Image via WikipediaAlas, Babylon

Alas, Babylon!

By Pat Frank, 1959, from the library

You should know

I love good science fiction, and this is apparently considered among the best science fiction out there.

So?

In this story, the United States is hit by multiple nuclear attacks, and a small town in Florida narrowly misses being hit by fallout.  Randy Bragg, the protagonist, takes it on himself to protect and care for his family, his neighbors, and soon, the town.

In addition to being a compelling story (I read most of it in a single night), it is one that offers much to think about.  Much of the story is a product of its time, the late fifties, and it spins out what would be considered most valuable as time goes by.  No doubt you've thought to stock up on canned goods and bottled water in case of an emergency, but I for one never thought of salt, flour, yeast, or needles and thread.  Which I really should have.

There are some mildly sexist themes in the book, but nothing unexpected given the context (the women are considered strong and indispensable... but relatively useless when lacking the guidance of a man) and race issues are handled carefully, the author pointing out the issues of the 1950s south without becoming too preachy or self-satisfied when his heroes overcome their biases with ease. (NB: I say this as a white northerner, so feel free to disagree if your personal context allows you to see something I missed.)

It's a great post-apocalyptic survival tale, all told.

Rating

Read it if...
You like survival tales, post-apocalyptic fiction, or just really well-written fiction.

The rest of the Internet

A reflection on the book and its author, 50 years later.
LobaBlanca found Alas, Babylon to be far superior to The Road.
You can like the book on Facebook
Dhymna at Culinary Carnivale finds the book horribly underrated and overlooked on many lists of the best post-apocalyptic books.
Dame Durden at Dewey Decimal Shenanigans take issue with the idea that this is just another boring required-reading assignment.
Q at The Science Fiction Expert remarks on how optimistic the book is given the subject material.
The obligatoryWikipedia, LibraryThing and SparkNotes pages.

Image via Wikipedia

Abundance

By Sena Jeter Naslund, 2006, from the library

You should know

I'm not really into the French Revolution, but I do enjoy compelling biographies and well-written historical fiction from time to time.  This was recommended via Twitter.

So?

This is a novelized version of the life of Marie Antoinette.  I don’t know enough about her historical life to tell you how accurate it is or is not, but it was an engaging read.

The book begins as the Marie is leaving home for the first time to marry the young prince she has never met.  It continues as she adapts to French life in general and the royal court in specific, hears about wars and revolutions abroad and at home, and finally ends at the guillotine.  This is presumably not a spoiler, and if you didn’t know going in how it ends, shame on you.

Much of the book is presented in the form of letters between Marie and her family and confidantes.  This adds some nice outside perspective to a novel that is otherwise told from the protagonist’s point of view.

Rating

A pretty good beach read.
Much of it reads like a period romance novel, but the intrigue gives it a bit more weight.  Obviously, it doesn’t have a happy ending, but it’s light enough overall.

Cover of Westing GameDid you make it through my list of depressing books? If you did, I bet you could use a pick-me-up. I know I could.

Here are some lighter, more pleasant books I've picked out to help put a smile back on your face.

Books I've previously reviewed are linked to the appropriate post; in between are some quickie reviews.

1776

The Daring Book for Girls -- The female answer to The Dangerous Book for Boys touches on crafts and cooking, but also has great instructions for games, survival skills round-ups, and stories of real-life princesses who could wipe the floor with Cinderella. If you're a dude, hide the cover and get over yourself; it's fun, useful reading for all.

Gods Behaving Badly: A Novel -- The classical gods are living in London. Their powers are waning and they're bored. Their lives finally get interesting again when two mortals inadvertantly get sucked into their drama. A beach read.

Going Postal

Good Omens

Grayson -- A champion swimmer finds a baby gray whale who had been seperated from his mother. She manages to swim alongside him until the mother can be found. Short and sweet.

Little Evils (Sluggy Freelance)

Making Money

Offbeat Bride

Practical Demonkeeping -- An immortal everyman teams up with a Djinn to hunt down and capture a demon. A quick, fun read.

Project Everlasting: Two Bachelors Discover the Secrets of Americas Greatest Marriages -- Nonfiction. Two bachelors see marriages falling apart around them, and inspired by one author's grandparents, decide to roam the country in an RV and find out the secrets to long-lasting marriage. This book presentd their findings. Very uplifting.

Skipping Towards Gomorrah

The Tales of Beedle the Bard -- This companion to the Harry Potter series tells some fairy tales from the wizarding world. A few minor points stuck out to me (Hermione Granger seems too much of a prescriptivist to translate a singular personal pronoun, gender unknown, as "they"; she strikes me as the "he or she" type), but overall it's a cute book, well-suited for kids who are disappointed the series is complete, or who maybe aren't quite old enough for the last few books.

The Westing Game -- The heirs of the late recluse Sam Westing have absolutely nothing in common. They're an ethnically, socioeconomically diverse group with personalities that vary as much within families as between them. But they all have a shot at the estate of their "Uncle Sam" -- if they can figure out which of them killed him. Lots of fun.

The World of Jeeves

You Suck: A Love Story -- An average guy is turned into a vampire by his girlfriend, and the two of them have misadventures in dealing with a set of his-hers-and-theirs obstacles: his idiot friends, her ancient sire, and their new teenaged minion. Lots of fun.


So, go read one, have a laugh or a pleasant thought, and enjoy!

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I mentioned in a previous review that I'd read quite a few depressing books for book club.  Well, it's not just book club. 

Below is a round-up of some depressing books for days when you just want to wallow.  Books I've previously reviewed are linked to the appropriate post; in between are some quickie reviews.

You didn't think I only read one book a month, did you?!

9-11 Artists Respond

Angela's Ashes -- This book ticked off Ireland.  We know the young boy in the bad neighborhood with the troubled family eventually grows up and makes good, but when you read this book you have your doubts.  Doesn't quite live up to the hype, but still very good.

Birds Without Wings

Gilead -- A widowed minister remarries in old age and has a child with his much-younger second wife.  He then meanders through the book, contemplating his impending death and everything he wants his son to know.  Touching if you can get through it.

The Giver -- In a time and place where everything is the same, one person in the community must hold all of mankind's memories, to keep the leaders of the community from making bad decisions based on ignorance.  Jonas, at 12, has been chosen to fill this role.  Dark, thought-provoking, and a surprisingly quick read.

The Good Earth -- A poor man starts a family, manages to accumulate land a bit at a time, and finally gets rich.  Mo' money, mo' problems, anyone?  Another award-winner, and decently informative.

The Knitting Circle -- A woman experiences tragedy and her marriage starts to fall apart because of it.  She's convinced to join a knitting group, and learns that every member of the group has been through something horrific in one way or another.  Not just the little everyday hard stuff we all deal with, but, like, gang rape.  I'm not exaggerating.  Very chick-lit, if that's your thing.

Linden Hills -- Once upon a time, a community was founded for upwardly-mobile African-American families.  But generations of corrupt landlords and status-hungry tenants have turned this prestigious neighborhood into something vaguely resembling Dante's vision of Hell.  I read this for a
Theology class; we kind of focused on that metaphor.

Maus I and Maus II

The Memory Keeper's Daughter -- A doctor and his wife have twins.  One twin has Down's Syndrome.  Rather than raising the child, the doctor sends a nurse to take her a group home, and tells his wife their daughter died.  This pretty much ruins the life of all involved, with the exception of the daughter and, eventually, the nurse.  Addresses issues we might not think about.

Night -- What is it ab out the nature of God -- or the nature of Man -- that allowed young Elie to survive the Holocaust when so many others did not?  One of those books everyone should read.

Parable of the Sower -- A young woman with intriguing ideas about religion has to make her way across California with a destitute band of survivors after her gated community is destroyed.  Not an optimistic view of our future, but a great read.  Likewise its sequel, Parable of the Talents, in which all of the heroine's plans are destroyed and we lose a little sympathy with her.

The Road -- After the world as we know it ends, a father and his young son try to escape nuclear winter and find enough clean food and water to survive.  And excellent book, but not one to inspire optimism.

Silence -- Jesuit priests go to Japan to spread the gospel and find out what happened to one of their own who has gone missing.  It doesn't end well.  A fantastic translation, I'm told.

The Silent Woman

The Sparrow -- Oh, those wacky Jesuits are at it again.  This time, they travel to a planet where intelligent life has been discovered.  We learn on the first page that only one of them has survived, and he has been through hell.  I don't exaggerate. Actually one of my favorites, but hardly light and fluffy.

A Thread of Grace

Watchmen -- Sorry, but as awesome as this graphic novel is -- and it is, trust me -- it is not cheerful.  At all.  Don't tell me you saw the movie so you don't need to read the book.  It doesn't work that way.





So.  That ought to do it.  You go ahead and get all depressed, while I see what I can find to cheer us up.  Enjoy!

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Image via Wikipedia

Birds Without Wings

Well, it's not entirely depressing. The plot centers around the people of a small village in the pre-World War I Ottoman Empire. The population of the town is made up of a mix of Christians and Muslims, and while officially there's some animosity between the two groups, on a practical level friendships, and even marriages, cross the religious lines all the time.

When the war starts, the Muslim men are rounded up to fight. One boy, Karatavuk, lies about his age to that he can enlist in his father's place; his best friend, Mehmetcik, a Christian, tries to enlist as well but is turned away, only to end up as a laborer.

Another Muslim boy is deeply affected by his military service, and it has tragic consequences on his engagement to a beautiful Christian girl.

Stories of the town and the war are interspersed with historical tellings of the life of Mustafa Kemal, the man who would eventually be known as Attaturk.

I definitely liked some chapters more than others. I don't mind first-person storytelling at all (the book jumps between first and third person), but when the narrator is a small child and the storytelling, as a result, is ungrammatical and unpunctuated, it gets old fastt.

Overall, it's not a bad book; it's even compelling at times. It's not light and happy, though, so it'll probably appeal more if you're either itnerested in the subject, or would like to learn more about it.

Rating

Skip it unless...

The rest of the Internet

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• Turkey and Armenia set for ties (news.bbc.co.uk)

Image via Wikipedia

The Rest of the Internet

Appellation Mountain chose Bertram as its Name of the Day.
Flashlight Worthy recommends the Best of P.G. Wodehouse.

Image via Wikipedia

Lonesome Dove : A Novel

By Larry McMurtry, 1985, from the library

You should know
I've never seen any of the Lonesome Dove miniseries or movies. I think I'd like to, though.

So?
This Western novel opens at the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium, run by former Texas Rangers Augustus McCrae and Woodrow F. Call, with their hands and fellow Rangers Joshua Deets and Pea Eye Parker, plus Newt Dobbs, a 17-year-old boy of indeterminate paternity who has been raised on the ranch since the death of his mother.

Life on the ranch is tough but relatively quiet, full of hard work, whiskey, and frequent trips to the nearby town of Lonesome Dove, the home of Lorraine, the town's beloved prostitute.

But the quiet is broken when Jake Spoon, an old friend of Call and Gus, comes back to town with stories of the unsettled northern territories. Call wants to go and settle the first ranch in Montana. Gus wants to track down his old sweetheart, who settled in the North. Lorraine falls in love with Jake, and Newt begins to suspect that Jake might be his father. The men of Hat Creek round up cattle and hands for the journey, and leave Texas, most of them permanently.

So the group heads north, meeting American Indians, cattle thieves, traders, soldiers, and a completely bewildered sheriff. They also face quite a bit of death, and a terrifying showdown with a bear.

McMurtry won a Pulitzer for this book, so if my description sounds even remotely interesting, you should consider reading it. I'm not into Westerns, but I really enjoyed it.

Rating
Read it.
This book was excellent, and despite being pretty long, it was a fast read. I highly recommend it.

The rest of the Internet
The Wikipedia and LibraryThing pages.
Amy Coffin at The Book Haven enjoyed, but was exhausted by, the book.
Keetha at Write Kudzu waxes enthusiastic about the book.
A blogger is coverted from a "no-Westerns" policy by the book at Bend the Round.
Bonnie at Fourth-Rate Reader was constantly surprised by the directions the narrative took.
Jim Schmaltz at Memory Almost Full is impressed by the sheer number of complex, fleshed-out characters.

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The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
By Alan Moore, 2002, from the library

You should know
I’ve never actually seen the movie; I’ve heard it wasn’t very good and don’t have a lot of interest in seeing it, though I am willing to check it out if someone were to recommend it highly enough.

I had heard very good things about the graphic novel, though, so I thought I’d check it out.

So?
In the universe of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, every character worth noticing is either an established literary character (typically from the public domain), or is strongly hinted to be related to one, as in the case of Campion Bond, who is suggested to be the grandfather of the still-very-much-copyrighted James Bond.

Our heroes (or antiheroes, or villains working with heroes, as you like) are Wilhelmina Murray, from Bram Stoker’s Dracula; Allan Quatermain from King Solomon's Mines and its sequels; Captain Nemo from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; and Hawley Griffin], the Invisible Man. They are gathered by Bond and Mycroft Holmes to stop the unnamed-due-to-copyright Fu Manchu from using a war machine to strike against the British Empire.

This volume seems to be designed primarily to introduce the main cast to the readers; some may not be familiar with all the characters, and others may not expect the twists the authors give to their old favorites.

The back of the book is filled with ads, puzzles, and serial stories designed to evoke the Victorian setting in which the graphic novel proper takes place. They’re definitely worth a look, but are by no means the main attraction.

Rating
Good… for grown-ups
I suspect the more familiar you are with the many, many sources of material, the more you’ll enjoy the story. I went in knowing a bit about most of the characters and nothing at all about a few, and there were none with which I was familiar in any kind of depth. I still enjoyed it, but I’m somewhat tempted to read some of the source material and then come back to the series (and read the sequels while I’m at it).

It’s definitely not appropriate for children, though. In fact…

A bit of advice
So. In case you missed the memo, comic books aren’t necessarily for kids anymore. I’d say this one absolutely is not for kids, in fact. Gory, graphic violence, including rape… parents, if your child has any interest in reading this book, please read it first so that you can decide if it’s appropriate, and so you can be prepared for any fallout.

Graphic novels are books. They are books with pictures, they are comic books, but they are, in fact, books. You wouldn’t let your child read every single book he or she picked up, and you probably shouldn’t. Don’t assume that graphic novels are any different just because there are pictures.

The rest of the Internet
Wikipedia Pages.
The Wold Newton Universe is another case where pretty much any work of fiction you can think of in interrelated.
Jess Nevins et al collect notes and annotations on the comic. A good resource if you're reading the comic and just can't place that one guy...
Charles Prepolec at Baker Street Dozen gears his review of the comic to fans of Sherlock Holmes.

Awesome site of the week
Every morning, I read the comics. Some days, it's the only part of the newspaper I have time to read. I follow the serials and in some cases can recognize some pretty obscure characters; I smirk at the one-shots. There's about a half-doze Get Fuzzy strips on my computer that I fully intend to print out one of these days.

But that early in the morning, I just don't have the energy for snark; later, I don't feel like revisiting the same strips I read earlier that day. And let's face it: not every paper carries every strip.

That's where Josh, the Comics Curmudgeon, comes in. He, as the tagline puts it, reads the comics so you don't have to.

The comics may not always make you laugh, but Josh will. After all, this is the man who brought you Aldomania!

To Kill a Mockingbird
1962, on DVD, from the library

You should know
I’m working my way through AFI’s Top 100 movies. This one currently ranks 25 (up from #34 in 1997) – not to mention #2 most inspiring, #17 best score, and #1 hero for Atticus Finch.

Also, this is my 100th post. Whoo-hoo!

So?

Even now, Atticus Finch comes across as a fairly nontraditional parent; I can only imagine how he would have seemed when the move first came out – or, for that matter, when the book was first published. On that note, I really need to read the book, don’t I?

If you’re not familiar with it, the story is about a single father and his family. The kids are intrigued by their secretive neighbor; the father is a lawyer defending an African-American man in rather racist criminal trial. The movie follows the summer and autumn during which these events occur.

I do have a question: Scout is telling the story, right? So when she says that her brother Jem never told anyone about something that happened to him, that she did not witness, how does she know it to tell it in this story?

Other than that nagging issue, the movie was quite enjoyable. Was it deserving of so many accolades? Possibly; it’s hard to tell the impact of a film so many decades later (viewers who see The Matrix for the first time are already growing unimpressed with the special effects, for instance, and it’s only eight years later).

Rating
See it…
…if only so that you can say you did. Personally, I enjoyed the film, but even if it doesn’t sound like your thing, there’s a lot to be said for having a working familiarity with the canon of your culture.

The rest of the Internet
The Wikipedia pages for the novel and film.
Lots of study guides for To Kill a Mockingbird (warning: some of these have pop-up ads).
And those were just for the book. This is for the film.
Flash movie: How to Kill a Mockingbird.
Excellent reviews at Rotten Tomatoes.
Paco Malo at Gold Coast Blue Note was inspired by the movie.
ACR at My Take reflects on the camerawork.
MusicAndShowGirl at Blogs and Such compares the film to the book.

Awesome link of the week
Dumb Little Man has a list of ways we can keep the best parts of the holiday season alive all year. More plants? More letters? I'm in! I hope everyone's holidays have been great, and don't forget: technically, Christmas isn't over 'til Epiphany!

Driving Miss Daisy
1989, on VHS, from the library

You should know
Yeah, that’s right. There’s a whole slew of classic movies – a canon, really – that I have not seen, or had not until recently. I’m trying to correct that.

So?
Some people have problems with this film. Yes, Hoke has an air of “Magical Black Man” about him that can make the viewer a bit uncomfortable if s/he is looking for it. But since the plot of the movie is about race relations and employee-employer friendships, all tied up with an idealistic bow, that really comes as no surprise.

Daisy Werthan is a wealthy Southern Jewish woman with what’s made clear early on is far too much pride for her own good. No longer able to drive, she has no choice but to accept the services of the driver her son, Boolie, hired for her.

Hoke, the driver, is as meek and polite as he’s expected to be given the place and time, but as he gets to know the Werthans better, he rapidly picks up on exactly how much BS he can – and should – put up with. This being the movies, Daisy finds herself respecting and even liking him, in spite of herself.

Their partnership evolves as they age and the times change, and in the end, there is a tenderness between them in their advanced old age. It’s a sweet, if slightly cheesy, film.

Question to those who’ve seen it: do you think, in retrospect, it deserved to beat Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, or My Left Foot?

Rating
See it if...
You're like me and are trying to catch up on pop-culture canon... or if you just like a nice, simple story. But avoid it if you have a tendency toward finding things offensive when no offense was meant -- again, the movie is about race relations, so if you're looking to be offended, you will definitely be able to find something offensive here.

The rest of the Internet
The original play.
The IMDb page and wikipedia article.
Decent reviews at Rotten Tomatoes.
Roger Ebert weighs in.

Awesome link of the week
The Simple Dollar is a personal finance blog I've come to particularly like. The author, Trent, pulled himself out of financial ruin and takes the time each day to share his experiences, from how to have fun while pinching pennies to what personal finance books he finds most useful. He's an entertaining writer, and is always willing to reference fellow bloggers and take on challengers. I personally have bookmarked posts on Maximizing EBay sales, building a net worth spreadsheet, making homemade laundry detergent, free, fun weekend activities and other frugal weekend projects, ways to make leftovers better, indoor gardening, and writing thank-you notes.

Completely unrelated note
I'm considering changing the template of this blog, but I've been having some trouble uploading any of the ones I've picked out. I'm open to help or suggestions (and I wouldn't turn down a template, either, but don't go to any trouble).

Cover via Amazon

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began

1992, by Art Spiegelman, from the library

You should know

Ever since I read the first volume of Maus, I’ve wanted to read the sequel – and more than one person has recommended I do so.

So?

Speigelman continues to tell – and draw – the story of his Holocaust-survivor father, Vladek. The older man is ornery and not in the best of health; in the process of gathering the story, Spiegelman (or at least the “Artie” character based on the author) must balance his father’s needs and wants, his stepmother’s troubles and concerns, and the needs of his own young family.
This half of the story opens when Artie and his wife (a French convert to Judaism who remarks on her own anthropomorphization) are called away from their vacation to visit Vladek, who just had a heart attack – or so the younger Spiegelmans are told. In fact, Artie’s stepmother Mala has left Vladek – and here troubles of a less life-threatening sort being.
The beginning of the flashbacks parallels this – Vladek is separated from his first wife, Anja, Artie’s mother, when they arrive at Auschwitz. Vladek keeps himself going by devising ways to keep in touch with Anja, which involves making trades with a Polish kapo – English lessons for supplies and help. In the present, Vladek takes frugality to extremes, returning used food as “damaged,” and making nasty comments about his African-American neighbors. Artie feels like nothing he does is ever good enough, that amazing success in the contemporary world is nothing compared to Vladek just surviving as long as he has, and Vladek doesn’t do much to contradict those feelings.
The artwork is consistent with that of the first volume; the characters, drawn as animals (Jews are portrayed as mice, Poles pigs, Germans cats, Americans dogs, and French frogs), are just alien enough to make the horror bearable to the reader. Far more familiar is Artie’s frustration – he just doesn’t know what to do with his father, whose phenomenal survival skills translate to something a bit more obnoxious in late-20th-century America. The past and present converge again when the book ends – Vladek survives the camps, and Artie survives the telling, both scarred but strong.

Rating

Read it
But only once you’ve read the first part. Better yet, if you haven’t read either volume, get your hands on the boxed set, and read both as one whole work.

The rest of the Internet

The Wikipedia entry discusses the animal characters at length.

Cover of Abraham: The First Historical Biography

Abraham: The First Historical Biography

By David Rosenberg, 2006, hardback, from the library

You should know

I was a theology minor, and have always done well with religion or theology classes in school. As a small child, my bedtime stories were Bible stories.

So?

This was an intriguing book. Rosenberg uses what has been discovered about ancient Sumer to construct a biography of Abraham and his family, their journey to Canaan, and their shifting relationship with God.

However, I took issue with a few premises.

Because of the culture, Rosenberg assumes Abraham was well-educated, and manages to justify this assumption fairly well - Sumer, as it turns out, was an advanced, literate society. However, Rosenberg takes it step farther, insisting that that Abraham’s father, Terah, was a sculptor of city idols (according to Wikipedia, this is a Midrash story, but Rosenberg doesn't get into this), and that Abraham was a scribe. The Abraham-as-scribe part is decently justified, but the rest is less so.

Another point I wasn’t sure about is the description of Abraham’s wife. Sarah is said to be Abraham’s half-sister (though Rosenberg is unclear which parent they share, one would assume it’s Terah), based on Abraham’s telling authority figures just that story in order to save his own life, as well as on a specific kind marriage contract that makes a man’s wife legally his sister as well. These are interesting points, but not points that have me quite convinced of the premise – then again, I’m not a history scholar, so I might be missing something. Also, Rosenberg claims that Sarah made the clothing for the city idols – based largely on the premise that she was part of Terah’s family, and that’s what the family did. Again, an interesting interpretation, but one I found lacking in evidence.

Of course, Lot is also once referred to as Abraham’s half-brother, and that came out of nowhere and went nowhere, with no justification – especially since Rosenberg agreed with scripture that Lot’s father was Abraham’s brother. The implications there… well, they're rather Oedipal.

One extremely interesting aspect of the book was the way the evolution of Abraham’s God paralleled Abraham’s own life. Rosenberg suggests that Yahweh was originally one of Terah’s household gods, which rose in both esteem and ability as Abraham found himself in a new land with a new role in life. A third parallel is the narrative of the narrative; that is, the tale of how the story as we know it got passed on. Rosenberg is an authority on at least this point: he is one of the translators of The Book of J, one of the proto-texts for the Book of Genesis we have now. Different storytellers recast the events for different audiences, leading to eventual inconsistencies of action and character on the part of both Abraham and Yahweh.

I don’t know whether to call it wise or cowardly (they’re hardly mutually exclusive), but Rosenberg is also very careful never to take a stand on Yahweh. I for one could not quite tell if he believed in the Abrahamic God of today or in a family statue that somehow gained worldwide worship. As a historian, he probably made the right choice, but given his speculation in other areas, this lack of solid stance was disappointing.

More disappointing, though, were a few errors I noticed – inconsistencies in the way proper names were spelled, for instance. This stood out as sloppy, and will hopefully be corrected in future editions.

Rating

Well, I liked it…
…But I don’t believe it’s everyone’s thing. It’s a slow read, and the information I outlined above barely scratches the surface of the subject material. If you’re interested in theology or history, or just want to soak up some random knowledge for a cocktail party, you’ll find plenty. But this is only a beach read if you like them mindful, rather than mindless.

The rest of the Internet

Abraham's Wikipedia page.
Entries on Abraham in the Jewish Virtual Library and Catholic Encyclopedia.
How much do you know about Abraham? I got a 100%, though I had to guess once or twice.
The book's page at LibraryThing.
A Publisher's Weekly interview with the author.
JD at Point Pleasant enjoys the book and reflects on his own patriarchy.

March of the Penguins
2005, on DVD, from the library.

You should know
There are few things on earth, if any, that are cuter than baby penguins. But you already knew that.

So?
Sadly, the baby penguins, while appropriately adorable, were the most memorable part of the film. The story is that of penguin migration, the march of young adults from the feeding waters to the thickest, most solid part of the ice where they live. Here, there is something of a convention of penguins, who meet to mate and raise their young.

And there’s danger from starvation and predators, and eggs fail to hatch and chicks freeze to death. Parents who lose their young mourn, and then leave the breeding ground to return to their childfree lives. The babies that make it through their infancy are then left to make it on their own. They won’t breed for a few more years, and it’s likely their parents won’t survive long enough to see them at the breeding ground. Add in the fact that penguins are monogamous, but only for one season at a time, and that means that each family, as close and caring as it is, only exists for a few months.

Morgan Freeman’s narration – at least in the American version, I can’t comment on the original French – brings the perfect amount of authority to the narrative. Unfortunately, that authority comes with a sense of calm that does not underscore the drama; instead it almost downplays it. As interesting as the visuals and narrative were, the film still failed to hold my attention the way I had expected. If you’re having game night and want a film on for entertaining background noise, this is the way to go. If you want something that will captivate your attention and really engage you for two hours, though, you might want to pass.

Rating
Worth a view
Though it’s not the most engrossing film I’ve ever seen, it entertained and informed. And there’s nothing cuter than a baby penguin.

The rest of the Internet
The IMDb page.
The Wikipedia page.
Great reviews at Rotten Tomatoes.
Roger Ebert reflects on penguins.
An interview with the director at National Geographic News.
The Onion has an editorial.
Penguins and Intelligent Design.
An enthusiastic review at Instacritic.
SenseList offers 9 Films Featuring Penguins.

Kockroach: A Novel

By Tyler Knox, 2006, from the library

You should know

I first heard of this book after reading a review in the Inquirer.

And no, I haven’t read Kafka’s Metamorphosis.

So?

Kockroach is a cockroach who wakes up one day as a human.
Cockroaches are survivors, so Kockroach begins using his roachy instincts to survive in the human world. He learns to walk, then to speak. He learns to dress himself, to hold a conversation, and soon to make money, speculate in real estate, and dabble in politics. Every aspect of his live, from food to language to sex, is compared by Kockroach -- aka Jerry Blatta -- to its roachy counterpart.  He is joined by his disciple, Mite, and his sometime girlfriend Celia, from whose perspective several chapters are written – Mite’s chapters are even written in the first person.
 
At the bottom corner of each page is a little drawing that shifts, flipbook-style, from a roach to a man. I may not be up on my Kafka, but this is a device I recognize from the Animorphs series.

Now, just from browsing the Amazon.com page (linked above), it seems I would have benefited greatly from having read Metamorphosis. Even so, I really enjoyed the story. The major conceit is great, and the gangster story in which is unfolds is surprisingly compelling. It was slightly predictable, but that didn’t make it less fun.

Rating

Read it
It’s a very entertaining book, and I recommend it.
In fact, let’s make a deal. You read this, I’ll read Kafka, we’ll compare notes.

The rest of the Internet

Beware of spoilers...
A review at USA Today.
Lisa G at Estella's Revenge greatly enjoyed the book.
A great study guide at BookBrowse, if you decide to read this one with your book club.
The book's official site.
At Campaign for the American Reader, the Page 69 test is applied to the novel.
A fine review at The New York Times.
Evan Gillespie at WhatzUp did not seem very impressed.
Knox reflects on being Knox.

Sideways
2004, on DVD, from the library

You should know
I enjoy wine, Paul Giamatti, and Sandra Oh.

So?
I’m glad there’s at least a slight ray of hope in this film. While it was entertaining, it seemed to have the message that life sucks, and we are incapable of doing anything about that. Not the stuff of escapism, certainly.

Jack is getting married, and to celebrate, his college roommate, Miles, is taking him on a weeklong tour of California wine country. Miles is still recovering from a painful divorce and awaiting word on the publication of his novel, so Jack has resolved to get Miles some action on their trip. They meet up with Maya, a graduate student Miles knows from previous wine-and-writing trips, and her friend, Stephanie, who hits it off with Jack. Of course, Jack is getting married. Hijinks ensue, as hijinks tend to do, but with a ton of angst and depression mixed in.

It was an interesting movie. I actually learned a bit about the proper way to taste wine (if it’s actually not the proper way, don’t tell me!), and I laughed out loud at certain points.

Rating
Check it out
It wasn’t the most fun movie I’ve ever seen, and it’s really not one for the kids, but overall there really wasn’t anything wrong with it. It told a story, used characters that you can care about even as you realize you’d never be able to stand them in real life, and it entertains. That’s the most important thing.

The rest of the Internet
Beware of spoilers...
The IMDbpage.
The Wikipedia page.
Great reviews at Rotten Tomatoes.
Slate's wine columnist weighs in on the movie and its wines.
The Sideways Wine Club.
A reviewer at Salon disliked the movie, and comes very close to insulting those who like it.
An article on Santa Barbara, where the film is set.
Maurice at Antihelden reflects on Sideways and road trips.