Mini State-of-Me + Booklog
Mar. 19th, 2007 11:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trinityofone*pants* Hi! I'm sorry I've been so absent. I actually had a really nice birthday weekend—and thank you to everyone who sent birthday wishes!—but other than the short period I was able to lose myself in pretty new dresses and yummy Italian food, I have been stressing out pretty much constantly. As things stand right now: I have three days left at Bad!Job, which BossMan seems to have taken to mean he's obligated to dump as much work on me as possible; CR and I have a new apartment almost locked in, but getting it is going to of course mean a ton of work packing and moving and repainting the old place, the last of which I really kind of resent; and on the New!Job front, well...I've applied for several, and there are two I really, really want. One's with TOKYOPOP, the manga company. It's a copy editing job, so I would be copy editing manga for a living. How awesome is that? Amazingly, not quite as awesome as the travel writer job at Student Traveler Magazine. International travel required! I can't think of anything I'd rather do.
But of course I haven't heard anything yet. *whimpers* Wish me luck, okay?
So now, Booklog, because the routine of posting it is pretty much the only thing keeping me posting at all.
Week 11: 12-18 March 2007
59. Abandonment, Kate Atkinson — Atkinson is one of my favorite writers, so when I heard that she'd written a play, I decided to track it down. It's nice that it is available, even if it's published with one of the most hideous covers I've ever seen. Don't believe me? Look! What the hell is that? It makes the play look like an episode of Dynasty. Which it absolutely is not. Like much of Atkinson's work, the story is about a family of women with complicated pasts and various secrets, and there's a wonderful historical aspect, and a mystery, and ghosts! It's really clever and interesting, and if you can find it anywhere, I really recommend it. Don't be scared off by the cover.
60. Ball Four, Jim Bouton — Another recommendation from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
honey_babes. I LOVED this one. (Yes, for the record: sophisticated magical realism, not a big hit; sports bio, grand slam! *feels shame*) It's basically a diary of one year of Bouton's life playing baseball—specifically, the '69 season, and there's really a great sense of time and place, and of baseball culture. To the point where the book caused great controversy upon publication, because Bouton was so honest about the swearing, sexual antics, and pure politics that went on. So much time has passed that it's hard not to feel somewhat removed from the immediacy of that scandal—of course sports stars swear and womanize and the system is corrupted and money-driven—but Bouton's day-to-day life has become no less vivid as the years have passed. He's incredibly funny, and his depiction of his fellow ballplayers is incredibly funny, and you can't help just...liking him. A lot of the book is about how he has difficulties fitting in because he's outspoken and liberal, which is not a good way to be popular in the locker room. I wouldn't go so far as to say that you'll like this book even if you don't like baseball, but I think you'd have a hard time not admiring Bouton's humor and integrity. Plus: several passages about locker room homoeroticism! (They have a kissing club. Jeeze, guys.) FTW!
One note: What is with books with "a new afterword by the author"? I noticed the same thing when I read Chuck Klosterman's Fargo Rock City: everything's fine and dandy in the grammar department and then WHAM! You hit the appendix, and it all falls apart. Does nobody copy edit these things? There were so many mistakes in the Ball Four appendices that it hurt me. It HURT. Please, please—do not make me come at you with a red pen.
But ANYWAY... I adored this book, and it made me want to adore baseball like I used to. And it made an encouraging argument in favor of being outspoken, too. It really is more than just a sports book.
61. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, P.D. James — I was disappointed by this. It did one of my least favorite mystery things: having the bad guy die in some accidental or self-inflicted manner so that the detective character will have less mess to deal with. And that happened three times in this book. THREE TIMES. Worse, as much as I really really wanted to like Cordelia Gray—James' female detective who's out to prove that solving crimes IS a suitable job for the ladies—I just couldn't get a sense of her. James gives her an appropriately weird background—Marxist father, educated in convents—but this origin story doesn't seem in any way connected to who Cordelia is now. There's no sense of how that background made her this person—or even who this person is. With only a moderately interesting mystery backed by a main character who remains pretty blank, there's just nothing all that memorable here.
62. Survive the Savage Sea, Dougal Robertson — The true story of a family—father (the author), mother, adult son, twin 12-year-old boys, and a twentysomething friend of theirs—who escaped their sinking yacht and then survived for 37 days on the open ocean. Thirty-seven days. This is as harrowing as you would imagine, and Robertson discusses it all with an amazing, almost-flat, frankness. Down to details like the necessity of turtle oil enemas, so if you're at all squeamish, I recommend staying away. ;-) Though of course, this book played into two of my greatest fears—drowning and sharks—and I found it fascinating. The bulk of the book, describing in detail those 37 days and the many brave and innovative things the Robertson family did to survive, is nigh-unputdownable. This is unfortunately followed by an extra 40 pages or so describing how YOU TOO could survive the savage sea, and I found this less interesting, because a) that is not a situation I plan to get myself into anytime soon, and b) so much of what the last few hundred pages taught was that the only real way to survive is to be able to adapt to the specific circumstances you happen to find yourself in, and there's really no way to predict or plan for that. Also, as with all first person, true-story narratives, there's always a risk that the author will reveal something unsavory about themselves through their POV; I feel I should point out that there are a few instances of this, as Robertson seems majorly down on formal education and at one point refers his wife's "feminine irrationality"—It was the '70s! I kept trying to remind myself. A poor excuse. But if you're interested at all in survival stories or like scaring yourself with tales of sharks nipping at people's ankles, this book is incredibly gripping.
63. 21, Patrick O'Brian — I hesitated for more than a year, trying to decide if I actually wanted to read this last, unfinished Aubrey/Maturin book. In part, this is because books left unfinished by authors who have died make me sad just inherently, and it's also because I so liked how the 20th book, Blue at the Mizzen, ended. But eventually I cracked, as I knew I would (it was all that reading about the sea in Robertson's book, I think, that made me long for Jack and Stephen), and I'm pleased to report that I'm very, very glad I did. The book is unfinished, true—there's less than three chapters here—but in that small space, there's more of what I love: Jack and Stephen's friendship, and Stephen being fiendishly clever, and! and! Jack and Stephen being reunited with their families, which made me so happy, and which was pretty much the only thing that could make the ending of Blue at the Mizzen any more perfect. The only frustrating thing about this edition, which reproduces both O'Brian's handwritten manuscript and the typescript he made of it, is that when the typescript ends, they don't bother (or they balked at) transcribing the rest of the handwritten stuff. I guess they were worried about making a mistake, because O'Brian's handwriting is fucking impossible. Impossible! Fortunately, I did not have to resort to beating my head against the book, or writing Norton a nasty note, because of course some kind soul on the internet had transcribed it for those of us (me!) with less adept deciphering skills. (And I was going to link it, but now it seems to have disappeared. Oh where did you go, handy transcript?) I love the internets.
And I love Jack and Stephen. They are among the all-time greatest fictional characters for me. 20 books, or 20-almost-21, can never be enough. I guess I'll just have to start over at the beginning and read the series again.
64. The Masqueraders, Georgette Heyer — This was my first Heyer, and a wonderful introduction it was. Such a romp! The central premise involves cross-dressing—a brother and sister essentially swapping roles to prevent the brother, who took part in the Jacobite Rebellion, being arrested—but there's also their conman father, and lots of duels, and a conniving gentleman who keeps trying to get an innocent young heiress to elope with him. It's terrific fun, and I really liked the characters, especially practical Prudence, who does very well in her adopted role of an 18th Century gentleman. The two romances—Prudence and the sleepy-eyed Sir Anthony, who actually sees more than he lets on, and her brother Robin-goes-by-Kate and the flighty young heiress—are both very enjoyable, the maturity of the former making up for the silliness of the latter. Though I do worry for Prudence, and the validity of her happy ending. To experience the freedom of living as a man and to then have to go back to being "a lady"—well, that would suck, in my opinion. But *waves hands* I shall try not to impose too much of my modern sensibility on this book, because it really was a blast to read. I look forward to getting my hands on more Heyer in the future (I already have These Old Shades checked out from the library).
65. Fruits Basket (Vol. 1), Natsuki Takaya — "Research" in anticipation of (hopefully!) getting called in to interview with TOKYOPOP. Like most manga I've read, it's very cute. It is lightly amusing. I have the next two volumes also, and hopefully, after I read them, I shall be able to come up with some more interesting and deeper things to say. *crosses fingers*
66. You're an Animal, Viskovitz!, Alessandro Boffa — Got this rec from the Smart Bitches, which makes me wish they'd do more non-romance reviews (which yes, I know, kind of invalidates the whole purpose of the site, but as much as I love their commentary (a lot!) romance is not really my genre). ANYWAY, this is a really funny clever book, written by a biologist, and what he does is use the mating habits of all these different species of animals to reflect on the ridiculousness, the tragedy, the beauty, and the futility of the human animal's mating games. Viskovitz, in the various interconnected stories in this book, is at times a shark, a rat, a snail, a lion, a praying mantis, a pig, an ant, a bee...and his fumblings in all these forms to find love-and-sex, sex-and-love, are both hilarious and tragic. It's a really terrific, creative book, and in the wrong hands could, I imagine, lead to a whole new round of "John and Rodney are turned into WHAT?" fic. ;-)
Total Books: 66
And...that's a lot of reading. I am tired now. Too bad I have to get back to work. Three more days! THREE MORE DAYS.
IMPORTANT ETA: Several people were asking me about this, but now, thanks to the amazing and generoussiriaeve, wychwood's and my story/art/music mix, Bootleg: The Best of the Puddlejumpers is back up! Yay!
But of course I haven't heard anything yet. *whimpers* Wish me luck, okay?
So now, Booklog, because the routine of posting it is pretty much the only thing keeping me posting at all.
Week 11: 12-18 March 2007
59. Abandonment, Kate Atkinson — Atkinson is one of my favorite writers, so when I heard that she'd written a play, I decided to track it down. It's nice that it is available, even if it's published with one of the most hideous covers I've ever seen. Don't believe me? Look! What the hell is that? It makes the play look like an episode of Dynasty. Which it absolutely is not. Like much of Atkinson's work, the story is about a family of women with complicated pasts and various secrets, and there's a wonderful historical aspect, and a mystery, and ghosts! It's really clever and interesting, and if you can find it anywhere, I really recommend it. Don't be scared off by the cover.
60. Ball Four, Jim Bouton — Another recommendation from
honey_babes. I LOVED this one. (Yes, for the record: sophisticated magical realism, not a big hit; sports bio, grand slam! *feels shame*) It's basically a diary of one year of Bouton's life playing baseball—specifically, the '69 season, and there's really a great sense of time and place, and of baseball culture. To the point where the book caused great controversy upon publication, because Bouton was so honest about the swearing, sexual antics, and pure politics that went on. So much time has passed that it's hard not to feel somewhat removed from the immediacy of that scandal—of course sports stars swear and womanize and the system is corrupted and money-driven—but Bouton's day-to-day life has become no less vivid as the years have passed. He's incredibly funny, and his depiction of his fellow ballplayers is incredibly funny, and you can't help just...liking him. A lot of the book is about how he has difficulties fitting in because he's outspoken and liberal, which is not a good way to be popular in the locker room. I wouldn't go so far as to say that you'll like this book even if you don't like baseball, but I think you'd have a hard time not admiring Bouton's humor and integrity. Plus: several passages about locker room homoeroticism! (They have a kissing club. Jeeze, guys.) FTW!One note: What is with books with "a new afterword by the author"? I noticed the same thing when I read Chuck Klosterman's Fargo Rock City: everything's fine and dandy in the grammar department and then WHAM! You hit the appendix, and it all falls apart. Does nobody copy edit these things? There were so many mistakes in the Ball Four appendices that it hurt me. It HURT. Please, please—do not make me come at you with a red pen.
But ANYWAY... I adored this book, and it made me want to adore baseball like I used to. And it made an encouraging argument in favor of being outspoken, too. It really is more than just a sports book.
61. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, P.D. James — I was disappointed by this. It did one of my least favorite mystery things: having the bad guy die in some accidental or self-inflicted manner so that the detective character will have less mess to deal with. And that happened three times in this book. THREE TIMES. Worse, as much as I really really wanted to like Cordelia Gray—James' female detective who's out to prove that solving crimes IS a suitable job for the ladies—I just couldn't get a sense of her. James gives her an appropriately weird background—Marxist father, educated in convents—but this origin story doesn't seem in any way connected to who Cordelia is now. There's no sense of how that background made her this person—or even who this person is. With only a moderately interesting mystery backed by a main character who remains pretty blank, there's just nothing all that memorable here.
62. Survive the Savage Sea, Dougal Robertson — The true story of a family—father (the author), mother, adult son, twin 12-year-old boys, and a twentysomething friend of theirs—who escaped their sinking yacht and then survived for 37 days on the open ocean. Thirty-seven days. This is as harrowing as you would imagine, and Robertson discusses it all with an amazing, almost-flat, frankness. Down to details like the necessity of turtle oil enemas, so if you're at all squeamish, I recommend staying away. ;-) Though of course, this book played into two of my greatest fears—drowning and sharks—and I found it fascinating. The bulk of the book, describing in detail those 37 days and the many brave and innovative things the Robertson family did to survive, is nigh-unputdownable. This is unfortunately followed by an extra 40 pages or so describing how YOU TOO could survive the savage sea, and I found this less interesting, because a) that is not a situation I plan to get myself into anytime soon, and b) so much of what the last few hundred pages taught was that the only real way to survive is to be able to adapt to the specific circumstances you happen to find yourself in, and there's really no way to predict or plan for that. Also, as with all first person, true-story narratives, there's always a risk that the author will reveal something unsavory about themselves through their POV; I feel I should point out that there are a few instances of this, as Robertson seems majorly down on formal education and at one point refers his wife's "feminine irrationality"—It was the '70s! I kept trying to remind myself. A poor excuse. But if you're interested at all in survival stories or like scaring yourself with tales of sharks nipping at people's ankles, this book is incredibly gripping.
63. 21, Patrick O'Brian — I hesitated for more than a year, trying to decide if I actually wanted to read this last, unfinished Aubrey/Maturin book. In part, this is because books left unfinished by authors who have died make me sad just inherently, and it's also because I so liked how the 20th book, Blue at the Mizzen, ended. But eventually I cracked, as I knew I would (it was all that reading about the sea in Robertson's book, I think, that made me long for Jack and Stephen), and I'm pleased to report that I'm very, very glad I did. The book is unfinished, true—there's less than three chapters here—but in that small space, there's more of what I love: Jack and Stephen's friendship, and Stephen being fiendishly clever, and! and! Jack and Stephen being reunited with their families, which made me so happy, and which was pretty much the only thing that could make the ending of Blue at the Mizzen any more perfect. The only frustrating thing about this edition, which reproduces both O'Brian's handwritten manuscript and the typescript he made of it, is that when the typescript ends, they don't bother (or they balked at) transcribing the rest of the handwritten stuff. I guess they were worried about making a mistake, because O'Brian's handwriting is fucking impossible. Impossible! Fortunately, I did not have to resort to beating my head against the book, or writing Norton a nasty note, because of course some kind soul on the internet had transcribed it for those of us (me!) with less adept deciphering skills. (And I was going to link it, but now it seems to have disappeared. Oh where did you go, handy transcript?) I love the internets.
And I love Jack and Stephen. They are among the all-time greatest fictional characters for me. 20 books, or 20-almost-21, can never be enough. I guess I'll just have to start over at the beginning and read the series again.
64. The Masqueraders, Georgette Heyer — This was my first Heyer, and a wonderful introduction it was. Such a romp! The central premise involves cross-dressing—a brother and sister essentially swapping roles to prevent the brother, who took part in the Jacobite Rebellion, being arrested—but there's also their conman father, and lots of duels, and a conniving gentleman who keeps trying to get an innocent young heiress to elope with him. It's terrific fun, and I really liked the characters, especially practical Prudence, who does very well in her adopted role of an 18th Century gentleman. The two romances—Prudence and the sleepy-eyed Sir Anthony, who actually sees more than he lets on, and her brother Robin-goes-by-Kate and the flighty young heiress—are both very enjoyable, the maturity of the former making up for the silliness of the latter. Though I do worry for Prudence, and the validity of her happy ending. To experience the freedom of living as a man and to then have to go back to being "a lady"—well, that would suck, in my opinion. But *waves hands* I shall try not to impose too much of my modern sensibility on this book, because it really was a blast to read. I look forward to getting my hands on more Heyer in the future (I already have These Old Shades checked out from the library).
65. Fruits Basket (Vol. 1), Natsuki Takaya — "Research" in anticipation of (hopefully!) getting called in to interview with TOKYOPOP. Like most manga I've read, it's very cute. It is lightly amusing. I have the next two volumes also, and hopefully, after I read them, I shall be able to come up with some more interesting and deeper things to say. *crosses fingers*
66. You're an Animal, Viskovitz!, Alessandro Boffa — Got this rec from the Smart Bitches, which makes me wish they'd do more non-romance reviews (which yes, I know, kind of invalidates the whole purpose of the site, but as much as I love their commentary (a lot!) romance is not really my genre). ANYWAY, this is a really funny clever book, written by a biologist, and what he does is use the mating habits of all these different species of animals to reflect on the ridiculousness, the tragedy, the beauty, and the futility of the human animal's mating games. Viskovitz, in the various interconnected stories in this book, is at times a shark, a rat, a snail, a lion, a praying mantis, a pig, an ant, a bee...and his fumblings in all these forms to find love-and-sex, sex-and-love, are both hilarious and tragic. It's a really terrific, creative book, and in the wrong hands could, I imagine, lead to a whole new round of "John and Rodney are turned into WHAT?" fic. ;-)
Total Books: 66
And...that's a lot of reading. I am tired now. Too bad I have to get back to work. Three more days! THREE MORE DAYS.
IMPORTANT ETA: Several people were asking me about this, but now, thanks to the amazing and generous
siriaeve, wychwood's and my story/art/music mix, Bootleg: The Best of the Puddlejumpers is back up! Yay!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 06:57 pm (UTC)Things seem to be looking up on the housing and job front. Good luck with both.
For the record, I'd resent painting my old place as well...*sigh*
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 07:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 07:13 pm (UTC)All I can do from Austin is wish you luck with the apartment and the job--all of my contacts are in San Francisco, oddly enough. I will keep my fingers crossed for you!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 07:27 pm (UTC)Thanks for the crossed fingers! I need all the help I can get, I believe.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 07:18 pm (UTC)Both of those jobs sound perfectly awesome. Good luck! (I used to work at manga publisher Viz and it was fun! It was the only job I've ever had —or ever WILL have— where we all piled into the TV room and collectively watched anime while we ate. Good times.)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 07:35 pm (UTC)A manga publisher does sound like it ought to have a fun environment, don't you think? I mean, that's one of the things I've most missed at this current job, that sense of cammaderie.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 08:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-20 03:14 am (UTC)I kid. I've found that the content producers are generally more...socially gracefull...than the consumers. It sounds like a fun job. And the travel one sounds incredible, too. Good luck in your interviews, and a belated happy birthday!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 09:03 pm (UTC)I will TOTALLY hook you up if I get that job. Do you think
Fruits Basket does seem to have a darker undercurrent, which I bet will develop more as I read more. It's interesting; I would have said more, but it's hard to judge an ongoing thing on a single volume. *wants work to end so she can go home and read MORE*
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 08:03 pm (UTC)Georgette Heyer! I'm not (too) ashamed to say I really enjoy her stories. The Masqueraders was a lot of fun. I like that characters from some of the earlier stories show up in a few of the later ones. After you read These Old Shades, you simply must read Devil's Cub (which is my favorite, so far), and after you've read Regency Buck too, you'll be ready for An Infamous Army. I really want to read Cotillion, too, but have yet to get my hands on it. You can actually read the entire text of her first novel, The Black Moth (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/heyer/moth/moth.html), online. I don't know if you know, but she kind of re-wrote The Black Moth into These Old Shades.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 11:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 08:28 pm (UTC)Also: YAY Georgette Heyer! These Old Shades is one of my favourites - that, Regency Buck, and The Grand Sophy. I haven't read Masqueraders yet but I'm really looking forward to it, based on your review. :D
Also, Dan Savage totally wrote a whole post on The Stranger's blog (http://www.thestranger.com) about how you were right about 300. Well, er, he didn't actually mention you, but he totally should have cause he pretty much said the exact same thing.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 11:57 pm (UTC)Aww, thanks! I enjoy doing them, so I'm glad it's not one-way!
I'm so glad I enjoyed Heyer as much as I felt I ought to, based on people's raves! I'm really looking forward to reading some of the others. The Masqueraders was quite a gem.
Also, I may be incredibly dumb, but I couldn't find Dan Savage's 300 piece. I saw the review by Andrew Wright, but...?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-20 12:12 am (UTC)Dan Savage's review is here (http://www.thestranger.com/blog/2007/03/300). :) (I had to goggle it myself - it'd vanished off the Slog front page, dammit.)
And,happy belated birthday. Can't believe I forgot to say that before.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 08:53 pm (UTC)Ball Four was a great book! I read it ages ago; I loathe baseball (my ex was a baseball player) and still loved the book, so that tells you something.
Good luck with the jobs!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 09:22 pm (UTC)The lasting strength of the book, I think, is that Bouton is a marginal player, struggling to stay on the team. He's no star (although being a knuckler he's an oddity), it's all so uncertain and fearful and "if this is a marathon then why have I been on Heartbreak Hill for the past five months??"
Also, I found it hilarious that Bouton was the inventor of Big League Chew. When I was a kid, everybody loved that stuff.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 10:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 10:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 10:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 11:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 11:26 pm (UTC)That's all.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 11:46 pm (UTC)It's cool.
*SNIFF*
:P
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 11:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 11:56 pm (UTC)The only way you can make it up to me is to write a perfectly tailored fic. *koff*
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-19 11:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-20 12:06 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-20 02:53 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-21 03:41 am (UTC)