[sic], joshua cody
a hipster nerd memoir about having cancer and oral mucositis (vomiting black crystals via your thin white porcelain alimentary tract), writing in tangents like and fanboying out about david foster wallace. thank god there were very few footnotes. the page numbers were on the side margins. the font had that thing with the 2-letter combination changing to a different fused character.
farther away, jonathan franzen
every time i see an overblown blurb about jonathan franzen (e.g. “There are about twenty great American novelists in the generations that follow me. The greatest is Jonathan Franzen.” by who else by philip roth, bah whatever) i get very skeptical and think, 'but really, really, is he reallllly soooo much better than everyone else?? especially with freedom which i did not love.' and then i think mostly his essays in this collection are pretty great. it's like investigative journalism with some personal drudgery and moping and bird watching.
a short history of tractors in ukrainian
this was ok, it was initially interesting because all the characters were annoying and caricatured. they got less annoying but no less caricatured and the plot twists became more predictable. i got it for a dollar but i probably won't read it again.
making scenes, adrienne eisen
the author penelope trunk has admitted this is mostly memoir and this makes it very interesting. it's more like a bunch of vignettes than a linear story about the protagonist. whose objective approach to everything is fascinating; not much processing of feelings happens but the events that happen are in themselves are interesting in their frank descriptions and also frankly their combination. being a stock trading clerk, buying a hundred bagels, working in a bookshop, wondering if one might be a lesbian, needing male attention in order to avoid bulimic habits, being a professional beach volleyball player, being sent to a psychiatrist as a kid because their parents are crazy and think the kid is the abnormal one, it's allll in there. plus more. there's a lot of funny in it too, like making menstrual blood art and then accidentally washing it all out, and then using that material to line underpants. then there is this interview with the author where she ponders why she was shocked to hear that the protagonist wasn't likeable. soooo interesting.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
one more! for the people!
one more for the people, martha grover
i do believe this was the first contemporary book i have read on my kindle! i love the personal essay genre in general, particularly when there is cynicism and mundaneness (? apparently this is a word, an ugly one) involved, plus endearing family routines, trivial details and a touch of personal trial. i really liked it, there were lists and toilet humour involved as well.
examined lives, james miller
never having studied any form of philosophy this was a great introduction for me, a potted history if you will. in fact the 12 philosophers profiled seem to represent somewhat connected leaps and developments in introspection and walking as well as talking the talk. overall it seems certain situations and ideas were a product of their times and situations. anyway it takes a lot of ego and a little crazy maybe to believe that you hear voices or had a vision or a life-changing dream, and not only that but that these are thoughts and thought experiments you want to change the world with.
one quote in particular that struck me was that nietzsche had thought along with darwin's theory of evolution, in contrast with marx and others, that it means possibly that the environment itself in which humans live is also a product of natural selection, as is the undetermined reality or illusion of 'free will'. verrrrry interesting.
also here is one of the back cover quotes: 'Examined Lives is like watching Roger Federer play tennis. The graceful movement of his mind is a joy to behold.' oh really now.
i do believe this was the first contemporary book i have read on my kindle! i love the personal essay genre in general, particularly when there is cynicism and mundaneness (? apparently this is a word, an ugly one) involved, plus endearing family routines, trivial details and a touch of personal trial. i really liked it, there were lists and toilet humour involved as well.
examined lives, james miller
never having studied any form of philosophy this was a great introduction for me, a potted history if you will. in fact the 12 philosophers profiled seem to represent somewhat connected leaps and developments in introspection and walking as well as talking the talk. overall it seems certain situations and ideas were a product of their times and situations. anyway it takes a lot of ego and a little crazy maybe to believe that you hear voices or had a vision or a life-changing dream, and not only that but that these are thoughts and thought experiments you want to change the world with.
one quote in particular that struck me was that nietzsche had thought along with darwin's theory of evolution, in contrast with marx and others, that it means possibly that the environment itself in which humans live is also a product of natural selection, as is the undetermined reality or illusion of 'free will'. verrrrry interesting.
also here is one of the back cover quotes: 'Examined Lives is like watching Roger Federer play tennis. The graceful movement of his mind is a joy to behold.' oh really now.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
sweet mustard pickles
why be happy when you could be normal, jeanette winterson
this memoir was simultaneously terribly sad and extremely uplifting. not only was 'oranges are not the only fruit' not depressing enough but it turns out it was the glossier cover version! out of all of winterson's writing this book was much more prose and direct that usual, making it all the more stark. i imagine winterson to be a towering force of nature.
townie, andre dubus iii
i like reading about childhoods (as previously mentioned) and the first third of this memoir was particularly good with an undercurrent exploring the roots of violence. the middle third started to drag.. the end was ok. this is a boring review because i want to get to the next one! but i would rate this very highly in terms of memoirs by people who have not had extremely interesting things happen in their lives.
ghost lights, lydia millet
i started this book and read the majority of it thinking yeah, yeah, this is ok, i don't love the main character but i don't hate him, i kinda like the journey of self discovery he has taken throughout this somewhat typical journey to a tropical island country complete with manhunts and tiny covert military operations and stereotypical side characters. all of that is well and good. and it would have been fine with a typical loose-end-tying culmination and resolution. but no. the entire last chapter changes everything and turns it into a book worth at least another read right away.
eta: i do have one significant criticism for this book and it is that the font for the page numbers is way too quirky such that it is too difficult to read and therefore remember the page at which one pauses.
this memoir was simultaneously terribly sad and extremely uplifting. not only was 'oranges are not the only fruit' not depressing enough but it turns out it was the glossier cover version! out of all of winterson's writing this book was much more prose and direct that usual, making it all the more stark. i imagine winterson to be a towering force of nature.
townie, andre dubus iii
i like reading about childhoods (as previously mentioned) and the first third of this memoir was particularly good with an undercurrent exploring the roots of violence. the middle third started to drag.. the end was ok. this is a boring review because i want to get to the next one! but i would rate this very highly in terms of memoirs by people who have not had extremely interesting things happen in their lives.
ghost lights, lydia millet
i started this book and read the majority of it thinking yeah, yeah, this is ok, i don't love the main character but i don't hate him, i kinda like the journey of self discovery he has taken throughout this somewhat typical journey to a tropical island country complete with manhunts and tiny covert military operations and stereotypical side characters. all of that is well and good. and it would have been fine with a typical loose-end-tying culmination and resolution. but no. the entire last chapter changes everything and turns it into a book worth at least another read right away.
eta: i do have one significant criticism for this book and it is that the font for the page numbers is way too quirky such that it is too difficult to read and therefore remember the page at which one pauses.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
a new look for a new era
i hence advise publicly that this blog will attempt to review books.
from earlier in the year:
- blood matters, masha gessen
- perfect rigour, masha gessen
- papa hemingway, a.e. hotchner
very interesting! a look into the man himself. as i may have said before i don't particularly care that hemingway doesn't particularly have a great reputation, though i wish he weren't faintly/obviously anti-semitic in the sun also rises. what a life to lead!
- the sound and the fury, william faulkner
my first faulkner novel, very good. i regret not writing this review earlier because i have somewhat forgotten it. i feel like it was the prototype for others' subsequent novels set in the south who turned these complex characters into stock stereotypes.
- the sportswriter, richard ford
i actually read independence day (the 'sequel') a few years ago and didn't love it, but then i read this properly word for word and really liked it.
- best american short stories, 2011, ed. geraldine brooks
some good, some just ok. this is why i love the library.
- green hills of africa, ernest hemingway
while it's easy to get sucked into any one of hemingway's passions via his writing, i felt that this was less accessible and inspiring of violence than his writing about bullfighting. i would have liked more technical explanation and how he did his tracking and shooting.
- the emperor of scent, chandler burr
having read luca turin's own book on the science of scent it was interesting to read about the man himself and the background surrounding his research, and more importantly the politics and negative reception one gets for crashing a science party with a new theory. it makes me want to look up how the vibration theory is going now that there has been so much publicity about it.
- the perfect scent, chandler burr
so it seems i have been on a perfume kick. but smells are important to me. this one focused on the development behind sarah jessica parker's perfume lines, and also the process of hermes' first in-house development of perfume. so much money.
from earlier in the year:
- blood matters, masha gessen
- perfect rigour, masha gessen
- papa hemingway, a.e. hotchner
very interesting! a look into the man himself. as i may have said before i don't particularly care that hemingway doesn't particularly have a great reputation, though i wish he weren't faintly/obviously anti-semitic in the sun also rises. what a life to lead!
- the sound and the fury, william faulkner
my first faulkner novel, very good. i regret not writing this review earlier because i have somewhat forgotten it. i feel like it was the prototype for others' subsequent novels set in the south who turned these complex characters into stock stereotypes.
- the sportswriter, richard ford
i actually read independence day (the 'sequel') a few years ago and didn't love it, but then i read this properly word for word and really liked it.
- best american short stories, 2011, ed. geraldine brooks
some good, some just ok. this is why i love the library.
- green hills of africa, ernest hemingway
while it's easy to get sucked into any one of hemingway's passions via his writing, i felt that this was less accessible and inspiring of violence than his writing about bullfighting. i would have liked more technical explanation and how he did his tracking and shooting.
- the emperor of scent, chandler burr
having read luca turin's own book on the science of scent it was interesting to read about the man himself and the background surrounding his research, and more importantly the politics and negative reception one gets for crashing a science party with a new theory. it makes me want to look up how the vibration theory is going now that there has been so much publicity about it.
- the perfect scent, chandler burr
so it seems i have been on a perfume kick. but smells are important to me. this one focused on the development behind sarah jessica parker's perfume lines, and also the process of hermes' first in-house development of perfume. so much money.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
helloooo
good evening and apologies for the hiatus, i have not yet decided on the next incarnation of this blog. should i keep up the terribly negative book and film reviews? to date there is nothing else i am good at writing about.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
25 more days of the 1001
janelle monae, sydney opera house june 26
amazing, awesome, time-bending show. they negated the awkward opera house seats by having an MC make standing mandatory. fantastic voice, great dancer/entertainer. and it's possible to do it all live.
the convalescent, jessica anthony
i read this book with great interest.. until the ending. making a virtue of unlikeable characteristics is always an interesting mental exercise.
the ethics of the way we eat, peter singer and jim mason
i had read this before and find there is a lot to think about. however the assertion that the only way to ensure zero impact is to become vegan, is actually relatively extreme. while the authors do acknowledge that being a conscientious omnivore is an ethically sound possibility, they say that it is too difficult for any normal person to look into all the details to ensure all the issues are accounted for. and that therefore it is too hard to try, and that even trying is not good enough. i think they needed to have a little more grey area and look more at how to make it easier for people to check where their food is coming from. making small or even large changes without completely converting does make a difference, does it not?
amazing, awesome, time-bending show. they negated the awkward opera house seats by having an MC make standing mandatory. fantastic voice, great dancer/entertainer. and it's possible to do it all live.
the convalescent, jessica anthony
i read this book with great interest.. until the ending. making a virtue of unlikeable characteristics is always an interesting mental exercise.
the ethics of the way we eat, peter singer and jim mason
i had read this before and find there is a lot to think about. however the assertion that the only way to ensure zero impact is to become vegan, is actually relatively extreme. while the authors do acknowledge that being a conscientious omnivore is an ethically sound possibility, they say that it is too difficult for any normal person to look into all the details to ensure all the issues are accounted for. and that therefore it is too hard to try, and that even trying is not good enough. i think they needed to have a little more grey area and look more at how to make it easier for people to check where their food is coming from. making small or even large changes without completely converting does make a difference, does it not?
Monday, May 7, 2012
yo peeps
cxl. outliers, malcolm gladwell
pretty interesting! there is no such thing as luck except that some people end up having had extra special circumstances that allowed them to develop in certain ways, no one suddenly is a superhero.
cxli. islands in the stream, ernest hemingway
out of all other hemingway books this was THE most similar to 'for whom the bell tolls', in terms of the main character and yes, the ending. thomas hudson, meet robert jordan. hemingway's use of the character's full name in the third person for the entire novel is extremely interesting to me, like this is a technique which has clear implications on how you feel the story is being told, or how you are getting to know the character. so interesting.
cxlii. the reader, bernard schlink
a much simpler book than i expected, i don't know why. also the translation kept it slightly at a distance.
xx. susan graham, studio, sydney opera house may 1st
the room was very red! a lot of focus on great expression and finesse of expression.
pretty interesting! there is no such thing as luck except that some people end up having had extra special circumstances that allowed them to develop in certain ways, no one suddenly is a superhero.
cxli. islands in the stream, ernest hemingway
out of all other hemingway books this was THE most similar to 'for whom the bell tolls', in terms of the main character and yes, the ending. thomas hudson, meet robert jordan. hemingway's use of the character's full name in the third person for the entire novel is extremely interesting to me, like this is a technique which has clear implications on how you feel the story is being told, or how you are getting to know the character. so interesting.
cxlii. the reader, bernard schlink
a much simpler book than i expected, i don't know why. also the translation kept it slightly at a distance.
xx. susan graham, studio, sydney opera house may 1st
the room was very red! a lot of focus on great expression and finesse of expression.
Monday, April 16, 2012
beep boop
cxxxvii. cleaving, julie powell
i loved all the technical stuff about learning to butcher. the moping and the affair and so much personal exposure, not so much.
cxxxviii. the perfectionist - life and death in haute cuisine, rudolph cheminski
this was one of the more detailed and slightly boring books i have read in the category of restaurant non-fiction, perhaps because it wasn't written first hand by someone actually cooking. much more interview/reporting style.
cxxxix. vanity fair, william makepeace thackeray
the first half was hilarious! a sarcastic comedy and farce. then i struggled through the second half and can say that i have read it.
xviv. dame kiri te kanawa, chatswood concourse Apr 14
do performers make a habit of leaving the stage after groups of songs, ostensibly for a drinks break? i've never seen it and it was a little strange. dame kiri still has fantastic high notes and reasonably tight vibrato, i have come to the conclusion i don't care much for canteloube's songs of the auvergne. there was a lot of coughing and almost choking from the audience, often at the worst moments too, ugh. overall great performance from a legend, though.
this is also a new venue that i had not been to before, the design is very similar to angel place city recital hall. however the side boxes come out a bit too far so seats on the balcony at the ends of the rows have quite a restricted view of the stage which was not advised during ticket purchase. acoustics good.
i loved all the technical stuff about learning to butcher. the moping and the affair and so much personal exposure, not so much.
cxxxviii. the perfectionist - life and death in haute cuisine, rudolph cheminski
this was one of the more detailed and slightly boring books i have read in the category of restaurant non-fiction, perhaps because it wasn't written first hand by someone actually cooking. much more interview/reporting style.
cxxxix. vanity fair, william makepeace thackeray
the first half was hilarious! a sarcastic comedy and farce. then i struggled through the second half and can say that i have read it.
xviv. dame kiri te kanawa, chatswood concourse Apr 14
do performers make a habit of leaving the stage after groups of songs, ostensibly for a drinks break? i've never seen it and it was a little strange. dame kiri still has fantastic high notes and reasonably tight vibrato, i have come to the conclusion i don't care much for canteloube's songs of the auvergne. there was a lot of coughing and almost choking from the audience, often at the worst moments too, ugh. overall great performance from a legend, though.
this is also a new venue that i had not been to before, the design is very similar to angel place city recital hall. however the side boxes come out a bit too far so seats on the balcony at the ends of the rows have quite a restricted view of the stage which was not advised during ticket purchase. acoustics good.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
the queen of v
xviii. 31st march 2012 anne sophie mutter with the sydney symphony and vladimir ashkenazy - beethoven violin concerto and shostakovich symphony no 5
did i even mention last time that lisa batiashvili's performance was the first time i'd seen ashkenazy conduct? anyway he should do it more ho ho ho.
what is there to say about anne sophie mutter playing beethoven! i am so glad to have seen her first australian performance. clear gold sound, never dominated by the orchestra, apparent from the very first note. appropriate freedom of tempo and complete mastery of mood. i guess that happens when you play a piece for 35 years. having seen her play in 3D i can now fully appreciate that the slightly raised elbow is in the service of sinuous bow to string contact that is virtually continuous. the chord flourishes are like whips. the shoulder cloth only comes out for the cadenzas. the dresses are john galliano. the encore was bach partita no 2 sarabande.
shostakovich was pretty great esp mvts 2 and 4, and the timpanist was pounding it like no tomorrow at the end, pretty great.
did i even mention last time that lisa batiashvili's performance was the first time i'd seen ashkenazy conduct? anyway he should do it more ho ho ho.
what is there to say about anne sophie mutter playing beethoven! i am so glad to have seen her first australian performance. clear gold sound, never dominated by the orchestra, apparent from the very first note. appropriate freedom of tempo and complete mastery of mood. i guess that happens when you play a piece for 35 years. having seen her play in 3D i can now fully appreciate that the slightly raised elbow is in the service of sinuous bow to string contact that is virtually continuous. the chord flourishes are like whips. the shoulder cloth only comes out for the cadenzas. the dresses are john galliano. the encore was bach partita no 2 sarabande.
shostakovich was pretty great esp mvts 2 and 4, and the timpanist was pounding it like no tomorrow at the end, pretty great.
Monday, March 26, 2012
why hello
cxxxv. ethan frome, edith wharton
so bleak, god.
cxxxvi. the remains of the day, kazuo ishiguro
well i mean it was ok; it was well-written and subtle. but ultimately was it gripping and newly insightful? not so much.
viii? this is our youth, sydney opera house drama theatre march 22
this was quite enjoyable now that i think back about it, but at the time i just felt like it was new york/internet snark in person. this was most likely an effect of some people in the audience who found some average lines funny and the good lines hilarious beyond belief. this kind of weird exaggerated response relative to my own was a bit disconcerting! anyway this is quickly becoming a judgy judgement of the audience rather than the play itself, which i enjoyed. michael cera was pretty great in a michael cera way, and while kieran culkin was operating at a higher level they both had stilted monologue patches but were otherwise consistently good.
so bleak, god.
cxxxvi. the remains of the day, kazuo ishiguro
well i mean it was ok; it was well-written and subtle. but ultimately was it gripping and newly insightful? not so much.
viii? this is our youth, sydney opera house drama theatre march 22
this was quite enjoyable now that i think back about it, but at the time i just felt like it was new york/internet snark in person. this was most likely an effect of some people in the audience who found some average lines funny and the good lines hilarious beyond belief. this kind of weird exaggerated response relative to my own was a bit disconcerting! anyway this is quickly becoming a judgy judgement of the audience rather than the play itself, which i enjoyed. michael cera was pretty great in a michael cera way, and while kieran culkin was operating at a higher level they both had stilted monologue patches but were otherwise consistently good.
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