ideas

A book, a blog and a’nother: bedeviled by happy circumstance

I’m supposed to do this on Fridays, I think, but after a month of slacking, an extra day hardly seems relevant (this is the same logic long-employed for my diet, which may actually happen one day; tomorrow, in fact).

Fiction: Carter Beats the Devil by Glen Gold

I can’t quite recall who recommended this book to me – although, I’m sure it was someone I admire because it’s not the sort of read that naturally intrigues me. A historical fiction, rich with period detail and loose with facts and imagination.

The novel opens at the moment of President Harding's death. The famous magician Charles Carter is implicated -  afterall, he had invited Harding onstage to assist in a dramatic illusion involving cards, gunfire, and a scimitar fight with the devil.  To outrun the scandal, Carter ducks into the world of carnival, disappearing city to city and year to year, all neatly wrapped in intrigue, romance, and political scandal.

Author Glen David Gold sifts through history, finding magic in breakthrough inventions such as telephones, cars, and gramophones. The novel hinges on an invention by a 17-year-old genius from Iowa, Philo T. Farnsworth. Both Carter and the U.S. government are bent on acquiring Farnsworth's latest creation, "a perfectly round, milk colored, four-inch piece of glass" that changes "from a milky white to an electric blue, a dozen parallel strands of electric blue with thin royal blue strips between."

A fable and fairytale, Carter is a compelling read…

Non-Fiction: Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.

Should I admit why I picked this one up? What do I have to lose – after all, you’re already privy to my cube-decorating dilemmas and awful childhood photos… The book is by Erik Larson – a single letter off the name of one of my favorite friends. That’s the entire reason.

Still, another lucky bedeviling, if silly, choice. Years ago, I adopted Chicago as my new home town. It’s a city rich with legend – from last week to last century. And, White City is filled with the personal stories of the men who built the storied town – Burham, Sullivan, Olmsted, McKim and others.

The box juxtaposes the amazing accomplishments of city’s architects with the life of a sadistic serial killer posing as a doctor who operates right under the noses of authorities running a great World's Fair. It’s a comparison of achievement over nearly impossible obstacles (including labor disputes, a recession and several natural disasters) and the apathy and ennui that enabled evil to run unchecked.

This book is absolutely fascinating – from the invention of the ferris wheel to the transformation of Jackson Park, every chapter offers one of those unexpected detail or gorgeous anecdotes that make history richer than fiction.

Blog: Left2Right.

Sure academics can be pedantic and snooty, but sometimes they are the favorite professor who starts the conversation that keeps you talking from the classroom to the coffeehouse and into the years ahead. Left2Right is trying to be that professor – and hitting the mark more often than not.

This 30-writer cooperative looks at liberal ideas – big ideas that start conversations and try to break out of the political shouting match…

A’nother: Kicking and screaming:

All this talk of twixters and aging Gen-Xers leaves me thinking about one of my favorite movies. Kicking and Screaming may be the first that followed stalled college grads unready and unwilling to march into adulthood. If you loved The Breakfast Club and Home for the Holidays – this is the story you missed in-between!

It’s the cookie man. Gotta sign off –

A book, a blog and a’nother: Metaphysics, Politics and Age

The second in my Friday series….

A book (fiction): Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle 
I should say first that Eriks recommended (thrust upon me?) this book years ago now. But, I was reminded of it again because Steppenwolf is considering a stage adaptation of a collection of Murakami's short stories called After the Quake (and, is, in fact, looking for Japanese actors, should you know any…)

At once a detective story, an account of a disintegrating marriage, and an excavation of the buried secrets of World War II, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle defies any true plot summary. Both lyrical and philosophical, it is more a tale of individual and shared destiny; a novel that has no comparison in English or American writers.

Murakami is generally considered the greatest Japanese writer of his generation, but skews toward Western culture in some of his themes and characters. Best known for his romantic coming-of-age story Norwegian Wood (which I frankly found overly nostalgic and somewhat overwrought), Murakami’s detective tales are much more metaphysical and magical… in a way that is entirely accessible and intriguingly foreign.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle recognizes the world for the chaotic and overwhelming places that it is and finds a comedic thread in even great embarrassment. If I were to describe his writing in one word, it would be dreamlike. This novel particularly is big, bold and captivating and somehow makes sitting at the bottom of a well seem entirely rational, even desirable ….

A book (nonfiction): Charle’s Bukowski’s Septuagenarian Stew
Sadly, our culture doesn’t value our elderly much, but exceptions are made for literary souls. This was Bukowski’s 45th book, a collection of poems and stories written in his 70th year.  It is simple, straight forward and tracks his life through poverty and plenty.

Of course, it’s not a flawless collection – in the way of other old men, there are moments that are too self-conscious or repetitive – but, overall, it is the stuff of a life lived badly and honestly.

I believe I originally bought this book to impress someone (a date who called himself a poet), but read it twice and kept it for almost a decade now because I like its sadness, its triumph and its nakedness.

A blog: sp.ookee.com
No single person has changed (not framed – ‘cause I know that would be the family, but later changed) my life more than Frank Henderson. A college professor, mentor and friend, he taught a number of political science classes, all focused on classical theory (think Mills, Rawls) and their application in contemporary life (think MLK, Cornell West). I’ve written a bit about him in other contexts, but suffice to say that if I were to describe the change in my life - it would be that before I met Frank, my political heart was 10 sizes too small - I was a bit of a citizen Grinch. It's too much to say that one person can teach another empathy, but by teaching me what to think about - he showed me the great depth of humanity that I had somehow missed.

San Franciscan Douglas Nerad was another student of Frank’s – taking the same classes maybe a decade or so before I did. He now writes sp.ookee.com – a blog, not unlike mine, melding the personal and political into a transparent point of view, mixing ideas and memories. Highly recommended.

A’nother: Keepmedia.com
This is a paid service, but one of the few content providers that are definitely worth it. Keepmedia brings together all the content from hundreds of magazines and a few newspapers into a handy searchable database with a few bells and whistles like publication browsing, recommended articles, personal libraries, etc. The major flaw is the lack of a Boolean search, but for $4 a month, it’s a lot of content for a little cash…

A book, a blog and a’nother: Wisdom and Innocence

I am one of those tiresome souls who presume to give advice and have a recommendation – a dreamy, love of a recommendation – on everything from candle scents to vegetarian recipes to digital cameras. So, here, in this recurring Friday feature, I’ll rally all my old-lady pedantry into a couple of very digestible recommendations – a book, a blog and another choice from media.

I’ll try to highlight books you may have missed (meaning – get ‘em in cheap paperback! or sign them out with no wait at the library) and zines that aren’t too terribly popular (really, who needs to hear about Boing-Boing yet again. even on RSS it’s too much information to possibly take in over the course of the day). If you feel like playing, too, please add your own recommendations in comments – I’ve rarely read a book that wasn’t recommended by a friend, the NYT or by its simple presence in the bargain bin at my favorite book stores. So, without further ado…

A Book (fiction): Tex & Molly in the Afterlife by Richard Grant
Yes, yes, many friends are nodding right now. Along with Purple America, this is probably the book that I have given most, thrust upon friends with the promise of a colorful roil of imagination and a genuinely fun read…

Here’s the setup: Two aging hippies have set-up a comfortable life in a creeky houseboat along the scruffy coast of Dublin, Maine. Upon their sudden deaths, they hang onto life the same innocent grasp they hung onto the 60s…

Botanists, bears, wolves, witches, dryads and wannabe eco-terrorists, among other assorted inhabitants of Dublin, join the story about genetically engineered spruce trees at a local timber research facility, and what a long strange trip it is.

The tale is too odd to categorize plainly, but the telling and the characters are so improbably authentic that it reads as simply as a true story. This is the type of book that will have you laughing out loud even in inappropriate circumstances and remembering the characters – their foibles and eccentricities – for years to come.

I wouldn’t say that Grant is easily comparable to any other author, but I imagine if you enjoy Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Robbins or John Irving, this book will fit well on your shelf…


A Book (nonfiction): The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk by Randy Shilts

Yes, that Randy Shilts – author of And the Band Played On and Conduct Unbecoming. Simply one of the strongest researchers and bravest writers alive today, Shilts takes impeccable fact-telling and delivers it with perfect empathy and a clear, honest look at the humanity of the players on both sides.

In a nonfiction book, I generally look for something that will either change my mind or break my heart – a story of powerful courage or unexpected bravery. The Mayor of Castro Street is all those things – it’s the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly-gay elected politician. His story is well known (even if his name is not), but the outline of the facts I can give you below, won’t even begin to convey Shilts’ rich telling of the people and events that shaped this life…

In the 1970s, Milk was one of the few gay men in San Francisco to live an honest, proud life and accept nothing less than total acceptance (this was at a time when medical professionals were still calling homosexuality a mental illness. There was no significant national gay movement or lobbying group.). He ran for office three times and lost three times before his successful run in 1977.

Milk became the first openly-gay elected politician in the U.S. when he won a seat on S.F.'s Board of Supervisors. His win came from the most grassroots of movements - convincing people who only months before lived in fear and shame to form human billboards and rally for votes.

Milk was all ego, believing that he could change the world - out on the streets every day registering voters, inciting action, changing minds.

In 1978 fellow-Supervisor Dan White, a troubled anti-Gay conservative, resigned from the Board following the controversial passage of the Gay Civil Rights bill Milk had championed and he had adamantly opposed. The following day, White returned to City Hall to ask the Mayor (George Moscone) to reinstate him to the Board. When Moscone denied his request, White shot and killed him. White then reloaded his gun and walked down the hall where he shot and killed Milk.

Thanks to a psychologist's testimony that junk food had exacerbated White's depression (the original "Twinkie defense") and a carefully selected jury, White received just five years with parole. The resulting gay riot led to the hospitalization of more than 160 people.

Milk served in the Korean War, was a banker on Wall Street, and later lived and died as a symbol and a leader to his community and the thousands of others that watched... No stranger to death threats, Milk had once said, "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door."

A Blog: Bill O'Luanaigh’s Channeling the Zeitgeist

The property of an unapologetic political ideologue, Channeling tends to find issues a bit off the beaten path and speak to the challenges presented with careful consideration, fresh ideas and a personal twist, as in this entry. Although Channeling occasionally devolves into a bit of ranting, the entries are generally very consistent, complemented by strong references and full of intriguing positions.

A’nother: Balance Sheet in Reason Magazine
 
A couple of bullets, the + and – of conventional wisdom and the like, but creatively researched and full of the sort of treachery and aggravation that makes for good conversation. Here’s December’s roll.  Also, keep an eye on Daily BrickBat for more tastes of absurdity …