What I'm reading now..

Despite the brand-new and very beautiful Kindle (still excited--!!!)...I just finished the paper version of Blindness and am in the midst of reading The New Jewish Wedding (NJW).


I picked up Blindness @ a stoop sale a few weekends ago for $.50 and received the NJW as a present from a friend.


Although I usually read really quickly, I found myself moving through Blindness pretty slowly. Sarramago doesn't use any quotation marks to differentiate between dialogue and description, and I found myself re-reading big chunks of the book to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Despite the slow going, I thought it was incredibly fascinating.
And upsetting.
But I guess fascinating + upsetting = well deserved nobel prize for literature.

I also watched the movie on Netflix over the weekend and found it underwhelming.

It just does not compare to the book in any way shape or form! I did find it interesting, however, that many blind and visually impaired advocacy groups tried to organize boycotts of the film. Apparently there was a lot of controversy because the people in the novel really regress in terms of behavior, compassion, decency etc. after they become blind. While I appreciate that people who are blind are often discriminated against at work etc., I do not think that the novel actually promotes the idea that visually impaired/blind people are either less capable or somehow more prone to immorality/violence etc. Rather, I thought that the book was trying to convey that all people are ill-equipped to respond to catastrophe and that there is something (possibly intrinsic?) to human nature that allows for domination and violence when the opportunity arises. I think the blindness in the book/film have very little to do with actually being blind--especially in the context of real life.

As for the NJW, I'm finding out all sorts of interesting things about the way Jews get married, and what bits of the ceremony and celebration are traditional vs. borrowed from non-Jewish culture vs. tradition only and not necessary.

Still a long way off from integrating any of this new knowledge into planning, but glad to be learning more about marriage from a Jewish perspective.

You know you've been reading too many bad thrillers when...

...You see this job offer:


Chief Integration Officer
Millennium Promise
New York, New York 

And think it says CHIEF INTERROGATION OFFICER.

Next up on my newly created reading list: Inside the Outbreaks

With potential unemployment or underemployment looming, I've decided to create a reading list.

The library near us is pretty terrible, but it has free books and a way to order copies from other branches..so I think it will work out.

Here's what I have so far:

1. A Reliable Wife: I  am actually already reading the book (thanks to Ben's aunt)

2.  Inside the Outbreaks: The Elite Medical Detectives of the Epidemic Intelligence Service: Seems like a good way to use some of my hard-earned public health knowledge. Plus, I'm a sucker for anything with case studies and/or the word 'epidemic' in the title.

3. Sustainably Delicious: Making the World a Better Place, One Recipe at a Time: I like cookbooks, and sustainable food. Seems on point.

And then..?

Suggestions?

NaNoWrimo: National Novel Writing Month

I realized that my blog looks a little sad this month, but I have an excuse!
Although I was kind of hoping to wait until I finished the entire month, it got out this past week during Thanksgiving that I've been participating in NaNoWrimo.

NaNoWrimo, or the National Novel Writing Month is a yearly program sponsored by a literacy group. The idea is to foster creativity @ a breakneck pace! Basically, lots of people say they are going to write a book..but most never finish. So NaNoWrimo sets the goal of 50,000 words in 1 month. If you write 50,000 words and get verified by the system, you "win."

To meet the goal you have to write about 1500 words a day, which doesn't leave a lot of time for editing.

I wasn't sure if I was going to make it, but when I saw that I had almost a week left and only 4,000 words to write..I got really excited and finished the whole thing off in an afternoon.

I haven't gone back and read my entire book yet, so I have no idea if it's scary/pathetic/bad..but I don't really care!
I finished the whole darn thing!
And I'm going to participate next year.


My proof:

50,379 words so far

Vampire & Doctor

The tagline for this post should be something like: why I am going to see Twilight as soon as it hits theaters!

For those of you unfamiliar with the trilogy written by Stephanie Meyers, Twilight is the first in a series that follows a love story between a girl, Bella, and a vampire,Edward. I have already professed my unabashed love and admiration for Buffy many times, so it should come as no surprise that I made a mad dash for these books when I saw them in the library. I won't spoil any of the plot lines or interesting bits for those of you who want to read/watch..but I will note that the doctor, Dr. Cullen, in the story is one of the most interesting characters.

I think I find Dr. Cullen interesting because he is a vampire (with all the vampiric urges..blood lust etc), but he spends his days saving humans and resisting this innate urge to do harm. I'm not sure what the author wanted to show with this character, but this type of struggle somehow brings to mind pedophilia and other socially unacceptable sexual interests. Actually, knowing that Stephanie Meyers is Mormom, I'm sure she'd be horrified that I just compared one of her character to a pedophile, but for me there is a connection. Pedophilia harms others and some law enforcement and health professionals believe that it is not something that can be controlled or changed with medicine and or therapy. This has led to convicted pedophiles serving their jail sentences, and then being remanded to mental institutions/hospitals for the public good. While I am not advocating for a certain correctional approach, I think that Twilight is asking some big questions about the essentialness (is that a word!?) of human nature and our ability to control urges.

Dr. Cullen is a sympathetic character in the book..despite the fact that some part of him, no matter how suppressed, is attracted to human blood. I wonder if he would be so likable if he was interested in small children? By making him a monster somehow his perversions are interesting and he maintains his status as a hero of the book. I've already pre-ordered the fourth book, so I'm certainly not complaining, but definitely worth giving a little more thought!

The Host (book)

I just finished reading The Host by Stephanie Meyers. She's a nice Mormon women who wrote her first three books about a vampire and his human girlfriend. As a total sci-fi geek, I loved her Twilight books and was excited when I found out her first 'adult' novel was coming out this summer.

Normally I wouldn't include just a classic sci-fi book, because they are not all disaster related. This book, however, fits in perfectly! Without giving away all of the juicy details, it's kind of like a grown up version of Animorphs, without the weird teenagers who can change into different animals. I know that doesn't make much sense, but both books are set in the US where an alien species has taken over by using human beings as hosts. Unlike Animorphs, Meyers' book creates a much more interesting host/invader dynamic. The invaders are a parasitic species that survives by implanting themselves in the heads of human beings and taking over full neural and emotional control. They retain the memories of the person, but they are their own new entity. The parasitic species call themselves souls, and see themselves as the saviours of humanity because they are peaceful and community minded. When they take over the earth, they stop all violence and create a world that is harmonious. There are a handful of survivors (parasite free humans) who see this invasion as nothing less than full scale genocide and go underground to escape detection and annihilation. I decided this book fell under the disaster related category because there is plenty of paranoia inducing situations and lots of hiding and living totally off the grid. One of the main characters (Jeb) states at one point that he knew that something hinky was going on in the world when all of the convicts and pedophiles started turning themselves in to authorities. Think of the crazy gun guy (married to Reba!) in Tremors, and you kind of get an image of Jeb. He already had shelters ready for some type of apocalypse, and when the invasion kicked into high gear he fled with a small group of friends and family members. After reading about his (I know it's fictional!) set-up, I had a sudden urge to learn more about hydroponics, and living underground. While I might start doing a little research into using mirrors as a light source, I'm otherwise going to try and keep my slightly nutty interest at bay.

The book gets really interesting when a soul is put into the body of a girl named Melanie, and finds herself unable to totally overpower the original host. Melanie remains a force in her head, and all sorts of complications ensue. Although the book ultimately gets a little sappy--both the soul and the host are in love with the same man--I thought Meyers' managed to convey some interesting things about humanity and relationships.

Ultimately, I think she took the easy way out in the book. When both Wanda (the soul) and Melanie (the host) fall in love with different men Meyers' could have used this story as a discourse on human sexuality. Without being graphic or inappropriate, she could have chosen to have her characters involve themselves in a complicated intersecting relationship. It's her book and she wanted to make it neater and easier than that.. but it would have been interesting!


ps. this post is entitled The Host (book) because I also requested The Host (the movie!) from blockbuster. I'm sure there will be a similar post coming soon..

The Happening/The Cell

I have a not- so- secret obsession with reading people.com and other celebrity dish sites. It's a truly terrible addiction, and I kind of hate that I like reading about other people so much.. but oh well! This morning I was reading dlisted (another fave) and noticed an item about M. Night Shyamalan's new movie The Happening. From an interview with him/reading the comments on the imdb page, I figured out that the film is about some type of airborne toxin that does something (?) to most of the population. A married couple, played by Zooey Deschanel & Mark Wahlberg, then spend the rest of the film trying to survive or escape.
I'm not sure exactly what the toxin does to people, but some of the comments on imdb likened the plot to Stephen King's Cell. As I happen to like both Zooey and Mark, I hope that this movie is not like the book, because I thought it was a tired, not very good re-worked version of some of King's older books. In the interview quotedon dlisted Shyamalan says that this movie is going to be really scary, and that the opening scene features a woman watching her infected friend doing something "so disturbing" he didn't want to give it away in the interview. I can't figure out what else could be so disturbing to watch, so I'm assuming the infected woman is doing something not just yucky but also really bloody/gross. Based upon the possible connections to Cell and the director's comments I'm a little afraid to see this movie. I hated Cell, and am not a huge fan of gore but I LOVE disaster movies. Guess I'll have to wait and see....

THE STAND..is 'eh'

I'm already on Disc 2 of The Stand and so far I'm a little disappointed, actually I think I'm way more than a little but less than totally bored. Does that make sense?

Anyway, as I mentioned before The Stand is one of my all-time favorite books. Not just because it deals with a form of post-apocalyptic America, but also because I think that the characters are incredibly real feeling. Stephen King may not be the most high-brow or literary writer, but I think he writes characters who seem like people you know, or people you might like to meet. I knew going in that watching the mini-series was most likely going to be a let-down, but sometimes SEEING your favorite characters come to life is worth the inevitable plot botching etc.

Sadly, the film version of The Stand is seriously lacking..something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's almost like this is a watered down, watching from far away version of a story that I love. The book follows a handful of characters closely, but also interweaves TONS of other people and details into the larger plotlines. Somehow the film loses the magic of all of these interactions. It dutifully follows several of the main people (Stu, Frannie, Trashcan man, Lloyd, Nick etc), but it doesn't spend enough time with any one person or story. I know that there was a lot of material to work with, but since they knew it was going to be a mini-series why didn't they just go all out and really work with each character? Instead it feels rushed, which is pretty crazy when you consider I've already watched about 3+ hours!

In addition to the rushed pace, I HATE some of the casting choices. I'm sure he's a nice guy and a great actor, but the guy playing Larry Underwood is awful. He's not believable, he doesn't have any of the rock & roll meets sleazy edge, and he isn't likable even as he's trying to redeem himself and grow up post-flu. I also really dislike the woman playing Nadine, mostly because she's not at all how I imagined the character. That's not really the fault of the actor, just a bad casting choice in my opinion.

I could go on and on about what I don't like.. but I will at least finish the mini-series before ranting too much!

Looking forward to..

I'm really excited because I just added some neat things to my queue on blockbuster, and 'ordered' a half dozen books from the library! So, here's what you have to look forward to in terms of disaster movie/book blogging:

Books--
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (I've read this before.. but it was a long time ago!)
The Beach
&
The House with a Clock in its Walls

Movies--
The Stand (parts 1 & 2)
Megaladon
&
TMNT

I'm actually a little scared to watch The Stand because it is one of my all-time favorite books. I am a little dubious about Rob Lowe as Nick, and definitely would not have cast Molly Ringwald as Fran. I am going to reserve judgment until after I watch, but then I might have to post my theoretical re-casting ideas!

I Am Legend

I just finished watching I am Legend. I'll probably end up writing more tomorrow, but overall I was disappointed. I read the original short story several months ago and thought I knew the general plotline. Sadly, the movie shares almost nothing with the story other than its title. I say sadly because the short story was interesting sci-fi reading, and the movie was more like The Mummy meets Will Smith. :(

The Last Ship

Most of my disaster posts have been about movies, but I just finished reading The Last Ship by William Brinkley and felt the need to blog about slogging through (what felt like) a billion pages! Even though Brinkley could have used some serious editing, I got to the end of the book and promptly got on the computer to see if he wrote a sequel. The book follows the crew of the USS Nathan James in a post-apocalyptic world. Although most of the world and its inhabitants have been either annihilated by the nuclear bombs or slowly dying of radiation poisoning, the 300+ people aboard the ship remain safely out to sea. They have limited amounts of food and fuel, however, meaning they must find some safe place to land. I won't turn the post into a book report.. go read the ridiculously long book yourself if you want to find out exactly what happens.. but I will point out:

1) I was surprised to see that the book was published in 1988. The way the book was written, I was expecting a more cold war-era date. Especially in its approach to surviving nuclear war, it reminded me a lot of Alas, Babylon.

2) The captain of the USS Nathan James spends a lot of time thinking about the fact that his Navy ship has women aboard. While this fact ultimately plays a large role in the plot and the future of humanity (for practical reasons), I felt like some of his opining was Brinkley's way of discussing gender roles and the place of women in the military. In some ways, the captain/Brinkley's mostly internal debate about women and warships is pretty nuanced. While he admits that he originally had reservations about women serving, he also then spends a good bit of time discussing how the women on the Nathan James are superb if not superior sailors. Not surprisingly, he seems unable to move away from a rather reductive understanding of gender differences (i.e. women are cunning beings who recognize their sexuality as their ultimate power), but at least both men and women are portrayed as equally likely to be good/bad etc.

3) A lot of the book ends of being about the fate of humanity. With women aboard the ship, the Captain realizes they may have the unique opportunity to replenish the earth (or at least an island or two). Ultimately the book raises some really interesting questions, such as: should we actually try to reproduce given the destruction already brought about by human beings, and given 20 or so women and over a hundred men, what kind of society or system would be built? I'll let you read the book to find out.. but I think that the type of social and sexual system created in The Last Ship seems a little too male-fantasy driven. Or perhaps it really is just the most practical option given the situation. Either way, it was really interesting to see a male writer's take on human sexuality and reproduction in a post-apocalyptic novel.