Fitness and Books
Spring is on the way. I've been far too sedentary this winter and all that's about to change. Ryan and I have devised a good little routine for me, alternating abdominal work with running and a daily sprinkling of yoga and push-ups for flavor. For now the yoga is going to be a simple "red sun salutation" which is a normal sun salutation with some Superman stretches thrown in. Get it? A split second after Ryan came up with the name he told me he knew I was just going to have to mention it in a post. Self-fulfilling prophecy, yes, but too good to pass up.
I have few goals at this point, but beyond muscle tone and a little weight loss, I want to improve enough in my climbing that it's worth it to go to Planet Rock and maybe even get to Kentucky for outdoor climbing one of these days. (By the way, I tried on the Petzl mentioned in a previous post and it is fantastic.)
Going Bovine, Libba Bray.
This is a difficult book to describe... The Catcher in the Rye meets The Phantom Tollbooth? All three have ennui-stricken protagonists and themes of carpe diem. In this case we have a punk rock angel and a hypochondriac dwarf acting as psychopomps to make things exceptionally odd. It's stuffed with humor and mythology, but I won't say it's not sad--or a Chekhov's Armoury. Fantastic book, but one that probably won't surpass The Shadow of the Wind as my top one read this year.
This also puts Don Quixote on my to-read list. I got a few references and laughed out loud at the model of their decrepit car, but it's one of the classics I haven't gotten around to reading yet.
The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
Books about books are my favorite!
In this place, books no longer remembered by anyone, books that are lost in time, live forever, waiting for the day when they will reach a new reader's hands. In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book you see here has been somebody's best friend.
The story is full of mystery and effective vignettes of post-war Barcelona. I found it a little far-fetched that nearly major player went to the same prestigious school, but it worked. Also, bearing in mind the words above that Daniel's father used to describe the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, I doubt Tess of d'Urbervilles fell into the same level of obscurity as the titular book. Again, minor quibble. Absolutely gorgeous book.
Fables: The Great Fables Crossover; Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, Mark Buckingham, Tony Akins, Russ Braun, Andrew Pepoy, José Marzán, Jr.
This is freshest in my mind, so I'll be writing quite a bit. Don't you just hate it when you're partway through a story and realize you've missed a previous installment? Well, I got the big revelations from Jack of Fables Vol 6: The Big Book of War in this, but that's okay. Anyway, Jack's always been a cad, but he crossed the line here. You lose your lovable rogue status when you take advantage of a woman debilitated by depression. Way to go. Far worse things have happened in the series ("A Frog's Eye View" from 1001 Nights of Snowfall immediately comes to mind and hell, most of The Dark Ages), but that combined with her subsequent self-loathing was just too much.
That aside, it was quite fun. It's impossible to dislike a story in which Deus Ex Machina is an actual character and other personifications relentlessly shatter the fourth wall, such as this exchange:
Science Fiction: I say we flank them and just put them down, like space-fish in a space-barrel.
Fantasy: My thoughts exactly, brother. We're so sympatico that sometimes it's hard to tell where I leave off and you begin.
Or the profiles of the characters done with genre-appropriate panache. (Blockbuster's begins with "In a world..." while Fantasy's has way too much much exposition, to the disgust of the narrator.)
The conclusion was a little mind-screwy, but that's what comes with the territory with the Literals. (Deus Ex Machina appearing throughout and assuring the characters that everything will turn out in the end was just, um, berries in the batter? Preemptive icing on the cake?) This was after all something of a Breather Episode and I imagine we'll get back to the more dark and daunting plot arc soon.
The Angel's Game, Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
Prequel to The Shadow of the Wind. Only three chapters in so far, so not much to say on that.
I have few goals at this point, but beyond muscle tone and a little weight loss, I want to improve enough in my climbing that it's worth it to go to Planet Rock and maybe even get to Kentucky for outdoor climbing one of these days. (By the way, I tried on the Petzl mentioned in a previous post and it is fantastic.)
Going Bovine, Libba Bray.
This is a difficult book to describe... The Catcher in the Rye meets The Phantom Tollbooth? All three have ennui-stricken protagonists and themes of carpe diem. In this case we have a punk rock angel and a hypochondriac dwarf acting as psychopomps to make things exceptionally odd. It's stuffed with humor and mythology, but I won't say it's not sad--or a Chekhov's Armoury. Fantastic book, but one that probably won't surpass The Shadow of the Wind as my top one read this year.
This also puts Don Quixote on my to-read list. I got a few references and laughed out loud at the model of their decrepit car, but it's one of the classics I haven't gotten around to reading yet.
The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
Books about books are my favorite!
In this place, books no longer remembered by anyone, books that are lost in time, live forever, waiting for the day when they will reach a new reader's hands. In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book you see here has been somebody's best friend.
The story is full of mystery and effective vignettes of post-war Barcelona. I found it a little far-fetched that nearly major player went to the same prestigious school, but it worked. Also, bearing in mind the words above that Daniel's father used to describe the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, I doubt Tess of d'Urbervilles fell into the same level of obscurity as the titular book. Again, minor quibble. Absolutely gorgeous book.
Fables: The Great Fables Crossover; Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, Mark Buckingham, Tony Akins, Russ Braun, Andrew Pepoy, José Marzán, Jr.
This is freshest in my mind, so I'll be writing quite a bit. Don't you just hate it when you're partway through a story and realize you've missed a previous installment? Well, I got the big revelations from Jack of Fables Vol 6: The Big Book of War in this, but that's okay. Anyway, Jack's always been a cad, but he crossed the line here. You lose your lovable rogue status when you take advantage of a woman debilitated by depression. Way to go. Far worse things have happened in the series ("A Frog's Eye View" from 1001 Nights of Snowfall immediately comes to mind and hell, most of The Dark Ages), but that combined with her subsequent self-loathing was just too much.
That aside, it was quite fun. It's impossible to dislike a story in which Deus Ex Machina is an actual character and other personifications relentlessly shatter the fourth wall, such as this exchange:
Science Fiction: I say we flank them and just put them down, like space-fish in a space-barrel.
Fantasy: My thoughts exactly, brother. We're so sympatico that sometimes it's hard to tell where I leave off and you begin.
Or the profiles of the characters done with genre-appropriate panache. (Blockbuster's begins with "In a world..." while Fantasy's has way too much much exposition, to the disgust of the narrator.)
The conclusion was a little mind-screwy, but that's what comes with the territory with the Literals. (Deus Ex Machina appearing throughout and assuring the characters that everything will turn out in the end was just, um, berries in the batter? Preemptive icing on the cake?) This was after all something of a Breather Episode and I imagine we'll get back to the more dark and daunting plot arc soon.
The Angel's Game, Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
Prequel to The Shadow of the Wind. Only three chapters in so far, so not much to say on that.