Kiss Me Like a Stranger by Gene Wilder

Posted by melydia on November 29, 2008 1 comment

Kiss Me Like A Stranger by Gene Wilder: Though I enjoy his movies, I would not consider myself a Gene Wilder fan. I’m not sure I’ve ever thought about him outside the characters he’s portrayed. It was kind of a weird experience reading the life story of a complete stranger, especially one as brutally honest as this. Wilder tiptoes around nothing. Still, it was surprisingly readable, at once touching and funny. I got a little choked up reading about Gilda Radner’s final days. Wilder focuses mostly on his personal life and romantic relationships, though there is also a fair amount of information about his experiences as an actor and later writer. It’s refreshing to read a memoir written at the proper time in a person’s life: after they’ve settled down with the right person, are more or less retired from what made them famous, and have the time to sit back and reflect. While I wouldn’t recommend this to someone who hates Gene Wilder movies, you certainly don’t have to be a fanatic to enjoy this tale of self-discovery.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Posted by melydia on November 26, 2008 3 comments

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde: Now here is a story for literature buffs. Thursday Next works as a kind of literary detective in a world gone mad for books. Kids trade character cards, author homes are top tourist destinations, and (my personal favorite) some theaters put on a regular performance of Richard III a la Rocky Horror Picture Show, complete with audience participation. That last had me giggling. The story is clever and the characters amusing, but I think I would have gotten a lot more out of it had I read the prerequisite novels. Specifically having read Jane Eyre and Martin Chuzzlewit would have helped immensely, but even just a penchant for 18th century literature (Dickens, Bronte, Austin, et al) would have been a huge advantage. After all, it is for those fans that this story was really written. Though there is a whole series of Thursday Next books, I think my next Fforde book will probably be one of his fairy tale retellings. I already know those stories.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Posted by melydia on November 25, 2008 4 comments

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand: It’s a shame that an opinion about this book is taken as a political statement, because the story’s actually really good. In a nutshell: the government decides that competition is unfair and starts regulating trade and production. In response, the producers disappear one by one, abandoning (or destroying) their mines, factories, and mills. Chaos ensues. Our protagonist is Dagny Taggart, head of Taggart Transcontinental Railroad. Objectivist women are evidently hard to find; she had so many admirers I almost wanted to rename the book “Everybody Loves Dagny.” But that’s neither here nor there (though the sex scenes were a touch disturbing); it is she who struggles to keep her railroad running as increasing government regulation and a decreasing population of competent people bar the way. At times I was reminded of Animal Farm, which is no surprise considering Rand grew up in Bolshevik Russia. What starts with good intentions rapidly devolves into a miasma of bribes, favors, and threats.

My favorite character was Francisco d’Anconia, CEO of d’Anconia Copper and childhood friend of Dagny. I just love his snarkiness. Everything he does seems calculated to piss off the looters (so the enemies of individuality are called) while remaining impeccably polite. As an aside, I also found it telling that so many of the looters had ridiculous names, such as Tinky or Chick.

I found this story fascinating from an intellectual and philosophical viewpoint. A lot of people seem to treat capitalism as a given (or as the enemy); I’ve never read such a detailed defense of it. And while I do not purport to completely understand Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, these are the nuggets I gleaned from this story:
* Logic and facts are paramount.
* You are entitled to nothing and must earn everything. Needing something – anything – does not entitle you to it. Even food and shelter.
* Government involvement in private enterprise screws everything up.
* The worst thing is to live a life without purpose.
* Every man working in his own self interest ultimately produces the most good for all.

I’m not going to go into my own personal philosophy here, but these views definitely made for some interesting reading. Certainly better than The Fountainhead. (Howard Roark struck me as petty.) Once again, this is a book that made me think, and that is always high praise coming from me.

I listened to this on audiobook, which I think was the only way I would have gotten through it. Not only is the book incredibly long, the characters spend a lot of time making speeches, most notably John Galt’s famous three-hour speech near the end. (Yes, you do learn the answer to “who is John Galt?” in the third section.) These speeches are unquestionably an integral part of the book, both the plot and the philosophical ideals, but they can get a little tiring. On audio they come across much more naturally.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Write on Wednesday

Posted by melydia on November 19, 2008 2 comments

So tell me, what are the areas closest to your heart? What aspects of your life in general do you find yourself sharing in writing? Do you enjoy reading/writing personal essays? Who are some of your favorite essayists?

I could spout about various things close to my heart like education and beauty and adventure, but when I look back through my notebooks I find much uglier themes recurring: obsession over food, frustration with hypocrites, and fear of my future. My freewriting is often whiny or angry.

That said, when I come to the page with a specific subject in mind, I wax introspective about names and titles, come up with crackpot (and often intentionally humorous) theories, or preach about the importance of consistency. Some of these see the light of day; others rightfully stay hidden from the world.

A well-written personal essay can be grand. My personal favorites – David Sedaris and Laurie Notaro – are both very funny. I suspect that’s because it’s just so easy to find tragedy in the everyday that unearthing comedy from the same materials is a rare gift. Granted, not everything Sedaris and Notaro write is funny, but those occasional serious pauses are all the more meaningful for their rarity.

Alas, though I like to write personal essays, I often don’t know how to end them.

The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart

Posted by melydia on November 17, 2008 1 comment

The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart: As I was browsing an OBCZ in Westminster, Maryland, I happened upon this book. On the spine, instead of the title, are the words “For anyone who has ever lost or found a friend.” That piqued my interest enough to pull it off the shelf, but the BookCrossing label inside was what spurred me to take it with me. It’s not my usual type of book; it looked really glurgey. But for some reason, instead of simply passing it along, it stayed on my shelf.

The basic germ of the story is familiar: awkward teen meets troubled teen and they become best of friends. However, this friendship fell apart some eight years before. The story begins with Cameron receiving a letter from Sonia, completely out of the blue, asking her to be the Maid of Honor at her wedding. Cameron doesn’t reply, but her aging boss begins corresponding with Sonia behind Cameron’s back. After her boss passes away, he leaves Cameron a package to be delivered to Sonia – in person. Thus begins a tale of journeys and memories, weaving past and present together. The emotions are almost painfully realistic; I felt fierce sympathy for Cameron, and recalled with some sorrow the day the friendship died between my best friend and myself.

I wouldn’t say this book is for anyone who’s ever lost or found a friend, but for those who have known that sort of bond with another person, this can be an engrossing read. It helps that the descriptions of Boston and Texas are as vibrant as the emotions they invoke in the characters. I finished this one quickly, always wanting to turn the page, to find out if Cameron and Sonia ever find each other, or if Cameron returns to her nomadic existence forever.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

We Thought You Would Be Prettier by Laurie Notaro

Posted by melydia on November 15, 2008 1 comment

We Thought You Would Be Prettier by Laurie Notaro: In this collection of humorous (and often downright hysterical) autobiographical essays, Notaro recounts episodes from her life with blunt honesty and hilarious commentary. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I did get a real kick out of her correlation between her diets and the reappearance of popcorn chicken at KFC. I laughed out loud many many times at this book, and now I’m going to be poor because I need to go out and find the rest of her books. If you like David Sedaris, you’ll probably like Laurie Notaro. Very funny.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Write on Wednesday

Posted by melydia on November 13, 2008 2 comments

Write on Wednesday for this week is about warm-ups. Warming up is important in a host of activities, from running to singing to, yes, writing. I suppose there are people in this world who can just sit down and churn out great prose, but alas, I am not one of those people. Often my warm-up is a blog post or a book review or a diary entry, but I’ve found even those activities, as unrelated to the task at hand as they may be, help get my mind into the writing groove.

The original post mentions morning pages, as described in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I have a copy of this book on my shelf, and have read up to the start of Week 1, so I know about the morning pages and the artist dates. I’ve never done the date, but I have tried morning pages from time to time. I can’t seem to make them stick. First off, my mornings are already pretty packed: I get up at 5:45am, eat breakfast, make my lunch, take a shower, and go to work. I’ve tried getting up earlier but every time I end up getting sick within a month. I think the idea of morning pages is fantastic; I’ve just had no success at incorporating it into my life.

That said, freewriting is still a big part of my writing practice. I use a writing prompt or just start rambling about whatever’s on my mind at the moment. Sometimes it’s focused freewriting, which is how I approach quality-free challenges such as NaNoWriMo, but most of the time I just let myself wander. From time to time a nugget of a story pops out, and that makes it all worth it.

Weekly Geeks

Posted by melydia on November 10, 2008 2 comments


WG #24 is fun facts about authors. I’ve decided to choose Christopher Stasheff, not just because he’s a brilliant writer, but also because he and his family are wonderful people and close friends of mine. So here you go.

  1. When he’s not writing, he’s teaching: he used to teach theater at Montclair State University in New Jersey, and now teaches radio and television at Eastern New Mexico University.
  2. He named his four children after kings and queens.
  3. His daughter has done some ghostwriting for him.
  4. He naturally resembles Santa Claus, and has been a mall Santa several times.
  5. His books were popular on the black market in Soviet Russia.
  6. His BA and MA degrees were in Speech and Broadcasting, both from the University of Michigan, but his PhD is in Theater, from the University of Nebraska.
  7. He is a practicing Catholic.
  8. He grew up in Mount Vernon, New York, and Ann Arbor, Michigan; raised his kids in New Jersey and Champaign, Illinois; and now lives in Portales, New Mexico.
  9. He co-wrote the final two Harold Shea novels with L. Sprague de Camp.
  10. Though he appears on a number of author sites and fan sites, Mr. Stasheff has no homepage of his own.

P.S. – If you’re curious: my review of St. Vidicon to the Rescue.

Major Accomplishment

Posted by melydia on November 6, 2008 No comment

I did it. I completed the First Day to 5k program on Podrunner: Intervals. All of it.

Cancer Vixen by Marisa Acocella Marchetto

Posted by melydia on November 5, 2008 No comment

Cancer Vixen by Marisa Acocella Marchetto: This is the true story, told as a graphic novel, of a NYC cartoonist and her battle with breast cancer. She is diagnosed mere weeks before her wedding to restauranteur Silvano Marchetto, and between that, her job, and the constant nuisance of models hitting on her fiance, things start to get a little harried. The comic format lends levity when needed, but never detracts from the serious parts. Since Marchetto describes every excruciating step of her diagnosis and treatment in great detail, I learned a lot about the process. My mom had breast cancer a few years ago (she survived and is doing fine now, thank goodness), but since I was living 700 miles away at the time I didn’t really experience it first-hand. I don’t usually like reading survivor stories, but this one was pleasantly non-glurgy, even if I couldn’t always relate to her fashionista tendencies. This is something I would urge all women to read, especially those dealing with a recent diagnosis. It’s funny and touching and ultimately uplifting.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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