Tag Archives: fiction

PROMPT: Fictional World

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Daily writing prompt
Which fictional world would be the most fun to vacation in?
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The world of H2G2 would at least be amusing in its absurdity. That said, I don’t know that I want to read much that’s set in a place that’s fun, and I know writers disdain them. Literary utopias always have a dark side. Story tension and interest do not build from a place where everyone is having fun.

BOOK: “The Lifetime Reading Plan” by Clifton Fadiman

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The Lifetime Reading PlanThe Lifetime Reading Plan by Clifton Fadiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Google Books Page

By the standard of most people (even most readers,) my reading life is insane, both in terms of the volume that I read and the variety of kinds of writing I consume. But – still – whenever someone comes out with one of these “100 must-read books” lists, there’re always many titles that I haven’t read. This has led me to reflect on what constitutes “essential reading,” (if such a thing exists) and what more systematic readers would consider the crucial texts to read to be a well-read person. And that lead me to this book, which is one man’s attempt to assemble such a syllabus of readings.

Fadiman arranges his 103 recommendations into seven sections: 1.) The Beginning (writings from the ancient world;) 2.) The Middle Ages; 3.) Plays; 4.) Narratives; 5.) Philosophy, Psychology, Politics, and Essays; 6.) Poetry; and 7.) History, Biography, and Autobiography. He also provides an annex of six recommendations to give a rudimentary overview of subjects not addressed in the listed works (e.g. art, mathematics, science, World History, American History, and how to read a book.) Note: When I refer to Fadiman’s ‘103 recommendations,” I’m not talking about 103 books. In many cases, Fadiman recommends one read all (or at least multiple instances of) a given author’s writings. I wouldn’t want to give the impression that one could knock out the whole syllabus in 111 books (inclusive of the annex recommendations;) it is a “lifetime” reading plan – after all.

The first edition of this book came out in 1960 and the third (and – as far as I know – final) edition came out in 1988. Fadiman’s selection is far less diverse than one might expect of such a book today. The author freely admits the book is Western-centric, but that’s not the whole story. While Fadiman’s selection is completely Western, it’s also highly Anglo-American (Anglo / American, if you prefer) with a few French, German, Russian, and Latin American authors scattered into the mix. Furthermore, the feminine voice is all but absent with only four females among the recommendations (including George Eliot who famously took a man’s name to be able to publish the work she probably couldn’t have as Mary Ann Evans [her birth name.])

One the one hand, this book did offer insights into many authors and books, including giving a few recommendations I’d never even heard of before. On the other hand, I wouldn’t call it a recipe for being a well-rounded intellect. It’s far too siloed for that purpose. That said, if you’re looking some readings to round out the Western portion of your reading list, I’d recommend you give this book a look. However, as a “lifetime reading plan,” I think it would leave the reader with some pretty broad blind spots.

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BOOK: “The Rum Diary” by Hunter S. Thompson

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The Rum DiaryThe Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Simon & Schuster

Thompson wrote this novel in the early 60’s but did nothing with it until the late 90’s when — apparently — he needed the money. That doesn’t sound like it would bode well for a work of literature, but it grew on me. The story follows a roughly six-month period from the time a journalist, Paul Kemp, arrives in Puerto Rico to start work at an English language newspaper in San Juan to the time he departs in the wake of the paper’s demise.

The plot is loose and late — by that I mean the most emotionally resonant events are clustered toward the book’s end. This doesn’t mean that it’s a slow-burn through the beginning and middle, per se. There is a lot of decadence and merriment going on among the protagonist and his colleagues that makes for an amusing read. Also, there is a bit of sexual tension as Kemp arrives on the island on the same plane as a pretty blonde who turns out to be the girlfriend of one of his co-workers (and thus verboten,) a girl who’s bad news, yet still the object of simmering obsession.

I found this to be a fun read and would recommend it for those curious about the hedonistic lifestyles of tropically based journalists in the 1950’s. Thompson apparently did spend some time in San Juan in 1960’s and the book is said to be loosely influenced by journalists he met and events that happened there.

Note: There is a movie. I have not seen it. Judging by the trailer, however, I would say it’s a quite loose adaptation beyond the setting and some of the characters in broad strokes.

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PROMPT: Fictional Character

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Who is the fictional character you relate to the most?
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Capt. John Yossarian of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. The only sane response to an insane world is to be insane.

PROMPT: Inspired

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What’s a movie or book that inspired you to travel?
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I would say it’s much more common for travel to inspire me to read a particular book than the other way about. I can’t think of a case in which reading a book was the prime mover in a decision to travel to a given place. But I do try to read some literature from every country or literarily active city that I visit.

PROMPT: Sequel

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What’s a book you think deserves a sequel?
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I think sequelization is a pox upon the literary world. I would hazard to say that anything good I’ve ever read was a standalone work. Seldom does the “resolution-to-hook” ratio lead to a satisfying, let alone illuminating, reading experience. A popular book series is far more likely to end like the television series Lost than to pull all its outstanding narrative strings together coherently.

Unless you’re talking nonfiction, in which case I would be open to another volume of The Complete History of the World at some point.

PROMPT: Nominate

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Daily writing prompt
Emperor Palpatine has announced open elections for a new Emperor — and he’s nominated Darth Vader. You get to nominate one challenger.
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Let’s see. Someone fictional and from the future. I nominate Arthur Dent. #ArthurDentforEmperor

PROMPT: Changed

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What’s a piece of media (book, movie, song) that changed how you see the world?
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Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

Also: Quiet by Susan Cain; Water Margin by Shī Nài’ān; and Self-Reliance and Other Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson

BOOK: 齐天大圣 by Yinuo Wang

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齐天大圣 Monkey King: A Bilingual Chinese Storybook (Pinyin & English) with HSK Vocabulary (Learn Chinese with Mythology：Bilingual Pinyin Edition 9)齐天大圣 Monkey King: A Bilingual Chinese Storybook (Pinyin & English) with HSK Vocabulary by Yinuo Wang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazon Page

This book collects episodes from the classic Chinese novel, Journey to the West, and condenses each into a page or two. Specifically, these are episodes from early in the story of Journey to the West, before the protagonist (a.k.a. Sun Wu Kong / the Monkey King / the Great Sage Equal to Heaven) actually departs on his journey to the west with a monk to get Buddhist scriptures. It is Sun Wu Kong’s origin story in a highly condensed form.

The illustrations of the book are aesthetically pleasing and are colorful and non-threatening (i.e. suitable for young readers.) Also, the book has quizzes and vocabulary building exercises at the back.

My biggest criticism of the book would be that it bites off more than it can chew. With single pages for major events and no room for transitions, the plates are a bit incongruous and don’t feel like a story as much as like viewing someone’s scrapbook. A lesser criticism would be that with a loose translation style (which is fine,) it sometimes translates the same characters in two different ways. (As it does with the title card which it translates quite literally as “The Great Sage Equal to Heaven” and the opening page where it translates the same four-character phrase quite loosely as “The Great Monkey King.”) This would not be an issue if the book were not a book for learning to read.

As I said, this is more like Sun Wu Kong’s scrapbook than his life story, but it is a nice way to practice beginner level reading. I’d recommend it for those beginning to read Chinese, particularly if one already knows the Journey to the West story.

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BOOK: “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk

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Fight ClubFight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – W.W. Norton

Through a weird and wild storyline, Palahniuk offers insight into two (intertwined) crises of identity that have only grown more prominent since the book (and the David Fincher film adapted from it) came out in the late 90’s. First and foremost, there is a craving for, yet confusion about the nature of, masculinity. As men raised by women struggle to ape masculine behavior only to over-emphasize conspicuous features such as violence and aggression while missing more subtle aspects such as the instinct to protect and a grasp of responsibility, self-empowerment, and fortitude. The second identity crisis is self as consumer, wherein people start linking who they are to their consumption, and this becomes demoralizing because it’s such a hallow way of seeing oneself. (I say the crises are “intertwined” because it’s a long and painful fall to go from “protector” to “consumer-” the latter having nothing at all to feel good about.)

This is one of those books that people either find illuminating or unreadable. There is a lot in the book that is stomach-turning. For many, this will be the violence, but — for me, and I suspect many others, — it’s the “mischievous” pranks that Tyler Durden and the unnamed lead “play” as they work as waiters. Upton Sinclair once said of The Jungle that he aimed for the reader’s heart (i.e. to bring awareness to labor issues in the meat packing industry) and hit them square in the stomach (i.e. people’s main takeaway was that how their food was made was gross and needed to be corrected.) This may be a similar situation. Palahniuk, I suspect, is trying to show how these full-grown men in some ways haven’t escaped the grossest era of boyhood as they attempt to find their power in the world, but it mostly reminded me to not eat at banquets or other gatherings of rich people.

I found this to be an insightful book and would highly recommend it for anyone trying to figure out some of the oddities of the world in which we find ourselves living.

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