1013. Twilight

I know how surprising this might seem coming from me. I am not the intended audience for this book, and for this series of books. But the truth is, my friends in the BookMooch community, kept harping about the author, Stephanie Meyer and about the books, that I had to bite (forgive the pun) and take the plunge. So, here I am telling you how I felt about the first book at least.

Bella is a high school girl who returns to Forks, Washington to live with her father, while her mother travels with her new husband who is a minor league baseball player. That is the hook to get you in. Forks is a drab and dreary place (as you'd expect for a setting in Washington State). Bella receives a lot of attention at her new school, not the least of which is because her father is a police officer, and of course she's a stranger. But similarly she's attracted to a boy called Edward who together with his siblings attend the same high school as Bella. In a strange accident, Edward saves Bella's life in the school parking lot. This makes Edward even more desirable for Bella, but at every turn, Edward shuns hers.

As the cover of the Book depicts, Edward appears to be "the forbidden fruit", just as the apple in the Garden of Eden was for Adam and Eve. Is Bella's and Edward's love meant to be or is it forbidden? Of course, millions of people and fans have read these books, so I will not go into a long exposition here. At this point everyone knows that what the "Forbidden Fruit" really is, is "the fact that Edward is a Vampire" aged over 100 years old. And for Bella to "love him" is not only impossible BUT dangerous and it could cause her, her life.

Still, in a book that very capably explores the teenager's psyche with ample exposition (some would say over-long), Bella croons for Edward and manages to snare enough of his attention and mine. You can find more engrossing reviews elsewhere on the web. There was even a review I read somewhere from a gentleman who argued that the books where written by Stephanie Meyer for the teenage boy's heart, rather than for the teenage girl's heart. Whether there is a romantic in you or not, I believe the author capably captures something in these books, and this is why the books have such a cult following - and now the movies of course. Are they great literature? Are these books the logical successor to the Harry Potter books? I personally don't think that, but again, I qualify this statement, by reminding everyone, that I was not the intended audience, and I understood more of the teenage heart poured into the books than I thought possible. So great effort all around.

3 stars out of 5.

1012. Then We Came to The End

"Then We Came To The End" is Joshua Ferris' first novel. In many ways it is a magnificent novel. In many ways, he captures the feeling of working in today's office. OR maybe, I should caution readers and say, in working in the office of "near yesterday". Because the office of today is becoming another beast. In the book, Joshua Ferris, very capably describes the ups and downs of office and cubicle life, the meetings, the coffee breaks, the gossip, the lay-offs, the angst, the inter-office romance, the unrequited love for coworkers, the dreams of coworkers, those who make it and those who don't.

A lot of people have described this first novel by Joshua Ferris as a comedy. Personally, I don't agree with this description. I am more keen to compare this novel to a Greek Tragedy:

"a form of drama defined by Aristotle characterized by seriousness and dignity and involving a great person who experiences a reversal of fortune." Additionally, "Aristotle's definition can include a change of fortune from bad to good as in the Eumenides, but he says that the change from good to bad as in Oedipus Rex is preferable because this effects pity and fear within the spectators.) According to Aristotle, "the structure of the best tragedy should be not simple but complex and one that represents incidents arousing fear and pity--for that is peculiar to this form of art."

In more simpler terms, the characters in this novel, undergo a change in fortune, not necessarily because of their mistakes, but maybe amplified by their mistakes. Each and every character also has a unique way of dealing with his or her situation and with the consequences of their actions. If they make mistakes in response to a layoff, what is the action that they take to deal with it? If the mistake was with the partner in the firm in which they are employed, how does that affect their livelihoods, and how do they deal with that?

Certainly, seeing people in the daily routine of getting coffee after getting to the office and then proceeding to waste the next two hours on minutia is funny -- heck, I recognize myself there, because I am guilty of that. I have done that, a lot of times in times of high stress. Seeing people afraid of a diminutive woman (less than 5'2") who is their boss can also be funny -- what can cause people to fear someone so much? And of course, the extraordinary response of one individual to being let go, who continues to go into the office, bypassing security, day after day, to work on a project with constantly changing guidelines and goals, is seriously funny. But we can all relate with that I think. If you've ever been laid-off, and maybe thought it was unfair, who among you hasn't thought, if I could only prove my worth to them, make them see what I can do on this project, maybe they would change their minds.

But it's not as simple as that. And neither is this book, this novel. In the end, this novel is a book within a book. I am not sure from where, but I get the feeling, that Joshua Ferris is writing about Lynn, the senior partner, the intimidating figure in this novel who lays people off, but who in the end is scared by "breast cancer". There is a section between Part 1 and Part 2 of the book called 'The Thing to Do and the Place to Be'. It's the one section of the book that deals with only one person, one character in the whole book. It's about Lynn. That is why I suspect, the book, might have originally been intended to be written about Lynn and then evolved into much more than that. But even if that's not the case, this section, elevates this book to a very high level. It is such a wonderful piece of writing, it gives you such depth and understanding into a fictional character that you begin to understand her, you begin to feel how she feels, and how many others in her position might feel.

That is high praise indeed. Hank Neary, another character in the book, writes about Lynn in his fictional novel. (He's one of Lynn's employees who is always working on his novel, and finally, like the actual book's author, gets published). Later he reads to a crowd some of his words, as the novel comes full circle. And the story, like life, comes full circle. At this point, I will not reveal any more of the plot, and I have only given some vague hints about the office politics, the office threats, the office romances, the rocky relationships, and all the other things that make living life so extra-ordinary. I wonder if this novel in a way is also a tribute to our post-9/11 bout with soul-searching and the fear of mortality. Because in a sense, the characters fear everything that happens to them, yet revel in the magnificence of living, the essence of being. That is what makes life bearable. That we're not on this journey alone, but there are others on it. And sure, some of them have their quirks, and we talk about them, and gossip about them, and yet we also drink coffee with them, and occasionally we go out and have some drinks with them.

In the end, I found this novel extremely satisfying as it recognizes all the things it means to be human. And that is high praise indeed. This is my first 5 star review of the year!!! (In the past, I used to give such highly praised books one big star).


I highly recommend it.

Moonlight Season and Series Finale

Nina Tassler, the president of the CBS TV Network continues to make stunning mistakes in her programming choices. First, in 2007 she cancels the excellent TV show Jericho. Thankfully, the fans had enough of her and revolted by sending her bags of nuts to indicate their displeasure to the cancellation of that show. So, she recanted and brought that show back in mid-season 2007-08 for a second season, but only for 7 episodes. You saw my abbreviated reviews below of the last couple of episodes of Jericho. It was overall a great season.

Then producer Joel Silver creates the marvel that is 'Moonlight' for the 2007-08 season which unfortunately gets affected by the writer's strike. A lot of good shows got affected by the writer's strike. A lot of good writers shot their own feet during this strike. But that's their own business, and I am not here to discuss that topic. What I am here to discuss, is this neat and tidy Vampire story, starring detective (Private Investigator) Mick St. John who is actually an 85-year old Vampire. This, IS (or rather WAS) NOT your father's Vampire story. Neither was it your father's 'Magnum P.I.' The Vampires in this story lived among us, had ordinary lives and for the most part tried to interact with us. Most of their lives then, were lived in secret, and a lot of their socializing took place exclusively with other Vamps (short for Vampires). In the picture steps Beth Turner, a reporter for an underground internet newsmagazine and TV reporting show which also doubles as a tabloid show called "BuzzWire". She's investigating the murder of a young coed who appears to have been killed by a vampire? But... there are "no such things as vampires," right? So, as we are introduced to the world of Vamps and Mick St. John and Beth Turner the human who gets tangled-up in this world, a sort of dance ensues.

It is an invigorating dance to watch, intoxicating actually. Most of the episodes are so well written that they flow with a kind of poetry only seen in literary, lyrical pieces. The dance between Beth and Mick is one that has twists and turns and is intertwined with fate as Mick saved Beth's life when she was a child of no more than 4. Since then, he has been watching over her, like an Avenging Angel. The other complication? Beth is dating the assistant D.A. and they are in love, heading to engagement.

But fate has Mick and Beth on its cross hairs, and so in a very powerful last episode for both the season and the series we're going to find out what happens to both Beth and Mick. First, some additional background. When Mick was turned, he apparently was turned by a woman from a family of Vamps with a long history (think royal history leading many hundreds of years back into the old world -- think French history). Secondly, they have developed the technology to not only be able to switch back to "human kind" for a short period of time, but while in Vampire mode be indestructible against the normal things that kill vampires, Fire and Silver. Just as Beth's relationship with the assistant D.A. comes to an end, Mick's search for 'humanity' comes to fruition. Yet, he is bound to cast out his humanity for his 'Avenging Angel' role in order to save Beth yet again in Vampire mode. Beth needs saving, and he can't do it without being a vamp.

All this sets-up the powerful ending where a vampire commits murder, gets caught and threatens to expose ALL Vampires in L.A. This threatens Mick St. John. This also teaches Beth something about Vampires.

Is their fledging relationship strong enough to survive the revelations?

Can a relationship between a vamp and a human actually work? How would it work? How long would it last, especially as the human ages and the Vamp doesn't? So many questions, so many neat ideas for more shows, so many more paths for the show to explore, but alas...

So here is a highly creative show, doing a fantastic job week in and week out. The story lines are excellent. For the first time, I am thinking, Vampires are sexy, because I've got to tell you, I did not like ANY of the stuff that Anne Rice published. I did not like any of the movies that her books were made into, either. Oh, there have been other Vampire movies, like "Blade", but nothing this good. Everything else has glorified the violence aspect of the Vampires, the bloodlust, the need to feed, yet none has shown the human part of the vamp, like "Moonlight" did -- I really appreciated that.

I have hope now that creative people out there are doing something with the genre. Oh, I know, lots of authors have been publishing lots of Vampire tales... let me see, there is Lauren K. Hamilton, who I haven't read and many others. But, until "Moonlight", I did not think, something refreshing could be done with this genre. This is why I loved "Moonlight". And that is why, I am now reading "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer -- it seems very promising.

Suffice it to say that I think CBS Television are idiots for canceling this show and not bringing it back in the Fall of 2008. It deserved another shot when there is no strike and after the full effect of the "Twilight" movie hits the public. Unfortunately, we won't get to see anymore of Beth Turner and Mick St. John.

Here is hoping that some creative force out there recognizes that this was powerful writing territory and gives us some stories in written form. I would certainly purchase such a book. Are there other takers out there?

Chekhov's Mistress: What Makes a Good Review?

Chekhov's Mistress: What Makes a Good Review?

Since I do Book Reviews in this blog, I found this article, or blog entry very interesting, and I wanted to briefly comment on the 5 points the author discusses:

1. I always try to do this -- this is one of the most important goals of any review. But, during this process, you must also personalize your review, meaning, you should tailor it to fit your perceptions of what you read. So, I do disagree slightly with the point, but overall, both the blog author and John Updike are correct.
2. I probably don't do enough of this, i.e., give enough quotation of the author. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well, many times, my reviews come days after I have finished the book. I actually have four books sitting on my desk right now that have been finished that I have not published the reviews for... this is a problem, I need to rectify. The sooner I publish the review, the fresher the book will be in my mind, and thus I might be able to quote passages from it. Although, I did quote passages from "Shantaram"!
3. See # 2. Again, I totally agree with this thesis, to an extend: I personally prefer to write things in my own words. To describe things that happen in the book, rather than "quote" from the book.
4. I don't believe, I have ever spoiled a book in my summary. When I thought I was coming close to spoiling it, I warned the reader to skip ahead and used other tricks, or minimized the damage. But, this is a really important point.
5. This is the greatest point here. I remember one of my best reviews on Amazon. It was for "The Bear and the Dragon" by Tom Clancy, a book I did not like, and something I pointed out during my review. Do not be mistaken by the fact that I adore Tom Clancy as a writer, and I already miss Jack Ryan. I wish we were lucky enough to have a president like Jack Ryan sometimes. But this book got the politics and the action all wrong, compared to a book like Ralph Peter's "The War in 2020".

So, very good Blog Post, and very good rules to leave by. Rules, a reviewer must live by in order to be successful.

At any rate, I have linked to this post here, and I will continue to look for posts of this nature elsewhere, as I believe successful book reviews, help people make good buying decisions and support the publishing industry in promoting the kind of books that need to be written and we all would like to read.

Comments anyone?

Cloverfield

I was originally going to review this movie when it came out...why? Because, it is the only movie I have seen so far in theaters this year (2008)!

Yeah, I know, that's pretty funny. My original post, however, was going to be before I even started up this review blog, so I decided to wait and displace that review for this one.

I know it's kind of cheesy including this link (which is essentially an advertisement) for the movie in the review, but sue me OK? I was bored, and I didn't have time to go looking for pictures from the movie or other links to include in my review.

So, on to my review: Did I like this movie? And remember, about 4 months separate me from the time I actually saw it!

Yes, I did like this movie, unlike most of the reviewers at that time. What was it that they disliked? Well, instead of comparing my review to theirs, I will give you some of my good points.

I liked the first person view point that the movie was presented in. This made the movie a lot more personable to me. Yes, it did limit the point of view (POV) angles that were shot sometimes with the mini-cam, and you did not get to see the monster as much, but still, this was a concept I enjoyed.

I liked the futility of the characters trying to escape the destruction of the city and to survive. Survival is a human imperative. But, it makes you wonder, was this being contrasted to the monster's survival imperative? What then was the message there?

A lot of people complained that the type of people that populated the movie were all young 30 something young adults. Yet, this fact did not detract from the effect of the movie. You know, not everything in this country, or in this world is about the "Baby Boomer" Generation. And presenting something in someone else's viewpoint brings a fresh perspective to film making. I liked that, a lot.

Finally, the monster itself was cool. Some would say that we did not get to see it enough. Yet to me, all the unanswered questions are what made this movie all the better. If you have everything handed to you on a silver platter, then life offers no more mysteries. It is fun sometimes to wonder, what if... I enjoyed all the "what ifs" in this movie.

This movie scored a solid 3 stars out of 4 for me.

1011. Warriors: Into the Wild

Young adult fiction is a very competitive market. Sometimes, I wonder if young adults today even read. Judging from the amount of books being published for the target audience, they must. So, I was scanning the lists at BookMooch and PaperBackSwap for children's books, when I noticed that the "Warriors" series by Erin Hunter was very popular. Shortly thereafter, I run across the first book in this series, for sale, for $1 at a used bookstore. What luck! I could buy a book that was very popular, and if my nephew did not want it, I could post it at either BookMooch or PaperBackSwap for a quick point.

Of course, then I noticed how short the book was, so I decided to read it. I figured, what would it hurt! Well, let me tell you! It didn't hurt! And as children's literature goes, I rather enjoyed it. So, let me start at the beginning.

I love cats. I used to have a cat, who sadly passed away with cancer. That happens to humans and animals, unfortunately. This has nothing to do with the book of course, but when my cat was alive, I used to always wonder what he dreamed about. When his little limps twitched a certain way while he slept, was that because he was chasing a field mouse? When his ear twitched in his sleep and he made a groaning sound, was he getting set for the hunt? When he looked out the window and he saw the other cats, or dogs, or squirrels, what did he think? Did he want to be out there?

Erin Hunter, the author of the "Warriors" series takes those thoughts to their next logical step. The "hero" of the first book is a domesticated cat, named "Rusty". Rusty has not yet been fixed. When his owners let him go out the back door in the afternoon, but before nightfall, Rusty approaches the back fence bordering the forest with awe and some trepidation, but without fear. The other domesticated cats warn Rusty that he's in dangerous territory with his wild strolls in the woods, until one day Rusty runs into some wild cats. These cats are members of the Thunderclan, one of four clans of wild, untamed cats, roaming the back woods of this particular little corner of the Earth. Rusty receives an invitation to join Thundeclan from the clan leader. It later becomes clear that all of the clans are desperate for survival.

Food is getting scarce in the hunting territories, and someone is attacking and killing Warrior cats. It takes time to raise new kittens and train them into full blown Warriors. If Rusty pans out as a recruit, and he has the strength to live wild, he is an easy made recruit into the Warrior structure of Thunderclan. "Rusty" of course, accepts the call of the wild, as he feels it in his bones. And we're witness to his subsequent integration into Thunderclan and his training into becoming a Warrior. There of course many bumps on the road, but to give those away, I would be spoiling the book.

This fascinating first book by Erin Hunter is a worthwhile effort, teaching many positive lessons for children of all ages that will pick this book up. I was so impressed by the way the author weaved the story, and gave us an insight into cat culture. If my cat dreamed of living away from me, this is the life I would envision for him. In fact, if Tommy (my cat) is waiting for me at "Rainbow's Bridge", I want him to be running around and having fun, rollicking, playing and experiencing all his best dreams. Erin Hunter captures those feelings in this book, fantastically. It's not all posh and spice of course, there are trials and tribulations. There are fights to fight, a minor war to wage, a rescue to conduct, etc. Yet, the spirit of the Warrior cats shines through, as Truth, Justice, belief in the Righteousness of one's cause, Honor, Friendship all come into play. Indeed, these are magnificent virtues to teach a young person, and the author not only spins a wonderful yarn (like a fable, but even more so), but succeeds in teaching also.

At this point, I plan on reading more books in this series as time, and other reading allows. And this book gets a definite 3 stars.

1010. Truth and Consequences

I read this book a few months after it was published. It contains 25 of Keith Olbermann's "Special Comments" which he delivers on his program "Countdown" on MSNBC.

For those who don't know, Keith's "Special Comments" are direct, second person, short, editorial, delivered in front of the camera on specific topics in the news. Most of the topics are BIG, and affect the world around us, the every day news that occurs as well as the politics and economics. Just like a newspaper has an "Opinion" section, Keith Olbermann's "Special Comments" in his "Countdown" show editorialize events. However, it has been my experience that Keith speaks the truth, the literal truth, that is why part of the title is "Truth..."

Of course, there will be people that disagree, who will say that listening and agreeing with Keith's point of view is a matter of opinion. But to me, it's not as simple as that. Truth, does not chose sides. Truth comes from only one angle... Truth, can only come from truth.

Finally, truth, has consequences - like when you lead a country into war using false premises (one of the topics that Keith has a "Special Comment" about).

In the end, all that these "Special Comments" are is mostly words on a page in the form of an essay - they are more powerful when spoken aloud, just like when Keith Olbermann delivers them. Whether they have an impact on you, it would depend on how open your mind is to the truth.

As the book, this is a 4 stars out of 5, simply because these "Special Comments" are so much more powerful when presented, yet, this book is still a worthwhile companion to own.