22-23 Down, 29 to Go

Book:  Bottomless Belly Button - Dash Shaw

Book:  Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History - Harvey Pekar

The last books of the year.  Bottomless Belly Button was about three grown children and their reactions to their elderly parents decision to divorce.  The book was devastating.  The various children's reactions were pathetic and heartbreaking.  SDS was a graphic novel about Students for a Democratic Society.  I found it to be overly complicated and confusing.  Many of the stories talked about regional groups that focused on people I never heard of.

So that was 2008's 52.  A complete list of books completed will be posted later.

21 Down, 31 To Go

Book: Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling

Music: Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP

I am a huge Harry Potter fan, have been forever. So when this book came out I was pumped even if it wasn't going to about Harry. It was a fun read. Not super deep or long, but it was entertaining. Dumbledore's commentary was funny and I liked how it all tied into the stories. I just took a russian literature class and all I read was short stories. I read this book in one sitting, I was unable to read any of the assigned readings in one sitting. Makes you wonder about what the definition of a short story should be.

Fleet Foxes have blown up this year. Their various albums are in the running for the best of the year. I have listened to the Sun Giant EP many times, including reading the book. They make great music. I have heard it described as Bro-Mance music, which is oddly accurate.

20 Down, 32 to Go

Book: Dharma Bums - Jack Kerouac 

Album: None

I read this book really fast.  I think I started it on Sunday and was done with it mid-flight Wednesday. It was very enjoyable.  Kerouac showed the dual nature that I seem to have: a desire to be alone in the wilderness and be out with my friends at parties.  The Buddhism in the story seemed a little thin, he never really explained what the various ideas and terms meant.  Yet, I think the book would have lost momentum if Kerouac explained each school of Buddhism.  Overall, it was a fun, fast, and entertaining read.

Since I read the book so quickly I did really listen to an album or anything that captured the mod of it.  I have various songs that I listened to a fair amount during the time I read it, so here they are:

• Flying Lotus - Roberta Flack
• Madlib - In Jah Hands (Dillas Lament)
• Miles Davis - So What
• John Coltrane - Giant Steps
• Charles Mingus - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
• Chitti Babu - Ragam: Kharaharapriya

19 Down, 33 to Go

Book:  Consider the Lobster - David Foster Wallace

Album:  Shake the Sheets - Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

I bought this book the day he died.  I started reading it roughly the same week.  Consider the Lobster is an extremely entertaining book.  "Big Red Son" made me howl with laughter.  The stories on 9/11 were interesting.  "Up, Simba" was fascinating to compare McCain 2000 v McCain 2008 v Obama.  "Consider the Lobster" has made me no longer eat lobster and makes you question the decency of killing another living creature.  There was only one story I couldn't get through: "Authority and American Usage".

Ted Leo writes great albums.  They are fun, entertaining, political, and everything else.  He is one of Rock n Roll's few populists.  He attempts to appeal to everyone through hard work and good songs.  This is my favorite album by him.  To me it is as consistent and well done as London Calling or This Years Model.   If you don't have it, go buy it today!

18 Down, 34 To Go

Book: Dharma Punx - Noah Levine

Album: ...And Out Come the Wolves - Rancid

Dharma Punx is the memoir of Noah Levine. He is a former Junkie and Prisoner, life long punk and recent buddhism teacher. His life sounds incredible from the desperation of addiction to the inner peace he has achieved. The story was a little repetitive but still very interesting. I really enjoyed the discussions about his travels around Asia and learning about the various disciplines of Buddhism. The book corresponds to a similar point I am at. I am somewhat frustrated with the world and the suffering that is going on. I am considering studying buddhism, hopefully it will help me make sense of what's going on.

...And Out Come the Wolves is one of the best and most timeless punk records ever released. In many ways it is the next generations answer to London Calling. I haven't listened to Rancid in a long time but when I put on this record I am able to sing along to every song. I might not be able to a cappella each song, but certainly know all the words when I hear the music. Lars from Rancid is good friends with Levine, and is one of the Dharma Punx.

17 Down, 35 To Go

Book: Notes From Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky

Album:  Darkside of the Moon - Pink Floyd

I just finished reading Notes From Underground.  It was assigned for a class.  I am not sure what I think about it.  The narrator is unlikeable, the text was dense, and I am unsure what the point of the novel was.  The first part of the book was entirely philosophical, the second part certainly explained why the underground man developed these philosophies, but it never seemed compelling.  I think the goal was not to create a likable book but to present a glimpse of society that we tend to ignore.  The underground man seems to unreliable and unstable to be trusted, but does not seem to be actually "crazy".  Ultimately, I am too conflicted to either recommend or detract from the book.

Pink Floyd's Darkside of the Moon is all about mental illness.  It seems to fit the themes of the book well.  Although the real draw to the album is not the story but the guitars.  I don't really need to write about this album because everyone who is reading the blog has already heard the album.

16 Down, 36 To Go

Book: Y: the Last Man Series

Album: Radiohead Series

Y: the Last Man series was incredible. The plot is basically exactly what it sounds: the last man on earth attempting to save humanity and meet up with his girlfriend. Yet it was so much more than that. It was funny, full of pop culture references. It was also profound, asking deep philosophical questions. It was more than just a comic, it had real character development and twists. It was philosophical, with out being preachy. I wish that there were more to read. The series ended at the right point though, it ended before the ideas were recycled or uninspired.

The only thing that I could see matching the epic nature of Y is Radiohead. Radiohead is a little more depressed but still the only thing I can think of. Plus they match profound and depressed themes in Y, better than other bands or albums I was thinking about using. It was difficult to pick an album since I have been reading Y: the Last Man for a while now, there were ten books in the series.

15 Down, 37 To Go

Book: Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson
Album: Stay Positive - The Hold Steady

Gonzo was a hard book to read. It was all about Hunter Thompson, the stories got repetitive. Every page was soaked in Chivas, caked in coke, and burnt with cigs. He seemingly treated everyone badly and then was way too nice and generous to make up for it. It was very interesting to get past the outlandish attitude and get bits and peices of what Hunter might actually have been. I think that people were way too generous with their praise for him. I read Hell's Angels and the Vegas one and bits and pieces of the others. Other than the first two I was not blown away by anything he wrote. He wanted to be the next Hemingway but he wasn't able to write short fiction like Hemingway, nor did he have Hemingway's dedication and discipline it sounds like. It certainly interesting to watch the myth be stripped away from the man.

The new Hold Steady album is pretty great. For a band that had an album inspired by Kerouac there songs resemble more of Thompson's spirit. The albums filled with characters that are constantly getting drunk, getting arrested and can't get out of their own way. I once heard that the difference between Springsteen and Tom Waits characters are how recently they showerd, these characters are the bastard kids spawned from those songs. They have been going at it for long enough now that the characters seem to reappear as if they were in a Faulkner story or Kevin Smith movie. Long as they keep rocking and not attending their AA meetings I will keep listening.

14 down, 38 to go; Work; Venture Brothers; and Boston

Here is the worlds longest blog post. Enjoy!

14 Down, 38 To Go
Book: I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley
Album: The Sun and the Neon Light - Booka Shade

I Was Told There'd Be Cake was an okay collection of essays. It grew on me slowly but surely. The opening chapters were so weak and unfunny that I set it down and nearly didn't pick it up again. I am glad that I did. Around page 75 the essays got better, less princess-y and jew-y. Two big no no's for me. Anyway the stories about Oregon trail, her sick sister and vegetarian lifestyle were both funny and reminded me of things I had done and thought. I am not sure if I would recommend this book as the absolute next thing you should read but if you have a weekend of traveling and want something short and easy to read you could do a lot worse than this book.

The Sun and Neon Light has almost nothing to do with the book. The style is not at all similar. This is my first booka shade album and I was shocked at how un-dancey it is. When I saw these guys at Lolla they brought the bass and the funk. This album has some of that but it is much more of a chill out album. Still it is one of the better albums I have heard this year.

I finished my last day at pavilions today. It was quite a summer job. It taught me a lot about people and what real life is. Here is a hint: it is not last summers job. Real life is working a job and still not being able to afford rent. It about dealing with bitchy customers and idiotic co-workers. The job taught me that most people are lonely and that people will quickly open up to annoy who appears to be interested and nice, even if they guy is trying to sell you a piece of brie that cost more than two gallons of gas. I also learned that it is good to shut up and just work. Don't think about how shitty it is, just do what you are told. However this is the last time I think I will ever work as a deli person. First I can not deal with people barking things at me, I very nearly told a couple people a shift that no they could not have half a pound of turkey. Second it is a bad idea to yell at the person who is handling your food, don't know who still needs to wash their hands. Third I never want to cut into a bag of roast beef and get blood in my eyes ever again. Other than those complaints and the awful pay, I thought the job was a positive experience. One that I can live without repeating.

This past season of Venture Brothers was epic. That is the only appropriate word is Epic. Epic like Homer. The continuity of the story and the back stories provided are incredible. They are extremely silly but the fact that everything is tied together and had been set up since season one is extraordinary. Its like going back and rereading the harry potter series and seeing how many things that were mentioned in the first book were critical in the last one. This is all intentional of course, but the jokes and references that the characters make are perfect this season. The back story of The Monarch, Dr. Girlfriend-Wife, Billy and White and all of Team Venture are interesting. Then there are the sub-texts of the show: good vs evil, brother vs brother, brains vs brawn, failure and disillusionment, the boys sexuality, Brock's roll in the family, and what villainy is. Shareen has complained that she doesn't get the show, which is understandable. This show like a lot of comics, is almost impossible to jump into midstream, there is too much back story and idiosyncratcies. Also the show is only funny if you get all of the references, old comics/action movies, 80's music, and other randomness. Ultimately this season was a total success, unlike other shows where the third season signaled the beginning of the end: House and Monk for instance.

Lastly I am going to school on Friday. I am very excited about this. I am ready to go back to school. Home has been fun but it is time to go back to school meet people and do work. Boston will be a lot of fun and a great experience I think. It is odd to talk to my friends at Miami who are already in class doing work and stuff. I was shocked to see how many emails from teachers I had today when I looked at mymiami email today. I have no received that many from my teachers at Boston. For those of you wondering what I am taking: Swahili i, Freshman English, Calculus I and Economic Geography. Pumped for Geography and Swahili, scared for Calculus and uninterested in Freshman English - particularly because it is about Russian Literature. For those of you who don't know, I am living at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge this semester. Not a huge fan of living in a hotel but I have no other place to live. The saga of me trying to find a place to live is way too long to write about, but needless to say this was not my first choice.

10-11-12-13 Down, 39 To Go

Check my math but I am pretty sure that is right on the count. So I have read some stuff since I last blogged. I wasn't sure whether or not I would count three of them, but decided that they were unique enough that they should be counted separately.

10 Book: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Album: Sink Or Swim - The Gaslight Anthem

This has become quite a famous graphic novel. It is the autobiographical story of Satrapi growing up in post revolutionary Iran. It is quite a saga and was quite interesting to read. I actually read it awhile ago, right around graduation time. I could tell you about the Gaslight Anthem but I have already blogged about them and all I can say is BUY THIS RECORD. They also have a new one coming out soon which I am excited for.

In between Persepolis and the next three I read a good chunk of Gonzo, a biography on Hunter Thompson. I will finish this book, but it is not the most fun read. I can be summarized as people saying Hunter was a great guy and that he acted like an Ass most of the time. I also read in about an hour another book in the Y: The Last Man series. I will blog that book once I have read all of them. This same idea is true for the Walking Dead series.

11: Haunted Knight - Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
12: Long Halloween - Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
Album: Tha Carter III - Lil Wayne

This is where I started to read a lot of Batman. It was a little before the movie came out. Which if you are one of the few people to have not seen it, do yourself a favor and check it out. I do not think they could have made a darker or more topical film. Both of these books help create the basis for the new movie. The Long Halloween is especially influential on the Harvey Dent character. I didn't like Haunted Knight as much but oh well. I listened to the new Weezy disc a lot recently. It is actually really good and pretty bizarre. The rhymes are absurd and filled with space/death/drug themes in unique ways. The beats range dramatically from standard club stuff to what the hell is this. Overall though the disc is one of the best I have heard this year.

13: False Faces - Brian K. Vaughn
Album: 8 Diagrams - Wu-Tang Clan

Batman False Faces was okay not great. I bought it mostly because I am a big fan of Brian K Vaughn's other series, Y: The Last Man. The story he told was fine but nothing that interesting or adding to the Batman legend. Overall I kind of wished I had saved the cash and bought another Y but lesson learned. 8 Diagrams took multiple listens before I really liked it. It is an interesting record because Wu-Tang is sort unsure of its place hip hop currently. They are no longer producing the grimiest and most violent drug ridden rhymes, that goes to Clipse, nor do they produce the meanest beats, those go to El-P and the rest of Definitive Jux label. So they are left attempting to sound modern but classic. Which this album ultimately succeeds at.

Right now I am reading Spook Country by William Gibson, it is very good. Soon I will blog about my favorite TV Show: Venture Brothers. But for now this is all you get.

8 Down, 44 to go; 9 Down, 43 to go

8 Down, 44 to go
Book: The Stranger - Albert Camus
Album: Alopecia - Why?

The Stranger is a classic. It is certainly an absurdest story and I found myself identifying with the protagonist more then I probably should. I liked it and think that its story certainly holds true to this day. I don't remember that much or have that much to say since I read it forever ago and thus my enthusiasm has declined. I no longer have the need to tell everyone.

Alopecia is a great album. It is freaking weird but really cool. Kind of hip hop, kind of indie, certainly not indie hip hop. It has the some of the absurd ism that is present in the book, only with more surrealist lyrics. There are a bunch of songs on here I really like but I will never play on feel my heat cause they have the magic words. I suggest you check it out.

9 Down, 43 to go
Book: Lush Life - Richard Price
Album: Alligator - The National

Lush Life is a good book. Very Similar to the tv show The Wire, except set in New York instead of Boston and not about the drug trade exactly. The dialogue in the story was quite good, it was realistic with out being cliche. Touched on a lot of areas including bemoaning the gentrification of New York City.

The National are probably a band that the book would complain about. Optimistic young people coming in and attempting to make it big. Only these guys succeed which is due to the fact the albums are amazing. Boxer is one of my favorite 2007 releases. I think I should go back and redo the best of 2007 list now that I have more time to listen to all the 07 releases. Anyway pick up both the album and the book and enjoy.

7 Down, 45 To Go

Book: Shortcomings - Adrian Tomine
Album: Build and Burn - The Loved Ones

Shortcomings is a very interesting book. It is a graphic novel and provides a snap shot of a realtionship and life. It is about Ben, a self hating Asian university theater manager; Miko, Ben's girlfriend an Asian enthusiast and forward moving individual; and Alice, Ben's lesbian grad-student friend. It is a snap shot of decaying relationships and both people's unwillingness to change and desire to change and expand. It takes place in Berkley, which is completely appropriate. As I think about the small amount of time I spent in the Bay area it seems perfectly placed. No, not because many of the characters are gay or Asian. I saw it on a number of best of 2007 book lists and I am very glad that I finally picked it up and checked it out. Plus it was highly recommended by Jonathan Lethem.

Once again this album has little to do with the actual book. For instance I do not really imagine any of the characters listening to this album but the ideas of Building and Burning of relationships is especially characteristic of the book. Plus I saw the loved ones the other night and I am currently loving them. It is also one of the few times where I have read a new book and album at the same time.

6 Down, 46 to go

Book: Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - Tom Robbins
Album: GA GA GA GA GA - Spoon

The first book read entirely at school this year. And I finished it just in time to post here. I greatly enjoyed this book. It is funny and intruiging, and more than a little outrageous. There are parts that dragged on and I didn't love the Clockworks/Chink aspect of the book but at least they were well written. I did not see the ending of the Rubber Rose coming and everything that happened after it was secondary.

GA GA GA GA GA is the latest by Spoon. It is not quite the audio companion to the book that other weeks have had. Yet it is the album that I have listened to most often while reading Cowgirls. Others have complained that the album is not their best and I am not sure if it is or not. I only have bits and pieces of the other albums. I think it is a great record and one of the best of 2007. A great mix of rock n roll and Motown. If you haven't heard it yet do yourself a favor and pick it up.

As a side note: buy the song Thumbelina by Nightmare of You when reading Cowgirls.

5 Down, 47 to Go

So I have run out of books. I now don't have any in reserve so I need to finish either Acid House or Cowgirls to have material for next week.

Book: Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents
Album: J Dilla - Donuts

This is a sort of cheating. Graffiti World is almost entirely composed of pictures but man oh man what amazing pictures. Clearly they highlighted the best artists at large today. Showcasing crews and styles that I had never seen before. I did not see some of the big names that I would expect for instance Sasquatch, Neckface, and Obey, but they are more than made up for by the plethora of talent I have learned about. Admitatedly I have also only flipped through the book, never sitting down and reading or looking page by page. I greatly enjoyed that the book was broken down by contitents. It made it easy to see how different styles changed and influenced each other.

The audiable companion to this book is Donuts or Beat Konducta or really anything off the Stones Throw label. Personally I like Donuts the best. It was produced on J Dilla's death bed in the hospital. Each song is only a minute or minute and half long. They are merely sketches of beats. Much like graffiti is only a sketch of great art work. If a great graf artist were to sit down and truly paint or design one piece it could surely go in a prestigous museum. Just as if J Dilla sat down and fleshed out many of these beats and sold them off, there would have been a lot of hits. But when you have this much talent why waste time perfecting the already amazing and not share the wealth with everyone.

Book: Death By Black Hole - Neil deGrasse Tyson

This is an admission of defeat. I did not finish this book. I read about 125 pages of it or so and stopped. Which means I got about half way through and stopped. The book while interesting was nothing but a collection of articles Tyson had written for various Science and Academic magazines. And while I liked it, it was a little to technical, too science-y. Once I put it down I frequently did not really desire to pick it back up. I was hoping it would be more about planets and stars and what is out there and less about how it happened and theory. While the theroy is important, it does not always make for a great read.

4 Down, 48 to Go

Book: Best American Non-Required Reading 2006
Album: Endtroducing - DJ Shadow

I picked up this book over Christmas break at the Spectrum Barnes and Noble with Shareen. It was recommended by an employee who also flagged Best American Comics which I had just recently finished. I had heard mixed reviews about this book, but I read the introduction by Matt Groening and decided to give it a shot. The introduction is very funny, which is of little surprise. Groening being the founder of the Simpsons, Futurerama and the comic My Life in Hell is a very smart and funny guy. So I ended up buying this and Skinny Bitch for Shareen.

What was surprising was how much I liked the collection of stories. The fiction in the book was not as good as the non-fiction. One story from the New Yorker further confirmed that the New Yorker needs to be shut down. However the nonfiction was both interesting and topical. From travels in North Korea, to the aftermath of Katrina on New Orleans, to Martyrdom in the middle east, to the creation of Dubai all of these stories kept my interest. The highlight of the book to me was from Kurt Vonnegut. It was from his book A Man Without a Country and was all about fiction. I highly recommend reading it. And Dallas this short piece absolutely sums up your class.

Endtroducing has quickly become one of my favorite albums. And like the book it is entirely a compilation. DJ Shadow mixed, scratched, and sampled god only knows how many albums to create an entirely new album. The album is part electronic part hip-hop and part soul. When put together it creates its own style that makes you sit down and listen. "Building Steam With a Grain of Salt" is probably my favorite track off the album.

Bonus Book: Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

OK there is a reason that this is not its own separate entry in the 52, its because I started to read this last semester and then stopped with like 40 pages to go. No idea why I stopped I mean it is not a hard read. Well I saw the book in my room and had just written the review to Non-Required and decided to finish it. And ultimately I felt that Slaughterhouse was not as good as everyone claims it to be. I liked it well enough but I felt that Cats Cradle or Sirens of Titans were better. They were funnier and smarter than Slaughterhouse. That is just my personal opinion however. I do recognize the literary merits of the story and that Vonnegut certainly pushed the envelope with the book.

3 Down, 49 To Go

Book: Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
Album: In Our Nature - Jose Gonzalez

Into the Wild is a tough book. Not tough in any of the traditional senses though. It is not conceptually difficult nor is it difficult to read. It evokes an emotion thought that is difficult to place and haunts like a spector over you. Clearly the author relates to McCandless and attempts to convey the feeling that McCandless would have experienced during the story. The author did an admirable job of portraying the story without being heavy handed nor cold and unfeeling.

The book makes me both never want to leave the developed world and completely disappear. The boy's story is at once compelling and frustrating. Demonstrating the stuborness that people have inside them and how some absolutely refuse to back down from their principles. However there is something inspirational about how McCandless refused to give up on his principles and how he wanted to return to nature. He was able to survive for much longer than I expected and was able to succeed in conditions I doubt I could.

In Our Nature is the back to basics approach that McCandless certainly agreed with. An album composed of just a guy and his guitar. The songs are largely about peoples own selfishness and greed, anti-war and anti-suffering style songs. Yet the songs do not come off as preachy. Maybe it is the fact Gonzalez is more subtle and less blatant than most other singer songwriters. Either way this albums feeling and sound leaves an impression similar to the book.

2 Down, 50 To Go

Book: Best American Comics 2007
Album: Hello, Avalanche - The Octopus Project

Since I can remember my Dad has read the Best American Essays and Short Stories compilations. So when I saw that they put out a Best American Comics I had to get on it. I liked it pretty well. It was not amazing but it certainly had some really good comics and things that I want to check out. It gave me a good half dozen books to buy and look for. Most of the stories in the book were not about super heroes or extraordinary feats, but rather everyday life and situations. I also want to read this years Best American Short Stories because I have been told that Stephen Kings complains that the form of short story is dying.

Hello, Avalanche completely compliments the idea of comic book. It is music that is nothing but vibrant colors and fun sounds. Very much like Black Moth Super Rainbow's Dandelion Gum except happier and less deep beats. Also there are no vocals which make you focus on the sound complimenting comic books seeming lack of words and emphasis on art. It is little surprise that this band is currently popular on the blogs and was selected last year to open Coachella. I suggest both very much.

What I Hope To Do

So I know most of you do not think I am going to be able to read a book a week and you are probably right. Right now I am a head of schedule which is easy when you do not have distractions such as class, papers, tests, and failure. Anyway just because this is going to help me keep track of what I actually accomplish vs. what I hope to accomplish here is a partial list of what I want to read in the up coming months:

• 1984
• A Clockwork Orange
• All the Kings Men
• White Noise
• Snow Leopard
• In Cold Blood
• As I Lay Dying
• Even Cow Girls Get the Blues
• Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
• The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century
  
• Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army
• I Just Want My Pants Back
• Electric Church

And then there will be the books I have to read for class and graphic novels I will read. Maybe a couple plays thrown in for good measure or even poetry. Most of those books were started and never finished for one reason or another or I have already read them and want to reread them for various reasons. Anyway I doubt most of these books will ever actually be read but its good to have goals.

1 Down, 51 to go

Book: Blankets - Craig Thompson
Album: Orphans - Tom Waits

I have been meaning to read this for a long time but never bought the book and finally got it for christmas. As Shareen can tell you I read it really fast. I loved it. All about your first serious romance and falling in love and growing up. I highly recommend it. Plus the art work is amazing. Craig Thompson did the art work for Menomena's latest album. Truly giving new meaning to the idea of a graphic novel.

I have loved Tom Waits for a while but I only recently tried listening to this album again. Good Lord it is good. Listening to Tom Waits is like reading a book. And even those these songs are supposed out takes they are still incredible. I got this album last year for Christmas but never listened to it, just the song "Long Way Home". Now that I have listened to more of it I highly recommend it. It does not exactly go along with the feeling of "Blankets" but it was a new-ish album that I listened to. Plus it was last years Christmas meeting with this years Christmas.