I'm a Bookworm

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This book was an interesting addition to Norwegian Wood, which is the only Murakami book I’d previously read. South of the Border follows Hajime during the course of his life from a 12 year old up to a man in his late 30s. It hilights his various love affairs with Shimamoto (his first crush), Izumi (his first girlfriend, whose heart he breaks), and Yukiko (his wife). His relationships with these three women ebb and flow, and follow him throughout his life.

It’s an interesting read, highly stylised and classy. I found several parallels in this book to Norwegian Wood. These include the middle class, unfulfilled ‘normal guy’ protagonist, the damaged woman he’s in love with, the healthy available woman who he’s comfortable with, but doesn’t want to stay with, and the ambiguous ending as to both the status of his relationships and his happiness.

Although Murakami is widely regarded as one of the best living writers, I don’t feel I relate well with his characters. He definitely captures the complexity of human relationships, and the modern situation of being middle class, comfortable and yet incomplete. However, the protagonists of his books strike me as a little too vacuous and very still. An author like Houellebecq writes about the same themes, but somehow, his isolated characters are engaging. Instead of another traditional novel, I’d be interested to read some of Murakami’s magical realism, like Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

–The Reader

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It’s hard to explain the appeal of Chuck Palahniuk through a plot summary. What I love about the book is the writing itself– so I’ll start off with a summary and end with some quotations.

Lullaby is about a journalist who lives a pretty miserable, lonely existence. His wife and daughter died mysteriously years before. He meets a Helen Hoover Boyle, a real estate agent while investigating a series of infant deaths for a piece he’s writing in a local newspaper. Helen apparently knows a thing or two about sudden deaths as well — her family died mysteriously years earlier, leaving her all alone.

The two find out that the sudden infant deaths are linked to a culling spell which has been mistakenly printed in a children’s book. A “culling spell” is a song that was used traditionally (in this case, in Africa) to put children to sleep, like a lullaby. Unbeknownst to the parents who read the poem to their children, this particular culling spell kills whomever hears it.

The unnamed protagonist, Helen Hoover Boyle, Helen’s secretary Mona and Mona’s boyfriend Oyster set out on a road trip across the USA to try and destroy all copies of the book that hold the culling spell, and they have to also find a way to keep the information under wraps so others don’t know about the sobering power of the spell.

As usual with Chuck Palahniuk, I loved this book. He has the distinct ability to write about subjects I’d otherwise be disgusted by, but to write about them in a way that makes me interested in what he has to say, even entranced by the words he uses to describe them. Here are a few prime examples:

“Every generation wants to be the last. Every generation hates the next trend in music they can’t understand. We hate to give up those reins of our culture. To find our own music playing in elevators. The ballad for our generation, turned into background music for a television commercial.”

“These music-oholics. These calm-ophobics. No one wants to admit we’re addicted to music and television and radio. We just need more of it, more channels, a larger screen, more volume. We can’t bear to be without it, but no, nobody’s addicted. We could turn it off anytime we wanted. These distraction-oholics. These focus-ophobics.”

“What we think of as nature, Oyster says, everything’s just more of us killing the world. Every dandelion’s a ticking atom bomb. Biological pollution. Pretty yellow devastation. The way you can go to Paris or Beijing, Oyster says, and everywhere there’s a McDonald’s hamburger, this is the ecological equivalent of franchised life-forms. Every place is the same place. Kudzu. Zebra mussels. Water hyacinths. Starlings. Burger Kings. ‘The only biodiversity we’re going to have left,’ he says, ‘is Coke versus Pepsi. We’re landscaping the whole world one stupid mistake at a time.’”

Highly recommended.

–The Reader

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This book examines how one person can gain strength by destroying another — in this case, a married couple. Dick and Nicole Diver seem like happy, wealthy American expatriates to outsider Rosemary Hoyt, who meets them while on holiday on the French Riviera.  Through spending time with them however, she pieces together their unusual story.

Dick Diver was an aspiring psychologist who married one of his rich patients, Nicole. In exchange for caring for Nicole, who is in a fragile state, Dick receives the life he’s always wanted — with a partnership in a Swiss clinic and a beautiful, comfortable home life. However, Dick’s superior position begins to wane once Rosemary meets him. Partly because of the strain of his situation, he begins to act in uncouth ways, to let his emotions get the better of him, and to drink heavily. By the end of the book, Nicole has divorced Dick, remarried and is stronger and more stable than she’s ever been. Dick is left alone and financially berefit.

I love F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing because of the way he portrays the wealthy classes in the early 20th century. He isn’t just another author who writes about Sex and Scandal, however. His writing glimmers with questions about the undercurrents that push and pull his characters. He leaves enough space between his descriptions for multiple interpretations of the protagonists’ motives and for questions about their true identities. As with all good art, perhaps what you don’t say is just as important as what you do say. In the case of Tender is the Night, the question could be– is a life of comfort and wealth worth the sacrifices one must make in order to obtain it?

–The Reader

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My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute. –Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand was a Russian novelist who believed very much in the ideas of capitalism & self-determination. Her personal philosophy was called Objectivism, and it still influences many readers today around the world.

This book has four main characters: Howard Roark, Peter Keating, Dominique Francon, and Gail Wynand. Howard Roark is the story’s protagonist — a brilliant architect who wants to make modern buildings that no one understands or accepts. He stays true to his individual vision throughout the book, despite all the people who do not agree with him and all the business he loses (this represents the triumph of the individual over the collective.) Peter Keating is another architect who has the opposite strategy– he is not an original artist, but he ingratiates his way to success by knowing the right people. Gail Wynand is the owner of a newspaper who loves Roark’s work. Dominique is the woman who all the men love and who, ultimately chooses to be with Roark because she believes in his vision, genius and artistic integrity.

I loved the way this book was written. At the time of reading it, I did not agree with the principles of Objectivism, but I do believe in adhering to one’s artistic principles. I’m not sure what my own personal philosophy is now… but I am certainly glad I read The Fountainhead, as I do believe that reading all kinds of material from all different kinds of authors helps in the the determination of one’s moral stance.

–The Reader

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My curiosity started when a friend introduced me to the Twilight movie. Automatically, (like half the population) I fell head over heels for vampires when I saw Robert Pattinson (or in Twi terms: Edward Cullen). I found myself biting my lip the whole way through, wishing for the first time in my pretty sane life for the chance to be bitten by my soon-to-be celebrity obsession!

Anywho, it was after watching the first movie that I decided to buy all four books. YES — all four, all at once (it was buy one, get one free..but thats not the point!)

Naturally, I didnt want to miss out on any extras the director may have edited from Stephanie Meyer’s original novels, so like any true Twihard fan, I started at the beginning….

After a month, I had read all four books. YES…Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn! Now let me really break this down for you…In 744hours. 44640 Minutes. 2678400 Seconds, I managed to read (434+563+628+754) 2379 pages, and if we are talking 173,304  words on average per book, plus the third which is basically double the size, so 348.608…that’s 871, 52 words!!! Now, I’m sure Meyer would agree when I say that’s Twi Twi Twi impressive!!! This is merely proof of
A: how good the books actually are, and
B: how deep my obsession for Pattinson truly goes!

Now, with the good always comes the bad and, sadly, there are some aspects of the books which did at times irritate me. The Twi books were originally targeted to the teen population, and I’m not one to shy from the fact that I’m actually 21…and a half! So as you can imagine…I did find myself shouting out..”Yeah Alright!” and “Get it on already! (Edward and Bella).” But hey –  I could just be a biased 21 year old female, so dont pre-judge — just read!!!!!

May Twilight be with you.

In the name of the Handsome Actor, Extraordinary Lover, Vampire-Vegetarian.

AMEN

This book is a wonderful piece about love in 1960s Tokyo as seen through the eyes of young Japanese students.

Toru, his best friend Kizuki and Kizuki’s girlfriend Naoko are all best friends when their worlds are shattered by Kizuki’s unexpected suicide at 17. Toru and Naoko try to go on by comforting one another, and then fall in love. After a time, Naoko cannot deal with everyday life, and decides to part ways with Toru to spend time in a sanitorium.

Toru goes away to university and meets various interesting characters, including the lively Midori, whom he develops feelings for against the backdrop of the failed Tokyo student marches of the 60s. He continues to struggle with his love for Naoko however, and he visits her in the sanitorium.

Back in Tokyo, Toru is more confused than ever, and neglects Midori. Then, he suddenly receives a letter that Naoko has committed suicide. In his grief, he wanders aimlessly for a month and then returns to Tokyo. He realises through speaking with one of Naoko’s friends from the asylum (Reiko) that he loves Midori. He contacts her to tell her so…. and there the action ends.

The quality of the writing is what really attracts me to this book. Something in the way the characters speak and think, their ennui and aimlessness in modern Western society really captures what it’s like to grow up in an affluent country while trying to establish one’s identity. Also, the suicides are tragedies that cannot be logically explained, but perhaps can be understood when one considers the drifting nature of many of these characters.  The student revolution fizzles out, Toru doesn’t know why he’s chosen to study Drama at university (and has no real passion or aptitude for it), no one is either rich or poor, and there is a dearth of fulfillment and real connection to meaningful sources. The backdrop of a time of great change is contrasted by the characters’ lack of conviction — to connect to one another, and even to live.

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This play is by Sartre and follows the Greek myth of Orestes. Orestes is the estranged son of a king and queen from Argos. He spends time in the town and learns that this his mother and stepfather killed his father Agamemnon. Orestes and his sister Electra work together to avenge their father’s death and rid the city of Argos from its guilt, its haunting spirits, and the flies that constantly circle it.

I loved the way the play was written, without neccesarily conciously picking up on the way that Sartre brings forward his philosophies.  Existentialism is a philosophy which believes in self-determination of one’s actions. A human being can depend on an outside source, such as society or deity to outline his morals, or he can decide for himself.

The interesting part of this book comes when Zeus tries to convince Orestes and his sister that their actions were wrong and they should join the rest of the town in perpetual guilt for actions of the past. In this scene, the ideas of existentialism come to the forefront on the points of view of the characters involved.

Zeus corners Orestes and Electra in the cave of Apollo and tells them to admit that the murder of their mother and stepfather was a sin, and that they should suffer and atone for it. Electra eventually agrees with Zeus. This means that she has let him define and moralise her actions. She has given her power of determination to another entity, in this case a God.

Orestes decides to have more of an existentialist philosophy and be for himself. This means that he determines what he thinks of his situation. He does not neccesarily reject the reality of his situation (like separating yourself from nature) but he decides how he will react to it and think of it.

Zeus decides to spare Electra from physical pain, but sends Furies and flies after Orestes as he walks away from the town. Before he leaves, Orestes addresses the townspeople and says that although he should rightly be king of Argos after the death of his mother, he has no wish to. He tells them he will leave Argos to them to govern themselves, and he will take on the burdens of their guilt, their sins, the flies and their dead as he leaves.

As you can see, a lot happens in a small three act play! I hope you check it out.

[image: petit-bazar.unige.ch]

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I usually blog about fiction, but I came across an interesting website and book yesterday, and I wanted to share it with you all. It’s called Personal Reputation Management: Making the Internet Work for You, and it’s written byLouis Halpern and Roy Murphy.

As a blogger, of course I’m quite interested. The Internet is a wonderful place to learn information. As we surf the web, we think of ourselves as inside and in the comfort and privacy of our own homes, but in reality the internet is like a busy street where anyone can look at your status, away message, pictures and innermost thoughts if you grant them access. You wouldn’t go outside and start shouting your deepest secrets would you!??! Well then, it’s important to think about the information that’s available about you online.

I’ll give you some great examples:

1. LinkedIn is a great website for business networking, but do you want it made public to the world where you work, your alma mater and your career aspirations?
2. Facebook is a lot of fun! How many people do you want to have access to the ‘fun’ side of your personality?
3. Having a blog or online outlet for your interests and hobbies is great; it’s even better when you inject some of your personality into what you do, because that makes people come back and maintain interest in what you write. However, just how much of your personal information do you want to reveal, including specific places you go, your relationships with lovers and friends, and your thoughts about your job? Remeber, this is information that the world can read!

A book like Personal Reputation Management is just the thing I need to make sure I’m using the internet wisely and respecting the power of this tool for communication and learning.

The Reader

I haven’t finished this book, but it’s so good so far, I had to go ahead and write about it because it’s phenomenal. It’s by Chuck Palahniuk, the same guy who wrote Fight Club.

Haunted is about a bunch of writers who believe they are going away to a writer’s retreat to write their masterpiece. They go by Native-Americanesque aliases, named after their shoddiest qualities, like St. Gut Free (because he ripped his intestines out in a freak accident), Miss America (in a demeaning way), and Lady Baglady (a rich woman who goes out as a bum for fun). The book is made of three different kinds of writing all put together. First, there’s the storyline. And in between the chapters of the story, there’s a poem about each character, and following that, there’s a short prose piece that the character writes themselves about their life and experiences.

When you first start the book, the group is getting together and they are all really optimistic.   It’s interesting, because when the story starts out, you believe they are going to have a horrible time of it, because of Mr. Whitter, the guy who brought them all there. He’s locked the theatre doors and he says, ‘You are all here to write for three months, we’ve got enough food, yout must keep your promises and stay here until you’re done.’ None of them has any idea what they want to write about however, and they don’t want to take the trouble figure that out themselves, so…. they decide to make their stay at the theatre their own horror story, and they turn their group leader into the villain of that collective piece.

I think they’re just a bunch of manipulative, talenteless artists with writers’ block! Or at least, thats how it seems to me at the moment, but I’m not even halfway through. I’m going to have to finish it, then I’ll update you further in another post.

–the Reader
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In honour of Where the Wild Things Are and children’s books everywhere, I’ve decided to post about my favourite childhood book, which is called Ender’s Game.

Ender’s Game is set in the future, in a world that has become united under a single government (the Hegemony) and which is quite advanced.  The reason the world is united, however, is because they all have a common enemy– an alien race called the Buggers.  The buggers came to attack the Earth twice in the past and, the world is gearing up for another all-out war.

Of course, to fight this war they need military officers. So, across the world, there’s a giant initiative to screen the smartest children and they’re all taken away to a military boarding school in space. Ender happens to be the best candidate they’ve found… so in order to preen him they literally make his life a living Hell– sacrificing his childhood and happiness for the good of humanity.

The reason this book is so incredible and influential (it’s won Hugo and Nebula Awards and is a favourite of children and adults worldwide) isn’t because of the backstory, however. I love it because it’s a real study in human psychology. What happens when you take the best and brightest of the world, stick them in a tin can in space, and endlessly f%&k with them?! READ THE BOOK and you’ll find out.

Interestingly enough, Ender’s Game is in development to become a film. It’s been a few years coming, and obviously it’s a mission to find child actors who can play the roles. As influential as the book has been, hopefully the film will be just as influential– I’m thinking The Matrix?!

–The Reader