55 Pages

4/29

2011-04-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

The Book: Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

ISBN: 978-0-679-73218-1

Music: Rural Alberta Advantage

Company:

Pages: 225-303

The Lead In: Going to try and just finish this thing today.

The 411 on the 55: So all along Bon was Henry and Judith's brother. Apparently Mr. Sutpen had been messing around with the help. This explains both his knowledge of Bon's background and his intense fight against the marriage. Bon's mother had done her best to train him to punish Sutpen from birth. It was her plan for revenge that brought him into contact with Henry in college and led him to Judith.

The story meanders through telling from multiple memories and characters. Quentin wrestles with his own past and imagine countless conversations between Henry, Bon, and the rest of the bunch. Finally the story ends with Quentin and a relative returning to the ruined Sutpen Hundred to find the extremely old Henry and a former slave living in the dilapidated mansion secretly. Henry is dying and when they try to bring medical treatment to help him, the former slave sets the house on fire, killing the remaining Sutpen.

The 20/20: This book was certainly not an enjoyable read. I found the narrative confusing and complicated. The story seems to have a moral, pointing out the complicated nature of African American and white relations in the Old South. It seems that it also emphasizes the punishment on an entire family tree for the sins of the father (fathering a child with a black woman). I didn't like it much, sort of let down, as I have always enjoyed Faulkner. Better luck next time, I guess.

Line of the Day: "...by that time he had learned that there were three things and no more: breathing, pleasure, darkness." pg. 240

Fact on the Fiction: Faulkner did a lot of work in Hollywood, including the screenplay for the movie, The Big Sleep.

4/28

2011-04-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

The Book: Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

ISBN: 978-0-679-73218-1

Music: Rural Alberta Advantage

Company:

Pages: 168- 224

The Lead In: Again my reading was interrupted tonight, this time by a friend leaving town in the morning. Five turned into ten, then twenty, etc.

The 411 on the 55: No better this time. So Bon is dead, but it turns out there is all sort of white/black lovin' going on. Everyone is a halfer and its really throwing the social order out of wack. That's about all I understood from today's reading.

Line of the Day: "Jesus, the South is fine, isn't it. It's better than theatre, isn't it. It's better than Ben Hur, ins't it. Now wonder you have to come away now and then, isn't it." pg 176

Fact on the Fiction: No facts today. Ung.

4/27

2011-04-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

The Book: Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

ISBN: 978-0-679-73218-1

Music:

Company:

Pages: 112-167

The Lead In: Soccer on in the background, not helping my focus.

The 411 on the 55: The story shifts from the straight on narrative to a much more muddled personal style of the old lady. Its confusing and I was lost the entire night. Hopefully it will clear up tomorrow. Needless to say, this is a bad post.

Line of the Day: "Aye, grief goes, fades; we know that - but ask the tear ducts if they have forgotten how to weep." pg 116

Fact on the Fiction: Faulkner is often considered the biggest influence on one of my favorite modern writers, Cormac McCarthy.

2011-04-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

The Book: Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

ISBN: 978-0-679-73218-1

Music: -

Company: Sleeping Wife

Pages: 56-111

The Lead In: Sometimes timing is everything when it comes to reading. I read a bit before work today, thinking I would wipe the rest of 55 during my lunch break. Sadly, when lunch came, I was wore out and ended up staring into space/napping during my thirty minutes. Luckily, no work tomorrow so I had time to stay up a bit later and finish my reading/writing.

The 411 on the 55: Thomas Sutpen has it made with his sweet plantation, flock of slaves, and wife of good reputation. Granted the town hates him and sees him as an outsider who doesn't deserve respect or honor, so there's that. He has two children, Henry and Judith. They grow up to be respectable (as they can be, victims of their father's hubris) young adults and Henry heads off to Oxford Mississippi to attend college.

At Oxford, Henry is a hillbilly compared with the other dandies in his classes. He chooses one of these dandies as his model, Bon. He writes about, dotes on, brags about, tags after Bon. Its almost a crush in its extent. Bon falls for Judith during one of his visits to Sutpen's Hundred and Judith feels the same. Thomas Sutpen has his doubts. He travels to Oxford and digs up dirt on Bon: a black wife and child. Obviously this will not do. Though he is slow to come around to the truth, Henry faces this fact and tells Bon he cannot marry his sister. Bon claims otherwise and Henry shoots him.

Line of the Day: "He has been too successful, you see; his was that solitude of contempt and distrust which success brings to him who gained it because he was strong instead of merely lucky." pg. 82

Fact on the Fiction: The title refers to the Biblical story of Absalom, a son of David who rebelled against his father and who was killed by David's general, Joab, in violation of David's order to deal gently with his son. Another parallel to the Biblical story is that Absalom had his half-brother executed for raping Tamar, his sister. Faulkner's novel substitutes a seduction for rape. Wikipedia

4/25

2011-04-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

The Book: Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

ISBN: 978-0-679-73218-1

Music: High Violet by The National

Company: None

Pages: 1-55

The Lead In: Spurred by a podcast version of a Civil War Yale lecture series, I picked this book off the shelf and decided to give it a shot. Faulkner is really tagged as "the" quintessential Southern writer.

The 411 on the 55: This book seems to be like most of Faulkner's work: fractured people living fucked up lives in a humbled and bruised American South. The story begins as an older woman telling a young man, soon to be off to Yale, the story of their family and the trouble brought in by a particular patriarch, Thomas Sutpen.

I think the most important aspect of the American South, as emphasized in Faulkner's writing, is the concept of honor. The Yale lecture mentioned this and even in the first 55 of this novel it is clear. Sutpen rides into town without a history, name or much money. He brings with him a group of wild slaves (apparently different from the rest the town has seen) and a basket of gold he uses to buy land, The Sutpen Hundred (square miles). He builds plantation, furnishes it, then marries the daughter of a poor, but well-respected, member of the town. The old woman telling the story is this woman's sister.

Line of the Day: "He wasn't a gentleman. He wasn't even a gentleman." pg. 9

Fact on the Fiction: Faulkner's Acceptance Speech for his Nobel Prize in 1950.

1/20

2010-01-20T17:03:00.000-08:00

The Book: Serendipities by Umberto Eco

Finished this book last night. A little on the brighter side of the spectrum. Eco's work on language, 5 essays concerning its roots, is almost master's homework. The work is, at times, very interesting and mind-blowing. His focus on the pre-Tower of Babel language was especially fascinating, bringing to light multiple authors and inventors I had never heard of prior to the essay. But, at just as many times, the book is as clear as mud. Eco is brilliant, a master of language, and I am not. I imagine it would be like trying to discuss the subject with him, it would be boring for both he and I, simply because we are moving on different levels.

However, don't let that last comment make you fearful. Read the book and try to grasp what he is saying. Stretching your mind is the only way to strengthen it. Push your limits, read this book.

12/21

2009-12-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

The Book: The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco

ISBN: 0-15-603037-3

Where: Home

When: 11p-12a

Music:

Company: The Family

Pages: 112-157

The Lead In: This book is dragging a bit. Just being honest there. Eco has a tendency to ramble a bit, which I like at times, but, because he does it constantly, it begins to grate a bit on the nerves.

The 411 on the 55: The focus shifts to the past again. Roberto falls in love with a whore. Well, or so the book hints at. She is, for sure, a peasant and beneath his class. He goes to his friend for help on writing a love letter to her, but he chickens out and doesn't give it to her. His fear of rejection strangles his words in his throat and he moves on, painfully in love. Even worse, he catches the plague and is dragged off to either die or recover in a convent.

And survive he does. The war is ended by a peace treaty and, the end of this story (on the boat), is now in the future.

Line of the Day: "In a brief period of time Roberto lost father, beloved, health, friend, and probably the war." pg 141

Fact on the Fiction: Apparently many people are still interested in siege warfare, medieval style. Medieval

12/20

2009-12-21T18:13:00.000-08:00

The Book: The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco

ISBN: 0-15-603037-3

Where: Home

When: 10-10:45p

Music:

Company: The Family

Pages: 56-

The Lead In: It was interesting to discover that Eco is considered a medievalist. The concept seems strange and sort of backwards, being so much of an expert and proponent of the a period often called The Dark Ages. Why would anyone enjoy or appreciate that time period? Sure, from a historical perspective, I can see the validity, but as a practical world view, it seems laughable.

The 411 on the 55: Roberto is convinced there is someone else on his new-found boat, and it might be his dead brother! Well, he admits that is unrealistic, but it keeps coming up in his mind with each bump or creak of the ship. To avoid that thought, he delves back into his memory of the siege of a castle he occupied during his war days.

Early in today's reading, Roberto's father dies crashing into the enemy lines alone. He had felt his family's honor was besmirched and acted accordingly (?). After his death, Roberto finds two friends to cope. One, a soldier, is anti-God, anti-church, anti-romanticism. He is a logical and determined soldier, not swayed by the common motivations of his day. The other is a priest, leading to the obvious clash with the other of Roberto's friends. But even this priest dabbles in philosophy, principally Aristotle.

Line of the Day: "What we honor as prudence in our elders is simply panic in action." pg 83

Fact on the Fiction: Casale, the town that is the center of Roberto's memory, is a real city near Eco's hometown of Alessandria. Wikipedia

12/19

2009-12-19T11:26:00.000-08:00

The Book: The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco

ISBN: 0-15-603037-3

Where: Home

When: 9-10am

Music:

Company: The Family

Pages: 1-55

The Lead In: I earlier read one of Eco's books, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, and enjoyed his style and story. His books certainly have neat covers, which attracts the eye and begs for purchase. Sissy bought me this one as part of our Christmas book exchange. Looking forward to it.

The 411 on the 55: The book opens as an academic narrator discusses the writings of a Roberto Griva from the 1600s. The style is almost that of a lecture or scholarly paper, referring to outside facts and admitting to contextual assumptions being made. It's an interesting approach to a novel.

Regardless of the style, Roberto has been swept from his ship and is lost sea, unable to swim, but tied to a door. He is several days in this condition until one day he bumps into another ship. He climbs aboard to discover food, water, clothing, everything he needs to survive, but the ship is completely empty. He finds the captain's log, but has trouble reading it due to it being written in Flemish. As he lives within the empty ship he explores it and finds plants growing in the hull, birds within cages, apparently this ship was exploring a new land and bringing back samples.

Much of today's reading is also his memories of fighting in battle in Europe between Spain and France. It was here that his ability to see was greatly damaged, causing him to often hide within the ship during daytime, the sun too bright for his weak eyes.

Line of the Day: "But I could say, rather, that while he lived a life of shadows, he recalled a story of violent deeds performed in broad daylight, so that the sun-filled days of the siege, which his memory restored to him, would compensate for this dim roaming." pg 45

Fact on the Fiction: Eco is considered one of the world's leading medievalists. Medievalism is the system of belief and practice characteristic of the middle ages, or devotion to elements of that period, which has been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship and various vehicles of popular culture. Wikipedia

12/18

2009-12-18T21:19:00.000-08:00

The Book: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

ISBN: 978-0-7679-1937-1

Where: Home

When: 10p-12a

Music:

Company: The Family

Pages: 112-268

The Lead In: Because of Christmas retail crap at the store, reading has been spotty the last week. Finally, I settled down and hammered out Bryson's memoir.

The 411 on the 55: The rest of the bok was a tour of the 50s. The things that were good and bad are listed and laid out for the reader. Sure there was hope and optimism, but there was also racism, nuclear hysteria, and communist bating. Bryson was fair with both sides of the coin. It's difficult to sum up or even define what the reading was about other than saying it was a bunch of facts, stories and tidbits about the era and Bryson's life.

The 20/20: This book was a fun read for someone like me. I am the type of person who yearns for the past and the way things used to be done. Bryson pulls back the curtains on the 50s in Iowa and allows the reader to go back and grow up again. It's beautiful and flawed. At times, the book reads a little cranky, complaining about "progress" and the changes time has brought to his hometown. Overall, though, the book is like a time capsule that breathes, a trip into the past, a beautiful thing.

Line of the Day: "What a wonderful world it was. We won't see its like again, I'm afraid." pg 268

Fact on the Fiction:

12/13

2009-12-14T17:42:00.001-08:00

The Book: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

ISBN: 978-0-7679-1937-1

Where: Home

When: 8-9p

Music:

Company: The Family

Pages: 56-111

The Lead In: There are some who might complain about the rose-colored-glasses approach of Bryson to Iowa, his family, and the 50's. He certainly seems to gloss the negatives and enhance the positives; however, I think he does this with a purpose. The 50's were an era (as he points out in the book) that was thrilled with everything and confident that this era was the best of all possible eras. I think Bryson is channelling that spirit and view on life. It's a thematic approach, a mood setter, and well-done.

The 411 on the 55: I enjoyed today's reading. Especially his description of his trip to Disney Land. I too had a similar experience with my dad and a trip to one of Disney's theme parks. It amazed me. No history, no geology, no mathematics, just fun for kids. It was amazing. I'm sure he was bored as hell.

His family story, covered today, was interesting as well. His parents both being writers for the newspaper. Their mutual passion for words and writing, the dynamic between them, his father's field (sports) contrasted with his mother's (home decor). Good relationships are built in the margins between pages, no matter how diverse the subjects, the pages are still bound together. It's pretty, in a 50's sort of way.

Line of the Day: "I killed morons. I still do." pg 63

Fact on the Fiction: Awesome story: "My greatest moment as a human being was one day I got to sit in the Cubs clubhouse where Ernie Banks was autographing baseballs and I got to hand them to him. He had a box of baseballs he was signing and he obviously didn't need my help but he let me hand him the balls." ESPN

12/12

2009-12-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

12/12

The Book: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

ISBN: 978-0-7679-1937-1

Where: Home

When: 2-3p

Music: Saeglopur by Sigur Ros

Company: Alone

Pages: 1-55

The Lead In: Anyone who has ever asked for a book recommendation from me knows how much I love Bill Bryson and the books he has put out. He is, without a doubt, my favorite non-fiction writer of all time. Fiction is not as easy to choose, if you are wondering, probably put Cormac McCarthy on top for the time being. Anyway, Bryson has written some of my favorite books including his travel classic A Walk in the Woods which most people know him for. This book is the story of his childhood, and I am excited.

The 411 on the 55: Bill Bryson's story begins with his description of his hometown Des Moines, Iowa. I have always struggled with the pronunciation of the name, just because it seems like a ridiculous combination of terms:Iowa and Des Moines. Anyway, the story of baby Billy Bryson begins in the baby boom as so many other kids' did. With the population surge of the post war GI's the country was full of kids.

Bryson discusses his youth with hilarity. One of his stories concerns hitting his head against a wall while playing football. He stands up only to discover his head is showering blood everywhere. He rushes home and his parents try to blot the blood with "dirty towels and red clothes (so they wont stain)". He blacks out and his parents let him sleep for three hours. It's a hoot.

Line of the Day: "Swearing to God was the ultimate act. If you swore to God and it turned out you were wrong, even by accident, even just a little, you still had to go to hell. That was just the rule and God didn't bend that rule for anybody." pg 42

Fact on the Fiction: In 2004, Bryson won the Aventis Prize for his book A Short History of Nearly Everything. wikipedia

12/11

2009-12-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

12/11

The Book: Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

ISBN: 978-0-7432-6004-6

Where: Doctor's Office

When: 12-2p

Music:

Company: Angry people

Pages: 125-255

The Lead In: I think the theory of assassination as lionizing its victims is an interesting theory. Lincoln, killed on Good Friday, has benefited (historically anyway) from the reaction to his death. Many people hated his handling of the Civil War, however, his death really brought the world around to his side. It's interesting. We can also thank assassination for giving us President Teddy Roosevelt, just for the record.

Is he smiling at the shooter?

The 411 on the 55: The first section was Lincoln, the second Garfield. She points out how uninteresting Garfield is, condensing his career as a politician to one paragraph. The story she tells of his murderer Charlie Guiteau is way more interesting. Apparently he was an absolute maniac, didn't save him from the noose though.

The last section is on McKinley's death, in comparison to the other two Presidents covered, really got a short shrift. She motors right through his death. Of course, my favorite part is the mention of TR (my favorite president, by far) and some of his crazy-ass exploits. What a man!

Line(s) of the Day: "History is one war after another with a bunch of murders and natural disasters in between." pg 208

"If there is a recurring theme in Garfield's diaries it's this: I'd rather be reading." pg 134

The 20/20: Vowell's work is an impressive amount of history, sandwiched between sarcasm and slapstick. It's infinitely readable and, almost certainly, will lead to more reading of her work. Assassination Vacation is my kind of reading, describing the kind of visits I would make. It's a great read and a fun look at some unfunny events.

Fact on the Fiction: The abridged audiobook for this book has an amazing cast of voices including Conan O'Brien, Stephen King, Jon Stewart, and Dave Eggers. Wikipedia

12/10

2009-12-10T18:38:00.000-08:00

12/10

The Book: Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

ISBN: 978-0-7432-6004-6

Where: Home

When:

Music:

Company: Alone

Pages: 1-124

The Lead In: What has always caught my eye with Vowell's books are the covers. They are interesting looking and I kept picking them up yet never buying them. No longer.

The 411 on the 55: This book is apparently the study of the Presidential assassinations in U.S. history. The book began with a funny take on Lincoln's death and the events that led up to it. What amazing about this book is the ability of Vowell to mix humor with the serious and semi-macabre aspects of Ford's Theatre. She's funny, witty, down-right disrespectful at times, and yet still manages to communicate all the important facts of the event. It's amazing and amusing. More as we go.

Line of the Day: "Somewhere on the road between museum displays of Lincoln's skull fragments and the ceramic tiles on which Garfield was gunned down and McKinley's bloodstained pj's it occurred to me that there is a name for travel embarked upon with the agenda of venerating relics: pilgrimage." pg 9

Fact on the Fiction: Vowell gave her voice to the animated character Violet in the Pixar movie The Incredibles. imdb

Reading Time Again

2009-12-09T19:01:00.000-08:00

If anyone is still reading this...

Reading will recommence tomorrow morn. See you here.

55pages.

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Three

2009-09-02T08:07:00.001-07:00

9/2

The Book: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

ISBN: 978-1-59448-329-5

Suggested By: Ed Vela

Where: Home

When: 9A

Music: Shuffle

Company: Alone

Pages: 180-235 (55)

The Lead In: I wonder if there is a disconnect between myself and the text due to cultural and racial issues. It’s not that I don’t like the book, I’m just not sure its that great.

The 411 on the 55: Junior’s story continues. Oscar gets the hots for a hot gothic chick, who eventually breaks his heart by nailing some skinny punk guy. Oscar is downcast and unhappy. After Junior decides to move out of the room they share, Oscar commits suicide. Well, attempts to. He lands in a bush and saves his life. After recovering his health and moving back to school, Junior moves back in with him.

The next section focuses on the roots of Oscar and Lola’s family in the D.R. Abelard, the grandfather of Oscar, is a doctor living under Trujillo. He has a beautiful daughter, Jacquelyn (that would make her Oscar and Lola’s aunt?), and is determined to keep her out of Trujillo’s bed. Apparently at this time, Trujillo nailed every hot chick in the D.R. It works for a while, but eventually he is arrested.

Line of the Day: “But you know exactly what kind of world we live in. It ain’t no fucking Middle-earth.” pg 194

Fact on the Fiction: While nationalist Hispanic imagery has had a constraining effect on how Dominicans view the Taíno past, there are also unofficial alternate expressions that resist the dominant discourses. For example, many Dominicans claim that it is bad luck (fuku) to say the name Christopher Columbus aloud and that La Isabella, one of the first Spanish settlements on the north coast of the island, is haunted by Spanish ghosts. These may be considered signs of struggle against dominant history and rejections of official ways of speaking about the legitimated glory of the Spanish past. KACIKE

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Two

2009-09-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

9/1

The Book: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

ISBN: 978-1-59448-329-5

Suggested By: Ed Vela

Where: Home

When: 8:30-9P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 124-179 (55)

The Lead In: Reading is never easy, especially when Church decides it is time to jump against my elbow every third sentence. Doesn’t she understand the importance of this task? 55pages a day, damnit!

The 411 on the 55: Ok, not Oscar’s dad. Beli (Oscar’s mom) fell for one of Trujillo’s gangsters. She gets pregnant and is convinced he will marry her. Sadly there is a fly in the ointment, he is already married...to Trujillo’s sister. This does not end well. Beli is beaten so badly by Tujillo’s thugs that she ends up losing the baby and almost her life. But she lives on, and is sent to New York to start over again.

A new chapter, Junior, a friend of Lola’s (Oscar’s sister). He falls for her in college but she is already with someone. So to show his commitment to her, when she leaves for Spain, he volunteers to move into Oscar’s dorm room to keep him company. Once there, he decides to “fix” Oscar’s life by making him jog and work out. This goes well for a short time until Oscar decides he has had enough and tells Junior to back off. Their relationship turns icy and Oscar goes back to being a lazy, anime-watching dork.

Line of the Day: “It was night and the lights of Nueva York were everywhere.” pg 165

Fact on the Fiction: The median age of the Dominican Republic is 24, compared to the U.S. at 36. On a side note, if you have the time, go to the CIA Worldfact book site. Amazing site full of a huge amount of information on every country of the world. CIA

Day One Hundred and Fifty-One

2009-08-31T20:27:00.001-07:00

8/31

The Book: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

ISBN: 978-1-59448-329-5

Suggested By: Ed Vela

Where: Home

When: 7-8P

Music: None

Company: Alone, except for Church jumping on the edge of the couch

Pages: 68-123 (55)

The Lead In: Ok, this is turning into a generational tale, which is interesting because I just read 100 Year of Solitude (another generational tale, also by an “ethnic” writer). Not sure what I think about this book now.

The 411 on the 55: I realize that yesterday I used the phrase “sack of crap” twice and to describe two different people. I will attempt to be more eloquent and intelligent in my analysis.

Oscar Wao’s sister is stuck. Ran away from home, she finally breaks down and calls her brother, Oscar, to steal money from their mother and bring it to her. He does, but also brings along her mother. She fights with her mom, but gives in and heads back home. As a way to fix her issues, her mother (who I cannot point out enough, is a horrible horrible parent) ships her to live with her family in the D.R. And she does seem to sort her mind out, coming to grips with who she is.

And now a chapter on Oscar’s mother. She is a really dark girl (skin tone, I mean) and is mocked at the private school that she is sent to. Regardless of the mockery, she is extremely prideful and arrogant. She is very much in love with a boy, Pujols (not Albert, sadly) but he has no time for her. Then over one summer, she gets a big rack (36DDD). Suddenly, he can’t get enough of her. They are caught having sex in the closet of the school. He is sent to military school and she is kicked out. She becomes a waitress and seems to adjust better to life. One night, in a club, she meets Oscar’s dad, one of Trujillo’s cronies.

Line of the Day: “No amount of wishful thinking was changing the cold hard fact that she was a teenage girl live in the Dominican Republic of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, the Dictatingest Dictator who ever Dictated.” pg 80

Fact on the Fiction: Trujillo’s cult of personality in the D.R. “Statues of "El Jefe" were mass produced and erected across the Republic, and bridges and public buildings were named in his honor. The nation's newspapers now had praise for Trujillo as part of the front page, and license plates included the slogan "Viva Trujillo!" An electric sign was erected in Ciudad Trujillo so that "Dios y Trujillo" could be seen at night as well as in the day. Eventually, even churches were required to post the slogan, "Dios en cielo, Trujillo en tierra" (God in Heaven, Trujillo on Earth).” Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Fifty

2009-08-30T17:52:00.001-07:00

8/30

The Book: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

ISBN: 978-1-59448-329-5

Suggested By: Ed Vela

Where: Home

When: 5-6P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 12-67 (55)

The Lead In: Excited about this book. Ed recommended it with glee. If you know Ed, you know the glee I am talking about.

The 411 on the 55: Oscar Wao is a fat sack of crap. He loves comic books, fantasy novels, D&D, stereotypical nerd. Can’t get with a chick, and when he thinks he is a bout to, he finds out she is back with her old boyfriend who has a large member, so to speak. Oscar is incredibly unhappy with his life. His mother is bossy and doesn’t understand him not being like every other guy. His sister is punky and off to college. At the end of today’s reading, Oscar is off to college where again, he doesn’t fit in.

The second “chapter” of today’s reading tells the story of Oscar’s sister. Her struggles with her mother’s dominating personality lead her to run off and live with a boyfriend. Once there, she realizes he is a sack of crap and is unhappy with her situation as well.

Line of the Day: “Jesus Christ, he whispered. I’m a Morlock.” pg 30

Fact on the Fiction: This book won a Pulitzer. Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Forty-Nine

2009-08-29T17:03:00.001-07:00

8/29

The Book: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

ISBN: 0-812-55070-6

Suggested By: Audrey Scott

Where: Home

When: 6-630P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 278-324 (55)

The Lead In: I was poisoned. After finding out some of the less appealing aspects of the author, I didn’t enjoy the book as much. I have to say, the ending was weird....Well, more on that next.

The 411 on the 55: On the asteroid training base, Ender has to play complicated games fighting against his trainer, a veteran of the original bugger wars. With his crew of friends, Ender wins each battle, but is losing his health as the wars continue. Losing sleep, blacking out, losing the desire to eat, finally he is brought in for the last battle. And, oh, you guess it? He wins.

And guess what? It was actually real battles he was fighting, he was commanding ships already at the bugger universe. They are all wiped out, hooray, Ender is the best.

The resolution? Ender’s brother is now running the show on Earth, using his persona, Locke, that he created in writing on the Nets. Valentine bails on him and joins Ender at the asteroid. Because all the buggers are dead, their worlds are available for colonization and humans are rolling out, including Valentine, who talks Ender into it, as well.

Once on the bugger world, Ender is traveling around, discovers a building built out of his memories, by the buggers. There he is greeted with a large bunch of memories not his own. Flooded with memories of the buggers, and given a pupa to protect (to eventually release on a future bugger world), he writes a book about the bugger race. It becomes a religion and influences people all across the universe, the end.

The 20/20: So the book was marginal at best. I didn’t enjoy the ending, I felt that it was a bit underwhelming. It should have ended with Ender killing the buggers. Instead it dragged on for 30 pages of heart-tugging (or at least attempted heart-tugging) about buggers. I would have like the book better had it ended with Ender losing and the buggers ruling Earth. Now that would be a twist!

Line of the Day: “And always Ender carried with hi a dry white cocoon, looking for the world where the hive-queen could awaken and thrive in peace.” pg 324 Cheese.

Fact on the Fiction: You know, you read something like, “Ender’s Game is in the top 100 novels of all-time” and you think “Really?” After going to the link you find it was all voted on by “regular” people rather than experts and Ayn Rand and L Ron Hubbard take up has 7 of the top 10 ten spots. Spare me. Do check out the Board’s list, though. MLA

Day One Hundred and Forty-Eight

2009-08-29T15:28:00.001-07:00

8/28

The Book: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

ISBN: 0-812-55070-6

Suggested By: Audrey Scott

Where: Home

When: 10-10:30P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 222-277 (55)

The Lead In: Discovering Card’s faith makes me curious as to what influence it has had on his writing. Check out the Fact on the Fiction for today, excellent quote and link to a great interview.

The 411 on the 55: After the fight, Bonzo is shipped out of school and so is Ender. Ender is returned to Earth with Graff (the commander of the training school). Bonzo, by the way, is dead.

On Earth, Ender curls in on himself, unconcerned with the “game”, unconcerned with life altogether. To fix things, the I.F. brings in Valentine. They have an incredibly long conversation on a raft (which, in my mind, was a tad incestuous, though I bet the people that love this book will be angry for that comment). At the end of the conversation, Ender has had enough, count him in to fight the buggers.

Off to an asteroid he is shipped to be trained by the best. But he needs a crew. Who do they send him, but the kids he has been training with, including his boy, Bean. How sweet.

Line of the Day: “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him.” pg 238 Hahahahahaha. Shoot me.

Fact on the Fiction: To quote Mr. Card: "I find the comparison between civil rights based on race and supposed new rights being granted for what amounts to deviant behavior to be really kind of ridiculous. There is no comparison. A black as a person does not by being black harm anyone. Gay rights is a collective delusion that's being attempted. And the idea of 'gay marriage' -- it's hard to find a ridiculous enough comparison. By the way, I'd really hate it if your piece wound up focusing on the old charge that I'm a homophobe." Salon.com

Day One Hundred and Forty-Seven

2009-08-29T15:27:00.001-07:00

8/27

The Book: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

ISBN: 0-812-55070-6

Suggested By: Audrey Scott

Where: Home

When: 9-9:45P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 168-221 (55)

The Lead In: I feel that too much is happening in this book. Like the book should be much longer to encompass all the time and events that are unfolding in the book.

The 411 on the 55: So as you might have guessed already, Ender is the most badass commander of all time, he takes his band of nobodies and defeats each team, systematically. The director of the training school begins upping the ante, scheduling matches the next day (typically they were given a week to practice), 7 days in a row, eventually making Ender’s group fight 2 teams at once, in the dark, without prior notice, etc, etc, etc. And yet Ender continues to win. So pissed off are the other boy commanders that they decide to beat Ender.

Well, Bonzo, Ender’s first commander when arriving at the training school, is the leader of the pack of boys who are going to beat him up. And rather than beat him up, he wants to kill him. Right. I felt like that was a stretch. Bonzo is all about pride but, in the end, he is still a 13 year old. They kicked Ender’s brother out of school because he was malicious and mean, wouldn’t they have done the same thing to Bonzo?

Again, predictably, Ender is against long odds, and still wins. He beats the living crap out of Bonzo, including kicking him in the testicles (while they are both naked in a shower)...um, ok.

Line of the Day: “After that, if he had asked them to follow him to the moon without space suits, they would have done it.” pg 186 (ok, maybe worst line of the day. I thought i was incredibly cheesy and badly written)

Fact on the Fiction: (I smell a Mormon) “Orson Scott Card is an award winning science fiction author who grew up in Utah and attended Brigham Young University. There he studied drama, which contributed to his writing of plays. Card had his own theatre company, which was a success for a number of years. He learnt to speak Portuguese as a result of his missionary years in Brazil.” Ender.com

Day One Hundred and Forty-Six

2009-08-26T14:32:00.004-07:00

8/26

The Book: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

ISBN: 0-812-55070-6

Suggested By: Audrey Scott

Where: Home

When: 2-3P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 112-167 (55)

The Lead In: The book is readable. That is all I will say.

The 411 on the 55: The side story of Peter and Valentine begins to emerge today. Peter has recruited Valentine to help him in an article writing project on-line, meant to change the course of events in the world. Valentine gives in because she is passive, though worried about where it is headed.

Ender is handed his own squad, making him an incredibly young (9) commander of Dragon. His first practice ends with the emergence of another character, Bean, also small and young who is scrappy and very Ender-like.

Line of the Day: “She had thought that only fools would follow him.” pg 138

Fact on the Fiction: Ender’s Game received both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1985.

Day One Hundred and Forty-Five

2009-08-26T14:32:00.003-07:00

8/25

The Book: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

ISBN: 0-812-55070-6

Suggested By: Audrey Scott

Where: Home

When: 9:30-10:15P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 56-111 (55)

The Lead In: This book is science fiction, obviously, but it is also annoying in the way the supposed 6 year olds think and speak. No six year old talks the way Ender does. I guess supporters of Card would argue that Ender is exceptional in every way, But I think that’s still a stretch.

The 411 on the 55: Just as Ender begins to make friends in his unit, he is transferred to another unit, also led by a kid who resents his presence. Of course, Ender betters his commander by disobeying a direct order in mock combat. He fires on the other team at the last moment, turning a loss into a stalemate. Sadly, his commander, sees that as insubordination and eventually transfers him to another squad.

Two things emerge as important from this section of the book. 1, Ender enjoys playing a psychological game. The more he plays, the deeper it ventures into his subconscious, revealing more of him to the generals, who monitor the game. 2, Each commander Ender serves under offers a model to glean from, making Ender better after each experience.

Line of the Day: “As he thought of it, though, he could not imagine what “just living,” might actually be.” pg 74

Fact on the Fiction: Science fiction fans who love videogames, start your rejoicing. Later today, award-winning author Orson Scott Card and Chair Entertainment--the creative team responsible for Advent Rising and Undertow--will officially announce plans to turn Card's beloved novel "Ender's Game" into a, well, game. Newsweek

Day One Hundred and Forty-Four

2009-08-26T14:32:00.001-07:00

8/24

The Book: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

ISBN: 0-812-55070-6

Suggested By: Audrey Scott

Where: Home

When: 10-11A

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 1-55 (55)

The Lead In: Science fiction was something I gave up on a long time ago. I judge it very harshly because the author’s can create situations and settings which no other author can duplicate, which I guess might be harder, but to me seems easier. You can operate outside all the rules. Come on.

The 411 on the 55: Ender is the third child in a country that has strict limits on births. He’s an exception to the rule, he’s a third. His older brother, Peter, and his sister, Valentine, each had great potential but failed at the government administered tests for the I.F., a starfleet-type program to protect Earth from aliens (buggers). Ender passed.

He joins the I.F. training school and promptly makes an enemy out of his commander, an older boy with a bad attitude.

Line of the Day: “He was afraid, and fear made him serious.” pg 28

Fact on the Fiction: “There hasn't been any news on the movie recently. However, it has been announced that there will be a comic book based on Ender's Game, published by Marvel comics, that will be released this fall.” Endersgamemovie

Day One Hundred and Forty-Three

2009-08-24T18:35:00.001-07:00

8/23

The Book: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

ISBN: 978-0-06-135096-2

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When: 10-11P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 456- 519(63)

The Lead In: Looking at this book, deciding to just smash it out tonight.

The 411 on the 55: So the story ends the way you would expect it to end. Elphaba returns to her castle, awaiting the arrival of Dorothy and her group of travelers. Of course, they arrive, hijinks ensue and the Witch is killed with a flying bucket of water.

The 20/20: When I mentioned I would be reading Wicked, someone said “I can’t wait to see what you think of it!” I’m not sure if they were just looking for me to bash it or love it. So this is what I think of Wicked: the book was an interesting but I’m not crazy about it. It seems to be much ado about nothing. The story is Baum’s and Maguire just gave substance to secondary characters. Is it that groundbreaking? Not to me. It was funny, witty and irreverent, but in this era of cheap plastic throw-away books this doesn't stand out as unique. Maybe that thought was disjointed. I’m trying to say that the Wizard of Oz didn’t need to be retold, it’s a classic for a reason. If you retell the story and flavor it with a bunch of aspects that the original never included, I think you weaken it. Sort of like the Manga Bible. Or Pop-Up Moby-Dick. This modern world cheapens everything, and maybe Baum’s classic would have been better off without a rewriting.

Line of the Day: “The body apologizes to the soul for its errors, and the soul asks forgiveness for squatting in the body without invitation.” pg 514

Fact on the Fiction: Oh yeah, check it out. Manga Bible!

Apparently, the story of Moses. Manga Bible

Day One Hundred and Forty-Two

2009-08-22T22:33:00.001-07:00

8/22

The Book: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

ISBN: 978-0-06-135096-2

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When: 2-3P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 402-457 (55)

The Lead In: Reading during the day is such a great alternative to trying to read just before bed. My mind is sharper. Too bad the schedule doesn’t always work that way.

The 411 on the 55: Nessarose is ruling Munchkinland well enough, I guess, but Elphaba is fed up with the way Animals (talking animals) are treated. They are being treated as dumb animals rather than sentient beings. Nessa ignores her and Elphaba leaves for her home. Upon arrival she finds the family of her lover gone, captured by an army troop of Oz. She settles in to plan revenge when news arrives that Nessarose has been killed...

By a falling house. From Kansas. With Dorothy and Toto in it.

Elphaba heads back only to discover the ruby slippers that she wanted so badly were given to Dorothy by Glinda. The Wizard of Oz shows up and tries to bargain with Elphaba for her magic book of spells, but she refuses to give it up.

Line of the Day: “And while you wait to learn, the deadly icicle, formed by all opposing forces, falls and drives its cold nail into penetrable flesh.” pg 417

Fact on the Fiction: “The author of numerous books for children, Mr. Maguire is also a contributor to Am I Blue?: Coming Out From the Silence, a collection of short stories for gay and lesbian teenagers” GregoryMaguire.com

Day One Hundred and Forty-One

2009-08-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

8/21

The Book: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

ISBN: 978-0-06-135096-2

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When:10-11P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 346-401 (55)

The Lead In: I am not sure what I think of Maguire’s writing style. Sometimes he burdens the story down with too much description. But I will let it play out.

The 411 on the 55: Elphaba’s stay is not going all that well. The family she is living with (her dead lover’s) is extremely judgmental of her, her monkey, and Liir, the boy that lives with her. It reaches a head when Liir is duped into climbing into the well by the oldest son. After several days he is finally discovered and has to be brought back to life. Elphaba seems to wish death on boy who tricked Liir and an icicle hits him in the head and kills him. It’s only implied that Elphaba is responsible.

Elphaba receives a letter from her father and decides to travel to her homeland and visit the family. She has just learned her broom is magical and rides it there. Her armless sister, Nessarose, is the supreme ruler of the land and has declared independence from Oz.

Line of the Day: “She felt like a night angel.” pg 389

Fact on the Fiction: “Gregory Maguire received his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University.” Gregorymaguire.com

Day One Hundred and Forty

2009-08-21T19:58:00.001-07:00

8/20

The Book: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

ISBN: 978-0-06-135096-2

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When:10-11P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 290-345 (55)

The Lead In: Sleepy, but got it done.

The 411 on the 55: Fireyo is actually killed off and Elphaba travels to his widow’s home to tell her the story of what happened. She will have no part of the story and refuses to listen to her. Stuck and waiting to tell her, Elphaba, her monkey, and a servant boy, move into a tower at the widow’s house.

Line of the Day: “If one could drown in the grass, thought Elphie, it might be the best way to die. pg 302

Fact on the Fiction: Wicked the Musical is an incredibly successful Broadway production. Their website was impressive and they even have a facebook account! Wicked the Musical

Day One Hundred and Thirty-Nine

2009-08-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

8/19

The Book: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

ISBN: 978-0-06-135096-2

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When:12-12:30P

Music: None

Company: The Cable Guy, Marco

Pages: 234-289 (55)

The Lead In: I started thinking about this concept of writing a book using characters and setting designed by another author. Does that require just as much thought or skill? We don’t give much credit to cover bands, no matter how skilled they are in their performances. How is this any different? Maguire took characters from Baum and wrote a book using them and their setting. Yeah, so its a little different, they have sex and curse and try to kill the Wizard of Oz, but why should Maguire get so much credit? Something to consider while reading this book, no doubt.

The 411 on the 55: Elphaba now lives in the Emerald City and has a shadowy network of friends with whom she plans shadowy misdeeds against the government. After 5 years of solitary living, single-mindedly chasing after her unstated goals, she runs into an old friend from her college years.

Fiyero is a prince in his own country, with a wife and children, and a kingdom to rule. He runs into Elphaba and decides to have an affair with her. He pries information from her concerning her plans, but no dice, she won’t budge. Eventually he follows her to what he assumes is her big day.

Madame Morrible (the dean of her old school) steps out of a car and just before Elphaba does something (its not defined in the book), a bunch of school children come rushing around and she cannot complete her assignment. She gives up. Firyero loses her in the crowd, returns to her apartment and gets the snot beat out of him by government agents.

Line of the Day: “My father chases hopeless causes. It gives his failure at life some legitimacy.” pg 251

Fact on the Fiction: Baum’s Wizard of Oz was the best-selling children's book for two years after its initial publication. Baum went on to write thirteen more novels based on the places and people of the Land of Oz. Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Thirty-Eight

2009-08-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

8/18

The Book: Wicked

ISBN: 978-0-06-135096-2

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When:5:15-7P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 25- 233 (208)

The Lead In: Started with this book and really sunk my teeth in. I like these fresh takes on old stories. I’ve already done three for the 55pages project, I think (Sleepy Beauty, Snow White, and Oz).

The 411 on the 55: Elphaba is the daughter of a pastor and his bored wife. She is green-skinned and has a disposition closer to animal than human. The first section of the book deals with her father and his inability to convert anyone to his faith. Instead he watches them rush off to follow after the pleasure faith, governed by a prophesying clockwork.

The story skips and Elphaba is now in college, forced to bunk with Glinda and they couldn’t be more opposite in nature. Glinda is much more concerned with the social life of an up and coming college student while Elphaba is engrossed in the study of animal (talking) history and working at her studies. Of course, predictably, they begin to appreciate aspects of each other as the story progresses.

The professor under which Elphaba is studying is brutally murdered while researching the history of human/animal relations. Though the girls know the truth, the college decides that the professor actually killed himself. The dean of the college takes special precautions to insulate the girls from any knowledge that might be gleaned about the murder, so they decide to take their little bit of information to the government.

When they reach the Wizard of Oz, he blows off their claims and sends them packing.

Line of the Day: “The thing is, my green girlie, it is not for a girl, or a student, or a citizen to assess what is wrong. This is the job of leaders, and why we exist.” pg 224

Fact on the Fiction: “Elphaba: Little-known name of the Wicked Witch of the West. Given by Gregory Maguire (author of the novel "Wicked"), named after the intials of L. Frank Baum, author of "The Wondeful Wizard of Oz". (L-F-B, El-Pha-Ba). Originally played by Margaret Hamilton in the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz and Idina Menzel in the 2003 Broadway musical Wicked.” Urban Dictionary

Day One Hundred and Thirty-Seven

2009-08-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

8/17

The Book: The Claiming of Sleepy Beauty by Anne Rice

ISBN: 978-0-452-28142-4

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When: 9-10P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 222-253 (55)

The Lead In: After finally getting caught up, I am excited about getting the ship moving at a steady pace every day. This book is nuts by the way, crazy, like Anne Rice Crazy.

The 411 on the 55: Alexi and Beauty try to keep their secret from other people, but somehow it is discovered. The day disobedient slaves are to be sent to the village to be sold as sex slaves to commoners, the fact of her “infidelity” is brought to the Prince’s knowledge. He is quick in his punishment, exiling Beauty to the village. She is thrilled to be out of the castle and, as the book closes, has sex while in the cart with one of the other slaves.

The 20/20: I know I am jaded in my views on sexuality. A lifetime of being a pervert does that to a person. Anyway, the book is pretty well-written and exceptionally well-written as far as erotica goes. It’s a creative spin on the story of Sleeping Beauty and Rice twists the fairy tale into a dirty dirty dirty book!

Line of the Day: “I love it. I loathe it,” Alexi said. “I am humiliated by it, and recreated by it.” pg 239

Fact on the Fiction: “First off, let me say that this is addressed only to some of you, who have posted outrageously negative comments here, and not to all. You are interrogating this text from the wrong perspective. Indeed, you aren't even reading it. You are projecting your own limitations on it. And you are giving a whole new meaning to the words "wide readership." And you have strained my Dickensean principles to the max. I'm justifiably proud of being read by intellectual giants and waitresses in trailer parks,in fact, I love it, but who in the world are you?” (Anne Rice, referring to people giving her critical reviews on Amazon.com) RageDiaries

Day One Hundred and Thirty-Three through Thirty-Six

2009-08-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

8/13-8/16

The Book: The Claiming of Sleepy Beauty by Anne Rice

ISBN: 978-0-452-28142-4

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When: Various Times

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 1-221

The Lead In: Again, this is the continuation of the blog before. Just want to hammer this out and be caught up. This is all the reading up to this point.

The 411 on the 55: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty is an interesting take on the old story of Sleeping Beauty. In this, Beauty is claimed from her sleep by a young prince who brings her back to his castle and kingdom to serve as his sex slave. In his kingdom, this is normal.

When Beauty is brought into the kingdom, she is taught how to be sexually submissive to the bondage aspects of the kingdom. She is extremely interested in another slave, Alexi, but is denied any opportunity to consummate her desire. Until one night, she is snuck into a closet by Alexi and things are taken care of.

Line of the Day: “She had obeyed all his commands, and he understood how difficult it was for her. He knew completely what it meant for her to be stripped naked and revealed to everyone, to be helpless and made public and that this surrender of which he spoke could come in acts and gestures long before it could come from her mind.” pg 29

Fact on the Fiction: This book is in the genre of another famous work of erotica, Marquis de Sade’s The 120 Days of Sodom. The novel is a story of 4 wealthy libertines who decide to experience the best possible orgy and lock themselves in a castle with many accomplices. Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Eight through Thirty-Two

2009-08-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

8/8-8/12

The Book: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

ISBN: 978-0-15-603008-3

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When: Various Times

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 1- 311

The Lead In: So I fell off the wagon for a little while. Too much work and not enough reading. I will be back to this on schedule within the next couple of days.

The 411 on the 55: Flowers for Algernon is the story of a young man who is given an operation which changes him from retarded to brilliant. He learns more than most people learn in a lifetime, only to lose it all as the operation wears off and he spirals back into retardation.

The 20/20: I liked the book though I’m not sure why they use it for a class read. It’s a marginally good book with an interesting story. The style (diary entries) was a bit off-putting to me.

Line of the Day: “P.S. please if you get a chanse put some flowers on Algernons grave in the bak yard.” pg 311

Fact on the Fiction: Flowers for Algernon won the 1960 Hugo Award for Best Short Fiction. Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Seven

2009-08-08T19:36:00.001-07:00

8/7

The Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

ISBN: 978-0-06-088328-7

Suggested By: Mecca Willman

Where: Home

When: 4-5P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 396-417 (55)

The Lead In: This book ends today. Wonderful.

The 411 on the 55: The mystery of a book is revealed in this final bit of the novel. A book that has been passed down from generation to generation, studied by many, but not understood until the last pages. It is a prophecy of the family, the story of the town, their history and future all in one. And when translated, the town ends in a windstorm.

The 20/20: I don’t speak highly of books before reading them, but I certainly mock and critique them. I was dead wrong about this novel. Its amazing and powerful, beautiful and elegant, incredibly worth-while to read. Someone said they read this book with a family tree to keep track, I actually did the opposite. I read this without focusing on the individual characters, allowing the repetitive naming and cyclical story line to become an impressionist painting. Wonderful book.

Line of the Day: “The first of the line is tied to a tree and the last is being eaten by the ants.” pg 415

Fact on the Fiction: The Novel 100: A Ranking of Greatest Novels All Time ranks Marquez’s novel 19th on the list, just before The Great Gatsby. Adherents.com

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Six

2009-08-08T19:35:00.003-07:00

8/6

The Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

ISBN: 978-0-06-088328-7

Suggested By: Mecca Willman

Where: Home

When: 3-3:45P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 340-395 (55)

The Lead In: In a stupor due to overnights. Not sure how much of this I am understanding.

The 411 on the 55: Ursula is the matriarch of the family and lives through 90 percent of the novel. Her life is beautiful in her influence of her children, grand-children and so on. When she dies she actually shrinks down to the size of a child and is buried in a basket.

Line of the Day: “So this is what it’s like to be dead.” pg 342

Fact on the Fiction: “Perpetual motion could only exist in a world without time, which, for José Arcadio Buendía, is what the world becomes and, in a sense, is what time throughout the novel becomes: past, present and future often overlap. This overlapping of time allows José Arcadio Buendía to appear to his descendants in the form of a ghost, so that his presence will always be felt in Macondo.” Sparknotes

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Five

2009-08-08T19:35:00.001-07:00

8/5

The Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

ISBN: 978-0-06-088328-7

Suggested By: Mecca Willman

Where: Home

When: 7-8P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 284-339 (55)

The Lead In: The cycles are wonderful. This book is beautiful.

The 411 on the 55: Meme is a beautiful young woman who falls in love with an automobile mechanic. Her mother and father disapprove of her love and so they ban the young man from their house. It does not stop them from loving each other and butterflies begin to flock to Meme. It is a physical manifestation of her love. He is shot entering the bathhouse to see Meme and becomes an invalid. She is sent to an cloister to live as a nun.

Line of the Day: “She was still thinking of Mauricio Babilonioa, his smell of grease, and his halo of butterflies and she would keep on thinking about him for all the days of her life until the remote autumn morning when she died of old age, with her name changed and her head shaved and without ever having spoken a word, in a gloomy hospital in Cracow.” pg 297

Fact on the Fiction: Throughout this success, Marquez kept writing and smoking. He consumed sometimes six packs of cigarettes a day during the furious period of writing One Hundred Years of Solitude. His novels since, both magical and legendary, have kept him at the forefront of literature since 1970. Oprah.com

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Four

2009-08-04T19:38:00.003-07:00

8/4

The Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

ISBN: 978-0-06-088328-7

Suggested By: Mecca Willman

Where: Home

When: 8:30-9:20P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 228-283 (55)

The Lead In: This story is really beautiful in the deaths of its characters. As each of them goes, it seems they have moments of clarity, knowing their death is immanent.

The 411 on the 55: Remedios the Beauty is a girl with little brains but impressive beauty. She drives men insane with her looks, as well as emanating a scent that causes death. Men see her, fall in love, are rebuffed and then kill themselves. She is uninterested in the carnage she works and travels through the city ignoring men and their enraged sex drives.

Line of the Day: “But when she saw her eating with her hands, incapable of giving an answer that was not a miracle of simplemindedness, the only thing that she lamented was the fact that the idiots in the family lived so long.” pg 235

Fact on the Fiction: “[the view that enchantment has to involve fairies and elves] It is obviously not shared by the Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez, who has created in "One Hundred Years of Solitude" an enchanted place that does everything but cloy. Macondo oozes, reeks and burns even when it is most tantalizing and entertaining. It is a place flooded with lies and liars and yet it spills over with reality. Lovers in this novel can idealize each other into bodiless spirits, howl with pleasure in their hammocks or, as in one case, smear themselves with peach jam and roll naked on the front porch.” NYTimes

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Three

2009-08-04T19:38:00.001-07:00

8/3

The Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

ISBN: 978-0-06-088328-7

Suggested By: Mecca Willman

Where: Home

When: 1-2P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 172-227 (55)

The Lead In: Working overnight at work, so waiting to read is not an option. As far as the book goes, its complicated keeping track of the story at times, because of the constant reusing of name from generation to generation. Not complaining, just sayin...

The 411 on the 55: Aureliano is the leader of the revolution and when all is lost, he goes to a doctor to listen to his heart. He marks a spot on his chest where his heart is located. He proceeds to surrender, ending the war. In his tent, he shoots himself through the spot. However, his doctor has actually marked a spot where he would not die. He survives, much to his irritation.

Line of the Day: “For the love of God,” she said in a low voice, “it’s not right for them to come to me with that memory now.” pg 218

Fact on the Fiction: At least one person considers One Hundred Years of Solitude an epic. “It seems clear to me that, in any conventional sense of the literary term, we are dealing here with an epic work: a long narrative fiction with a huge scope which holds up for our inspection a particular cultural moment in the history of a people. The novel is the history of the founding, development, and death of a human settlement, Macondo, and of the most important family in that town, the Buendias. In following the historical narrative of these two elements we are confronted, as we are in any great epic, with a picture of how at a particular moment in human civilization a unique group of people has organized its life (just as we are confronted with the same issue, for example, in the other great epic we have studied, The Odyssey).” Ian Johnson

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Two

2009-08-03T16:40:00.001-07:00

8/2

The Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

ISBN: 978-0-06-088328-7

Suggested By: Mecca Willman

Where: In Bed

When: 10-10:30

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 116-171 (55)

The Lead In: So glad to be home, so happy to read in the comfort of my bed, nice ending to a rough patch of days.

The 411 on the 55: The patriarch of the family, Jose Arcadio, has gone crazy and to control him they tie him to a tree in the front yard, where he murmurs things in Latin. One of the girls has a dream one night that he will die soon and is cautioned to care for him until his passing. As they prepare a place within the house, they attempt to bring him in, but, while standing there for days and days, he learns how to make his body heavier until it takes 7 men to carry him inside. There is something wonderful about that, I am not sure.

Line of the Day: “The smell of tender mushrooms, of wood-flower fungus, of old and concentrated outdoors impregnated the air of the bedroom as it was breathed by the colossal old man weatherbeaten by the sun and the rain.” pg 139

Fact on the Fiction: “Believed by many to be one of the world’s greatest writers, Gabriel García Márquez is a Colombian-born author and journalist, winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature and a pioneer of the Latin American “Boom.” Affectionately known as “Gabo” to millions of readers, he first won international fame with his masterpiece, One Hundred Years of Solitude, a defining classic of twentieth century literature.” The Modern World

Day One Hundred and Twenty-One

2009-08-02T20:47:00.001-07:00

8/1

The Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

ISBN: 978-0-06-088328-7

Suggested By: Mecca Willman

Where: In Flight to DFW

When: 3-4P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 60-115 (55)

The Lead In: I’m terrified of flying and this flight was bumpy and terrifying. This book managed to distract me from the rigors of the flight.

The 411 on the 55: How beautiful the writing of this story is. Its powerful and sweet, races from eyes to brain like some drug.

Pietro Crespi falls for a young lady, but she will not have him. He pushes and pushes and seems to be winning her love. He is gifted in dance and the arts, impressive to his desired mother-in-law. But after a long bout of attempted convincing, his love tells him she will never marry him. He is crushed, goes to his workshop, plays his zither for hours and is discovered in the morning, his wrists slit. How beautiful and fitting.

Line of the Day: “Love is a disease.” pg 68

Fact on the Fiction: The fluidity of time is a major theme of this novel: “He reifies the metaphor of history as a circular phenomenon, through the repetition of names and characteristics belonging to the Buendía family. Over six generations all the José Arcadios possess inquisitive and rational dispositions as well as enormous physical strength; the Aurelianos, meanwhile, tend towards insularity and quietude. This repetition of traits reproduces the history of the individual characters and ultimately a history of the town as a succession of the same mistakes ad infinitum due to some endogenous hubris in our nature” Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Twenty

2009-08-02T20:46:00.001-07:00

7/31

The Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

ISBN: 978-0-06-088328-7

Suggested By: Mecca Willman

Where: El Paso

When: 9-9:30P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 4-59 (55)

The Lead In: Drained beyond words, drove all night last night. Turned off ESPN and laid down on a bed with no sheets in a room full of boxes yet unpacked.

The 411 on the 55: How can I describe this book. It flows like water. I had so many preconceived notions about it, due to series of bad readers who suggested it. I was wrong to assume.

Due to the way the story is almost stream of conscience I will try and pick my favorite sections of the day’s reading rather than outline the full scope of the work.

Gypsies come to the city on a regular basis and during one of the trips, a young Indian girl is prostituted to pay for a new house to replace her grandma’s recently burned one. After the night we meet her in the story, she still has 10 years of 70 men per night. How daunting and beautiful her dedication!

Line of the Day: “This is the great invention of our time.” pg 18

Fact on the Fiction: Magic realism, or magical realism, is an artistic genre in which magical elements or illogical scenarios appear in an otherwise realistic or even "normal" setting. It has been widely used in relation to literature, art, and film. Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Nineteen

2009-07-30T10:04:00.001-07:00

7/30

The Book: Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh

ISBN: 0-393-31581-9

Suggested By: Unnamed Grad-Student

Where: STC Library

When: 10-10:30P

Music: Kanye West

Company: Sissy

Pages: 224-276 (55)

The Lead In: Big road trip tonight, helping Monty drive to El Paso. I’m such a saint, I know... Anyway, so getting the reading done early was an absolute necessity. Having a gun to your head makes things important. Funny.

The 411 on the 55: Ok, so Lloyd’s life is spinning out of control. More and more drugs get tossed into his life, but he can’t seem to get things together. He even moves on to Crystal Meth and yet, still, he feels empty and unhappy.

Heather is sick of her straight-laced husband,Hugh, and her life. She goes out with her friend one weekend and takes e, opening her view on life. She decides she has had enough of Senor Hugh and pushes out of the marriage and her old life.

They meet in a club and all is golden for both of them, granted they are high as kites, but you get the drift. Eventually Heather throws a fit because Lloyd is always high when he is with her. Then several weeks later they meet in a club and Lloyd tries to talk to her and she blows him off. Later she learns that he is off of drugs and she falls in love again. Blech.

The 20/20: The best way to do an accurate 20/20 would be to subdivide it. #1 was a good story, complicated and laughable. I enjoyed the method of storytelling and the characters were amusing. #2 was the best of the bunch, a little creepy and full of revenge. I enjoyed it very much. #3 was my least favorite of all the collection. It was too predictable. You knew they would end up together. Both stories 1 and 2 shocked me with their endings. He could have done better. OVERALL: A good collection of short stories, the second such book read for this exercise (Breece DJ Pancake). I must confess I find drug culture off-putting, but the method to the writing was well-executed.

Line of the Day: “So ye have tae watch oot before ye call it love. It’s just another form ay entertainment. See if the feelings transfer tae yer everyday life, then call it love. Love’s no jist for weekenders.” pg 261

Fact on the Fiction: “Basically, particularly in Britain, it's a hegemonic thing that people who write tend to come from the leisure classes. They can afford the time and the books. They tend to be public schooled, Oxford types: writers. Consequently, you have exactly the same narrative voice. It's alright to do the vernacular in dialogue, but the narrative voice is always kept in standard English. It's a basic question, really: how do people think, in standard English or in colloquialisms?” Irvine Welsh

Day One Hundred and Eighteen

2009-07-29T22:00:00.001-07:00

7/29

The Book: Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh

ISBN: 0-393-31581-9

Suggested By: Unnamed Grad-Student

Where: Home

When: 11-11:45P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 168-223 (55)

The Lead In: Reading Welsh is difficult. His use of accents and dialects makes for a difficult read, especially for an American.

The 411 on the 55: Two stories in one for this last short story. One is a drug user who seems to have no aim in life but getting high. The other is Heather, a married woman who is incredibly unhappy with her life. Hates her husband, hates her life.

I realize that this 411 offers little, but, to be honest, I think this story is the least impressive.

Line of the Day: “When all this is in your head it has to come out into your life. If it doesn’t, you get crushed. I’m not going to get crushed.” pg 217

Fact on the Fiction: An article that gives Welsh alot of credit for shifting the way drugs were viewed in the UK. “Trainspotting was the loudest articulation of the chemical generation's rage against the Conservative government, who for 17 years tried to make Britain conform to a materialist vision and destroy anything that disagreed with it. Taking part in Britain's dance culture - and so taking drugs - was a way of refusing to be part of that vision, even if you did have to come down the next day.” Spike Magazine

Day One Hundred and Seventeen

2009-07-28T16:45:00.000-07:00

7/28

The Book: Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh

ISBN: 0-393-31581-9

Suggested By: Unnamed Grad-Student

Where: Home

When: 5:30-6:15P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 112-167 (55)

The Lead In: Skipping the gym today to read and something came to mind. Not having to go to the gym today really freed up my reading “mindset.” I feel more focused and centered on my reading and I really enjoyed today.

The 411 on the 55: Samantha is a victim of Tenazadrine. Pushed to the market too soon, birth defects abound until the connection is made and the drug is pulled. She is left with stubs of arms, basically flippers on her shoulders. She meets Dave.

Dave is a soccer hooligan into fighting and pretty much being a screw-up. He falls in love with Samantha, ignoring her strange arms. His love is pure, while hers is not. She needs him to help her get even with life. Her target, the man who marketed the drug, Sturgess. Lucky for them, he likes young men, which Dave is.

The story culminates with Dave picking up Sturgess in a bar, bringing him back to the autoshop he co-owns, and Samantha chainsawing his arms off while the cops surround the building. Kind of pretty in the book, to be honest.

Line of the Day: “I’m forever blowing bubbles...pretty bubbles in the...” pg 150

Fact on the Fiction: The line of the day comes from the closing page of the story and, after some research, is found in the West Ham United (soccer) fight song. Originally introduced in the 1920s, its sung before all the matches. Here is a Youtube clip.

Day One Hundred and Sixteen

2009-07-27T20:53:00.001-07:00

7/27

The Book: Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh

ISBN: 0-393-31581-9

Suggested By: Unnamed Grad-Student

Where: Home

When: 10-10:30P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 56-111 (55)

The Lead In: Just realized this book is actually a collection of three short stories. Duh.

The 411 on the 55: Rebecca’s book is incredibly dirty, though it will never be published. Freddy continues to screw corpses and when a new guy threatens him, they blackmail him while he is high. Lot of loose ends in the wrap up of that story.

The second story is a bit more complicated, jumping from time period to time period, 60’s to present. I’m still figuring it out, second story tomorrow.

Line of the Day: “SHUT YIR FUCKIN MOOTH SLAG!” pg 87

Fact on the Fiction: Irvine Welsh describes himself as "not so much middle-class as upper-class. I'm very much a gentleman of leisure. I write. I sit and look out of my window into the garden. I enjoy books. I love the density and complexity of Jane Austen and George Eliot. I listen to music; I travel. I can go off to a film festival whenever I like." He also describes himself as monogamous: "it sounds boring but it's the way I am.” Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Fifteen

2009-07-27T19:49:00.001-07:00

7/26

The Book: Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh

ISBN: 0-393-31581-9

Suggested By: Unnamed Grad-Student

Where: Home

When: 9:30-10P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 1-55 (55)

The Lead In: Don’t like drug culture, don’t like drug culture, don’t like drug culture....

The 411 on the 55: The book is told in separate chapters that follow the story-line from different points of view, to better explain this, let me outline the major characters:

Rebecca: Writes a series of romance novels, eats too much. Is married to Perky.

Perky: Is milking Rebecca for money to feed his deviant lifestyle: prostitutes, porn, videotaping sex, etc.

Lorraine: Rebecca’s nurse after her stroke. Pushes her to pay Perky back after discovering his secret life.

Glen: Works at the hospital in the morgue, has big crush on one of the girls, either Lorraine or Yvonne, not sure which.

Freddy: Some sort of media big shot, works at the hospital. Insane pervert, main squeeze is corpses.

Line of the Day: “That’s just it, Lorraine sniffed, - I don’t want to find someone, not yet at any rate. I want to find me first.” pg 42

Fact on the Fiction: “Irvine Welsh was born in the great city of Edinburgh, Scotland. He can't quite recall if it was Simpson's or Elsie Inglis maternity pavilions. In fact he remembers little of the birth, though his mother assured him later that it was fairly routine. This selective memory at key points in his life would continue.” IrvineWelsh.Net

Day One Hundred and Fourteen

2009-07-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

7/25

The Book: The Bonesetter’s Daughter

ISBN: 0-8041-1498-6

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When: 2-3P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 296-403 (107)

The Lead In: This book has been a really nice read. Really sparked my interest in Chinese culture and the language. Seriously considering a trip to the country. The country just sounds so fascinating.

The 411 on the 55: Well, the Japanese decide to kill all Communist sympathizers and LuLing’s husband is one. Pow, he’s dead. She’s heartbroken but decides to not kill herself and help in the school. But things begin getting worse and finally they decide to pack it in and move all the kids into the city.

In the city, an opportunity is given to the sisters, LuLing and her sister, to go to the U.S. with one of the missionary teachers. LuLing pushes her sister to go, and she does, hoping to send for her when she is settled. But things stretch further and further out, and Luling begins to lose hope.

In the present again, Ruth puts her mother in a nursing home and things begin to even out. Art turns into a not horrible guy and LuLing gets settled in her new digs. A scholar from China starts hitting on the old lady and they have old people romance (you know, no sex, but lots of googoo eyes). Turns out her family name, that she wanted desperately to remember was Gu. Eh, in the book, it is really pretty because it has a multitude of meanings.

The 20/20: A very good book. I will definitely recommend it to those that are looking for a “heart-warming book.” Too often, snobs like me look down on a book that has that effect, but, if done well, why can’t a book of that type be good? This one certainly was.

Line of the Day: “And then I realized what the first word must have been: ma, the sound of a baby smacking its lips in search of her mother’s breast.” pg 299

Fact on the Fiction: “Some readers will not agree with Tan's decision to tie up all the loose ends of the novel's plot as neatly as if Glinda the Good had waved her wand over everybody's problems. Fortunately, this does not mar the real ending, for which Tan's superb storytelling has amply prepared us.” Better said than I ever could. NY Times Book Review

Day One Hundred and Thirteen

2009-07-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

7/24

The Book: The Bonesetter’s Daughter

ISBN: 0-8041-1498-6

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When: 6:6:45P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 227-295 (68)

The Lead In: Interesting the role foreigners (from America and Japan) play in this book. Often they symbolize change or upcoming change. For a culture steeped in tradition (as the Chinese culture is), maybe that makes sense.

The 411 on the 55: When LuLing (Ruth’s mother) finally meets the family she is to marry into, she realizes that it is the family responsible for the death of PA’s husband and father. She doesn’t care, even when PA finds out and throws a fit. PA writes a story, which ends with the information that she is LuLing’s mother, but LuLing doesn’t read it. Instead, she tells PA she doesn’t care about what’s in the book. That night, PA kills herself.

The next day, LuLing read the story and is crushed to find out the news. The family is dealt wave after wave of bad events (cancellation of the marriage, family business burnt down, creditors calling, etc.), they send LuLing to an orphanage.

There, LuLing becomes a teacher in calligraphy (the skill her actual mother taught her), meets a boy, and gets married. Then the Japanese invade China.

Line of the Day: “When you have nothing else to do, you can always busy yourself picking maggots out of rice.” pg 234

Fact on the Fiction: “From June 1937, Japanese troops carried out intensive military training maneuvers in the vicinity of the western end of the Marco Polo Bridge. These maneuvers were held every night, while night maneuvers held by other foreign garrison troops were held very seldom. The Chinese government had requested that advance notice be given, in order that the local inhabitants not be disturbed. The Japanese had agreed to this condition. However, on the night of July 7, 1937, night maneuvers were carried on without prior notice, which greatly alarmed the local Chinese forces. The Chinese, thinking an attack was underway, fired a few ineffectual rifle shots, which led to a brief exchange of fire at approximately 23:00.” Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Twelve

2009-07-23T20:39:00.001-07:00

7/23

The Book: The Bonesetter’s Daughter

ISBN: 0-8041-1498-6

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When:10-!0:30P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 171-226 (55)

The Lead In: Last night’s reading freaked me out a bit. The image of Precious Auntie’s ghosts lingering around freaked me out a bit.

The 411 on the 55: The second section of this book flies back in time across the globe to China to tell us the story of Ruth’s mother.

Precious Auntie is actually her mother, but because she never had the chance to marry her fiance (he was killed by a horse kick), the family decided to cover it up. Precious Auntie, in a fit of sadness having lost her future husband, attempts to kill herself by drinking boiling ink. The family rescues her and she becomes her baby’s nursemaid.

The family is attempting to marry the young girl off and P.A. seeks to be involved but is shut out by her own daughter (thought she is unaware of this fact, having been lied to from birth). Upon arrival in another city, she is unprepared for what is happening around her and is incredibly overwhelmed. Instead of missing PA, she blames her for not training her correctly. Snot.

Line of the Day: “She speaks in the languages of shooting stars.” pg 200

Fact on the Fiction: Primary to this second section of the story is the discovery of Dragon Bones, valued by archeologists visiting the caves near their home. From Wikipedia: “They were directed to the site at Dragon Bone Hill by local quarry men, where Johann Andersson recognized deposits of quartz that were not native to the area. Immediately realizing the importance of this find he turned to his colleague and announced, ‘Here is primitive man, now all we have to do is find him!’” Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Eleven

2009-07-22T22:01:00.001-07:00

7/22

The Book: The Bonesetter’s Daughter

ISBN: 0-8041-1498-6

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When:11:15-11:40

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 112-170 (58)

The Lead In: Squeezing the reading in after work. Good thing Tan’s work is easy on the eyes.

The 411 on the 55: Ruth has to cancel her trip to Hawaii to care for her mother. She has basically dipped into full-fledged crazy pants.

Memory is a big deal in this book, both her mother’s lost one and Ruth’s own experiences. Ruth focused today on a particular coming-of-age, near raping by her neighbor. She also relays the story of when she pretended to be Precious Auntie and told her mom to kill herself. Which she tried to. Eh...

Line of the Day: “It’s the chemistry that gets you pregnant.” pg 133

Fact on the Fiction: “Born in the US to immigrant parents from China, Amy Tan failed her mother’s expectations that she become a doctor and concert pianist. She settled on writing fiction.” (thought that was funny.) AmyTan

Day One Hundred and Ten

2009-07-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

7/20

The Book: The Bonesetter’s Daughter

ISBN: 0-8041-1498-6

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When:8:30-9P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 56-111 (55)

The Lead In: Amy Tan’s work reminds me of Sandra Cisneros. Heavy on the family focus, references to other cultures, food, etc. Maybe that is the minority aspect of their writing. Or maybe it is my point of view from the majority.

The 411 on the 55: Ruth takes her mother to the doctor and his first diagnosis is depression, eventually shifting towards dementia. Ruth is taken aback, but realizes she has seen this coming for a long time. Her mother is constantly forgetting things, being confused, and angry.

There is a brief interlude in which Ruth (as a child) breaks her arm and through a weird chain of events, her mother becomes convinced Ruth is the medium to her dead Precious Auntie. Creepy.

There is a family meal (back in the present). Everyone is there, its incredibly uncomfortable because Art decides to invite his ex wife. Art’s not a very cool guy. I’m a little down on him at this point.

Line of the Day: “Hambugga? You say ‘hambugga,’ then eat.” pg 82

Fact on the Fiction: How cool is this? “Adapted from the best-selling novel by beloved Bay Area author Amy Tan, this world premiere tells a resonant story of belated intergenerational understanding that leads to emotional healing. A troubled Chinese-American woman learns the horrible secrets of her immigrant mother’s past in this touching and terrifying tale, set in both modern-day San Francisco and the Chinese countryside during the tumultuous events surrounding World War II.” San Francisco Opera

Day One Hundred and Nine

2009-07-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

7/20

The Book: The Bonesetter’s Daughter

ISBN: 0-8041-1498-6

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When:8:30-9P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 1-55 (55)

The Lead In: A new book, a new day. Amy Tan, who I only know from a Simpson’s episode.

The 411 on the 55: The book opens with a Chinese girl with her Aunt. The Aunt is burned and everyone hate her except for her niece. They go to pray and her Aunt shows the girl her family name (which is a secret) written on a piece of paper, but the girl (or the speaker of the memory) has forgotten the name over time.

From the intro, the book starts with Ruth, a woman who lives with her boyfriend, Art. He has two daughters from a previous marriage but they try and make it work. Ruth struggles with managing her time and family, while dealing with her whining (and apparently senile) mother. By the way, the niece in the intro story is her mother.

Line of the Day: “You wish I dead? You wish no mother tell you what to do? Okay, maybe I die soon!” pg 54

Fact on the Fiction: “What happens when a bunch of bestselling authors get together and form a garage band, then go on tour? In the case of Stephen King, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, Dave Barry,Tad Bartimus, Roy Blount Jr., Michael Dorris, Robert Fulghum, Matt Groening, Barbara Kingsolver, Al Kooper, Greil Marcus, Joel Selvin, Amy Tan, Dave Marsh, Mitch Albom, Ridley Pearson and a few others...what happens is...THE ROCK BOTTOM REMAINDERS BAND!” Interview

Day One Hundred and Eight

2009-07-19T17:52:00.001-07:00

7/19

The Book: My Lobotomy by Howard Dully

ISBN: 978-0-307-38127-9

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When:6:30-715P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 199-283 (84)

The Lead In: Got to the end of the days reading today and just decided it was time to push through. Finished it.

The 411 on the 55: Howard finally gets his life together with the help of his new wife, Barb. She offers him stability he hadn’t had before in his life. With her help, he mellows out on the drugs and drinking, settling into the role of father and husband.

Eventually he is contacted by an NPR rep wanting to do a story on lobotomies and Dr. Freeman. After meeting Howard, they decide to do the story on him. His story is premiered in NYC to great acclaim. Eventually, Howard writes this book to help out in the pay department because he is broke.

He believes that this experience, the book, the show, etc, brought closure to his life.

The 20/20: I fluctuated today when considering what I thought of this book. The positives: information about lobotomies, good story of a troubled man, interesting characters. The negatives: is Howard blaming his lobotomy for every bad decision he made? The epilogue negated that. He admits that he let it control his life and by facing it (through the book) he was free of it. So the one negative becomes a positive. Really interesting book, I would recommend it.

Line of the Day: “I wasn’t doing much of anything. But now, or the first time in my life, I was ashamed of that.” pg 203

Fact on the Fiction: This book, along with the closure it brought, would not have been possible without this radio show. Follow the link and hear his story. NPR

Day One Hundred and Seven

2009-07-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

7/18

The Book: My Lobotomy by Howard Dully

ISBN: 978-0-307-38127-9

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When:9-9:30P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 143-198 (55)

The Lead In: It’s amazing how many crappy things happened to this kid. I wonder if this could happen now, with CPS watching parents so much tighter. Of course, when I was a teacher, kids would come in bruises and would go to the counselor. But in Howard’s case, doctors are doing this!

The 411 on the 55: Howard bounces from half-way house to mental institution as he gets older. He gets on disability when he is 18 and survives (barely) on that. He gets into some trouble writing bad checks, and is institutionalized to stay out of jail.

As he gets older, he marries one lady, but has trouble keeping faithful. They fight alot, but manage to have a couple of kids together. Being a father doesn’t really help Howard pull his life together, he still chases skirt and drinks constantly.

It’s hard to tell if Howard blames his lobotomy for his lack of focus in life or his life in general. The lobotomy certainly was the capper though.

Line of the Day: “But we didn’t have a life. We didn’t have a real marriage. We had a kind of association. We were just playing at marriage.” pg 182

Fact on the Fiction: Just look at that picture.

Day One Hundred and Six

2009-07-17T21:22:00.001-07:00

7/17

The Book: My Lobotomy by Howard Dully

ISBN: 978-0-307-38127-9

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When:10:30-11P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 87-142 (55)

The Lead In: Squeezing reading in after drinking is a bad idea. Hooray bad ideas!

The 411 on the 55: Freeman bullies them into giving Howard a lobotomy. What’s amazing is that Howard had no idea what was going on. Basically, they checked him into a hospital and the next day he was lobotomized. Howard doesn’t remember that day at all. The trauma to the brain must have juggled the memories all up.

After the lobotomy, Howard doesn’t change all that much and neither does his step-mother. She becomes hysterical and insists that he be removed from the house. They try several solutions, but finally settle on a mental hospital, which somehow the state approves. Howard is checked in as a patient. Unbelievable.

Line of the Day: “But nothing would really fix me, Freeman said, except a lobotomy.” pg 91

Fact on the Fiction: The “ice pick lobotomy” was, according to Ole Enersen, performed by Freeman “with a recklessness bordering on lunacy, touring the country like a travelling evangelist. In most cases,” Enersen continued, “this procedure was nothing more than a gross and unwarranted mutilation carried out by a self righteous zealot.” Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Five

2009-07-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

7/16

The Book: My Lobotomy by Howard Dully

ISBN: 978-0-307-38127-9

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When:8-8:45P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 31-86 (55)

The Lead In: This will be the first autobiographical book of 55pages. Lobotomies scare the bejesus out of me.

The 411 on the 55: Howard Dully is born to a set of parents relatively thrilled to have him. That all changes when his mother dies delivering her next son. It worsens when Howard’s dad remarries a woman with two children of her own, Lou. Lou hates the crap out Howard. Complains about him constantly, even making things up to prove how bad of a person he is.

Eventually she decides to seek professional help and she finds someone to help, Dr. Freeman. Freeman is a specialist in lobotomies and recommends them for pretty much everything, much to the chagrin of his fellow doctors. Seriously, his entire career is based off lobotomies.

Line of the Day: “One summer he logged 11,000 miles in his Lobotomobile.” pg 72

Fact on the Fiction: “Teenage Lobotomy” is a fantastic song by The Ramones. Check the lyrics of the second verse:

“Slugs and snails are after me

DDT keeps me happy

Now I guess I'll have to tell 'em

That I got no cerebellum

Gonna get my Ph.D.

I'm a teenage lobotomy”

Day One Hundred and Four

2009-07-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

7/15

The Book: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

ISBN: 978-0671-02734-6

Suggested By: Mario Leal

Where: Home

When:12-12:30P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 188-213 (55)

The Lead In: Very disappointed with this book. Not sure how this will end but I bet there is a twist. All good books have them, all bad books have them. All books have a twist.

The 411 on the 55: After the graduation, Charlie goes over to Sam’s house and they end up messing around. Sam goes “into his pants” and he freaks out and stops it from going further, but he isn’t sure why. Everyone is confused by the whole thing...until the epilogue.

Throughout the book, Charlie talks about how much he loves his Aunt Helen. Well, apparently she was sexually abusing him. But now Charlie is all better and the book closes with him headed to school, minus all his friends, but ready to face the world, well-adjusted.

The 20/20: If I had to say something nice about this story, I would praise the cover. Other than that.... the plot is a little unbelievable. Why are all these seniors hanging out with a freshman? He’s 14, Sam is 18+ and she still wants to mess around with him? All the references in the book feel forced, including the issues: drugs, abortion, sex, etc. It reads like a self-help book for teenagers. But not just any self-help book, a cool self-help book, with hip references to all the bands you love. Screw it.

Line of the Day: “It’s like all I can do is keep writing this gibberish to keep from breaking apart.” pg 205

Fact on the Fiction: Ladies and Gents, A photo of the last two pages of this book will show what I am talking about...

Day One Hundred and Four

2009-07-14T19:45:00.001-07:00

7/14

The Book: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

ISBN: 978-0671-02734-6

Suggested By: Mario Leal

Where: Home

When:8:45-9:10P

Music: None

Company: Church

Pages: 132-187 (55)

The Lead In: Sissy has a migraine and Monty is chatting with me, but this damn book will be read, damnit. Also, a prediction, I bet Charlie kills himself at the end of this book.

The 411 on the 55: Charlie screws over Mary Elizabeth at a party, kissing Sam on a dare “to kiss the prettiest girl in the room.” Real nice, jerk. Mary dumps him. He gets depressed because no one will talk to him now and begins smoking pot. And it stays that way until Patrick and Brad get in a fight in the cafeteria. Patrick is getting the crap kicked out of him by a bunch of football players when Charlie steps in an kicks some ass. Then all is well.

Everyone is friends again going into the end of the school year. Charlie is scared that he will be left alone when everyone else graduates. He is younger than them. Bill, his teacher, has him over for supper and tells him that he is super special. Today’s reading closes with everyone going to the graduation.

Line of the Day: “I saw other people there. Old men sitting alone. Young girls with blue eyeshadow and weird awkward jaws. Little kids who looked tired. Fathers in nice coats who looked even more tired. Kids working behind the counter of the food places who looked like they hadn’t had the will to live for hours. The machines kept opening and closing. The people kept giving money and getting their change. And it all felt very unsettling to me.” pg 144

Fact on the Fiction: According to this study, The Perks of being a Wallflower is a favorite among less than average SAT scorers. Booksthatmakeyoudumb

Day One Hundred and Three

2009-07-13T19:31:00.003-07:00

7/13

The Book: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

ISBN: 978-0671-02734-6

Suggested By: Mario Leal

Where: Home

When:8:30-9:10P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 76-131 (55)

The Lead In: This book feels dated. Not like a Fitzgerald or Hemingway book, those ring sincere. This feels like a time-capsule. Everything crammed together to prove this book was written in the 90s. Eh...I wonder if I am being harsh because I am from that era, while maybe my great-grandfather thought The Sun Also Rises was shit.

The 411 on the 55: Charlie does his first LSD, ends up in the hospital, not so good. Ends up spending time with a psychiatrist, and seems to improve his outlook on life. His love of Sam becomes more complicated when he decides to give into another friend, Mary Elizabeth, and date her.

Mary is a control freak who is very into all the movements of the time period. When Charlie dates her, however, he finds her to be less like her facade and more like every one else. This reminds me of an experience I had, dating a girl who I thought was brilliant and insightful, etc. One week was enough for me to realize she was not the woman advertised. Funny enough, she dumped me.

Side note, Charlie drives his sister to the abortion clinic to have one done. I don’t know if this was indicative of more to come or not.

Line of the Day: “It’s important to say “sir” at these moments.”pg 84

Fact on the Fiction: “Chbosky agreed to serve as co-creator, executive producer, and writer of the CBS serial television drama Jericho, which premiered in September 2006. The series revolves around the inhabitants of the fictional small town of Jericho, Kansas in the aftermath of several nuclear attacks.” Awesomely, the show was actually cancelled twice. (on a side note, this page definitely seems to be written by Chbosky himself) Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and Two

2009-07-13T19:31:00.001-07:00

7/12

The Book: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

ISBN: 978-0671-02734-6

Suggested By: Mario Leal

Where: Home

When:9:30-10:15P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 18-75 (57)

The Lead In: I remember when this book was super huge. I remember how everyone told me to read it, as it would “change my life.” When people recommend anything that way, they curse the book to failure...We shall see.

The 411 on the 55: To begin, letters? Really? ung. I don’t like this method of story-telling. But...Charlie is a young man, dealing with life in his own way, writing letters to a stranger (in effect, us).

He has two close friends, Sam and Patrick. Sam, he has a crush on but she is older and dating elsewhere. Patrick is gay and has secret sex with the high school quarterback who won’t come out of the closet.

Charlie struggles in English till he gets a teacher who gives him life-changing books: The Catcher in the Rye, On the Road, This Side of Paradise, Naked Lunch.

Line of the Day: “And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.” pg 39

Fact on the Fiction: “Chbosky names Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye as an inspiration, and he pays homage to Salinger's work by naming it as one of the books that Charlie's English teacher, Bill, gives him to read.” Wikipedia

Day One Hundred and One

2009-07-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

7/11

The Book: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

ISBN: 978-1-59308-081-5

Suggested By: Patrick Garcia

Where: The STC Library

When: 3-4P

Music: None

Company: Sissy

Pages: 482- 521(55)

The Lead In: I finish this book today. Wow, my first completed Dostoevsky. More in the 20/20.

The 411 on the 55: Rodion caves in and submits to the police. His mother is heartbroken and ends up dying. His sister marries his old friend and is marginally happy. Sonia follows him to Siberia to be around him.

I leave Rodion’s fate to its own paragraph because I was super thrilled with the way he had gone. There is much internal thought process revealed by the author and we know R is completely unrepentant. He feels he did nothing wrong and is irritated to be locked up. This is in line with everything else he has theorized concerning human nature. He views himself as being above the rules.

But Dostoevsky chickens out in the last two pages of the epilogue. Why? I’m not sure but he caves in and R grovels at Sonya’s feet, pouring out his love and even reading the Bible. Really Fyoder? Really? You chicken.

The 20/20: The book was great. Brutal in the murder scene and excellent in the philosophy and dialogue. Overall a great read, but I am horribly disappointed with the ending.

Line of the Day: “And if only fate would have sent him repentance - burning repentance that would have torn his heart and robbed him of sleep, that repentance, the awful agony of which brings visions of hanging or drowning! Oh, he would have been glad of it! Tears and agonies would at least have been life. But he did not repent of his crime.” pg 515

Fact on the Fiction: “Then we get this one line telling us Raskolnikov will suffer, as if the narrator is trying to convince us that it's OK for Raskolnikov to be happy because he earns it by suffering. Do we buy this? In the beginning of the epilogue, we hear that Raskolnikov likes the prison atmosphere. He gets sick because of his mind, and because a bunch of guys tried to kill him, not due to the conditions. “ Shmoop

Day One Hundred

2009-07-11T19:40:00.001-07:00

7/10

The Book: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

ISBN: 978-1-59308-081-5

Suggested By: Patrick Garcia

Where: Home

When: 9-9:45P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 426-481(55)

The Lead In: Drove for ten hours today, came home and read 55. Awesome. Awesomely tired.

The 411 on the 55: Very quickly as I am wore out. R’s sister is almost raped by a man who is from her hometown. He uses his knowledge of R’s murdering ways to badger into having sex, but she escapes after shooting at him twice. He, on the other hand, decides to go to America, and holes up in a seedy hotel to wait for the rain to stop.

R considers suicide after meeting with the detective. Porfiry (the dick) tells him that he knows he did it, and R narrowly evades confessing.

Line of the Day: “You, Rodion Romanovich! You are the murderer...” pg 433

Fact on the Fiction: A note on Russian names: Most Russian family names originated from patronymics, that is, father's name usually formed by adding the adjective suffix -ov(a) or -ev(a)). Contemporary patronymics, however, have a substantive suffix -ich for masculine and the adjective suffix -na for feminine. For example, the proverbial triad of most common Russian surnames follows: Ivanov (son of Ivan), Petrov (son of Petr), and Sidorov (son of Sidor).Wikipedia

Day Ninety-Nine

2009-07-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

7/9

The Book: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

ISBN: 978-1-59308-081-5

Suggested By: Patrick Garcia

Where: Home (Longview, Tx)

When: 8:15-9PM

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 370-425(55)

The Lead In: There is a twisted world-view within the story that is interesting. I mentioned it before, but that concept of being above the law because someone is superior is interesting. Not sure how I feel about it.

The 411 on the 55: Did I call it or did I call it? Who shows up but the old reject of R’s sister and to claim that Sonya has stolen 100 rubles from him. R and another money lender defend her, even after the money falls from her pocket, apparently the lawyer had slipped it in to paint her a crook. However, with the two men defending her, Sonya is vindicated and the lawyer runs out to jeers from the crowd.

After the confrontation, R decides to confess to Sonya. She is shocked, of course, and pushed him to confess. He decides to think about it, but is interruppted with the news that Sonya’s step mother (the recent widow) has gone mad and is making her kids dance and sing in the streets for money. They run to her and, when they arrives, she has a fit and dies.

Line of the Day: “Oh, if Divine Providence is going to be mixed up in it, no one can do anything...” pg 388

Fact on the Fiction: How awesome is this? A Crime and Punishment Museum. Jailmuseum.com (sadly not related to the book...)

Day Ninety-Eight

2009-07-08T14:32:00.000-07:00

7/8

The Book: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

ISBN: 978-1-59308-081-5

Suggested By: Patrick Garcia

Where: Mug Shot (Longview, Tx)

When: 3:45-4:20

Music: None

Company: Sissy

Pages: 314-369(55)

The Lead In: I like Dostoevsky’s use of Biblical references in his stories. I like the moral undertones it adds to the story. It makes the book more serious, more important.

The 411 on the 55: Raskolnikov heads back into the inspector to have a chat. It gets worse and worse, leading R to begin raving that he should be charged or left alone. The inspector seems to be closing the trap, when a door is flung open by another man who confesses to the crime.

The old lawyer, now spurned by R’s sister calls in Sonya and offers to help out with her mother (now a widow). While I didn’t pick up the actual goal of this, the gist is that he is doing it for evil intents.

The last 3rd of this day’s reading was the funeral scene for Sonya’s father. People are getting drunk and little honor is being paid to the dead man. It’s a wreck.

Line of the Day: “The candle-end was flickering out in the battered candlestick, dimly lighting up in the poverty-stricken room the murderer and the harlot who had so strangely been reading together the eternal book.” pg 314 (pure poetry)

Fact on the Fiction: “Suffering, often as a means of redemption, is a recuttern theme in Russian literature. Dostoevsky in particular is noted for exploring suffering in works such as Notes from Underground and Crime and Punishment. Wikipedia

Day Ninety-Seven

2009-07-08T13:52:00.001-07:00

7/7

The Book: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

ISBN: 978-1-59308-081-5

Suggested By: Patrick Garcia

Where: Home (Longview, Tx)

When: 9-9:30P

Music: None

Company: Sissy

Pages: 258-313(55)

The Lead In: Dostoevsky takes some shots at God, but he does it through the lips of the murderer. I wonder if this is done to blunt the attack, or to use a despicable character to espouse something he disagreed with?

The 411 on the 55: Raskolnikov is becoming more and more ragged. He alternates between calm and insanity and switches quickly. He visits his sister’s fiancee with the rest of his family and a close friend and eventually it is revealed that the lawyer is a jerk and a control freak. They throw him out and the marriage is off. Money has been willed to his sister so things are not as pressing as it was originally thought.

A stranger meets R in the street, accuses him of murder, and walks away. Later, R visits the daughter (a prostitute) of the man who got ran over before. He mocks Sonya’s faith, but she is still nice to him. Eventually, he forces her to read the story of Lazarus to him.

Line of the Day: “I shall be a religious maniac myself soon! It’s infectious!” pg 311

Fact on the Fiction: Lazarus has made many appearances in popular works. On the list, Moby-Dick, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, and A Separate Peace. This passage is particularly important to Crime and Punishment in that it provides hope for both of Raskolnikov and Sonya. Both have experienced a sort of spiritual death, Sonya because of her extreme poverty and the time she spent as a prostitute in an attempt to support her family, and Raskolnikov because of his alienation from society. They feel that, like Lazarus, they may someday experience a sort of resurrection that would allow them to end their spiritual depravity.

Day Ninety-Six

2009-07-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

7/6

The Book: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

ISBN: 978-1-59308-081-5

Suggested By: Patrick Garcia

Where: Mugshot (Longview, Tx)

When: 5:30-6P

Music: Classical

Company: Sissy

Pages: 202-257(55)

The Lead In: There is a distinctly Christian vibe in this coffeeshop and its freaking me out.

The 411 on the 55: Quickly now, R seems to come around with his sister marrying the rich lawyer, and seems to want to make things right with him. R’s friend convinces him to run by the inspector who is investigating the murders so he can claim the items he had pawned. R has qualms but goes.

Instantly, he realizes it was a mistake to go. The inspector goes after his logic on crime and tries to get him to confess. R is irritated with himself for showing up and looks down on the inspector’s line of question. There is an interesting interchange I wish I had the time and energy to describe. It focuses on how society doesn’t have the right to control great man, and they should operate above society’s laws..

Line of the Day: “If he gets out and has a breath of fresh air...it is horribly close in his room...But where can you get a breath of fresh air here? Even the streets here feel like shut-up rooms. Goodness! What a town!” pg 230

Fact on the Fiction: The name, Fyodor, means “divine gift.” It is a variant of Theodore.

Day Ninety-Five

2009-07-06T15:27:00.001-07:00

7/5

The Book: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

ISBN: 978-1-59308-081-5

Suggested By: Patrick Garcia

Where: Home (Longview, Tx)

When: 8-8:45

Music:None

Company: Family

Pages: 146-201(55)

The Lead In: Being on vacation makes reading more difficult, but not impossible.

The 411 on the 55: The badgering of Raskolnikov continues until he has had enough and forces everyone out of his apartment. After they leave he gathers up and heads out to drink tea. While there, his friend, Zametov, comes in and, in the course of one of his diatribes, he admits to killing the lady and her sister, but his friend seems to assume he is still sick.

After leaving the bar, Raskolnikov happens to walk past an accident. A drunk (turns out to be a drunk R had met previously) has been run over by his car. It is a touching, but cynical scene when he is brought in to die on the couch. R hands a handle-full of money over to his widow and seems to change his view on life.

Upon arriving him, he discovers his sister and mother and fights with them over his sister’s engagement. Two of his friends decide his sister is hot and begin hitting on her. Ah, with friends like that...

Line of the Day: “Where is it I’ve read that someone condemned to death says or thinks, an hour before his death, that if he had to live on some high rock, on such a narrow ledge that he’d only got room to stand, with the ocean, everlasting darkness, everlasting solitude, everlasting tempest around him, if he had to remain standing on a square yard of space all his life, a thousand years, eternity, it were better to live like that than to die at one! Only to live, to live and live! Life, whatever it may be!” pg 154

Fact on the Fiction: Great quote. "Dostoevsky gives me more than any scientist, more than Gauss!" -- Einstein

Day Ninety-Four

2009-07-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

7/4 (Happy 4th!)

The Book: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

ISBN: 978-1-59308-081-5

Suggested By: Patrick Garcia

Where: Mugshot (Longview, Tx)

When: 1:30-

Music: Happy Hollow - Cursive

Company: Sissy

Pages: 90 - 145(55)

The Lead In: Had some difficulty reading today, had an Iced American with 4 shots. Bouncing a bit.

The 411 on the 55: Part two of this book begins with Raskolnikov summoned to the police station (he finds out later it is for an IOU). He is shaken and ill, requiring the help of friends he has either ignored up to this point or hates. They nurse him back to help and, during the process, discuss the murder case against two painters (one that ol’ Rasko might know a little about...).

His sister’s fiance shows up to meet him and, in response, he is rude and contrary to everything the poor man says.

Line of the Day: “...and now I see that I want nothing. Do you hear? Nothing at all...no-one’s services...no-one’s sympathy. I am by myself...alone. Come on, that’s enough. Leave me alone.” pg 110 (that’s some tasty existentialism)

Fact on the Fiction: On the making of “Crime and Punishment” (the 1935 movie): “Von Sternberg, who was contractually obligated to make the film, disliked it, later writing that is was "no more related to the true text of the novel than the corner

Day Ninety-Three

2009-07-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

7/3

The Book: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

ISBN: 978-1-59308-081-5

Suggested By: Patrick Garcia

Where: On the road

When: 4-4:45P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 30-89 (59)

The Lead In: When I was a kid, I read a comic book version of this book. There was a scene when a woman got an axe in the head. I remember as a kid, it freaked me out. Nice to see the scene the second day in.

The 411 on the 55: Meet Raskolnikov, an ex-student who lives in the city, without a job or any desire to have one. His sister and mother support him with money, in hopes that he will turn out well. He pawns all that he owns with the same lady, an old crone who he comes to see as the embodiment of his pain and, eventually, his chance.

Rasko wanders the city considering what he will do but keeps coming back to the idea of knocking off the old lady and stealing her fortune. He is pushed further that direction when his mother sends him a letter informing of his sister’s pending marriage to a rich, older lawyer. Upon reading the letter, he interprets everything in relation to himself, assuming that his sister is only doing it in hopes of getting him a job.

Unable to just be happy for his sister, he decides that the deed must be done. If he gets money, she can beg off. He travels to the old lady’s house and hatchets her to death. During the robbery part of the crime, her sister walks into the house and he dispatches her as well. He is almost discovered in his exit, but manages to sneak away.

Line of the Day: “He thought of nothing and was completely incapable of thinking; but he felt suddenly in his whole being that he had no more freedom of thought, no will, and that everything was suddenly and irrevocable decided.” pg 63

Fact on the Fiction: During the writing and serial publishing of Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky paused to hammer out (in a month) The Gambler. He did this to complete a contractual clause and maintain rights to his work. (from the introductory material)

Day Ninety-Two

2009-07-02T18:35:00.001-07:00

7/2

The Book: Serve the People by Yan Lianke

ISBN: 978-0-8021-7044-6

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When: 8-8:15P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 192-217 (55)

The Lead In: I liked this book. It was sweet.

The 411 on the 55: As everything has been disbanded and his world is falling apart, Wu decides to try to see Liu. She is uninterested in him and gives him the “Serve the People” sign they had used to signal romance time. He leaves for the city.

15 years later, he spots his son (by Liu) in the street and attempts to see his mistress. When he finally gets to the house, she sends him a note asking him if he wants money, he is crushed and instead gives her back her sign. End of story.

The 20/20: Sweet story, nice period piece. I liked it very much. A quick read.

Line of the Day: “The secret sank without a trace, like a piece of gold into the sea. pg 208

Fact on the Fiction: “The novel [Serve the People!] was banned by the Chinese government at least partially because of its depiction of items related to Mao Zedong, who is still revered by many Chinese people in China.” Wikipedia

Day Ninety-One

2009-07-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

7/1

The Book: Serve the People by Yan Lianke

ISBN: 978-0-8021-7044-6

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: WalMart Automotive Dept.

When: 9-10A

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 65-191 (126)

The Lead In: The last couple of days have been incredibly hectic due to job stuff, and I feel I haven’t been fair in the focus on this book. Got a lot of reading done today, while waiting on my car’s oil to get changed.

The 411 on the 55: OK, quick buzz through this as I am almost done with the book. Wu is a young man who is trying to get promoted within the political system in China, he does this by working in the military. As a chance to move up, he takes a position working in the house of the commander. When the commander leaves town for a bit, the wife of the commander, Liu, decides to seduce him.

He is reluctant at first, but eventually gives in. The rebellion of this relationship extends beyonds the simple bonds of marriage that both of them are breaking. It is also an issue of class difference, military protocol and political viewpoints. They find love in the most complicated of situation.

After several months of awesomeness, the commander returns and Wu is sent off to the village where his family lives. He is cold to his wife and gives up on trying to make it work, returning to his army base. When he arrives, he discovers the entire regiment has been broken up and disbanded. He, unlike the other soldiers, has been given a nice office job in the city, just as Liu had promised him.

Line of the Day: “‘Serve the People,’ she said, ‘take it off.” pg 87

Fact on the Fiction: “Mao’s two most famous essays, both from 1937, 'On Contradiction' and 'On Practice', are concerned with the practical strategies of a revolutionary movement and stress the importance of practical, grassroots knowledge, obtained through experience. Both essays reflect the guerrilla roots of Maoism in the need to build up support in the countryside against a Japanese occupying force and emphasise the need to win over 'hearts and minds' through 'education'.” Wikipedia

Day Ninety

2009-06-30T21:07:00.001-07:00

6/30

The Book: Serve the People by Yan Lianke

ISBN: 978-0-8021-7044-6

Suggested By: Sissy Vaughn

Where: Home

When: 10:30-11P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 9-64 (55)

The Lead In: My wife is asleep next to me and I don’t want to wake her up by typing. I am actually typing this under a blanket.

The 411 on the 55: Well clue you in tomorrow.

Line of the Day: “After a brief, violent explosion somewhere deep inside him, a gorgeous rainbow unfurled before his eyes - a blinding flash of colour that a second, disbelieving look translated, more matter-of-factly, as the Commander’s wife.” pg 23

Fact on the Fiction: Ladies and Gents, the wikipedia page for China. Wikipedia

Day Eighty-Nine

2009-06-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

6/29

The Book: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

ISBN: 978-0-441-79034-0

Suggested By: Te Norman

Where: Home

When: 9-10P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 392-438 (55)

The Lead In: It couldn’t go on forever, I grok it is over.

The 411 on the 55: Well, now even Jubal has joined the crowd and Mike sits him down to discuss his plans for the future. After going over the nature of changing the world and such, Mike comes up with a solution. A mob has gathered outside the hotel they are at and Mike goes out and lets himself be martyred, Jesus-style. The gang is all happy, content that Mike hasn’t died, but moved on. Last chapter finds Mike working for the “Old Ones.”

Line of the Day: “I am God. Thou art God...and any jerk I remove is God, too.” pg 421

The 20/20: Boring, dated book. An example of bad science fiction. I believe this book has a reputation because people have forgotten just how bad it is.

Fact on the Fiction: Iron Maiden has a single by the same name off the album “Somewhere in Time.” The Eddie drawing is based off Clint Eastwood’s “The Man With No Name.” Wikipedia

Day Eighty-Eight

2009-06-28T22:42:00.001-07:00

6/28

The Book: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

ISBN: 978-0-441-79034-0

Suggested By: Te Norman

Where: Home

When: 11-11:30P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 336-391 (55)

The Lead In: I keep hoping this will turn around, no dice tonight.

The 411 on the 55: Ben heads to Mike’s “church to discover what is going on. What is going on, you might ask? Orgies and BS. It’s like Heinlein wanted to be a hippy and never got the chance, but since this book was written before the hippies took over, does that make it the precursor? Regardless, today’s reading was a complete load of crap, Mike’s view of the world and the idiots he has brainwashed. No thank you.

Line of the Day: “When your own arse was bare? Come, sir!” pg 361 (it was funny, sorry.)

Fact on the Fiction: “And finally, I believe in my whole race. Yellow, white, black, red, brown --in the honesty, courage, intelligence, durability....and goodness.....of the overwhelming majority of my brothers and sisters everywhere on this planet.” A quote from Heinlein’s Creed. ThisIBelieve

Day Eighty-Seven

2009-06-27T16:06:00.001-07:00

6/27

The Book: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

ISBN: 978-0-441-79034-0

Suggested By: Te Norman

Where: Home

When: 5:30-6P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 280-335 (55)

The Lead In: This book has only gotten worse.

The 411 on the 55: This is the problem with sci-fi. If you create a world where no rules apply to it, if the normal pace of a story doesn’t have to be followed, what bars the author from doing the stupidest things within his novels?

Mike and Jill decide to seek after religion, to find the meaning of life. Mike finally understands humanity while watching two monkeys fight each other in a zoo. In response, he creates a huge church where he teaches people how to speak the Martian language and people go nude apparently. WHAT?

This book feels dated. From the orgy scene, the elements of Eastern religion, the nudity aspect. It feels like a hippy book.

Line of the Day: “Nine times out of ten, if a girl gets raped, it’s partly her fault. pg 304 (Shoot me, please.)

Fact on the Fiction: “Pornography, voyeurism, and exhibitionism all become self-affirming celebrations of the human body. Clothing is purposeless (luckily the Martian discipline provides immunity from cold weather). Kisses, preferably given with whole attention, are the standard greeting. Orgies are the common pastime. And since not everyone can be there in person telepathic ride-alongs allow equal opportunity for participation.” eopinions

Day Eighty-Six

2009-06-26T21:04:00.001-07:00

6/26

The Book: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

ISBN: 978-0-441-79034-0

Suggested By: Te Norman

Where: Home

When: 10-10:30P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 224-279 (55)

The Lead In: This book is ridiculous.

The 411 on the 55: Hmmm... I can sum up today's reading with what the hell happened to this story? Today, they go to a large corporate church. Mike is hounded to join, but seems unmoved. Mike decides it is time for him to have sex, so he has sex with Jill. The book begins a new section and Mike and Jill are jumping from town to town doing a magic act. What the hell?

Line of the Day: “Oh!...Oh! Thou art God!” pg 266 (screamed by a woman during sex. Really? Wasn’t Heinlein married twice? He had to have had sex once or twice, right?)

Fact on the Fiction: “The Heinlein Society has established programs to: Place the books of Robert Heinlein in libraries everywhere, especially in school libraries where his juvenile novels may continue to help to form character and provoke critical and intelligent thinking among our young people.” HeinleinSociety

Day Eighty-Five

2009-06-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

6/25

The Book: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

ISBN: 978-0-441-79034-0

Suggested By: Te Norman

Where: Home

When: 6-6:30P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 168-223 (55)

The Lead In: There is this point when reading a book that you decide what you think of the book. It’s not that you can’t change your mind by the end, but at some point you decide this book is good, bad, sucks, awesome, etc. This book is terribly boring. And dated. Not sure how this won a Hugo Award.

The 411 on the 55: The meeting with the Secretary of the Federation is a public event, to guarantee that everyone is safe from political persecution. Through some wrangling, Ben Caxton (the reporter who disappeared earlier in the book) is released and appears as part of the Martian's crew. There is a big sit down and during the meeting, Michael offers all of his wealth to be cared for by the Secretary of the Federation. According to his lawyer, Jubal, argues later that it would be better to be without money. God, are these characters cut out with cookie cutters?

The meeting adjourns for the Secretary to consider Michael’s offer. In the interim, Jubal and the crew from the ship that discovered Michael on Mars get drunk? What the hell? Is the argument that Jubal is so quick-witted that even drunk he could out-duel the government? ung.

Line of the Day: “It was not the figure-eight in which her pert fanny moved when she walked, nor the lush view from the other direction-he was not the infantile type, interested solely in the size of mammary glands! No, it was herself he loved.” pg 183 (written by someone who sounds like he never saw a woman naked if it wasn’t in a magazine)

Fact on the Fiction: Apparently Heinlein’s work is divided into three periods. A Stranger was written in the 2nd. “From about 1961 (Stranger in a Strange Land) to 1973 (Time Enough for Love), Heinlein wrote some of his more libertarian novels. His work during this period explored his most important themes, such as individualism, libertarianism, and free expression of physical and emotional love.” Wikipedia

Day Eighty-Four

2009-06-24T12:53:00.001-07:00

6/23

The Book: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

ISBN: 978-0-441-79034-0

Suggested By: Te Norman

Where: Home

When: 2-2:45P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 112-167 (55)

The Lead In: Eh, let’s just get on with it.

The 411 on the 55: Michael is learning more about the world from all his reading and becoming “more human” every day. The house is invaded by cops to arrest them all, but Michael makes them all disappear. Just before a second wave of cops gets there, the president is located on the phone and agrees to meet with them.

Line of the Day: “I don’t grok your answer.” pg 140 (the most annoying word in the book, over and over and over again)

Fact on the Fiction: “To grok is to share the same reality or line of thinking with another physical or conceptual entity. Author Robert A. Heinlein coined the term in his best-selling 1961 book Stranger in a Strange Land. In Heinlein's view of quantum theory, grokking is the intermingling of intelligence that necessarily affects both the observer and the observed.” Wikipedia

Day Eighty-Three

2009-06-23T19:12:00.001-07:00

6/22

The Book: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

ISBN: 978-0-441-79034-0

Suggested By: Te Norman

Where: Home

When: 8-8:30P

Music: None

Company: Alone

Pages: 56-111 (55)

The Lead In: Today, my Moby-Dick article ran in the paper and I received very little response. The worst part of that is the article itself was a labor of love. I was thrilled with the way it turned out. Almost like a mini-term paper. But on to Heinlein and his alien, with a little sadness.

The 411 on the 55: Ben has dropped off the grid and Jill has no way to reach him. In a panic, she sneaks into the hospital and steals Michael (the martian). She disguises him as a woman and bundles him out of the hospital. Later, during their escape two men attempt to stop them, and Michael makes them disappear, describing it later as “something that was wrong”, and making it right.

She flees with the martian to a man Ben had mentioned before, Jubal Harshaw (the half doctor, half lawyer guy). There, Michael begins to read and learn about life, while they attempt to decide what to do next.

Line of the Day: “Don’t be difficult, sweetheart. Behave yourself and they might go easy on you.” pg 66 (who talks like this?!)

Fact on the Fiction: Found this on another site, critical of Heinlein’s dialogue. “The narration is not so bad, but the dialogue is atrocious. To an extent this goes back to character — no one has a unique voice except for the Man from Mars, who doesn't start sounding like everyone else until midway though the book. The others' dialogue sounds as if they're reading off note cards the author scribbled down watching a bad hard-boiled detective movie. "I've been a worthless, no-good parasite." "Everybody knows that." "Never mind the flattery." Virtually every page is like this.” Adamcadre

Day Eighty-Two

2009-06-22T18:54:00.001-07:00

6/22

The Book: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

ISBN: 978-0-441-79034-0

Suggested By: Te Norman

Where: Home

When: 8-8:30P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 1-55 (55)

The Lead In: As a whole, I gave up science fiction when I began college. It wasn’t a conscious decision, it just happened. I am a bit skeptical about reading any book from the sci-fi section at B&N, so we will see.

The 411 on the 55: An expedition was sent to Mars, never to be heard from again. 25 years later, another ship is sent, and a survivor of the first crew is found: Valentine Michael Smith. He is the son of one of the crew. He has been raised by martians and has no understanding of humanity.

Brought back to Earth, he is put under quarantine. Two people are interested in getting him out: a rough around the edges, former slut, nurse Jill and her kind-of boyfriend, newspaper reporter with a heart of gold Ben. Apparently, Val is worth a lot of money and owns the rights to Mars, making him extremely valuable and an irritation to future expeditions to the red planet.

Ben decides to crash the facility where he is at, but in the process gets kidnapped by the government. Jill actually meets Val (though contact with women isn’t allowed for him), and he seems to have developed a crush on her.

You can tell, dear reader, I dislike this book already. I hope my mind will change before this is over.

Line of the Day: “Being both a doctor of medicine and a lawyer he is three times as hard to shove. But most important, he is so rugged and individualist that he would fight the whole Federation with just a pocket knife if it suited him...” pg 42 [this is proof of the horrid writing of Ben’s dialogue. He’s a parody of bad “now see here, kid” journalist stereotypes from a Humphrey Bogart movie. He’s pushy with Jill (she’s a woman) and doesn’t take any guff from anyone (he’s a man).]

Fact on the Fiction: The title of this book is a reference to a quote from the Bible, Exodus 2:22: “And she bare [him] a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.”

Day Eighty-One

2009-06-21T17:35:00.000-07:00

6/21

The Book: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

ISBN: 1-59308-025-5

Suggested By: Brenda Mora

Where: The car, next to the raspa stand

When: 10:20-10:45P

Music: None

Company: The Family

Pages: 163-229 (66)

The Lead In: Oooh. This book is fantastic. Dorian is a great character. Love the pull of good and evil and the underlying discussion of what beauty is and how it should be appreciated. I forged ahead and finished it today, as the book’s narrative was gliding along.

The 411 on the 55: So Dorian kills Basil. Stabs him in the stinking neck! He has another man burn the body so no one can find it (his accomplice kills himself later because of the guilt) and moves on with life. Later, while in an opium den, he runs into his dead ex-fiancé's brother. But, since Dorian hasn’t aged in 18 years, the brother is convinced it was someone else. After Dorian escapes, the brother is told that he has made a deal with the devil and doesn’t age.

Later, Dorian is at a friend’s house, and, his friend, while hunting for rabbit, shoots Sybil’s brother, who was hiding in the grass, accidently. Dorian feels a huge weight lifted off his chest and decides to change his ways. When he tells Lord Henry this, he is laughed at.

Later, he is home, debating whether he can change his life or not. He pulls back the curtain, and the painting is even worse. The hands are stained with blood and he is creeped out beyond anything previous. He decides he will chop up the painting with the same knife he killed Basil with. Upon stabbing it, he falls down dead, withered, old and hideous. The End. Awesome.

The 20/20: Classics like this one get me excited for the others I have missed. It is a great book with complex, interlocking layers of philosophy and aesthetics, all plugged into a great story. At times, it borders in horror and mystery, yet other sections read like Socratic discussions of beauty and value. This is an excellent work of fiction, an even better discussion of the worth of true beauty.

Line of the Day: “I like men who have a future and women who have a past.” pg 184

“The book the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.” pg 224

Fact on the Fiction: After the insanity of his trial for his homosexuality, his incarceration, and his short time after his relief, his grave stone is not without its own story. “The modernist angel depicted as a relief on the tomb was originally complete with male genitals which were broken off and kept as a paperweight by a succession of cemetery keepers; their current whereabouts are unknown. In the summer of 2000, intermedia artist Leon Johnson performed a forty minute ceremony entitled Re-membering Wilde in which a commissioned silver prosthesis was installed to replace the vandalised genitals.” Wikipedia