Just a quick plug to let you know that Brad Meltzer, who I’ve written about here and here, will be in Boston Monday night to read from and sign copies of his new book, The Book of Lies. He’ll be at Brookline Booksmith in Coolidge Corner at 7 p.m. You know I’ll be in attendance. Will you be there too?
I’ve written in the past about why it is that I like Brad Meltzer, and since he’s got a new book out now, I thought I’d give him a quick plug here. I always knew the guy had a real sense of humility, but now I know he’s also got a nice self-depreciating wit — as evidenced by the following video. It’s a compilation of little leaguers and senior citizens reciting some of the barbs that have been thrown at Brad. It’s pretty funny. I got an advance copy of Brad’s new book a few weeks ago and I’m just under halfway done at this point, so I’ll hold off on giving any form of review for now. Instead, I’ll say grab a copy for yourself and let me know what you think. The book is called The Book of Lies, it’s about what the Cain and Abel story and the creation of Superman might possibly have in common, and it’s available at bookstores everywhere. Heck, the book even has a soundtrack. (Really.) Brad will be at Brookline Booksmith on Monday, September 22 at 7 p.m. I’ll see you there. For now, enjoy this video.
I’ve always been kind of fascinated by reading about myself. Or rather, articles and books that discuss my generation or groups I’m a part of. So that’s why I chose Jeff Gordinier’s X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft But Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking as my latest book to read. I’ve now finished it (hooray!) and wanted to weigh in.
In the book, Gordinier posits that Generation X, the generation that’s often perceived as misunderstood, hard to categorize, and largely ignored, has the unfortunate luck of being sandwiched between the self-centered Baby Boomers and the self-centered Millennials. And because it’s often pigeon-holed as being forgotten, the accomplishments of Gen X are often overlooked. To wit: members of Gen X created YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, and Craigslist. Zines, a Gen X creation, were the progenitor of blogs. Netscape changed the face of Web browsing. Jon Stewart, Barack Obama, Kurt Cobain, and Dave Eggers are all members of Gen X. In essence, we, the members of Generation X, have a lot to be proud of.
So why are we always overlooked? Gordinier’s major thesis is that it’s because Boomers and Millenials keep hogging the spotlight, either by comparing their accomplishments to ours (Boomers) or by adopting and assuming ownership of our creations (Millenials). “The boomers never came up with anything that approaches the hugeness of Google,” he writes. “John Lennon got bitch-slapped for saying the Beatles were bigger than Jesus, but Google … gives God a run for His money.” Gordinier, also an editor-at-large at Details magazine, adds that we are a generation that doesn’t want or crave attention, and we’re happy to make change happen quietly, almost under the radar, if it brings us personal satisfaction. Getting attention isn’t the goal, like it is for so many Millenials (Paris Hilton takes a pretty big — albeit expected — hit for that), and that only serves to make our accomplishments that much more significant. And that’s also probably why you may not have heard of the Poetry Bus, for example, which gets almost as much space in the book as Nirvana and Lauryn Hill.
Amid the pop culture and political references and recaps of case studies we’ve heard before, Gordinier makes a moderately effective call to action, and says we’re nearing the time when Gen X can reclaim its rightful place in the world. “The Bush crowd will be gone soon, and then we can pounce,” he writes.
I’m not sure the book is as compelling as I’d hoped it’d be, but it’s a pretty easy read and it oftentimes reaffirms the belief that Generation X is not a bunch of slackers. I wish the book was more rallying cry or manifesto like it is at the very end, but there’s something to be said for learning from others’ example. Sure, I may not have changed the world like some people have, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be proud to be associated (in the most minimal of connections) with the people Gordinier includes. And hey, like the author encourages, maybe my time is coming. Stay tuned.
(And if you want to hear more about this book, here’s a video of Gordinier explaining what it’s all about.)
The nice thing about having a longer commute is that I get a lot more time to read now than I had when I took the C line from Coolidge Corner. In fact, I get almost double the time. It means I can plow through the latest issues of Entertainment Weekly in a day, for example. But then it leaves me with all sorts of time to fill. So, I’ve gotten back on the book-reading train. Perhaps you’ll be amused to know that while I dove right in to A.J. Jacobs’ The Year of Living Biblically last summer, I hadn’t read much of it since the end of October. Well, now, nearly six months later, I’ve finally finished the book. Yeah, it sure did take me long enough. But now I’m wondering what I’ll read next. Thankfully, I have a cleaned-up bookshelf full of options. Perhaps I’ll go back to Honeymoon with My Brother. Maybe I’ll finally read Tom Perotta’s Little Children. Or maybe it’s finally — finally! — time for me to read Faithful, Stephen King and Stewart O’Nan’s document of the 2004 Red Sox season. Something tells me I’ll leave those on the shelf and instead pick up a fun little collection called Things I’ve Learned from the Women Who’ve Dumped Me. That might be just the book I need to ease me back into this habit.
I’m just a few short days away from officially being a homeowner, and less than two weeks from moving into my new condo, so I figure it’s high time I made a real dent in my packing.
But first, some purging.
Lots and lots of purging.
It’ll definitely help the cause if I have less to pack. Continue reading
After the rain stopped, Monday was a really nice day.
Teflon-coated pots are excellent. One of the best inventions ever.
I wish I had given Gossip Girl more of a chance and hadn’t given up on it after the first episode.
We’re negotiating, and I should have a decision on the apartment on Tuesday. I’m now feeling more 65-35 as far as excitement and nervousness go.
Ben & Jerry’s Crème Brûlée ice cream is so so so good.
I’m rooting for a There Will Be Blood Best Picture upset on Sunday.
There’s something about seeing baseball players practicing down in Florida, smiling, happy, with the sun shining, that makes everything all right.
Are you on Facebook? Why not? Sign on and let’s be friends.
Days off would be more enjoyable if there was something good on TV in the morning. At least on Saturdays there’s three hours of repeats of 90210 and two of The O.C.
Which is the more annoying instrument to listen to: violin or the flute?
I don’t think there’s any movie in theaters right now that I haven’t seen that I want to see.
My early American Idol favorites are Amanda Overmyer, a.k.a.: the rocker nurse, and Michael Johns. Kristy Lee Cook is cute, but she won’t get past the top 8. And David Archuleta is overrated. And anyone who sings “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” will never win, much less make it to the top 12.
Sometimes when scrolling through the names and numbers in my cell phone I’ll come across Bubby and I’ll be tempted to call. I wish I could.
Next week, March 1 to be exact, marks the 11th anniversary of the day I moved to Boston. Still the best decision I’ve ever made.
I own way way way too many books, CDs, and DVDs.
Can’t believe I still haven’t finished The Year of Living Biblically.
Kupels went and raised their prices, and in so doing went from being a great deal to a total rip-off.
When I move, I think I’m going to hire a cleaning person to come regularly.
Some movies I can watch over and over and never get tired of them. The Shawshank Redemption is one of them.
Long weekends are great … until you have to go back to work the next morning.
Two PSAs for y’all …
See them: People always complain that they’re not interested in the Oscars because they haven’t seen many of the nominated films. Well, the AMC theater chain is hosting an all-day marathon showing of the nominees for Best Picture on February 23, the day before the Oscars are handed out, at theaters all over the country. That’s right: you can see Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood, and No Country for Old Men all in one day, one after another, and then you’ll be ready for the big show. It’ll cost you only $30, and when you buy your ticket, you’ll also get a large popcorn with unlimited refills. Score! (Thanks to Dan for the heads up.)
See him: I’d tell you that Love Is a Mix Tape was my favorite book of 2007, but considering I only read three, that’s probably not saying much. Still, Love was the first book I read start-to-finish in many years (too many, really), so that’s saying something significant about how good it is. And this Wednesday, the book’s author, Rob Sheffield, is going to be at Brookline Booksmith reading from and signing copies of his book. I’ll be there. If you’re looking for a great memoir about love, loss, and music, then come on down and meet Rob with me. The book is now out in paperback too, so you can buy your own copy.
Not too long ago I wrote about A.J. Jacobs‘ new book, The Year of Living Biblically, and how much I was enjoying reading it. Well, A.J. will be at the Barnes & Noble in Kenmore Square tomorrow night, November 1, at 7 p.m. I’ll be there. If you live in the Boston area, you should come on down and meet me, have a book signed, get to know the man himself. I’m sure it’ll be a fun event. If you don’t live in Boston, head over to your favorite local bookseller and pick up a copy for yourself. Year of Living Biblically is a very good, thought-provoking, and also very funny book. (And that’s my friendly plug for the day.)
I remember when I first heard the story of Chris McCandless. It was in 1997 on an episode of 20/20, where there was a segment about author John Krakauer’s book Into the Wild. Something about McCandless fascinated me and I went out soon after to buy Krakauer’s book. I read it, too. McCandless tapped into my young, idealistic sense of adventure and wanting more out of life. Ten years later, there’s still a part of me that yearns for such excitement.
All that is my way of saying I was pretty excited to see Sean Penn’s Into the Wild movie, especially because the reviews have generally been very good. So I’m happy to report that the movie is good. Mostly. True to McCandless, it doesn’t pander and takes its time telling the story of how, following his 1992 graduation from Emory, McCandless cut up his credit cards, donated his savings to Oxfam, changed his name to Alexander Supertramp, and headed out on the road to, as Thoreau said, “live deliberately.” There’s a natural, organic feel to the 2.5-hour movie, and Penn really wants to pay tribute to someone he considered a kindred spirit. To that end, the film was shot in many of the same locations that McCandless journeyed to, and rather than raise questions about McCandless’ motives and psyche — as Krakauer’s book did a lot of — Penn clearly takes McCandless’ side and makes you sympathetic to the character. Penn also knows the affinity people feel for the book, and there are all sorts of reveals that seem to make readers excited, starting with when McCandless first stumbles upon the abandoned bus. (Amazingly, the tragic site has become a morbid tourist attraction for McCandless fans.) It helps that as McCandless, Emile Hirsch is generally very good, capturing the alternately wide-eyed and yet fearful young man. In supporting roles, Catherine Keener and Vince Vaughn are also very good.
But where Penn stumbles, and where he lost me, was with some of the filmmaking choices. I didn’t love how McCandless would every now and then look right into the camera. That didn’t seem true to the character or the film. I also didn’t like the multiple points of view. Between McCandless’ letters, his voiceovers, his sister’s voiceovers, etc., you either didn’t always know who was actually telling the story or were distracted from it. Why the film is broken into four “chapters” is unclear. Also, there were a couple scenes that could have been cut. And there’s one scene late in the movie where Hirsch’s performance is so lame that it damn near threatens to derail the whole momentum of the film. In fact, it’s so bad that when McCandless does finally die (no spoiler there), I wasn’t sure if I still felt the sympathy for him that I felt earlier.
So I think I’m going to call Into the Wild a little bit of a letdown. It’s still generally, mostly, a good film, but I can’t really give it a stronger grade than a B.
I suppose it’s a little bit premature to be writing about A.J. Jacobs’ The Year of Living Biblically since it won’t be out for another month or so, but I’m now two-thirds of the way done with it, and I couldn’t wait to give a partial review. In short, the book is about how A.J., an editor at large at Esquire decided to spend an entire year living according to the Bible — both the Old and New Testaments. But the book doesn’t make a mockery of the Bible or those who do live their lives more religiously. Instead, A.J. takes the task seriously, obeying every little (and not so little) law. He doesn’t cut his hair or shave, he doesn’t wear clothes of mixed fibers, he prays, he blows a shofar at the start of every month, he respects his elders, he tries not to lie, and so on.
But don’t go thinking this is a book only about religion, or a serious examination of Biblical law. From the start, A.J. uses his sense of humor to explain that while he grew up in a Jewish home, it was Jewish “in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant. Which is to say: not very.” As he did with his last book, The Know-It-All, A.J. also weaves in his personal life — in this case the challenges of being a new father and the difficulty (with his wife, Julie) in conceiving a second child (which, of course, makes it hard to “be fruitful and multiply”). But one thing I really like about the book is how unassuming and surprising it is. One second you’ll be laughing at A.J.’s unwillingness to take or be in pictures at family events, and then he’ll catch you off-guard with a Biblical passage or lesson. It’s this approach that makes some of what he writes more meaningful.
At its core, YoLB is an examination of what place the Bible has in modern times. Do all the laws translate or have the same meaning as when they were first written? I mean, if you work in an office, can you really not gossip? And in an age of constant advertising, how can you not covet? And which is more meaningful: fitting prayer into your busy schedule when you can, or reserving time for it? And even if the Bible says not to lie, aren’t there times when you have to lie? The book is filled with those kinds of questions. A.J. does his best to make the Bible as relevant as possible, and adapt some laws to fit modern life. But mostly he obeys them as written, and it’s really interesting how it plays out.
Also interesting are his trips — to Amish country in Lancaster County, Pa. (where he has to avoid making jokes about Intercourse), to the Creation Museum in Kentucky, to Israel, and to other places — where he is able to gain greater perspective on religion in general, beyond the standard Jewish/Christian world. And the insights from A.J.’s guides — pastors, rabbis, etc. and others he meets along the journey — further his quest to understand the Bible’s messages.
I’m really enjoying YoLB. I liked Love Is a Mix Tape and Cabin Pressure too, but with YoLB, I feel like I’m actually learning something, and that makes it feel like a more worthwhile read. Apparently, plans are already in the works to make YoLB into a movie. Not sure how that’ll work and still stay true to the book (likely, the movie will strip out the real serious stuff and maintain a tone of comedy; hopefully it’ll be better than Evan Almighty), but I hope it’s a good flick. For now, we have a great book. When it hits stores a month from now, go pick it up and read it for yourself.
Martin's Musings 