1Q84 - Haruki Murakami

My first endeavour into Murakami and it was a slog. His latest is a full length, that showcases moments of poetic brilliance set among a realistic fantasy tale. The story itself is intriguing but rather slow moving considering how little happens in 900+ pages. A handful of actions are analyzed over and over again, perhaps to stress their importance and show a glimpse of what the characters must have gone through but with nothing added on each retelling it is difficult to see the point of it all. I'd have preferred a boiled down Reader's Digest version, as long as it still included things like his likening of Ushikawa's hair to pubic hair, but cut out the ninth retelling of the hand-holding scene. Even after it all there isn't a great deal of resolution that makes one wonder whether it was worthwhile in the end.

6.5

Oct-Dec (no library renewals!)

Exit Lines - Joan Barfoot

An eye-opening read for a self-obsessed youth. The characters are real and revealing, making the book riveting. It starts strongly, once everyone was straight in my head, and then it carries. Written in a style that crams many things into a sentence, similar to the way people actually think. In fact there seem to be occasions were multiple narrators take on a paragraph and there were a number of re-reads, moving the emphasis around, but it was worth it once you got it. Setting the stage was my favourite part of the book as I was not thrilled by the plot line once it was eventually revealed but persistence easily paid off. A fine, grounding read that manages to cover a lot of 'life' and ends up as an inspiration.

8
November 2012

This is Your Brain on Music - Daniel J. Levitin

Two very intriguing topics merged into one book it brings the study of the function of the brain to the forefront while focusing on its reaction and processing of music. Slightly heavy on the jargon from both disciplines some aspects were skimmed over but other pieces were very rewarding. The brain is still an emerging area of scientific study and so there is still much left unknown which makes it exciting. Some of the physiological reasoning behind things like musical expectations and earworms are quite neat to finally have explained. Plenty to chew on here.

6
August-September 2012

Shampoo Planet - Douglas Coupland

Despite the story not really having a beginning, middle or end, Shampoo Planet carried itself as Coupland has proven his stories can. Basically popping into the life of an ambitious young small-city American guy with a hard bent for everything hot and modern it had ample opportunity to reflect on life and growing up (and even some love and relationships). Not relying on any gimmicks that Coupland has employed otherwise, besides the long lists of modern conveniences and fascination with human-made items, it was a fairly straightforward novel.

It did include this marvelous quote:
She is like a cheetah in the zoo, which has lived a comfortable life but has never run fast like nature intended her to. Okay, the cheetah is alive, but, so what?

September/October 2012
6

Kill Your Friends - John Niven

A vulgar orgy of drugs, obscenities, racism, alcohol abuse, and well, orgies all in the context of the late '90s music industry scene. The insight into the industry was intriguing while the first-person narrative's seemingly unending litany of offensive comments was disgusting and offensive (yet well-written). Something compelled me to push through - there must be something worthwhile here - yet the legal drama did not take any bigger importance in the latter half of the book and the storyline continued to be carried almost solely on an ongoing list of abuses to himself and other. The desired comeuppance never came and no lessons were learned. The interview with the author indicate that this was a fairly accurate glimpse into big music which is rather disgusting if true.

September 2012
5

Haiku - Andrew Vachss

An interesting perspective being told from the point of view of a homeless man. Not only that but a recovering narcissist to boot. Plenty of in-his-mind revelations that were intriguing in addition to the mini heist that the story revolved around. Enough to keep me entertained though perhaps not enthralled.

August 2012
6

Beatrice & Virgil - Yann Martel

An odd premise for a book that seemed to rush the introduction only to meander through the remainder. Saying something through a different medium to allow for it to be more easily digestible is a tricky one that I rarely enjoy and this didn't really turn the tables on this stance. Here the criticisms that the narrator levels at the playwright within the novel can obviously be turned on this book itself; the whole thing is somewhat meta. Based on the worthwhile twist rendered in Life of Pi I saw this one through to the end but it didn't quite redeem it. There was some resolution yet I didn't feel it was worth the build up. The Games for Gustav that appended the story were rather effective however - kudos for tackling the subject matter at least.

July/August 2012
4

Border Run - Simon Lewis

Brokedown Palace (movie) mashed with The Beach and A Simple Plan told from a main character narrative that could have been me.  Not groundbreaking but super entertaining and thrilling - I finished the book within two days. It didn't really end happily or to a full conclusion yet it still felt satisfactory. Love that plausible situation that just spirals out of control despite relatively sound decisions at most junctures.

July 2012

8.5

Eating Animals - Jonathan Safran Foer

A well-written and thoughtful account of the state of the modern animal-for-consumption system. The book does not beat you over the head with arguments but allows the truth to speak for itself. A broad spectrum of related topics are covered to reveal a disgusting picture of factory farming. Opinions from all sides of the system are represented fairly and in many cases directly in their own words. Yet even with these defenses represented the conclusions that stem from the chapters are so obvious that it impressed upon me that the only way people can continue to support this industry is through ignorance. The question of whether this ignorance is due to the industry keeping the public in the dark or the public not wanting to know is touched upon but is really another debate altogether.

My biggest criticism of Eating Animals is that it is not called Eating-Animals-and-their-By-products. Jonathan reveals all of the injustice the animals endure, the environmental atrocities that factory farms commit, the high risk for breeding human diseases under factory farming conditions and all of the other terrible side effects of factory farming yet still inherently supports them by choosing to be vegetarian instead of vegan. The eggs, dairy and all other animal by-products that are excluded from a vegan's diet are usually produced via the exact same methods that Foer rails against throughout the book. In fact, his own facts and numbers say just that. For him to make such a stand yet come short of adopting, and in effect advocating, a vegan diet is inexplicable. As in literally inexplicable - since this shortfall is not discussed or explained even when he speaks of maintaining a purely vegetarian diet even if non-factory farmed meat sources are available. The same could, and in my opinion, should be said about choosing vegan options especially when the alternatives are factory-farmed (and even when they are not, for similar reasons). The parallel between the omnivore vs. vegetarian debate and the vegetarian vs. vegan debate is completely obvious and now that I am firmly aware of the realities (having read this book) I can not in good conscience ignore it.

Eating Animals is a vegetarian's dream in that it is well-researched and presents the facts and figures in an easy-to-translate way. If you ever needed an aid to defending your diet to ignorant omnivores, this is it.

This book should be a mandatory read for every single person who will have to make the choice of whether to raise an animal in horrendous, disease-breeding conditions, slaughter them in unsupervised and often ineffective and painful ways and then ingest them simply for taste. That means everyone should read this book.

9
May 2012

The Sisters Brothers - Patrick deWitt

The story was engaging and had me flipping through it as I was quite intrigued. What will become of the brothers? What is the major conflict going to be? Will the curse come to fruition? What is with this magic that keeps being hinted at?
However the payoff in the end was somewhat of a letdown, not simply because of the turnout but even the unveiling was fairly lackluster.

6.5
May 2012

The Wealthy Barber Returns - David Chilton

Much of the advice is borderline common-sense but great to be reinforced. A few interesting takes on different aspects but for the most part reiterating a couple basic principles for long-term financial security. Fun, light, self-deprecating approach works so you don't get bored or feel like you're being preached to.

7
March/April 2012

Just Kids - Patti Smith

Beautifully written, the prose is like a poem throughout. Touching and overwhelmingly honest it drew me in as both Robert and Patti are made real and fully human. Their relationship is a testament to love and friendship, and their shared passion an inspiration. A book I never would have read without prodding nor thought I would have enjoyed, yet one that has definitely brought a new dimension to my perspective.


8.5
April 2012

Spot of Bother - Mark Hadon

Breaking it down it's just the story of a family. Albeit one in crisis, primarily surrounding a wedding but also the aging father losing his sanity. It is more in the telling though as the author tells from each member's viewpoint, sometimes even recounting the same thing from a couple angles. The storyline of the gay son was my favourite viewpoint to read from though the fears of the father made me reflect on death, which can be healthy (better than realizing it way down the line and losing my marbles like him). 

7 
March 2012 

Life - Keith Richards

Written in what seems to be a dictated style of Keith's speaking, the autobiography offers some interesting tidbits about The Stones, though rarely are they fully expanded upon. From an outsider's perspective it was interesting to read of the dependency on the slew of drugs and the ways they were used, then the ways they were shaken. A few very harsh words for Mick countered in other chapters by a strong brotherly love. Plenty of gushing about other people, and some interesting inclusions of other characters' writing, often gushing about Richards. The later years of stadium touring are just as interesting to me as the very early days of playing the dive bars. Best story was of the studio sessions slipping from starting at one in the afternoon quickly to one AM and continuing to slide until Keith found himself in a car on his way to work. "What time is it?" "It's 8 am." "Fuck that. Turn the car around, I'm not going to work at eight in the morning!" Summarizing a lifetime of bucking the norm.


5
Winter 2011