Juliet, Naked

Juliet, Naked
by Nick Hornby
2009
406 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59448-887-0
Cincinnati Public Library

I requested this from the library as soon as I got home from the bookstore where I saw it on the shelf. Thinking about it, that was a kind of blind optimism based on the fact that I liked Hornby's earliest books, the movies-made-them-famous High Fidelity and About a Boy. Since then, I have found my affection somewhat waning. How To Be Good was really only good. My thoughts on A Long Way Down are there for your perusal if you so choose, but can sum it up with the fact that I didn't like it enough to keep track of it. I either donated or lent it away to the big library in the sky, because that once owned copy is not on the shelf here now. As for his 2007 YAish novel Slam, it's so forgettable that I actually forgot that I read it. As in, when I saw it on the list of Hornby's books, I thought "Oh, I'll have to find a copy of that one," only to realize upon closer inspection that I had read it already. I know that I read a lot, but that is not a compliment.

Juliet, Naked bucks the trend. It is a true return to the Nick Hornby that I loved so long ago. This book is sweet and sarcastic with characters that are delightfully real and lovable for all their dramatic and obvious flaws. The characters are what this book is all about, and while you wonder what is going to happen, what you are really wondering is what is going to happen to them. The events here gain most of their significance from their effect on the people involved. The relationships between the characters are the real charm of this novel, especially the relationship between Tucker and his adorable son Jackson, which is a real highlight.

In Juliet, Naked Hornby does to the obsessive website creating song analyzing fan what he did to the obsessive record collector in High Fidelity, shows them all their warts and insanity, and leaves them human none the less. He does this well I suppose, although I found myself feeling bad for them (and perhaps a little scornful) in a distant sort of way as I read the book. Long after I finished I realized that I actually wrote my big term paper in high school on Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows as an American poet. Perhaps I should have related to them more (although I would certainly not spend my vacation on a tour of significant places in Duriz's life).

This is a charming and delightful read, and would be a pretty good introduction to Hornby for the uninitiated. It reminds us all that sometimes the people around us can see us far more clearly than we see ourselves, and maybe, sometimes we should listen to what they tell us.

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil
by George Saunders
2005
130 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59448-152-9

This book was suggested to me during my birthday recommendation blitz by Jack O'Brien. He gets credit for recommending several favorites, including The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Gunslinger. (Which is the first book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series, I read the whole 7 books in like two and a half weeks. It might take you longer. I still recommend it)

Anyway, I knew the basic story of Phil, because Jack adapted it for the stage during his senior year in college, and I managed to make it down for a performance. That show was a lot of fun to watch, but I have to admit that some of the funniest parts of this book are the little details that don't translate well to the stage. For example, in the book, Phil's brain falls off its rack from time to time, while on the stage, Phil's brain seemed to remain contained within his cranium. Some actors just aren't willing to truly sacrifice for their craft.

I would say that this qualifies more as a novella than a novel. Easily read in a single day. That is probably the right format for Saunders hilariously irreverent and critical take on human nature. If this piece was much longer, the jokes might have gotten old or started to seem a little bit too absurd, but at 130 pages everything maintains the glow of clever and fun. I highly recommend a trip to Outer and Inner Horner for any fans of political satire, it'll be a short vacation for most readers, but one well worth the effort. You might just find yourself laughing out loud.

Nocturnes

Nocturnes
by John Connolly
2006
471 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4165-3460-0

My previous experience with John Connolly's work has been nothing short of delightful. The Book of Lost Things is a wonderfully dark and chilling interpretation of the stories from our childhood. His recent offering, The Gates is a fresh and funny story about a young boy literally trying to stop all hell from breaking loose. While both of these books have been classified as "young adult," I imagine that is largely (solely) due to their pre-teen protagonists. (You would think that the idea that only children can enjoy books about children would have been blown out of the water by a certain wizard.) I think that neither of these is best suited to the younger set, and will continue to recommend both left and right to adult readers. In a recent review on LibraryThing, I compared the footnotes and humor in The Gates to the work of the late great Douglas Adams... and anyone who's read my notes on And Another Thing... knows that I consider that high praise indeed.

With that in mind, imagine my delight to find Nocturnes, Connolly's book of short stories, sitting all alone on the "Last Chance" super bargain table at Barnes and Noble when I walked in, on my birthday, gift cards blazing and on a mission to make up for months of serious book-buying restraint.

Nocturnes turned out not to be at all what I expected. It is as different from The Gates and The Book of Lost Things as the two are from each other, but also nearly as wonderful. The stories here are darker by far than I expected to encounter, but most are also quite gripping.

Many of the pieces here in this collection were originally written for BBC radio, and most are quite short. While some of these shorter pieces are particular gems, including "Mr. Pettinger's Daemon," "The New Daughter" and "Miss Froom, Vampire," others are less successful. Connolly shines most when he gives himself some room to work. The opening novella, "The Cancer Cowboy Rides" is one of the most deeply creepy pieces of writing I've read in some time. As in, I can't put it down even though it's 1:30am, better go check the locks, cuddle a little closer to the sleeping fiancee creepy. It's good stuff. "The Underbury Witches" was so much fun that I sat in the waiting room at the spa long long after my toenails were dry in order to finish it. "The Reflecting Eye" a novella featuring Charlie Parker (who apparently stars in many of Connolly's adult fiction), is entertaining enough that I found myself considering the idea of adding some of those to the ever growing TBR pile.

Overall, this collection is strong, if a little uneven. And it is not just the Maine setting of several of these stories that calls to mind the shorter works of Stephen King. I would say of Connolly's work here something very similar to what I've said about King's short fiction in the past (and I admit that I am an enthusiastic fan)... When he hits the nail on the head, it's glorious, creepy, you'll-be-thinking-about-it-for-days, eerie wonderfulness. And when he misses, he just misses, so it's still a good time. Overall, this is more fun than I've had off the bargain table in a while.

And Another Thing...

November 13, 2009 - November 17, 2009
And Another Thing...
by Eoin Colfer
2009
275 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4013-2358-2

First, some background. Douglas Adams was an epically, uniquely talented and hilariously funny writer. Tragically, he died of a heart attack in 2001. I remember reading about his passing at the time and feeling a real sense of loss. I was a senior in high school at that point, and I loved his books (I still do.) For me it was the first time that I was aware of an author I truly adored passing away. I felt very sad and a little cheated. I think a lot of people did. Adams was only 49, and I am willing to bet that he had a lot more to say. We are all missing out on something there.

Adams is most famous for the five books of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy. (No, that is not a typo). These are among my favorite books of all time. I have a beautiful leather bound all in one volume that has occupied a position of pride on my bookshelf for many years. It's one of the few books in my library with an actual bookplate, as in I would be epically pissed if you stole it. I have hundreds of books, I can only think of 5 that I would be hesitant to lend, and this is one of them. The Hitchhiker's Guide holds a very special place in my heart. (The movie however, does not.)

Which is why I was simultaneously very excited and very nervous when I read that someone had taken it upon themselves to write part a six of the trilogy. I am not familiar with Colfer or his other work aside from the basic level of name recognition, so I was not at all confident that he was qualified to pick up where one of the greats left off. (I should note that I also wasn't at all confident that Adams "left off" at all, the fifth book ends pretty endily.) Still, the publication had the full support of his estate, so I let hope win, and requested it from the library. (Still not buying hardcovers.)

There are good things to be said about Colfer's work in this book, but Douglas Adams he is not. Especially at the beginning I was frustrated by some pretty serious flaws. In fact, not too far in I found myself thinking that the book was inadvertently describing itself with the Adams quote that it uses on the cover... "The storm had now definitely abated, and what thunder there was now grumbled over more distant hills, like a man saying 'And another thing' twenty minutes after admitting he's lost the argument."

Colfer does not do justice to the Hitchiker's Guide's most beloved characters. Zaphoid is duller, Arthur just doesn't sound like himself, Ford seems to have lost a good bit of his charm. He also doesn't seen to grasp the beauty of the randomness of Adams. In the other Hitchhiker's books, the Guide excerpts are delightfully disconnected asides that never seem to interfere with the flow of the tale at hand. They are the random and hilarious musings of a wonderful mind. Colfer's Guide excepts are set off from the text, seem more like interruptions, and are far too frequent and far less charming. Colfer also seems to grasp far too tightly to a few words and references from the other books ("froody" comes to mind) and beat them into the ground.

But it's not all bad. I suppose it's not surprising that the places where this book shines are the portions that Colfer has made his own, adding something of his own to the wacky Hitchhiker's Universe. The residents of the planet Nano are wonderfully absurd. Thor is a real winner both as a character, and it turns out, as a God. The second half of the book is far more readable than the first. There are times when you really do feel like you are back in Adams' zany world.

All in all, I think that fans of the series will find something to like here, but only if they can go into it with the right expectations. This is not a true sixth Hitchhiker's volume, but it is a loving and sincere tribute to Adams from a well intentioned admirer. It is also a foray back into a universe that I, for one, have really missed.

Of course, if you haven't read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or the other four books in the original series, you really should stop spending their time reading my pathetic little blog and go pick it up. I promise you will find it far more entertaining than anything that I'll come up with in the next couple of days.

In that spirit, and with a nod to the fact that I am writing this instead of studying for a large and looming Brain and Behavior exam, I will close with one of my all time favorite Adams quotes:

" I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

Oliver Twist

November 5, 2009- November 13, 2009
Oliver Twist
by Charles Dickens
1838
Read on the Sony Digital Book
989 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4340-0061-3

I picked this up after reading Daniel Pearl's The Last Dickens. I wanted to read some actual Dickens because Pearl's book relies on his shocking popularity in his own day. Really, Charles Dickens was something like a rock star, sold out American tour and all that. So I figured I'd take an opportunity to actually read one of his books, to try to understand what inspired that kind of enthusiasm. Especially since my only prior experience was enforced skimming of Great Expectations in English class at Miss Porter's, which didn't really deliver the fun.

Anyway, Oliver Twist was a pretty good read, not life altering, but I certainly enjoyed it. I found that it picked up a lot in the last 1/3, and I read the last 250 pages or so all on one day. I admit that I feel like I might have gotten more out of it with a couple of clarifying footnotes, which is the disadvantage of reading the freeish digital book version over one that's pricier and annotated, but I'll live.

I'll give old Charles credit for keeping me involved for almost 1000 digital pages when I had a pile of recently requested library books actually turning up, and a bigger pile of birthday related book binge purchases, all calling my name. I never once thought of putting it down.

And for our next project... Andrew and I are going to read one of Dickens novels in the serial as if it's coming out for the first time. We've decided to go with one of the monthlies since that way there should be some actual waiting involved, but we haven't picked which one yet. This is a project for the new year, so there is time to voice your opinions if you so choose. Wikipedia tells me that the following options were published as monthly serials: The Pickwick Papers, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, Dombey and Son, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Little Dorrit and Our Mutual Friend. Andrew's already read Pickwick, which almost completely eliminates it from contention (he wants to read it again, but I think that it defeats the point of the exercise).

I would rather read one that I have heard of before, although I've realized as I've looked into this that I really know NOTHING at all about most of these books. Really. A Christmas Carol: I know pretty well (and yes, from reading it, not just movies). Great Expectations: I know well enough to think that the South Park episode spoofing it is HILARIOUS. Beyond that: Oliver Twist = orphan, Tale of Two Cities = "best of times, worst of times" Edmond Drood = unfinished. And we're done. I don't have the slightest idea what made David Copperfield or Nicholas Nickleby worthy of title character status.

The thing is, I am not sure that I want to know anything about the stories before I read them in serial, because I don't think that dust jacket summaries and reviews were part of the genuine monthly serial experience. This, obviously, makes selection of the title for this project a bit of a challenge. Cryptic suggestions might be helpful. Right.

100 Books While I'm 27

New Goal, New Tracking. Here we go.

1.) November 7, 2009 - November 13, 2009
Oliver Twist
by Charles Dickens
1838
989 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4340-0061-3
Read on the Sony Digital Book

2.) November 13, 2009 - November 17, 2009
And Another Thing...
by Eoin Colfer
2009
275 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4013-2358-2
Cincinnati Public Library

3.) November 17, 2009 - November 22, 2009
Nocturnes
by John Connolly
2006
471 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4165-3460-0

4.) November 22, 2009 - November 23, 2009
The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil
by George Saunders
2005
130 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59448-152-9

5.) November 23, 2009 - November 25, 2009
Juliet, Naked
by Nick Hornby
2009
406 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59448-887-0
Cincinnati Public Library

6.) November 25, 2009 - November 27, 2009
Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq
by Dr. Chris Coppola
2009
259 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9840531-1-7
ARC from LibraryThing Early Reviewers

7.) November 27, 2009 - November 30, 2009
An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England
by Brock Clarke
2007
303 pages
ISBN: 978-1-56512-551-3

8.) November 30, 2009 - December 3, 2009
The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse
by Robert Rankin
2002
342 pages
ISBN: 978-0-575-07401-9

9.) December 3, 2009 - December 6, 2009
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
by Allison Hoover Bartlett
2009
274 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59448-891-7
Cincinnati Public Library

10.) December 6, 2009 - December 9, 2009
The Magicians
by Lev Grossman
2009
402 pages
ISBN: 978-0-670-02055-3
Cincinnati Public Library

11.) December 10, 2009- present
A Better Angel
by Chris Adrian
2008
227 pages
ISBN: 978-0-312-42853-7