12/13

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

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

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

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

If anyone is still reading this...

Reading will recommence tomorrow morn. See you here.

55pages.

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Three

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

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