."
Katrina has friendships and romantic relationships, but mostly her interactions with people are boring, frustrating, empty or stupid. Her boyfriend, Jasper, is one of those new-age guys who teaches like, yoga dance classes and wants to rub his chi with the chi of many other pretty, young, skinny girls. He insults Katrina during sex. He uses really passive-aggressive backhanded compliments and openly compares her to his ex-girlfriends (yes, even during sex). Her close lady friends try to support her through a series of highly regrettable decisions and try in vain to stop her from making worse decisions. The dialog is all west coast chakra touchy-feely emotional processing about energy and previous lives and spirits. Look, I'm one of the most emotional processing lesbians I have ever met, and this is too much.
Midway through the book, the narrators flip, Katrina gets lost in the shuffle, and I never had a resolution or any closure with her story. The last half of the book sort of limps off into the sunset like a wounded dog. I had to force myself through this book. It was painful. If you were a womens studies / feminist literature professor who really hated your students and had masochistic tendencies, you would teach this book. I am pretty sure I took that class in college, and I am deeply, profoundly grateful that this book was not written yet. (less)
It's tough to rate this book because there is almost nothing like it to compare it to. It's an anthology of personal stories that span the spectrum of...moreIt's tough to rate this book because there is almost nothing like it to compare it to. It's an anthology of personal stories that span the spectrum of what families might look like when created with queer parents and known donors. There are lesbians, dykes, gay men, bisexual & straight people represented in this book. There are people all across the gender spectrum, and people and across the spectrum of monogamy and polyamorous relationships, as well as households that are shared or communal. There are stories from biological and non-biological parents, children of known donors, donors themselves, wives and partners of donors, etc. There are also families that are not white, a rare breath of fresh air in an anthology from the lesbian community. The biggest take-home message is that there are so many ways to make a family. Love makes a family, not biology.
Since this is an anthology, I have an immediate desire to hate it & recommend that many of the pieces either be scrapped or edited much more severely -- but I feel this way about every single anthology I ever read. Overall, this is better than most anthologies, but still suffers from uneven writing ability. The book gets bonus points for the breadth of experiences. While it may not reflect the entire reality of making a family with known, donated genes, it is a good start at least. (less)
If this book was published in 2007, it would have meant a lot more to me, but it came out in 2009. It's not that the ideas don't have their place, but...moreIf this book was published in 2007, it would have meant a lot more to me, but it came out in 2009. It's not that the ideas don't have their place, but they are not especially my style or taste. The first half is focused on projects you can do with the photos you take - make a photo montage for your wall, for example, or a photo display rail or a stamp out of your photo. The second half is supposed to be inspirational - in case you are out of material, inspiration or motivation to photograph things. I think the second half is more interesting because I know more photographers who struggle with motivation and inspiration than those who struggle with how to display or use their photos. BUT unfortunately, the exercises run just shy of interesting (suggestion: 365 project, doggie cam, "photo safari," bribe strangers to pose for portraits), and overall I was a little disappointed and bored.(less)
Apparently they are making a movie out of this book? I will probably go see it even though it will likely be terrible. I picked the book up because it...moreApparently they are making a movie out of this book? I will probably go see it even though it will likely be terrible. I picked the book up because it was on a Flashlight Worthy list of Best Graphic Novels about Women and you know how I love women, right?
Anyway, on to the book. This is the story of a pretty, young newspaper journalist who shakes up the small British town where she grew up when she returns to her family's home. The action takes place over the course of a year at a writers retreat, next door to Tamara's home. Her rockstar boyfriend, her nose job & cosmopolitan style capture the attention of everyone in town, especially two teenage girls who have a "fuck you/be you" complex directed at Tamara's life.
This story started slow and I was kind of "yawn" through the first half. It was pedantic and sort of painful, the emotional burden, boredom and numbness of people flubbing their way through the middle part of their lives. In the second half, the characters got more interesting. They make (often incredibly bad) decisions, behave immorally & treat each other terribly just like real people. By the second half, I was sucked in and started to actually like Tamara Drewe. The climax felt like it came too soon, crashing down around my tender feelings & my fascination with the town gossip. I wasn't ready to let go when the story ended.
And then! The ending was too tragic and shocking for the scope of the narrative. If the book had not been so earnest, so pastoral and rural, so small-town and sincere, the grandiosity of the tragedy could have seemed appropriate. The scale of the disastrous ending far exceeded what I anticipated. Oh, Posy Simmons, I didn't think you had it in you.
The teen girl characters were my favorites, always insinuating themselves into spaces that aren't meant to accommodate them in the way that rascally teens do. I liked the limited comments on celebrity and fame through the second-rate rockstar boyfriend -- the way that someone who is not very famous can seem more famous when they are accessible to you, and the way that celebrity can disrupt the important things like love and, well, life. (less)
This is a book I really wanted to love. I felt certain that I would love it. I adore the mundane everyday sort of autobiographical comics and graphic...moreThis is a book I really wanted to love. I felt certain that I would love it. I adore the mundane everyday sort of autobiographical comics and graphic novels. I almost fell for a boy once simply because he drew three panel comics of his day every single day. I really go for that stuff, for better or worse.
Unfortunately, I felt like this book was "just okay." I like the drawing style. I like the dialog. I like the stories of someone living in The City, floating around between apartments, having a job or not having a job, going to parties or not going to parties. Trapped in the nothingness of my post-college twenties, this self-reflective, vast, absolute uncertainly is easy for me to empathize with. I enjoyed reading it, but the petty hopelessness was just too ordinary for me to wrap my arms around. (less)
This book is so good, I could probably read it 100 more times but someone else has it on hold at the library. Suffice to say, I want to do this to my...moreThis book is so good, I could probably read it 100 more times but someone else has it on hold at the library. Suffice to say, I want to do this to my backyard in a serious, painful longing kind of way. (less)
I brought this home from the library, and finished it within 12 hours. This is a noteworthy feat because I...moreI read this because: Felicia Day told me to.
I brought this home from the library, and finished it within 12 hours. This is a noteworthy feat because I have 18 other books sitting next to my bed. I love each of them more than the one before.
This is a YA graphic novel about Barbara, a middle schoolish-aged girl who is dealing with some serious shit. The ways that kids cope with the difficult things in life consistently amaze me and remind me of what the human spirit is capable of. Joe Kelly captured the magic of that in this book. Barbara is dealing with the long, slow death of her mother - this is the most painful issue at the core of the story. The terror of a young person living through the deterioration of their parent is fully alive in these pages. This is not a slow-paced emo book, though. Barbara has other issues - not fitting in at school, being bullied, her older sister's terrible cooking, not having friends, and also bearing the solitary burden of killing giants.
Barbara is immersed in the world of killing giants - strategies, magical spells, talismans, weapons, traps, mythology and lore - and she uses the hunt for giants both as an escape from real life and a method of processing her feelings about what is happening. There is plenty about loss, grief, loneliness, terror & struggle, but there is also beautiful triumph and quiet, sad moments that let your heart take a whispery, emotional respite from the action-packed fights with school bullies, the school principal & mythological giants. The author & illustrator did a great job of creating emotional space in the story without losing the tension. The rhythm & pace are fantastic.
It occurred to me that I haven't read any Ursula Le Guin in a long time, so I better put her back into my readerly rotation or stop telling people she...moreIt occurred to me that I haven't read any Ursula Le Guin in a long time, so I better put her back into my readerly rotation or stop telling people she's one of my favorite authors. So, I decided to read this series (Annals of the Western Shore). I actually purchased #2 a long time ago, but I was dedicated to reading them in order and never read #1.
So, in the Uplands, there is a sort of feudal system where the "lord" (or "brantor" - I don't know how it's spelled bc I listened to the audiobook and google is doing me no favors today). Each family has a heredity "gift," which provides a power that helps the branter to protect and manage their people's land. The people are rural, the culture is rough around the edges. Most people never visit a city in their entire lives. There is not much of a dominant religion. Most resources are scarce, and people eek out a living from limited farming and ranching. Nearly everyone in the Uplands is illiterate. This is classic Le Guin - where the natural world and the supernatural world coexist, and a whole social/cultural ecosystem unfolds around the reader. The major themes are maturing/adolescence, making space for yourself in the world, obligation and responsibility, human relationship to the natural world, etc.
Orrec is the main character. His familial gift is that of "unmaking," to look at something and "undo" it or destroy it. His best friend, Gry, has the gift of calling animals. Her family uses this gift to call animals for hunters. Orrec's gift is uncontrollable, and Gry is unhappy with the use of her gift (calling animals to their death is kind of a bummer, right?) so the story is focused on how the kids navigate *not* using their gifts and letting their families down. Orrec's mom is from a city. She doesn't have a gift, and maybe she doesn't even really believe in the gifts, but she can read and write and shares extraordinary storytelling with her son. Orrec is a passive guy - he is not decisive, especially brave or strong, and he struggles with his future and destiny. He seems ill-suited to becoming brantor, but the responsibility to his people weighs on him. Orrec & Gry's friendship is sweet. I was cheering for them. Gry is a fantastic character, although I felt it was a little shallow that the men are passing on a gift like "unmaking" and the women are passing on a gift of "calling animals" like Snow White or something. It's a little too shallow on the gendering. Regardless, it was still an enjoyable journey through a rich alternative world with good characters and a simplistic plot. (less)
I can't remember why I picked this up - it was either on a banned book list or a graphic novel list for teens. If I were Ehrrin, I would know where I...moreI can't remember why I picked this up - it was either on a banned book list or a graphic novel list for teens. If I were Ehrrin, I would know where I found it. Dammit.
This manga takes place in some alternative version of feudal Japan, where something like 80% of the male population has mysteriously died off from a plague, and all positions of authority right up to the top are held by women. Scarcity creates value, of course, and the role of men in society shifts dramatically & quickly. Male heirs can be married off, bringing great wealth to their family. Men can earn money by impregnating women who long for a baby but can't afford a husband. All of the work in the country is done by women, as men are too precious and scarce. The country manages to maintain a sense of normality in international dealings & history records by giving male names to business women as they take over the family businesses. The shogun keeps a harem, an inner court, which is entirely staffed by men. I am not into formality, court manners, systems of authority and rank, so I thought this would be tough for me to wade through but the storytelling is good, the plot is awesome, and the characters are relatable. I love the Shogun, She is frugal, focused and disinterested in following all the rules. I want to read the future volumes (I think there are 3?), which I didn't expect starting the book. (less)
What excuse can I offer? I will shamelessly read anything Mary Roach writes. I feel about her the way I used to feel about Michael Pollan, back before...moreWhat excuse can I offer? I will shamelessly read anything Mary Roach writes. I feel about her the way I used to feel about Michael Pollan, back before he was a crusader, when he was just an interesting science writer. This book is better than Spook by an order of magnitude, better than Bonk by a not insignificant amount, but still a far cry away from Stiff. Unfortunately, with this fourth book, I may have to admit that there will never be another book that makes me feel the way that Stiff did. However, P.F.M. is good and as long as Mary Roach avoids becoming a major figurehead, I'll continue to read her books. This book is (mostly) funny and informative, although the science is sometimes so dry and humorless that not even mary roach can make it seem juicy. However, the subject matter has stuck with me and come up in dinnertime conversations. To me, this is the mark of a quality read.
This book lays claim to the curious science of humans in space. Much of this research takes place via simulation: bedrest experiments, think tanks, giant pools, and parabolic flights that simulate zero gravity. It's almost entirely the science of simulation - by the time you actually get to "life in the void," most of the spirit of experimentation has evaporated. At that point, it either works or it doesn't. Mary Roach discusses the chimps that made it to space on American shuttles, although there's less discussion about the Russian dogs that beat them there (except to note that Laika died in orbit & Belka and Strelka were taxidermied).
There is a lot of discussion about how various liquids behave in zero-g, especially those that come from people (vomit, urine, semen, etc). As usual, our author relishes the most terrible details of sensitive subject matter. Mary Roach explores food in space, although her discussion on this matter falls short of her trademark humor. Seriously, astronaut food has so much potential for humor and she kind of dropped the ball here.
On the subject of sex in space, Roach was predictably like a dedicated private investigator in her search for information, going so far as to watch three volumes of a porno that claimed to be shot in zero-g. This is the subject that best illustrates the secrecy and mystery of space exploration the author was up against in her research. Really, almost no one wants to discuss space sex. Not researchers, not the astronauts, no one. "It's low on the list of priorities," one researcher points out. We don't even know how the brain works in zero-g, who has time or funding for boners?
I appreciated Roach's acknowledgement of sexism / sexist behavior in space study. Since women are (generally) lighter, more compact, eat less and subsequently excrete less than men, they might be more suited candidates for space exploration, but instead of switching to all female crews (or all African-American crews, who appear to have less bone density loss relative to white people in space, or better yet, maybe all female African-American crews?), we spend more money flying up more food calories and dealing with more human weight. More than sexism, however, space science suffers from speciesism. The best kinds of astronauts might be a crew of black bears, since they can hibernate without losing bone density thanks to some clever calcium recycling properties.
And speaking of funding, while Roach spent so much time discussing how the flow of money affects the research we do on sex in Bonk, the situation with funding for space is far less examined in this book. A hu/manned mission to Mars would run us about $500B, which is just about what the war on Iraq has cost us. Roach asks, what would you rather pay for? Occasionally Roach mentions how media attention, public opinion, or federal budget cuts affect fields of space study, but overall it's a relatively small part of the story.
One note: a dear friend's spouse made a note that he was disappointed that Roach could not come up with a one word title for this book. At the time, I felt like this was an almost insignificant detail, but having now read the book, do I feel that Mary Roach failed us by not giving this book a more concise title. It would not have been difficult. Space. Gravity. Weightless. Mars. Shuttle. I could go on, but I just shouldn't have to.
This is one of those books that is great for creative people or people who want to develop creative habits/perspectives. It is a collection of exercis...moreThis is one of those books that is great for creative people or people who want to develop creative habits/perspectives. It is a collection of exercises gathered mostly from external (well-cited) sources that will give you a method of moving through your life like an explorer. By following all the exercises in here, you could create a portable museum of your life, certainly, and there is advice on how to even have showings or exhibitions of your museum. I can see this ultimately being more useful as a strategy guide. I thought that the bibliography was one of the most useful parts of the book. Keri Smith draws inspiration from considerably variable and interesting places, and it was nice to see what she had wandered through to bring together this portable museum exercise. (less)
I read this for my friend Laura's book club. The book club is reading Newbury contenders, but I haven't been playing along (it's a book club 2,000 mil...moreI read this for my friend Laura's book club. The book club is reading Newbury contenders, but I haven't been playing along (it's a book club 2,000 miles away, ok?) so I have no idea how this book measures up. Regardless, I read it during a flight from Seattle to St Louis (my most-hated airport) and it made the flight seem short.
The basic plot centers around Amos Kincaid and his family, wherein "family" is defined in the Wild Wild West fashion as the people who are around you, who love you, take care of you and expect things from you. Amos's mother dies in childbirth, but her spirit manages to follow him through his life. Of course, he never notices her, but the major female characters who come into contact with Amos all see the wild redhaired woman. Amos inherits his mother's artistic abilities, and birds follow him around as they followed her. From his father, Amos has inherited the gift of dowsing, or finding water under the ground. Amos & his father both struggle with this gift - it's a decent way to make a living, but does not really fulfill them and they hesitate to be tied down by it. They travel the Oregon Trail! As a person who played ridiculous amounts of Oregon Trail as a child, this narrative fulfilled my nostalgia in the sincerest way. Circle the wagons! Ford the river! Hunt the bison!
The characters are what really make this book enjoyable. Each of them is more than meets the eye (like a transformer). Blue Owl has lively opinions and conversations in her head that she rarely expresses. Jack appears tough & rugged, but he is a softer touch than he would have you believe. Amos is hiding his dowsing gift. Gwen's appearance shifts as a metaphor for Amos's feelings. et-cetera. I enjoyed this book. It took me back to my obsession with Little House on the Prairie & the Oregon Trail game, but included complex characters and a healthy dose of mystical happenings, although I do think we all could have lived without the magical negro.(less)
This book gets 5 stars for Charley Harper's life and work, not for the manner in which Todd Oldham curates it. I mean, Oldham's efforts are adequate b...moreThis book gets 5 stars for Charley Harper's life and work, not for the manner in which Todd Oldham curates it. I mean, Oldham's efforts are adequate but not extraordinary. I have always been sort of vaguely a fan of Harper's work, in the way that you take certain aesthetic parts of your world for granted, but I have never sat down to learn more about his body of work. His birds for the Ford magazine make my heart sing. I liked the interviews and conversations between Charley and Todd, especially when Charley talks about how he paints the world, taking away all the details that obscure the basic image. It is really amazing to read about someone who has, for his entire life, worked as an artist. He was always able to support his family with his art, even though that often meant doing a lot of commercial work that was not always fun. Charley did not like drawing women, and some of the big companies he worked for did not appreciate his style of drawing women -- pretty unfortunate since he illustrated stuff like cookbooks and a number of commercial illustrations for domestic products. Anyway, his work is beautiful and inspiring and I want to fill up my whole brain with his images. Also, his relationship with his wife, their creative collaboration & their lifetimes spent together, and his appreciation for her art was sweet. They took a six month camping honeymoon, and they drew/painted every day. She kept an illustrated journal - is it published? I want to know more about her.
Also, I want to get a tattoo of the Charley Harper jelly fish, but my wife seems to be against it. She keeps suggesting that we get a print of it for the wall, instead of permanent body art. (less)
I really liked this installment of Serenity, but I was also a little disappointed in it. For the record, I purchased this book. I actually ordered it...moreI really liked this installment of Serenity, but I was also a little disappointed in it. For the record, I purchased this book. I actually ordered it from my local comic book shop and went all the way downtown to pick it up. I really wanted to read it sooner than the library would have it in circulation. We have all been waiting for Book's backstory for so long, it is difficult to believe that it is as cliche as this. There was a lot of suspenseful build up (for nerds, not mortals), and it would have been pretty impossible to fulfill my expectations, but I just wanted Book to be a little more complicated and have more details about his evolution and history. I mean, I have probably predicted most of this backstory in my random Serenity intensive conversations over the years. Anyway, the style of storytelling is good and the art is great. The dialogue is honestly not as funny or witty as I expect from something with Joss Whedon's name on it. It didn't ruin my love of the character, but it didn't enhance it as much as I thought it would. (shrug) (less)
This is the story of Will Grayson and Will Grayson, two high school boys who live in different cities and have nothing in common really, except a name...moreThis is the story of Will Grayson and Will Grayson, two high school boys who live in different cities and have nothing in common really, except a name. And what do you have in common with someone who shares your name? Virtually nothing, unless your name is Orange Jello, then maybe you can swap stories.
So Will & Will run into each other through a fateful series of events at a porn store in Chicago. They are both totally awkward about being at a porn store, underage and not really engaged in the inventory. Neither of them really know what to make of their strange coincidental shared name, but it feels significant. One Will Grayson is a little lower class, son of a single divorced mom, lonely, depressed, and gay. The other Will Grayson comes from considerable privilege. He lives in Evanston, IL. He's straight, but he has a gay best friend: enormous, fabulous tight-end football player and serial romantic, Tiny Cooper. Once the two Will Graysons meet, there is a sort of domino effect that serves to zip-tie their lives together. It's kind of magical, but also kind of ordinary and the authors never really ask you to suspend belief as much as they expect you to extend your belief in the possibilities of improbable things. It's not magical realism, that's all I'm trying to say.
One of my local librarians reviewed this on goodreads and it sounded great, so I picked up the audiobook. I've been working through it for the past week or so. I really enjoyed this book & I'm sad it has ended, but everything felt so right at the end. I am sated. I am not clamoring for the sequel (although, if there were one, I would read it.) I have not read a lot of YAF, or fiction in general, with multidimensional and realistic gay teens that reflected real life gay teens. This book is different in that regard. Many of the characters are navigating others' shallow misperceptions of them, and struggling to be perceived as three dimensional personalities, but no one is experiencing it as loudly and vivaciously as the flamboyant gay best friend. This book, however, has so many gay teens and straight teens and a few moments of ambiguous sexuality, and there are enough personalities and experiences that the portrayal of gay teens is not condescending, tokenizing, or shallow. A++
The story is told with alternating chapters from the POV of each W.G. It was a little disorienting for the first few flip/flops, but the audiobook has two different actors reading the parts, and it was easy to keep up with which W.G. was which, and ultimately the alternating perspectives are a crucial element. I loved reading this book. The subject matter was sensitive and handled well. The storytelling was engaging and entertaining. This is not a politicized diatribe or an emotional powerhouse. It's just a good book.
Tiny Cooper writes a musical ("Hold Me Closer," formerly known as "Tiny Dancer"). It's kind of amazing. If you have ever been a teenager or known a teenager absorbed in a grand, gigantic creative endeavor, well, it's just kind of amazing. There is something beautiful about grandiose efforts from teens. Parents are practically non-characters in this book, which is interesting because like, borrowing a car and coming out as gay and needing antidepressants are all teenagery things that would involve time with your parents. One of the W.G.'s has a single mom who is the most interesting adult character in the book, but she doesn't take up a lot of space. It's alright that the adults move around the periphery, but it's a little weird.
There are plenty of indie rock references, facebook requests, instant messages, texts, tortured emotional lovelorn monologues and dialogs, and the sort of secret sneakiness and uncertainty that make adolescence so poignant. Unrequited crushes, break-ups and heartbreak are a constant refrain, and if I remember being a teenager (I do!), that's accurate. Everyone is emotionally stunted (also accurate). These characters really struggled with the most difficult sort of adolescent relationships - close friendships - and those moments were especially earnest and real. They brought up a lot of sentimental feelings for me. Sniff.(less)
It was difficult for me to read this book straight through. I think it would be better to keep on a table near a cozy chair, and flip through it as yo...moreIt was difficult for me to read this book straight through. I think it would be better to keep on a table near a cozy chair, and flip through it as your mind wanders. The encyclopedic information about trees is sorted by species. It's not a biology-focused book. There is plenty of natural history, anecdotal, colloquial information, etc. The problem I had was that there was no major narrative to draw me through the book, and the individual anecdotes were not engaging enough to make me want to read more. I know it has one author, but it read like an anthology, with widely varying quality of information in each section. If I bought this it would be a coffee table book that I would rarely leaf through, and we don't have a coffee table! So god(dess) bless the public library for letting me figure that out & save my dollars. (less)
Somehow, I finally arrived at the last episode of Season Eight? I didn't always like the journey but I appreciated where the Whedonverse ended up. Thi...moreSomehow, I finally arrived at the last episode of Season Eight? I didn't always like the journey but I appreciated where the Whedonverse ended up. This installment was totally shocking (hello, prolonged sex scene, for one) and there are some old familiar faces that really brought things home for me. Buffy & the slayer army have been so far out in left field for so long this "season." It was really comforting for me to feel like we were back to the core of what Buffy is, who she is, what matters to her and why she's here. It's normal for Buffy to be a "secondary character" with all the subplots that this season has been through, but this episode is purely about her. (less)
This is a post-apocalyptic graphic novel with fascinating secondary characters and a flimsy grip on linear narrative. The story opens when Mummy &...moreThis is a post-apocalyptic graphic novel with fascinating secondary characters and a flimsy grip on linear narrative. The story opens when Mummy & Raven arrive in post-Rapture Chicago. Half the population of the world has floated up into the sky during the Rapture, and the half "left behind" are negotiating their way through a mysterious, spooky, anarchist world. They are split into two groups - people who think they can commit enough good deeds to float away when a secondary rapture takes place, and those who don't believe in a secondary rapture. The Rapture has left plenty of great, furnished, empty apartments for squatters to inhabit. Society has more or less collapsed in many of the big, important ways, although individual people have decided to keep certain functions running - some people volunteer as school teachers to children, even though the education system has collapsed. Some policemen still walk their beats. Some bartenders still tend bar, and some store clerks keep their shelves stocked. Raven & Mummy are romantically involved in addition to their former life as bandmates. Pre-Rapture, they toured, attending musical festivals in their costumes/masks. Post-Rapture, they kept their stage identities to remind someone of something (I was unclear on this point). There are plenty of elements to keep the story weird. The corner store only accepts playing cards, not cash. The couple's dog starts talking (and other dogs talk, too). For some reason, there are still active yoga studios? Magical spells and activities are increasingly commonplace, but the weirdness of the world naturalize the magical elements.
While I don't love the artwork, I can appreciate the style & storytelling. I personally don't prefer the really heavy, dark illustration style in this book. I thought the storyline was too out there, and the character development was insufficient. The romantic storyline seemed like an afterthought. The premise is so interesting, and the bits of story that 'worked,' well, they really worked. Overall, I had a difficult time accepting the fictional world and a tougher time keeping up with the plot development. I really like the author's ideas and characters, however, so I would definitely read something else of his despite my low rating for this book. (less)
In the way that I have always loved FLB and will always read the books she writes even if she seems to be jumping the shark more often than not in rec...moreIn the way that I have always loved FLB and will always read the books she writes even if she seems to be jumping the shark more often than not in recent years, I read this book. It's typical FLB -- the city of Los Angeles is practically a character. There's a girl who feels like an outcast. She doesn't belong to this world, she's unpopular, she has no friends and she has strange dreams. She battles popular girls, her kind but misunderstanding mother, and the terrible dreams of a girl who looks just like her but lives below ground. After she befriends an alien disguised as a boy and a former slave reincarnated as a young black girl, Bee realizes that she is actually a changeling, and the dopple ganger she sees is the girl who wants her life back. Even though none of the characters were very well-developed, they were relatable and interesting. This book is just over 100 pages, though, and reads more like a long short story or a novella. A lot of the complicated emotions that FLB usually explores just don't fit into this book. For that reason, it rings hollow to me, even if though I like the characters and the story. My biggest issue (besides the length) was how FLB tried to make the book seem modern or timely with the cultural references and context. Usually her pop culture references are spot on and make you feel more like the story takes place in a specific time, but something about the multiple references to 1. the twin towers falling 2. global warming 3. the polar bears dying and oh, don't forget the tsunami... it just stops feeling like an inside secret reference to pop culture and more like grasping at relevancy. That's something I never thought I'd hear myself say about FLB. Either I'm getting old and jaded, or she just missed it on this one. I'm going to read another one of her newer books to see if I can tell -- is it her, or is it me?(less)
If you're a nerd about traffic, commuting, city planning, highways, America's automobile obsession, cities improving life for pedestrians and bicycles...moreIf you're a nerd about traffic, commuting, city planning, highways, America's automobile obsession, cities improving life for pedestrians and bicycles or just the psychology of driving, this book is your jam. I really wish that I had read this several years ago when my friend Frank was teaching robots to make Pittsburgh lefts. I might have been a better conversationalist at the time. Regardless, this book has plenty of statistics, facts and figures and it is hard to absorb everything in audiobook form, but it is fascinating to me to learn about how we human animals move at speeds we are not evolutionarily designed to move at, in agreed patterns that do not always fulfill our psychological drives. I thought it was really interesting that most people prefer a commute that is less than (in minutes) the amount of time it takes us to travel 5 km by foot. This means that humans can comfortably roam over about 2.5 km (as far as you can walk there and back in a day). And this distance corresponds to the size of most pre-automotive city centers. I like this kind of stuff, but I'm probably not explaining it well. Allow me to cite. From The Evolution of Transportation:
A person traveling by foot covers about 5 km in an hour. With a 1-hour travel budget to go and return home, a pedestrian’s territory would have a radius of 2.5 km and, thus, an area of about 20 km2. We can define this area as the territorial cell of the individual on foot. Topographic maps until about 1800 (and for much of the world today) showed territory that is tiled with cells of about 20 km2, often with a village at the center.
When a village flourishes and becomes a city, the 20- km2 territorial cell fills with people. However, its borders are not breached. Numerous examples of belts or walls of ancient cities show that they never exceeded 5 km in diameter. Even imperial Rome was 20 km2. Vienna started with a small medieval wall, its Ring. Around 1700, after its victory against the Turks, Vienna built a second belt, the Guertel, which had a diameter of 5 km. Pedestrian Venice is elliptical, with a maximum diameter of about 5 km. Ancient Beijing measured 5 × 10 km and thus seems to break the rule. However, close observation shows that Bei- jing was a double star—two adjacent cities, one Chinese and the other Mongol, separated by a wall with gates.
I also liked the parts about how the more cars we have, the more we drive. More than 2 people in cars can drive more than 2 people who share 1 car, but that literally a family that owns 2 cars uses their cars proportionally more than a family with 1 car (probably bc cars become de rigueur in the lifestyle, more convenient/normalized). And the stuff about women moving into the workforce and the correlation between women drivers becoming both the biggest cause and sufferers of traffic.... AND if you add a lane to a highway it doesn't relieve congestion, and HOV lanes encourage people with families to drive more, not people who carpool to carpool more. Men are worse drivers, alcohol and testosterone are dangerous. Merge at the merge point, not at the sign that tells you to merge! And the traffic of Los Angeles is kind of a major character in this book, but other places are here too - Manhattan, Pennsylvania, I'm forgetting so many other places. The stuff about traffic engineers that coordinate green lights to get the celebrities to the Grammys on time - you guys, that is the stuff that city planning nerds have DREAMS about.
There is really just so much good stuff in this book, I could probably read it again get more out of it. If you are remotely interested in how city planning, traffic and transport work, this is a completely accessible, engrossing and interesting read. If you're not, however, this will bore you senseless. (less)
You know, I was doubtful that this book had much to add to the new explosion of food preserving books, but I actually like this a lot. There is a dedi...moreYou know, I was doubtful that this book had much to add to the new explosion of food preserving books, but I actually like this a lot. There is a dedicated focus on small-space living (small pantries, tiny kitchens, no counter space, etc). Any good urban-focused book should recognize how small the footprints are inside the city limits. The recipes emphasize fresh, local, seasonal ingredients and good advice on sourcing them (ask your local farmers market producers for seconds to make pickles. the small nicks and imperfections won't matter). The entire book centers on a wise, frugal "waste not, want not" approach to really healthy, inexpensive recipes. The first section of the book has some fantastic advice on keeping a pantry that's well-stocked enough to make a meal easy to improvise without being so overstocked that things go rancid or moldy before you can use them. Then, there are a variety of recipes using the pantry staples you have now learned to keep on hand. The recipe sections are divided up into whole grains, beans & peas, eggs, nuts, milk/yogurt and small-batch preserves. More than strict recipes, the book offers up a way of thinking about your food, and how to make it go further. If you're making a carrot soup, save the peels for your vegetable broth. If you're using parsley, save the stems for broth. If you're making grains for dinner, don't add the savory seasoning in the big pot -- then the plain grain leftovers can become a warm breakfast porridge. It's a holistic approach to meal planning with the hard limitation of balancing storage/cooking space, cost and nutrition. I really wanted to make at least a third of the recipes the first time I flipped through the book -- the carrot/coconut soup, the whole grain hippie hotcakes, all of the pickled carrots. This is pretty unusual for me, since I usually disregard most recipes on the first pass. It's only the second or third time I read through a cookbook that I get interested. SO, I think Amy Pennington has written a really helpful and interesting book here. I got it from my public library (how frugal and space-conscious of me, right?) but I might actually buy it so I can add the recipes to our cookbook collection. Bravo, Amy Pennington. (less)
Most of these projects are completely unwearable, as the judges panel would say on Project Runway. Some of them wouldn't even survive one wearing (uhm...moreMost of these projects are completely unwearable, as the judges panel would say on Project Runway. Some of them wouldn't even survive one wearing (uhm, ruffled neckline made out of toilet paper). And most everything is just completely not my style, but even if I wouldn't wear it and it's not terribly practical, there are some creative ideas in here. More than the actual execution of any specific project, the strength of this book is in the way it tries to teach you to think about creating accessories / clothing. Starting with a mood/idea board for each project, and using some interesting methods and materials. A number of the projects are more embellishment than construction. I won't make anything from this book, but it will probably stay in the back of my mind. The nautical striped tshirt was one of my favorite projects, along with the tuxedo leggings (much to my own surprise). The list of projects I didn't like was too long to list. (less)
This is the sequel to A Year in Japan. Kate has returned home from Japan, she is working on her book, living at her parents' house and generally avoid...moreThis is the sequel to A Year in Japan. Kate has returned home from Japan, she is working on her book, living at her parents' house and generally avoiding making decisions that will force her life in any particular direction. In that way, Crossroads encapsulates that post-college mid-20s aimless ambivalence that takes over your life if you don't fall directly into a predestined career after graduation. I appreciated the awkward, terrible questions from family friends, her parents' friends, neighbors, family members, and childhood friends' parents about her plans for the future -- really, it is an awful position to answer those same questions over and over about how aimless you are. Kate's representation of those situations was authentically awkward.
I liked this book a little more than the previous book because it's more about her life and not just snippets of cultural artifacts, and there's more of a storyline. At the same time, there is not really a plot and not a lot of activity, unless you count the ways that Hall & Oates concerts become Cher concerts become Chicago concerts. The watercolor illustrations are pretty. I like how Kate uses perspective and scale to make the images more interesting. There are not any "tough questions" or complicated conflicts in this book. And isn't that like, so totally what post-college life is like.(less)
Nikki McClure's art is *literally* everywhere in Olympia, so you would think I'd be over it by now. I mean, it's like a full immersion experience but...moreNikki McClure's art is *literally* everywhere in Olympia, so you would think I'd be over it by now. I mean, it's like a full immersion experience but I kind of like it. Anyway, SO, here's a giant oversized collection of some of Nikki McClure's treasured papercut pictures from the last 10 years or so of her calendars, organized by season . It's a nice opportunity to revisit her work if you've watched the pictures pass by month by month, and a fantastic collection if you're experiencing her work for the first time. Most pictures have a single word or phrase for embellishment (Collect. Preserve. Etc). McClure's art is based on families, children, nature and seasons. It's a nice way to think about the year. (less)
I got this audiobook after reading Three Cups of Tea. I didn't exactly Love the first book, but the story is so compelling I came back for more. I fee...moreI got this audiobook after reading Three Cups of Tea. I didn't exactly Love the first book, but the story is so compelling I came back for more. I feel like this is the book where Greg Mortenson really nails it. The stories of the affected women and children shine through. The NGO's maturation is evident, and I'm glad they worked out their fundraising issues. I love the way the story moves between the demands back in the US, and the pressure, requests and needs from the villages and people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. His personality is still in the story, but he is so busy and distracted by the enormous demands of the work that the important stuff takes center stage. There is more emphasis on the stories of the "dirty dozen," the CAI's staff on the ground in the region, overseeing the projects and doing most of the work. This is a welcome change, and really shifts the story from a "white hero saves the day" to a grassroots collaborative effort by local people.
If I wanted to tell someone to read about the Central Asia Institute's work, I would tell them to skip Three Cups and just read this one. The social, religious, linguistic, economic and ethnic barriers in these countries are enormous. At the heart of this book is a quiet understanding that we are all more alike than we are different, and that working in small, focused ways to make concrete changes in the lives of children is the surest way to really change the world. Triumph of the human spirit. Fight the Taliban with school supplies and moderation.
In the last book, I felt like women's education was sort of an afterthought. The context and priorities for women's education in Afghanistan and Pakistan are much more clear and well-defined in this book. There is more discussion about the lifetime value of women's education - to her, to her family, to her village and ultimately her country. Statistics about lower birth rate, lower maternal mortality and lower infant mortality are reiterated often, really making the case for girls education. The author emphasizes that educating a boy educates an individual, but educating a girl lifts up the whole village. As the Taliban's intense restriction of girls' education rises, the Central Asia Institute's work becomes even more important. They experience opposition, threats, and intimidation, but they keep building schools. They build a line of girls schools right across the most concentrated Taliban region.
One of the weirdest, most intense parts of the story is the way that the author represents the US military conflicts in this region. What a strange and fascinating perspective - a US-based NGO working in those countries before and during the post-9/11 US invasions, and to be friendly with the military and still firmly connected to the local culture and traditions with social networks and relationships.... I was exhausted just thinking about how much they had to balance. The US military was portrayed as a sort of distant ally through the book. Both sides (CAI and US Military) were reluctant to be strongly aligned because it complicates so much of their respective work and alliances. The author mentions multiple times that his book, Three Cups, is assigned reading for military officers being assigned to this region. The CAI's treatment of the military was almost gentle and forgiving, like the military is good people doing important work in the most blundering, embarrassing, ill-informed, poorly-conceived way. The atrocities committed by the US military in this region are too numerous and horrifying to gloss over like this. But the situation is complicated. You need all the allies you can get to get anything done in a land with so many social, political, economic and geographic hurdles. (less)
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