Mark | It's Just Awesome DOT com

100-Book Challenge (Part 3)

Mark — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 16:45:28 +0000

We’re trucking along now with the 100-Book challenge, and books 21-30 bring us a mixed bag. Before the reviews, I’d like to make a note about including audio-books in this challenge (which some have called cheating). Personally, I think we should stuff ourselves with learning and culture wherever we can, and making the time to listen to hours of well-thought-out prose is a worthy undertaking. As a rule, I only listen to non-fiction audio-books because (being a writer and English major) I feel a need to control my pace through novels, annotating and rereading where necessary. But if you find yourself able to thoroughly enjoy anything being read to you, by all means, get books into your brain in any way possible. (I’ll mark the works I listened to as audio-books with “AB”)

From Russia with Love – Ian Fleming: check out our James Bond: Here and There podcast for a closer look at all of the Bond books!

What the Dog Saw and other Adventures – Malcolm Gladwell (AB): TOP PICK! Like Joseph Campbell, I suggest reading anything and everything you can find by Malcolm Gladwell. This work is a collection of some of his own favorite stories, originally written for The New Yorker. His full-length non-fiction books like Outliers, Blink, David and Goliath, and The Tipping Point have all been eye-opening with a general MO to challenge our assumptions about how the world works by showing us…well how the world really works. Some of the implications of his work have been challenged, and I don’t think he is an infallible sage, but he is the first name I give to people who are looking for good books to read. Also, he narrates his own audio-books, and does so very well.

Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck: I was not looking forward to this one, but it surprised me pleasantly. Coming in at over 450 pages, it took me only a little over a week to finish (with some personal pushing necessary). Many had actually tried to dissuade me from reading it, but I’m a stickler when it comes to getting in “the greats.” Like Hemingway, Steinbeck’s style is accessible, and this book tells the story of a farming family, “simple folk,” trying to survive The Dust Bowl which hit the plains during The Great Depression (so overall, not a great time to be a farmer). I found myself caught up in the story and in a lot of the folk wisdom (which has been criticized along with Steinbeck’s sentimentality). Unless you are an avid reader though, I would save this book for after completing the challenge. Also, its infamous ending is really divisive and may leave you feeling unsatisfied.

Food: A Love Story – Jim Gaffigan (AB): I checked out this audio-book, read by the author, as a pleasant break from the headier stuff. Like pretty much everyone I’ve met, I love Jim Gaffigan and his stand-up comedy, and this book was great. As the title suggests, it’s all about food, and though he recycles a lot of his stand-up material, the jokes hold up.

Oh Crap! Potty Training – Jamie Glowacki: So, we were potty training our kid and I read this book…

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce: Oh Joyce. Joyce, Joyce, Joyce. This giant of an Irish author is best known for Ulysses, his behemoth novel about a single day in 1904 Ireland. Most of his work is so abstruse that you have to use smart words like ‘abstruse’ to describe it, and be a scholar to enjoy it. Although Portrait is a little more accessible than Ulysses, I would never suggest it as a book to curl up with under the sheets. Don’t get me wrong, he was a genius, but he was the kind of genius who wanted you to really work to understand his genius.

What the Buddha Taught – Walpola Rahula: This was a great little book for an introduction into Buddhism. As a human being, I’m trying to learn about all the major religions, and this book was perfect for the spiritual layman. Highly suggest.

Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson: One of the most iconic, pirate adventure stories that I really should have read at some point during my first thirty years of life. I enjoyed it, and can see why it has been, and continues to be so popular. Buried treasure? Check. Back-stabbing pirates? Check. Deserted island? Check.

In Other Worlds – Margaret Atwood (AB): If you’re into sci-fi and fantasy, I suggest this non-fiction book. It presents Atwood’s thoughts and studies of the genres, and ends with a few sci-fi sketches she wrote herself. Pretty interesting stuff by an established author about genres people don’t consider as important as perhaps they should.

The Incredible Journey – Sheila Burnford: I have a large collection of young adult books, and this was among them. I picked it up largely because it was short but also because I liked the movie Homeward Bound which was based on it. A quaint story about three pets who think they’ve been abandoned and so journey through the Canadian wilderness to find their owners. Will they survive?! (Spoiler: they do.)

That’s it for now. Get out there and keep reading!

The post 100-Book Challenge (Part 3) first appeared on It's Just Awesome DOT com.

100-Book Challenge (Part 2)

Mark — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 15:33:06 +0000

Hello again readers!

Mark here with the second installment of my 100-Book Challenge. One of the (many) motivations for this undertaking was to get to those novels I felt embarrassed not to have read yet, so books 11-20 bring us some literary heavy-hitters like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Austen, Morrison and more. That said, I do not intend my reviews as scholarly commentary, just the opposite; I want to give general readers a quick impression of each work and how much it lends itself to an enjoyable and fulfilling read. Of course, you could teach a full college semester on many of these novels, but we’re not here for that! We’re here to get some pages under our belts. So here we go:

A Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway: I am generally a fan of Hemingway, and many of you already know that his journalistic style makes him more accessible than some of the other so-deemed “greats.” But I have to say this is my least favorite of his works. The story of an American ambulance driver in WWI defecting with his lover to Switzerland, the novel cannot be ignored for its disenchanted view of The Great War and for its influence on American Literature…however, it’s quite a rough read toward the end, and has one of the most pessimistic conclusions I’ve ever encountered. While I completely understand such pessimism from the generation that saw one of the most destructive wars in history, I’d still suggest starting with For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Sun Also Rises, and Old Man and Sea.

Diamond are Forever – Ian Fleming: check out our James Bond: Here and There podcast for a closer look at all of the Bond books!

The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison: TOP PICK! Perhaps the greatest benefit of this challenge so far has been my introduction to Toni Morrison. Much of her work explores the profound and painful subject of slavery and race in America’s past and present, but she does so in a way that beautifully and achingly transcends mere social messages. I highly suggest this book, but warn you that there is some disturbing content which may take you out of your comfort zone.

Lorca – Three Tragedies – Frederico Garcia Lorca: This collection of plays was a quick read for me. All three deal heavily with gender and class in rural Spain, and I enjoyed Lorca’s use of allegory and symbolism over realism. The kind of literature that’s accessible enough on a first read, but that you could peel apart layer by layer and never get to the bottom.

This is Portland – Alexander Barrett: Okay, this is one of my cheater books. My wife and I took a trip to Portland, Oregon, and this was in the property we rented. You can read it in 20 minutes. But I justified counting it because I also read The Grapes of Wrath, and I feel they equal out to at least two books. This was a neat, funny little portrayal of Portland and I recommend it to anyone visiting or living in the area.

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen: A classic and a must-read, but I was really hoping I’d like it more…I know, I know, I know. I can feel the hot wrath coming off of some of you out there, but hey, it just didn’t arrest me. I loved the opening portrayal of protagonist Elizabeth Bennett when, quite against social expectations and the good sense of a lady, she marches three miles in the mud to watch over her sister who has conveniently become sick while visiting a male suitor. This tenacity sparked my interest (and even startled me a bit in the context of a book written in the early 1800s) but alas, the novel did not maintain an iron grip on my interest.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass – Frederick Douglass: I believe I was assigned this book twice in high school and neglected to read it both times, much to my own detriment. This short account of Douglass’s life as a slave and his escape to the North was fascinating both for its biographical content, and for how he chose to fashion it as a story and an artifact for social change. (Also, make sure you read the introduction to this one.)

The Blank Slate – Steven Pinker: Alright, here’s the thing. The two books of Pinker’s I’ve read are the kind of books I think everyone should read. The problem is that almost nobody will because they’re so long. The Blank Slate comes in at 525 pages, and explores (in-depth) the debate between nature and nurture, making the point that society does not give appropriate credence to fact that much of human nature is innate and unable to be conditioned. It has changed the way I see the world, but probably not a good choice if you’re trying to get in 100 books in a year. (I had already started it on audio-book before I began my challenge). His other book was even more influential and even longer: The Better Angles of our Nature: Why Violence has Declined at over 800 pages, but so good y’all…seriously. I kept thinking I’d lose interest but never did. Check both of them out maybe next year.

The Red Badge of Courage – Stephen Crane. Another short work, this book was one of the early depictions of war (The Civil War) to do away celebrating honor and bravery and instead look at the gritty brutality of it all. Crane’s narrative voice was perfectly suited to the subject matter, but I sometimes had a hard time placing myself visually in the story. I’d still give it a look; it’s short and profound.

This Side of Paradise – F. Scott Fitzgerald: This seemed like a book suited largely (dare I say only?) for Fitzgerald scholars and English majors. Heavily autobiographical, it chronicles a writer’s intellectual journey through college and into adulthood. It had its moments, but felt mostly like reading Fitzgerald’s disconnected diary entries. Also there was lot of horn-tooting when it came to how intelligent he is.

Okay, there you have it. Hope you’re finding your own gems out there. Feel free to mention them in the comments when you do!

The post 100-Book Challenge (Part 2) first appeared on It's Just Awesome DOT com.

“Better than the Movie”?

Mark — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 19:17:58 +0000

Hey everyone,

Mark here, new-comer to The Good the Bad and the Podcast and co-host of the James Bond: Here and There series. Though this site is largely dedicate to cinema, we would be remiss in not giving a little attention to those wonderful packets of plot and profundity that provide so much fodder for movies: books!

And if you’re anything like me, the number of books in your house that you haven’t read greatly outweighs the number you have. Well, I decided to do something about it, and set out to read 100 books in a year. “You’re insane!” I hear you shouting, but not so! The experience so far has enriched me beyond measure, and I challenge you to try it yourself. Wait, wait! Don’t quit reading yet; at least look at the rules I set for myself, and see if they don’t sound reasonable.

The Rules:

Pick a date, and start reading!
Keep track as you go. Intermittently divide #days by #books and your ratio should be somewhere under 3.65
Don’t panic, I’ve eased the pressure a little because:
Audio-books count (most libraries offer them for free through smartphone apps)
Novellas count (but I try to make sure each work comes in at least 50 pages or more)
Shakespeare’s plays count (gotta get in the classics, and with the modern-day translations to help you navigate the original text, you can easily work through a play in two or three days)

There you have it: simple. It’s been just over four months, and I’ve found it easier to keep up than anticipated. Audio-books really help pad the numbers, and you’d be surprised how many minutes a day you can fill with them: cooking dinner? Pop in your headphones! Long car drive? Bust out your aux cable! I even listen while mowing the lawn and working out.

If any of you bibliophiles out there want to join me, I’ll write a separate post for every 10 books I read along the way, letting you know which I think are worth a gander and which you can skip over for something more engaging. Still don’t think you can do it? Try 50 books, that’s only one a week, and just imagine how informed you’ll be by the end! Come onnnnn. Crack one open with me and grab hold of some culture!

Books 1-10:

Casino Royale,
Live and Let Die and
Moonraker – Ian Fleming: James Bond novels are the perfect fit for the 100-book challenge. Short, well-written, and steeped in adrenaline, you’ll find them quick reads while getting a nice dose of popular culture (and admittedly some sexism and 1950s prejudice too). See our James Bond: Here and There series a more in-depth look at the books and movies.

Myths to Live By – Joseph Campbell: As a general rule, I suggest reading everything by Joseph Campbell you can get your hands on. His work with mythology, religion, and story-telling in general has found its way into every corner of our culture. This book was a good read, and a good length for the challenge. Other works I highly recommend are The Hero with a Thousand Faces (his best known), and The Power of Myth (an interview with Bill Moyers, which reads much better than most interviews).

Everything that Rises Must Converge – Flannery O’Connor: This is my TOP PICK for this post, and O’Connor is easily one of my top 10 favorite authors. This collection of her short stories held me spell-bound. They somehow sparkle with the grotesque as they explore race and family in the antebellum South. If you like stories that lift up the log of life and show you the rot underneath, pick up this book or her other collection A Good Man is Hard to Find. You won’t be disappointed.

King Lear – some guy named Will: Considered one of Shakespeare’s top tragedies, I was surprised and delighted by how funny this play often was. The tale of an aged King who foolishly spurns his one faithful daughter in favor of her two, more treacherous sisters, the masterpiece expounds upon themes of old-age, familial betrayal, and redemption. A must read.

Interpreter of Maladies – Jhumpa Lahiri: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this collection of short stories about India and Indian-Americans was enlightening, especially for an uninformed westerner. On the engaging scale, I’d only give it a 6 out of 10 for the general reader, but still well worth the time to read it. I mean, come on…Pulitzer Prize.

Daisy Miller – Henry James: This novella is a quick read, and is often studied in literary Academia, but doesn’t have that immediate, startling beauty I look for in my prose. It tells the story of a young American girl visiting Europe, who refuses to hold herself to the Victorian social standards of the time, and how her actions impact the narrator of the story and his views on women and America.

The Stranger – Albert Camus: Many of you may have read (or “read”) this one in high school, but go back and read it again! As an adult the novel struck my philosophical chords like it never could have in 11^th grade. And it’s a nice, concise read too.

Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad: I suspect I need to go back and reread this after doing a little research on it. It had powerful themes, and profound characters, but Conrad so downplays the active scenes, that it feels as if nothing really happens in the story. I think my ignorance is showing here…it’s very short, so go ahead and read it and tell me what you think. (For my future biographers: please disregard this last review. I completely understand and appreciate Conrad’s masterpiece.)

Well that’s it for now. Got get to reading!

The post “Better than the Movie”? first appeared on It's Just Awesome DOT com.