Julie's Journal : Book Challenges - Year End Wrap Up

At the end of 2015, I decided to participate in four book challenges for 2016.  I was to read certain books to fulfill different category requirements for each challenge.  Well, I don't mind telling you that I didn't do very well this year.  Oh, I read a lot of books.  141 to be exact, with one more that I plan to finish before the end of the year, but the book challenges are a different story.  (Read my original post about the challenges here.)

I only finished one of the four book challenges in its entirety.  It was the Anne of Green Gables challenge.  I thoroughly enjoyed rereading the entire series and reading a new Anne book, The Blythes are Quoted.  It is filled with Anne's poetry, conversations within her family, and short stories about the people in her community.

As for the other three challenges, the Back to the Classics challenge, the Popsugar Ultimate Reading Challenge, and the Grown Up Reading Challenge, well what can I say.  I partially completed all of them, reading more than 50% of the categories required.  I found, though, that rather than trying to find books to fit the categories, I tried to fit the books I was already reading into the required slots.  I guess that kind of defeats the purpose of expanding my reading horizons.  

2016 was the third year that I kept an exhaustive spreadsheet of everything I read and the related statistics and the second year I participated in book challenges.  As for 2017, I can't decide what I want to do.  I like the idea of book challenges - meeting requirements and expanding my horizons.  However, I also enjoy the freedom to read whatever I want, without the internal pressure that is telling me I should be reading something else.  I'm pretty sure, though, that whatever 2017 brings, I'll be reading lots of books, both new and old, and enjoying every minute of it!

2016 Book Statistics

Tom's Two Cents : Elmer Kelton's "The Good Old Boys"

It hardly seems coincidental that Texas writer Elmer Kelton's "The Good Old Boys," first published in 1978, was re-issued by TCU Press in a special edition in 1985, the year of first publication of Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize winning "Lonesome Dove."  Both novels are by Texas writers, Kelton older by ten years than McMurtry, both born and raised in West Texas in the late 19th-early 20th century ranching tradition.  "The Good Old Boys" in its main character, Hewey Calloway, has a kind of Gus McRae prototype, a freedom-loving man of the range, who refuses to be hemmed in by the fences of modern life.

Unlike McMurtry's Gus, Hewey has a family of sorts--a younger brother, two young nephews, and a sharp tongued sister-in-law, Eve, who forces Hewey to face up to the kind of dead-end life he's living.  Then of course there's the single and pretty schoolteacher, Spring Renfro, who loves Hewey for who he is, but at the same time would like him to become someone he isn't.

This is, like "Lonesome Dove," the story of the passing of an era, and the loss not only of a time and place in the history of Texas and the West, but of the old-time, free-wheeling cowboy/cowhand, who did the work he did admirably but in the end was responsible to no one but himself.  It's about freedom at a price.

Kelton is a fine writer, one of the best Texas has produced, and "The Good Old Boys" is one of his best.  Go to San Angelo, Texas, where he spent the last decades of his life,(he was born and raised in Crane) and you will see a statue of him outside the Library, one of the few tributes of its sort that Texas has raised to its literary fathers.

Chance's Corner: Suicide Squad Review

The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has slowly been growing over the years, starting with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and now we have Suicide Squad. The squad is actually an elite task force (Task Force X) charged with saving the world from a new surge in "metahumans". The problem is that the task force is comprised of comic book villains AKA the worst heroes ever.

Suicide Squad is an interesting little sidetrack in the DCEU. It's definitely the most radical in terms of style and substance. Stylistically, the editing is really janky. It almost feels like the lens is zipping through a series of comic book panels. As for the substance, it's just action and flair. These characters want to kick butt - not be developed!

The squad's still pretty cool, though. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and Deadshot (Will Smith) are the strongest of the group, but the others are memorable in their own little ways - be it Captain Boomerang's (Jai Courtney) humor, Diablo's (Jay Hernandez) hidden talent, or Killer Croc's (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) mere presence. However, the real winner here is actually Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). She's the director of Task Force X, and I'm pretty sure the devil himself wouldn't want to get on her bad side.

The weakest links were The Joker (Jared Leto) and Enchantress (Cara Delevingne). Admittedly, there wasn't a whole lot of footage of Leto's Joker to judge by, so I can't commit to a love him or hate him stance. He was intriguing to say the least. Cara did the best she could do as the sashaying witch/goddess, but she was given pretty much zilch to work with.

Let's face it, DC is a little late to the game when it comes to the idea of building an entire cinematic universe, so they're experimenting with different little ways to distinguish themselves from the other guys. DC wants to break the mold instead of using the same mold repeatedly, and honestly, DC really does know how to make good superhero movies. In fact, it was Superman (1978) and Batman (1989) that breathed life into the genre. Suicide Squad is just one of their experiments, and while it has faults aplenty, and the story's lacking a clear direction, I still had fun watching it. That's what this film is - mindless fun.

Suicide Squad is now available at the Franklin County Library!

Julie's Journal : If I Live to Be 100 by Paul Mobley and Allison Milionis

Lisa put up a few pictures from If I Live to Be 100 by Paul Mobley and Allison Milionis on Facebook a few days ago, but after reading it, I wanted to try and express my thoughts about it.

Paul Mobley is an award-winning photographer.  He is known for portraits of celebrities and everyday Americans.  Also, the author of American Farmer, his black and white pictures capture the soul of his subjects.  Allison Milionis interviewed the subjects and wrote the short biographies that accompany each picture.

If I Live to Be 100 features centenarians from all 50 states.  There is a married couple, a set of twins, a brother-sister pair, a man who maintains his own Facebook page, and a woman who is still working in the store she started with her husband when they were newlyweds.  Several people endured the hardships of segregation in the American South. Others fled Europe ahead of WWII.  Almost all were affected by the Great Depression.

All the subjects have endured loss and hardship of some kind.  Joe Joly has outlived three wives and a son and yet he he says, "If I had to do it all over again it would be the same way.  Some of the things that happened I wish hadn't happened. But I'm happy - happy to be here and happy to have what I have."

All were asked what their secret to longevity is.  The answers were varied - "choose a good partner," "be happy and eat well," "never stop to think about dying," "work hard, play and laugh often, eat healthy (most of the time), keep busy, and be kind to others," and "I forgot to die."  However, about half-way through the book I noticed a theme that Mr. Mobley touches on in his afterward.  All the centenarians were still active and interested in the world around them.  Irving Olsen still experiments with photography techniques.  Lucy Hamm enjoys an active social life as well as a beer and an apple every day.  Clara Anderson plays the piano for residents of her care facility and advocates for improvements to the facility on behalf of her fellow residents.  Margaret Wachs rediscovered swimming at 90 years old and swims twenty laps most days.  Wilson Pierpont bought a BMW as a 100th birthday present to himself.  Margot Lerner took her first selfie at age 107!

I loved reading about these extraordinary individuals.  Their long lives are a window to a time in history that for me only lives in books and movies.  But their present is just as interesting.  They were, without exception, optimistic.  They looked to the past with fondness, but also were enjoying everyday.  Ellis Gusky says, "The best is yet to come."  I think the theme of the book is summed up with this poem, quoted by Anne Scott (born March 26, 1915):

Life is a book in volumes three

The past, the present, and the yet-to-be.

The past is written and laid away,

The present we're writing every day,

And the last and best of volumes three

Is locked from sight - God keeps the key.  

Poet's Perch: The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus by Ogden Nash

The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus

In Baltimore there lived a boy.

He wasn't anybody's joy.

Although his name was Jabez Dawes,

His character was full of flaws.

In school he never led his classes,

He hid old ladies' reading glasses,

His mouth was open when he chewed,

And elbows to the table glued.

He stole the milk of hungry kittens,

And walked through doors marked NO ADMITTANCE.

He said he acted thus because

There wasn't any Santa Claus.

Another trick that tickled Jabez

Was crying 'Boo' at little babies.

He brushed his teeth, they said in town,

Sideways instead of up and down.

Yet people pardoned every sin,

And viewed his antics with a grin,

Till they were told by Jabez Dawes,

'There isn't any Santa Claus!'

Deploring how he did behave,

His parents swiftly sought their grave.

They hurried through the portals pearly,

And Jabez left the funeral early.

Like whooping cough, from child to child,

He sped to spread the rumor wild:

'Sure as my name is Jabez Dawes

There isn't any Santa Claus!'

Slunk like a weasel of a marten

Through nursery and kindergarten,

Whispering low to every tot,

'There isn't any, no there's not!'

The children wept all Christmas eve

And Jabez chortled up his sleeve.

No infant dared hang up his stocking

For fear of Jabez' ribald mocking.

He sprawled on his untidy bed,

Fresh malice dancing in his head,

When presently with scalp-a-tingling,

Jabez heard a distant jingling;

He heard the crunch of sleigh and hoof

Crisply alighting on the roof.

What good to rise and bar the door?

A shower of soot was on the floor.

What was beheld by Jabez Dawes?

The fireplace full of Santa Claus!

Then Jabez fell upon his knees

With cries of 'Don't,' and 'Pretty Please.'

He howled, 'I don't know where you read it,

But anyhow, I never said it!'

'Jabez' replied the angry saint,

'It isn't I, it's you that ain't.

Although there is a Santa Claus,

There isn't any Jabez Dawes!'

Said Jabez then with impudent vim,

'Oh, yes there is, and I am him!

Your magic don't scare me, it doesn't'

And suddenly he found he wasn't!

From grimy feet to grimy locks,

Jabez became a Jack-in-the-box,

An ugly toy with springs unsprung,

Forever sticking out his tongue.

The neighbors heard his mournful squeal;

They searched for him, but not with zeal.

No trace was found of Jabez Dawes,

Which led to thunderous applause,

And people drank a loving cup

And went and hung their stockings up.

All you who sneer at Santa Claus,

Beware the fate of Jabez Dawes,

The saucy boy who mocked the saint.

Donner and Blitzen licked off his paint.

Ogden Nash

Chance's Corner: Finding Dory Review

Finding Dory isn't Pixar's first attempt at turning a bumbling sidekick into the main attraction, but where they once failed (Cars 2), they have now succeeded.

Finding Dory covers some of the same territory as Finding Nemo, but this flaw is easy to overlook because Finding Dory is full of charm, genuine laughs, and it's really just a fun, fast-paced romp. 

This time around, our hero, a blue tang with short-term memory loss named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), bounces from point to point inside the Marine Life Institute trying to find her long-lost family. Along the way she meets a slew of new and funny characters such as a septopus named Hank (Ed O'Neill), a beluga whale named Bailey (Ty Burrell), and... Sigourney Weaver??? Dory may find herself in several perilous positions, but she is certainly no damsel in distress. She overcomes all her obstacles by using her knowledge and experience (the bits that she can remember).

Speaking of which, Dory's struggle with short-term memory loss is treated more seriously this time around. Sure, it's still used for comic relief, and it's as funny as ever, but when the reality of its effects on her entire life sink in, it's pure waterworks. Yes, I cried.

Finding Dory is now available at the Franklin County Library!