Booth # 2: Bookworms Corner

[Thorngrub]

Cool -- I'll check it out. I recall the name - Henry Kuttner - and probably have read some of his more famous short stories in some anthology or other. Can't recall them offhand. He sounds like one of those 'golden age' writers. In many ways, those guys were the best.

I'm 75% of the way through Shockwave Rider. Goood stuff.

[AIQ]

One of my favorite book of 2004

www.mqup.mcgill.ca/images/books/solway_franklin_lg.jpg
[/img]

They must have decided
to return to the ship
despite the flaming sword
of the never-setting, the dark sword
of the never-rising, sun.
Same old story
The way back into the garden
is also the way
into the realm of the minerals
In the end
what we are looking for
will find us
"Living must be your whole occupation,"
the poet wrote. He got it right.
No, he got it half right.

[Thorngrub]

That looks interesting.


I'm beginning the epic, futurist odyssey just released in hardcover from everyone's favorite quantum science fiction writer, RUDY RUCKER:



It is, in a word, outstanding.

[RocDoc]

Lifeline Theater here in Chicago, a company which 'Ross'(David Schwimmer) helped establish when he was really just nobody, is doing my favorite Vonnegut novel....I thought the(mixed) review would fit here...

'Sirens' a little shrill in Lifeline production


By Chris Jones
Tribune arts critic


How does the free enterprise system handle beauty? Simple. It uses it for commerce.

That smug little aphorism — at once pithy, weird, didactic, entirely true — is classic 1950s Kurt Vonnegut. And as with all the science-fiction works of this great allegorist, "The Sirens of Titan" is full of droll wisdom on the nature of the universe and the predictable, constant machinations of such institutions as the military, corporations and organized religion.


This is the tale of a rich man's journey from Rhode Island to Mars — and one unlucky earthling's role in the fulfillment of destiny and the clash of civilizations. But Vonnegut, a cynic, had none of H. G. Wells' Victorian absolutism at that moment.

Betwixt Vonnegut's robots, his spaceships, his references to chrono-synclastic infundibulum, lies a droll, satirical meditation on the nature of luck, fortune and fate. This is the rare work about prophecy that's actually reliant on intellectual logic.

And God? No sign of an intervention there as war begets war. Indeed, it's these sections of this yarn that carry the most weight these days. We're in a socio-political era especially heavy on folks claiming to do violence with God's narrative blessing — Vonnegut here skewers such theo-absolutism with especially caustic logic.

Chicago theaters have never met a Vonnegut novel they didn't want to adapt for the stage. And "The Sirens of Titan" at Lifeline Theatre joins the likes of "Slaughterhouse-Five" and other classics in new Midwestern dramatic form.

John Hidreth's smart script struggles with the usual problem of containing so much narrative action in a single night's traffic on the stage, but this is a strikingly clear and profound version of the novel that pulls out nicely its most potent themes.

There were Vonnegut fans in the place on Thursday night — you can spot them by the guffaws of recognition — and they seemed to leave happy that the master was in the hands of a dramatist who understood.

But Kevin Theis' up-and-down production — a typically inventive, handmade Lifeline affair that uses spaceships on sticks, immersing sound effects and an energetic, intense style — is more of a mixed bag.

The show only works when the acting is honest and credible. There are such scenes here: The terrific Mike Speller (who plays the rich weirdo Noel Constant) is both moving and fascinating, especially in his interactions with his son, Malachi (nicely played by David Blixt).

But there also are dangerous temptations. The piece has numerous religious and military figures — and they here are depicted in such an over-the-top fashion, you can see why such groups often feel they don't get a fair artistic shake.

If there's one thing that threatens to bring down this Titan,it's shrill, overwrought acting reliant on archetypes, not truth. Stereotypes only diminish Vonnegut. And by the end of the night, the lack of discipline from a capable cast drives you nuts.

It's time for Theis to pull everyone in. All these mainly young actors have to do is take a look at Vonnegut's writing. He might pen fanciful science fiction on an indeterminate galaxy, but it's all grounded in earthly human behavior that never gets any better.

metromix.chicagotribune.com/reviews/critics/mmx-g4k1q1h0s.11feb18,0,5594763.story?coll=mmx-critics_heds

[rockkid]

Just finished Jody Eldred’s book Changed Lives Miracles of the Passion.
Where to start………..
It did nothing for me compared to the actual movie.
I suppose I may have been looking for something stunning within its pages.
I’m torn, half of me wants to say it’s a good book & what lies within should be good enough for me, half wants to say just watch Passion again & skip this book.
Anyone else who read it care to share an opinion?

[chrisfan]

I have not read the book, but I'm responding anyway RK. I've actally avoided most of the marketing that has been done around The Passion. I've chosen to avoid it because for me, the film was such a personal experience, and far more of a religious experience than just watching a movie. I have talked about the movie with people I'm close to ... the same people I would normally have a deep, spiritual discussion with. But I have chosen not to really dive very deep into other related things, such as this book, because for some reason, I think it would take away from the experience for me. Does that make any sense?

It's the same reasoning that led me to not really care whether or not the movie was being nominated for various awards. I can't judge it as a film ... so why would I expect others to?

[JACkory]

I have seen the book in stores, but have not read it, either. Like Chrisfan, I have also steered clear of the Passion-related swag (unless you count checking out from the public library a book of photos from the movie). There seems to be quite a lot of it, and not all is in very good taste, IMO (something about a Passion of the Christ t-shirt just screams "Kitsch!").

If you liked The Passion, I would like to whole-heartedly reccomend The Gospel of John, which has just been re-released in a 2-disc version (I'm thinking they condensed the material that was on the original 3 disc set down to 2...at least I hope they haven't left anything out re: special features). Apparently Disney has bought the distribution rights from the original filmmakers, likely in an attempt to gain wider circulation.
Good for Disney, because this particular treatment of the "greatest story ever told" (which strives to be a faithful rendition of John's gospel) is one of the absolute best I have ever seen (and you know me, I've seen most of 'em). I won't say it's "better than The Passion, because the two films deal with different aspects of the subject, but it is every bit as good.

[rockkid]

Is it widely available?


I haven’t exactly gone hog wild buying any of the so called tie ins.
This just caught my eye in a book store & as I’ve said I was expecting some dynamic life changing stories.
It came off hillbilly rustic instead if that’s possible.
Agreed that it can in no way be looked upon in the same light as any other film.

[JACkory]

rockkid said:

Is it widely available?

Shouldn't be too hard to find on DVD. It was just re-released yesterday. Dunno how difficult it might be to obtain in Canada, though.
Let me know what you think ifn' you get to see it.

[rockkid]

Will do.

[Thorngrub]

Just finished one of the most horrifying novels I've ever read:



It is by one of my favorite authors, the celebrated, underground-breaking, cyberpunk Uncle, lead punk singer & antiauthoritarian rant-meister, the one, the only, JOHN SHIRLEY. Of course I read this classic Grand Guignol shortly after it first appeared in paperback form in 1988, and back then, well, let's say it was some sick shit, with an unflinching ferocity that put writers such as Clive Barker to shame, not simply because of the horrific gross-out factor, but more pointedly, because Shirley imbues his narrative with an underlying foundation of deeply thoughtful morality, bringing a humanistic cautionary tale into disturbing focus for the mature and compassionate individual.

Now the book has been re-issued for the first time in Hardcover, and slightly brought up to date for the new millenia, and having just finished it last night, I can say with some assurance it is one of the most effectively disturbing books I've ever read. If you like reading horror -- well you simply cannot afford to miss out on this, the real deal, served raw and true and naked in your face unflinching and honest and ultimately terrifying in its depiction of humanity's struggle with something one of the character's has dubbed "ESS", which stands for "Empathy Suppression Syndrome", a psychological reference that tries to put forth an explanation for the atrocities humankind are able to commit in the name of whatever higher ideal dictates the course of their actions. A perfect example is how did the Nazi soldiers shut out all empathy for their starved, tortured prisoners which included children, yet were known to feel compassion for stray pigeons as they tossed them bits of bread-? The mechanism at work which allows this sort of shocking differential in human beings is the focus of this intelligent and utterly ruthless novel.

If there is any truth whatsoever in the tenet that states exploring mankind's inner darkness fearlessly is perhaps the only way to get to the bottom of evil itself in in order to get a better grip on what drives it -- in hopes of ultimately "knowing the enemy" so to speak so that we may rise above ourselves and conquer it -- then this novel (not to mention the entire catalogue of John Shirley's work) becomes absolutely mandatory reading.

Not for the squeamish -- and most certainly not for the apathetic, delusional, or fantasy-based among us. This is a serious work in the guise of a "popular horror" novel. The act of reading it serves to plant the seed in you, for better or worse. A side effect could be suffering from nightmares after the book is finished. That is a small price to pay in light of the hope that it might help uncover the nature of this darkness within us.

[Thorngrub]

So, now I have embarked on a much lighter reading fare:



*Note: I am NOT reading the "Pop Up Book" version!*

(Rather, I am reading the 1st edition hardcover, which Amazon.com does not allow to be copied & pasted)

So far: this is a gripping read. Lovin' it. Total escapism.

[Thorngrub]

90% of the way through this one, and enjoying it:

[Thorngrub]

From A Buick 8 was thoroughly enjoyable. Anyone in the least bit interested in a down home story about a Pennsylvania State Trooper unit - "Troop D", as it's referred to in the story, blended into a rather wholesome Twilight Zone episode (I have to hand it to Big Steve for toning down the uneccessary and overt sexuality and violence that used to haunt his earlier works), will get a satisfying kick out this easygoing reading experience.


- - - - - - - - - - - -

Now I am reading a short novella by a newly discovered Serbian writer by the name Zoran Zivkovic, called Time-Gifts. It is a small, pocket sized tome with a detail of Dali's melting watch painting on the cover. He is hailed as a great postmodernist writer, and his style is deceptively simple. It will draw in the most discriminating reader with the ease of its plain characters and situations, and its lack of complex details. Zivkovic focuses on the most ordinary aspects of familiar day to day living, and somehow transmutes their mundanity into a precious marvel to behold. Reading his fiction is like being gently reminded that if we were only to open our eyes a little wider when taking in the dreariness of our ritualistic lives, we might be reminded of the eternal miracle of existance itself and not feel so bad about whatever lot we may have been handed. I highly recommend each and every reader of this board who happens to stumble upon this post, to seek out Zoran Zivkovic's gemlike pieces of literature. There is something in his tales for everyone.

[pissin2]

I bought that Buick 8 for my dad for christmas last year. He liked.