It

Read from Wednesday, February 15th to Wednesday, March 7th.

It, the classic, epic horror novel by Stephen King.  Got this book at a used book sale at the place where I volunteer.  Only a buck for 1100 pages of writing.  Reading horror novels like this are out of my comfort zone, but it was a nice break and change of pace.  I also rented the movie from Netflix after I finished reading the book, and it compared pretty well.

Seven kids from Derry, Maine form a Losers Club in 1958.  They are all outcasts and nerds, and they band together after one's little brother dies.  But they soon realize that it was no accident, nor is it a normal string of murders affecting the town, but actually a supernatural creature/beast/spiritual force that feeds on the town of Derry.  This beast is called It, and it takes the form of a clown with balloons most of the time, but in reality is a shapeshifter and looks like your worst fear at other times.  At various times, It looks like a werewolf, a mummy, a giant bird, leeches, and a giant spider, as well as inhabiting certain townspeople.

The Losers are composed of Bill, the stuttering leader and whose brother was killed; Richie 'trashmouth' the non-stop talking voice impersonator; Ben the aspiring architect who is overweight, Eddie the hypochondriac; Stan the neat and tidy Jewish Boy Scout; Mike the black historian/librarian; and Beverly the dreamboat all the boys love but who is beaten by her dad and later husband.  In 1958, the Losers believed that had defeated the monster, but they made a pact to return to Derry if It ever came back, (It awoke in Derry every 28 years to feed, they were able to trace the pattern back hundreds of years). The novel begins in 1985 with Mike calling the rest of the Losers to announce that It had awoken and was killing kids again.  The rest of the group are obliged to return with hopes of killing It once and for all.  Stan would rather commit suicide than face It again. 

The novel traces both stories simultaneously, telling the events in 1958 alongside their return in 1985.  There are many similarities, as the characters resume certain traits they had in their childhood, like Bill's stutter.  I'll start with 1958.  All the kids are chased at various times by Henry Bowers, the school bully who gradually turns into a psychotic killer throughout the book.  They are chased into the Barrens, a woodsy/marshy area in the middle of town, and the Losers establish a hideout there.  But they can't ignore all the other kids being killed around them.  The adults are in denial, and there seems to be a haze of memory loss among grown-ups.  The kids have all had separate experiences escaping from It, but they decide to fight back.  When they bond together as a group, they seem to have better luck, or super powers, they can use to fight.  They invade a haunted house, and shoot It with a silver ball from a slingshot, wounding It. 

Eventually, they are forced into the sewers after being chased by Henry.  They know that it is in the sewers in which It resides.  But, being propelled by Henry, the Losers are forced to confront It.  Each of the Losers has a strength that they use to almost kill It.  Richie uses his voices, Bev uses her love, Ben uses his architect skills, Eddie his sense of navigation, Mike his understanding of history, and Stan his love of birds.  In the sewers, two of Henry's buddies are killed by It, and Henry is driven completely to insanity.  Bill is transported to another dimension by It, and Richie goes after him, and they somehow wound It.  Instead of finishing It off, they decide to run away.  (There is a weird scene here:  while trying to get out of the sewers, they get panicked and lost.  So in order to calm everyone down, Beverly lets all the boys make love to her, to show how much she loves everyone.  But remember, these are all 11 and 12 year old kids.  Involved in essentially a gang-bang.  Weird.)

28 years later, in 1985, It begins killing kids again.  The Losers, with the exception of Stan, return to Derry.  They have forgotten almost everything about that summer in 1958, but gradually the fog begins to lift and they remember more details and events  (these memory revelations are where King goes back to telling what happened in 1958).  The Losers are all very successful adults.  Ben's an architect, Bill a writer, Bev a fashion designer, Eddie owns a limo company, Richie is a famous DJ and Mike is the town librarian.  He is the only one who stayed in Derry.  No one was able to conceive children.  While reconnecting, King cuts away to the insane asylum, where It helps Henry escape, talking to him through the moon, and convincing him to kill them all.  Henry attack Mike in the library, and nearly kills him, but Mike wounds Henry, and then Eddie is able to finish him off.  The Losers know they need to go into the sewers that first night in Derry, and they follow the same path back to the lair of It.  This time, they are able to kill the monster, although Eddie is killed in the process.  Bill's wife had followed them into the sewers, but she was paralyzed by It, and they had to carry her out of the sewers after.  The town of Derry is nearly destroyed by a storm in the aftermath.  The rest of the gang slowly lose their memories of what happened once again, and they return to their respective lives.

This was an entertaining book.  It was light reading for the most part, and only slightly scary at times.  Definitely some cheesy and unexplained moments, especially at the climaxes in 1958 and 85.  As I mentioned, the sex scene was very strange, and thankfully not shown in the movie.  The novel was very long, and probably could have been condensed, but many of the fears that King expounds on are very realistic.  He shows, in a simplistic way, how our own personal traumas can affect the way we perceive the world.  King is also a fantastic writer, with his style, dialogue, and character development. And the town of Derry became very realistic and detailed. Worth checking out.  Four out of five stars.

Citrus County

Read from Monday, February 13th to Wednesday, February 15th

Citrus County, by John Brandon.  This is a small book that I picked up awhile ago from the Museum of Unnatural History where I volunteer.  It was published by McSweeneys.  It is a quick story, dark most of the time, about a county in the backwoods of Florida.  In Citrus County, there are three main characters.  Shelby and Toby are middle school students, and Mr. Hibma is one of their teachers.  Shelby is bright, talented, with lots of promise.  She lives with her father and younger sister, and they are new to town.  Toby is a brooding, deeply troubled, quiet rebel.  He likes to take long walks by himself, and he lives with an abusive, alcoholic uncle deep in the woods.  Mr. Hibma is a young teacher, who skates by, sticks to himself, and prides himself on not trying very hard.  He is always harassed by one of the other, older, preachy teachers.

Of course, Shelby falls in love with Toby, and follows him around town.  But Toby realizes he is different, a villain, and knows he has to do something.  He kidnaps Shelby's little sister and keeps her locked in a bunker deep in the woods.  There is a big panic and search in town, but Toby's secret is kept for a couple of months.  Shelby works to get through it, even though it is with Toby by her side.  Mr. Hibma meanwhile is forced to coach the basketball team, while he harbors and almost goes through with a plan to murder the other annoying teacher.

Finally, Toby's guilt is too much for him and he goes to release the girl, but she has finally escaped.  Police converge on Toby's house, but his uncle decides to make a stand and he is arrested as the kidnapper.  Toby, an orphan, is adopted by Mr. Hibma, who is the only adult to take an interest in the kid.  Shelby's family is reunited, and it is a generally happy, although strange, ending.  This was kind of a bland, easy book, that I got through in just two days.  Not really something that will stick with me.  I don't really feel like spending too much time on the review. Three out of five stars.

A Very Minor Prophet

Read from Thursday, February 9th to Monday, February 13th.

A Very Minor Prophet: The Gospel according to Joseph Patrick Booker, as interpreted by his faithful scribe, Barth Flynn, a novel by James Bernard Frost.  This was my February Rumpus book club pick, and I really enjoyed this unique, large book.  It is set up, first of all, like a textbook, at least in the size, and the multiple columns of text on a page.  But then it is also meant to be a Gospel at times, with the fancy font, and also a comic book/ zine, complete with illustrations.  It is a hipster book, and an ode to that lifestyle of freaks and weirdos in Portland, and also to bikes, coffee and unique donuts.

Flynn is a young, college graduate who moves to Portland right before the Iraq war.  He goes for no discernible reason, and works in a coffee shop.  He tries writing zines, but with little success.  One day, while riding his bike, he gets a flat tire outside of an old church.  The church has been converted, haphazardly, into the home of Booker, a midget.  Booker has just returned from a trip down south, where he told people, for some reason, that he was a preacher, and so when Flynn arrived, he tried out a sermon.  These parts of the novel, where Booker preaches, are illustrated, with lots of word bubbles and cutting and pasting.   The sermon is about the real message of Jesus Christ.  How it is not the current bible-thumping, war-mongering Christians that closely follow his teachings, but actually the hipsters, weirdos, and self-proclaimed atheists that would probably be friends with a modern Jesus.

Flynn is inspired, and he creates a zine based on this experience, and this instantly becomes a hit.  He hangs out with Mercyx, a bike messenger, and develops a crush on her.  Flynn and other friends go to the church the following Sunday for another sermon.  Instead of wine and crackers, they eat Voodoo donuts and premium coffee.  Together, over the next few months, the zine does well and a professional illustrator is brought in to help.  The group has adventures, especially one bike trip up a mountain, that ends in a car crash and Flynn naked in Mercyx's room.  They kiss, but go no further.

Of course, things go downhill.  Flynn and Mercyx get awkward after she reveals she is a virgin.  He decides the logical thing would be to marry her, but his proposal is rejected and she is furious.  Flynn is also muscled out of all the proceeds from the zine, and is kicked off the project by greedy professionals.  Booker is also harassed by the leader of a local biker gang.  It is also revealed that Booker is a pimp.  That is how he made money.  Finally, in a moment of weakness, Booker and Mercyx hook up, and in retaliation Flynn buys one of Booker's hookers.  Flynn and Booker's relationship is in tatters, but Booker tries desperately to make it up to him.  He issues an apology to Flynn over the airwaves of Portland.  In this last sermon, Booker also makes the point that Americans need to take responsibility and apologize to the Muslim world for the wars going on.  Flynn rejects the apology at first, and then denies knowing Booker when the FBI come looking for him.  Turns out, Booker went to Iraq, and started preaching and apologizing, before he was strung up and martyred.  In their grief, Mercyx and Flynn are reunited, and end up getting married years later.  They inherit the church, and Flynn becomes the preacher every Sunday.

I really enjoyed this clever book.  I can really get behind all the preaching and the values of the characters.  I actually just bought a bike last week, so that I could take long bike rides like in the book.  Unique and very fun.  Flynn, the narrator, is relatable, but also deeply flawed at times, as all good characters should be.  Check this one out.  Four out of five stars.

Born to Run

Read from Monday, February 6th to Thursday, February 9th.

Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall, is a fascinating non-fiction book that literally got me out of the door and onto trails.  I like books that actually have an influence on my life, and this book has been one of them, prompting me to run a lot more over the past few weeks.  BTR is the story of the Tarahumara tribe of the Copper Canyon in Mexico.  This tribe has existed mostly unperturbed by modern society, and they are known for their running ability.  Every member of the tribe is able to run incredibly long distances, usually over hundreds of miles at a time, at a fast pace, and without the numerous injuries that plague runners in our country.

McDougall profiles many of these Indians, along with Caballo Blanco, a white American from Colorado who is almost an honorary tribe member.  Caballo Blanco's main goal, and the main plot of the book, is to set up an epic ultra-marathon of 50 miles, in the Copper Canyon, pitting the Tarahumara against some of America's top ultra-runners.  McDougall discusses the world of Ultra-running in America, and some of the great races.  Some of these are up in the Rockies, or the woods of Virginia, or even Death Valley.  He also details his own training regimen, modeled after the Tarahumara, as he prepared for the race himself.  The diet was crucial, and it was all vegan.  He also advocates running barefoot, or in those Vibram five-fingers, because it is closest to our evolutionary progress, and it strengthens the feet.  In the years since Nike introduced the padded shoe, injuries have skyrocketed in the U.S., but are virtually non-existent in the Copper Canyon, where they only wear light sandals.

McDougall argues that humans evolved to be long-distance runners.  We are bipeds so that we can get more air into our lungs, and we practiced persistence hunting.  Unable to catch antelopes on a quick sprint, prehistoric humans hunted the same antelope over hundreds of miles, until it collapsed from exhaustion.  We are meant to run for a long time, but our sedentary society has evolved away from that.

The race finally ends up happening, and McDougall does a great job storytelling.  It is a close race, but it ends up binding the two cultures together over running.  I know it sounds cheesy, but it is an uplifting message.  The best advice in the book, and the advice that I have been passing along to others, is that to be a good runner, and to be able to run for a long time, you have to simply love running.  After I finished the book, I went out for a run, and I didn't want to stop because I was having a great time, just exploring, feeling good and getting the endorphins going.  I ran two hours that day.  I highly recommend reading this book, it is very inspirational.  I loaned it out to a friend the next day and others have requested to borrow it as well.  For what it tries to be, Born to Run gets Five out of Five stars.

The Alchemist

Read from Sunday, February 5th to Monday, February 6th

The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho.  I was given this book the week before as a graduation gift from a week-long course in New York City at Momentum Education.  The themes in the book of personal journey, self discovery, and goal-seeking, correspond to many of the lessons taught in the course.

The Alchemist is a very popular book with very overt and simple themes.  I mean that in a good way.  It is a good story of Santiago, a young shepherd in Spain.  It is a timeless story, and seems to be able to exist in any era.  Santiago is a simple shepherd, but one day he has a dream of a treasure buried under the pyramids.  He dismisses it, but then he meets a king on the street who tells him that is his personal journey, and he must do everything he can to get there.  Santiago sells his flock, and sets off on a journey across the North of Africa.  At first, his money is stolen, but he works for a year in a glass shop, helping it to turn a profit.  Consequently he earns enough money to join a caravan across the Sahara.  There are dangerous tribal wars, but they manage to reach an oasis, where Santiago meets an Alchemist.  The alchemist teaches him how to realize his own personal legend, and this is more important than gold.  Santiago also falls in love with an oasis girl named Fatima, and he does not want to continue his journey.  But he realizes that if he does not fulfill his own legend, it might be easier at first, but he would end up being resentful and disappointed and disrespected. 

Santiago and the Alchemist continue onto the pyramids, but they are captured by an army.  They are sentenced to death, but the Alchemist convinces them to let them go if Santiago can harness the wind.  On the third day, Santiago is able to connect with his heart and the universal forces of the world.  He realizes how everything is connected, and causes a wind storm.  He is successful, and is able to return to Fatima.

It is a highly allegorical novel, with the themes pushed right into your face.  When you want something in life, the whole universe conspires to help you get it.  The key is to be persistent, recognize the omens, and be articulate about what it is that you want.  Along the way of your own personal legend, you are able to help out the personal legends of those around you.  Santiago was helped when he was given a job in a crystal shop, and he ended up helping the shopkeeper by developing new ideas and expanding the business. 

The Alchemist is a good fable that I recommend, even though it is probably more self-help than literature. I recommend it to anyone who feels they are stuck in a rut, or if their life isn't going anywhere.  You can all take charge of your life, make the decisions you need to make in order to fulfill your dreams, and the rest will work itself out.  Four out of five stars.

House of Leaves

Read from Saturday, January 14th to Sunday, February 5th.

What a crazy trip House of Leaves, by Mark Danielewski, was.  When I first read the intro to this book, about a guy reading the same book and having nightmares, I fell asleep on my couch and had a nightmare myself.  It was crazy.  I was almost too freaked out to continue at that point, but I am glad that I stuck with it.  HOL is tough to explain.  It is a work of art, first of all.  An experiential book, one that would not work in any other format than the large, full-color, physical book.  There are pictures, diagrams, single words on pages, sentences on different parts of the page, going every direction, boxes of footnotes within pages, and words on top of other words. 

HOL is the story of a man, Johnny Truant, who finds a collection of writing by another recently deceased man, Zampano, who was writing about "The Navidson Record," a supposedly famous home movie about a man, Will Navidson, who explores his mysterious house.  So there are stories within stories within stories, told from many different narrators.  The bulk of HOL is Zampano doing an academic study of The Navidson Record, filled with all kinds of (fictitious) academic sources.  Johnny is organizing Zampano's work, but he comments frequently in a different font of footnotes.

Will Navidson is a famous photojournalist who buys a house in Virginia with his wife, Karen, and two children.  He sets out to record the family at all times with Hi-8s in order to capture intimate family moments.  Him and Karen have had difficulties because he was always out in harm's way, but now Will is trying to become a family man.  However they soon discover strange things about the house.  The inside seems to be growing larger than the outside.  Will, his brother and others cannot seem to figure out the anomaly.  Soon, a hallway appears in the house, and Will explores, using his cameras of course.  Inside, there is a never-ending maze of hallways, all pitch black and with no other discernible features, and much, much larger than the house should be.  Navidson, his brother and friends, and even some professional explorers, try to explore this fascinating, but freaky find.  The hallways always seem to shift, and although there is no sign of life, there is always a persistent growl heard from afar. 

One of the explorers goes crazy and shoots the other two.  After a shaky rescue mission, Will's brother dies as well, and Karen issues an ultimatum that they must evacuate.  They spent months apart, both from the house and themselves, and the marriage seems to be on the rocks.  But Will has to return to the House.  He cannot leave without seeing it through to the end, so he goes on an epic exploration that lasts for weeks.  Karen senses him in danger and follows him to the house, and Will is saved at the last moment by waking up on the lawn.  It is not a horror story, but in fact a love story.  They need each other, and once they realize that fact, they can go back to their own lives and are released from the house. 

Johnny, meanwhile, while trying to comprehend all that Zampano wrote, slowly sinks into a mentally deranged psychopath.  He hears and sees a monster following him at all times.  He cannot sleep.  He goes out with his friend Lude and picks up a lot of girls, but always falls back into a constant despair.  He leaves L.A. to try and find the house for himself, but he wanders around the country aimlessly, barely surviving.  Eventually, Johnny kills a guy, however he is a very unreliable narrator so it is difficult to piece together exactly what happened.  At the end of the novel, we are presented with a series of letters from his mother, who was extremely paranoid and crazy in a mental institute.  She misses her son terribly, and eventually kills herself.

This was a very interesting but great reading experience.  I was very exhausted after finishing the book.  It was very cool to constantly be shifting the book around to follow the story.  The set-up follows the mood in the story.  When the characters are cramped, the writing is cramped.  When they are lost and don't know which direction to go, the words go every which way.  It is a cool effect.  Definitely recommend checking this book out.  Four out of five stars.

Life : Keith Richards

Read from Monday, January 9th to Friday, January 13th, 2012

What a fantastic memoir by Keith Richards.  He is my namesake!  My mom loved him as a teenagers in the sixties and seventies, and named me after him.  After reading the memoir, I am honored.  Keith was a shy kid growing up in England, and he never lost that innocence.  Of course he was very susceptible to addictions, but I feel a strong connection to him.  He just wanted to sit there and pick at his guitar and play the blues.

Keith described his childhood in England, and his rocky relationship with his father, who he reconnected with in the 1980's.  He described meeting Mick and putting the original band together.  They scraped together shows, just enough to get by, until they grew enough of a following to start touring.  Then they were able to start recording, making hits, and make it to America and around the world.

Keith told the stories about traveling through America, and how many times they barely dodged the law.  He described the drugs, the groupies, the parties, the relationship among the bandmates.  Being kicked out of England because they had to pay too many taxes, so they were exiled in France, where they recorded Exile on Main Street (of which I am listening right at this moment.)  The Stones were the biggest band for the longest time, since the Beatles went their own way in the 1970's.  However, Mick and Keith had issues, and Mick went for an unsuccessful solo career, before rejoining the band for the megatours of the 1990's. 

Keith described the song-writing process, as well as the meaning behind many of the lyrics.  He is incredibly talented, and also humbled to have met many of his heroes.  Keith also described the difficult process of becoming sober and clean from the heroin, and reconnecting with his large family.  Ever since finishing the book, I have been listening to the Stones constantly, and have watched a few documentaries.  I find the whole story of the rock star epic life fascinating.  Four out of five stars.