So I haven't posted on here for a while. But that doesn't mean I haven't been reading! Here's what I've finished since I last posted:
1. History of Love by Nicole Krauss
History of Love was a wonderful novel. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time, discussing how we can react to our decisions and how disappointment and regret could take over our lives and when we finally attempt to make amends, we can let everything go.
2. Choke by Chuck Pahlaniuk
Pahlaniuk novels are my in-between, I need a reading break, kind of books. I know that sounds crazy and his writing has so many layers but his novels are easy for me to read. His writing style is just the kind of style that I can immerse myself in and the kind of style that makes me want to actually read on the el when I'm coming home from work. It's flowing but short and captivating. Not always the easiest to follow, but if you just roll with it, it's wonderful. Choke was not my favorite Pahlaniuk novel I've ever read, it had even more graphic content than some of his other novels, but it was definitely a nice break from the dense material I've been going through this summer.
3. The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
I knew this would take me a long time to get through, just by sheer size, but I wasn't expecting to take me as long as it did. The pulitzer-prize winner had a deeply-interesting story and was well-written but there was so much content that, by the end, I couldn't wait for the story to finally finish. There were also many places in the novel where the story could have finished, to a pretty good result, but the final ending was the right choice. It would have been much more climactic if the story hadn't been so bulky, but Chabon must have been writing a novel about how real life works, not a story.
Right now, I'm reading Luminarium by Alex Shakar. I'm not into it yet and I'm almost half way through the book. It was recommended to me by a friend and I hope it redeems itself by the end!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Super Sad True Love Story and Room
This post is going to be about two books I just read, the first being this late because I didn't want to write about the book and the second being this soon because I read the book so quickly! The first is Super Sad True Love Story (SSTLS for sanity's purposes) by Gary Shteyngart.
SSTLS was one of the most disappointing books I've read all summer. It's supposed to take place in the not so distant future (probably about 30-50 years) and the world that Shteyngart created is bizarre, attempting to be satirical of the way our world could head but it's so unbelievable that it just comes out ridiculous. His commentary on the world is appropriate, highlighting the way that sex and technology have taken over our lives. His idea of everyone having an "apparat" (which has umlauts on the a's but I don't know how to do that in here) is not far-fetched. We all have our cell phones, some of us with smart phones, and I can say that everyone I know in my generation is attached to their phone. The idea that we will all be dependent on our devices and interact more through our devices than through personal interaction is an issue that will be more and more apparent in the next few decades.
The other aspect of Shteyngart's commentary on our culture concerns the way that sex pervades our everyday lives. In SSTLS, teens watch porn together on a regular basis, girls wear "onionskin" jeans (which are see-through pants), and the names of the stores that sell clothes are named things that I'd rather not repeat. The idea that sex would be out in the open so intensely is completely un-fathomable for me. I realize that sex is already prevalent in our culture but that kind of intensity and publicity would receive so much backlash from conservative groups, that I would be shocked to see our world become so openly sexual. I realize that our world is so much more sexual than 100 years ago but there seems to be a breaking point.
Besides Shteyngart's preposterous world that he creates (and I didn't even get into the politics of his world), the story between the two main characters is empty with little to no redemption. The story follows dumpy, older Lenny and his falling in love with young, hip Eunice. They meet in Rome and she has no choice but to stay with him when she returns to the states. Their story seems as if it will end triumphantly with Eunice letting herself love Lenny against her "better judgement." However (spoiler alert), she leaves him for his much older, but younger through a process of de-aging, boss who can save her family. She ends up believing that family is the most important, which, to the reader, seems like a terrible idea. Shteyngart makes her family look like a mess of abuse and negligence. Her choice in the end left a bad taste in my mouth.
As for Room, the second book of this post, I would recommend this story to so many people. I loved the story, I loved the writing style, I loved the characters. I don't want to say too much about the story, since the way it unfolds is so beautifully slow. Not in a boring way, but in a bit by bit kind of way. The story is told from the point of view of a five year old and the innocence and perspective sheds so much light on the way the world works and the way people interact with each other. I just say that the book was fantastic and I would definitely recommend it. It was a fast, easy read and totally worth every minute.
SSTLS was one of the most disappointing books I've read all summer. It's supposed to take place in the not so distant future (probably about 30-50 years) and the world that Shteyngart created is bizarre, attempting to be satirical of the way our world could head but it's so unbelievable that it just comes out ridiculous. His commentary on the world is appropriate, highlighting the way that sex and technology have taken over our lives. His idea of everyone having an "apparat" (which has umlauts on the a's but I don't know how to do that in here) is not far-fetched. We all have our cell phones, some of us with smart phones, and I can say that everyone I know in my generation is attached to their phone. The idea that we will all be dependent on our devices and interact more through our devices than through personal interaction is an issue that will be more and more apparent in the next few decades.
The other aspect of Shteyngart's commentary on our culture concerns the way that sex pervades our everyday lives. In SSTLS, teens watch porn together on a regular basis, girls wear "onionskin" jeans (which are see-through pants), and the names of the stores that sell clothes are named things that I'd rather not repeat. The idea that sex would be out in the open so intensely is completely un-fathomable for me. I realize that sex is already prevalent in our culture but that kind of intensity and publicity would receive so much backlash from conservative groups, that I would be shocked to see our world become so openly sexual. I realize that our world is so much more sexual than 100 years ago but there seems to be a breaking point.
Besides Shteyngart's preposterous world that he creates (and I didn't even get into the politics of his world), the story between the two main characters is empty with little to no redemption. The story follows dumpy, older Lenny and his falling in love with young, hip Eunice. They meet in Rome and she has no choice but to stay with him when she returns to the states. Their story seems as if it will end triumphantly with Eunice letting herself love Lenny against her "better judgement." However (spoiler alert), she leaves him for his much older, but younger through a process of de-aging, boss who can save her family. She ends up believing that family is the most important, which, to the reader, seems like a terrible idea. Shteyngart makes her family look like a mess of abuse and negligence. Her choice in the end left a bad taste in my mouth.
As for Room, the second book of this post, I would recommend this story to so many people. I loved the story, I loved the writing style, I loved the characters. I don't want to say too much about the story, since the way it unfolds is so beautifully slow. Not in a boring way, but in a bit by bit kind of way. The story is told from the point of view of a five year old and the innocence and perspective sheds so much light on the way the world works and the way people interact with each other. I just say that the book was fantastic and I would definitely recommend it. It was a fast, easy read and totally worth every minute.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
A Visit From the Goon Squad
Aging is an issue that everyone deals with. I know that I'm still very young, but I'm starting to face the world of people I knew as babies entering high school and my friends getting married and having kids. I'm also at the point where I feel as if I need to balance my interests in the styles and lifestyles of whatever subcultures I might find myself entrenched in and the working world. When you're a student, you can get away with pretty much anything as far as style and lifestyle goes but when you have to go into the office and work a consistent schedule, things change.
Anyway, A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan tackles these issues along with the aftermath of being "cool" in high school. The story follows two different people in the music business, Bennie, a punk-turned-record-executive, and Sasha, his assistant with sticky fingers and a mysterious history. (doesn't that sound like the back cover of a novel?) The first two chapters are from Sasha and Bennie's perspectives, respectively, and the rest of the book shows their lives from the points of view of those around them. The story follows Bennie from high school to late middle age, and Sasha from her late teens to early middle age. Both Sasha and Bennie go through periods before their professional careers of reckless, youthful living, which ends up stalling the progression of their professional lives before they are able to flourish.
A Visit From the Goon Squad discusses aging in a candid way, which brings to light many of the dilemmas that every generation feels. The fear of loosing relevance, trying to keep relevance, and loosing it by trying too hard. Bennie is hit the hardest with this dichotomy, as his career as a record executive is a roller coaster through the story. He constantly has to fight to find the next big thing and, as he gets older, this gets harder. This is a reality for pretty much everyone, the fight between age and relevance. There is a line in the last chapter that sums up this feeling as Bennie says to his friend Scotty, "Time's a goon, right? You gonna let that goon push you around?" (332).
The last chapter gives a peek into the near future, a time when my generation's children are just at my age now. Included in this, is the idea that the next generation will be "clean," meaning that they will not have piercings or tattoos after seeing all of our assorted body art age and deteriorate. Quite an interesting aspect seeing as I'm just at the point where I'm adding more and more... I definitely recommend this novel. It won the 2011 Pulitzer, which I feel is greatly deserved.
Anyway, A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan tackles these issues along with the aftermath of being "cool" in high school. The story follows two different people in the music business, Bennie, a punk-turned-record-executive, and Sasha, his assistant with sticky fingers and a mysterious history. (doesn't that sound like the back cover of a novel?) The first two chapters are from Sasha and Bennie's perspectives, respectively, and the rest of the book shows their lives from the points of view of those around them. The story follows Bennie from high school to late middle age, and Sasha from her late teens to early middle age. Both Sasha and Bennie go through periods before their professional careers of reckless, youthful living, which ends up stalling the progression of their professional lives before they are able to flourish.
A Visit From the Goon Squad discusses aging in a candid way, which brings to light many of the dilemmas that every generation feels. The fear of loosing relevance, trying to keep relevance, and loosing it by trying too hard. Bennie is hit the hardest with this dichotomy, as his career as a record executive is a roller coaster through the story. He constantly has to fight to find the next big thing and, as he gets older, this gets harder. This is a reality for pretty much everyone, the fight between age and relevance. There is a line in the last chapter that sums up this feeling as Bennie says to his friend Scotty, "Time's a goon, right? You gonna let that goon push you around?" (332).
The last chapter gives a peek into the near future, a time when my generation's children are just at my age now. Included in this, is the idea that the next generation will be "clean," meaning that they will not have piercings or tattoos after seeing all of our assorted body art age and deteriorate. Quite an interesting aspect seeing as I'm just at the point where I'm adding more and more... I definitely recommend this novel. It won the 2011 Pulitzer, which I feel is greatly deserved.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Freedom
After taking an extended hiatus from reading Freedom by Jonathan Franzen to finish the Harry Potter series before the movie, I finally finished Franzen's latest novel early this week. I have to say that I loved The Corrections and the way that Franzen created a set of completely unlikable characters, with an ending that showed the tenderness that these seemingly cold-hearted, issue ridden people were capable of. Freedom creates the same kind of pity for characters who embody all that we are afraid of.
Freedom focuses on characters when they are at low points, professionally and relationally. This is true for each character except Patty. Patty's story spans a much longer period of her life than the rest of the characters, but her life over that long span, seems very empty and pitiful. Each of the characters embodies what I strongly fear, and what I believe much of my generation to fear: not really doing anything of importance with our lives. Patty and Walter both have ambition and potential but when they end up living deep in gentrification, their lives become mundane and inconsequential. This is one of my biggest fears, I'll admit that. And I believe that much of my generation feels the same way. We grew up in the "I believe I can fly" era, where we were taught the gospel of unlimited potential. While this may have opened up doors for a lot of people, it made more children, including me, prone to dissatisfaction. Franzen nailed this one on the head in the stories of each character.
The different parts of the book touch on different point in each characters' lives, and the different points tiptoe around the successful times. We don't hear from Patty when she is happy being a mom and a neighbor, we don't hear from Walter when he is first working for the conservancy, we don't hear from Richard when he is in his successful new band. Through this, Franzen shows a way of life that is ordinary and that anyone can identify with. We can all identify with dissatisfaction, stagnation, and failure, but not everyone can identify with a fulfilling, successful career, or loving family.
This is a short entry, mostly because I really just want to get it out there to prove that I haven't been living in a cultural wasteland, but also because I read Freedom over a long-ish period of time and I can't remember a lot of the themes that I wanted to touch upon. Anyway, I'll probably write a Harry Potter post (about the movie) after I see it for the third time (but the second didn't really count because I fell asleep during a lot of it). Currently, I'm reading A Visit From the Goon Squad, and I'm enjoying it so far.
Freedom focuses on characters when they are at low points, professionally and relationally. This is true for each character except Patty. Patty's story spans a much longer period of her life than the rest of the characters, but her life over that long span, seems very empty and pitiful. Each of the characters embodies what I strongly fear, and what I believe much of my generation to fear: not really doing anything of importance with our lives. Patty and Walter both have ambition and potential but when they end up living deep in gentrification, their lives become mundane and inconsequential. This is one of my biggest fears, I'll admit that. And I believe that much of my generation feels the same way. We grew up in the "I believe I can fly" era, where we were taught the gospel of unlimited potential. While this may have opened up doors for a lot of people, it made more children, including me, prone to dissatisfaction. Franzen nailed this one on the head in the stories of each character.
The different parts of the book touch on different point in each characters' lives, and the different points tiptoe around the successful times. We don't hear from Patty when she is happy being a mom and a neighbor, we don't hear from Walter when he is first working for the conservancy, we don't hear from Richard when he is in his successful new band. Through this, Franzen shows a way of life that is ordinary and that anyone can identify with. We can all identify with dissatisfaction, stagnation, and failure, but not everyone can identify with a fulfilling, successful career, or loving family.
This is a short entry, mostly because I really just want to get it out there to prove that I haven't been living in a cultural wasteland, but also because I read Freedom over a long-ish period of time and I can't remember a lot of the themes that I wanted to touch upon. Anyway, I'll probably write a Harry Potter post (about the movie) after I see it for the third time (but the second didn't really count because I fell asleep during a lot of it). Currently, I'm reading A Visit From the Goon Squad, and I'm enjoying it so far.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
I just finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I must say first off that Everything is Illuminated is one of my favorite books so I came into Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (called ELIC from here on out. Too bad it's not about that program at Wheaton... ) with an extremely open mind. Therefore, I really liked ELIC. Not anywhere near my top five at this point but I thoroughly enjoyed the read and I would definitely recommend it as a quick and easy but deep and heavy read. It's amazing how Foer fits all those incongruous features together in one book.
ELIC is definitely a "modern novel." (props to Brendan Fox for that comment) The use of what I would call mixed media, in this situation being pictures and different formatting, that would normally bother me. Honestly, I feel like most times, the use of these tactics often end up gimmicky. However, Foer manages to integrate these tactics into the story in a way that is completely gimmick-less. The main character, Oskar, keeps a book for himself of "Stuff That Happened to Me," which includes many photos that he mentions, photos that are then included in the pages of ELIC. The changes in formatting show the different narrators in the book, which allows the reader to differentiate their voices in a visual way along with the tone and speech patterns of each.
Some would probably say that the subject material of ELIC is too soon. That we haven't been able to separate ourselves from 9/11 enough to be able to appreciate literature about it or be able to take it seriously. But I believe that it makes us appreciate it and take it more seriously than we would be able to if we were separated from the event. Foer is speaking about such universal themes, including loss, family, and love, that need some sort of anchor. In ELIC, the anchor is disaster, 9/11 being the most prevalent, with the bombing of Dresden coming second, and including a short bit about the bomb at Hiroshima. Foer is able to bring those disasters to a different light when comparing them to 9/11. Much of his audience has no real connection or tangible feeling about the bombing of Dresden or Hiroshima but can identify, in some way, with 9/11. The subject makes all of the themes resonate better with a modern audience, and I have no feeling that it is too soon.
My last note about ELIC would be the subject of the difference between being loved and knowing that you are loved. Two quotes, one from the grandfather: "That's all anyone wants from anyone else, not love itself but the knowledge that love is there" (130) and another from the grandmother: "I don't know if I've ever loved your grandfather. But I've loved not being alone." (309) The difference between being loved and not being alone or just knowing that you're loved is truly a fine line. This is a much bigger subject than I have time or energy for, but ELIC brings it up. Foer doesn't elaborate a great deal but at least acknowledges that there is a difference. It's something that our generation doesn't talk about often and really just chooses to ignore. Mostly because we probably don't know the difference and usually err more on the side of not being alone/knowing you're loved than actually caring that you're loved. An interesting conversation that needs more discussion.
ELIC is definitely a "modern novel." (props to Brendan Fox for that comment) The use of what I would call mixed media, in this situation being pictures and different formatting, that would normally bother me. Honestly, I feel like most times, the use of these tactics often end up gimmicky. However, Foer manages to integrate these tactics into the story in a way that is completely gimmick-less. The main character, Oskar, keeps a book for himself of "Stuff That Happened to Me," which includes many photos that he mentions, photos that are then included in the pages of ELIC. The changes in formatting show the different narrators in the book, which allows the reader to differentiate their voices in a visual way along with the tone and speech patterns of each.
Some would probably say that the subject material of ELIC is too soon. That we haven't been able to separate ourselves from 9/11 enough to be able to appreciate literature about it or be able to take it seriously. But I believe that it makes us appreciate it and take it more seriously than we would be able to if we were separated from the event. Foer is speaking about such universal themes, including loss, family, and love, that need some sort of anchor. In ELIC, the anchor is disaster, 9/11 being the most prevalent, with the bombing of Dresden coming second, and including a short bit about the bomb at Hiroshima. Foer is able to bring those disasters to a different light when comparing them to 9/11. Much of his audience has no real connection or tangible feeling about the bombing of Dresden or Hiroshima but can identify, in some way, with 9/11. The subject makes all of the themes resonate better with a modern audience, and I have no feeling that it is too soon.
My last note about ELIC would be the subject of the difference between being loved and knowing that you are loved. Two quotes, one from the grandfather: "That's all anyone wants from anyone else, not love itself but the knowledge that love is there" (130) and another from the grandmother: "I don't know if I've ever loved your grandfather. But I've loved not being alone." (309) The difference between being loved and not being alone or just knowing that you're loved is truly a fine line. This is a much bigger subject than I have time or energy for, but ELIC brings it up. Foer doesn't elaborate a great deal but at least acknowledges that there is a difference. It's something that our generation doesn't talk about often and really just chooses to ignore. Mostly because we probably don't know the difference and usually err more on the side of not being alone/knowing you're loved than actually caring that you're loved. An interesting conversation that needs more discussion.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Hipster Christianity
I finished Hipster Christianity by Brett McCracken last night and I have had so many people already ask me how I liked it. I have to say that overall, I didn't. It's not that I didn't like what he had to say, he had a lot of good points to make, but two aspects of the book really distracted me from what he was saying.
First of all, his writing was stylistically strange. McCracken is typically a magazine writer, writing a great deal for Relevant, which translated a bit too much (or too little, depending on which way he could have taken the style) into the writing of the book. Before I get into that, though, I want to make the disclaimer that I don't think of myself as a writing expert. This is all coming from my experience reading the book and others might think that McCracken's writing is perfectly fine.The writing was generally conversational but there were moments where McCracken was attempting to be academic, especially in his chapter on the history of cool/hip. It's the magazine writer writing a book and feeling like he has to write more like a book writer. It's a line that doesn't really need to be crossed, but I'm sure anyone would feel that kind of pressure.
Adding to his magazine style, McCracken uses lists much too frequently throughout the book. Lists like: Churches I visited, Christian Hipster Leaders, beliefs of the emerging church, and the different types of hipster. These lists make up a majority of his content, which, in my opinion, distracts from what he's trying to say. It's sometimes a breather when, in a non-fiction type book, the author uses a list style, but when all the reader gets are breathers, coming up for air gets tiring. It just shows how uncomfortable McCracken is with writing book-type prose.
The second aspect of the book that was a distraction was the scattered nature of McCracken's intended subject. Hipster Christianity really is not an appropriate title for the book. McCracken probably should have just stuck to the tag line he used, "When Church and Cool Collide." What he really wants to discuss is the disparity between what Christianity says about being cool and what the church thinks it needs to do to attract members. This issue is a huge problem for the church today, and one of the scariest parts about the emerging church. But I'll get down off my soapbox. McCracken talks about this subject in length and I really feel that that's what he was trying to get at. It's just a whole lot harder to differentiate the subtleties between churches like that and hipster churches.
This difference is played out most in the churches he describes as "hipster churches." When I read that he described Mars Hill (Seattle) as a hipster church, I am sure I had a confused look on my face. I don't know any hipster (and I know a lot) who would be caught dead at Mars Hill! No self-respecting hipster would go to a mega-church with neon lights up at the front behind a pastor who still wears suit vests with t-shirts and Ed Hardy sweatshirts. A typical hipster church is much more subdued and doesn't try to attract people. For all you Wheaton people, Church of the Res is a perfect example of a hipster church. Liturgy, tradition, but with great arts and more liberal outreach. Res isn't having meetings to dress the pastor or try and figure out how they can be relevant. This is a point that McCracken gets right on, but Christianity is relevant without having to try. Hipsters hate people who try too hard, even though they do themselves, lets be honest.
Anyway, McCracken does talk about the problems that hipster Christians encounter, problems like the prevalence of drinking, smoking, and drugs that occurs in Christian hipster circles, but that's not really the subject of his writing. McCracken wants to talk about cool and Christianity but the cool he chooses to use as a label (hipster) doesn't really apply to the subject he wants to discuss. His talk about hipsters is a bit edifying. For someone who can probably be called a hipster, it is good to hear someone write about how we aren't just a bunch of no-goodniks, but we are young people who appreciate fine things, even though others might not agree (especially with fashion). Hipsters do take stock in finer foods, art, and music. We like things because they are good, but they also happen to be hip. I will just go out on a limb and say that I'm glad I like listening to bands like the Dirty Projectors and eating at gourmet restaurants (avec and the publican two high recommendations) rather than listening to Katy Perry and eating at McDonalds all the time.
Hipster Christianity was definitely an interesting read but I'd find a summary rather than slugging through the whole thing. I'm now into Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I really like it so far, but a review will be coming as soon as I finish it!
First of all, his writing was stylistically strange. McCracken is typically a magazine writer, writing a great deal for Relevant, which translated a bit too much (or too little, depending on which way he could have taken the style) into the writing of the book. Before I get into that, though, I want to make the disclaimer that I don't think of myself as a writing expert. This is all coming from my experience reading the book and others might think that McCracken's writing is perfectly fine.The writing was generally conversational but there were moments where McCracken was attempting to be academic, especially in his chapter on the history of cool/hip. It's the magazine writer writing a book and feeling like he has to write more like a book writer. It's a line that doesn't really need to be crossed, but I'm sure anyone would feel that kind of pressure.
Adding to his magazine style, McCracken uses lists much too frequently throughout the book. Lists like: Churches I visited, Christian Hipster Leaders, beliefs of the emerging church, and the different types of hipster. These lists make up a majority of his content, which, in my opinion, distracts from what he's trying to say. It's sometimes a breather when, in a non-fiction type book, the author uses a list style, but when all the reader gets are breathers, coming up for air gets tiring. It just shows how uncomfortable McCracken is with writing book-type prose.
The second aspect of the book that was a distraction was the scattered nature of McCracken's intended subject. Hipster Christianity really is not an appropriate title for the book. McCracken probably should have just stuck to the tag line he used, "When Church and Cool Collide." What he really wants to discuss is the disparity between what Christianity says about being cool and what the church thinks it needs to do to attract members. This issue is a huge problem for the church today, and one of the scariest parts about the emerging church. But I'll get down off my soapbox. McCracken talks about this subject in length and I really feel that that's what he was trying to get at. It's just a whole lot harder to differentiate the subtleties between churches like that and hipster churches.
This difference is played out most in the churches he describes as "hipster churches." When I read that he described Mars Hill (Seattle) as a hipster church, I am sure I had a confused look on my face. I don't know any hipster (and I know a lot) who would be caught dead at Mars Hill! No self-respecting hipster would go to a mega-church with neon lights up at the front behind a pastor who still wears suit vests with t-shirts and Ed Hardy sweatshirts. A typical hipster church is much more subdued and doesn't try to attract people. For all you Wheaton people, Church of the Res is a perfect example of a hipster church. Liturgy, tradition, but with great arts and more liberal outreach. Res isn't having meetings to dress the pastor or try and figure out how they can be relevant. This is a point that McCracken gets right on, but Christianity is relevant without having to try. Hipsters hate people who try too hard, even though they do themselves, lets be honest.
Anyway, McCracken does talk about the problems that hipster Christians encounter, problems like the prevalence of drinking, smoking, and drugs that occurs in Christian hipster circles, but that's not really the subject of his writing. McCracken wants to talk about cool and Christianity but the cool he chooses to use as a label (hipster) doesn't really apply to the subject he wants to discuss. His talk about hipsters is a bit edifying. For someone who can probably be called a hipster, it is good to hear someone write about how we aren't just a bunch of no-goodniks, but we are young people who appreciate fine things, even though others might not agree (especially with fashion). Hipsters do take stock in finer foods, art, and music. We like things because they are good, but they also happen to be hip. I will just go out on a limb and say that I'm glad I like listening to bands like the Dirty Projectors and eating at gourmet restaurants (avec and the publican two high recommendations) rather than listening to Katy Perry and eating at McDonalds all the time.
Hipster Christianity was definitely an interesting read but I'd find a summary rather than slugging through the whole thing. I'm now into Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I really like it so far, but a review will be coming as soon as I finish it!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Infinite Jest
So I finished Infinite Jest. Finally! Jeez. Y'all will see soon that I read about a book a week usually so devoting two whole months to DFW (David Foster Wallace for all you non-intelligentsia hipsters, who probably are better off not being intelligentsia hipsters...) took a whole heck of a lot of perseverance from me.
Anyway, it was amazing. I will confess that I'm fairly certain I only understood about 20% of all of it's nuances and the ending totally baffled me but it really was an amazing piece of work. I will have to read it a few more times before I would feel as if I understood any kind of majority of it but it's totally worth it as a read. DFW is an amazing writer and uses some unique, albeit occasionally somewhat unnecessary, writing techniques. A few as follows:
-The revelation of details about characters, especially in appearance, near the end of the characters' developments. For example, a character who appears throughout the novel is finally revealed to have white hair. Which may seem like a totally nominal trait, but was completely disorienting for me in the moment as it totally changed my minds-eye picture of the character.
-The seemingly backwards development of characters (which probably explains the first point). Throughout the book, there are smaller vignette type stores that are all connected. And there are three main lines, life at ETA, the Ennet House, and the goings on of the AFR. The first hundred pages of the novel don't make a ton of cohesive sense because all of these different seemingly disconnected stories happen and they only start to make real sense together about halfway through. Which is my number one reason why I want to read the book again.
-The EXCESSIVE use of footnotes. I'm sorry but I really get annoyed when authors use footnotes for EVERYTHING. That's why I haven't made it through but ten pages of Ulysses. Anyway, DFW uses footnotes for every little aside that he might use. Some footnotes are more than asides. There are entire story lines that happen through a single footnote that might be several pages long. And sometimes I would get lazy and not really read the entire long footnotes carefully which makes me feel like I must have missed something.
Overall, I would definitely suggest it to anyone who is willing to take the plunge. Worth it.
I am now reading Hipster Christianity by Brett McCracken which is interesting but his writing shows that it's his first book and he's trying to figure out if he wants to have a casual or academic voice. He's coming to speak at Wheaton this week so I might be able to go see him speak and get some light shed. After, I'm going to start Till We Have Faces again for a Sunday school class at church and hopefully finally get to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. As a reminder: I'm always ready for some suggestions for books, movies, and music.
Anyway, it was amazing. I will confess that I'm fairly certain I only understood about 20% of all of it's nuances and the ending totally baffled me but it really was an amazing piece of work. I will have to read it a few more times before I would feel as if I understood any kind of majority of it but it's totally worth it as a read. DFW is an amazing writer and uses some unique, albeit occasionally somewhat unnecessary, writing techniques. A few as follows:
-The revelation of details about characters, especially in appearance, near the end of the characters' developments. For example, a character who appears throughout the novel is finally revealed to have white hair. Which may seem like a totally nominal trait, but was completely disorienting for me in the moment as it totally changed my minds-eye picture of the character.
-The seemingly backwards development of characters (which probably explains the first point). Throughout the book, there are smaller vignette type stores that are all connected. And there are three main lines, life at ETA, the Ennet House, and the goings on of the AFR. The first hundred pages of the novel don't make a ton of cohesive sense because all of these different seemingly disconnected stories happen and they only start to make real sense together about halfway through. Which is my number one reason why I want to read the book again.
-The EXCESSIVE use of footnotes. I'm sorry but I really get annoyed when authors use footnotes for EVERYTHING. That's why I haven't made it through but ten pages of Ulysses. Anyway, DFW uses footnotes for every little aside that he might use. Some footnotes are more than asides. There are entire story lines that happen through a single footnote that might be several pages long. And sometimes I would get lazy and not really read the entire long footnotes carefully which makes me feel like I must have missed something.
Overall, I would definitely suggest it to anyone who is willing to take the plunge. Worth it.
I am now reading Hipster Christianity by Brett McCracken which is interesting but his writing shows that it's his first book and he's trying to figure out if he wants to have a casual or academic voice. He's coming to speak at Wheaton this week so I might be able to go see him speak and get some light shed. After, I'm going to start Till We Have Faces again for a Sunday school class at church and hopefully finally get to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. As a reminder: I'm always ready for some suggestions for books, movies, and music.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
I never wrote about the Oscars!
I just realized that I never wrote anything about the Oscars this year. I watched it from start to finish, all the way through even though most of my roommates didn't make it all the way to the end with me. A few notable items:
And this problem is why I loved The King's Speech so much. It bridged the gap between so many of these levels. Yes, it is about the royal family, which is not something that pretty much 100% of the population can identify with, but there is such a universal humanistic feel to the film. It is well made, it reveals that struggles can bring us so far down, but shows a kind of hope that is attainable, rather than some extraordinary fairy tale kind of hope.
And on a lighter note, there was a pretty hysterical mix up when my roommate told me that Colin Firth was dating Rihanna. But it was actually Colin Ferrel. Just take a moment, though, to think about Colin Firth dating Rihanna... Hilarious.
- The Social Network really swept the place. I haven't seen it, still, but with all the awards that it won, I want to now. Since I never saw it, I just figured that it was a holiday blockbuster type that wouldn't really get that much attention from the Academy. But it did! And the soundtrack won! Trent Reznor won an Oscar. Which is just simply astounding to me but I don't think there are enough people that span the two worlds (Nine Inch Nails and paying attention to movie soundtracks...) to really make people realize the strangeness of that award. It's Trent Reznor for crying out loud! Just think about it...
- I thought the lack of surprise in the winners for the big awards (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director just to name a few) was kind of disappointing. There wasn't really a question ahead of time who was going to win those awards. I must say I had to laugh to myself when people on the red carpet were talking about who they thought was going to win. Mark Ruffalo kept talking about how he thought Annette Bening would win Best Actress. It makes one wonder whether the "not obvious" nominees realize that the award is pretty much already in the hands of someone else. Interesting psychology project.
- The King's Speech is actually a very uplifting film. Many of the past winners of Best Picture are not those that end with an uplifting feeling. Most of them are downers but show the grit of real life. Which brings me to what I really want to discuss.
And this problem is why I loved The King's Speech so much. It bridged the gap between so many of these levels. Yes, it is about the royal family, which is not something that pretty much 100% of the population can identify with, but there is such a universal humanistic feel to the film. It is well made, it reveals that struggles can bring us so far down, but shows a kind of hope that is attainable, rather than some extraordinary fairy tale kind of hope.
And on a lighter note, there was a pretty hysterical mix up when my roommate told me that Colin Firth was dating Rihanna. But it was actually Colin Ferrel. Just take a moment, though, to think about Colin Firth dating Rihanna... Hilarious.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Born This Weird? Warning: Kind of sketchy video...
So the video for Born This Way finally came out. And I have to say that I am extremely disappointed. From an artistic standpoint, it's just a mishmash of random sexual imagery that just doesn't go together. I don't understand the whole skeletons in tuxedos thing and I feel like the whole thing is kind of boring. Aside from the intro, the minimalistic type dance scenes, which take up a majority of the video just give The Ga an excuse to touch herself and have other people touch her. The art direction, costumes, and concept seem like they were all done in separate rooms and put together at the last second. The Ga has armies of workers at her expense who could create something incredible for a video and this was just a bunch of cheesy 80's graphics mixed in with crazy space stuff and not enough something extra.
I did love the Madonna reference with the gap in her front teeth round about 6:54. Overall, I love this song but I just feel let down by the potential that The Ga has to make something artistically creative.
I did love the Madonna reference with the gap in her front teeth round about 6:54. Overall, I love this song but I just feel let down by the potential that The Ga has to make something artistically creative.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Why is Indie Folk so popular?
Now I will be the first to admit that I'm not up on all the underground indie music. I will usually look at the lineup at Pitchfork and recognize about a quarter of the bands. But I do generally feel like I have a better grasp on what's happening in indie music than a majority of my peers, especially here at Wheaton. But in the fall, when the orchestra chaplain, who didn't surprise me with this choice, played "Sigh No More" by Mumford and Sons as a devotional in rehearsal and a majority of the orchestra murmured in recognition and excitement, I was taken aback. How do all these conservatory nerds know about Mumford and Sons? And then everybody and their mom knows about The Avett Brothers. Even before "I and Love and You" came out, there seemed to be an influx in knowledge about The Avett Brothers.
They are the only band that I can be confidently snobby about, so I'm going to go ahead and do it. I first heard about The Avett Brothers from my high school boyfriend, Nathan. He was a huge country and bluegrass fan and was in love with The Avett Brothers (who will henceforth be known as TAB because it's easier). I wasn't sold at first but we went to see them play live in Springfield, IL the closest gig they had to Chicago since they were still mostly playing in the south at this point. This was summer of 2007 and they played in this teeny tiny auditorium that was essentially a 500-seat lecture hall. When I saw them live, I fell in love. They were raw, exciting, and actually engaged me, a punk and ska fan, in their rock-style bluegrass. The next time I saw them was at the House of Blues in the Fall of 2007 and they were again incredible. But there were barely any people there. TAB were still super raw, with their roadie taking off each banjo and guitar after every song to change all the broken strings, and I got to meet Joe Kwan (the cellist) because he was just hanging out at the bar before the show. I saw TAB again the next summer, a few months before the "I and Love and You" EP came out and it wasn't as exciting. They just didn't have the same raw energy as before. I chalk this up to a few factors, one being that between those two concerts, Seth and Scott both got married (lame!) and the other being that they were working on their first real "studio" album. There were way more people at this show, also at the House of Blues, and this was when I began to have doubts about the direction they were going .
As soon as the "I and Love and You" EP came out, I bought it, of course, but was so disappointed. "Laundry Room" was excellent and I liked "I and Love and You" but as soon as I heard "Kick-Drum Heart" I knew that those record executives had taken away their edge. When the full-length album came out, I listened to it a few times and haven't since. I just don't care for their cleaned up studio sound. Their original draw was the raw emotional edge that really shined when they played live and that had all been taken out in this new album. Yet it was their most popular record by far.
Now look at the difference between early TAB, other bands like Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers, Iron and Wine, The Decemberists, and the really popular new TAB, and Mumford and Sons. There is a difference in (I can't think of a better way of saying this) cleanliness in these different bands. I'm sure anyone could come up with other reasons and different band examples but the general public wants something that's easy to listen to. And now more and more people know about Iron and Wine from Twilight and The Decemberists have had their fair share of popularity but the fact that Mumford and Sons and TAB played at The Grammys and people actually recognized them, as opposed to Arcade Fire, says something big. These bands are popular with the general public. It is a big deal that TAB is opening for John Mayer at stadium shows and that Mumford and Sons sells out every concert and is playing all the big festivals this summer.
I'm not exactly sure what this all means but it's part of a rising trend in which indie music is becoming more and more popular. Which then questions the title of indie. Granted, indie folk is probably the most accessible of all the indie genres (just wait for the day we see a duet of Coco Rosie and Antony and the Johnsons at The Grammys... Ha!) but that doesn't mean that indie music is becoming more popular. With the growing dissatisfaction with pop stars, including basically all the performances at the Super Bowl, and the musical growth that has resulted in the realization that all of Ke$ha, Katy Perry, and Enrique Iglesias songs sounding the same, no matter how catchy they may be, more and more people are turning to indie music to find satisfaction.
Thoughts?
PS (edit the day after...) I forgot to mention a key indicator in the rising popularity of Mumford and Sons and The Avett Brothers: Both of their albums are sold at Starbucks. Now the new Decemberists album was there for a short period of time but I only saw it one day at one of the Starbucks that I go to.
They are the only band that I can be confidently snobby about, so I'm going to go ahead and do it. I first heard about The Avett Brothers from my high school boyfriend, Nathan. He was a huge country and bluegrass fan and was in love with The Avett Brothers (who will henceforth be known as TAB because it's easier). I wasn't sold at first but we went to see them play live in Springfield, IL the closest gig they had to Chicago since they were still mostly playing in the south at this point. This was summer of 2007 and they played in this teeny tiny auditorium that was essentially a 500-seat lecture hall. When I saw them live, I fell in love. They were raw, exciting, and actually engaged me, a punk and ska fan, in their rock-style bluegrass. The next time I saw them was at the House of Blues in the Fall of 2007 and they were again incredible. But there were barely any people there. TAB were still super raw, with their roadie taking off each banjo and guitar after every song to change all the broken strings, and I got to meet Joe Kwan (the cellist) because he was just hanging out at the bar before the show. I saw TAB again the next summer, a few months before the "I and Love and You" EP came out and it wasn't as exciting. They just didn't have the same raw energy as before. I chalk this up to a few factors, one being that between those two concerts, Seth and Scott both got married (lame!) and the other being that they were working on their first real "studio" album. There were way more people at this show, also at the House of Blues, and this was when I began to have doubts about the direction they were going .
As soon as the "I and Love and You" EP came out, I bought it, of course, but was so disappointed. "Laundry Room" was excellent and I liked "I and Love and You" but as soon as I heard "Kick-Drum Heart" I knew that those record executives had taken away their edge. When the full-length album came out, I listened to it a few times and haven't since. I just don't care for their cleaned up studio sound. Their original draw was the raw emotional edge that really shined when they played live and that had all been taken out in this new album. Yet it was their most popular record by far.
Now look at the difference between early TAB, other bands like Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers, Iron and Wine, The Decemberists, and the really popular new TAB, and Mumford and Sons. There is a difference in (I can't think of a better way of saying this) cleanliness in these different bands. I'm sure anyone could come up with other reasons and different band examples but the general public wants something that's easy to listen to. And now more and more people know about Iron and Wine from Twilight and The Decemberists have had their fair share of popularity but the fact that Mumford and Sons and TAB played at The Grammys and people actually recognized them, as opposed to Arcade Fire, says something big. These bands are popular with the general public. It is a big deal that TAB is opening for John Mayer at stadium shows and that Mumford and Sons sells out every concert and is playing all the big festivals this summer.
I'm not exactly sure what this all means but it's part of a rising trend in which indie music is becoming more and more popular. Which then questions the title of indie. Granted, indie folk is probably the most accessible of all the indie genres (just wait for the day we see a duet of Coco Rosie and Antony and the Johnsons at The Grammys... Ha!) but that doesn't mean that indie music is becoming more popular. With the growing dissatisfaction with pop stars, including basically all the performances at the Super Bowl, and the musical growth that has resulted in the realization that all of Ke$ha, Katy Perry, and Enrique Iglesias songs sounding the same, no matter how catchy they may be, more and more people are turning to indie music to find satisfaction.
Thoughts?
PS (edit the day after...) I forgot to mention a key indicator in the rising popularity of Mumford and Sons and The Avett Brothers: Both of their albums are sold at Starbucks. Now the new Decemberists album was there for a short period of time but I only saw it one day at one of the Starbucks that I go to.
Monday, February 14, 2011
The Grammys
I watched the Grammys from start to finish last night and there were several interesting observations that I made.
1. The significant, albeit small, inclusion of more indie bands in the awards. The fact that Mumford and Sons, The Avett Bros., and Arcade Fire all were amongst the performers was astounding to me. Their participation shows the ever-growing popularity of indie and alternative music, especially indie folk, a subject that merits it's own post which will be coming later.
2. The fact that The Suburbs won best album and that Esperanza Spalding won best new artist were incredible. Those two awards proved the Grammys to no longer be a popularity contest. Justin Beiber and Katy Perry didn't win anything and Lady Gaga and Eminem walked away with 2 a piece, when they were both nominated for more, show that the academy is taking the music more seriously rather than the popularity of the artists. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the world but whoisarcadefire.tumblr.com proves otherwise...
3. Cee Lo Green beat out Lady Gaga for most outrageous performance! The Ga was practically boring for her standards and Cee Lo had muppets, Gwyneth Paltrow, and a suit made of feathers. He also had an amazing performance and despite the fact that I love "Born This Way," "F*** You" (or "The Song Also Known as Forget You" according to the Grammys, which was frankly hysterical) was a much more engaging and captivating performance. Cee Lo has made it to Elton John standards as far as performance gusto is concerned, especially with those great circle sunglasses.
4. Bob Dylan is REALLY old.
Anyway, it was an entertaining few hours and a great way to spend a Sunday night.
1. The significant, albeit small, inclusion of more indie bands in the awards. The fact that Mumford and Sons, The Avett Bros., and Arcade Fire all were amongst the performers was astounding to me. Their participation shows the ever-growing popularity of indie and alternative music, especially indie folk, a subject that merits it's own post which will be coming later.
2. The fact that The Suburbs won best album and that Esperanza Spalding won best new artist were incredible. Those two awards proved the Grammys to no longer be a popularity contest. Justin Beiber and Katy Perry didn't win anything and Lady Gaga and Eminem walked away with 2 a piece, when they were both nominated for more, show that the academy is taking the music more seriously rather than the popularity of the artists. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the world but whoisarcadefire.tumblr.com proves otherwise...
3. Cee Lo Green beat out Lady Gaga for most outrageous performance! The Ga was practically boring for her standards and Cee Lo had muppets, Gwyneth Paltrow, and a suit made of feathers. He also had an amazing performance and despite the fact that I love "Born This Way," "F*** You" (or "The Song Also Known as Forget You" according to the Grammys, which was frankly hysterical) was a much more engaging and captivating performance. Cee Lo has made it to Elton John standards as far as performance gusto is concerned, especially with those great circle sunglasses.
4. Bob Dylan is REALLY old.
Anyway, it was an entertaining few hours and a great way to spend a Sunday night.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
I didn't spell that wrong....
I did choose paper airplaines on purpose. I know that airplaines is not spelled "correctly" but I wanted to use plaines to incorporate my upbringing in the suburbs of Chicago. I will always remember going to visit my friend in Seattle for the first time and remarking about the amazing mountains that surrounded us. She laughed and told me those were just hills. But in Chicago, a hill is about 3 feet tall. 10 maybe but that's broaching mountain height.
And here is my blog. It's not the first time I've had a blog, nor will it probably be the last but this will be a bit different from what I have done before. In early high school, I had my livejournal, which mostly consisted of me complaining about my friends and being extra passive aggressive when I would be in a fight with someone.
This will just be a place where I will focus on media that I consume. Books I read, music I've been listening to, movies I've seen, and whatever general information I find to be interesting. No complaining about my life, no detailing my day to day, or anything that I don't find interesting outside of myself.
And to start, I'll list the books that I've read thus far this year:
1. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, which was fantastic and I highly recommend.It seems like a story about all these dysfunctional people that happen to be in the same family but has a great deal to say about the way that the suburbs change our priorities and how, despite non-traditional ways of showing it, this family all really is alike and loves each other. That makes the book sound way more corny than it is so don't go off my wonky description.
2. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. I love David Sedaris more than pretty much anything else in the world. And this collection didn't disappoint.
3. Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I usually don't have much time for cross-cultural heart wrenchers but this was a fantastic piece that didn't sugar coat anything and works its way into your heart with a little something that anyone can identify with.
4. The Wild Things by Dave Eggers. I'm not one to buy into stuff just because all the hipsters like it. And I will be the first to admit that I am basically a hipster. But I never got the whole Where the Wild Things Are craze. I didn't really like the movie and I was never a huge fan of the book when I was little (but if they made a Giving Tree movie, I'd be all over that), but I decided to give the book a chance. And it was better than the movie because the characters were developed a bit more and Max's internal dialogue helped give the story the arc and meaning that were missing from the movie.
And now, I'm reading Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. My friend Kathy deemed February "Tome Month" so when I finally plow my way through my tome of the month, I will discuss it on here.
So here goes! Let's hope I can keep this up.
And here is my blog. It's not the first time I've had a blog, nor will it probably be the last but this will be a bit different from what I have done before. In early high school, I had my livejournal, which mostly consisted of me complaining about my friends and being extra passive aggressive when I would be in a fight with someone.
This will just be a place where I will focus on media that I consume. Books I read, music I've been listening to, movies I've seen, and whatever general information I find to be interesting. No complaining about my life, no detailing my day to day, or anything that I don't find interesting outside of myself.
And to start, I'll list the books that I've read thus far this year:
1. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, which was fantastic and I highly recommend.It seems like a story about all these dysfunctional people that happen to be in the same family but has a great deal to say about the way that the suburbs change our priorities and how, despite non-traditional ways of showing it, this family all really is alike and loves each other. That makes the book sound way more corny than it is so don't go off my wonky description.
2. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. I love David Sedaris more than pretty much anything else in the world. And this collection didn't disappoint.
3. Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I usually don't have much time for cross-cultural heart wrenchers but this was a fantastic piece that didn't sugar coat anything and works its way into your heart with a little something that anyone can identify with.
4. The Wild Things by Dave Eggers. I'm not one to buy into stuff just because all the hipsters like it. And I will be the first to admit that I am basically a hipster. But I never got the whole Where the Wild Things Are craze. I didn't really like the movie and I was never a huge fan of the book when I was little (but if they made a Giving Tree movie, I'd be all over that), but I decided to give the book a chance. And it was better than the movie because the characters were developed a bit more and Max's internal dialogue helped give the story the arc and meaning that were missing from the movie.
And now, I'm reading Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. My friend Kathy deemed February "Tome Month" so when I finally plow my way through my tome of the month, I will discuss it on here.
So here goes! Let's hope I can keep this up.
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