Papercuts
by Adam Magnusson
20 February 2005
I know I’ve been away for a while, but you all can deal with that. Life has been busy. Between Giftmas and moving, I haven’t had a lot of free time.
OK, that’s a lie, I’ve had some free time, but I’ve been traveling (Vegas, to name the best) and reading a lot. I’ve read some good and some mediocre books, but that is the way of life. Also, recently, I finished listening to The Dark Tower audio CDs, read by George Guidall. Well done effort and a pleasure to listen to while making my commute everyday. I do miss the vocal talents of Frank Muller and it is a shame that the man was injured and is now unable to work. Go out and buy the audio recordings of the last three Dark Tower books and King will donate to Muller’s recovery. Good books, good recordings, and a good cause. Enough of that, let’s get on with the books, shall we…
Joshua Braff’s The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green will come first. I saw Zack Braff’s Garden State in the theaters and I now own the DVD and I think that it is a brilliantly and well done film. So, when I heard that his brother wrote a book, I was all over it. Talent, I feel, runs in a family and so I felt that this book would be a safe bet. I went through this book in about 4 days. I couldn’t put the thing down. It was a strange and tragic book and one that I would probably never read again, but for the few days that I was in it, I was IN IT! It was a funny, touching, and very involved book. Anyone over the age of 30 will get the jokes (it is set in 1977, 1980, and 1983) and find themselves remembering their earlier time and remembering the styles and music of the era.
Along came Yann Martel and The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios. I read Marel’s Life of Pi and was blown away by it, so I figured that this new book could be a good one. I didn’t thumb through it or read the back cover of it, I just picked it up and purchased. I come to find out that it is a collection of shorts; four short novellas, to be exact. It was an odd collection of work. Some of it was from Martel’s early career and some was new. I read this book in two days and that wasn’t because it was that good or engaging. I guess shorts are just easier to hammer through. Truth be told, I just wanted to get the damned thing done with. It was a disconnected collection that just didn’t feel right. I was depressed reading it. It was a book and that is about that. Stick with Life of Pi if you get a hankering for Martel and all will be well in life.
How I Became Stupid, by Martin Page was recommended to me by a woman I know and chat with at the little local book shoppe that I go to from time to time. Originally written in French, I was hoping for a witty, dry, biting piece, but I was sorely disappointed. This book may well be the worst piece of fiction I have read in the last 3 years. Maybe it was just me and I didn’t get it, but it was not an enjoyable read. Confusing and scattered. I was glad to finish it and move on.
Currently I am about half way through Jonathan Canter’s Lucky Leonardo. This is a fun book and is catching me up and making me want to read. I find it funny and fun to read, but in the same, it is a biting and ironically written book filled with heart. Again, a recommendation from my book shoppe connection and she nailed this one. I find that I can sympathize with Leo and know what he is going through. As an owner of my own small business I feel some of his worries and anxieties. Also, due to certain events in my life, I know and can feel the character and his plight in the bit of life that you are shown. Besides that, Canter wrote for the Harvard Lampoon, so he is a bit unusual and strange, but with a readable quality that is engaging and fun to sink into. Think The Simpsons meets The Cosby Show and combine that with every divorced couple you know and that will scratch the surface of this book.
So, that is everything in my recently read pile and I took the book off of my bedside table and that about catches you all up. I have picked up little things here and there, articles and excerpts and the like. I’ve read parts of Prozac Nation and that seems like a worthy read. Some psychology journals and some stuff on CA laws of incorporation and all that. BLAND!
So, now that all that is out of the way, I can’t encourage you all enough to go out and pick up Stephen King’s Dark Tower Series. I know a lot of people don’t care for the ending and book one, The Gunslinger, may be tough for some of you to get through, but stay the course and read the books. They really are worth the time and may well become the Lord of the Rings of the modern generation. A quest, a tale, a journey, these books take root in some of the best fiction ever written. Another author that I have been talking up recently is Jasper Fforde. His Thursday Next Series is wonderful and playful and just a pleasure to read. Think Douglas Adams meets Back to the Future then add a literary twist and some good references (Star Wars, Alice in Wonderland) that that about sums up Fforde.
If you’re looking for something a bit more highbrow, try Richard Russo. Good characters and touching books. Russo is great in the fact that he will make you feel for bad people; con men and alcoholics, cheats and losers. It is fantastic reading Russo as you know that you are in for a ride and that ride will leave you smiling strangely at the end. No matter how Russo ends, I’m always happy and satisfied at the outcome. The Risk Pool and Straight Man are my favourites of Russo’s. Other than that, check out Michael Chabon. This is a guy with HUGE talent. Pulitzer Prize winner for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, all of his work is engaging. Most of it is touching and deep and tragic and just heart-wrenching, but it is worth every moment. On top of the deep stuff, Chabon has written a children’s novel, Summerland that was just brilliant. Fun to read and easy to see and swim into. Nothing against our fabulous host and genius, Jason Asala, but I think that Summerland is my favourite children’s novel. Although, for you out there that have not yet read, The Great Wormwood, get on it, because that was another finely written and fun children (young adult?) book. Other than that, Chabon was a co-writer for Spiderman 2, a film that I found fun and just entertaining to watch. The man is a good read, so pick him up, grab some Russo and Fforde, start the King series and you should be good for the next year or six.
So, shall I rant on movies or music next? Who knows and does it really matter? As I sit here and finish my coffee I don’t need to think about my next installment. Maybe next, I will write about therapy. I am once again battling depression and that is okay. Nothing deep and I haven’t been having super dark thoughts, it’s just that I need a little help to balance everything out and find happiness in everyday. Therapy has been interesting, granted I’ve only been there twice now, but it will be a weekly thing, so who knows, maybe next I will write about wackiness at the therapist’s office. Is there someway we can vote on this? Let’s bombard Jason with emails and he can pass along to me what you all think. His email should be up on the site somewhere. Let him know what you think. Also, if any of the three people who read this have book ideas for me, pass ‘em along (directly to me if you have my email, otherwise thru Jason), and I’ll give it a go.
Take care and I’ll see you all in March.
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