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Since it seems near-impossible to make a proper text cut in Blogger, and my book list grows ever longer, I'm just going to leave this at the top of the page, with a link to the post.

2009 Read List

Latest Update - 11/5

damn bovines

{ Sent at 3:13 PM on Monday }
me: today has actually been going by quickly
how did that happen?
michelle: i dont know--but youre right!
me: i blame daylight savings time
michelle: dont blame it--thank it!
its dark soooo early now though
I hate it
me: yeah wtf
stupid time
cows don't care what time it is
but cows are also a bunch of jerks!
so now i don't know who to trust

Short.

me (to Doug): how did that jay-z song go?
welcome to new york, home of the something tomato?

My New Dream

Fantastic Fest is happening right now in Austin, TX. Aside from really wanting to be there, it got me thinking, and not for the first time. It is being put on by the Alamo Drafthouse, which is a crazy cool independent movie theater that shows everything from big Hollywood hits to weird genre films to tiny indies.

I think Staten Island needs a place like this, a catch-all for awesome. My vision is a 2-3 screen theater, where one or all screens are sunken in behind a stage for comedy and musical performances. The lobby would be fashioned with a fully stocked beer bar, including at least one house brew. There would also be a good-food-with-reasonable-prices restaurant/ café, so you can spend an evening with dinner-movie-bar all in one place.

A yearly film festival, midnight movies, genre nights, classics, new releases, comedy, music beer, food, even merch (a la the Drafthouse's Mondo Tees. It would be a great way to get people to Staten Island, and a great alternative to the (mostly) crap that's there now. It's what we need, and I can envision it being wildly successful.

Here's my problem – I wouldn't even know where to start to get something like this rolling. Ideas? Permits? Locations? Money? Where do you begin? I need a partner, someone with a little bit of savvy and expertise, who shares my vision and knows what to do about it. If anyone knows somebody like this… please tell them to contact me. I need to get this done before Mr. Burns sells Staten Island to New Jersey.

2 Steps Back.

I want to write more, but somehow everything I think I want to write about is so horribly depressing, whiny, and emo. I'm fast approaching 25 (less than 2 weeks away), and yet my inner blogger is stuck in high school. Maybe I'm not ready for this. Maybe I should go back to Livejournal.


...


No, I think that's a bad idea.

2009 Read List

I've been meaning to do this for years, and always forgot until maybe July or August. This year, I only forgot until February! Anyway, this post will be constantly updated as a compendium of books I've read so far this year. I'm a moderately slow reader, and really only have time to do so during my commutes each day, so it may be a while between updates.

Now for the list:

1. Double Whammy, Carl Hiaasen— B
2. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon— A+
3. Personal Days, Ed Park— B+
4. Girl Factory, Jim Krusoe— B
5. Then We Came to the End, Joshua Ferris— B+
6. Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card— C+ —A decent story that gets too bogged down by the weight of its Mormon theology.
7. Strip Tease, Carl Hiaasen— B+ —Try to forget that this was ever made into a movie... this book deserves so much better than what it got.
8. Indignation, Philip Roth— A- —I just love Roth's writing style. I've only read 4 of his books so far; I need to get my hands on some more.
9. The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon— C+ —The story got a little too big for its own good, and lost its focus a bit at times. After Kavalier and Clay, I wanted to love this, but just can't.
10. Cross Country, James Patterson— C —When did Alex Cross turn into Jack Bauer? This book would've been better if it didn't bastardize an established character.
11. Behind the Scenes, or Thirty Years as a Slave, and Four Years in the White House, Elizabeth Keckley— B- —Read for Book Club at work. Interesting look into the minutiae of Mrs. Lincoln's private life, from POV of her dress-maker. A bit gossip-y, though. ETA: Apparently, there's a whole controversy about this book, that I did not know about going into it. Read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Keckly#Behind_The_Scenes.
12. Please, Peter Darbyshire— B —I'm getting a little tired of these "quirky for the sake of quirky" books, with no real plot line. This one was at least quick and mildly entertaining.
13. Shogun, James Clavell— A —The epic I was waiting for. Points lost for a slightly disappointing ending, but overall a work of staggering beauty. I need to get the miniseries to see if it comes anywhere close to doing this book justice.
14. Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman— A- —I'm as surprised as you are that I hadn't already read this. Oozing with wit, it had just enough fantasy to keep me from getting bored. It didn't get a full A for a few tired old cliches stuck in there, but nonetheless it was thoroughly enjoyed.
15. The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis— C+ —Read for Book Club at work. Perhaps in Brazil in the 1850s this was funny, but I failed to see much humor in it at all. The concept (an autobiography being written by a dead man) and style (short chapters, some only one or two sentences, some consisting entirely of ellipses) are groundbreaking for its time, but the content just could not hold my interest.
16. A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin— A —A completely engrossing and terrifically written tale of intrigue, war, and family that begins a 6-book epic series (Books 5 and 6 have not been released yet). Hopefully I'll have my hands on the second book soon.
17. A Clash of Kings, George R. R. Martin— A —Starting right where Game left off, this one ups the ante by starting a war between 5 self-proclaimed "Kings" for the rights to one throne. Fantastic.
18. Fluke, Christopher Moore— B- —Had a bit of a slow, predictable start, but ended up anything but. Wildly inventive story with touches of brilliance, but the writing falls a bit flat at times. I'll check out more of his stuff, though.
19. A Storm of Swords, George R. R. Martin— Currently in Progress.

More to come!

Oh yeah, I remember going to Japan.

Here, finally, is a selection of pictures. If you want to see them all, you're crazy, but just ask.

Japan!!!!!

How was the trip? Awesome is an understatement.