Thursday, January 31, 2019

Year Of Wonder - January

I mentioned in my goals post that I found a book called "Year of Wonder," which basically consisted of an annotated playlist of classical music to listen to.

This has been an interesting exercise. My first big challenge was finding the time listen intentionally (or mindfully) to the music. While I would love to get my three-year-old involved, she doesn't sit and listen as well as I do, because she's three. Some days I was really good about listening to my music, other days I ended up playing catch up. In these last couple days, I think I finally found a system that works. We'll see how it goes. 

The month of January was full of new music I've never heard before. I'm not going to go through every piece, but I will say a few words about the ones that really stuck out to me. 

January 3 - O virtus sapientiae by Hildegard de Bingen: I always knew Hildegard de Bingen wrote Gregorian chant, but I don't think I ever listened to it. This was really quite lovely, and I feel I need to listen to more of her work. 

January 6 - Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor, op 26, 1: Allegro moderato by Max Bruch: This is apparently his most recognized work and I've NEVER heard it! I really liked this piece and went back to listen to the entire concerto. 

January 10 - Toccata arpeggiata by Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger: Have you ever seen the youtube video of how everything is Pachelbel's Canon in D? No? Here it is. The reason why everything is Pachelbel's Canon is because it uses the common chord progression I-IV-V-I. This Toccata uses the same chord progression and with it being just arpeggios on a lute, was less than thrilling to me.

January 11 - Ubi caritas et amor from Frour Gregorian Motets by Maurice Durufle: Woah! This man was arguably a 20th century musician, but his music recalls long ago styles. These Motets based off Gregorian chant are just stunning. 

January 15 - Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) mvt 5: Louange à l'éternité de Jesus by Olivier Messiaen: Messiaen wrote this as a prisoner of War in World War II. The piece is haunting in it's beauty considering just what was happening when it was written. 

January 16 - Étude in C sharp minor, op. 2 no. 1 by Alexander Scriabin: I played this in college. 

January 22 - Adagio from Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District arranged for strings by Dmitri Shostakovich: Apparently Stalin did not like this opera. Stalin had bad taste in music. I really enjoyed this piece.

January 25 - My love is like a red, red rose, Traditional: Burns poetry set to music. I spent tne entire rest of my day singing this song.

January 31 - Echorus by Philip Glass: A significantly more modern piece. It's repetitive, but I didn't mind that so much today (compared to Electric Counterpoint from January 19th). I think the instruments and harmonies of this worked better for me. My piano teacher once compared my compositions to Philip Glass, and at the time I didn't seek out any of his work. After listening to this, perhaps I will.


Lord of the Rings Challenge January Update

Note: These updates will contain spoilers to The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. If you do not want spoilers, it would be best to avoid these updates.

Many years ago, I came across this site. The idea being that you could read about the events of all the ages of Middle Earth in chronological order. You get all your books, plug your editions into a calculator, and it'll tell you what to read when. You mark the sections in your books and then follow along. I did all that and started reading. After bouncing around three books to read all the stories of The First Age, I set the books down to take a break... and never picked them back up. So this year, I plan to finish the challenge.

I started with The Second Age of Middle Earth. The Second Age tells of the rise and fall of Númenore. The Chronological Path took me on a circuitous route from the Akallabêth in the Silmarillion, a number of Unfinished Tales, and some of the appendices in Return of the King. Essentially, the Akallabêth is a summary of Númenore. The Unfinished Tales have more fleshed out parts of the story. However, because this is in chronological order, we also learn of the making of the Rings of Power and a bit about Galadriel and some of the other Elves.

Much like when I read the First Age (which is not mentioned in this blog as I read it before I even started this blog), I knew little to nothing about the Second Age other than the fact that Aragorn is descended from the Númenorians. As a civilization, they start off very impressive. The reason they live so long is due to their lineage to half-elves from the First Age who's names I can't remember and don't feel like looking up. They live west of Middle Earth but east of Valinor. 

In general the story is a sad one. As great and proud as Númenore was, it eventually fell sway to the power of Sauron and fell. Hard. I also was unimpressed with many of the characters we learned about. Very few were likable. 

Following the Fall of Númenore, we enter the Third Age with Isildur and Anárion. This tells the story of how Sauron was defeated the second time and the Great Ring was lost. While we learn a bit more information about the surrounding details of that time, it's not much more than what we already know from LOTR.

Following that, there's a lot about Gondor and the rise of the Rohirrum. We learn of a few more wars. I swear, all these people do is go to war.

Right now, I'm in a bit of an area that's dull. I just really don't care about the wars. I have some thoughts on this chronological reading as well, but I think I'll save those for later. Next month, I hope to make my way through about half of The Hobbit!

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Failed Book

It's been a while since a classic well and truly failed me. But I found one. The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellows not only is on my did not finish pile, it's on my what the actual fuck pile.

Here's the thing, when I picked this book as a possibility for my "Classic Set in a Place You've Lived," I read a couple of summaries. They all talked about how the book follows this kid Augie around. He lives in Chicago. And there's this girl who tries to train an eagle to catch lizards. I was so down for an eagle that hunts lizards.

I missed, or perhaps ignored the whole bit about it being a picaresque novel. 

Guys, this book didn't just make me not want to read it... it made me not want to read at all. Usually, when I don't enjoy a book, I'll take a break and read other things. In this case, I just couldn't bring myself to even pick up another book. Three chapters of Augie March has sucked all the joy of reading out and away. On the plus side, I've watched a season and a half of Bones! Perhaps that's not a plus side. It's the latter seasons where they get a case of the stupids. 

Anyway. What didn't I like about this book? I think it was the picaresque storytelling. I'm OK with relatively plotless books provided there's something worthwhile in the pages. But this was just a day in the life of this guy. Which I'm sure for someone else is great, but for me, I needed something more. I was hoping there would be some sort of character development, but when I finally looked up some reviews and found a definition of picaresque, I realized I would end up throwing this book against a wall if I kept it up. It's the "lovable rascal" trope. Guys will be guys. I just... no. Maybe if I was in school with some guidance, but this was really rough. 

I'm still reeling from just how much I didn't like this book. I keep picking up other books that I'm excited about, or that I know make me feel better, and nothing is sticking. I go to work tomorrow, so I'll browse through the stacks after our staff meeting and see if something catches my fancy. I'm also on the hunt for another book set in Chicago.

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint


Title: Dreams Underfoot
Author: Charles de Lint
Pages: 414
Finished: January 18, 2018

As this is a collection of short stories, it doesn't make sense to review it as I normally do. At the end of this, I added my thoughts for each story as I felt about it after reading it.

I read this collection a number of years ago when I was in my early 20s. I remember being absolutely enamored with it. So much so that I bought my sister-in-law a copy for Christmas. I tried reading it again when I was pregnant and stopped halfway because I wasn't enjoying them. This third time through was fun though!

I didn't realize before that many of these stories had been published in other collections and stories before they were pulled into this specific collection. I'm not sure how much if at all he revised them for the collection, but I was really impressed at the tiny threads of continuity throughout the book!

My favorite is Jilly. I remember Jilly from other stories of de Lint's I've read in other places. I mean, we're supposed to love Jilly, but she's just lovely.

There's a bit in the middle of the collection where there's really not much fantasy at all and instead we read about some truly horrific things that humans do. At first I was a bit frustrated because I was in this for the fantasy, but then I realized, humans mirror the fantastic. Some are good. Some are bad. Most are really just there.

I'm probably not making much sense, so I'll just leave this with my thoughts on the various stories.

This book was read for my Newford Challenge

Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair - Interesting idea of introducing us to Newford through the eyes of another reader of another book
The Stone Drum - I Know I've met Meran before in another Newford story. Also, most of my knowledge from Jilly Coppercorn must be from later. She had the knowledge then. Very haunting story though!
Timeskip - ending gave me shivers. I remember the passage where Geordie was busing to be able to pay for his date so clearly.
Freewheeling - poor Zinc. I remembered the bikes, but I'd totally forgotten the end. That was brutal
That Explains Poland - One of the things I really enjoy about de Lint's stories is that the people feel real even as they're experiencing the unreal. In this case, Bigfoot.
Romano Drom - this is one of those stories that I remember so clearly. As I was reading it, everything came back to me.
The Sacred Fire - I didn't remember this one. It was unsettling, though I suppose that was foreshadowed in the first story when the unpleasant stories in Christy Riddell's book show up.
Winter was Hard - 1. I love Jilly's stories. 2. Winter finally decided to show up where I live. Felt like a proper story to welcome in the cold
Pity the Monsters - another very disturbing story. Sometimes de Lint's stories feel all too real.
Ghosts of Wind and Shadow - More Meran! I believe this is the story I remember her from the most. I only recall certain images from this story, but this is definitely the Meran I remember.
The Conjure Man - I've read this book before, but I have no recollection of this story. I do like the idea of the Storytelling Tree
Small Deaths - I did not remember this one at all. And after finishing it, I found it forgettable.
The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep - This is the one I remember the most. I was absolutely entranced with it as a Young Adult. It's still a wonderful story.
In the House of My Enemy - Oh no. I remember this one. It's so heartbreaking.
But For the Grace Go I - One of teh things I really enjoy about this collection is the subtle thread of continuity between stories.
Bridges - I really liked the idea of Hope vs. Despair and that other world of Bridges. 
Our Lady of the Harbor - de Lint's retelling of The Little Mermaid. I haven't read Anderson's Little Mermaid recently, so I'm not entirely sure how it compares, but I thought it was interesting told through the eyes of someone almost outside the story
Paperjack - A conclusion to Timeskip and just as amazing. I cried so hard.
Tallulah - Oh look, we get to meet Christy! It seems Christy is a fictionalized de Lint in some ways. 

Monday, January 14, 2019

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen


Title: Sense and Sensibility
Author: Jane Austen
Pages: 367
Finished: January 13, 2018

First Sentence: The family of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex.

Summary: A tale of two sisters, each who love a man and deal with their disappointments in very different ways. Elinor, all sense, takes care of her suddenly impoverished family and protects their feelings even at the expense of her own. Marianne, on the other hand, feels everything as acutely as possible to the point of endangering her own life. As with any Austen novel, all turns out all right in the end. Both get their man, both learn a bit more about the other, and everyone who deserves happiness gets it!

Thoughts: In the past, out of Austen's six main novels, I've ranked this number 5. I'm curious to see if my rankings change in the course of this reread.

Let's start with the characters. Elinor is really quite amazing. She's so incredibly mature that it's hard for me to believe she's only 19. Of course, I'm thinking of 21st Century 19-year-olds who are still adolescents instead of adults. But with everything we know about brain development now, it still rings hard for me to believe. (It's also the reason I don't have an issue with Emma Thompson playing her, because Elinor reads as 30 years old to me instead of 19...) Anyway. Even though this wasn't my favorite Austen novel, I did like Elinor for many years and strove to be like her. Her ability to govern her temper, to feel her feelings but not inflict them on everyone was very admirable to me. Even while reading it now, I found her very admirable. Sure, it's okay to feel your feelings, and it's even okay to let other people know you feel your feelings, but I like that she never was a woe is me type.

Marianne on the other hand... Marianne is who I always was. Maybe not to that extent, but I did and do tend to be reactive. While reading through this time, Marianne absolutely read like a 16-year-old to me. Impetuous, selfish, and only aware of her own feelings. I tried to cut her some slack because she was 16, but if she was viewed as an adult by her peers, it was hard to reconcile that with how she acted. (This is why I teach preschoolers instead of teenagers!)

The rest of the cast is you standard affair. Colonel Brandon and Edward Ferrers are more complex then then rest as they are our leading gentlemen, but the rest of the cast falls into the various comfortable roles of social foibles. Mrs. Jennings and Sir John Middleton are ridiculous and rude though it can be excused because they are of society. John and Fanny Dashwood are absolutely mean (seriously, Fanny Dashwood is such an awful woman. Obviously learned from her awful mother.) Willoughby is a cad, and even when he tries to explain his reasoning for doing as he did, he still comes across as horrible (though he won over Elinor). Again, that's possibly the 21st century feminist in me talking. I just hate the way he explains why he did what he did, and while he explains it basically shows that he's just as bad as he was. And he gets excused because he really did love her? Blech. The Steeles? I love to hate on Lucy. She's so underhandedly malicious and contriving.

The social commentary was way more prevalent to me than it was the last time I read this. Which was about five years ago. I think that's what I love about Austen. Everytime I reread her novels, I discover more than was there before. Her characters are so real that I can name them in other people. Lady Middleton who only talks of her children. We STILL have that issue today. In fact, my entire generation is the result of overindulgence - something that is somehow blamed on us even though we're not the ones who overindulged ourselves. Mrs. Jennings as the woman who has to interfere in everyone's business. I certainly know a few people who live for the drama and help in the most unhelpful ways possible. The whole Fanny Dashwood bit at the beginning... well... let's just say I'm intimately aware of that whole thing. Even at what seems like it should be ridiculousness, these characters are so completely connected to people I know.

I enjoyed reading this, and I'm very much looking forward to reading the next one.

As I've yet to read any other Austen novels this year, I'm ranking this as #1. Will change as I read more.

Read for the Austen Challenge. 

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

2019 Reading Goals

I'm very excited for the various challenges and other goals I've set up for myself this year! I have at least six goals, and I'm sure more will develop as the year goes well.

  1. Read 52 Books - I consistently hit 52 books every year. Last year, I tried to stretch myself to 70 books in a year. I didn't make it. 52 seems doable.
  2. Finish my Lord of the Rings in Chronological Order project. - A couple of years ago (and by a couple, I mean at least seven) I stumbled across this site. I was already thinking about rereading the core four books, but reading everything chronologically excited my orderly brain. I bought editions I wouldn't mind writing in, plugged them all into the calculator, set up my books, and read through the entire First Age of Middle Earth. And then I put the books down in favor of something else. I think it's time to finish this project.
  3. Back to the Classics - Hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate. This is my most favorite challenge. I love reading classics, and I especially love trying to fit classics in with the categories. I hope to read all twelve of the categories this year. Link to the challenge sign up here
  4. To Be Read Challenge - Hosted by Adam at RoofbeamReader A new one for me. I don't have a back log of physical books simply because I don't keep a lot of books in my house. I've always made use of my library, and now that I work at a library, I have even more resources to get the books I want. That being said, I always have plenty of books I want to read. My goal is to read all twelve with a potential of adding the two alternatives. Link to the challenge sign up here
  5. Newford Part 1 - I love Charles De Lint's writing. I also discovered that his books about Newford all have a vague chronology to them. They don't really need to be read in order, but they can be. So of course I am reading them in order. There are 24 books that take place in Newford. I plan on reading the first twelve.
  6. Austen Challenge - My most favorite author. It's about time for another reread. This time I'm adding her unfinished works and her juvenile works as well.
  7. Year of Wonder - This is a multimedia challenge. While waiting in line at the coffee shop in my place of employment, I saw a new book we put on display. It's called Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day. Basically, it's a book full of classical music to listen to each day. I was a music ed major in college, I love classical music, and it's been a while since I seriously listened to it! I think this could be a fun exercise. 
All together, this comes to about 46 books. If we add the various children's books I'll be reading for work and the books I read for my family book discussion, I'll reach 52 with absolutely no problem. I'm really looking forward to this year in reading.