1/20

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

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

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

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

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

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