Way behind on the blogging the past couple weeks. Had the friends in from out of town. Somehow being out all hours led to me getting sick. Weird how that works. In any case, we're getting caught up. I know that 2 (of 4) regular readers are looking for book recommendations.
Don't bother with Into the Wild. Krakauer has written some outstanding books, but Wild is not one of them. The main character is a whiny, self-obsessed idiot. (You'd think I would be more understanding since we have so much in common.) No fewer than 1,197 people have rated this book on Amazon and almost half of them gave it 5 stars. The book is described as "haunting" and "poignant". I don't know what's haunting about a spoiled, judgmental rich kid going to Alaska and starving himself to death. I heard the movie was much better than the book. It would have to be. The book is well written but it's a testament to Krakauer that he was able to stretch it into book length. The magazine piece was more than enough.
Highly recommended: The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. She lays the left-wing righteousness on a bit thick at times but it's still a good read. Her reporting is excellent, and her facts are thoroughly researched. Sometimes I want to redline all the adjectives and adverbs so that I can straight to the facts without all the bluster. Even so, this is a great book.
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2 comments:
i enjoyed into the wild. I thought it was an interesting discourse about what motivates us as humans. What it means to be a part of society, or not, what your life means to others, and why. It was existential and transcendental at the same time.
T&T came up short last night. Toyota park is a great place to watch soccer, feels like I imagine many stadiums in Europe would feel.
oh yeah and I could not get through 30 minutes of the movie
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