Adventure Novels

There is something special about the old swashbuckling adventure stories of Robert Louis Stevenson, H. Rider Haggard, Jack London, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and others of the ilk. They aren't complicated stories and the themes are pretty straightforward, but there is nothing like the ride of a good adventure story. A good adventure story pulls in the reader and doesn't let them go and often features beautiful lyrical language used to describe breathtaking vistas, nerve wracking fights, and gut wrenching losses. The stories have clear goals and satisfying endings and if they suffer some from antiquated values, I find that I don't mind so much.

I'm clearly not the only one who feels this way. Plenty of authors who generally write other styles of literature are having a little fun writing 19th century style adventure. I recently finished Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon which is an excellent example of the style with beautiful use of language and vivid characters. There is also Terry Pratchett's Nation, Neil Gaiman's Stardust, and The Princess Bride by William Goldman to name just a few.

I love these books.

Halfway point

I'm about halfway through Michael Chabon's Gentlemen of the Road and I'm struck how strongly involved with Jewish themes all of his writing is. Which is fine, it's interesting stuff but I only notice when I'm in the middle of one of his books. When I'm not actively reading his books, I tend to key into other qualities in Chabon's writing and forget about the religious angle. I'm not sure Chabon would be pleased by this tendency. On the upside though, I value him for how he uses language. There's something euphonious about the way he mixes languages and vocabularies.

The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu

I don't usually blog short fiction which is a shame because in terms of science fiction and fantasy, some of the best writing is in short fiction. Today I had cause to remember that. I have for years taught a science fiction literature class. I usually have a solid but small group of kids in that class. Last fall, a couple of the members of the sci-fi class suggested that I offer a fantasy class in the Spring.

I offered the class half expecting it wouldn't make. Well, it did. Not only did it have enough interest to run, I filled all the seats and there is a list of students interested in it the next time I offer it. So, I put together the semester plan. We always start with short fiction to introduce topics and themes. On Monday, the topic my group had the hardest time with was "Magical Realism"  so I chose a good example of genre for today's lesson. I choose Ken Liu's "The Paper Menagerie." 

This decision led me into one of the most intense lessons I've lead as a teacher. Magical Realism really isn't about whatever fantasy element appears in the text. Instead, the magical element is used to accentuate and highlight a more real world and realistic theme. "The Paper Menagerie" is about a half Chinese American who rejects his mother's culture and becomes estranged from her. The magical element is in the origami figures that she can animate with her breath. The story is about the son coming to terms with his mother after her death. It's an absolute gut punch of a story.

I knew it was a good story, and I knew that my kids would be able to approach the themes presented in it. I did not predict, however, that a third of my class would be in tears by the end of the story, and the rest of them would be visibly affected by it. It makes me tear up every time I read it too. I just didn't expect the students to react so strongly.

This all led to an excellent discussion on how the story worked and the role of the fantastical elements within it worked. One of my students hit it precisely when he said that you could write a story about an estranged half chinese boy without using any fantasy elements at all, but that the fantastical elements served to heighten the message and deepen the themes because it make the mother obviously special to the reader even though we empathize with the son's need to fit into the Anglo American culture. In a way the animating force came to represent the mother which makes the ending all the more poignant. 

Goodness, I'm tearing up while I'm writing this. It's a great story which is why it won a Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award. If you've never read it, It really is worth a read.

This is going to be a great semester

On Finishing Books. . .

There is something delicious about putting off life to finish a book. There is a shift at the end of any narrative where the pace gets faster and the end is in sight. Once that shift happens, it's hard to put a book down. It almost doesn't matter anymore whether the ending is good or not

Of course then the book does end and it's a bit deflating, even if it is good.

I spent the evening finishing off the second Mary Russell book. Thomas dropped off early and I decided to take it easy for one night and hopefully get past this stomach bug that I picked up somewhere. At this moment I'm just not sure what I think of the ending. I'll have to sleep on it, but I really didn't like how the romantic tension between two characters was resolved. What is it about writers that a female protagonist always tends to end up with a love interest. Writers don't do that to male characters necessarily.  Obviously plenty of male characters end up with love interests, but it seems like every female one does.

What is that?

The Difficulty With Listening

First day back in classes. At the beginning of each semester we typically go over the class syllabus. I bring this up because the second semester syllabus is about 70% the same as the first semester which means we are typically going over the same material we did on the first day of the year.

I should be used to it by now, but it's crazy how much of what's on the syllabus is a shock at this point. Specifically, yes you really do have to open you mouth and talk during class to get your discussion grade and yes, you really do have to do independent reading in English.

The invariable response to this, is "why, what's the point."

Ok so beyond the intrinsic value of books and literature...

1. It's practice. If you are planning on going to any kind of college you will have to take in a lot of information very quickly for your classes. It's not impossible but if you want to manage the information load, you need to practice. That means, for most of you, reading. Lots of reading.

2. Greater exposure to ideas and different perspectives. If you are reading in any quantity at all you will be exposed to new ideas and information. Knowing stuff is cool...go with me on this.

3. Once you get good at it, it's fun. Trust me on this. It really is.

Ok that's it, that's the reasoning.  Now go read something.

Week 1: 1/5/2020 - 1/11/2020

Technically, the week started last Wednesday but it's easier to track on Sundays and makes for a nice week opening ritual. I finished off two books since New Year's day:

Celtic Tales: Fairy Tales and Stories of Enchantment from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, and Wales was a Christmas gift this year from my father. It's a nice little overview of Celtic folk tales. Everything in here is in other readily available tomes but the selection and organization gave an excellent introduction of theme and type. There are four basic thematic sections: Tricksters, The Sea, Quests, and Romance. Each section has a variety of stories in it, and apart from one, none are stories I've read before.  I particularly loved "The Brownie of Fern Glen" in the quests section for the reversal of protagonist who is the brownie and not some noble human champion. I also liked "The Soul Cages" and "The Seal Catcher and the Selkies" because the relationship between fairy and human was more complicated than antagonistic.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King has been sitting on my "to read" shelf for the better part of a decade. I have no idea where I originally found it except that I'm pretty sure I picked it up used somewhere in New England. I like Sherlock Holmes and the related spin-off adaptations in literature and film, so when I tripped across this, I picked it up for that reason alone. I'd never heard of Laurie R. King before even though she is quite the established mystery writer.  Most mysteries are plot driven and the characters, interesting as they may be, are in service to the events around them. This is a character driven book about a young woman. Mary Russell is 15 when she first meets the aging Sherlock Holmes who has retired to the Sussex Downs. Mary is an interesting, intelligent girl. She quickly finds a rapport with Holmes who begins to train and educate her in the art of detection. It's a somewhat ridiculous premise that works on the strength of King's character work with Mary Russell. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It works because I grew to love Mary Russell and not because the mysteries were particularly intriguing. Little did I know when I started my read that this is the opening to a 16 or 17 book series. I'm not sure that King will be able to maintain the character-driven nature of the plots but it should be fun to find out.

Next week is bound to be busy, but here's what I'm looking at:

1. Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon (Finished 1/10/2020)
2. Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer
3. A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King (book 2 in the Mary Russell Series) (Finished 1/7/2020)
4. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi*
5. The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater*

*books that meet Book Challenge Requirements

New Year 2020

I wasn't sure I was going to write one of these this year. I've fallen off the writing habit pretty hard. There really is only so much time in the day and it's hard to feel like I'm putting enough time and energy in the posts to ensure that it's worthwhile reading to read them. After a while it can feel like just going through the motions.

However, I have also come to realize that the journaling is valuable in itself. I read so many books that if I don't journal them, I tend to get fuzzy on the details pretty quickly. Additionally, it's a nice habit to be in. It centers me whether I have anyone reading or not, so I'll give it another try.

Challenge 2020:

• Reading Goal - 175: I'm aiming to read 175 books this next year which comes to about 3 and 1/3 books per week. Doable, but a bit of a stretch. 
• The Twist: All the books (aside from a few exceptions defined below) will be things I already own. Last summer Ryan and I finally unpacked and shelved all of our books. We discovered that we have over 800 books that one or the other of us bought at some point and have yet to read. It sounds insane but the vast majority of those books were picked up used from various used book stores across the Eastern United States. A large influx also came in when Borders closed and from various library sales and culls. I additionally have a classroom library with a number of books I have not read yet, and should. People also give me books. . . a lot. The upshot is that we have a lot of books and it's time to start working through them: Reading, saving, regifting and selling as the book warrants.
• The Exceptions: I'm a lit teacher and a known reader which means if this is going to work at all there need to be some sanity exceptions that allow for new or previously unowned books.

1. I've had a long standing policy of reading any book that a student hands me. If a student loves a book enough to share it, I try to honor that by joining the experience. One of the most difficult things about being a reader is that it can be a solitary occupation. Unless someone else reads the book, it's hard to talk about. I try to be that person for the students and I'm going to maintain the policy.
2. Professional reading - I have a goal of reading 12 professionally related books a year that I rarely manage to complete. Even so, this is something that I will continue to work at and I need the freedom to pick up the books as needed.
3. Series Literature - There is nothing worse than starting a series and having to wait to read the next book. It's so frustrating. So, if it's part of a series that I've already started, I'm allowed to get the next book in series to read.
4. Gifts - If someone gives me a book, I'm allowed to read it...in fact, I'm going to prioritize it. Reading a gift book is a special experience because a book is so much more than just a thing. Too often, I put reading those books off to the point that I've forgotten it and probably so has the person who gifted it.
5. Book Riot Read Harder 2020 - to keep variety going I'm working through the Read Harder Challenge. In most cases, there are things sitting in the collection that will work to meet the goals, but if I have to, I can fill a gap.

• Writing Goal: Everyday without fail. I sometimes forget that I really love the creativity of writing. It doesn't really matter what I do with it or what I write specifically. 

1. Blogging - some sort of post every day, probably in the evening.
2. Creative Journal - one page every day for now and hopefully working up to about 5 by the end of the year, but frankly any kind of daily habit will meet goal.
3. Pie in the Sky - I'd like to start writing complete drafts of varying length by the end of the year. I'm not ready for that at this point and I feel like putting too much pressure on myself will be counter-productive. I'm just going to leave it floating out there as something I'm working towards.

• Cooking and Baking: I'm actually happy with how this is going generally, so it's more about maintaining. 

1. Baking - I'm teaching myself to bake and I bake a recipe once a week. Often it's a new recipe but sometimes I'm working to perfect a skill. It has been going well and even my "failures" tend to taste good.
2. Cooking - Cook most of the meals - try new things. I do this anyway, but I'd like to come up with a subset of family favorites. Maybe I'll make a binder of them.

• The Yards: I actually like working outside. I mean really enjoy it. Unfortunately, it is a fight against momentum to get out there and once I get out there I need to be really careful during the hot months to avoid overdoing it and giving myself heat stroke (which happens more often than I like to admit.) 

1. Front - I want to get out there and keep the yard in check, finish the garden hardscaping, and keep the garden going through all four seasons. One of the great things about living in the South is that there's really only about 2 months where nothing will grow most years.
2. Back - I need to clear out the scrubby tries and beat back all of the crazy vining nonsense. After I do that, I can look at what to do with the space - but pragmatically just getting it cleared is probably the year.

When I list it out like this, it seems like a lot. However, I'm not looking for perfection here and I'm more or less giving up distractions like video games for the year. Additionally, Thomas is to the point where he and Ryan can come and help with things like yard maintenance and cooking so it's not all me against the world for every one of these.

Alright....

I'm having some sort of mid(ish) life crisis here. I don't intend to get all whiny here but the upshot is that I'm just not doing lists and goals for the school year. I'm done. I am beginning to think that these reading goals are more like a security blanket. They are as much a distraction as anything else and I think there are probably other things I should be doing.

Now obviously, I'm going to keep reading. I like reading. I'm going to do it. But I'm going to read what I want, when I want, and as I think I ought to be for other things I'm working on. I think I'm just going to be having a year of getting my head in order. I'd like to keep the blogs up, if for no other reason than they help me think through what I think. I really love my list of books that everyone assumes I've read, and I'll probably keep picking at it, but I'm not going to be pushing it.

The goal is to stop worrying so much and figure out what I actually want. Then do that. It's scary....so I'm probably on the right track.

Failed Attempt

Ended up with a null day. Tried getting into Kidnapped, but I just wasn't feeling it. I guess I'm still processing the Larsson. I'll try shifting to a different book tomorrow. I guess everyone has an off day from time to time.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Day 3 and finished!

Through all 590 pages

I love it when I hit the flow! There's nothing quite like it and it beats watching a screen any day. The flow is that magical reading where the words fade into the background and it's like experiencing the story directly in my imagination. It sounds daft whenever I try to explain it, but it really is the best thing ever. I finished my 200 page goal by 11 this morning and just kept going. Before I knew it the book was done.

I remember trying and failing to read this some years ago. I'm really glad I tried again. I can see why it was such a sensation some years ago. Usually a mystery novel has a single mystery to unravel. Once that mystery is solved the book tends to be virtually over. This book had at least three. While they weren't all interconnected, they did fit together in the narrative in a satisfying way.

The relationship between Blomkvist and Salander is. . . unusual. While there is very little explicit material, there is a lot of sex and a lot of sex happening in non-conventional relationships. It didn't really bother me, but it didn't seem necessary. I guess Blomkvist gets portrayed as a extraordinary non-possessive and attractive guy, but I think there were other ways of establishing that. If there was one thing I didn't like about the story, it was how things were left with them at the end of the novel. From a writer's point of view, it's obvious that Larsson was clearly preserving the tension between the two characters for the next book in the series. As a reader, it made me unhappy.

Ok, that all sounded very negative, but I really enjoyed the mystery elements and, while I had a couple of early inklings, I never figured anything out more than a step ahead. It was great.