Finished: J

Title: J
Author: Howard Jacobson
Start Date: 3 January 2015
End Date: 31 May 2015
Genre: Dystopian fiction


What It's About: At some undefined date in the future, society has changed, though it's hard to pinpoint exactly what has changed.  It almost seems like a reverse cultural renaissance.  The catalyst for the change is an event referred to as WHAT HAPPENED, IF IT HAPPENED.  The two protagonists, Ailinn and Kevern, though both born after WHAT HAPPENED, are a well-matched couple who seem to be a few who still value art and free-thought and culture, who are unwittingly manipulated by some who hope to bring about another societal shift.  I guess.

What I Liked About It: The writing was incredible.  I rarely read books with such complex and advanced writing, mainly because it requires a lot of thinking and because I think all day for work, reading to think is difficult.  But it is refreshing to see that people still value good writing and that for some, not just what is said but how it is said is still the art.

The plot itself is fairly basic, but punctuated with characters' backstories, journal entries, and stream-of-consciousness.  These elements combine to place the reader in the story and share Kevern and Ailinn's experiences, along with the other members of the town.

What I Didn't Like About It: Sometimes I felt like the writing required me to read, re-read, and sometimes re-re-read portions to understand what happened.  And even finishing it last night and this morning, there are certain things that I either didn't understand why this was happening, or why it was relevant to the story, or if it even did happen.  But maybe that was Jacobson's aim, now that I think of it.

Would I Recommend It?  Certainly.  I'm planning to read the book again at some point because I'd like to understand it a little bit better (after I have some distance from it of course).  But it's not for everyone.  If you're okay with thinking while you read, then go for it.  If you're more into fluffy reading, no way.

Rating: 3.5/4

Currently Reading: The Happiness Project

Start Date: 16 December 2013
Title: The Happiness Project - Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun
Author: Gretchen Rubin
Genre: Non-fiction

Gretchen, a woman who is not inherently unhappy -- in fact, life has treated her pretty well (she has her dream husband, two beautiful daughters, left her job as a lawyer to become a writer, has published several books) -- endeavors to become happier.  Happier, because "not inherently unhappy" doesn't quite describe her state.  She seems pretty happy for the most part.  It isn't a self-help exercise for her (nor is the book a self-help book), but a challenge to make herself better.  Even the happiest among us do things, think things, and say things that may make us frustrated, regretful, and displeased with ourselves, and even the happiest among us feel unhappy at times.  It seems as though Gretchen's aim with her project was to make small changes in her life that will allow her to react to situations in more productive ways, be more understanding and patient with others, and be more understanding and patient with herself.

I identify greatly with Gretchen so far (I'm only about a month-and-a-half into the book which chronicles a year of this project) -- she is a very clear Type A personality, enjoying cleanliness and neatness, routines, receiving praise for tasks and accomplishments, and having a systematic approach to...everything.  If I were to start a Happiness Project, I am almost certain I would have approached it in the same way as she does.  She has laid out eleven major goals to focus on, one for each month of the year, that she believes will lead to increased happiness.  The twelfth month she plans to spend implementing all eleven as best she can.  Each goal has several clearly stated elements which Gretchen gives herself a check-mark or an X for at the end of each day, depending on whether or not she practiced each elements.

I could probably read this whole book in one sitting, but I think I need to take it relatively slowly.  It inspired me last night to clean out my closet and dresser, and today is inspiring new things in me.  I don't believe I have the time and energy to create and lay out my own year-long Happiness project at the moment, but Gretchen's has given me a few ideas already for easy ways to improve my surroundings and my relation to those surrounding me which will provide me with greater rewards.

My favorite quotation from the book, so far, actually is quoted by Gretchen from William James, a philosopher and psychologist.  James says, "Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together; any by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not." (pg. 36)

Happily,
A.

Audiobooks...

Do you think they count as books?  If I have listened to an audiobook, can I say that I've read that book, and can I count it in my total for the year?

Discuss...

Finished: The Soloist

Title: The Soloist
Author: Mark Salzman
Genre: Fiction.

What did I like about it? I was attracted to pick up this book first because the cover showed a cello and a cat (the cat did not appear in the book until the very end, to my dismay); I subsequently decided to borrow it from the library after realizing the author was the very same who had written a memoir I read during my favorite English class in high school (the memoir, Iron and Silk, documented Salzman's time living in China, during which he tells an entertaining story about tuning a piano to a Michael Jackson tape).

The novel (semi-autobiographic, I wonder?) was written by a musician, and for a musician, as it seems. I loved reading Salzman describe his life as a charmed, prodigious young cellist playing in concert halls throughout Europe (a life I cannot deny I have dreamed of).  Salzman is clearly a fan of the music of J.S. Bach, one of the greatest composers of all time and certainly one of my favorite; his descriptions of Bach's compositions and their musical perfection resonated (no pun intended) deeply within me.

The majority of the book chronicles the protagonist, Reinhart Sundheimer, as a juror on a murder trial; whodathunk that would make an engaging, can't-put-down book?  But Salzman did it -- more inner monologue than dialogue, he articulates his character seamlessly and believably.

What didn't I like about it? The ending was a little bit contrived; it rang like a deus ex machina from classical Greek theatre.

Would I recommend it? Without a doubt I would recommend it to any classical musician; especially Baroque-inspired string players (or music aficionados).  A non-musician, or someone without interest in music, may find a great deal of the book uninteresting.  Since Sundheimer spent the first eighteen years of his life playing professional cello, and shortly thereafter began giving private cello lessons at the college level, his life is consumed by music, and he relates all of his life experiences to musical experiences.  I cannot say whether or not I would understand or appreciate the artfulness of his musical allusions were I not a classical musician.
I would definitely recommend it over the other book with the same title, and about the same instrument (but by a different author).

Rating: Three-and-a-half, out of four.

Finished: The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults

Title: The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults
Author: James C. McKinney
Genre: Non-fiction.

I can't write a book report on this because it was a purely academic read.  As I am preparing for auditions to go to graduate school in vocal performance, it was a necessary thing to read, and was the most useful, informative book I have read in my life thus far.

Otherwise, it was also the only place where I have seen the word "comprise" used appropriately.  Props to McKinney for that.

Finished: House Rules

Title: House Rules

Author: Jodi Picoult

Genre: Fiction

What I liked about it: Written in first-person but from the points of view of five prominent characters in the story. You get inside the heads of all of them. The story is gripping.

What I didn't like about it: the writing itself was rather trite. Also, it was unrealistic in the sense that, given that it was about a young man with Asperger's syndrome who is on trial for murder, NO ONE EVER ASKS THE PROTAGONIST the most important questions about his guilt until the very end of the novel.

Would I recommend it? Sure. A lot of people would enjoy the book.

Rating: three stars.

Currently Reading: House Rules

One of my biggest pet peeves in life is when people make inaccurate allusions to music. In my sophomore year of high school I derailed my English teacher's argument because he said that something "builds to a crescendo." Impossible, and if you know what a crescendo is in music, you would know why.

This book is written partially from the perspective of a teenager with Asperger's, a disorder on the autism spectrum. At one point he describes his condition as being like a piano with only black keys, the notes that nobody wants to hear (or something along those lines). First of all, the black keys are absolutely necessary to all music- if there were no black keys everything would sound the same. Second, even if there were ONLY black keys, the notes would sound quite familiar as the five pitches represented by the black keys, when played in succession, created a pentatonic scale. You may not know that most music is based around the pentatonic scale. SCHOOLED.

Then, later, Picoult writes as the ASD boy, "it makes me think of my meltdown--of the room with no windows, no doors, the country where nobody speaks to each other, the piano with only black keys. Maybe this is why funeral dirges are always in a minor key..." supposedly implying that black keys only come together to make music in a minor key? In fact, the pentatonic scale that the black keys would play most closely resembles a major scale. SCHOOLED AGAIN.

No, I'm not a music teacher, why do you ask?
Schoolingly,
A.