Watchmen by Alan Moore
October 24th, 2008 Filed Under books
I never really got into comics as a kid. As an adult, I was once near a conversation about graphic novels, and couldn’t help but scoff and deride the material as juvenile. A friend who was involved in the conversation insisted I was wrong, and lent me a copy of Maus. From the first page, I was completely blown away. It’s an amazing work of art, and by the time I finished it, it had become (and still is) one of the best books I’ve ever read, graphic novel or otherwise. Its Pulitzer is well-deserved, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone, especially people who scoff at the irrelevance of graphic novels.
After this eye-opening experience a few years ago, I’ve been biding my time, waiting to give the genre another chance. Maybe I’d only read the chaff, and never gotten into the wheat. I’ve been told by many a graphic novel enthusiast that Watchmen is a classic, one of the best there is; a deconstruction of the entire genre. The same friend that lent me Maus also lent me his copy of Watchmen, and the back of the book itself says “If you’ve never read a graphic novel, then Watchmen is the one to start with”.
So I sat down to read it with high expectations. The artwork is colorful, the framing dramatic, the themes enduring, and the story itself mildly interesting. But it just didn’t grab me like some books do. I found myself bored by the graphic-novel-within-a-novel, which takes up substantial page space but somehow never integrates into the main storyline. Even though I knew about its self-aware intentions, the thin characters and wild violence and abundance of detail just left me limp.
I guess I just don’t like graphic novels; Maus must’ve been the anomaly. I’ll probably give Persepolis a read at some point, but otherwise, I’ll stick to plain old boring words and the occasional Sunday funnies.
Stumble it!Sherlock Holmes
August 12th, 2008 Filed Under books
For some reason–I think it was when I read that Dr. Gregory House’s name is a sly reference–I decided to read some Sherlock Holmes stories. I checked out from the library The Complete Sherlock Holmes, a giant compendium of every word Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about his brilliant amateur detective.
Dr. Conan Doyle started writing these stories as he waited for patients to come to his burgeoning medical practice. This first, a novel called A Study in Scarlet, introduces Holmes and Watson to us and to each other. The second half transports the reader away from London and oddly begins anew in Utah to tell a rather overcomplete backstory, but luckily I was compelled enough by the first half to trudge through. And it’s been worth it; the whole series is great fun.
The second story is also a novel (The Sign of Four), which opens with a description of Holmes’ left forearm pocked by needles: without a case to occupy his mind, he enjoys cocaine intravenously (”a seven percent solution”), several times a day for months at a stretch. I never knew that Sherlock is a total spaz; the calm persona and dry demeanor that I expected is only an act, a cover for the raw excitement he exhibits during a case as counterpoint to his natural morosity when he is bored.
Perhaps because of its unusual nature, I particularly enjoyed the singular Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton (from the Return of Sherlock Holmes collection). Unlike Dr. House, Sherlock rarely withholds conclusions from official detectives, and almost never actually steps outside the law, like he does in this cozy little story.
While reading these, I’ve been treated to a delightful battery of new vocabulary; so much so that, even as I could decipher the vague meaning of unknown words in context, I started writing them down so I could look up their more precise definition. Here’s a selection (many of which I plan on using assiduously):
| assiduously | with care and persistence |
| astrakhan | wool made from young lambs (from Russia) |
| baize | a material similar to green felt that covers billiards tables |
| barrow | a mound of earth or stones marking a grave |
| blackguard | an unprincipled contemptible person; a man who swears in front of women |
| chandler | a candle-maker |
| chevron | an inverted V as in insignia |
| claret | a dark-red color, like the wine |
| cruet | a carafe with a stopper or lid |
| dun | a light brown-gray color |
| fatuous | foolish or silly, especially in a smug or self-satisfying way |
| foolscap | yellow ruled writing paper (originally each sheet had a fool’s cap printed on it) |
| garrulous | Excessively or tiresomely talkative |
| hansom | a two-wheeled carriage with the driver outside, above, and behind the passenger cab |
| impecunious | lacking money |
| invidious | envious; offensively or unfairly discriminating |
| jemmy | a thieves’ crowbar |
| legation | a diplomatic representative office lower than an embassy |
| morass | A tract of soft, wet ground that sinks underfoot |
| obtrusive | noticeable; prominent, especially in a displeasing way |
| palimpsest | a manuscript that has been erased and written on top of again |
| parapet | a barrier at the edge of a roof or structure to prevent persons or vehicles from falling over the edge |
| paregoric | a camphorated tincture of opium, a medication known for its antidiarrheal, antitussive, and analgesic properties |
| philology | the humanistic study of historical linguistics |
| pince-nez | eyeglasses which pinch the nose instead of hooking the ear |
| portiere | a curtain hanging in a doorframe |
| rubicund | inclined to a healthy reddish complexion |
| russet | a dark-red color, like the potato |
| salver | a silver tray without handles used for serving food, drinks, and letters |
| stertorously | breathing heavily, like snoring |
| tarry | aromas and flavors that suggest fresh tar; a smoky aroma and taste associated with a smoked black tea |
| turbid | muddy, thick, or hazy, as water clouded with sediment |
| unctuous | Profusely and unpleasantly polite and insincerely earnest |
| valise | a small overnight bag for short trips; closes at the top with two carrying handles |
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
August 12th, 2008 Filed Under books, unfinished
I started reading Red Mars, the first in the Mars Trilogy, on a friend’s recommendation. After the first chapter, which tells of a complex ending full of political intrigue and backstabbing among the settling Martian colonists, he proceeds to start at the very beginning and carefully describe every plodding step along the way. I got half-way through the book, to the point where two characters occupy a zeppelin for a few weeks (months?) and accidentally start the unapproved terraforming process. The concepts were interesting enough, but the writing did not compel me to finish the book nor the series.
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
March 19th, 2008 Filed Under books
I just finished reading Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. I didn’t really get into the first 40 pages, but during the Treatise of the Steppenwolf he really got my interest and held it for the next 100 pages or so. Then the finale was fantastical and I sorta got it, and the ending was there and made a point about something. But the introspective middle part was full of some great stuff that resolves several immediate “crises” I’ve been pondering. This is the fourth Hesse novel I’ve read, and I found these parts to be more profound than the others.
God’s Debris by Scott Adams
February 12th, 2008 Filed Under books
A friend gave this book to me as a birthday gift. It was a quick read, but I wasn’t all that impressed. I know Scott Adams disclaims the belief system outlined by the central character (named Avatar), but that just lowers my esteem of Mr. Adams. In several sections, poor logic and weak beliefs were pronounced by Avatar and accepted by the protagonist without a fight. This is just irritating when the author himself disowns the ideas presented in the work.
There were some ideas of value presented, but most of them can be gained from other sources with a better signal-to-noise ratio. I honestly don’t understand why this book was recommended or has had so much success.
