goddess of clarity: a blog about politics, culture, and serenity
Books Read This Year
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
This is one of those books that's been on my "to read" list forever. I thought I'd save it for when I joined or started a book club, but that hasn't happened yet, and I didn't want to wait anymore.
Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
It's funny but reading the Sandman books made me want to revisit one of my first favorite characters: Hercule Poirot. I love a good origin story, and this is Poirot's first appearance. I first read this book in fourth grade, and have read it several times over the years. When I first read it, I thought it was so adult and so clever, but now the murder mystery is so completely ridiculous and quaint. Still fun, though.
Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman
Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil GaimanI'm just starting to get into graphic novels and I've never read the Sandman series. It's pretty amazing. I love seing the creation of a character -- like Buffy, or Dr. Who, or Hercule Poirot -- that you can just imagine starring in a never-ending series of stories. The possibilities are endless.
Winkie by Clifford Chase
This is a novel about a teddy bear who unaccountable comes to life and soon fines himself a suspect in a terrorist bombing plot. You would expect such a book to be laugh-out-loud funny. And so it is, but only occasionally. More often it is an exploration of what it means to be alive: truly alive. It's occasionally it bit overwrought and takes itself too seriously given its absurd premise. But it is definitely a novel that makes you think even if you weren't really prepared to.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
I wanted to read this before seeing the recently released film, and boy I'm glad I did. It's 100% delightful -- a fanciful narrative that still creates a perfectly logical and tightly drawn story.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
Wow, where to begin. I love how the action starts immediately. I love how you instantly recognize the Rowling is not playing around; the stakes are real. And I love that Harry survives and how he survives. And I love that I will be re-reading these books every so often throughout the rest of my life, and I will have these books to grow old with.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green
My new guilty pleasure is the BBC America series Robin Hood. It's like a Robin Hood for the chavs: Robin Hood in a hoodie, if you will. The wonderfully cheesy show at least inspired me to learn a little more about the history ,of the legendary figure, and this work from the 1950s is essentially a children's book but it seems to be the best sourced drawing from the scant number of original materials available dating to the mid-1600s.
Don't Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff
This book and the thinking behind it are now new. Cognitive linguist George Lakoff makes the point that you cannot argue against a frame by using the language of that frame: by evoking the frame, you reinforce the frame. So Democrats cannot fight against tax relief by calling it tax relief. Unfortunately, Lakoff is a better thinker and speaker than a writer. The book is repetitive and a little boring after you get past the initial points behind Lakoff's theory.
Naked Pictures of Famous People by John Stewart
This book of essays was written by the Daily Show host before September 11th and the 2000 presidential election. The opening essay -- written as a young Jewish guest at the Kennedy compound in the 1920s -- is a pip. Unfortunately the rest of the collection doesn't rise to that opening salvo.
Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis
Ellis argues that the personal relationships between co-workers have a huge imact on the work they produce. In this case, the co-workers in questions were the founders of our democracy -- Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Burr, etc. -- and the project they were working on was not an Powerpoint presentation for the board of trustees. It was the Constitution of the United States.
The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 Katrina by Frank Rich
Now this one was a just a political screed. But a fun one. Sometimes the choir just needs a little preaching to.
Fiasco by Thomas Ricks
I walked up and down the "Current Affairs" aisle at Barnes and Noble for a good 25 minutes, trying to pick a book that would just explain -- without partisan screechiness -- just what the heck is going on in Iraq. This was a good pick. Ricks, a long-time defense correspondent, provides a blow-by-blow military analysis of the tragicomedy of errors this war has become. If Hitler had invaded the Societ Union twice, he couldn't have gone more wrong.
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Renaissance Faire
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The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
What would happen if human beings disappeared from the planet tomorrow? That's the thought experiment behind this facsinating book. Did you know that the New York City subways would flood within three months, and your house would start to fall apart--starting around the roof and gutters--after about ten years?
Dead Certain by Robert Draper
This was an illuminating political biography of President George W. Bush. The central thesis of Draper's account is found in the title: that it is Bush's unwavering certainty that is his biggest asset and his ultimate downfall. My favorite anecdote involved the final days before the New Hampshire primary. Bush's staff see a group of school kids sledding on a hill and think this will be a great photo op. The governor enthusiastically joins in, beating all the little kids, and then insisting on a second run, as his cringing handlers instantly regret their decision.
Beowulf translation by Seamus Heaney
I read this in high school of course, but I wanted to read it again to see just how much the movie would veer away from the original text. The answer: a lot. Beowulf and Grendl's mother are the parents of the dragon? Whatever you say, Neil Gaiman.
The goddess is hearing...
Best of WBER 2007 (01.20.08)
Local college radio station WBER posts its top songs of the year. These are currently in my most-played iPod playist:
Grace Kelly by MIKA
9 Crimes by Damien Rice
Hang Me Up to Dry by Cold War Kids
Wolf Like Meby TV on the Radio
No Cars Go by Arcade Fire
Snails by The Format
North American Scum by LCD Soundsystem
Phatom Limb by The Shins
O, Valencia! by The Decembrists
Icky Thump by The White Stripes