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Wed Reading Meme...
Oct. 21st, 2015 09:22 pm[I appear to be going blind, now on top of contacts, have to wear reading glasses to see print. I have inherited my father's eyes. Although, apparently, after the age of 45, this sort of thing happens - the reading glasses.]
1. What I just finished reading?
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well, this is the best written book that I've read so far this year. Daniel James Brown does an extraordinary job of crafting a compelling, thought-provoking, and insightful historical tale of an American rowing crew's quest for Olympic Gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
What I found most interesting about this book is how the writer juxtaposes the lives and journey of this American rowing team against the preparations for the Olympics, the propaganda campaign, and the horrific rounding up of the Gypsies, and other minorities in Berlin, Germany at the same time. Leni Renistefl's filming of the Olympics, and other Nazi activities is juxtaposed with George Pocock's building of the boats.
Brown's journalistic style as opposed to the more distancing academic style of many non-fiction novels set during the same period, provides a compelling story that is in some respects far more accessible. It's a personal story, that resonates long after the last page is turned or clicked (for kindle readers).
Ultimately it's a success story of how nine working class men, by trusting each other, and taking a leap of faith, surmount seemingly impossible odds achieve their dreams.
I think this may be if not necessarily the best, at the very least my favorite of all of the books that I've read regarding this historical period. 1929- 1936, which much like WWII, that came soon after, has been done to death. Kudos to Mr. Brown for finding a new angle on over-explored territory.
And a lot of X-men comic books. The latest?
Messiah Complex by Ed Brubaker and Mike Carey
Which was quite good. It's an epic tale - in which the X-men attempt to find and protect a baby girl who may save their race from eventual extinction. The plotting of this story is actually better than most. And if you are a fan of the character Cyclops, it's a must-read.
( X-men comics I've read to date and about the comics generally )
Like all long-running serials? I don't recommend diving into this unless you can afford to start at the beginning or at the very least have been reading them more or less all along. Otherwise I think you'd get lost. The X-men is a convoluted Dicksenionan soap opera. With a cast of 1000s, sort of puts GRR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire to shame. The art is all over the place. It's brilliant in places, and weirdly amateurish in others. I prefer the more hyper-realistic less abstract style of the latter years, with the painted frames. But there's basically something for everyone.
It also has the flaws of all long-running serials. Mainly due to the fact that there is a high writer/artist turn-over. The previous writer burns out. A new one takes over and plays with the old one's toys. Except, he or she may be dissatisfied with how the old writer wrapped things up, who they killed off, or where they took the story. So they will ret-con a particular plot, or bring back a dead character. Also, of course, there's the constant pressure to come up with something new and not repeat old storylines (hard to do with a 50 year serial).
Resulting in:
1) Insanely convoluted and inconsistent plots, which have plot-holes you can drive a truck through, not to mention expositions that if you think too hard about them...don't quite make logical sense. (If you are a Buffy or Whedon fan, you probably won't care that much. I tend to suspend disbelief for fantasy/sci-fi series more easily than others.) Continuity often gets thrown out the window - because the new writers most likely aren't familiar with the story the way the readers are, or they are only familiar with the sections they researched. (Whedon was bright to limit the number of characters he was going to write for - with Astonishing X-Men. He only had to research those five characters, not all 100 and some.) It would be like taking over GRR Martin's Game of Thrones..series.
2) Unkillable villains. (The writers become enamored of a particular villain, so they will tease you by allowing the characters to triumphantly kill them off, only to have the villain be magically revived or resurrected later. Or the previous writer, say Grant Morrison, decided to resurrect and kill off Magneto. The new writer kind of love Magneto and wants to write about him, so ret-cons the story to have it not be Magneto who was actually killed off. Magneto has been killed and resurrected about 10 times, so too has Apocalypse, Mr. Sinister, Sebastian Shaw, and various others. I personally find this tendency annoying and somewhat traumatizing. Particularly in horror movies. I grew up watching The Halloween series - and wondered if evil serial killers could ever die? Magneto on the other hand - I'm happy they keep resurrecting, since I happen to enjoy the character and don't see him as evil. He's actually amongst the best villains written.)
3.) Unkillable heroes (the hero dies, then returns, then dies, then returns). Not all heroes. Just certain ones that the writers feel the need to resurrect. Professor Xavier has died about 10 times. As a result, it's hard to care when the writers kill him off. Also Xavier has a tendency to disappear a lot, abandoning his students to their own devices. Only to reappear and drive them crazy, because he acts like they are still teenagers. Xavier has got to be over 100 by now. Jean Grey has died at least three times, four if you include her clone. Havok died two times. Corsair, also two times. (Honestly, it's no wonder, the love of her life, Cyclops, is a bit traumatized - he keeps having people close to him die then magically return from the dead.)
As a result of this tendency, death in serials is sort of meaningless. Also, it's worth bearing in mind that serial writers can choose to redeem or condemn a character at any time. So, really, you can see all sides of a character, good, bad, and ugly.
The other problem with serials? There's no end in sight. And in order to get what you want - that particular character you love, you have to put up with the parts of the story and characters that you could care less about. For example? Say you are only watching Doctor Who for Doctor River Song or the Master or maybe one of the companions, you sort of have to put up with the other stuff to get the bits you want. OR a better example? Buffy - say you just like Spike or Angel or Xander or Willow, you have to put up with all the crap you don't like to get those moments. X-men is even worse, so too are daytime soaps. If you don't like 75=80% of the characters in a serial, you should give up. (I do. That's rule number 1 - I have to like 80% of the characters. Also for a serial - it helps if you are more character driven than plot driven. Since serials tend to be character driven, the writers often pull the plots out of their ass.)
What I love about them though - is no form of writing does character exploration better than a serial. Particularly a long-running serial. A long running serial that has a character for about 30-50 years, will show you every side of them imaginable over time, they'll also show how they evolve and change in personality. You may even see how different writers, performers, artists render and interpret that character. You get full in-depth characterization. No other form of writing can go quite that deep. Which in a nutshell is why I read and watch serials - because I am fascinated by character motivations and behavior.
2. What I'm reading now?
More like next. Since I just finished the above. I'm debating between various X-men comics that I recently grabbed. Also trying to decide if I should grab X-Force/Cable - The Messiah War -- or if I can just skip it, since it doesn't really have Cyclops in much of it, he just basically sends his covert ops team to the future on a rescue mission to save his son Cable and a baby, the hope for their species. But to do so, he puts the lives of three students that the team is attempting to rescue at risk. It looks convoluted and ultra-violent. Has anyone read it? If so, feel free to advise. (I doubt it, there's dead silence in response to any of my posts on the X-men. I basically talking to myself here.)
Anyhoo:
X-men Sisterhood
X-men Messiah War Prologue
Dark X-men/Avengers Utopia
And, I think for the train, a romance novel..one by Julie Anne Long, The Legend of Red Lymond. It's also part of a series, but in the romance genre, you can ignore the series, they tend to be stand-a-lone. Either that or another Sherry Thomas/Meredith Duran.
I'm also flirting with and have been for some time, "Uprooted" - the fantasy book suggested by flist.
Just not sure about the writer's style.
1. What I just finished reading?
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James BrownMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well, this is the best written book that I've read so far this year. Daniel James Brown does an extraordinary job of crafting a compelling, thought-provoking, and insightful historical tale of an American rowing crew's quest for Olympic Gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
What I found most interesting about this book is how the writer juxtaposes the lives and journey of this American rowing team against the preparations for the Olympics, the propaganda campaign, and the horrific rounding up of the Gypsies, and other minorities in Berlin, Germany at the same time. Leni Renistefl's filming of the Olympics, and other Nazi activities is juxtaposed with George Pocock's building of the boats.
Brown's journalistic style as opposed to the more distancing academic style of many non-fiction novels set during the same period, provides a compelling story that is in some respects far more accessible. It's a personal story, that resonates long after the last page is turned or clicked (for kindle readers).
Ultimately it's a success story of how nine working class men, by trusting each other, and taking a leap of faith, surmount seemingly impossible odds achieve their dreams.
I think this may be if not necessarily the best, at the very least my favorite of all of the books that I've read regarding this historical period. 1929- 1936, which much like WWII, that came soon after, has been done to death. Kudos to Mr. Brown for finding a new angle on over-explored territory.
And a lot of X-men comic books. The latest?
Messiah Complex by Ed Brubaker and Mike Carey
Which was quite good. It's an epic tale - in which the X-men attempt to find and protect a baby girl who may save their race from eventual extinction. The plotting of this story is actually better than most. And if you are a fan of the character Cyclops, it's a must-read.
( X-men comics I've read to date and about the comics generally )
Like all long-running serials? I don't recommend diving into this unless you can afford to start at the beginning or at the very least have been reading them more or less all along. Otherwise I think you'd get lost. The X-men is a convoluted Dicksenionan soap opera. With a cast of 1000s, sort of puts GRR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire to shame. The art is all over the place. It's brilliant in places, and weirdly amateurish in others. I prefer the more hyper-realistic less abstract style of the latter years, with the painted frames. But there's basically something for everyone.
It also has the flaws of all long-running serials. Mainly due to the fact that there is a high writer/artist turn-over. The previous writer burns out. A new one takes over and plays with the old one's toys. Except, he or she may be dissatisfied with how the old writer wrapped things up, who they killed off, or where they took the story. So they will ret-con a particular plot, or bring back a dead character. Also, of course, there's the constant pressure to come up with something new and not repeat old storylines (hard to do with a 50 year serial).
Resulting in:
1) Insanely convoluted and inconsistent plots, which have plot-holes you can drive a truck through, not to mention expositions that if you think too hard about them...don't quite make logical sense. (If you are a Buffy or Whedon fan, you probably won't care that much. I tend to suspend disbelief for fantasy/sci-fi series more easily than others.) Continuity often gets thrown out the window - because the new writers most likely aren't familiar with the story the way the readers are, or they are only familiar with the sections they researched. (Whedon was bright to limit the number of characters he was going to write for - with Astonishing X-Men. He only had to research those five characters, not all 100 and some.) It would be like taking over GRR Martin's Game of Thrones..series.
2) Unkillable villains. (The writers become enamored of a particular villain, so they will tease you by allowing the characters to triumphantly kill them off, only to have the villain be magically revived or resurrected later. Or the previous writer, say Grant Morrison, decided to resurrect and kill off Magneto. The new writer kind of love Magneto and wants to write about him, so ret-cons the story to have it not be Magneto who was actually killed off. Magneto has been killed and resurrected about 10 times, so too has Apocalypse, Mr. Sinister, Sebastian Shaw, and various others. I personally find this tendency annoying and somewhat traumatizing. Particularly in horror movies. I grew up watching The Halloween series - and wondered if evil serial killers could ever die? Magneto on the other hand - I'm happy they keep resurrecting, since I happen to enjoy the character and don't see him as evil. He's actually amongst the best villains written.)
3.) Unkillable heroes (the hero dies, then returns, then dies, then returns). Not all heroes. Just certain ones that the writers feel the need to resurrect. Professor Xavier has died about 10 times. As a result, it's hard to care when the writers kill him off. Also Xavier has a tendency to disappear a lot, abandoning his students to their own devices. Only to reappear and drive them crazy, because he acts like they are still teenagers. Xavier has got to be over 100 by now. Jean Grey has died at least three times, four if you include her clone. Havok died two times. Corsair, also two times. (Honestly, it's no wonder, the love of her life, Cyclops, is a bit traumatized - he keeps having people close to him die then magically return from the dead.)
As a result of this tendency, death in serials is sort of meaningless. Also, it's worth bearing in mind that serial writers can choose to redeem or condemn a character at any time. So, really, you can see all sides of a character, good, bad, and ugly.
The other problem with serials? There's no end in sight. And in order to get what you want - that particular character you love, you have to put up with the parts of the story and characters that you could care less about. For example? Say you are only watching Doctor Who for Doctor River Song or the Master or maybe one of the companions, you sort of have to put up with the other stuff to get the bits you want. OR a better example? Buffy - say you just like Spike or Angel or Xander or Willow, you have to put up with all the crap you don't like to get those moments. X-men is even worse, so too are daytime soaps. If you don't like 75=80% of the characters in a serial, you should give up. (I do. That's rule number 1 - I have to like 80% of the characters. Also for a serial - it helps if you are more character driven than plot driven. Since serials tend to be character driven, the writers often pull the plots out of their ass.)
What I love about them though - is no form of writing does character exploration better than a serial. Particularly a long-running serial. A long running serial that has a character for about 30-50 years, will show you every side of them imaginable over time, they'll also show how they evolve and change in personality. You may even see how different writers, performers, artists render and interpret that character. You get full in-depth characterization. No other form of writing can go quite that deep. Which in a nutshell is why I read and watch serials - because I am fascinated by character motivations and behavior.
2. What I'm reading now?
More like next. Since I just finished the above. I'm debating between various X-men comics that I recently grabbed. Also trying to decide if I should grab X-Force/Cable - The Messiah War -- or if I can just skip it, since it doesn't really have Cyclops in much of it, he just basically sends his covert ops team to the future on a rescue mission to save his son Cable and a baby, the hope for their species. But to do so, he puts the lives of three students that the team is attempting to rescue at risk. It looks convoluted and ultra-violent. Has anyone read it? If so, feel free to advise. (I doubt it, there's dead silence in response to any of my posts on the X-men. I basically talking to myself here.)
Anyhoo:
X-men Sisterhood
X-men Messiah War Prologue
Dark X-men/Avengers Utopia
And, I think for the train, a romance novel..one by Julie Anne Long, The Legend of Red Lymond. It's also part of a series, but in the romance genre, you can ignore the series, they tend to be stand-a-lone. Either that or another Sherry Thomas/Meredith Duran.
I'm also flirting with and have been for some time, "Uprooted" - the fantasy book suggested by flist.
Just not sure about the writer's style.