Media During Break

BOOKS

A Clockwork Orange-Anthony Burgess
Truthfully, I started this book well before breaks started, as something to do when I got to concerts or the theater early. I loved it. The psuedo-russian/cockney slang that is employed by Burgess is a very effective tool. It is very off-putting and uncomfortable for the reader and perfectly illustrates the brutal future that Burgess creates, not to mention the psyche of the ultra-violent classical music loving protagonist, Alex. Some dislike this book because of its graphic portrayal of miscreant behaviour, however I found in my reading that goodness by choice is much better than forced "goodness" (hurray for agency!) is the overwhelming message of the novel. Sometimes you have to get through the bad to get to the good. The message rings forth much more truly if you read an edition with the 21st chapter included (When A Clockwork Orange was first published in the United States the American editor removed the 21st chapter claiming that Americans wouldn't want the main character to redeem himself---and thus he ruined the book. Burgess agrees with me). So if you haven't read it since the mid-seventies, it might be worth looking over again.

Invisible Cities-Italo Calvino
This is the third work of Calvino's that I have read. The first was Mr. Palomar in my Literature 110 class; the second was The Baron in the Trees. He never ceases to amaze me. Invisible Cities is a collection of beautiful prose poems set with the frame of Marco Polo explaining the cities in in Kublai Khan's empire to the Khan himself. The conversations between Polo and Khan explore amazing existential concepts, and Calvino can get away with it too. The page long (mostly, some are three or four pages long, but none exceed that) descriptions of cities feature amazing imagery: some are odd, some are busy, some are underground, but all are fascinating. My favorite (I won't do it justice in this explanation---sorry) is a city that is nothing but pipes and toilets and sinks and tubs and bidets. All of this are in place just as they would be if there were floors and walls around them, but there aren't any. I wouldn't suggest Invisible Cities as your first venture into Calvino's work, but if you are into him, it is amazing.

A Bridge to Tarabithia-Katherine Paterson
I had never read A Bridge to Tarabithia. When I admitted this to my parents, my mom was shocked. She told me that if I were to sit down with it I could finish it in a day. I started late one night, reading for an hour or two and then finished it the next evening. I cried. It is a great book. I definitely am going to put this onto the imaginary list of books that my children should read (perhaps some day the list will be put to paper or to blog--- 101 books for my unborn son (or daughter to read--- do you think that would be a trademark violation?). For those of you who haven't read it, A Bridge to Tarabithia is a story of two young friends, outcasts of sorts, who build a beautiful imaginary world (though in the story the details in the imagination sequences are pretty sparse, which is actually quite nice). The boy is part of a large poor family with a distant father and a overbearing, bossy mother. The girl is the daughter of progressive and loving writers. Real-world tragedy befalls them. I shouldn't forget to mention the nice hippie undertones. They are nice.

Mere Christianity-C. S. Lewis
I started reading this because it was on the nightstand in my bedroom at my parents home. I have been reading a chapter or so of this book before falling asleep each night. In this collection of transcribed radio broadcasts Lewis's explanation of Christianity is refreshingly intellectual while retaining a strong sense of faith and belief. He dispels a lot of myths and supplies illustrations that explain tough concepts quite cleverly. I agree with him about 90% of the time, which is actually quite awesome when you think about it. I also like that he often argues with an "When I was an Atheist I believed this. . . but now I believe this. . . here is why. . ." approach. Lewis is truly a genius and I am truly a fan of his work.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-Robert Louis Stevenson
I am only halfway through this one, but thus far it is fantastic. I am reading it at night, after I have read Mere Christianity, so it is often very late when I get to it. It is not what I expected, but I am not disappointed. One of the reasons that I am very attracted to the novella is Stevenson's use of the English language. It is gorgeous, often a little creepy and sometimes I have to grab my dictionary (which is great!).

Music

I am not going to write about all of the music that I listened to this break, but just about the one album that I bought.

It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright! -mewithoutYou
It is no secret that one of my favorite bands is mewithoutYou. If I were asked to explain the genre that they would fit into (especially the later works---which are the ones I prefer) I would have to say that they are a "dirty-folk-punk-religious" band. As their works have progressed the punk aspect of their music becomes less apparent and the "dirty-folk" aspect takes the forefront. The real draw for me to mewithoutYou are the lyrics. They often tell stories and almost always evoke brilliant imagery. This album did not disappoint me on the lyrical level. Nor did it fail to deliver energetic and full music. The Fox, The Crow And the Cookie is illustrative of many of the things I love about mewithoutYou (and also features a tuba!). and here is a link of my all time favorite of their songs, In a Sweater Poorly Knit.

Film

Just two to mention, One I saw in the cinema the other on DVD.

Did You Hear About the Morgans
This is a good diversion film and a classic "starting-on-the-verge-of-divorce romantic comedy". The highlights include Hugh Grant (who is one of my favorites --- before seeing this film I may have been heard saying "Well if it is a poor movie, It has Hugh Grant in it, I can just pretend I am watching Notting Hill"), and jokes about city folk being completely out of place in the rural west. The negatives include Sarah Jessica Parker, and jokes about city folk being completely out of place in the rural west.

Samy y Yo
If Woody Allen was Argentine and made a movie in Buenos Aires it would be a lot like Samy y Yo. It is about a neurotic, Jewish writer. He writes for a Jay Leno type comedy show, but really wants to write his novel. A gal named Mary comes into his life and pushes him to star in his own show. It gets more Allenistic from there on out (which explains why my father didn't like it).

Other

Pushing Daisies-Seasons 1 & 2, How I Met Your Mother-Season 3, Wired Magazine January 2010 issue, 1,001 Rules for My Unborn Son, The Smithsonian Magazine, The Dangerous Book for Boys (which is really awesome---I got it for Christmas from my eldest brother Matt---I wish I had given it a spot in the books section. . . maybe sometime in the future), Holy Scripture, An English language Dictionary (to contest bananagrams words that didn't seem quite right---"Nope, Bosque is only a word in Spanish"), This American Life, Fresh Air, The World, The World Cafe, This Emotional Life, Charlie Rose, and much, much more!