unplugged?

Yesterday the internets were not working. At home that meant no blogging or facebooking. At work that meant no emails or proper weather forecasts.

So, I finished a book instead.

That’s makes my list:

1. The Mistress of the Art of Death

2.-4. The Spearweilder’s Tale (Trilogy)

5. The Girl Who Fell from the Sky

6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

7. Swamplandia

I still haven’t figured out the order for 8-14. And I need one more book. But I’m about halfway through the last 15 list, so that’s pretty cool.

Speaking of cool, did you know that James Franco does movie reviews for The Paris Review? Right? So cool.

That’s all I’ve got for now.

Summer Reading – Short Stories by Ben Loory

Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day by Ben Loory

I found a review of this collection on Goodreads ; there were some vague references to Ray Bradbury and that was enough to pique (I always accidentally say this word as “pee-kew” instead of peak) my interest.

I became a fan of short stories about three years ago when I first came across Dandelion Wine and The Martian Chronicles. Discovering Bradbury’s collections are what spurred me on to attempt some writing of my own moreso than anyone else I’ve read. It was after reading “The Veldt”, “There Will Come Soft Rains”, “The Fog Horn”, and the list could go on forever I realized that being a “real writer” didn’t mean only churning out Dead Russian-sized perfect novels. It was liberating to experience a complete story encapsulated in such a small package.

It’s been a good year for short story cycles. First there was James Franco’s Palo Alto: Stories which I reviewed here. And then this collection jumped across my radar and I flipped.

Readers, meet Ben Loory. A man who has written a little bit of everything in almost every genre that counts. Mostly short stories from what I’ve seen so far. And it’s obvious that this dude was paying some sort of homage to Bradbury. Loory’s collection features angsty teenaged extra terrestrials, man’s search for meaning in an alienating environment as well as giving face to some of the things modern man fears the most: chaos.

I greatly enjoyed his short stories. One of my favourites was about a man who experiences a great adventure when he illegally gets his hands on a medieval sword. The rest of his life is spent pining after that experience and he loses his wife, his friends, and eventually his sanity.

Another that stood out greatly to me featured a skeptical man desperately trying to understand God. His story does not end happily either.

It’s a tragically sad collection. Only a few of the stories have what you could typically call a “happy ending”. Which might be why I enjoyed the collection so much. It’s nostalgic in a way that makes you wonder at the plausibility of nostalgia. The stories are rife with a realistic magic that’s not interested in making the main characters happy. It made me think of a child approaching the world with wide eyes, only to discover that the paint has faded, and what looked fabulous only seconds before has turned into some drab sideshow. You can read one of his stories called “Bigfoot” here.

I wholeheartedly endorse this book. Especially if you feel as though you don’t have time to read. A collection of short stories is a great way to get back into the swing of things. They’re sort of connected, usually by theme rather than characters, and broken down into bite-sized chunks perfect for a half hour’s rest.

Again I apologize about yesterday. Look forward to my unabashed celebration of Ray Bradbury’s career tomorrow.

Cheers!

Summer Reading – Palo Alto: Stories

Where were you when you first saw James Franco on the big screen? I was thirteen. I saw Whatever It Takes with my best friend Shea. I remember leaving that movie wondering if all the teenager movies were going to be as dumb as that one. And then he was back in Spiderman. And ever since James Franco has been everywhere. Last year when I read about his collection of short stories being published I was immediately intrigued. He’s sort of a fascinating person. And the idea of a short story cycle (like Palo Alto) appealed to me. I’m a huge fan of Ray Bradbury, who along with Fahrenheit 451, has written several short story cycles. They’re basically a collection of stories centered around a theme and featuring recurring characters.

My most overwhelming reaction to Palo Alto: Stories is that it’s very sad. All the narrators have terribly sad lives. This one section from the short story “Tar Baby” sort of sums up most of the narrators’s views on life:

You can’t fight the Tar Baby, that’s what he wants. You punch that Tar Baby and he sucks you in. Once you get wrapped up with the Tar Baby, he loses his shape, he becomes a sticky, black goo-monster and he gets all over you… Instead of button eyes, you still have your real eyes, looking out from under the tar.

-Palo Alto: Stories, 165

The last short story “Jack-O’” features a kid who repeatedly risks death in order to feel alive. It reminded me a lot of Perks of Being a Wallflower. The idea that all these kids were so numbed by real life they’d forgotten how to live. In my opinion one of the most impressive aspects of this collection is how distinct the narrators’s voices are. There’s a mini-cycle named “April”. It’s told in three parts; the first two by a kid named Teddy, the last by April. The stories are sad and full of pain. You ponder whether any one person can actually bring joy or hope to another person, because these two, motivated by each other as they are, seem to only destroy themselves.

The collection is seedy, and graphic. At points I didn’t think I would read all of the stories merely because there was so much discussion of anatomy and sexual exploits. It fits the characters and the content, but it wasn’t pleasant for me. The succession of Lamb to Maus I & II to Palo Alto might have been a bad choice. The first was so light hearted and fun. By the end of Palo Alto I just wanted to read something happy. Or stare at some daisies. It was depressing. But a quick read. I read maybe a quarter of it last night and finished the rest today. Granted I have huge chunks of time in the middle of the day… so I have abnormal amounts of reading time. But I still think you could get through Franco’s collection easily enough.

The Acknowledgements in the back were interesting to me as well. Franco started it by saying, “My favorite people are teachers.” He goes on to list all of the teachers he’s learned much about writing from. It’s a long list. The only name I recognize is Dave Eggers. But, by playing a weird version of  The Six Degrees of James Franco I feel as though I now benefit in some small way from what he learned. I give Palo Alto: Stories  out of 5 for entertainment and instruction. I feel as though it’s a great example of writing about a particular place, experience, and group of people. However, I probably wouldn’t read it just for funsies.

Next on the list is The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I picked it up at Inkwood Books a few months ago after one of the employees suggested it. He told me it’s an influential book for many writers. I’ve only read a short story or two by Atwood, and they were good. So, I’m pretty excited about digging into this novel. It’s 295 pages long, plus some “Historical Notes” but I’ll do my best to finish it for you for a review by Wednesday.

You may (or may not) have noticed that Monday along with my book review for the day I put up one of my original short stories that I submitted for workshop earlier this year. For a little while I’m going to put up original short stories and poems on at least a Mon/Wed schedule. And as long as I can keep up the book-a-day reviews I’ll try that, too.

Anyone out there in blog land want to share what’s on their summer reading list? What you’re reading? I’d love to share this reading with you.