This week's reading list.

Here's the reading material I plan on decimating this week. Look for reviews in the future.

I'm also planning on doing some zine reading for work.

The Reading List
Books
Brokeback Mountain: From Book to Screenplay
This Boys Life

Comics
Still a massive stack!

Magazine
Wizard

I better get started eh? Book Slave.

Book Club Night = My salvation.

Hello,
I hope you all are enjoying the format change. Last entry ended up being massive! Yeah shorter entries my ass. Well I can't help it that I'm wordy. Well moving on...

Tonight was Book Club Night. For those coming in late: On the last Tuesday of the month I attend The Hard Boiled Book Club @ Sam Weller's Book. More Info is available here. It's run and moderated by former coworker/friend/burgeoning writer Zach Sampinos and focuses on alternative fiction. I started going because it sounded fun and it would force me to read fiction that I normally wouldn't even pick up. It's a fun/insightful group and I urge anyone in the SLC that's interested to come on down. Feel free to sit in even if you haven't read the book.

The pick this month was The Night in Question by Tobias Woolf. I am already a big fan of Woolf's work. His fictional novel Old School was one of my favorite books a few years ago. Yet I still haven't read any of his short story collections. It was a great surprise to see that Woolf is as good at short fiction as he is at a novel/memoir.

As fellow club member Chris pointed out Woolf uses a great elevated diction that is not stylistic at all. His word choice can be beautiful and horribly specific. This is true in my favorite stories of this collection. Specifically "Bullet to the Brain" is a tour-de-force of short story writing. It starts off with a man annoyed while standing in line at the bank, and takes a crazy left turn. Woolf's ability to start a story with something mundane and then raise the stakes took my breath away. I felt the same way about the titular story "The Night in Question" which also takes it's characters down an unexpected direction. A brother and sister, both brutally abused as children, try to make sense of what can be a cruel world. The brother tries to relate a story that points to a faith in god, whereas his sister turns it another way. Woolf does an excellent job establishing the complicated relationship that exists for those who are physically abused. Their love for each other is a bond fused by that shared horrible childhood. As an adult how do you make sense of such cruelty? Woolf is wonderfully ambiguous. He refuses to offer an easy answer.

This brings me to what I think is the thru-line of this collection: Since death is inevitable, life should be about finding happiness. Whether it be the pleasure that can be brought by a 100 dollar bill in "Smorgasbord" or a lonely teacher who can't stop falling in love in "Life and Death of the Body". Woolf's characters are either living fully or their soul's are dying depending on their choices. In "The Chain" the main characters begin a cycle of violence that can only bring death. As in "Casualty" war brings two men together only to be ripped apart by a meaningless death. Again and again Woolf shows the importance of his character's choices. In the end I look toward the optimism of the story "Powder". A father and son both enjoy the fact that they are good at something. Happiness can be the acceleration of moving a barricade and expertly driving through a snowstorm.

Other Reviews: Entertainment Weekly, scottwilliamfoley, Red Room

Have a great night! Book Slave.

5 Days off people. Yes, It's true.

Hey Cyber-world,
Call it fate or destiny, perhaps the universe is trying to test me, but somehow this week I ended up with 5 days off in a row. Considering at this time last year, and actually the last 10 years, this has been the beginning of the busiest time of year for me, I am completely thrown by this utter change. What to do with myself? Well I thought about my recent blogging dry spell and have decided this week to try a format change. This week I'm going to post some small bite-size versions of the Book Pusher. Oh don't worry if I choose to be long-winded well then that's how it'll be. Don't be afraid. This will stave off the possibility of my own insanity this week. Also means you could get more of me. So away we go.

Annual Book-Movie Adaptations I Look Forward To In the Latter Half of 2009, or Book Pusher goes to the Movies
The latter half of the year is a sublime time of year. I am able to combine my two obsessions, books and movies, as studios try to make up for the crap they show in summer. Now just to be clear: I am not an adaptation purist. Movies and books are two different mediums. They don't have to be exactly the same. In fact they shouldn't be, because some techniques don't work in both mediums. Also movies need to be a reasonable length. If you want my attention for more than two hours the story better be damn compelling or put it on TV. Dashiell Hammett said it best when he argued that Hollywood cannot ruin a book as long as the book is in print and sits on your shelf. If I think an adaptation looks bad then I just don't go see it.

Important to note: If I have not mentioned a film here, like say New Moon or Precious, well it's because I'm not interested in seeing those films. Hey this is a blog, it's self-centered by definition.

So moving on, here's a list of adaptations that I'm looking forward to for the rest of the year. Shockingly there isn't that many out this fall. I think this is more a reflection of the writer's strike, because these movies take a long time to develop and make. Also I see a distinct move towards more comedies which are sure bets in these economic times (for proof I point you to a movie called Sullivan's Travels. See it.) Anyway what is this a movie blog?

So moving on, here's a list of adaptations that I'm looking forward to for the rest of the year.

The Road (11/25)-Seriously I am rabid for this film. It looks like the perfect combination of cast, director, and story.

Fantastic Mr. Fox (11/25)-Again I cannot wait. Wes Anderson & Roald Dahl sounds like a perfect combination. And it's animated! Yay.

Up In the Air (12/11 limited)-Everything I've seen and heard about this looks great. Could be Clooney's best performance of the year. Jason Reitman is an incredible writer/director.

The Lovely Bones (12/11)-Not 100% sure on this one, but the trailer does have a eerie feeling. I hope this marks a return for Jackson to his earlier style. If you've seen Frighteners or Heavenly Creatures then you know that Jackson is a good choice for this material.

Sherlock Holmes (12/25)-Discussing this with mystery fans I've found that opinions on this film are mixed. Even though this film is an original tale and looks very modern I'm still interested. Guy Ritchie has a definite style and his casting reflects that. This could be fun if you can let go. Purists may hate it.

Again not too many films this year, but the one's that are coming out are massive. I've already been impressed by the film adaptations of Where the Wild Things Are, and the highly literate Bright Star.

So keep an eye out for more shorter posts this week. Or any signs of Shining-esque insanity. Enjoy! Book Slave.