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Does This Sound Like You?
Jul. 5th, 2020 07:08 pm
Thursday Thoughts
Feb. 6th, 2020 04:32 pmI wandered into town like a lonely flower ... oops, I am sounding a bit like Wordsworth. Anyway, as it was a really nice sunny mild Winters day I thought I might have a look around the town. All I did was to check out some of the charity shops in which I found three dead cheap books and then had a meal at my local pub. As it was Curry Day I had the Naga chilli vindaloo curry with a pint of Abbot ale. Put it this way, it sure gives you a really good nasal clean out if you know what I mean.
One of the paperbacks I found was quite a heavy tome of the short stories of Fyodor Dostoevsky. It runs roughly into 700 pages. The other two are H.G.Wells classic "Time Machine" and the other is the history and mythology of Amazonian women including such famous warriors such as Artemis. Greek mythology is another of my interests as these stories still resonate with us.
This month sees the third annual Faversham Literary festival (19-23 Feb) and the highlights are Tracy Thorn of Everything But The Girl, former GLC head chief Ken Livingstone, and novelist Micheal Rosen. There are other events as well, so I need to get cracking and get some of those tickets online.
These were the book fonds today -
So far, during my recent charity shop visits on behalf of a couple of companies I work for, are the following eclectic mix -
Currently, I am wading through the 695 page Katherine Graham's Personal History biography of her time at the Washington Post, the broadsheet that exposed Watergate.
One of the paperbacks I found was quite a heavy tome of the short stories of Fyodor Dostoevsky. It runs roughly into 700 pages. The other two are H.G.Wells classic "Time Machine" and the other is the history and mythology of Amazonian women including such famous warriors such as Artemis. Greek mythology is another of my interests as these stories still resonate with us.
This month sees the third annual Faversham Literary festival (19-23 Feb) and the highlights are Tracy Thorn of Everything But The Girl, former GLC head chief Ken Livingstone, and novelist Micheal Rosen. There are other events as well, so I need to get cracking and get some of those tickets online.
These were the book fonds today -
So far, during my recent charity shop visits on behalf of a couple of companies I work for, are the following eclectic mix -
Currently, I am wading through the 695 page Katherine Graham's Personal History biography of her time at the Washington Post, the broadsheet that exposed Watergate.
Book 44 - Jim Al Khalili (ed) "Aliens"
May. 2nd, 2019 11:14 pmJim Al Khalili (ed) "Aliens" (Profile Books)
This scientific discussion begins with humankind being the aliens visiting other planets to ending with others visiting earth. Essays include looking at cultural aspects from entertainment to science fiction and scientific aspects from artificial intelligence, biology, and astronomical distance. The reader will not find a definitive answer on whether aliens exist, but will find rational arguments to support each theory presented. Minimal footnotes, further readings, a must-watch alien film list, and brief contributor biographies are included.
Overall, this is a superb collection of excellent essays from premier scientists in the developing field of astrobiology, psychology, astronomy and astrophysics on the development of extraterrestrial life. In turn, fascinating, and page-turning, that'll make you think of aliens and the universe like nothing before. Addictive and compelling, it makes a good introduction to the subject for the general reader too. Highly recommended.
This scientific discussion begins with humankind being the aliens visiting other planets to ending with others visiting earth. Essays include looking at cultural aspects from entertainment to science fiction and scientific aspects from artificial intelligence, biology, and astronomical distance. The reader will not find a definitive answer on whether aliens exist, but will find rational arguments to support each theory presented. Minimal footnotes, further readings, a must-watch alien film list, and brief contributor biographies are included.
Overall, this is a superb collection of excellent essays from premier scientists in the developing field of astrobiology, psychology, astronomy and astrophysics on the development of extraterrestrial life. In turn, fascinating, and page-turning, that'll make you think of aliens and the universe like nothing before. Addictive and compelling, it makes a good introduction to the subject for the general reader too. Highly recommended.
Barney Hoskyns "Small Town Talk" (Faber & Faber)
The social atmosphere of Woodstock, New York in the sixties was the antithesis of San Francisco, California. Where San Francisco had Haight-Ashbury, with its influx of hippies, acid trips, and psychedelic rock, Woodstock had folk musicians with acoustic guitars, searching for solitude and solace. Woodstock also holds the mystique of its association with the Woodstock musical festival, even though the actual connection between the place and the event is tenuous at best. I've long been fascinated by the sixties movement, both culturally and musically, and so this book appealed to me on many levels.
The material is meticulously researched, and its clear that the author has a special affinity for this town. For me, though, the reading experience is too weighed down in details. I simply didn't find every aspect of the town's history as captivating as the author clearly does. The first third of the book drags. I found myself continually putting the book down, eventually forcing myself to get back to it. We learn things like the exact addresses of many of the people living there early on, which is meaningless information to those of us unfamiliar with those homes and streets.
The middle of the book is more interesting, as we get into the heart of the cultural and musical icons, their lives in Woodstock, and their connections to one another. We spend a lot of time on Dylan, of course, since he and Woodstock are forever interwoven. We also spend a lot of time learning about Albert Grossman, the manager of many big-name musicians back then, who more or less ruled over Woodstock.
For me, the book is bogged down with a lot of detail that simply didn't hold my interest. That being said, it is well written and offers some great insight into life in this idyllic town for a handful of cultural icons.
The social atmosphere of Woodstock, New York in the sixties was the antithesis of San Francisco, California. Where San Francisco had Haight-Ashbury, with its influx of hippies, acid trips, and psychedelic rock, Woodstock had folk musicians with acoustic guitars, searching for solitude and solace. Woodstock also holds the mystique of its association with the Woodstock musical festival, even though the actual connection between the place and the event is tenuous at best. I've long been fascinated by the sixties movement, both culturally and musically, and so this book appealed to me on many levels.
The material is meticulously researched, and its clear that the author has a special affinity for this town. For me, though, the reading experience is too weighed down in details. I simply didn't find every aspect of the town's history as captivating as the author clearly does. The first third of the book drags. I found myself continually putting the book down, eventually forcing myself to get back to it. We learn things like the exact addresses of many of the people living there early on, which is meaningless information to those of us unfamiliar with those homes and streets.
The middle of the book is more interesting, as we get into the heart of the cultural and musical icons, their lives in Woodstock, and their connections to one another. We spend a lot of time on Dylan, of course, since he and Woodstock are forever interwoven. We also spend a lot of time learning about Albert Grossman, the manager of many big-name musicians back then, who more or less ruled over Woodstock.
For me, the book is bogged down with a lot of detail that simply didn't hold my interest. That being said, it is well written and offers some great insight into life in this idyllic town for a handful of cultural icons.
Maryanne Wolf "Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain" (Icon Books)
What an incredible book. Supremely readable, it seems undignified to label this 'popular science', because the number of references shows clearly that this has been as thoroughly researched as any serious scientific book. The only thing, really, that puts it into the popular category is the lack of note markers in the text - which is nice, until you get to the notes and realise how hard it is to relate them back... a very minor gripe.
Maryanne Wolf's title alludes to the different aspects of reading exemplified by Proust's description of the book, in 'On Reading', as a place to take refuge and explore other realities and ideas, and the part the squid has played in the historical study of the brain. If you like, it's the felt experience of the reader complemented by the mechanics behind the scenes. The book is divided into three main parts: how the brain learned to read - a retrospective of the history of reading and brain science; how the brain learns to read over time - what we know or believe now about reading acquisition; and when the brain can't learn to read - a survey of current research and developments in dyslexia.
Wolf's style is delightful. Even when she is explaining the complexities of brain imaging and how that might relate to reading development, she is never less than fluid (though I suspect I fell into the trap that, she tells us, Socrates feared would arise through literacy: that of ceasing to question, and reading without truly understanding!). It's not the kind of book where you find yourself so bogged down in the technical descriptions you are unable to move forward. The science is leavened with anecdotes from her own research and family life and seasoned with numerous interesting literary and historical references (personal favourite: Eliot's analogies for Casaubon's mind from Middlemarch).
Wolf closes with a call to arms to urgently consider the implications for the current generation of schoolchildren of 'growing up digital', repeatedly worrying at the notion that the ease of access to information provided by the internet may produce a crop of children with little or no curiosity about exploring texts further than their surfaces.
I found this completely fascinating from just about every perspective: the history of reading, writing and alphabets, which I knew very little about; the process of language acquisition, which was particularly interesting as my youngest child is at the stage of beginning to reliably recognise letters; dyslexia, which I knew absolutely nothing about (nice too that Wolf uses The Lightning Thief for an epigraph in one of these chapters); and her personal mission statement in the final chapter. Everyone with an interest in reading should seek it out.
What an incredible book. Supremely readable, it seems undignified to label this 'popular science', because the number of references shows clearly that this has been as thoroughly researched as any serious scientific book. The only thing, really, that puts it into the popular category is the lack of note markers in the text - which is nice, until you get to the notes and realise how hard it is to relate them back... a very minor gripe.
Maryanne Wolf's title alludes to the different aspects of reading exemplified by Proust's description of the book, in 'On Reading', as a place to take refuge and explore other realities and ideas, and the part the squid has played in the historical study of the brain. If you like, it's the felt experience of the reader complemented by the mechanics behind the scenes. The book is divided into three main parts: how the brain learned to read - a retrospective of the history of reading and brain science; how the brain learns to read over time - what we know or believe now about reading acquisition; and when the brain can't learn to read - a survey of current research and developments in dyslexia.
Wolf's style is delightful. Even when she is explaining the complexities of brain imaging and how that might relate to reading development, she is never less than fluid (though I suspect I fell into the trap that, she tells us, Socrates feared would arise through literacy: that of ceasing to question, and reading without truly understanding!). It's not the kind of book where you find yourself so bogged down in the technical descriptions you are unable to move forward. The science is leavened with anecdotes from her own research and family life and seasoned with numerous interesting literary and historical references (personal favourite: Eliot's analogies for Casaubon's mind from Middlemarch).
Wolf closes with a call to arms to urgently consider the implications for the current generation of schoolchildren of 'growing up digital', repeatedly worrying at the notion that the ease of access to information provided by the internet may produce a crop of children with little or no curiosity about exploring texts further than their surfaces.
I found this completely fascinating from just about every perspective: the history of reading, writing and alphabets, which I knew very little about; the process of language acquisition, which was particularly interesting as my youngest child is at the stage of beginning to reliably recognise letters; dyslexia, which I knew absolutely nothing about (nice too that Wolf uses The Lightning Thief for an epigraph in one of these chapters); and her personal mission statement in the final chapter. Everyone with an interest in reading should seek it out.
Book 79 - Timothy Rice "Ethnomusicology"
Nov. 5th, 2018 10:08 pmTimothy Rice "Ethnomusicology: A Very Short Introduction" (Oxford University Press)
This is quite a good introduction to the subject. t doesn't go into depths but goes over the main definitions, topics and research methods employed by Ethnomusicologists.
However, it is not a book about ethnic music or world music as such. The point is: when an academic discovers a new phenomenon he/she writes about it. Then along comes someone else and writes about it and the first writer's reception of it. Then a third person and a fourth. Eventually, you get a literature that is solely about the methodology of discussing the phenomenon, and the phenomenon itself gets ignored. Such is this book. But also it is about the academic discipline of ethnomusicology as a sub-discipline of anthropology, it is not about ethnic music. It is about the phenomenon of musicality not just from the performers' point of view, but also from the listeners'. In other words, the human being is a (possibly the only) musical animal, whether performing or consuming, and that is of anthropological/zoological interest.
Perhaps if one wanted to get to know ethnic or folk music then I would point them in the direction of Alan Lomax or Phillip V Bohlman's "World Music A Very Short Introduction" instead.
This is quite a good introduction to the subject. t doesn't go into depths but goes over the main definitions, topics and research methods employed by Ethnomusicologists.
However, it is not a book about ethnic music or world music as such. The point is: when an academic discovers a new phenomenon he/she writes about it. Then along comes someone else and writes about it and the first writer's reception of it. Then a third person and a fourth. Eventually, you get a literature that is solely about the methodology of discussing the phenomenon, and the phenomenon itself gets ignored. Such is this book. But also it is about the academic discipline of ethnomusicology as a sub-discipline of anthropology, it is not about ethnic music. It is about the phenomenon of musicality not just from the performers' point of view, but also from the listeners'. In other words, the human being is a (possibly the only) musical animal, whether performing or consuming, and that is of anthropological/zoological interest.
Perhaps if one wanted to get to know ethnic or folk music then I would point them in the direction of Alan Lomax or Phillip V Bohlman's "World Music A Very Short Introduction" instead.
Book 72 - Stefan Zweig "Chess: A Novel"
Oct. 19th, 2018 11:20 pmStefan Zweig "Chess: A Novel" (Penguin Classics)
The action in this novella takes place during World War II, on a cruise ship heading from NYC to Buenos Aires. On board is the world chess champion Mirko Czentovic, who is on tour to play the best chess masters of South America. The nameless narrator is intrigued by Czentovic, a monomaniac whose aloof manner hides the fact that he is an otherwise ignorant and uneducated peasant. In an effort to meet Czentovic, the narrator plays chess with an arrogant and wealthy businessman, who ultimately persuades Czentovic to play him for money. The game is witnessed by many of the passengers, and Czentovic handily trounces the businessman in several games. However, a stranger provides tactical advice to the businessman, who manages to battle the champion to a draw. Czentovic challenges the stranger, Dr. B., to a game the following day, and the narrator is able to learn more about Dr. B's dark secret, and how he was able to match the champion even though he had not played chess in over two decades. The battle royale takes place the next afternoon and is both a tactical and psychological battle of wills.
Unfortunately, this was the last published complete work by Zweig, a Jew who fled his native Austria before the Nazi occupation, and committed suicide with his wife in 1942, due to his despair with the demise of European culture under the Nazis. It is a brilliant work and is highly recommended.
The action in this novella takes place during World War II, on a cruise ship heading from NYC to Buenos Aires. On board is the world chess champion Mirko Czentovic, who is on tour to play the best chess masters of South America. The nameless narrator is intrigued by Czentovic, a monomaniac whose aloof manner hides the fact that he is an otherwise ignorant and uneducated peasant. In an effort to meet Czentovic, the narrator plays chess with an arrogant and wealthy businessman, who ultimately persuades Czentovic to play him for money. The game is witnessed by many of the passengers, and Czentovic handily trounces the businessman in several games. However, a stranger provides tactical advice to the businessman, who manages to battle the champion to a draw. Czentovic challenges the stranger, Dr. B., to a game the following day, and the narrator is able to learn more about Dr. B's dark secret, and how he was able to match the champion even though he had not played chess in over two decades. The battle royale takes place the next afternoon and is both a tactical and psychological battle of wills.
Unfortunately, this was the last published complete work by Zweig, a Jew who fled his native Austria before the Nazi occupation, and committed suicide with his wife in 1942, due to his despair with the demise of European culture under the Nazis. It is a brilliant work and is highly recommended.
Book 62 - Stephen Kelman "Pigeon English"
Sep. 27th, 2017 03:45 pmStephen Kelman "Pigeon English" (Bloomsbury)
Pigeon English is the story of 11 year old Harrison Opoku, a recent immigrant from Ghana. He, his mother and older sister have recently moved to a flat in a rough part of London, while his father, grandmother and little sister are still in Ghana hoping to move soon, too. When an older boy is stabbed to death, Harri's and a friend decide to do their own version of the TV show CSI and find the killer.
The novel is told (mostly) from Harri's point of view. It is here that I can see why the book has been compared to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Through Harri's narration, we end up understanding more than he does about what it going on around him. I think this works in places, and in others have a harder time believing he'd be that naïve, even at his age. His enthusiasm and energy come through, as do his sometimes conflicting desires to be safe/fit in vs to be good/truer to himself. Without his father in the home, Harri feels it is his role to protect, to be the man of the family. Yet at 11 years old and in a tough neighborhood where gangs are a part of everyday life, this is not easy. Not to mention, he's just a kid - he wants to use reward money if they solve the crime to buy a Playstation, he likes to run, he's discovering girls...
There are also interludes narrated by a pigeon that watches over Harri. It took some time for these to work for me, but I slowly came around to the metaphor and the role in the story.
This is a good first novel, yes, with its flaws and not a particularly surprising ending, but a voice and story that kept me interested throughout.
Pigeon English is the story of 11 year old Harrison Opoku, a recent immigrant from Ghana. He, his mother and older sister have recently moved to a flat in a rough part of London, while his father, grandmother and little sister are still in Ghana hoping to move soon, too. When an older boy is stabbed to death, Harri's and a friend decide to do their own version of the TV show CSI and find the killer.
The novel is told (mostly) from Harri's point of view. It is here that I can see why the book has been compared to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Through Harri's narration, we end up understanding more than he does about what it going on around him. I think this works in places, and in others have a harder time believing he'd be that naïve, even at his age. His enthusiasm and energy come through, as do his sometimes conflicting desires to be safe/fit in vs to be good/truer to himself. Without his father in the home, Harri feels it is his role to protect, to be the man of the family. Yet at 11 years old and in a tough neighborhood where gangs are a part of everyday life, this is not easy. Not to mention, he's just a kid - he wants to use reward money if they solve the crime to buy a Playstation, he likes to run, he's discovering girls...
There are also interludes narrated by a pigeon that watches over Harri. It took some time for these to work for me, but I slowly came around to the metaphor and the role in the story.
This is a good first novel, yes, with its flaws and not a particularly surprising ending, but a voice and story that kept me interested throughout.
Bool 14 - Harvey Pekar "The Quitter"
Mar. 4th, 2017 01:52 pmHarvey Pekar "The Quitter" (Vertigo)
The Quitter covers Harvey Pekar's childhood growing up in Cleveland. Some of this material was previously covered in American Splendor, but not much of it; that tended to focus on Harvey's later life, which only comes in at the very end here. What can I say about it beyond that it might be my favourite Pekar comic yet? He fills in his life in broad sketches, focusing into specific moments only a couple times, but this story really resonated with me-- as indeed, I suspect it would with anyone who's ever tried to do something and ended up giving up because it was hard. Or maybe just because of stupid reasons. The Quitter details Pekar's attempts to find something he won't give up at.
Pekar's short works resist "messages," but The Quitter has one, sort of, even if it's just that someday you might find something where you don't quit. Barely a message, but it's somehow uplifting, and I found myself feeling better about myself after finishing The Quitter, and I don't often like books that overtly try to do that to me.
Dean Haspiel might just be my favourite artistic collaborator for Pekar so far; his work is cartoony, but gritty, which suits Pekar's "neo-realist" style more so than some of the more realistic art I've seen in American Splendor, which tends to be too stiff to work as good comics. Lee Loughridge accentuates the whole thing with good use of "gray tones."
An excellent graphic novel.
The Quitter covers Harvey Pekar's childhood growing up in Cleveland. Some of this material was previously covered in American Splendor, but not much of it; that tended to focus on Harvey's later life, which only comes in at the very end here. What can I say about it beyond that it might be my favourite Pekar comic yet? He fills in his life in broad sketches, focusing into specific moments only a couple times, but this story really resonated with me-- as indeed, I suspect it would with anyone who's ever tried to do something and ended up giving up because it was hard. Or maybe just because of stupid reasons. The Quitter details Pekar's attempts to find something he won't give up at.
Pekar's short works resist "messages," but The Quitter has one, sort of, even if it's just that someday you might find something where you don't quit. Barely a message, but it's somehow uplifting, and I found myself feeling better about myself after finishing The Quitter, and I don't often like books that overtly try to do that to me.
Dean Haspiel might just be my favourite artistic collaborator for Pekar so far; his work is cartoony, but gritty, which suits Pekar's "neo-realist" style more so than some of the more realistic art I've seen in American Splendor, which tends to be too stiff to work as good comics. Lee Loughridge accentuates the whole thing with good use of "gray tones."
An excellent graphic novel.
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