Alright y'all crazy kids, it's time for my newest post, and this one's a whopper. I've been rather busy reading-wise these past few weeks and have chalked up no less than five books! And five for me in a few weeks is quite an accomplishment, I'll tell you what. But rather than writing about them all in one massive post whose sizeness would dissuade anyone from reading it, I'll just break them up into separate chunks spread out over a few days. So let's get started with the first one, my obvious favorite...

Iron Council by China Mieville - This is the third book set in the world of Bas-Lag, which you should be familiar with if you read my first post about Mieville's books. And if you didn't read it, you're a very bad person who will never be happy and I don't want to know you.

The story takes place twenty years after the events of Perdido Street Station, in which the city of New Crobuzon is locked in a war with the mysterious land of Tesh. The war has dragged on for so long that the economy has slumped severely and as a result the people are becoming increasingly agitated. A young man by the name of Ori joins a rebellious faction that plans to assassinate the mayor, with high hopes that doing so will spur the people to open revolt.

A simple setup, but the story becomes much more layered and epic as it progresses. By the end I found myself very invested in the story and caring deeply what would happen next. Spoiler: It ends on a very sad note, and yet a glimmer of hope manages to shines through the grim conclusion, like a flashlight aimed into a pool of molasses.

One complaint I have with the fantasy genre (and you all know I have many complaints with the fantasy genre, because my name's Luke Kitchen) is that it seems, in order to maintain the reader's interest, the author will randomly introduce some character or plot point that has absolutely no meaning whatsoever but to provide a fun little distraction so no one realizes the story is running out of steam. Case in point, Tom Bombadil. What the hell was that guy, anyway? A metaphor for environmentalism? Some opium-induced nightmare of Tolkien's brought to life? Even as a kid I thought he was pointless, and that's saying something considering I read Goosebumps religiously.

Where was I? Lost my train of thought there... oh yeah. Needless, retarded plot points. Mieville never uses them. He rocks. I want to be the mother of his children.

Speaking of me having the schoolgirl hots for China Mieville, China Mieville is one of the greatest living writers in my opinion, and this book only reinforced that opinion. The characters are all well-rounded and thought out, never succumbing to the typical sci-fi/fantasy trope of becoming caricatures; the dialogue is actually good, another rarity for fantasy; the battles (and there are many) are suitably epic and marvelously detailed; and the imagination on display is quite wonderful - there's all sorts of magic and spellcasters and kooky creatures and high-flying machines and robots and bog monsters and man-eating trees and so on. Just when you think there couldn't possibly be anything more amazing and fantastic than a giant made out of earth and dirt who rips a parasite-controlled superman in half, creatures made entirely of the flesh and muscles of horses pop up. And don't even get me started on the light golem.

Point is, if you're looking for an excellent, enthralling, and... energizing fantasy story, then look no further than any one of the books in the Bas-Lag trilogy. You'll be hooked like I am and never look back. Plus, look at this guy!

"I crap awesomeness." - China Mieville

If that's not the picture of sexiness, what is? And I don't mean that in a gay way, just in a hey-man-I-wanted-to-say-that-you're-looking-okay way.

Creating Magic, and also there is an idea tucked down there somewhere

So it must be self-help-type-book week, because I just finished a book called Creating Magic: Ten Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney. It’s basically about how to be a better and more effective leader, written by the former CEO of DisneyWorld.

Okay, yeah, I am a Disney geek, so obviously I enjoyed this book immensely. The strategies themselves were helpful but, like sub-title implies, sort of common sense, and can basically be boiled down to: “Don’t be a d-bag.”

The thing I REALLY liked about the book was all the stories Lee shared from DisneyWorld. There were seriously about three little anecdotes every two pages, and they just made my heart melt.

Like one time, a little boy lost his tooth at the Magic Kingdom and it fell down the drain. He was upset because it meant that the tooth fairy wouldn’t be visiting him, and a Cast Member noticed this. She called maintenance and they took the drain off, but they still couldn’t find the tooth. So the maintenance team made a fake tooth, wrapped it up beautifully, and had the family meet them later that day so they could present it to them, with a note that said Tinker Bell had found the tooth. WHAT. THAT IS SO MAGICAL IT MAKES ME WANT TO CRY.

Be cynical if you like, but Creating Magic was totally worth the read.

Also, I had an idea: what if we started utilizing the “tags” feature that Blogger offers? Just a thought. We could tag our posts with the genre of the book we are reviewing, like “fantasy” or “self-help” or “graphic novel,” et cetera et cetera. Eh eh?

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

"Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound."

I went through an experience this week that would have torn me to little pathetic pieces if it had happened even a week ago. Luckily, I was reading this book, and it has helped me tremendously to move forward and be the master of my thoughts instead of letting my thoughts destroy me.

This book figuratively and perhaps literally (I'll have to check) blew my mind. So much so that I read it twice. That is how good this book is. It will take you an hour, maybe an hour and half to read, but it will take you days, weeks, and possibly years to fully comprehend what James Allen is actually saying. Except it really is straight forward. I can't explain, just read it!

Every sentence of this book is quotable, but I will give you a few of my favorites

"The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors, that which it loves, and also that which it fears. It reaches the height of its cherished aspirations. It falls to the level of its unchastened desires - and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own."

"Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built."

"The world is your kaleidoscope, and the varying combinations of colours, which at every succeeding moment it presents to you are the exquisitely adjusted pictures of your ever-moving thoughts. So you will be, what you "will" to be. Let failure find its false content, In that poor word "environment,"But spirit scorns it and is free."

Never read a book about a crazy when yourself is slipping from sane.

But if you do. . . . . Then you should always ask yourself, "Where these 'I'm going crazy' feelings showing themselves before I started reading this book, or after I had begun?"

God Bless You Mr. Rosewater is a wonderful tale about a wonderful person Eliot Rosewater. Eliot is the inheritor of a grand fortune, or more specifically he's made President of the Rosewater Foundation. Which was created to keep the family money in the family and out of the tax collector's hands. The sum is equivilent to $10,000 a day including Sundays. Eliot is free to do with this money as he wishes. The only way to get this money away from Eliot is to have him proven insane. Many, including his father, consider Eliot insane partly because he sets up his so-called Rosewater Foundation. The foundation is located in a town in Indiana that has been abandoned by all but the lowest members of society. Eliot listens to their problems and prescribes his own specials remidies, most often money. For example if someone wants to commit suicide he'd ask them how much it would cost for them to keep on living for another week.

Now that you have a brief intro I'll do what one should always do with a Kurt Vonnegut book, shamelessly quote my favorite parts.

"Eliot hung up. The telephone rang immediately. 'This is the Rosewater foundation. How can we help you?' 'You might start by getting a haircut and anew suit,' said a man.

'What?'

'Eliot--'

'Yes--?'

'You don't even recognize my voice?'

'I--I'm sorry--I--'

'It's your Dad!' (This part edited for content)

'Gee, Father!' said Eliot, lyrical with love, surprise and pleasure. 'How nice to hear your voice.'

'You didn't even recognize it.'

'Sorry. You know--the calls just pour in.'

'they do, eh?'

'You know that.'

'I'm afraid I do.'

'Gee--how are you, anyway?'

'Fine!' said the Senator with brisk sarcasm. 'Couldn't be better!'

'I'm so glad to hear that.'

The Senator cursed.

'What's the matter, Father?'

'Don't talk to me as though I were some drunk! Some pimp! Some moronic washerwoman!'

'What did I say?'

'Your whole damn tone!'

'Sorry.'

'I can sense your getting ready to tell me to take an aspirin in a glass of wine. Don't talk down to me!' "

........Next Page........

"'Eliot--'

'Sir--?'

'I want you to take a good look at yourself.'

Dutifully, Eliot looked himself over as best he could without a mirror. 'I'm looking.'

'Now ask yourself, "Is this a dream? How did I ever get into such a disreputable condition?"'

Again dutifully, and without a trace of whimsicality, Elio said to himself out loud, "Is this a dream? How did I ever get into such a disreputable condition?"'

. . . . . .

"FH" stood for "Fly Hunt." People often felt a desperate need to do something nice for Eliot. He would ask them to come at a specific time in order to rid his office of flies. During the fly season, this was a Augean task, for Eliot had no screens on his windows, and his office, moreover, was connected directly to the foul kitchen of the lunchroom below by means of a greasy hot-air register in the floor.
So the fly hunts were actually rituals, and were ritualized to such an extent that conventional flyswatter were not used, and men and women hunted flies in very different ways. The men used rubber bands, and the women used tumblers of lukewarm water and soapsuds."
So as you can see God Bless You Mr. Rosewater is a zainy satire of fun absudities!

bird by bird.

I just finished a book I've been meaning to read since my English 2010 class, sophomore year of college. It's called Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott. If you can't read the subtitle over there it says, Some Instructions on Writing and Life.

I LOVED this book. Even though it is directed towards aspiring writers, which I'm not, it is applicable to many forms of art and creativity, and yeah, life in general. Many things she said I want to apply to the way I approach photography and anything that I endeavor to create in my life.

Anne Lamott is an excellent writer herself, with the ability to create analogies and comparisons that caused me to literally to laugh aloud while reading it at work, as well as provide profound, thought provoking statements on life's truths, learned only through going through the arduous and probably painful experience of creating something from your soul. (Did I go too far with that sentence? Are you rolling your eyes at me?)

Here are a few of my favorite quotations (and I think you people will at least like the first one):

"...for some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understnad who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die. They are full of all the things that you don't get in real life--wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. And quality of attention: we may notice amazing details during the course of a day but we rarely let ourselves stop and really pay attention. An author makes you notice, makes you pay attention, and this is a great gift."

"It helps to resign as the controller of your fate. All that energy we expend to keep things running right is not what's keeping things running right. We're bugs struggling in the river, brightly visible to the trout below. With that fact in mind, people like me make up all these rules to giveus the illusion that we are in charge. I need to say to myself, they're not needed, hon. Just take in the buggy pleasures. Be kind to the others, grab the fleck of riverweed, notice how beautifully your bug legs scull." (Oh... I love that.)

"Writing takes a combination of sophistication and innocence; it takes conscience, our belief that something is beautiful because it's right. To be great, art has to point somewhere."

"'So why does our writing matter, again?' they ask. Because of the spirit, I say. Because of the heart. Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It's like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can't stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship."

The DaVinci Code. I would take the DaVinci Code, so I could burn the DaVinci Code.

(its an office quote)


My three?


1) The Standard Works (Its lame that it has to count as one of our choices but whatever.)


2) C.S. Lewis Signature Classics with As a Man Thinketh glued into the front. (AJ did it!).


3) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. (He pretty much wrote every plot line that exists thus far so I have a feeling I wouldn't be missing anything else.)


Sorry no pictures. I'm too lazy :)

Ken's exact post but by me. How unimaginative. . .

So this morning I wanted to answer the 3 books question but now I'm glad I didn't so that Ken could look like the original one. I'm always obsessing over orignality so this will be a good exercise in self-control.

Natural 1st: The Scrips, however, even though this is a trend being established I feel I have a unique take. My reasons are governed by the situation. A desert island forever, nothing could keep you occupied longer than the LDS standard works. My main reason, aside from spiritual enlightenment and the other things mentioned of which I agree, is that within the "quad" are the 4 standard works but also the Bible Dictionary and the Topical Guide. The studying possibilities these study aides offer is indespensable for any extended stay in a quiet reflective atmosphere.

The obvious 2nd, and as you'll notice I ripped off Ken's pictures as well, no sense trying to hide the obvious similarities between our choices. In preparing for my desert island adventure I would go out and buy the edition of the Lord of the Rings that comes in one solid volume. Yes, Ken you need not even try and persuade, Jet Warnick had this version, which is how Tolkin envisioned it with the entire work in one solid volume. The reason it was split into 3 is because of WWII, money was scarce and no one would have been able to afford the cost it would require to bind a book that large, they couldn't afford to make it, besides if they had few could have afforded to buy it. Since I have assumed that I have a bit of time to prepare I would take the Silmarillion and glue it to my solid version of Lord of the Rings. My reason for this and taking the Lord of the Rings in the first place is depth. I'm on an island forever, I need the appendicies to keep me busy. And it was my experience that the appendix in The Lord of the Rings is what made me enjoy the Silmarillion because the appendix eludes to the stories that are given more time in the Silmarillion. You need both and glue can make it happen. And if anyone wishes to challenge my glue idea then I'll just counter with, "I have prep time, I'll just take them and have them rebound as one, so suck it" But I think a rule should be established that you can only glue books together if they are linked like these books.

Again like Ken the 3rd is the most difficult. This book How to Make Whips, is my snap decision. My ok you on the floating Library of Congress about to be marooned you can grab three books. I would take this because Ken said there are animals on the island, hopefully some of them are Kangaroos so let's go to town and make some whips. As a snap decision I'll still be considering another choice. But a how to book seems like a great choice because you can use it to be productive and keep yourself occupied. And there are a lot of braiding patterns in this book that I'd never attempt unless I was stranded on an island with nothing but time.

Katniss' twisty 2nd Adventure! Mixed with a minor, unqualified treatise on issues facing sequels.

Here we rejoin our friend Katniss Everdeen as she's thrown into new adventures. I'm trying to write about this book without giving too much away. I'll start with my first impressions. At first I didn't like it as much as the Hunger Games. Though I think sequels sometimes struggle because they feel the same as the 1st book. And for me this is sometimes a good thing and sometimes bad. In this case it was slighty below the negative line. And as often happened to Harry Potter, the main character gets whiny, and when that happens I start to loose sympathy. Also one point of a sequel is to further hash upon issues established but not resolved in the 1st book. My Catching Fire/Hunger Games, reference here is Katniss' love triangle between the guy she at first had to love in the arena and now doesn't know, and the guy she had all along but didn't know he loved and now doesn't know. Really I didn't care about that aspect of the book this time around. The reasons for this and could transend to other sequals, especially in the teen section, is that in the 1st book Katniss discovers love or at least the pubesent signs of it. This is sweet and endearing. In the 2nd book it turns into teen drama, which is blah, blah, blah, grow up no one cares stuff. Also and I think the biggest challenge facing a sequel is a sibling of "This book feels the same as the 1st" and that is it not feeling fresh. Think about it, this blog exists because there is nothing in the world like diving into a new book, by an author you've never read. It's crisp and fresh like a new piece of celery. Books rock because of their variety, no two books are the same because they are written by people and no two people are the same. Anyway Catching Fire felt a little stale.
Now for the twisties. Despite all these pedantries the book was a smashing success. What got me was how the author created a feeling of predictablity but still managed to twist on you. Explanation: I felt like the book was predicable, like I knew what was going to happen but there were still big surprises along the way that threw me off the scent. Also Catching Fire shows its age group, it's written for a younger audience and in this book it shows. The Hunger Games is thrilling for any age, but Catching Fire gets a little more teeny. What I mean by teeny here is that it's the 2nd book, Collins is no longer laying out the plot she's having to turn and juggle it, which is a challenge to be sure. To wrap up my tangled mess of an entry, I'll sum the great feeling of suppossed predictability created in this book. It starts out familiar with the characters having to deal with minor sticky situations, then a twist sends them into a bind which you can't figure how they'll get out of, then it all blows up. Where the book shows it maturity level is that all along the way the signs are given which a more experienced reader picks up on and then in the moment of trial for the character you know they'll realize what you know and thereby what they'll do. Translation: At point A in the book you learn the solution to a problem at future point B, when point B arrives you know the next step, the twist comes because you don't know the step after next. Example you learn how to escape from handcuffs, so when you find yourself in handcuffs you escape, now you've escaped, now what? And this is what made the book interesting, the hints watered down the most tense moments of the book, but I liked it because I didn't know what the next step was.
Overall not as good as the 1st, a little stale. I recommend the Hunger Games as a must read, but you can leave Katniss at the end of the Hunger Games, and find yourself perhaps not completely satisfied but not at a loss for nightly sleep. Honestly it's a 2nd book of 3. If you were to read the Hunger Games and still required absolute resolution then I'd say skip Catching Fire, just have me sum it up for you in 3 sentances and go straight to the 3rd when it comes out. Last word: a worthwhile yet unnecessary read.
An apology for a close, I'm sorry for the length of this entry. It's 9:00 and I have nothing to do from now untill class at 12:30, but let me make it up to you. I found a new word, new to me. Dystopia: an anti-utopia. Often a futuristic totalitarian government of control and violence. I'm glad to know this word because I love these types of books.

My Three

Well, I must say that this question (which is the most important question anyone will ever have to answer in their life) has caused me a considerable amount of angst in its contemplation. I'm still not entirely sure on my number choice, but here is the result of my thinking and pondering:

Obviously if I was going to be stuck on some desert island where survival was not an extremely precarious affair and I could afford a single luxury of reading material, I would want the Scriptures. It's not just that they're essential to conversion and salvation (although a knowledge of those topics and Spirit-prompted reminders of their importance) that I would take them with me, but also because I love the presentation of the various stories, parables, and platitudes. It's an emotional journey reading them as well as an intellectual exercise. You think about thinks that you should think about a lot more when you read the Scriptures, and if I had only one book to take with me for a

permanent exile, I'd want the book who's study would insure both spiritual growth and intellectual development.

And now let's get down to the superfluous luxuries. While I doubt I can convince everyone to allow me to escape with the complete works of J.R.R. Tolkien as a single book candidate for taking with me to some exotic destination (we all know that the Hobbit cannot really be considered an essential portion of the Lord of the Rings, just like we really can't consider the Silmarillion an essential volume to that wonderful series [not because of a destitution of quality, but a more comprehensive subject matter]), I can make the undeniable case that you can't deny me the three volumes considered as a whole the Lord of the Rings, which J.R.R. Tolkien did intend to be published as a single book. So there. I get to spend decades specializing in Christian theology and then reading an allegory of Christian theology.

....

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OK! I ADMIT IT! I CAN'T COME UP WITH A THIRD BOOK THAT I'M CONTENT TO READ FOR THE REMAINDER OF ETERNITY IN ADDITION TO THESE WONDERFUL VOLUMES!

this is odd. i've spent a lot of time thinking about what i would want with me, and i can't come up with anything. i want either the preeminent philosopher's tract, political-economical piece, or public policy/political volume. i'll post my thinking on the third when it becomes apparent.

The Big Three

I knew this question was going to come up sooner or later.

Luckily, I am well-prepared to handle it, because it is one that Ken and I have discussed several times over, giving me an immediate advantage over all of you lay-people (aka LUKE). Suckas!

1. The Scriptures

Okay well, here you go, everyone can listen to me sound like a little nerd, but I think it would be a spectacular opportunity to be able to study the scriptures in complete solitude for years, with no outside (worldly) influence and just the peace of your own thoughts. Do I smell AWESOME, yes yes I think I do.

2. Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage

You are probably now thinking, “Okay, now Kelsi is just trying to shove her self-righteousness up in my grill,” which is NOT TRUE. I actually have not yet read Jesus the Christ (but I bought my very own copy today and I am pretty fired up to start reading). But I hear it is a massive undertaking, and I think that being alone on a desert island would be the perfect opportunity to tackle such a challenge.

3. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

So it was either this or Mere Christianity, but even I know when I’m pushing a line. Peter Pan is easily my very favorite work of fiction—it is one of those that I am able and willing to read over and over again without tiring of it. Don’t ask me how, I think it’s a genetic anomaly. (My very favorite part is when Peter says, "To die will be an awfully big adventure." Swoon!)

End note: I hope everyone admires my impressive use of not one but THREE pictures on opposite sides of the text, because it has been a literal beast to format. But I persevere, for the good of the nation and for the good of the blog. And I will be the first to admit that it still looks a little skewumpus, but I do promise that I tried my best. Blogger's formatting is a bunch of jibba-jabba, if you ask me.

the most important question anyone will ever have to answer. ever.

so here it is. the most important question anyone will ever have to answer. ever.

if you were stuck on an island abundantly supplied with food, water, and game (thus to insure a moderately positive chance of long-term survival) and were allowed to take only THREE books with you to read for the rest of your life, which would you pick, and why?

some framing for this paradigm: the scriptures all count as ONE book, so you can get away with that, and because i'm a nerd, you also can take scripture markers and pens. Also you may have several journals of personal choice to record notes in, so they don't have to count as books.

so there you go. we haven't been posting in a while. i know this isn't really a post but it's book related and it is sure to inspire us to think critically about the most important books in our lives. my post will be following shortly.

The Far Side of the World

Well, considering that I have been so long without a post, I figured I might as well begin the process of re-entry with another wonderful book by Patrick O'Brian. The Far Side of the World is the story of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin upon which the movie is based. The movie is really a loose conglomeration of the first ten books in the series based primarily on the story setting of the Far Side of the World. It is a tense and wonderful book which involves several strandings of primary characters (oh my!) and even a shipwreck (no!). As always I recommend the book, Patrick captures the essence of his drive with minute precision and really draws you into the feelings of his characters. So, read the books!

8.5 / 10

Yippy Skippy!

"My ears are too beeg for my head. My head ees too beeg for my body. I am not a Siamese cat....I AM A CHIHUAHUA!

Skippyjon Jones is a loveable Siamese kitty that is under the delusion that he is a chihuahua. It is this delusion that leads him to experience many wonderful, though imaginary, adventures!

"My name is Skippito Friskito (clap-clap)

I fear not a single bandito (clap-clap)

My manners are mellow

I'm sweet like the jell-o

I get the job done, yes indeed-o (clap-clap)"

-Skippyjon Jones

I know what you're thinking. "Kelsha, what have you done, we post about real books on this blog." Well this book is the only thing I have managed to make it through lately.

Also, it is ADORABLE. If you have two minutes spare time I say its worth it to pick up a Skippyjon Jones book, because they rock!