The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle!!!

Title: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Author: Haruki Murakami

DOP: 1997

This book is amazing! I found it at a book store two days ago, after seeing it on display and remembering that a friend of mine read it and highly recommended it. At first I was a bit skeptical, I had read one of this author's earlier books, and although I liked it alright, it wasn't great. However, this is one the best books I have read in a very long time. I've only had it three days and I've already read 128 pages, which may not seem like that much, but is a lot for me. The book follows the story of a 30ish year old man living in Tokyo named Toru Okada. It describes his life including his disenchanted marriage, the quitting of his job, and the search for his lost cat. There is a strong element of mystery involved in the book that causes the reader to question and examine each characters' motives and behaviors. Also present is a sense of the super natural. Several characters have some vague psychic abilities and are able to tell the future in some way or another. There's also a haunted house which seems to hold the answer to many of the books mysteries. The Japanese culture that gets infused into the book also makes it a very interesting read. So far this is shaping up to be an amazing book with a very strong story line and well developed characters.

Well I Got Tired of My Book...

I've stopped reading Stranger In A Strange Land. I made this decision about a week ago and I haven't looked back since. There were many reasons I decided to stop reading it and I will list these reasons in the following blog. The book has an interesting enough idea for a plot and it wasn't particularly poorly written, it just didn't do a very good job of keeping my attention. It wasn't exactly what I would call a "page-turner". I only got about 30 pages into it but at the point I got to the events were moving very slowly, too slowly for my liking. All that had really occurred was this odd man from Mars had been discovered and he was now being held in a scientific lab and was undergoing a series of studies. The language was a little drab and boring; you can only be so interesting when discussing tests to run on a man from another plant. Another thing that contributed to me putting down this book was the fact that I had just read a heavily science fiction book, and although I find it to be a very interesting genre, one can only take so much of the sci-fi formula consisting of aliens, robots, space travel, and scientific jargon. I'm glad I decided to stop reading this book because it led me to the discovery of a truly amazing book...

What would it be like to be an alien?

As you know by now this story is about a man from Mars who has come to Earth and if forced to adapt and cope with the ways of our world. This man's ways are very different from our own, considering he is from another planet and all, but not completely different. He looks very much like us and has a basic understanding of our language. Language is one place where he encounters a lot of problems however. He takes a long time to decipher the phrases that people say to him and he is often confused by certain emphasis or slang. Also in the part of the story where I am now he is seeing a woman for the very first time. This confuses him and causes him to feel very embarrassed. This makes me wonder how difficult it would be to come to an unfamiliar world and not know anything of what you were seeing around you. It's one to visit a different country and not be accustomed to their culture or language to be from a completely different world would be incredibly strange and difficult.

A Good Start

Well I've started the book and so far it's very good. I'm a couple of pages into it but it has done a very good job of keeping me interested. The story thus far goes as follows: a space craft, with four married couples all with various skills on board as the crew, set off on a journey to Mars. The mission did not go well and the people of Earth assumed the crew had all died. 50 years later a drone craft was sent to Mars to do some recon. However, what this small craft finds is a man. His name is Valentine Michael Smith and he is a Martian. The ship carries him back to earth where he suffers a great deal due to the difference in gravity and atmosphere. Meanwhile the captain in charge of the voyage and several scientists who have been tasked with the duty of watching of the strange man from outer space argue over what to do with him. This is as far as I've gotten so far but I think it will be very interesting. I'm a fan of science fiction and the idea of life on other planets so I think I will find this to be a very good read.

Title: Stranger In A Strange Land

Author: Robert A. Heinlein

DOP: 1961

I just started a new book called Stranger In A Strange Land. I don't have much to blog about because I received the book only a few minutes ago as a birthday gift from my mom. I've never heard of this book before but my mom informs me that there was a movie adaption for which David Bowie played the lead part (a man from space) which does ring a bell. From what I've been able to gather from my mom and the text around the outside of the book the story consists of man who has come to earth from Mars. Like us he is human but unlike us he exhibits Martian behaviors and a Martian way of life. I assume that this is the story of his interactions with Earth people; trying to fit in, teaching them his ways, and undoubtedly making some friends and enemies along the way.  The book is apparently a bestseller and appears to be very good. I look forward to reading it and finding out more.

The End (of The Beatles)

I've come to the end of my book and I have to admit, even though I already knew what was coming, it was really sad. Everyone knows how The Beatles came to end. The terrible fighting, the awful girlfriends, and the crisis of money and Apple Corp. It's sad to look back on the early days when they were all so young and excited and happy to be making music and think that by the end everyone hated each other and it was more about money than anything else. Of course there's the infamous Yoko Ono situation, the crazy "artist" girlfriend of John Lenon who was constantly manipulating and causing issues among the band members. Then there were the sessions for their final album Let It Be in which they could barely stand to be in the same room with each other, so they recorded most all of their parts separately. At one point it got so bad that Ringo Starr actually quit the band temporarily and had to be coxed back by George Harrison, the other most level headed member of the band. Finally, the thing that caused most of the problems with in the band was the company they had started Apple Corp. Apple was intended to be a house for everything Beatles, but a lack of business knowledge had caused the company to cost them loads and loads of money. John Lenon eventually couldn't take it anymore and told Paul he was quitting. Paul however convinced Lenon to stick around till they could get their affairs in order and make an official announcement to the public. Then, in a move of bold back-stabbery, Paul told the press that he was leaving and The Beatles were no more. 

The Psychadelic Years

To me this is the most interesting period of The Beatles' career so naturally I find it very interesting to read about. Srgnt. Pepper's is my favorite album of theirs and it's very cool to learn a little bit more about how it came into creation. As the story goes Paul McCartney came up with the idea of having an alter-ego band called Srgnt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band while on an airplane. He then pitched the idea to the rest of the band and thus the first semi-operatic rock record was born. At this time The Beatles had begun to get very adventurous in the studio, using all kinds of strange experimental arrangements. This is what makes this music so appealing to me, it was a departure from their usual pop structure. Of course they had also began to experiment with other things outside of the studio at this time. In particular John Lennon, the band's tortured genius, had fallen hard into a pattern of drug abuse. While the music may have been ground breaking and excellent to listen to this is also when the band started having real problems with infighting. It was the beginning of the end, and what a sad and nasty end it would be.

What's To Come

In the part of The Beatles biography that I just finished reading it told of a particularly intense case of a crazed fangirl attack on the Fab Four. The Beatles were scheduled to have a tv appearance on some late night show (I can't remember the name right now) and needless to say the buzz was extremely high surrounding this rare performance. The streets were packed with screaming young people (about 90% female). The members of The Beatles were already express dislike with the amount of rabid fanaticism they were receiving. They felt like it distracted from the music when the only thing that could be heard were young girls' shrieks of overwhelming emotion. Also it seemed to them as if these girls were far more interested in their haircuts and the way they dressed than they were in the music they were making. So after this one tv performance things were so bad that there was no possible way for the young lads to even make it to their car. There were so many people waiting outside that trying to move within the crowd would have been nearly impossible. They tried decoys and other methods to lure the crowd away but it was of no use, they simply had to wait until the mass got bored and left. This was the beginning of the end. The Beatles had had enough of this madness. I have some outside knowledge on this subject already and I know that it won't be long before they decide to stop playing live altogether for just this reason. It's sad to think that a hysterical overreaction by a group of young girls put a stop The Beatles performing their music in front a live audience.

Another Independent Reading Entry

When reading a biography you have to ask yourself several questions. Does this book read like a novel (are the stories interesting and compelling)? Or does it read like a newspaper article (factual and boring)? In this case, definitely a novel. The stories are exceedingly interesting. It's The Beatles for crying out loud! The events that occurred to them during their time as a band is the stuff of legend. From escaping swarms of screaming fangirls to the daring experimentation with drugs to the heated infighting. The writing style also does well to make the book an enthralling read. The author knows how to present the facts so that you're getting the knowledge you want but he presents in such a way that keeps it from getting boring by offering details and anecdotal segments. The author also does a good job of not being biased or taking sides, a problem that is frequent in biographies. He never chooses John's view over Paul's, he never gives more credit to one band member more than another, and he never even makes it seem like The Beatles are the best band in the world (which I'm almost 99% sure is true).

The Beatles: The Early Years

It can be tough starting out as a band especially if you come from a poor family in the small working town of Liverpool, England. The Beatles (at this point called The Silver Beatles and lacking the drumming talents of Ringo Starr) had a rough start playing in bars around England. The fan base was relatively small and pay was very low. Transportation was often a problem, having to drive miles and miles to venues closer to big towns almost every night became a real problem for the boys. For a while they even considered giving up on the whole thing. I can very easily relate to this being in a band myself. It can be a very discouraging thing to get involved with. Low turn outs at shows or an argument with a band mate can leave you feeling bitter and resentful like you wouldn't believe. Luckily this did not stop the Fab Four from continuing making their music. They got their big break through when they were booked to tour in Germany. They came to Germany and saw a young crowd eager for some entertainment. They decided they would stay there to play and quickly found a bar with which they petitioned the owner to be the house band. Little did they realize how tough this experience would be for them. The crowd in Germany was crazy. Fights broke out every night and often involved several or all of the band members. They were often asked to play 6 or 7 hour sets, on one occasion they actually play for 13 hours. The pay was low and living conditions were grim; however, this was where The Beatles really learned to play and operate as a band.

The Beatles

The Beatles

By: Bob Spitz

DOP: 2005

As you might have guessed this book is a biography of The Beatles, the biggest and most influential band ever. This book is a ridiculous length, making it very hard for me to finish it in three weeks. It is an incredibly detailed description of the story of The Beatles, from grade school all the way up to the death of John Lennon. It starts with a description of each individual member. The first few chapters each open with a story of a different members childhood, talking about their upbringing and cultural background. It follows this story all the way up to their meeting of the next member and then picks up the next chapter with that member's childhood. At the point that I am in the book a college aged John Lennon and a high school aged Paul McCartney have just come across a very young and talented guitarist named George Harrison. I chose to read this book because it really struck me as the definitive Beatles book. I am an avid Beatles fan and therefore I figured it would make for an interesting read.

LIST

Things I like: MUSIC, movies, eating, sleeping, living life to the fullest, my friends, the smell of Fall in the air, steak and mashed potatoes, ice cream, late night TV, skateboard videos, London, Los Angeles, Atlanta, making beats, the subway, the great outdoors, rocking out, family, most people, most things, doing nothing.

Final Post: Robot Dreams

I'm finished with Robot Dreams now. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Needless to say some of the stories were more interesting than others. On a few of the more boring stories such as Eyes Do More Than See, Asimov indulges himself in philosophy and abstract thought with the result being far from page turning. But they're are others such as Host that do an amazing job of turning out a plot of intrigue and suspense that makes it all worth while. My personal favorite story in the whole book is the title story, Robot Dreams. In this story we hear about a robot who has done the unthinkable, had a dream. He consults his psychiatrists about this strange occurrence and she becomes deeply concerned and tries to reconcile how a nonliving machine could possibly dream. Does this then mean that he could feel and love and hate and everything else? It raises all sorts of problems that require the reading to do some deep thinking.

So in closing I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone. You don't even have to be a sci-fi fan to enjoy these stories, you simply have to have an appreciation for good story telling.

Narrative Essay Draft

file:///Users/streetleaf/Documents/Narrative%20Essay.pdf

Beginning

I have a pretty limited attention span when it comes to books. I usually find myself starting a book and then getting bored with it a fourth of the way through and discarding it. Because of this, by far the most important part of a book for me is the beginning. If that opening chapter or couple pages or what have you doesn't grab my attention and really hold on tight, chances are I'll lose interest. This book does an excellent job of grabbing my attention with the first short story, entitled Little Lost Robot. It tells the story of a space station that goes into alert mode upon realizing that one of their robots has escaped. This robot is a danger to the outside world because it is not programmed with the First Law of Robotics, which prevents all robots from harming humans in any way. The robot has disguised itself among 62 other identical robots aboard a cargo ship. Robot psychologist Dr. Susan Calvin has been called in to help identify the escaped robot. What unfolds is a story of suspense and intrigue as the psychologists begins conducting test and investigations to reveal the hiding robot. It comes to an exciting finish with the robot being very cleverly tricked into revealing itself. Very gripping stuff indeed.

Robot Dreams

Title: Robot Dreams

Author: Isaac Asimov

DOP: 1986

I chose to read this book 1) because it was recommended to me by a friend and 2) because I am a somewhat of a science fiction fan. I find the futuristic worlds created in sci-fi novels very interesting because of how much room they leave for imagination. Another reason I chose this book is because I am familiar with Asimov and some of his other works such as I, Robot. I expected this book to full of your typical sci-fi stuff such as robots (duh), aliens, space travel, futuristic gadgets, etc. In addition to all this I expected it to be compelling. So far it has been living up to all these expectations. It's a collection of short stories which makes it more interesting to read because the characters and settings are constantly getting refreshed. Some of the stories can end up a bit bland when they decide to take a turn for the worse and go into detailed descriptions of the laws of robotics or some other such none sense. However, this rarely happens, most of the stories thus far have been exceedingly compelling and often times even suspenseful. I look forward to reading more of this book.