Cat in a bag

 

 

Infinite Bleh

Ugh. This was my latest long-form read project where I read only 2-5 pages a day of a notoriously long and difficult work. This allows me to read other works where I tackle more challenging reads. I started Infinite Jest in May of 2021. It is over 1,000 pages of garbage. I like David Foster Wallace's essays and talks etc. But this, his most famous work, I found a drudgery. 

It is obviously the work of a mad genius and maybe I'm just not smart enough to get it. I tried. This is, after all, considered one of the most important works of the late 20th century. It has sold over a million copies worldwide. My guess is hardly anyone finishes it. And I tell ya, as someone who did plow through it, it ain't worth it.

It begins nicely enough but soon bogs down in ridiculous minutiae...like spending dozens of pages describing an on-court tennis war game that simulates a world war. It's not as fun to read as it sounds. The book famously never resolves. I knew that going in but still it's frustrating.

This work hurt my head and not in a good way. Again, maybe I'm just not at that intellectual level to enjoy it. My friend Kurt in Chicago loves this book and will be ticked at my review. I, on the other hand, loathed it. Gen X blasphemy I know.

So since I began these long form (or long term) reads I've tackled Joyce's Ulysses, Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow and DFW's Infinite Jest. I enjoyed the Joyce and Pynchon projects even if I didn't understand everything that was going on. IJ?...bleh.

Next up...War and Peace by Tolstoy. This work is only 696 pages, a trifle compared to IJ. Plus, I've read Tolsoy before. Anna Karenina is a favorite of mine. So I'm hoping for a more enjoyable experience this go around. 
 

Books Read in 2021

 

This post is embarrassingly past due (not that anyone would notice). This is a list of the books I read in 2021. It is a short list. Only 12 works here. However, some of these works are rather lengthy. The Mars Trilogy is long but great. Swann's Way? So yeah, a short list but some lengthy and complex stuff here. Quality over quantity right? For comparison I've already read twenty-one books in 2022 and we're still in October. 

What sticks out to me about this list is that 2021 was the year that I finally was re-introduced to the works of Kim Stanley Robinson. I first read KSR in grad school but for one reason or another I didn't read another of his works until last year...much to my detriment. Since 2021 I have read seven of his works and am currently on my eighth. He has become one the most influential thinkers on my thinking. He is a compelling writer and brilliant thinker. 

Books I Read in 2021 

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

The Places in Between by Rory Stewart ( a second read )

The Ministry For the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

Swann's Way by Marcel Proust ( A long form read, I read a few pages each day until finished )

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu ( Read this every day during meditations ) 

Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee ( a second read )

Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

What is the Bible by Rob Bell

The Tripods: The White Mountains by John Christopher

Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

Pumpkins, Hay and Corn

 

We like to celebrate the arrival of Fall by going to one of the many pumpkin patch farms in North Texas. This year we returned to one located in Grapevine. Nice little family farm now surrounded by the suburbs. Got some good pumpkins, rode on a hay ride, conquered a corn maze, fed some animals. It was a nice evening out during our Fall Break last week. 

State Fair Time

Last week we made it to the State Fair of Texas. I never get tired of going. When I retire I'm going to get a season pass and spend several days there. Never gets old!

 

Invaded

 

 The nations in red on the map above are nations that have been invaded by Great Britain. 

This topic came up in my AP U.S. History class last week. I think most Americans just take it for granted that we successfully defeated Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. But the Colonies victory was a shocking thing. No one would have bet on George Washington and his rag tag militia had Vegas existed back then. The Colonies vs the greatest empire on Earth at the time? No way anyone takes the Colonies in that bet. It was a staggering achievement and one of the greatest upsets since the mighty Persian Empire was defeated by the Greek city-states almost 2,000 years earlier. 

But what did surprise me was how many nations Britain has actually invaded in it's history. Only 22 nations on Earth have NOT been attacked or occupied by the British in history. Twenty-two! That's it. Everyone else has either had at minimum a small contingent of English soldiers occupy them or downright take them over in a hostile action. Which leads to this...

Recycled Books

 

Saturday I was in Denton, Texas for my son's marching band competition. There was a five hour gap of time at one point so I drove over to Barnes and Noble to wile away the hours. It had been years since I had darkened the doors of a B&N and I had forgotten how overpriced and corporate the place was. It was very clean and well organized. Clean bathrooms and very nice employees. But man, everything so expensive. So I decided to bail and googled for a used book store. 

 

I found one in downtown Denton just a few minutes away. Recycled Books and Records was the place and it is located in the old Denton Opera House built over a hundred years ago. Downtown Denton has a totally different vibe than the mall. Felt like Austin and the book store did not disappoint. 

 

It was huge and sprawling and chaotic. Upstairs, downstairs, hidden cubbies and nooks. Twisty turns that lead to other rooms and corners. Green shag carpeting in some areas. Everything reasonable save for the some of the classic vinyl. I only walked out with two books for $10. The record section even had a Weezer and White Stripes section. I enjoyed this shop and may have to revisit during the next marching competition. 

The Normal Stuff

 Of course we did the normal SF sites too.