Freedom

Book #9
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen



So clearly, I've fallen behind in this blog. However, I have read lots of books and I would still like to write tidbits on what I've read, so at least I can remember.

I was looking forward to Jonathan Franzen's latest novel. His last book, The Corrections, was great. I highly recommend it. It's a novel with a great sense of humor and an interesting perspective on American life.

However, I am not as big a fan of Freedom. It's about one unlikeable family. Bleh.

Franzen just loves writing for the now, as if the audience will relate more when they recognize the name of a certain celebrity. He drops names of brands, websites, pop culture, like none other. Really, Franzen, must we mention Twitter? I found this quite annoying and this has the effect of already making the book seem a bit dated. It can only be written and read within a certain time period for all the cultural name-droppings to be relevant.

I really hated the portrayal of women in this book as well; either bitter hags or mysterious nymphs. Patty, the wife, is stupid and mean. The girlfriend of the son is just so mysterious! She's so mysterious no adjectives exist in this language to describe her besides her mystery! Oh, and there's another brown exotic woman. She's just so exotic and mysterious too!

The only relate-able character is Walter, while the others seem quite one-sided. His best friend hates women. The women have no personalities. His son is a Republican. I mean, really, what is there to like?

Overall, it did have some interesting perspectives on modern life. Do we have too much freedom? Is too much freedom a good or bad thing?

But then I was just annoyed by other things. Like, can you please try to distinguish narrators? Patty writes a memoir and it sounds exactly like the rest of the book.

So, if you have lots of spare time and someone lends you this book, read it. If not, don't buy it from the airport for 30 dollars, like I did.

Barcelona

Shadow of the Wind got me thinking. Here are other books I love about Barcelona:

Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell


This book is why I decided to study abroad in Barcelona. Orwell writes about his time fighting in the Spanish Civil War, stationed in Barcelona. It explains the Civil War extremely well, which can be particularly confusing, and the Catalan spirit that raged during the war, as well as survived the Franco years.


Barcelona by Robert Hughes

Uh yeah, I never actually finished this book, but it provides the most extensive and readable history of the city. I highly recommend it to anyone who will actually be living or visiting the city. I think it would just make me sad reading it now.

Visca Barca!

Also, if you just want to read about Spain, Hemingway has some pretty bomb books about the country. He was a reporter during the Spanish Civil War. He also liked bull fighting! Neat-o!

                      

One of his most famous short stories is "Hills like White Elephants," also set in Spain. Google it!

Hasta luego!

The Shadow of the Wind

Book #8: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón 





Few books are so enthralling, so well written as to keep me up all night and to fill my eyes with tears once finished. This book is a love letter: to literature, to writing, to Barcelona. If you are in love with any of these things, you will love this book. It was hard to read at times because I would become so sentimental thinking of Barcelona and how much I missed the Great Enchantress. Ruiz Zafón describes the many neighborhoods and streets of Barcelona so vividly that at times I would have to stop and look at photos to remember the alleyways I had forgotten. 


When I first arrived home in California from Barcelona, I had one of the most vivid dreams of my life. I saw the city of Barcelona, and the waves of the Mediterranean slowly rising. The tides rose across the city and water began to overfill the streets. I saw the entire city flood, covered deep in water. A voice told me that the city was my memories; the water, time. 


I felt a number of emotions reading this book, ranging from joy to melancholy to utter sadness. I miss Barcelona and this book took me back there. It was a difficult journey, but I certainly do not regret it. 

Alice Walker

Be sure to check out the interview with Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple. It's wonderful and I love this woman! Also, be sure to check out her blog.

A Softer World

A Softer World is an arty comic I love. I thought I would share their recent and relevant comic.

Please check them out! A Softer World

Never Be Late Again

Book #7: Never Be Late Again: 7 Cures for the Punctually Challenged



Yeah, that's right - Sometimes I like to read self-help books!

Sometimes I do have the little problem of running late for things. This book was actually quite helpful in laying out some of the reasons why I'm late and how I can change that. For example, I thrive on deadlines, which are great motivators, but I often lose sleep staying up all night working. I recommend this book for anyone trying to get out of their running late habits.

And yeah - self-help books DO help!

Lies My Teacher Told Me

Book #6: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong



It wasn't until I took college courses in history that I actually began to enjoy the subject. For a short while, I wanted to major in history. This book clarified why I HATED history as a subject in high school.

Loewen points out a number of outright lies that plague the teaching of American history. Did you know Helen Keller was a socialist? I didn't! Christopher Columbus was a scum bag? Well, he was. I think this book is especially relevant considering all that's been going on in Texas recently. The truth is, American history rarely teaches what students should really be learning, such as critical thinking, while students spend hours learning lists of facts and dates.

Please read this book if you've ever taken an American history class in the U.S., and especially read it if that was your last history class. There are so many things we are not taught about or glossed over or censored, it's truly embarrassing. At least Texas is doing all of this openly.

"Only in history is accuracy so political" (333).

The Brothers Karamazov

Book #5: The Brothers Karamazov





"[Eliot] Rosewater said an interesting thing to Billy [Pilgrim] one time ... He said that everything there was to know about life is in The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. "But that isn't enough anymore," said Rosewater."
-Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut


This book certainly didn't take me one week to read. I was, however, ahead of schedule on my readings (though not on my blogging) and spent a few weeks reading it. It wasn't until about page 300 that I got drawn in.


This book is theoretical, psychological, and chock full of truths about being human. If anything, at least read the chapter, "The Inquisitor," about Jesus's return to Earth. 


I feel like there is so much to say about this book that I can't do it any justice by one blog post. I would love to check out a book of essays on it because there is so much insight and knowledge within it, which can be difficult to capture considering the book is 900 pages. 


My one complaint (ignoring the length) is that it can be difficult to love such an old book, when racism, sexism, etc., are so prevalent. For example, one child in the book asks if Jews kidnap and eat children for Easter. I suppose I should just ignore it, accept it as a sign of its times, but I always encounter this problem when I read older books. How should I react to this language, while the rest of the book is so thought provoking? Any thoughts? How do you deal with good books with a few bad ideas?

Timequake

Book #4: Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut 





I love Kurt Vonnegut. My roommate in DC got me into him and I've been hooked ever since.


Timequake was written five years before Vonnegut died. It's not so much a novel, but more the ramblings of a man near death. The story is that the universe stopped expanding and time went back 10 years, which we were doomed to repeat. However, the story is not the focus, but Vonnegut's views on religion, death, family, the human condition, writing, gender, etc. I thought it was great, often hilarious, and always insightful. Please read this book, along with everything else he has ever written.


This book is chock full of insightful quotes. I've included a few of my favorites, but there really are too many to keep track of. But, that's Vonnegut for you - just too awesome.


On writing:
Let me note that Kilgore Trout and I have never used semicolons. They don't do anything, don't suggest anything. They are transvestite hermaphrodites.


On art:
Pictures are famous for their humanness, and not their pictureness.


On humans:
Many people need desperately to receive this message: "I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people don't care about them. You are not alone."

Oh Oprah

I found an interesting article about Oprah's book club here. I thought this was particularly relevant because We Were the Mulvaneys was on her list and it matches the article to a T.

The article was pretty spot on. If you crack open a book with Oprah's seal, expect some battered wives and sad children. Bummer.

We Were the Mulvaneys

Book #3: We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates



This was my very first book by Joyce Carol Oates, one of the most prolific modern American writers around. I really enjoy her writing style, as I really enjoy modern fiction in general. Her prose is elegant, witty, and filled with detail (though sometimes too much).

We Were the Mulvaneys is about a family everyone is jealous of: the kids are cute, the parents love each other, and they have lots of horses on a big farm. But then, a tragedy befalls the daughter and all hell breaks loose. The family falls apart, but eventually rises again. I felt some parts of the story were excessive in detail, while other parts were glazed over; nonetheless, there are some great observations throughout the book about family life.

I first heard about Joyce Carol Oates from a short story of hers I read in a fiction class (still looking for it). Her work is very modern and unique in style. I hope to read more of her books, though I haven't a clue where to begin, considering she's written over fifty novels.

This is one of those books that reminds you how important family is and how big of an influence it can be. If you don't like your family very much right now, perhaps this book can give you a new appreciation.

This American Life

Ever heard of This American Life? It's an amazing radio show that's free to listen to online. I learn a ton and it's always interesting!

I just listened to an extremely relevant episode about books that have changed people's lives. Listen to it if you have a chance!

Amusing Ourselves to Death

Book #2: Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman



Run away from technology!

A 20 year old academic book on the problem of TV rings even more true today. Postman claims that everything in the public sphere (from education to politics) has evolved into a sort of show business, everything vying for our attention. I've read articles recently that are in tune to this idea: the attention economy, where there is so much information and things to watch, listen to, or read, that we're overwhelmed. Everything has to be entertaining, or skip it.

There is also an argument throughout the book that the tyrannical future predicted by one famous author has arrived. No, not 1984, but Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. TV has turned politics into entertainment instead of a serious discussion. Advertisements are exciting and colorful, instead of convincing and logical. Postman states:

"Tyrants of all varieties have always known about the value of providing the masses with amusements as a means of pacifying discontent. But most of them could not have even hoped for a situation in which the masses would ignore that which does not amuse...How delighted would be all the kings, czars, and fuhrers of the past (and the commissars of the present) to know that censorship is not a necessity when all political discourse takes the form of jest" (141)

I think Postman has some really great points and his book prods what TV really does and how it affects us. I highly recommend his book, although it can be a bit dry at times (it is quite academic).

However, I think he has quite the glorified idea of what a human is. He says our attention span has been all but destroyed by television (and today, the internet with its many distractions), but was it ever that good? Here's a great article about attention and the internet. Also, he claims that ads no longer convince us through logic, but through showmanship. I don't think this is a new phenomenon. Haven't we always been convinced or tricked into buying something we absolutely didn't need with a little entertainment? I'm thinking of traveling caravans and Melquiades from One Hundred Years of Solitude. Perhaps buying stuff we don't need for no reason is just a part of being human.

Postman offers an excellent critique of television and its affect on the US. I just think some of the traits he criticizes has always been around. But maybe I'm just a cynic.

War is Hell

"The Collossus" Francisco de Goya

Two of my favorite books (Catch-22, Slaughterhouse-five) are in the vein of "war is hell:" the ultimate message/moral of the story is that war is a terrible, terrible thing. I began thinking about this theme when watching Waltz With Bashir, an animated film portraying the memories of the Lebanon War of 1982 from the perspective of filmmaker Ari Folman.

One running theme of the movie was his participation in the Sabra and Shatila massacres. What he said in an interview disturbed me:

"I didn't take responsibility as an Israeli, in the film, for what happened. And frankly, I didn't feel responsible. I was a soldier; we were clueless. We didn't know what was happening until it ended. Then we knew. Of course the government was found guilty. They didn't send the troops in there, but they didn't stop it for three days. They could have stopped it. They could have reduced the casualties. They could have done something. They did not. But I didn't feel that I was a government representative who should take the blame for them. I couldn't care less about Ariel Sharon and his government. I have nothing to do with them, not then and most of all not now." (italics added)

He claims no responsibility for the massacre that happened right next to him. The Israeli army even provided flares to light the killings, which Folman stated he took part in. His army allowed for the slaughter to take place. Shouldn't some responsibility be felt?

Although his denial of responsibility doesn't appeal to me, I still highly recommend the film, as well as the two other books. Each offers a surrealist and unique approach to war and how it affects the common soldier. Do you have any "war is hell" books or movies you enjoy?

As for the question of responsibility and the common soldier: Are ordinary soldiers ever responsible for what their unit does? Should they feel responsible?

Confessions of an Economic Hitman

Book #1: "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins






My brother recommended this book to me. It's the confessions of John Perkins, hired as an economist with the goal of getting developing countries to take out large loans, which were difficult to pay back and went straight into the pockets of large corporations, and thus the borrower countries were under the United States' thumb. If you have ever heard of the Washington Consensus (discussed in many a political science class), you're well aware of the practice of large loans to small countries. 


The book isn't terribly well written, nor is the protagonist likable. He constantly complains about how depressed he is because he is involved in a system that prevents many from escaping poverty, as well as exploiting their natural resources. But then he takes a bribe to not talk about it. He feels bad again and once again, doesn't do anything about it. This tug-of-war about doing something/nothing makes up the last 3/5 of the book. The beginning explains his involvement and how it came about.


I don't recommend this book for its elegant prose; however, it is an interesting perspective on American foreign policy and what exactly the World Bank and similar international organizations stand for. Is there an American empire in the works? Perkins states that these heavy debts were designed to never be paid off and to force countries to bend to US will. An American empire doesn't seem too far fetched after reading his book. Is there a solution? He doesn't offer one besides 'tell your friends to read my book.' I guess I've done my part.


If you would like to learn more about American empire (a more counter culture perspective of US foreign policy), pick this up. However, you could just read the first half to get the point.

Ring in the New Year - with books!

I've decided to read a book a week for my new year's resolution; not only that, but also to reflect on what I read. Inspired by a man who did the same and a woman who did a bit too much, I wanted to have a goal I had to keep for an entire year. Hopefully, having a blog will force me to keep up with my goal, as well as inspire a few discussions with friends.

Moving back home, graduating college, and a break-up forced me to reconsider what's important to me. I hope to gain something from this year and take the time to document and learn from each book I read.

Now, any recommendations?