OS Book Club Pt II

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

Not counting the past 4-5 months - I typically try and stay on top of at least the top 20 or so books on my To Read list. I generally have some list or idea of what I want to read in my head of about 5 books at any time.

I've done a terrible job this year, though. Hard to look too far in the future right now. I have also done a terrible job on current stuff this year apart from two memoirs that I still have to read.

Maybe a word document would be better. I don't know. I would need some kind of tagging system to find quotes for various things. When we were working in office I kept a monthly quote on my wall calendar that I would change to something I had read.

And maybe its a product of me not keeping track, but not marking anything in the books it seems like I'm finding fewer quotes and passages that I would want to go back to anyway.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

I have been familiar with this story since I was a kid and teachers would put on the animated cartoon movie around Halloween as a treat. The things I remember most about the movie is the basic premise of the story - which is essentially a time-travel trip of a history lesson about how Halloween has evolved. Outside of that things are perfectly hazy.

The book itself is very much about Halloween and its iterations throughout the years. Bradbury's tale is semi-glossed over similar to the movie, but he doesn't necessarily beat away from the humans killing other humans and scattering their broken cultures - and at times - even integrating aspects of those defeated cultures into the conquering's culture and traditions. At its core Halloween is very much about death and the core of Bradbury's tale is very much the same.

Throughout the book there is a cloud hanging over the group of boys as they navigate time with Mr. Moundshroud as their guide. Its an unspoken anxiety. A fearful thought they are scared to speak into existence. The fear of death suddenly makes itself known to these boys who are still in the prime of their innocence. With their childhood still a long shadow in front of them - to think it could suddenly be cut short. A terrible thought. This thought builds a palpable tension throughout the book. Bradbury is on top of his game here. He seems to revel in the tension of growing out of innocence and the horror of growing up and forgetting. Relishing in the painful tinges of nostalgia.

The book itself is a tight, concise read. The edition I read was larger print with a handful of illustrations included - basically it could be read in a night or two. In another author's hands I could see this story being overtly childish and whitewashed, but Bradbury strikes a fine balance between being a children's story and being a childhood story. Similar to Something Wicked This Way Comes in that regard. His poetic verse and knack for using the right word to strike that nostalgia pain is just as powerful here. Perhaps more so since the book is so concise and paces itself as constantly moving forward at the speed of adolescent boys full of energy and life in full-sprint.

I still prefer Something Wicked This Way Comes, but I very much welcome the thought of reading both books or one or the other as a Halloween reading tradition.

I have not yet started The Power Broker and have been going through a handful of Batman trades: The Court of Owls and The City of Owls by Scott Snyder and Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

Every week I go to the post office by my office and then swing by the office to pick up any mail that's accumulated during the week. The only thing really left in my office is an empty bookcase, my filing cabinet, a table, and my desk table which now only has a docking station and telephone on it. The only thing left on the walls is a dry-erase wall calendar that has not been updated since March. I always forget the actual quote by the time I get home, but everytime I go in and read it I have to laugh. It just dawned on me that I most likely included it on my post about the book and I did.

From Maya Angelou's Heart of a Woman:

I had to trust life, since I was young enough to believe that life loved the person who dared to live it.

What a crazy year this has been. I was glancing through some of the books I read at the beginning of the year and posted about in here. It feels like a lifetime ago already.

We've been watching Lovecraft Country on HBO Max. It is both entirely different from the book, but also very much the same. All the themes are definitely there and the overall narrative is largely the same. Its been awhile since I actually read the book, but I think the show does a great job of meshing everything together for a wholly unique viewing experience. It certainly pulls in familiar influences, but the whole puzzle together is fascinating and feels fresh.

Not to mention my girl, Jurnee. The actor playing Atticus, Jonathan Majors, gives me Denzel Washington vibes in a lot of scenes. Anyway - definitely recommend it to any fans of the book or Lovecraft lore.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

I started The Power Broker and this will probably be the last book of 2020, because this thing is a brick and a half. The introduction is 20-25 pages and works as an overview of Robert Moses's career "in power" and his personality. Basically, the man influenced urban and suburban development across the country by what he managed to do in and around New York City.

I'm thinking I might need a "lighter read" to accompany it, but I always have a hard time juggling multiple books and giving fair time to each.

Instead, I've been going through some more Batman TPBs. I finished up The Death of the Family from Snyder and started Batman and Son by Grant Morrison. Both authors share similarities (a compelling grasp on Batman's history and mythos), but the end result is strikingly different. Morrison definitely writes with an almost tongue-in-check style as he boils down Batman to some ridiculous points. Snyder goes in the opposite direction with a more grounded, character driven Bats. Both are enjoyable, but I can see why some wouldn't go back to those grand-arcs from the late 90s and early 00s.

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

Lost Stars by Claudia Gray


This one had one major plus going in and one major minus: the plus was that it's a Star Wars book, the minus is that it's YA. Being in the SW universe I think is cheating a little bit, this took place over the span of the original trilogy up to the beginning of 7 and followed 2 kids (a boy and a girl) that grew up idolizing the Empire and believing it to be the good side, growing up as pilots, going through the academy, doing Star Wars stuff. I liked it a lot honestly. I can't ignore how much the setting makes the book, there's a part in the beginning when one of the kids dances with the princess and if that was Princess Barbara instead of Leia would I have cared? Hard to say, but I thought it was a pretty cool use of the license, telling the same story we all know from a different angle, it's cute. I would read the sequel.



A Promised Land by Barack Obama

Spoiler

This book is not going to change anyone's opinion on Obama, but if you want to hear it straight from the horse's mouth, there's no better place to go. You can tell it's him because there is not a detail spared, dude told the editor "don't even try it", I mean this would be long if it covered his entire presidency, but it only covers a little of his origin and then the first 4 years. I read Dreams from my Father a few years ago so there's a fair bit of redundant information in the beginning, but when he gets into the campaign and presidency, he is taking you through every second. You get to know every character, down to a physical description like he's writing a novel. He is a good writer, it didn't really hit me that he was going as hard as he was with the detail until he described Lindsey Graham's face as "puggish" and I laughed for a good minute at how accurate that was.



He talks a lot about how he dealt with being given undeserved accolades as early as he was like the Nobel and just how far people's expectation's and vision of him differed from the reality as time went on. He is super reflective, corny even at times. If you've seen the excerpts about him reading to try to get girls in college you'll know what I mean, there's a decent amount of "you could've kept that in the draft" for me, but I went in looking for specific things, mainly the process of the bailout and how he saw the first 2 years in his presidency. If you think there was an alternative to an action he took, he more than likely talks about it, how much they took it into consideration, and why it wouldn't have worked. I wish there was more details on that stuff and less on random visits to other countries but it is what it is. Another thing is I listened to the audiobook for parts of it and there's some parts of the book that I would rather have not heard in his voice, i.e. his aide telling him barging into a meeting when a Chinese leader was ducking him that it "was pretty gangster".



I think his origin stood out to me a lot in this book because he talks a lot about how much his grandma and mom meant to him and it made me realize the house he was raised in. He mentions at one point that even growing up he was always trying to tell people of one race that the other wasn't so bad and having to do it both ways, dude was born to compromise. And he talks about how that played into his trying to get bipartisan support for a lot of his initiatives from the beginning. I have a White family friend who has been around since I was born and is functionally my 3rd grandma, and she's always had a presence in my life but never a ton of influence necessarily. It just made me realize how different I would probably see things had I been raised by her and her son, and made me think of Little Fires.

Spoiler

"I saw how the tremendous energy of the movement couldn't be sustained without structure, organization, and skills in governance. I saw how a political campaign based on racial redress, no matter how reasonable, generated fear and backlash and ultimately placed limits on progress. And in the rapid collapse of Harold's coalition after his death, I saw the danger of relying on a single charismatic leader to bring about change.



"It wasn't that people didn't know the difference between good and bad policy. It just didn't matter. What everyone in Springfield understood was that 90 percent of the time the voters back home weren't paying attention. A complicated but worthy compromise, bucking party orthodoxy to support an innovative idea - that could cost you a key endorsement, a big financial backer, a leadership post, or even an election."


"It wasn't until I was a teenager that I understood just how far my grandmother's life had strayed from the path she'd once imagined; bow much of herself she had sacrificed, first for her husband, then for her daughter, then for her grandchildren. It struck me as quietly tragic, how cramped her world seemed."


"Every generation is limited by what it knows. Those of us who were part of the movement, giants like Martin, lieutenants and foot soldiers like me...we are the Moses generation. We marched, we sat in, we went to jail, sometimes in defiance of our elders, but we were in fact building on what they had done. We got us out of Egypt, you could say. But we could only travel so far.



You, Barack, are part of the Joshua generation. You and others like you are responsible for the next leg of the journey. Folks like me can offer the wisdom of our experience. Perhaps you can learn from some of our mistakes. But ultimately it will be up to you, with God's help, to build on what we've done, and lead our people and this country out of the wilderness." Dr. Otis Moss (I like this analogy, but it's kinda disrespectful to Harriet and Frederick and them lol, they're probably the Moses generation)

Getting into Leviathan Wakes next, mostly because I want to watch the Expanse but I have to read the books first.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

Did anybody get any books for Christmas or have any reading oriented resolutions for 2021?

After ****ting the bed from May to pretty much the end of year I decided to set a weekly reading goal of 100 pages. Which is about ~15 pages a day. Should be doable. Of course The Power Broker would account for 1/4 of my yearly total whenever I finish this beast - so not sure if that's a low bar or not. It feels low, but according to Goodreads my page total for 2020 was only 3820.

I only read 11 books, but looking back they were some heavy hitters:

Spoiler

The Shining by Stephen King
The Tao of Wu by RZA
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou

I'm currently reading Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - which shouldn't take too long. Along with that I also got the Broken Earth trilogy by NK Jemisin and some odds and ends type of things. I have a bunch from last year I never got to.

I've decided in order to help parse down my interest in the voluminous genre that is sci fi and fantasy that any "young adult" series will need super high praise for me to pick it up. Too much of the same arch-types running around this genre and the young adult protagonist feels completely basic.

With that said - does anyone have any recommendations for more mature sci fi/fantasy readings? I have the Song of Fire and Ice, Lord of the Rings, and a handful of others like The Witcher, but its hard finding something that doesn't feature a teenager on the cusp of "destiny."

[JohnnytheSkin]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

With that said - does anyone have any recommendations for more mature sci fi/fantasy readings? I have the Song of Fire and Ice, Lord of the Rings, and a handful of others like The Witcher, but its hard finding something that doesn't feature a teenager on the cusp of "destiny."

Don't bother with Ice and Fire as it's unfinished, and the show **** the bed with the final few seasons as you'll want an ending. Lord of the Rings is classic due to how Tolkien created so many of the fantasy tropes and archetypes, but a recent reread was a slog. I loved all the Witcher books, and if the games piqued your interest you'd be well served. There are two books of short stories, one side story to read after (Season of Storms), and then a full five book narrative arc with all the mains from the series. CDPR did a masterful job translating the world.

That being said, my recommendation would be The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. It's finished, the author has a few side books in the world, and has completed two of a planned sequel trilogy without the BS delays of GRRM and Patrick Rothfuss (why I haven't read Name of the Wind). It features three main point of view characters, is grim and dark, has some magic but nearly all of it is real and gritty, characters feel like actual people and grow realistically, and one is named Logen Ninefingers, one of the best names period.



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[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

Love Lord of the Rings even with all the extra detail and seemingly "useless" scenes. I've read the short stories for The Witcher and have the first (and possibly second) book from the series, but haven't started that before.

I read the first 3 (or 4) GoT books during the first and second season. They are great reads, for the most part, but I got frustrated with the show by the middle of the series and bailed. I'd be surprised if he ever finishes the series.

[KSUowls]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

As much as I love the lotr movies, I haven't been able to finish the first book. I'm a total binge reader. When I pick up a book I read it cover to cover almost without fail. It took me like 3 days to get though 150 pages of Fellowship, and I haven't gone back to it since. It crawls along at a snail's pace.

For Christmas I did pick up the first 4 books in the Horus Heresy within the Warhammer 40k universe. I'm a fan of sci fi and I've long wanted to get into those stories. Going to get into them soon.

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[dickey1331]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

To me the Lord of the Rings books are overrated.

I really like the game of thrones books. Way better than the show but we will probably never get the end.


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[DieHardYankee26]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

I feel like Tolkien is to fantasy what Shakespeare is to English in general, I hear people talk way more about the impact of the LOTR books than the quality. Like I know people like them (love them even) but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone say it’s their favorite book.

The Xenogenesis Trilogy by Octavia Butler is great. A stand-alone I have on my list that I’ve heard tons of praise for is Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin, I haven’t read it so I can’t speak to it personally but I haven’t seen a bad impression yet.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

The one book I wanted that I didn't get for Christmas was an Ursula K. Le Guin; A Wizard of Earthsea. It's the first of a six book series called the Earthsea cycle. The summary struck a chord with me for some reason.

Reading the summary for Left Hand of Darkness sounds great. Gotta add that.

I need to go back through my goodreads list, too. I know I have some fantasy series that are more akin to medieval historical fiction at this point.

[Executor]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

The War against the Chtorr from David Gerrold is the absolute best sci-fi series I have ever read. Too bad we will never get an ending to that, though.

Peter F. Hamilton's The Reality Dysfunction is also a worthy read, though not nearly on a level of Gerrold.

On the fantasy side, the Noble Dead saga from Barb and JC Hendee is fun (especially first six books), too. Not a monumental, Tolkien-like read for sure, but fun nonetheless.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

I was surprised this had come out so recently (September 2020) because I honestly did a piss-poor job of keeping up with any new release last year especially new books. In a short amount of time it's developed a little bit of hype. I have not read Clarke's highly lauded Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell so I basically went in with little expectation apart from the abstract comparison of similarities to Madeline Miller's Circe which was a superb read.

Apart from the style of writing - both books are presented as journals or memoir of sorts - there's really not much similar to Circe. The themes explored are certainly similar (self identity and awareness, repetitious design, a trapped world, etc), but overall this is a book that is more than capable of standing on it's own. Acting as a journal for Piranesi (or so the character in the book is called) as he travels throughout his never-ending labyrinth of vestibules and towers filled with statues and tidal seas. There is evidence of previous life and one other person inhabits the labyrinth along with Piranesi - The Other.

The book quickly pulls you into the labyrinth enticing the reader with fantastic imagery and a heaping sense of mysticism that is always lightly lapping at the border of the pages like the tides surrounding the labyrinth. Piranesi navigates through each corridor and vestibule with descriptive grace that makes for some truly mesmerizing passages that were easy to read four or five times before moving on. Once Piranesi has properly introduced the reader to his world the narrative truly begins.

Without revealing too much of the actual narrative I'll instead focus on the themes that hit with the biggest impact while I was reading. Themes revolving around depression and anxiety are abundant. The labyrinth itself with its never-ending walls and statues is a perfect representation of these mental fatigues and illnesses. Having been through some rough spells last year this book felt like the perfect way to tie up 2020 and put it on the shelf. There's a sense of lunacy just beneath the surface throughout and its easy to waffle between whether this narrator can be truly trusted or not. Piranesi himself isn't sure. He shows vivid self-awareness throughout, but when going back to some of his earlier journals he has triggering moments of doubt and forgetfulness which ultimately results in him questioning his own identity and sanity. Its certainly capable of being the journal of a madman with a crippling mental illness, but then again it also asks "who the **** isn't mentally unstable at times?"

The narrative was fascinating throughout and played out without giving away its own plan. By the end its created a world not necessarily to escape to, but a world that acts as a mirror helping one to escape their own mental weariness.

I highly recommend this one.

Spoiler

The enormity of this task sometimes makes me feel dizzy, but as a scientist and an explorer I have a duty to bear witness to the Splendours of the World.

I realised that the search for the Knowledge has encouraged us to think of the House as if it were a sort of riddle to be unraveled, a text to be interpreted, and that if ever we discover the Knowledge, then it will be as if the Value has been wrested from the House and all that remains will be mere scenery.

When night fell, I listened to the Songs that the Moon and Stars were singing and I sang with them.

Two memories. Two bright minds which remember past events differently. It is an awkward situation.

I believed that I was mad - or that I had been mad - or else that I was becoming mad now. Whichever way it was, it was a terrifying prospect.

But today I am calmer. I am less at the mercy of fear and panic. Today I can see that there are sound reasons for studying my Journals carefully, even the mad parts - perhaps especially the mad parts.

Do not be anxious, I tell Myself. It is the House. It is the House enlarging your understanding.

A vision of cosmic grandeur, I suppose. A symbol of the mingled glory and horror of existence. No one gets out alive.

Anger makes me resourceful!

The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

I finished up Ursula K. Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness over the weekend. Considering it came out in 1969 its core themes and overall premise regarding gender fluidity would still seem ahead of its time if released today. A very solid read and I'll post more detailed thoughts later.

I have been using index cards to mark passages I want to revisit. After completing the book my goal is go back through, write down the bookmarked passages on the index card, and then either keep them in the inner jacket or somewhere close to the bookshelf. I feel like this is a better system than simply bookmarking them with post-it notes and writing them down after reading provides a nice review and refresher.

My goal was to finish that this weekend and start Du Bois' Black Reconstruction in America: 1860 - 1880 so I could read the bulk of it during February for Black History Month. Du Bois expresses his points and thoughts so effortlessly its amazing to read a historical text that reads so easily, keeping the interest forefront, and urging you to discover more. I've only read the first chapter (The Black Worker) and I'm already astounded. Du Bois has already stringed together slavery as an oppression of not only a whole race of people, but also as an oppression and repression of labor itself. Its amazing to me that I've never connected the dots before, but looking back none of my history classes or texts attempted to make the connection - much less make it so damn clear. I would share more thoughts, but that would probably verge on the political side of things regarding enslaved and cheap labor throughout American history as propped up stilts that held and continues to hold our economy up.

Anyway - part of my time reading the chapter was also spent researching modern/current companies that benefitted indirectly and/or directly from the slavery. Its quite centering, really, to realize that we're not far removed from this terrible period of insidious industry. Aetna, Bank of America, and JP Morgan Chase were a few of the names that kept popping up.

Through all of this my To Read list for the year is starting to take shape:

Spoiler

The Broken Earth Trilogy - NK Jemisin
Cosmos - Carl Sagan
The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander
Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass
The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones
Abolition Democracy - Angela Davis