Books of 2009
Just got through with the Cranford Christmas special -- boy but that series does not cut back on the high mortality rates, does it? On the whole I don't think this was as well put together as the original but, still, high old lady hilarity all around and yay Tim Curry and yay Jodie Whittaker. Overall, though, I'm rather disappointed with Masterpiece Theatre's spring line up. Bahhhhh to Austen encore (well, I will admit that the Northanger Abbey movie was extremely adorable, but epic do not want to the new Emma mini. BECAUSE THAT'S JUST WHAT THE WORLD NEEDED, RIGHT?); Small Island sounds interesting, so I guess I will bide my time until April.
To continue my 2009 review, Books of 2009! Thank you, facebook, for helping me to keep track of all of this:
(Books marked with a [C] were read for coursework.)
1. Believing is Seeing: Creating the Culture of Art by Mary Anne Staniszewski [C] - assigned text for my final art history course. Not super impressed with this one. Image heavy/text lite, creates some interesting observations but more in the way of what might be fitting to a single Art 101 lecture than to an entire book.
2. Ways of Seeing: Based on the BBC Television Series by John Berger [C] - also assigned for same art history course. I found this one about a billionty times more interesting, if somewhat obviously dated in areas. I'm really super curious to watch the BBC program that goes with it except it apparently exists NOWHERE any more. Has a depressing as fuck final chapter on the advertising/capitalism/consumerism cycle ("publicity") that should be required reading for anybody who watches Mad Men. (Ha, seriously, this was me in every single class period we spent discussing the essays in this book: "Okay, so, this is just like that episode of Mad Men where...")
3. Eleanor Antin: Historical Takes ed. Bettie-sue Hertz [C] - once more for the same art history course, only this one was self-selected for a presentation on an artist of our choosing. Check out her stuff! She's pretty darn neat.
4. Public Enemies, Public Heroes: Screening the Gangster from Little Caesar to Touch of Evil by Jonathan Munby [C] - because whenever I have a chance to write a paper on gangster movies, I will take it (even though I don't fully agree with the agenda pushed in the text... whatever, it was still a very interesting read. I'm such a bad liberal arts student, though; I read all this stuff going, "What is this hippy bullshit??" No, okay, I really do cherish it, I promise. This book had a lot of cool background on censorship issues with gangster films, which is just like magical academic catnip to me. WHY DO I FIND MOVIE CENSORSHIP SO FASCINATING? But, really, it is. Apparently White Heat concerned censors not for the sexy talk between Cody and Verna or for the gory bits with a guy getting his face melted off by locomotive steam -- but rather because it goes into detail about the methods and technologies of law enforcement officers, and censors thought it was too risky to share such sensitive info with the general public. Haaaa, if only they could see the Military Channel today...! "Inside America's Top Secret Military Bases!" "Behind the Scenes on Our Latest Weaponry, Including the Part Where its Engineers Discuss All of its Fatal Weaknesses!" Really, now, I'm all for transparency in government, but come on... I'm pretty sure terrorists have cable, right? ...None of this has anything to do with my book list anymore. Okay. Moving on.)
5. Dreams and Dead Ends by Jack Shadoian [C] - see above! Rather less interesting, though.
6. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris [C] - a book I would never read were it not assigned to me. And that's all I have to say about that.
7. Movies and Mental Illness: Using Films to Understand Psychopathology by Danny Wedding, Mary Ann Boyd, and Ryan M. Niemiec [C] - class textbook. Boring-ish. Meh. Eh. Not one of my favorite texts ever.
8. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - one of those "I really need to read this before graduating from college!" books, so I did. Verdict: WHY HAD I NOT READ THIS BEFORE??! And now I keep meaning to read more Margaret Atwood, because I'm sure I would love the rest of her stuff, too. Also, this is going to sound weird, but I read this book and then watched the movie Robocop back-to-back just as Dollhouse was starting up, and I feel like those two things completely informed my viewership of the show -- an apt if completely unexpected combo of fictional flavors.
9. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore - in the throes of my rekindled Watchmen love. Ehhh. (Ennk?) Whatever. I wanted to like it but kind of didn't. I'll just go reread Watchmen, please and thank you, and laugh at watchdom (BY THE WAY DID YOU GUYS SEE THIS BEST HALLOWEEN COSTUME EVER? Or how about this epic Watchmen/The Giving Tree crossover (yes you read that correctly)? Or or or I don't even know, I just love that comm so much).
10. The Beasties by William Sleator - read on my sister's rec. I don't want to spoil too much in case any of you decide to check it out. Summary: YA lit that is both gross and engrossing, kind of like Fern Gully crossed with Repo.
11. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - read on, errr, somebody's rec; but this was another one that I didn't like nearly as much as I wanted to. There's an interesting story in there somewhere but it is buried under such a flat and tedious writing style. While working through it I kind of tried to fanwank it as -- well, maybe it was intentional? Have the writing style mirror that of a slightly boring and insipid teenage girl to mask the fact that the plot's true purpose remains hidden from the characters for the majority of the story? But... I don't know; even if that was the case, it wasn't really worth sitting through however many pages of blah writing. I guess they're making a film of it, though? That might be slightly more worthwhile.
12. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick - THUS BEGINS MY LOVE AFFAIR. I'd seen Blade Runner before reading the book, so of course the comparisons were inevitable... they're quite different, though; BR is all moody and gorgeous and dreamlike, while the book is a bit more acerbic and everyday. Also quite a few plot differences... overall, though, I really really enjoyed it and was eager to check out more.
13. Understanding Art by Lois Fichner-Rathus [C] - textbook. Good survey. Too big, though, made my lap hurt whenever I had to read it. :(
14. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick - I don't even know how to sum this one up. Just read it. Seriously. PKD's work has been so frequently adapted, and as a scifi writer he's so well known as just an ideas man -- but, man, that is so completely overlooking the power of the writing itself, and this is one that really needs to be experienced. General overview: AU 1960s where the Allies lost WWII. Not exactly a unique concept, but, well... just read it! It's quick and painless! (Well, actually quite painful, but in the way that all great fiction is.)
15. Ubik by Philip K. Dick - read this and then watch Ashes to Ashes series two. Then watch your brain explode.
16. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris - airplane reading during my summer vacation!
17. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett - as stated before, THIS BOOK IS SO SERIOUSLY BADASS. I wish I could expand without giving any spoilers but, well, that's basically impossible, so... just... take my word for it. I'm a sucker for pulp crime fiction, but what I love about Hammett's work is that it always takes it one step further, that the story you're reading ends up being completely different from the story you thought you were reading. It's like the murder mystery trope of a twist ending but on crack -- the surprise isn't so much in the identity of the 'whodunit' as it is in the nature of the text itself. ...This probably makes zero sense if you haven't read any of his stuff before, but... just... read it. And you will know what I mean. Mind = blown.
18. VALIS by Philip K. Dick - I'll direct you to my Lost Book Club post on the matter, although my comments there are rather spoilery so be warned. This was probably the weirdest of all the PKD stuff I read this year (and that is saying something) but it was also the one that stuck with me the most, personally -- just one of those weird coincidences of picking up the right text at the right time when suddenly it is like everything I'm reading is an exact echo of what has been going on in my head. Both comforting and depressing, I guess -- much of it is a narrative of the protagonist dealing with depression, attempted suicide, and a struggle to discover meaning for one's existence.
19. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut - more lost_bookclub fare, and more "why have I not read this yet?" fare.
20. He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope - unfinished! Abandoned! For now... I made it to page 104 but then admitted defeat and took it back to the library. I'll get back to it one day...
21. High Moon, Vol. 1 by David Gallaher - also still in progress. Whoops.
22. The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - STILL IN PROGRESS!! I have been reading this on and off for the last three years or so. I'm so close to being done, though...! I've only got like 100 pages left.
So, in conclusion... I basically read nothing last year. Except for a bunch of Philip K. Dick.
To continue my 2009 review, Books of 2009! Thank you, facebook, for helping me to keep track of all of this:
(Books marked with a [C] were read for coursework.)
1. Believing is Seeing: Creating the Culture of Art by Mary Anne Staniszewski [C] - assigned text for my final art history course. Not super impressed with this one. Image heavy/text lite, creates some interesting observations but more in the way of what might be fitting to a single Art 101 lecture than to an entire book.
2. Ways of Seeing: Based on the BBC Television Series by John Berger [C] - also assigned for same art history course. I found this one about a billionty times more interesting, if somewhat obviously dated in areas. I'm really super curious to watch the BBC program that goes with it except it apparently exists NOWHERE any more. Has a depressing as fuck final chapter on the advertising/capitalism/consumerism cycle ("publicity") that should be required reading for anybody who watches Mad Men. (Ha, seriously, this was me in every single class period we spent discussing the essays in this book: "Okay, so, this is just like that episode of Mad Men where...")
3. Eleanor Antin: Historical Takes ed. Bettie-sue Hertz [C] - once more for the same art history course, only this one was self-selected for a presentation on an artist of our choosing. Check out her stuff! She's pretty darn neat.
4. Public Enemies, Public Heroes: Screening the Gangster from Little Caesar to Touch of Evil by Jonathan Munby [C] - because whenever I have a chance to write a paper on gangster movies, I will take it (even though I don't fully agree with the agenda pushed in the text... whatever, it was still a very interesting read. I'm such a bad liberal arts student, though; I read all this stuff going, "What is this hippy bullshit??" No, okay, I really do cherish it, I promise. This book had a lot of cool background on censorship issues with gangster films, which is just like magical academic catnip to me. WHY DO I FIND MOVIE CENSORSHIP SO FASCINATING? But, really, it is. Apparently White Heat concerned censors not for the sexy talk between Cody and Verna or for the gory bits with a guy getting his face melted off by locomotive steam -- but rather because it goes into detail about the methods and technologies of law enforcement officers, and censors thought it was too risky to share such sensitive info with the general public. Haaaa, if only they could see the Military Channel today...! "Inside America's Top Secret Military Bases!" "Behind the Scenes on Our Latest Weaponry, Including the Part Where its Engineers Discuss All of its Fatal Weaknesses!" Really, now, I'm all for transparency in government, but come on... I'm pretty sure terrorists have cable, right? ...None of this has anything to do with my book list anymore. Okay. Moving on.)
5. Dreams and Dead Ends by Jack Shadoian [C] - see above! Rather less interesting, though.
6. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris [C] - a book I would never read were it not assigned to me. And that's all I have to say about that.
7. Movies and Mental Illness: Using Films to Understand Psychopathology by Danny Wedding, Mary Ann Boyd, and Ryan M. Niemiec [C] - class textbook. Boring-ish. Meh. Eh. Not one of my favorite texts ever.
8. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - one of those "I really need to read this before graduating from college!" books, so I did. Verdict: WHY HAD I NOT READ THIS BEFORE??! And now I keep meaning to read more Margaret Atwood, because I'm sure I would love the rest of her stuff, too. Also, this is going to sound weird, but I read this book and then watched the movie Robocop back-to-back just as Dollhouse was starting up, and I feel like those two things completely informed my viewership of the show -- an apt if completely unexpected combo of fictional flavors.
9. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore - in the throes of my rekindled Watchmen love. Ehhh. (Ennk?) Whatever. I wanted to like it but kind of didn't. I'll just go reread Watchmen, please and thank you, and laugh at watchdom (BY THE WAY DID YOU GUYS SEE THIS BEST HALLOWEEN COSTUME EVER? Or how about this epic Watchmen/The Giving Tree crossover (yes you read that correctly)? Or or or I don't even know, I just love that comm so much).
10. The Beasties by William Sleator - read on my sister's rec. I don't want to spoil too much in case any of you decide to check it out. Summary: YA lit that is both gross and engrossing, kind of like Fern Gully crossed with Repo.
11. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - read on, errr, somebody's rec; but this was another one that I didn't like nearly as much as I wanted to. There's an interesting story in there somewhere but it is buried under such a flat and tedious writing style. While working through it I kind of tried to fanwank it as -- well, maybe it was intentional? Have the writing style mirror that of a slightly boring and insipid teenage girl to mask the fact that the plot's true purpose remains hidden from the characters for the majority of the story? But... I don't know; even if that was the case, it wasn't really worth sitting through however many pages of blah writing. I guess they're making a film of it, though? That might be slightly more worthwhile.
12. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick - THUS BEGINS MY LOVE AFFAIR. I'd seen Blade Runner before reading the book, so of course the comparisons were inevitable... they're quite different, though; BR is all moody and gorgeous and dreamlike, while the book is a bit more acerbic and everyday. Also quite a few plot differences... overall, though, I really really enjoyed it and was eager to check out more.
13. Understanding Art by Lois Fichner-Rathus [C] - textbook. Good survey. Too big, though, made my lap hurt whenever I had to read it. :(
14. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick - I don't even know how to sum this one up. Just read it. Seriously. PKD's work has been so frequently adapted, and as a scifi writer he's so well known as just an ideas man -- but, man, that is so completely overlooking the power of the writing itself, and this is one that really needs to be experienced. General overview: AU 1960s where the Allies lost WWII. Not exactly a unique concept, but, well... just read it! It's quick and painless! (Well, actually quite painful, but in the way that all great fiction is.)
15. Ubik by Philip K. Dick - read this and then watch Ashes to Ashes series two. Then watch your brain explode.
16. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris - airplane reading during my summer vacation!
17. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett - as stated before, THIS BOOK IS SO SERIOUSLY BADASS. I wish I could expand without giving any spoilers but, well, that's basically impossible, so... just... take my word for it. I'm a sucker for pulp crime fiction, but what I love about Hammett's work is that it always takes it one step further, that the story you're reading ends up being completely different from the story you thought you were reading. It's like the murder mystery trope of a twist ending but on crack -- the surprise isn't so much in the identity of the 'whodunit' as it is in the nature of the text itself. ...This probably makes zero sense if you haven't read any of his stuff before, but... just... read it. And you will know what I mean. Mind = blown.
18. VALIS by Philip K. Dick - I'll direct you to my Lost Book Club post on the matter, although my comments there are rather spoilery so be warned. This was probably the weirdest of all the PKD stuff I read this year (and that is saying something) but it was also the one that stuck with me the most, personally -- just one of those weird coincidences of picking up the right text at the right time when suddenly it is like everything I'm reading is an exact echo of what has been going on in my head. Both comforting and depressing, I guess -- much of it is a narrative of the protagonist dealing with depression, attempted suicide, and a struggle to discover meaning for one's existence.
19. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut - more lost_bookclub fare, and more "why have I not read this yet?" fare.
20. He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope - unfinished! Abandoned! For now... I made it to page 104 but then admitted defeat and took it back to the library. I'll get back to it one day...
21. High Moon, Vol. 1 by David Gallaher - also still in progress. Whoops.
22. The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - STILL IN PROGRESS!! I have been reading this on and off for the last three years or so. I'm so close to being done, though...! I've only got like 100 pages left.
So, in conclusion... I basically read nothing last year. Except for a bunch of Philip K. Dick.