The Pile #2

Here's an updated look at the to-be-read pile to my right, from top to bottom...

Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories Volume 1 - We have been reading selections from here for the past 2 weeks of class, which has been just fine with me. This week we will be discussing "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Five Orange Pips" to close out our semester (outside of the paper due Wed. and our final the following Wed.). At some point, I would like to read everything in this and the second volume.

Asimov's June 2010 - Yes, I'm still many months behind on my SF magazines but I have at least started this one, which got off to a great start with Allen M. Steele's "The Emperor of Mars."

The Passages of H.M. - I just read about Jay Parini's novel based on Herman Melville's exploits and decided to request it at the library. It came in and I picked up it today. For some reason, my 19th century Brit Lit class has me thinking of the same period in American Lit and Melville is a biggie.

Masked - This has not been touched since the last picture of the pile. It will be at some point.

Chew Vol. 2 - The same can be said about this.

Fables Vol. 14: Witches - This latest volume of the long-running series just came out Thursday and I can't wait to dive into it. I really should finish the paper before that happens, though.

Mile Run

Greg Rucka and Dennis Lehane are forever linked for me. In 1998, I bought and devoured Rucka and Steve Lieber's Whiteout from Oni Press. Somewhere in that time I learned Rucka had written a few novels, which I quickly found and started reading. I'm still a fan of his Atticus Kodiak books. A friend of mine from the APA I was in at the time (Hi, Tim and Pulp Legacy!) recommended Dennis Lehane's novels about Kenzie and Gennaro to me and I bit. I was reading one of them on my trip to Spain in March 2000. They both moved away from those series - Rucka to many comics, one of which spun out into a couple novels, and Lehane to standalone books like Mystic River and Shutter Island. Both published new books within the last couple weeks and I've managed to squeeze both into my busy schedule.

First was Rucka's The Last Run. It's not a return to the Atticus Kodiak cycle, though his last book was. Instead, this is the third Queen & Country novel, the same series that started as a comic I mentioned before. In fact, the comic returned for a while after the last novel, Private Wars, came out in 2005. I do not own those issues in any form, something I should rectify.

The new novel begins with Tara Chace feeling like it's time to stop being a Minder. Events, of course, conspire to keep her active for one last mission involving double crosses and politics in Iran. Back home, her boss Paul Crocker is dealing with political repercussions from his utter support of his Minders over the years. It's fast-paced and very engrossing and I loved every minute of it. I did see the ending coming but I was okay with it, as it puts a pin on the series.

Speaking of putting a pin on a series, Lehane's Moonlight Mile is his first Kenzie and Gennaro novel since 1999's Prayers For Rain. The new one actually deals with events from Gone Baby Gone, which was released the year prior to Prayers For Rain (and made into a critically-acclaimed movie by Ben Affleck that I still haven't seen). Amanda McCready, the kidnapped girl from that book, has once more disappeared. Kenzie and Gennaro are now married with a four year-old daughter, barely holding on in the down economy and find themselves drawn back into Amanda's life. It's a compelling book that deals with guilt and class issues and the big issue of right versus wrong. I read it quickly. Unfortunately, I don't think there will be another one but I'm okay with the way it ended.

If you like your PI/bodyguard genre, you could do worse than picking up some Rucka or Lehane. I'd start at the beginning, though. You won't be able to stop yourself from catching up quickly.

The Pile

Now that I've written about the last two things I've read, I thought I'd run down what's currently sitting in my to-be-read pile. I'll go top to bottom...

The Mar./Apr. issue of F&SF - No, you didn't read that cover date incorrectly. I'm waaaaay behind on my SF magazine reading - there are 3 more issues of F&SF and 7 (!) of Asimov's still socked away in a drawer (well, the drawer isn't big enough to hold them all, so some are shifted to the bookshelves behind me) after this one. On the plus side, I've read over 120 pages of this issue since last night and will read more after this post is completed.

English Victorian Poetry - We're spending two days on poems from this anthology between novels in my English class. We covered Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Matthew Arnold on Wednesday and will discuss Alfred, Lord Tennyson on Monday.

The Woman in White - This novel by Wilkie Collins is next up after the poetry. It's the longest novel we've read in class so far and I'll need to knock out large chunks in a short amount of time. I'd heard of Collins before this but not the book and I'm eager to check it out. Strangely, it also got a mention in Bob Dylan in America.

Masked - This is an anthology of super-hero prose stories edited by Lou Anders, who usually puts these sorts of things together very well. I've read the first four stories so far but that was a while ago. It's not that I've lost interest - I just need to carve out some more time.

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk - I was a fan of David Sedaris's essays in The New Yorker back when I was a subscriber and this small book of short stories seemed like a good way to check in with him again. The title alone, you know?

The Last Run - This is the third (and final?) Tara Chace novel from Greg Rucka, a series that started as the comic Queen & Country. You know, I'm still not sure I own all those trades (a quick check reveals I didn't get the final one of the main series or a couple of the offshoots). Anyway, the last novel came out in 2005, so it's been a while.

Chew Vol. 2 - This collects issues #6-10 of the ongoing series about cibopathic Tony Chu. It's an odd premise and a great book.

Fantastic Four - This is one of the most venerable comics in the Marvel Universe, of course. This particular collection contains the first six issues of the current run by Jonathan Hickman which has gotten pretty good reviews. The first story is a multiple worlds tale and I'm a sucker for those, so I'm interested to see Hickman's take on the team.

It'll take a while to get through these but I'm always ready to read...

Bob and Jane

My reading has been dominated by two books over the last two weeks or so, both of which I have now finished. One was for pleasure, the other for school. One was fiction, the other non. One was a classic, the other written about a classic songwriter. Have you used all the clues to figure them out yet? That's right - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Bob Dylan in America by Sean Wilentz.

Bob Dylan in America places him as an American artist and spends a lot of time dealing with his influences and even people who may have influenced him. Early chapters deal not so much with Dylan as with Aaron Copeland and the Beat writers. It also deals with more recent projects and I had no idea people were calling him a plagiarist during that time period. Naturally, the book does talk about the music as well, including a section on Blonde on Blonde. It's a very interesting read, though I suspect someone who doesn't care for Dylan would find much of interest.

I've read a Bronte before but not Charlotte; I read Wuthering Heights multiple times in my teens and really liked the novel (maybe I should reread it now that I'm older and see what has changed). I've also read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, though that didn't really prepare me for Jane Eyre itself (I did flip through the Fforde after finishing the Bronte and it made me laugh now that I know the novel). I did enjoy the book and enjoyed our class discussion just as much. Jane is very headstrong and steely and though her romantic foils weren't the greatest, they still illuminated her resolve.

Sunday Shuffle #190

I had planned on jumping into a bunch of posts once my class finished but I found myself unable to focus earlier this week. Over the last few days, I've been hitting the DVR pretty hard and have caught up on True Blood, Entourage, and Friday Night Lights. I've also read some comics and finally settled into the new Gary Shteyngart novel. My plan is to generate some posts this week but we'll see. For now, let's get into the music...

1. Try To Make It/Sloan (2)

2. The Past Is A Grotesque Animal/Of Montreal (2)

3. Headsfull/Amy Millan (1)

4. Life is White/Big Star (6)

5. I Know That's Not Really You/American Music Club (3)

6. Automaton/Pernice Brothers (2)

7. Islero/Crooked Fingers (4)

8. The Things You Don't See/Canasta (2)

9. Unhinged/The Drams (1)

10. Here Comes The Sun Again/M. Ward (1)

Let's Go to the Video

I've never been a big gamer. Part of it was that I never had a video game console growing up. I did have friends with them, of course, and spent a lot of time playing Atari at their houses. At college, I had friends with game systems as well, so I got more exposure. Years ago my wife and I bought a Super Nintendo and kept it for a while but eventually gave it to some nephews because we felt a little embarrassed about it. We our son was old enough, we bought a Nintendo Game Cube and enjoyed playing. My son has become a real gamer and has a wall of systems in his room. I play from time to time but not as much as I tell myself I want to. I'm just more wired into other forms of entertainment, I guess, and playing video games detracts from time spent with those.

Over the past few days, I've been reading Tom Bissell's new book, Extra Lives. In it, he makes a case for video games as an art form and why they matter. He talks about problems inherent with narrative and ways that some games have tried to work around that issue. He talks to people who spend their time thinking about games and designing games. He writes about the games that have captured his interest and time in such a way that makes me want to track all those games down and start playing.

It is a very interesting book and worth a read even if you aren't a hardcore gamer like me.

A Great Visit

I remember reading reviews of Jennifer Egan's Look At Me back in the early part of the decade and thinking that the book sounded interesting. I never did get around to picking it up and don't remember seeing Egan's name again, though I probably should have based on what I'm now learning about her novel The Keep. All of this is prelude to talking about her new novel, A Visit From the Good Squad, which I recently read.

The first chapter introduces us to Sasha, who is out on a date and trying not to succumb to her kleptomaniac tendencies. She is smart and funny and damaged. This chapter hooks you in immediately. None of the rest of the novel is told from her point-of-view and it works wonderfully.

This book continues a trend I've been noticing in fiction lately - that of the mosaic novel. It's not quite a series of linked short stories that make up a novel but instead chapters giving us different character viewpoints that all have links to one another. Yeah, the distinction isn't a big one. Recent example of this approach include Let the World Spin by Colum McCann (which I loved) and The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman (which I read and enjoyed well enough earlier this year).

Throughout the course of the book we learn about Sasha's former boss, Bennie Salazar and his friends from high school. We meet Bennie's mentor in the music business and Bennie's wife and son. We see Sasha's uncle in Naples "searching" for Sasha and Sasha's college best friend who comes to a tragic end. These are all in different time periods. Near the end of the book there is a 50 page plus section that is a Power Point presentation. It is set in the near future and the Power Point is written by Sasha's 12 year-old daughter about her family. Amazingly, this section is just as effective as the rest written in straight prose and renders insight in a new way. Bravo.

The novel isn't just tied together through Sasha either. We have a similarity of themes - ideas of how structure informs personality, questions of identity, the passage of time, the quest for meaning. I'm just scratching the surface here too. A closer re-read would yield a much more in-depth analysis.

I really liked this book and I can't recommend it enough. I will definitely be delving into the rest of Egan's work as well.

Sharing

My Google Reader was advertising a new feature this evening and I enjoyed it enough to add a new part to the blog - you'll see it over there in the upper right-hand corner. It pulls things from the internet that I can look at and share with you, if I find the item interesting enough. Yes, it's another way to waste time on the internet but I got a kick out of the 4 items you'll find over there right now.

I hope to have more things to share with you soon in the way of actual posts. I would like to talk about True Blood (I have one episode left of the 2nd season), Toy Story 3, all sorts of music, and more. I have 4 books out from the library out right now with 2 more waiting for me, so some book posts need to happen too.

I do have one last item to share tonight, a good old-fashioned link. Matt Fraction is relaunching Casanova through Icon soon and GQ did a longish interview about it with him. I've only read the first 7 issues of the original 14 (the 2nd story arc was never collected), so I'm looking forward to more. I think Fraction is one of the better writers in comics today and there's quite a bit of interest to read here.

Ok, enough sharing for one night...

Thursday Pop

Last week's batch of comics hit all of my pleasure centers but this week's (smaller) batch didn't do quite so well. A month or so ago I picked up Brightest Day #0 and found it an intriguing start to the new bi-weekly series spun out of Blackest Night. I thought #1 was a big pile of crap. So, I decided that #2 would be my make or break (and yes, #4 came out this week - I'm behind, what can I say?) and while it wasn't terrible, it also wasn't particularly good. You can see the plot mechanism working and characterization seems to just be shouting. I won't be reading any more of them.

I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 was a lot of fun with its secret origins of the organization and presence of Leonardo DaVinci. #2, however? It was an incoherent mess. Tim Callahan over at CBR gave this issue 4 1/2 stars and while I often agree with his point of view, I just don't get it. The issue is a swirl of pseudo-mystical speak and answers are promised but I'm not interested in finding out what they are. Oh well.

My wife and I are slowly working out way through the DVR and I'm still sorting through True Blood through On Demand and trying to catch up to the present. Here's the TV yet to be watched list...

Glee (5 eps)

Doctor Who (6 eps)

True Blood (10 eps)

Burn Notice (2 eps)

Treme (2 eps)

Meanwhile, I've also started reading the insanely long The Passage by Justin Cronin. I also have work for a summer class I'm taking, so it's going to be tough to get it all read and back to the library in time. I'm going to try, though...

Small Portion

I've been aware of Aimee Bender for a number of years but never quite managed to pick up one of her books. That fact has now changed with the release of her new novel, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, although it almost didn't. I've found that I have a harder time settling into books as the years have gone by, usually based on my mood at the time. It could also be that I have less free time than I ever did and more distractions. Whatever the case, after a pause of two days or so, I picked this book back up and went the distance.

The big idea here is that Rose Edelstein can taste emotions in food, specifically the emotions of the people who made the food. This is a pretty traumatic discovery for her, especially since it takes place when she is 9. Much of the book deals with her ways of coping with and finally learning to deal with her "gift."

Rose is not only in her misery - each member of her family is off in some way, from the flat-out strangeness of her brother Joseph to the intense need of her mother and the mostly vacant spot that is her father. Luckily, the claustrophobic feel of the family is broken up from time to time by Joseph's only friend George, who serves as an anchor to reality throughout the book.

I said it was a big idea and these are crazy characters but this isn't a big book in temperment. It's a small book, concerned with everyday discoveries about ourselves and the world around us. That's not a bad thing.

Widow Talk

Sometimes you need to find the right book at the right time. After finishing Cory Doctorow's Makers (which I liked), I had two more books out from the library. The problem was that neither one was appealing to me at that moment. I took them back to the library and checked out Jonathan Tropper's How to Talk to a Widower instead. I'd really enjoyed his most recent novel last year and decided to check out his previous work. It's a decision I'm glad I made.

We start the story about a year after Doug Parker has lost his wife and he is still deep in grief and has cut himself off from the world. The book deals with him coming back to life with the help of his messed-up family. It's funny, dark, sexy at times, and just good. I recommend it.

It was the 10th book I've read this year, which is my slowest pace in quite some time. I am taking a summer class, so I probably won't read with the same ferocity as last summer but I do hope to step things up a bit.

Clearing

I've spent most of my weekend trying to clear out some things (mostly brought on my whiny post about all of the piles I have) and have been slightly successful. It's also helped by the facts that my Spanish professor didn't post any online exercises like she said she would and that the pdf of the first book of The Iliad I have to read for English isn't downloading properly.

Yesterday morning I finished The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris, the follow-up novel to his acclaimed debut And Then We Came to the End, which I liked well enough. I almost gave up on The Unnamed after 75 pages but then decided to stick with it. It's about a man who has a recurring condition where he just walks. That's right, walks. He is unable to stop himself until his body decides and then falls into deep sleeps that are dangerous due to where he sleeps. He's not a particularly interesting character and the first two-thirds of the novel are fairly tedious. The final third is much more interesting, when Tim has reached a state of roaming and warring with his body. It is odd and compelling and the story ultimately reaches a nice crescendo before tailing off again in the final pages. I'm glad I stuck with it but wouldn't say I loved it.

Once I finished the Ferris novel, I returned both it and the next novel I had out from the library, then canceled my other requests. It's time to try and get a handle on the reading material I have here before dipping back into the never-ending stacks.

I did make a start by reading the second story in the Oct/Nov issue of F&SF, "Bandits of the Trace" by Albert E. Cowdrey. I usually like the work Cowdrey produces for the magazine but this one kicked it up a bit. The story has an odd opening then shifts to a college professor who is struggling with a book and a crossword puzzle. He ends up roping a student into a puzzle around which is book is based. We then get the entire first chapter of that book, telling the tale of the titular bandits, which is quite engrossing. Eventually all three sections weave back together and the fantastical element is revealed. It's clever and fun.

I've managed to clear out most of the 160+ posts I had in my Google Reader and heard some good music that way - Phantogram, Lissie, and new stuff from Josh Rouse and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. I also listened to the third disc of that Hall & Oates box set, though I still have another to go...and then bought myself 2 more albums yesterday (Charlotte Gainsbourg and Vampire Weekend).

I watched a handful of things from the DVR, including the last two eps of Batman: Brave and the Bold with my son. He thought "A Bat Divided" was hilarious and I agreed with him, plus it was fun seeing the version of Firestorm they introduced. That show is tons of fun.

I am hoping to finally watch the final episode of Dollhouse before the Super Bowl starts. I also plan on starting the Jack of Fables trade at the top of my pile during the game.

Eight Piles High

I went out and bought the new Fables trade yesterday and I'm looking forward to reading it. However, there are 5 other trades piled on top of it.

I'm trying to finish The Unnamed by tomorrow because it's due back at the library and I can't renew it. I have 3 other books on the shelf to be read after that.

I bought the Hall & Oates box set on Saturday and have only managed to listen to half of the discs.

I started the Oct./Nov. 2009 issue of F&SF and few weeks ago and have only managed about 50 pages. I have 2 more issues of F&SF and 4 of Asimov's sitting in a drawer.

Adventureland arrived via Netflix last Friday and I still haven't watched it. Hell, I have DVDs I got for Christmas three plus years ago that I haven't watched yet.

The DVR is 76% full and set to record 4 more hours worth tonight and 2 1/2 tomorrow night.

Oh, and my Google Reader? It has over 100 unread posts, including links to a number of podcasts I want to listen to.

Sigh.

Wild Again

I mentioned the other day that I was reading Suicide Kings, the latest novel in the long-running Wild Cards series shepherded by George R.R. Martin. I had lost some momentum in my reading but I rebounded yesterday and then finished the book this morning. There often comes a point in a book where I can no longer put it down as it powers to its end.

This book is the final of a recent trilogy within the Wild Cards universe and the 20th overall. It continues to track a group of characters we were introduced to in Inside Straight and their journey from hero wannabes to actual heroes. At this point, I'd grown attached to several of the characters and this chapter was not always kind to them. There is that sense of heroism and redemption, though.

I'm not going to natter on about plot. This book hinges on the previous two and a new reader would be well-served to start with Inside Straight. Some of these characters hearken back to the original set of Wild Cards novels, many of which I read but haven't owned in a long, long time. In any event, there are a bunch of new writers who have signed on for more books and look forward to seeing what happens.

Life in Miniature

Here's a quick encapsulation of my week for you - from Saturday to Monday, I read 230 pages of the latest Wild Cards novel, Suicide Kings. On the other hand, I've only read 34 more pages since that time. I do hope to finish the 175 pages or so that are left this weekend...by Saturday, if possible. We'll see.

Corn Flake Mysteries

Some quick thoughts on things I've read recently...

House of Mystery - There are quite a few mysteries laid out in the first volume of this series, which is as it should be. What connection does Fig have to the titular house and why is she the only one who can hear it talk? Why can it talk? Who are the mysterious figures that chased her to the house? Why are only five people not allowed to leave? Plus, we get stories within each story, as story is the method of payment in the bar. Matthew Sturges is the driving force behind the title, though Bill Willingham sometimes writes the stories within. The main artist is Luca Rossi, who reminds me of Tony Harris back in his Starman days (that's a good thing)); backups are by a variety of artists, like Jill Thompson and Sean Murphy. After reading this volume I went out and bought the second; I look forward to it reaching the top of the stack.

Adventure Comics #6 - The momentum on this title was slowed by the Superboy Prime two-parter (which I did like quite a bit) but this issue finishes up Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul's brief run on the book. Their work on this book has been so good that I wish they were staying on the title instead of moving to Flash (still not sure how I feel about Barry Allen's return but I'll have to check it out). The Legion back-ups disappeared but it looks like they'll soon have this book and a new Legion book in a few months, so I can probably wait.

The Unwritten #9 - This closes up the second storyline with some horrifying developments. Next issue appears to be another one-off like the brilliant Rudyard Kipling-centric #5. I love this comic book.

Corn Flakes with John Lennon - This is a memoir from rock critic Robert Hilburn and is an interesting look at the artists he got to know a little bit - Lennon, Dylan, Springsteen, and U2, to name a few. If you love any of them (and how could you not at least love one or two), you'd find plenty to enjoy in the book. I do and did.

Ex Machina - It feels like it's been forever since I read Vol. 7, so I was happy to sink into Dirty Tricks (Vol. 8). I'm guessing there are only two volumes left to go in this political/super-hero book by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris and I'll be sad to see it finish.

Colored

It's not unusual for a writer of a successful series of books to create another set of characters for another series. It is unusual for a writer to then create a third world and group of characters for yet another series. That's what Jasper Fforde has done with Shades of Grey.

I am a big fan of his Thursday Next books, of which there have been five so far. In fact, they are some of my favorite books of the past decade and one day I will reread them with a great deal of joy. I also quite liked his two Nursery Crime books starring Jack Spratt and wouldn't mind seeing some more in the future. I don't love the new series quite as much but I definitely enjoyed the first book.

His new world is one of color. Society is sorted by the amount of true color people can see. Those who can see lots of color are made prefects and help to run society, those who don't are expected to contribute meaningfully to that society. There is a definite hierarchy, with those who are labeled Grey at the bottom.

Our introduction to this world comes through the eyes of Eddie Russett, a Red who will soon take his Ishihara, which will determine his fate by testing how much color he can see. He and his father are sent to East Carmine, a more remote village where the Rules are not as solid as they seem back home.

Eddie is a bit of a dolt, though he definitely grows (and grows on the reader) over the course of the book. He is in love with a Grey and through his eyes (and hers) we are awakened to the oddness of the world. This is a world somewhere in the future, after the fall of humanity. This book doesn't give us all the answers to what happened and I'm okay with that. Fforde seems to be after something deeper and a bit darker than his usual work.

At the end of the book, Fforde promises two more books in this series and I look forward to reading them and discovering the mysteries.

2010 Preview

One of my favorite parts about the calendar flipping over is getting all the previews as to what pop culture goodies are coming our way in the new year. Here are some things I'm looking forward to...

TV

Lost - The final season starts on Feb. 2!

Chuck - I love this show and it's been way too long since its game-changing season 2 finale. We get it back tomorrow night!

Big Love - How much more adorable can Margene get and what will Nikki get up to? Tomorrow night we get to start finding out.

24 - I enjoyed last season quite a bit and hope this season can stay that course. We'll see starting next Sunday.

Treme - The new HBO series from David Simon (The Wire). Yes, please. It starts it April, I think.

MOVIES

Kick-Ass - I read the first 2 issues of the comic and decided to wait for the trade. While that hasn't materialized, the trailers for this movie make it look like a ton of fun. Man, I hope so. (Apr. 16)

Iron Man 2 - Duh. (May 7)

Shutter Island - I liked the book it's based on (by Dennis Lehane) and I really liked the last movie Scorcese and DiCaprio did together (The Departed). (Feb. 19)

Hot Tub Time Machine - It looks supremely silly and will be a perfect movie to see while I'm on spring break. (Mar. 26)

Date Night - Steve Carrell and Tina Fey together? Sold! (Apr. 9)

Inception - The trailers for this Christopher Nolan movie have me very interested. (July 16)

COMICS

Scott Pilgrim - I'm not sure when it will be out but I can't wait for the 6th and final volume.

Planetary Vol. 4 - Last fall's long-awaited release of the last issue means I will soon be able to read the last 9 issues of the series (and I'll probably reread the rest of the series in anticipation).

Astro City - This year will see the conclusion of the epic "The Dark Age" storyline and the return of the book as an ongoing comic.

Adventure Comics - At some point this year, Paul Levitz will return to writing the Legion of Super-Heroes on a regular basis in this book. I'm nervous but hopeful.

Flash - I'm not in love with the fact Barry Allen is back, as I'm a huge Wally West fan. That said, Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul were awesome on Adventure Comics and I hope they can continue to produce at a high level.

Casanova - Matt Fraction has been tweeting about work on this series; I hope its return is accompanied by a trade of the second storyline, which I've still not read.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne - Grant Morrison writes (and a bunch of artists draw) about Bruce Wayne working his way through time to come back to Gotham. Sounds fun, doesn't it?

BOOKS

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris - I enjoyed his debut and am looking forward to the new one.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell - This is the follow-up to Cloud Atlas, one of my favorite books of the last decade.

Wild Child by T.C. Boyle - A new book of short stories from one of my favorite writers.

The Ask by Sam Lipsyte - I loved his last book, Home Land, and hope this one is as entertaining.

MUSIC

Vampire Weekend/Contra - I should listen to this over at NPR before I buy it. (Jan. 12)

Eels/End Times - Six months after the highly-underrated Hombre Lobo, we get another one? Joy! (Jan. 19)

Spoon/Transference - Can't wait! (Jan. 19)

Midlake/The Courage of Others - It's been a while since their last one and we supposedly get a bit of a different sound. (Feb. 2)

Jason Falkner/I'm OK You're OK - This has been out in Japan for years and it's been years since we got the Bliss Descending EP. High hopes. (Feb. 16)

The Whigs/In the Dark - They've put out 2 great rock albums; here's to a 3rd! (Mar. 2)

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists/The Brutalist Bricks - Really looking forward to this one. (Mar. 9)

Drive-By Truckers/The Big To-Do - This is supposed to be pretty-rocking but it's the DBTs, so I'm buying it no matter what. (Mar. 16)

She & Him/Volume Two - Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward back together again. (Mar. 23)

We should also see new releases from Arcade Fire, The National, and New Pornographers this year too!

Definitely More

The first book I read in 2010 was Total Oblivion, More or Less by Alan DeNiro. After reading his story in Interfictions 2, I was looking forward to reading his debut novel and I was not disappointed.

It is a cracked coming-of-age story, where a Minnesota family travels down the Mississippi River in hopes of finding some semblance of a normal life after technology has failed and the Scythians have invaded. Sixteen year-old Macy and her family have to deal with plague, death, and the dissolution of the family unit. Life is very different (one of her brothers ends up being a talking dog) and yet life it the same - how do you deal with your family whom you love but who also frustrate you to no end?

The structure of the book is also interesting. The chapters tell the story from Macy's viewpoint but after each chapter is a small section that gives us the history of the Palmer family or bits of information about the weird new normal in America. One of those sections even tells of the death of one of the characters via a trial transcript. It actually is effective.

After reading this, I think I need to go back and pick up DeNiro's short story collection. He has become a writer on my automatic-read list.

End of the Year Pile

I've made a bit of a dent in my pile over vacation but not anything substantial. Here's what I have to read in the early part of 2010...

Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem

Finch by Jeff Vandermeer

Total Oblivion, More or Less by Alan DeNiro (from the library)

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (waiting for me at the library)

Umbrella Academy: Dallas

Chew Vol. 1: Taster's Choice

House of Mystery Vol. 1: Room and Boredom

I also have 2 issues of F&SF and 3 issues of Asimov's stacked up.

I shouldn't wait for 2010 to start reading any of these but I probably will. Yeah, I know