Summer Reading List

New Books

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery and Alison Anderson
Written by French novelist and professor of philosophy Muriel Barbery, the book centers on Renee Michel, a concierge for an upscale apartment building.  Michel is brilliant, but keeps his intelligence secret until it is discovered by the precocious, emotionally unstable daughter of a tenant, Paloma Josse.

Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg
Uber-geek Simon Pegg's memoir about a British fanboy who grew up to live the dream.

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai
Rebellious librarian Lucy Hull begins by helping a young patron sneak books past his strict parents and ends up in a madcap caper to help him escape from their stranglehold.  As she helps Ian Drake strike out on his own, she must confront her own troubled past.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
At the tender age of nine, Rose Edelstein discovers she can taste the emotions of the person who prepared her food.  Through this strange, unexpected power she learns her family's deepest, darkest secrets.


The Mystery of Lewis Carroll by Jenny Woolf
A biography of the author of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (real name: Charles Dodgson) that promises to dispel the many strange rumors and myths that surround the eccentric writer.

The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God, & Other Stories by Etgar Keret
A book of unusual short stories, including "Kneller's Happy Campers", the source material for the independent film Wristcutters: A Love Story.

Rereads

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The classic story of tortured scholar Humbert Humbert's infatuation with his landlady's underage daughter, Lolita.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides

The strange tale of the demise of the Lisbon girls, as told by the neighborhood boys reflecting on their past in adulthood. 

What are you reading this summer?

The Saturday Review: Why Zebra Don't Get Ulcers

Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
Dr. Robert M. Sapolsky
Published in 2004 (3rd edition)

 If ever there was a time to not to judge a book by its cover, this would be it.  Despite its whimsical depiction of zebras dancing in a circle, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers is not a self-help book.  Written by renown biologist Dr. Robert Sapolsky, it is a science text that explains the phisology of stress and the toll chronic stress takes on the human body.

He begins by explaining how stress in humans has evolved over time.  Stressors in early humans resembled those in animals and directly related to survival.  The two main causes of stress were finding food and trying to keep from being eaten.  As science, medicine, and technology advanced, psychological causes began to take over.  Sapolsky theorizes that the anticipation of an event or consequence causes just as much stress as the actual event.

Studies on stress and their findings are discussed, but the majority of the book deals with the physical ramifications of chronic stress.  They include weight gain, depression, depleted immunity, and accelerated aging, among others.  I found the chapter on stress-related sleep issues particularly interesting, as I have dealt with on and off bouts of insomnia for most of my adult life. 

Sapolsky intentionally writes the book with nonscientific readers in mind, but never talks down to them.  He explains his reason for doing this: "I love science, and it pains me to think that so many are terrified of the subject or feel that choosing science means that you cannot also choose compassion, or the arts, or be awed by nature.  Science is not meant to cure us of mystery, but to reinvent and reinvigorate it."  The book is relatable, interesting, and at times, very funny.  I would highly reccomend this book for those interested in psychology and health, in addition to those suffering from chronic stress and/or anxiety.

The Summer of King

After a few hectic weeks, it's good to be back to blogging. I'm hoping now that I have a little more time, I can post every day.

Even though it's just barely June, the hot weather has hit in full force. Summer is here, although not officially. There are certain books that I read every year (and usually around the same time of year) and during summer, I read Stephen King's The Stand. My copy is a hardcover reissue of the "uncut" release that I picked up at a garage sale. It is also large and unwieldy - not ideal for carting back and forth on the bus. I decided to pick up a paperback version and while at the bookstore, I was struck by the sheer number of novels King has written. I thought I had read quite a few of them, but there are several that I haven't picked up.

I've decided then, that this summer, I will try to read all of King's work, starting with the books I haven't read yet.

Coincidentally, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining was on AMC today. I have mixed feelings about this movie. As a film, it's beautifully done and Kubrick's notorious attention to detail is obvious. As an adaptation of King's novel, however, I think it is definitely lacking.



Kubrick's stellar film making skills cannot be denied. As with his other films (2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, in particular), The Shining has gorgeous sets, beautiful cinematography, and unique camera work. Kubrick's film has some amazing iconic shots (particularly the two twin girls holding hands) and the suspense-inducing score has much to do with the terror building as the story progresses. Jack Nicholson puts in a terrific performance as the crazy and steadily crazier Jack Torrance and Shelley Duvall's fear seems absolutely genuine. The only problem is this is not King's The Shining.

Kubrick is famous for adapting well-known and well-loved works of literature and changing them drastically. Both King and Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, were disappointed in Kubrick's adaptations of their work. Kubrick has often been accused by critics of sucking the themes (and subsequently the depth) out of these stories and presenting a purely surface representation of the story.

My biggest problem with the adaptation is the casting. In King's novel, Jack is portrayed as a generally good guy with some anger problems. He struggles with his desire to drink and wanting to be a good husband and father. In the book, the reader can tell he genuinely loves his son and though he is often conflicted about his marriage, he loves his wife as well. It is the hotel and isolation that eventually drives him to the brink of madness. This is most clearly evident in the ending, when through his insanity, he realizes what he is doing and tells Danny to run away. It is clear to the reader at that point that his violent actions are the hotel's influence.



Nicholson (who kind of looks crazy all the time) comes off very differently in the film. He seems a little off-balance right off the bat and his irritation with his family is palpable. There is no final redemption for Jack and he becomes the main antagonist, not the hotel.

In the novel, Wendy is portrayed as a strong, independent woman who is fiercely protective of her child. She stays with Jack after he breaks Danny's arm, but only because she doesn't want to return home to her overbearing mother. She eventually decides that Jack has quit drinking and their relationship slowly begins to heal. There is always the looming possibility of Jack drinking again and the reader gets the impression that his relapse will be the breaking point for Wendy.

Knowing that, Shelley Duvall was entirely the wrong choice for the character. Her performance portrays the character as weak and submissive to her husband. She shows none of the strong will exhibited by King's character. Her anger towards Jack after Danny emerges from Room 237 seems completely out of character, when compared to her spineless quivering throughout the rest of the movie. Even her appearance is wrong, as in the book Wendy is described as a pretty blond.

Even the Danny character, who in the novel is exceptionally bright as well as being blessed with supernatural gifts, seems off-kilter. In the film, he is an ordinary little boy with psychic powers. His "imaginary friend" Tony is a little boy who lives in his mouth (but apparently moves Danny's finger when he talks - I'm still confused about that one), and is quickly dismissed as a childish quirk. In the novel, he represents Danny's suppressed and misunderstood powers and has much more significance.



Kubrick doesn't address Jack's struggle within himself - a struggle that is eventually represented by his physical confrontation with the hotel as it overtakes him more and more. Allegedly a metaphor for King's own problems with alcoholism and drug addiction, this theme was the crux of the novel, showing how a basically good man could be made a monster by letting a bad influence rule his life. Kubrick decides instead to allude that Jack is a reincarnation of the hotel's first caretaker (Jack's feelings of deja vu, Grady's statement, "You've always been the caretaker here, sir.), and the final photo showing Jack in the foreground of the 1922 party). This leaves the film version as an excellent horror flick, but a flimsy shell of the original story.

The film and the novel are both good independently, but Kubrick's version is not a good representation of King's rich storytelling. Admittedly, it is difficult to get all of his detail into a 2 hour movie, which is why the miniseries adaptations of his work tend to be better than the theatrically released films.

All Things Alice

I cannot possibly express how excited I am about the new Alice in Wonderland flick! I've loved Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass since I can remember. My love originated from my fascination with Victorian England and my intense desire to be whisked away to an elaborate fantasy world (a la Narnia, Oz, et al.) The best thing about Alice in Wonderland was that, unlike similar stories, it wasn't overly didactic. The point wasn't to learn a lesson or defeat an enemy, it was to see if Alice would make it back to her own world relatively unscathed. Along the way, she had to deal with difficult and often obnoxious people who created obstacles to achieving her goal. For kids, many of the people Alice met seemed like the grown ups in their own lives, who often make their own rules and twist logic to suit their own needs.



Over the years, there have been many versions of these classic tales, including a stage version that Carroll himself wrote. I collect all that is Alice, so here are a few of my favorite takes on Wonderland:

1. The Annotated Alice
Martin Gardner takes a "behind the scenes" look at Alice in Wonderland. The text is preserved, but Gardner adds footnotes that explain the often obscure inside jokes and references found in the book. For the true Alice fan, it's a must have, but it's also extremely useful source for those writing papers about the books and/or the author.



2. Fantastic Alice
Edited by Margaret Weiss, Fantastic Alice is a collection of short stories that explore different facets and characters from Wonderland. Not all the stories are wonderful, but Gary A. Braunbeck's story "The Rabbit Within" never fails to make me cry.



3. American McGee's Alice
An awesome take on the third-person shooter, American McGee's Alice combines the use of weapons and puzzle solving to work through the game. The game is a dark, twisted version of Wonderland, which is perfect for me! Even though it's an older game, I have played it several times and it is always challenging and fun.



4. Disney's Alice in Wonderland
Of course, the iconic animated feature HAD to be included in this list. Almost as good as Carroll's version, this film is one of my favorites.



5. Nick Willing's TV Miniseries Alice in Wonderland
Boasting a full cast of celebrities and a faithful adaption of the story, this made-for-TV version is beautiful and a lot of fun. The casting choices of Christopher Lloyd (the White Knight) and Gene Wilder (the Mock Turtle) were stellar!



6. Nick Willing's Sci-Fi Miniseries Alice
Willing explores Alice yet again with his more modern science fiction series Alice. Matt Frewer is excellent as the White Knight, Kathy Bates rocked the Queen of Hearts, and I loved Andrew Lee Potts as Hatter!



From what I've seen of the Tim Burton version, it looks fabulous! I do wish they had not combined the characters of the Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland) and the Red Queen (Through the Looking Glass), but I understand why they did. It would have been nice to see the dichotomy of the logical (sort of), governess-like Red Queen and the dreamy, scatterbrained White Queen, though.

I love how Burton used Sir John Tenniel's original illustrations (accept no substitute!) as inspiration for the film. It shows a dedication to preserving what is great about the original stories.



If you see the movie and love it . . . read the books!

B&N . . . Why Must You Torment Me With Your Awesomeness?!?

I have to admit, when I first saw the Kindle, I scoffed. "What is this world coming to?" I wondered. "Reading a book on a machine will NEVER be as good as reading an actual book!"

But alas, I must now eat my words. While watching "Attack of the Show" today, they featured Barnes & Noble's answer to the Kindle . . . The Nook. It's basically the same concept, except the eBooks are cheaper and when you sync the Nook up with Barnes & Noble's WiFi, you get free cafe coupons. (Not to mention that you can have the majority of your library in one location.)

Don't get me wrong, I love books. I love reading, and truthfully, reading on a machine would take some getting used to. I would miss the sound of turning pages and even the way the words simply look on the page. Books are very dear to my heart and a machine could never completely replace them.

That being said . . . I am extremely hard on books. I dogear the pages, most of the covers get torn after numerous trips in my purse, and many of my books have food (or Dr. Pepper) spills in them. It would be nice to have access to a portable book without having to worry about it falling apart.

Finally, it's almost my duty, both as a reader and a geek, to boldly invest in reading tech. The Nook . . . Coming to a birthday near me!!!

I Heart Christmas

Since I work in retail, it would be logical to assume that I am less than fond of Christmas. Nothing could be farther from the truth, however. While working retail during the Christmas season is less than wonderful, I still love the holiday season. I have so many wonderful memories of holiday traditions and fun times around Christmas and New Years!

Part of these memories involve classic Christmas specials, movies, and books. So here are my top five favorite lists for Christmas. Check 'em twice!

Top Five Christmas Movies:

5. Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
This film combines two of my favorite things: Muppets and Dicken's A Christmas Carol. Michael Caine makes a great Ebeneezer Scrooge and all of the classic Muppets make appearances. The film is surprising faithful to the story and is made all the better by the sharp wit of the Jim Henson team.

4. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
This classic story has a beautiful message: "No man is poor who has friends." Beautifully acted by Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, and Henry Travers, it is truly what Christmas is all about . . . friends, family, and giving to others.

3. A Christmas Carol (1984)
Although the Alastir Sim version is traditionally viewed to be the definitive adaptation, I prefer the 1984 version starring George C. Scott. Exceptionally true to the original story, this version has some of my favorite moments, including the introduction of Ignorance and Want (a chilling moment befitting a good ghost story) and Marley showing Scrooge the destitute woman and child outside his home. Scott is excellent as a gruff and unforgiving Scrooge and Frank Finlay makes for a truly terrifying Marley. If you adore the original text as I do, you will love this version.

2. Love Actually (2003)
Though most view this as a non-holiday movie, it is set mostly at Christmastime and it is one of my favorites. It never fails to put me in a good mood!

1. Scrooged (1988)
Yet another version of Dicken's immortal classic. While it is the least faithful of the adaptations I have listed, it's one of the best. It's hilarious, moving, and full of memorable (and quotable!) moments. Bill Murray, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Kane, and David Johansen make this 1988 film a classic.

Top Five Favorite Christmas Specials:

5. Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)
Like the Muppet Christmas Carol, the fun of Mickey's Christmas Carol is seeing many classic Disney characters (Goofy as Marley, Jiminy Cricket as the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Willie the Giant as the Ghost of Christmas Present, just to name a few) as characters in the story. One of my childhood favorites!

4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Although the Rankin-Bass stop-motion features can be a little unnerving at times, they are still classics. What makes Rudolph so special are the memorable songs ("Holly Jolly Christmas", "Silver and Gold", etc.), especially "We're a Couple of Misfits" (which I identified with even as a child), and . . . the Bumble!

3. The Snowman (1982)
With no dialouge, The Snowman is amazing in its effectiveness. The music is beautiful, as is the the imagery of a boy and his magic snowman!

2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
This special is dear to my heart. It was a part of every Christmas since I was born and relatives called me Cindy Lou Who because I resembled the small Who in the cartoon. Like It's a Wonderful Life, this one is all about the Christmas spirit.

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
I have always felt a kinship with Charlie Brown, from his disastrous Halloween costume ("I got a rock.") to the sad little tree he picks out in this Christmas special. When I think of Christmas I always think of the Peanuts singing, their faces raised to the sky and their mouths in perfect Os.

Top Five Holiday Books:

5. Twas the Night Before Christmas (2002)
Clement C. Moore's classic poem is brought vividly to life by the beautifully detailed illustrations by Mary Engelbreit. It is a lovely Christmas keepsake that subsequent generations can enjoy.

4. The Little Match Girl (1987)
One of my favorite Hans Christian Anderson tales, with beautiful illustratrions by Rachel Isadora. A poingant and lovely holiday tale.

3. Bialosky's Christmas (1984)
A childhood favorite showing Bialosky Bear getting ready for his Christmas party. I loved this one because Bialosky had many of the same traditions that my family did.

2. The Best Christmas Pagent Ever (1988)

Barbara Robinson's amusing tale of a group of wild, underprivilege children learning the story of Christmas. This one was so great because it was realistic. Definitely a break from the more sickeningly sweet Christmas fare.

1. A Christmas Carol (1843)
You've probably noticed a theme in my favorites. I have loved Dicken's A Christmas Carol for as long as I can remember. We read the book every year at Christmas and for several years in a row saw wonderful productions performed by the Omaha Community Playhouse. I have seen almost all the versions of this classic tale, but the original text still remains my favorite. Dickens is a wonderful writer with many classics to his name, but this is one of his best beloved. If you have not read it, I highly suggest you do so as soon as possible. Make it one of your new Christmas traditions!

Book vs. Movie: The Eternal Debate

Most intellectually-minded people will insist that the book is usually better. I usually like to watch the flick first and then read the book, because it allows me to view the two as separate entities. On the whole, I get personally attached to books much more easily than films (although I am a film lover, as well). If I see the film first, I can enjoy it without missing my favorite parts from the book that they didn't include. It also makes reading the book more enjoyable, because it's always exciting to find the extra little story facets that books invariably include.

With short stories that are adapted for films, it gets a little dicey. Often, the short story can easily stand on its own, and the extraneous story added to make the film at least 90 minutes seems like filler. It's very hard to turn a short story into a movie and do it right. Two of my favorites are both based on Stephen King stories, The Mist and 1408.

King's story "The Mist" is a solid, creepy story that uses a menacing mist and sci-fi creatures as a smoke screen for a good old-fashioned claustrophobic cabin fever mob mentality tale.

Along the same line, Frank Darabont's (of The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption fame) The Mist looks like a high-budget sci-fi creature feature, but is just as compelling and well-acted (especially by veteran actress Marcia Gay Harden) as any of his other films. It jives with the original story and doesn't make you feel like you've watched 30 minutes of decent plot packed with 60 minutes of fluff. It is everything you expect from an excellent adaptation.

Even more rarely, you get an adaptation that surpasses the story, which is the case of Mikael Hafstrom's 1408. King's story is essentially about a jaded writer who writes about haunted places, but doesn't actually believe in ghosts or spirituality. He visits a supposedly haunted hotel and believes he'll have a routine stay, but is overcome by the unexplainable happenings in his room. For King, it's a fairly subtle story, with few of his normal shockers. It's a good story, but not one of his best.

The film, on the other hand, seems more like King's work than the original. It's got the black humor and dread-inducing creepy moments that you've come to expect from the Master of Horror. Of course, the film's quality is mostly due to its two principles, John Cusack and Samuel Jackson. Cusack is pitch-perfect as the talented writer turned tortured skeptical hack, but it is Jackson's performance that makes the film refreshing. He plays an urbane and vaguely menacing hotel manager who warns Cusack's character several times to avoid room 1408. Hafstrom is good in his own right. He plays some interesting games with the audience, including making us wonder if Jackson's character is truly the manager, or a product of the room (reminiscent of The Shining). The use of The Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun" at pivotal scary moments is also a killer move (I'll never think of that song the same way again). And, while the original is good, the film is much better. (I would reccommend Hafstrom's original director's cut ending rather than the theatrically released finale.)

Check out both stories and both films. Even if you disagree with me one way or another, you won't be disappointed.

Agghhhhh!

I posted my list of top five zombie movies and realized that there is SO much zombie stuff right now.


Kris, who is not a big reader, devoured (pun intended) Max Brooks's World War Z and Zombie Survival Guide (which was actually a birthday present for me, thank you very much!). Brooks presents the zombie apocalypse as an eventuality that the world must prepare for and the Survival Guide instructs you on how to defend yourself against the walking dead. World War Z is the "history" of the life-as-we-know-it ending war against the zombies. If you are a zombie fan, these are essential for your library.


The Starz channel, which has some of the best documentaries on horror flicks (Fantastic Flesh is amazing . . . find it on Netflix), is currently running Zombiemania on Starz OnDemand. There are interviews with George Romero, makeup and FX specialists Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero, and Max Brooks, among others. It pretty much goes into detail about most of the movies I discussed in my previous post and discusses the cultural significance of zombies.


There are countless zombie fiction books out there, bordering on becoming a separate genre, but the most surprising example combines fine English literature and the awesomeness of zombies. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Seth Grahame-Smith, with a co-author credit for Jane Austen) inserts a zombie warrior subplot into the original text of Pride and Prejudice. I have read excerpts, but the cover alone is hilarious enough to want to buy it. (Also available from Grahame-Smith - Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters). There is also a wealth of zombie graphic novels, and capitalizing on the success of Zombie Survival Guide are books like Zombies for Zombies, etc.


There are, of course, the zombie video games as well . . . multitudinous Resident Evils and the more recent Left 4 Dead series.

And finally, while it's not technically about zombies, Stephen King's Cell is reminiscent of the zombie genre and offers the same social commentary found in most zombie fiction and films. Even if you are not a King fan (which you should be), it is an awesome book. The book on tape (available through bookstores and iTunes) is a great alternative due to the excellent voice work of veteran actor Campbell Scott.