2017 Book #33, "Cliches"

"Cliches"

Nigel Fountain

A supreme disappointment. It was neither interesting, nor insightful, nor even funny. Nor exhaustive, as even the author mentioned several cliches IN THE BOOK that were not entries in the book. It should have been titled, "A Few Mildly Related Phrases and Words That I Think People Ought Not Use." For real wit, interest, and benefit go to the classic and caustic "The Devil's Dictionary," by Ambrose Beirce, or the truly exhaustive and superb "Rawson's Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk," by Hugh Rawson (a copy of which was given me by Cydney Craft Macomber, thanks much!).

#whatIreadin2017

#32, "The Hobbit"

"The Hobbit"

J.R.R. Tolkien

One of my all-time favorites; I know it so well I could almost quote the book as I listened. It is arguably the grandfather of modern nerd culture. It does, of course, lead directly to the masterpiece The Lord of the Rings (which I'm thinking about reading for the dozenth-or-so time), and between the two works Tolkien gave us the modern conceptions of wizards, elves, dwarves, magic, quests, and more. Even if authors and filmmakers and designers stray from the formulas that Tolkien invented or codified (or borrowed from ancient myth), they do so only while acknowledging their debt to them. It is a claim that would be worthy of a dissertation, but I reckon without these books we would not have far-ranging Gesamtkunstwerk franchises such as Harry Potter, the superhero craze, or role-playing games. Tolkien's deep world-building set a standard for storytelling that others since have striven for (mostly in vain). And it all started with, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."

#whatIreadin2017

#27, "Crazy Love"

"Crazy Love"

Francis Chan

This book is a real challenge to trust God, take Jesus at his word and live life according to his commands, not according to how we feel or how comfortable we are. I appreciate and agree with most of what he has to say, although I take exception to his repeated insistence that God is "in love" with us. His is a deep an unfathomable love, but to equate it to passion between a man and a woman seems on the border of sacrilege. That being said, his challenge is well heard, and I think it has made a difference in many lives and churches. The chapter recounting martyrs and zealous Christians' experiences has especial impact.

#whatIreadin2017

#26, "How to Talk to Anyone"

"How To Talk To Anyone"

Leila Lowndes

A hazard you take when you choose audiobooks to read is that you never know the quality of the narrator until you're in it. This book, while containing some useful tidbits of social and conversational tactics, was difficult to get through because the narration was very distracting. As the book was read by the author, I felt that it didn't bode well that I hoped I never spoke with her in person, considering the topic. Takeaway: it might be Dale Carnegie if he lived in 1991 and wasn't very clever.

#whatIreadin2017

2017 Book #23, "Till We Have Faces"

"Till We Have Faces" 

C. S. Lewis

A very strange book, one I must say I did not particularly enjoy. I picked this one up because C. S. Lewis is one of my favorite writers, and I had read that this novel, his last work of fiction, was among his very best. It is a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, a Greek myth that I had never heard of--though I had always considered myself fairly well-versed in mythology. Maybe if I had known this myth I would have understood the book better. There is no doubt that Lewis' writing is excellent. He has a keen style and a razor-sharp insight into how people think and act. However, the plot--a character study of a bitter queen and her anger towards the gods--failed to ignite my imagination.

#whatIreadin2017

2017 Book #22, "Miles: The Autobiography"

"Miles: The Autobiography"
Miles Davis

Davis tells the story of his life with no sanitation or whitewashing, from the drug-soaked world of music where he used, abused and quit heroin and cocaine, to the dizzying number of women that he slept with, dated, married, divorced, to his explosive views on racism in America and the music industry and his wideranging opinions of musicians from good to bad. It's quite a ride. He changed the sound of jazz and arguably modern music, several times and made some of the most important contributions to the genre in it's history. His life is not one that I would emulate, however. #whatIreadin2017

2017 Book #21, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"

J. K. Rowling

I think this is the strangest book of the whole series. It started great, had a very long bit when they were on the run that broke the pace, and then took a swan dive into a nonstop, mindblowing and satisfying final act. It utterly accomplishes its goal of completing the cycle and finally, finally giving up the secrets that had been hidden since Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone. Rowling is at her very best here, with wonderful dialogue, both lovable and hateful characters, excellent descriptions, and an almost unparalleled sense of how to propel story forward.

Maybe it's because I'm writing so close to the finish, but I'm not sure what to write to wrap this one up. I'm still processing a lot of this one. Deathly Hallows had a lot going on throughout its duration. My favorite thing about it was the complete lack of Quidditch. Besides that, I think my favorite thing about it is that everything is wrapped up, there are no more loose ends, the conclusion is final--and yet I still have questions. Not about the mechanics of the universe, any more--I still think there are practical holes in the whole business, but I'm able now to let it go--but about the little details. I am itching to read through them all again and try to pick up on details that I missed, or that seemed to mean one thing and now mean another, now that I know how it all works out.

Snape's memories threw nearly everything I thought I knew about the whole series into a tailspin. I can't really analyze this right now, but what a revelation, an eyepopping realization.

The finale, the showdown, was extremely effective, I thought. It could have been too tangled, too forced--but all the different parts that fell together made sense, somehow, and Voldemort's downfall was inevitable. Harry has come a long way, and I think a key to understanding his journey is how his response to each of them changes. In the previous books, he met tragedy with anger, increasing hatred. In this one, he is able to meet them with maturity, with the increased boldness of selfless sacrifice, and also, I think, by allowing them to pierce him as he could not have two or three years ago.

I do have to mention that Rowling's naming of characters is very often terrible. Which is a worse name, Albus Severus or Scorpius Malfoy? It's hard to say.

Thanks to everyone for following along as I went on this journey. I think I can now say I'm one of you--a first-year, maybe, but a member nonetheless. I just read that the Epilogue takes places this very year: 2017. Maybe it was fate that I finally finished the series just a few months before Harry and Ginny's kids start their own adventure.

#harrypotter #whatIreadin2017

2017 Book #20, "80 Proven Ways To Become A Millionaire"

"80 Proven Ways to Become A Millionaire"
Paul Demazo

Some good advice--well, I should say, ALL good advice, but certainly the numbers are not calibrated for me in particular. The large points--become debt free, choose a good mate, save and invest early--are good so I'll pick what is useful and ignore the rest. #whatIreadin2017