Monday, February 27, 2012

Book 9

I finished another book from my daughter's "Battle of the Books" this weekend. Perloo the Bold, by Avi. I'm starting to feel like I'm padding my list with these books, but I believe this was the last one. And I'd be way behind if I didn't count them. At any rate, they have been pretty good books.

I would have loved this book when I was younger and reading things like Watership Down. I've also heard that it's like the Redwall series for younger kids, but I've never read Brian Jacques. I may need to pick up one of his books.

Perloo has animal-like creatures as its characters, and uses them to examine aspects of leadership. That makes it sound more like a treatise, but it was actually a fun little story about the "Montmers" and the "Felbarts," two different rival animal tribes on the verge of a war. As the Montmers struggle with a change in the leadership of their tribe, the reader, or at least this one, asks what it takes to be a good leader.

My wife thought the ending was wrapped up too quickly with the war averted and Perloo making a monumental decision about his role in the tribe's leadership. It was a bit abrupt and maybe not entirely realistic, even if it was in keeping with the characters. But it was a good look at what being a leader means. Impressive for an elementary school book.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Movies 16 and 17

I watched a couple of movies with the kids yesterday. The first was Bean: The Movie. The youngest two kids were acting up so I put this on hoping they would at least enjoy Rowan Atkinson's funny faces. After all, they enjoyed Mr. Bean's Holiday multiple times. I know, I know, using the TV as a baby sitter, but I watched it with them and we all enjoyed it.

Growing up, my parents and siblings (well, at least my dad and brothers) were all Mr. Bean fans. We loved the show and Rowan Atkinson in general. I'm not sure how I missed this attempt to introduce Mr. Bean to the American masses. But in the end I don't think I missed much in waiting. It was enjoyable, with a lot of recycled Mr. Bean gags, but also a bit crude for the kids I was watching it with. And of course it was for an American audience, so Mr. Bean had to speak more than usual. And the plot needed to have the obligatory moral message shoehorned in, this one about families (not a bad thing, just un-Bean like). Mr. Bean's Holiday is a better movie to watch to capture the essence of Mr. Bean.

But even so, Bean is good for fans. Atkinson is at his bumbling best, and the supporting cast does its job well. Peter MacNicol was good as the straight man to Mr. Bean, and special mention needs to be made of Burt Reynold's cameo as the no-so-art-loving patron of the arts. And I laughed quite a bit. But some of the charm was lost due to what can only be described as the Americanization of Bean. And this is from someone who likes American The Office better than British The Office. Doesn't make it a bad movie, just less than what it could have been.



Last night we watched Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker. The boys have recently discovered the Alex Rider books, which I haven't really noticed before, and are enjoying them. So when I found this at the library, I knew we had a Family Movie Night pick.

Apparently, this was supposed to be he next big teen movie franchise, but it flopped. It played out like a James Bond film for a younger audience, and it was easy to tell where they were setting up potential recurring characters. Stephen Fry as the gadget guy comes to mind. Not having read the books, I can say it came off as just that, an inferior James Bond.

It is hard to put my finger on just why it wasn't that great. Certainly the lead, Alex Pettyfer, wasn't the best as Alex Rider. And if some of the stunts and jokes seemed forced and juvenile, well, it was aimed at a teen audience. The pieces just didn't seem to fit right. But the target audience, my boys, loved it. They were very disappointed to learn this movie was from 2006 and there was no sequel yet. I didn't have the heart to tell then there probably won't ever be a sequel.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Book 8

This weekend I finished Touching the Void, Joe Simpson's remarkable mountaineering survival story. This is one of the books I picked that was rated 5 stars by a friend on Goodreads. Now I'm no mountaineer or climber, even though I do love the mountains. But the places these guys go are insane. I can't imagine doing this type of climbing in perfect conditions.

Which makes Simpson's story all the more remarkable. He ended up climbing down a mountain after falling down a crevasse in a glacier, alone and freezing, and all this after already breaking his leg. Even knowing that he survives (after all he is writing the book) the story is very tense. It includes a good depiction of what his climbing partner, thinking Simpson was dead, went through as well making his own way down the mountain. It really is amazing what people can endure.

The book is a worthwhile read. My only complaint is the first part, about climbing up the mountain, is very technical. I'm sure those familiar with climbing would enjoy it, but I found it a bit slow at times. All that changes when the disaster hits, and I found it a much quicker read from that point on. The reader gets a good picture of the hardships endured on the lonely, grueling climb down. Amazing that this is all a true story. I may need to check out the movie.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Book 7

I took a break from reading Touching the Void, one of the books I picked up as a secret recommendation from my friends on Goodreads. I read another of my daughter's books she had to read for Battle of the Books at her elementary school called Strider, by Beverly Cleary. I had never heard of this book, although I remember Cleary quite well as an author we frequently read in grade school. It is apparently a sequel to Dear Mr. Henshaw, another book I've never heard of. But I have fond memories of Cleary books, so I gave it a chance.

The book did not live up to my memories of the author's other works. It was well written, with well drawn characters. And it had a dog, so bonus points there. But for a coming of age story, I didn't feel much of a struggle taking place. It seemed pretty uneventful, and frankly, slow. Even for a children's book.

My daughter seemed to like it. She found it interesting that it was written as journal entries, rather than as traditional chapters. So if nothing else, it has introduced her to a slightly different kind of narrative. She enjoyed discovering that stories can be told in different ways. So it may not have been my favorite Cleary book, but it was a success if the book expanded my daughter's literary horizons in whatever small way.


Sunday, February 12, 2012

Movie 15

This weekend we watched Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which I picked for Family Movie Night with the kids. It was based on a video game series I know little to nothing about. Given the track record of films based on video games, that could have been a cause for concern. But it is also a Disney movie, so I figured at least the kids would like it.

And everyone did seem to like it. It was good for a movie based on a video game. I didn't recognize much of the cast, except Ben Kingsley, who I've decided is pretty much good in anything he does. The story was fun, action with fantasy thrown in, all mixed with an exotic Persian setting. But I don't know that it was that memorable. My wife disagrees, she liked how the story ended. It was a good Family Movie Night pick, it's just not a story I find myself returning to.

Having said that, if they ever make a sequel I'm sure I won't hesitate to watch it for Family Movie Night, too.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

One Way to Get Book Recommendations from Friends Without Their Knowledge

A while back on Fiftyfifty.me they posted a theme idea about recommendations. I'll admit that since I already have such a large to-read list, I generally just nod and smile politely when a book is recommended to me. Occasionally there is an exception, like from my mom or brother. Although truth be told their last few recommendations are still sitting on my bedside table, unread. Or if someone recommends something already on my to-read list, the book may be bumped closer to the front of the list.

The Fiftyfifty post is correct, recommendations aren't for the weak of heart. For book lovers, you run the risk of discovering someone you know has terrible literary taste. Or, perhaps worse for the book snob, someone you know is better read than you are. But it also represents a challenge to broaden your horizons.

The other day, while browsing some friends' lists on Goodreads, I had an idea. I noticed each of these friends, when comparing books we both had rated, were never more than one star off on our ratings. Sure, sometimes my five star book was only a four for them, and the book I thought was a two made it to three in their rating, but we were never that different. It made me wonder what I would think of their favorite, five star books.

What I decided to do, instead of asking for a favorite, was semi-randomly select a five star book from these three friends on Goodreads. I say semi-randomly because, in order to make it a bit of a challenge, I wanted to make sure these were books not already on my to-read list. They needed to be books I probably wouldn't read normally.

So I now have three new books checked out from the library. The first was a five star book from my college friend. We sat through many physics classes together, but I also enjoyed discussing books with her. I recognized several of those books on her list, but I settled on Touching the Void, by Joe Simpson, a survival story of a mountaineer in the Andes. I've heard coworkers discussing this book, and the movie based on it, before, but I was never motivated to pick it up.

The second was from my cousin. Almost everyone in our extended family is a reader, so I knew my cousin would have some good books on her list. I chose The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. This book has popped up here and there in reviews and blogs I've read, and while it's looked interesting, I've never considered reading it before. Based on her review, it looks like my cousin really enjoyed this book.

Last was from my brother. This was a bit harder to pick since a lot of his five star books are already on my to-read list, or at least they are books I could see myself picking up on my own. I've noticed our tastes aren't that different, although growing up he leaned more towards the fantasy side of things, where I read more sci fi. Anyway, I picked Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory.

I have read Graham Greene before. The one I remember was The End of the Affair, which was well written, but failed to make me care about the mentioned affair or its end. My brother, a self proclaimed Greene fan, says that one was probably his least favorite, but The Power and the Glory was much better. I said at the time that I would be willing to give Greene another go, but I've never felt the desire to pick up one of his books since then. We will see how this goes.

I'll admit I'm looking forward to reading these books. It should be an interesting twist to the fiftyfifty challenge.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Movies 13 and 14

Watched movies 13 and 14 this week. Number 13 was Gnomeo and Juliet, Which my daughter noticed while we were scanning through Netflix and then wanted to watch for Family Movie Night. I was a little hesitant as most of the "family" movies I've watched on Netflix have been sub-par. (Netflix's streaming movie choice just isn't that good, although I like it for TV shows.) But I remembered enjoying the commercials for the movie last year and figured I could sit through it if I kept my expectations low.

Maybe the low expectations did it, but I enjoyed the movie. Perhaps not as much as the kids, but then I probably got more out of the Shakespeare jokes than they did. Now, it's not destined to become a family classic or anything, but it is one of those movies that entertains the kids while throwing just enough lines at the adults to keep them watching, too. And the voice actors fit the parts well, especially Patrick Stewart in a cameo as the Bard himself. It was a pleasant surprise to hear his voice.

14 was The Tourist, a Johnny Depp movie I watched with my wife. We liked the movie, but we are Depp fans. (It wasn't always that way, I never liked 21 Jump Street.) Angelina Jolie, on the other hand, she might be nice to look at sometimes, but her movies don't always grab me. However, she was good in this and I even liked the the pairing of Depp and Jolie together.

My wife felt the movie started a bit slow and predictable, but I liked the way suspense was built without the usual action/thriller movie plot devices. It might have taken longer to build up, but the pay off for me was Depp really letting you feel the tourist's confusion at the events happening around him. I liked it, even if we did call most of the plot twists along the way. In the end, worthwhile for fans of Johnny Depp.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Book 6

Last weekend I finished The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, by Nicholas Carr. As this was a Pulitzer finalist, I had fairly high expectations, and the book generally met them. Carr makes an excellent case that the internet is in fact changing our brains, making us think differently than we used to when knowledge was mainly obtained through books. Newer and more distracting technology is making us use a different set of skills, different from what Carr calls "deep thinking" that comes with reading books with greater focus.

I believe this is an important discussion. As the author says, we need to consider this change and how it affects us as this technology becomes even more pervasive. Are the distractions that seem to be inherent in the technology making us lose focus, and is this detrimental to our culture? It has certainly made me think. I can't count the number of conversations this book made me start with my friends and coworkers. And I don't mean the "Hey, this book is cool" conversations that Hunger Games started.

In thinking about it, I realized that I don't totally agree with the author about everything. The brain activity we use on the internet may be different than when reading books, but does different necessarily mean worse? While Carr makes it a point to say we are losing deep thinking skills, the book doesn't demonstrate that what we are gaining will put us in a worse situation. Sure things are changing, but we are still using our brains, the activity just appears to be focused in different areas.

Carr himself admits we can't see how things will play out in the long run yet. Just as people like Aristotle were concerned that giving up an oral tradition to focus on silent reading of books would make us lose wisdom, we should be concerned about how this distracting technology affects us. On the other hand, I think most would argue the switch from an oral tradition was beneficial for our race as a whole, and I find it plausible that newer technologies will ultimately prove similarly beneficial, whatever disruptive changes they bring. But on the whole, it is a conversation we should be engaging in more often.

Whatever disagreements I may have with the implied conclusions of the book, I can say I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone at all interested in subjects like reading, learning, or the internet in general. I even gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.

Funny side note: while reading The Shallows I frequently found myself distractedly flipping to the end notes and checking out a source online that was listed there. I have since started rereading an Agatha Christie mystery on my Nook called And Then There Were None. The first time I read the book, in print, I constantly flipped around to reference different parts of the story. This time, reading an ebook, I haven't flipped around as much. Not exactly the situation Carr refers too in talking about distracting technology, but I found it interesting that I focused better reading my Nook over a print book.