Books, etc. February 2009

Books...
"The Inheritance of Loss" by Kiran Disai was a painful story about a group of people and their experiences (mostly of helplessness, slow decline and resignation). Not an uplifting book at all but very well written. A slow downward spiral.

"The Invention of Air" by Stephen Johnson was an enjoyable journey through the biography of Joseph Priestley (the man who discovered oxygen and figured out a way to make soda water). It gives you a glimpse into the early days of America, how the founders thought about science, and how amateur experimenters could uncover entire new fields. Stephen is kinda hung up on "long zoom" history telling and hobbyist innovators (see "Ghost Map"). Worth reading if you like science and history. Not as fun for some reason as his last book.

"Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell is all about people not exactly in the center of the bell curve and how they got there. From the best hockey players (they all happen to be born around the first few months of the year in Canada because of the cut-off date for junior competition... so kids born just after the cutoff date tend to be bigger and more experienced by the time they get to play), to the Beatles (they played about 10,000 hours worth of time together in brothels in Germany before becoming an overnight success in the US), to airline pilots (beware flight crews that are from cultures where there is a large gap between superiors and subordinates). Seems fluffy and light as a book without the feel of any real direction or heft but cotton candy is nice sometimes so it made me think for a day or two.

"The Monsters of Templeton" by Lauren Goff is a first novel that does a nice job of exploring life in a small town, with monsters. The primary monster is something that lives in the lake but there are plenty of other monsters along the way. Of course the monsters aren't quite what you expect when the book begins but over time it becomes apparent. An author worth watching.

"Shame" by Salman Rushdie came out soon after his masterful exploration of India. This time its about a fantasy land that might (obviously) just be Pakistan. Not quite as playful as Midnight's Children but it has its moments. If you like SR you'll like this book. If you're interested in history many of the characters will seem oddly similar to real people from the history of Pakistan. It is a rough book though with a girl who's blush burns and who soon turns into a fury, a boy raised by three moms in a vast house, family feuds that span generations, the shamed and the shameless. I just love SR so I'm not going to be able to say anything but read it.

"The Man Who Loved China" by Simon Winchester is a deep exploration of Joseph Needham's life and masterwork. Needham was an eccentric scientist who fell in love with China (although it started with falling in love with his mistress/coworker-scientist from China). He wrote the canonical history of science and technology in the middle kingdom. I little rough going at the beginning of the book as he sets the stage but it fast becomes apparent that Joseph was an extrordinary researcher. He planned on publishing a book about Chinese technology and science and being done in 10 years and when he died decades later he was still writing. All told there turned out to be volumes and volumes of the work that completely changed western perceptions of China. A few examples? up until Needham discovered and popularized the inventions, few knew that China had printing presses with movable type centuries before the west, or that it had developed crossbows in the 5th century BC or gunpowder or multistage rockets, or even lowly simple things like stirrups. Examples of their mastery of engineering include waterways and dams that have been in operation up to the present day for thousands of years that would stun modern day engineers. At the end of the day the book as a popularization of Needham's life and a love story across time and culture. Nicely done. Worth the read.

Music, etc...
"Everything That Happens Will Happen Today" by David Bryne and Brian Eno is great if you like either of these two (though its pretty heavily Bryne oriented.)

"Rachel Getting Married" by Jonathan Demme is really well done. Made me want to go back and watch "Something Wild." Good soundtrack as well (as always).

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" directed by Julian Schnabel is ethereal and luminous. It is the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby who was the editor-in-chief of the french version of Elle magazine. He had a stroke in the prime of life and dictated his autobigraphy purely with the blink of one eye. I don't think the movie is perfect, but its pretty close. You could also freezeframe just about any moment in the film and frame it. Simple and wonderful cinematography.