A Portable Magic – Page 108

February 22, 2016

My Reading Life: Amazon Kindle

I’ll be the first to admit that I always prefer reading a hard copy of a book. The feeling of the pages under your fingers, the quality of the reading experience, watching your bookmark move through the pages as you go through the book…it’s just a better experience all the way around. So why am I about to shill the Amazon Kindle? I’ll tell you why.

I’ve had a Kindle for over five years now. The same one even…a Kindle Touch 3G. It was a Christmas gift from my dad in 2010. Yes, I plan on upgrading one of these days, probably soon-ish even (the Kindle Paperwhite, linked above, is what I’ve got my eye on personally). And while I’ll admit it took me a while to start using it regularly, it’s now a key piece of my reading life. I’ve got over 200 books waiting to be read on there! Here’s are the two big reasons it’s become indispensable for me:

Convenience: I’ll say it again, I’ve got over 200 books on the Kindle. 200! I’m sure anyone reading this knows how much space 200 books takes up. If not, it’s a lot. It’s a lot of space. It’s multiple bookshelves. As an apartment-dwelling person, I lack the space to deal with another 200 books on top of the ones that are already spilling out all over the place. And when you travel? Even better! Instead of trying to jam three books into a suitcase for a vacation, I can just slide my Kindle into my purse. Boom. Done. Plus, there’s Kindle apps for your phone, for your laptop, for your tablet, so your Kindle books are wherever you are!
Cost: The upfront investment is steep, I grant you. The least expensive Kindle is $79, and depending on options (some have ads that display when you’re not reading, which are less expensive, and some have 3G wireless as well as WiFi, which is more expensive), they can go up to over $200. But once you make that initial investment, there are monthly sales of Kindle books for $3.99 or less, as well as Kindle Daily Deals offering a few books each day in the same price range. With the exception of some Christmas shopping for myself with an Amazon gift card, I haven’t paid more than $3.99 for a book on the Kindle in years. Assuming $4/pop, that’s 25 books for $100. For new hard copies, that’s more like 5-6 books for $100. Also, like I mentioned with the Kindle I currently own, they last for a long time. I haven’t been kind to mine (it’s spent a lot of time in the bathroom while the shower is running over the years), and while I have to imagine it’s approaching the end of its usable life, it’s not done yet!

Tell me, blog friends…do you use an e-reader?

February 20, 2016

2016 Book Blogger Love-A-Thon: The Questionnaire

As a pretty new member of the book blog world, I’ve been looking for ways to make connections with the other book bloggers out there, whose work I read and enjoy and admire. So when I found out about the 2016 Book Blogger Love-A-Thon, I knew I really wanted to be a part of it. And the first thing to do is a questionnaire to help you get to know me a little better. If you’ve ever been curious about the lady behind 500 Books, here are some answers!

What’s your name: Gabby
Where in the world are you blogging from: Reno, Nevada
How did you get into blogging in the first place: When setting some goals for my 30s, I decided I wanted to read 500 books. But half the fun is being able to talk about them, and so to give myself a space to do that and to keep myself on track with my reading goals, I started the blog!
How did you come up with your blog name: Like I said above, I set my goal at 500 books. Since my pace has been about 50 books per year the last few years, multiply that by ten years and you have…500 Books!
What genre do you read and review the most on your blog: So far, it looks like literary fiction and non-fiction are big winners. But I think my reading as of late is a little non-fiction heavier than my normal reading pattern. I’d say we’re most likely to end up with adult fiction as my most-read genre.
What other types of posts do you do on your blog, apart from reviews: I’ve done some lists (of favorites and not-favorites), and I’ve got posts planned about My Reading Life (local bookstores, how I get my books, etc) and a Dreamcasting series I really want to do (I love watching movies).
Best blogging experience so far: Seeing people that I wouldn’t have expected to have any interest in my reading liking and commenting on my posts on facebook…it’s silly, but it’s really neat to have another way to connect with people I might not have seen or heard from in a while.
Favorite thing about the blogging community: I really enjoy getting to see how and what other people read and picking up recommendations of books I might not have considered without prompting.
Name the 5 books you’re most excited for this 2016: The Queen of the Night is already out, but I haven’t read it yet and it released in 2016, so it counts. I’m also looking forward to The Girls, The Gilded Years, Sweetbitter, and Private Citizens.
Name the 5 books you want to read this 2016 that you didn’t get to in previous years: So many! My TBR pile is a problem. But I’m looking forward especially (and am on schedule to read): American Gods, Yes Please, We Need To Talk About Kevin, Devil In The White City, and The Group.
What’s an underrated book or series that you think everyone should read? Middlesex gets all the love, but The Virgin Suicides is my favorite book of all time. My autographed copy is my most prized possession (besides my engagement ring)
Which book boy or girl would be your book BFF? Vianne Rocher from Chocolat makes good chocolate, which would make her a compelling choice even without the rest of how great she is.
Which book boy or girl would be your book boyfriend/girlfriend? I fell a little bit in love with Tristran from Stardust when I read it, even more when adorable Charlie Cox played him in the movie adaptation.
Who would you recruit for your apocalypse squad (5 characters max): Katniss Everdeen because she’d save my life with her skillz, Daenerys Targaryen because dragons, Harry Potter because magic, Aragorn because general badassery, Sabriel because she’d be able to come find me in Death if I ever died.
Apart from reading, what are your other hobbies or interests: I really like watching movies, hanging out with my fiance and dog, and pole dancing!
Apart from book shopping, what else do you like shopping for? Dresses! I have spent an ungodly sum of money at Modcloth on pretty dresses and it’s all well-spent.
At a party, the DJ suddenly changes the song – and it’s your song. What song would be playing? This seems like it calls for a party song, so I’m going to go with “Got To Give It Up” by Marvin Gaye. Otherwise, the Ryan Adams cover of “Wonderwall” hits me right in the feels.
Pick out either a book you want turned into a film/TV show, or a film/TV show you want turned into a book. I’d love to read The Jinx in the hands of a talented true crime author. That show haunted me.
What would your dream library look like? I grew up in the Disney classic era, so the library that Belle gets from the Beast is pretty much the end all be all.
Author you want to meet and sit down to tea with? Going for the cheesy, obvious choice, but JK Rowling. I just love her and feel like she would be a wonderful person to chat with for an hour or so. Most of which would be taken up with me thanking her for writing Harry Potter.

February 18, 2016

Book 12: Hood

“After the US-Dakota War of 1862, a US military commission tried 392 Dakota men and boys in seven weeks and sentenced 303 to death, although President Lincoln reduced the number to 39. In Mankato, Minnesota, the army arrayed the prisoners in rows on a custom-built scaffold, with identical white muslin hoods muffling their faces. The victims, who’d had no lawyers and were prohibited from speaking in their own defense during the trials (which were in English, anyway), sang through their hoods. They were hanged all at once, before 4,000 witnesses. It was the largest mass execution in US history.”

Dates read: December 26-29, 2015

Rating: 5/10

When Trayvon Martin was shot, there was a movement to blame what he was wearing (a hooded sweatshirt) for his death. A young black man should apparently know better than to wear a hoodie out and about in public. Never mind that Trayvon was a 17 year-old kid who was threatening only to the Skittles he was carrying with him, never mind that Trayvon was a human being who should have been able to wear whatever the damn hell he pleased while going about his own business. A hooded sweatshirt, obscuring his face, made him scary. Made him responsible, somehow, for his own cold-blooded murder.

Obviously that’s ridiculous (if you disagree, you should feel free to take your pageviews elsewhere…this blog and blogger are probably not going to be for you). But the hood has been a potent symbol for centuries, and this book examines the cultural history of hoods. Who wears them, and why? What do they mean? Author Alison Kinney traverses a wide history and a variety of contexts to explain the role of the hood; from state-sanctioned execution and terrorism like the Inquisition, the Klan, and Abu Ghraib, to protesters, fairy tales, and all the way down to college students to show how the hood is used by both the powerful and on the powerless to signify the roles they play. The first two sections, which focus on the death penalty and terrorism, are the strongest ones to me, the most cohesive. The rest of the book is more loosely organized and lacks the kind of narrative focus and drive that makes the first two sections compelling.

It’s interesting to focus in on one object this way, to think about how its meanings have changed through time. And this book is one of series (other entries include the remote control, drones, etc), but honestly this is the only one that sparked my curiosity enough to pick up. Kinney has clearly done her research…she illustrates how not only has the use of the hood changed over the course of history, but how there have been latter-day distortions of past use of the hood (which she refers to as “shaggy medievalism”) to serve the purposes of those who use it in their own time. It’s a quick and engaging read, especially if you’re inclined to enjoy thinking about privilege and abuse of power.

Tell me, blog friends, what object would you enjoy reading a cultural history of?

**I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review**

February 11, 2016

Book 11: Occidental Mythology

“Contrast to this emphatically social emphasis the Indian idea that the ultimate realization of truth is to be experienced alone, in yoga, in the forest; the Chinese, that a accord is to be experienced with the Tao, the Way of nature and the universe, which is the Way of one’s heart, as well. In the Book of Moses, on the contrary, the way of God, who is transcendent, is either within nor in nature, but in the group- this group alone, with its laws, which are the only facts of real moment to be known.”

Dates read: December 6-26, 2015

Rating: 5/10

Perhaps I’m just getting more used to Joseph Campbell’s writing style, perhaps it’s just that The Masks of God has shifted to a religious tradition with which I am very familiar (not only the Judeo-Christian belief system I was raised in, but the Greek and Roman mythology that I’ve loved since I was a child), but for me, Occidental Mythology was the most accessible volume of this set for me so far.

In this third volume, Campbell talks about the mythology of the so-called Western World: Greek myth, Roman myth, ancient Arab/Hebrew myth, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Like in the previous volume on Oriental mythology, I’m side-eyeing this category fraud a little: Middle Eastern myth of the ancient world is much more closely related to Egyptian mythology than the Jewish religion that eventually developed, but he clearly doesn’t want to break it up like that because it doesn’t fit his thesis. But even with nonfiction, you have to accept that you’re on the road the author is taking you on, even if you think you know a better route.

His Western bias isn’t as obvious as it has been previously until the conclusion chapter at the very end…maybe he feels less of a need to editorialize on home turf, but he doesn’t shy away from criticism of this tradition either. He points out factual and logical inconsistencies within texts like the Bible, and reminds the reader that their holy books were often written long after the facts alleged therein had taken place (or not actually taken place, as the case may be). He also touches on internal conflicts and differing interpretations, and the power struggles that went on behind what we today would consider long-settled matters. Even through his bias, he treats all world mythology (including the Judeo-Christian tradition) as, well, mythology, reminding us in the Western World that our dominant religious belief system is, at its heart, the myths of a nomadic tribe of desert sheepherders.

I won’t pretend that I’m not happy that I’m almost done with this set. While it’s been interesting and sometimes illuminating reading, it is, like I’ve said already with the other volumes, very dense and challenging to read as a pleasure exercise.

Tell me, blog friends: Have you ever thought of your own religious beliefs as mythology?

February 4, 2016

Book 10: All The King’s Men

“But if anything is certain it is that no story is ever over, for the story which we think is over is only a chapter in a story which will not be over, and it isn’t the game that is over, it is just an inning, and that game has a lot more than nine innings. When the game stops it will be called on account of darkness. But it is a long day.”

Dates read: November 27- December 6, 2015

Rating: 10/10

Awards/Lists: Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Time’s All-Time 100 Novels, Newsweek’s Top 100 Books, The Observer’s 100 Best Novels

Like I mentioned a little while back, apart from my bookworm tendencies, I’m also a big fan of movies. I remember watching the Sean Penn movie version of this novel and (like many critics for what was supposed to be an awards-bait picture) walking away deeply unimpressed. I didn’t even really remember the plot of the story, except that the main character was supposedly based on former Governor of Louisiana Huey Long and that it was “about” political corruption.

As it turns out, the actual novel is only partially about political corruption. Politics is mostly a framing device for the real story. The meat of the book is about how actions have consequences, and that there’s no getting around that. Reporter-turned-political-staffer-type Jack Burden (it’s hard to describe what it actually is he does for Willie Stark, the Huey Long analogue referenced above, and don’t think for a second that surname isn’t symbolic) burned out of his Ph.D. program when he uncovered a story that made the consequences of heedless actions too real, and tries to hide behind inaction to save him from having to deal with that kind of responsibility. His work for Stark means that he mostly doesn’t have to make decisions, until it intersects with his personal life in a way that starts forcing him to do just that and refusing to let him slip quietly away from the results.

That central conceit, though, isn’t really clear until you get about halfway through with the story. The first part of the story feels very much like a standard issue dramatic story about yes, politics and corruption. We learn the story of Willie Stark, how he made it from a bumpkin, to a young political appointee fighting a shady, kickback-laden county contract, to a stooge goaded into running for Governor by people using him for their own purposes, to a morally questionable Governor himself. That part of the novel is interesting and easily digestible enough, but the real power of it comes from the later, more philosophical part that shifts Stark’s story into the background and brings Jack’s story up front.

The storyline wrangling and plot development is masterful, but where the real beauty of this book is are the words. Robert Penn Warren won the Pulitzer Prize for this novel, but he also won one for poetry, and you can tell. Picking out a highlight quote was torture…I read this on the Kindle and digitally underlined about half the book because I was so in love with the language. It’s a page turner, but not in a suspenseful kind of way. You just want to keep reading it to keep basking in the glory of the writing. I was sad to put it down when it was over.

Tell me, blog friends: what politically-themed books or movies float your boat?

January 28, 2016

Book 9: Oriental Mythology

“Those who have identified themselves with the mortal body and its affections will necessarily find that all is painful, since everything- for them- must end. But for those who have found the still point of eternity, around which all- including themselves- revolves, everything is acceptable as it is; indeed, can even be experienced as glorious and wonderful”

Dates read: November 12-27, 2015

Rating: 5/10

After examining the mythology of “primitive” societies in his previous volume, here Joseph Campbell turns his examination of mythology to the East, the Orient. He begins with ancient Egypt, before devoting the bulk of his text to the development of various movements (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism) in India, concluding with relatively short chapters on China, Japan, and Tibet.

Egypt being included in this volume, while the Middle East is included in the succeeding volume on occidental mythology, shows that Campbell is not above glossing over the finer details in pursuit of making the case he wants to make. In this case, the second volume of Masks of God is where Campbell begins to make his argument that Eastern religion drives its adherents to turn away from the world, accepting one’s place in the social strata while seeking to end the cycle of death and rebirth by detachment. That Campbell thinks Western religion drives its adherents to focus on what they can achieve with their single life, and is therefore ultimately superior to Eastern religion, isn’t laid on super thick but is definitely obvious.

But what we get through that sometimes distasteful bent is a well-researched and interesting examination of the development of Eastern religion. The largest portion of the text is devoted to Buddhism and reading about how it developed, grew in India, and then was pushed out to China, Japan, and Tibet (with mutations in each culture that reflect its unique perspective) is genuinely compelling. The chapter regarding Tibet does not shy away from the atrocities committed against the monks there by the Chinese, but one of Campbell’s strengths is that he’s not afraid to be critical. He certainly has no problem puncturing the ideals that religions would like you to believe about them by discussing the historical realities of how they actually functioned.

There is a similar psychoanalytic frame of reference here as in the first volume, but it’s not as prominent (probably because there’s more substance here to work from than there was with the first) and so it’s not as problematic. Indeed, this volume is superior to the first all around. It’s still thick, and fact-dense, and reads like a textbook, but Oriental Mythology is a more rewarding read, both in information and readability (it’s still very slow, though) than its antecedent.

Tell me, blog friends…what Eastern country is on your must-visit list?

January 21, 2016

Book 8: Kramer v Kramer

“And if they could get this over with soon, in a few years they would be out of infancy and they would have this beautiful family, his beautiful wife, his beautiful children. And so, to be complete in some way, to create a perfect universe with himself in the center, husband, father, his domain- for all the old, buried feelings of not being attractive, for all the times his parents were disapproving, for all the years he struggled to place himself- he would have something special, his beautiful little empire, which he, in his self-delusion, was going to build out of sand from a sandbox.”

Dates read: November 9-12, 2015

Rating: 7/10

I feel like I have a unique perspective on stories about divorce and custody. For one thing, I was raised by a single mother and had a relationship with my father only after the time I turned 10. For another, I actually spent about a year and half working as an attorney specializing in post-divorce custody litigation after I graduated from law school. I have a whole rant about how doing that kind of work was a significant factor in driving me out of the practice of law, but that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to talk about Kramer v. Kramer.

I saw the movie before I read the book and it’s one of the more successful literary adaptations I’ve seen…it might actually be more effective than the source material. Which isn’t to say the source material isn’t very good in its own right. There’s a legal philosophy known as the “tender years doctrine”, which basically boils down to the belief that women are presumed to be better parents of very small children. There was a time when it was applied essentially automatically to grant a mother custody of a young child, almost regardless of the circumstances of the situation. This book, and its big-screen adaptation, were a part of helping drive a social shift away from that doctrine, ultimately making a difference in how custody law is determined by the courts.

The story is simple, with a straightforward plot: Ted and Joanna Kramer get married and have a son. Joanna stays home to raise him, but finds herself increasingly unsatisfied by an entirely home-and-child-based existence. Ted is unsympathetic, believing child-rearing to be Joanna’s responsibility, particularly while their son is small. So Joanna leaves. Ted is has no choice but to assume full parental duty in her absence. The couple divorces and Joanna signs away her custody rights. After over a year, in which the father and son become extremely close and Ted completely rearranges his life and his thinking to be the father his son deserves, Joanna returns out of the blue, demanding custody. And she gets it, based on the tender years doctrine.

I didn’t feel compelled to spoiler alert any of that, because the book and movie have been around so long that the conclusion is no longer a surprise. But also because the power of the book comes not from the outline of the story, but from how it’s told. The beginning portions, detailing how Ted and Joanna came to be married, could in large part take place in the present day. They don’t end up together because of their undying love, but because they’re both bored of the singles scene and the other is good enough. Joanna’s frustration at being forced into the primary caregiver role, at the expense of her own desires to be a contributing member of outside society, also feels like it could be written about any number of women today. We watch Ted go from the kind of man who insists that his wife stay home to take care of their son even though she doesn’t want to, to the kind of man whose whole world is his son, slowly and organically. It’s not forced or rushed or false, which makes the gut punch of Joanna’s return that much harder to take. It ends happily enough, with Joanna relinquishing her victory and Ted retaining custody. The novel makes its point without preaching, and is all the more powerful for so doing.

Tell me, blog friends…what do you think of the tender years doctrine?

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