(Books #27 & #28) Gustavo Alberto Garcia Vaca - 'The Multiple Entrance' & 'The Hidden Infinities'

A couple weeks ago Jessica and I went the enormous Comic Con in San Diego. One of the less insane things to do at the convention is to check out the many booths of artists who are there to promote themselves and their artwork. While many of the artists focus on actual comics, some do more character and graphic design work. Most all of them are selling samples of their art in the form of prints, books, or sketchbooks and every time we go, we pick up a few. This year was no different and I ended up coming away with a couple small books by an artist I met there named Gustavo Alberto Garcia Vaca.

Vaca's work appealed to me because not only did I appreciate the gestural artwork, but also the photography and the variety of interspersed short stories. 'The Multiple Entrance' was a collection of abstractions of classic pieces from the Science Fiction, Mystery and Horror genres (ex. The Time Machine, Frankenstein, Edgar Allen Poe, etc). These "remixes", as he called them, were sometimes pastiches and sometimes twists on the old tale. Some of them were more recognizable than others, but all of them remained compelling to me to some degree. My biggest criticism about this book was that I wished some of the pieces could have been longer. While I appreciate "flash fiction", the abruptness with which some of them ended was a little overused and made some of the pieces feel more like exercises rather than short stories. Regardless, I still enjoyed reading the reimagined stories and appreciated the juxtaposed graphic work that went with them.

In a similar structure, The Hidden Infinities, placed digital imagery in context with Vaca's original sci-fi stories. The stories in this book also varied in length from a few sentences long to several pages. The imagery, while possibly more abstract than the other book, seemed to actually fit with the text fairly well, so much so that I began to wonder if the image inspired the text, or text inspired the image, or neither. The stories themselves were more chilling glimpses into other worlds and less about character development (Think 2001, not Star Trek).

All in all they were both worth checking out for me personally and could serve as good examples and resources for whenever I eventually decide to compile and distribute my own work.

(Book #26) Stephen King - The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands

For the halfway mark (yes, I'm still a little behind - I blame vacation), I chose to pick up another Stephen King book, the next in line for me in the Dark Tower series, book number three, 'The Waste Lands'. I wasn't sure how long this was going to take me, as this one was shorter than a lot of other King novels, but longer than the first two in the series. In terms of the story, it picks up right where the last Dark Tower book left off and ends abruptly in a suspenseful moment. King, ever the storyteller, has established his core of characters by this point and after finally getting them all together as a cohesive unit really starts to let them begin their mysterious journey. While King is not hiding the fact that he is nodding to such other classic journey stories as 'Lord of the Rings', he references a myriad of other poems, songs and movies to keep the reader rooted to established tropes. While the first book of the series started with a heavy western (as is Wild West) tone, by this third book more sci-fi and fantastical elements have been introduced , overlapped and juxtaposed that the tale has really come into a tone of its own. Like any fantasy book, the reader has to suspend disbelief to account for the anything goes mentality and "deus ex machinas" that are inherent to the genre. In that respect the book was frustrating at times, but most of the characters are human enough to be experiencing the same sense of bewilderment as the reader, making it easy for us to go along for the ride. That being said, it's still an entertaining read that poses some interesting ideas and I'm curious as to where it's heading; however I'll be waiting until after this reading project to pick up the next in the series, due to its length.

Until next time…

(Book #25) Benjamin Hoff - The Tao of Pooh

As far as quick reads go, you can't get much quicker than Benjamin Hoff's 'The Tao of Pooh', unless you consider Lao-tsu's 'Tao Te Ching'. Having never read this, the idea of comparing Taoism to Pooh seemed whimsical and simple enough for me, but I only just now got to reading it. It works well as an introduction of this simple Eastern worldview through the lens of a Western children's story. Hoff succeeds in introducing the reader to the basic principles of the Tao as embodied by Winnie the Pooh, while also making stark comparisons with the other characters' and their respective traits and faults. Amongst the dialogue with the familiar animals, several Chinese folk tales and traditional stories are weaved appropriately with the pastiche. The idea behind all of this is that living in a care and trouble-free manner is not only a comfort, but is a complete Way of experiencing life. While I cannot agree with all of the Taoist principals that have been broken down in this book, it was still a refreshing read that left me a little contemplative of my own temperament and of unnecessary stuff in life.

(Book #24) Gaston Bachelard - The Poetics of Space

Gaston Bachillard's 'The Poetics of Space' had been on my shelf for over 10 years, having barely been cracked open in that time. It was another perfect candidate for this reading project. Back in February, I thought it was suitable in length for one of my readings, coming in at just over 200 pages. The book turned out to be a rich stew of philosophy and theory of space itself, and continuous reading of it became difficult. At times the sentences seemed too verbose and complicated to understand, unless read multiple times. I would sometimes glaze over the words and be unable to get into the right mindset to read any of it. It was a slow process , but eventually I focused on the ideas within and finally was able to finish it.

The writing was not entirely difficult to grasp as there were a few engaging chapters that laid out a richer understanding of the notions of 'house' and 'home' and their unique attributes. Beyond this, Bachellard tied human phenomenon to ideas much larger and much smaller. Entire chapters were written on the literal and figurative concepts of nests and shells, while also relating them to the Universe at large. Amidst all of this theoretical meandering there is a smattering of poetry throughout, in which the poets themselves tried to lyrically interpret these spatial experiences and put them into words. Overall, this book was very compelling, but because the content was so heavy it was difficult to read under time constraints. It would have been a more engaging book for me if read outside of this 52 book reading project, but who knows how much longer it would have sat there unread.

(Book #23) Tim O'Brien - The Things They Carried

Tim O'Brien's 'The Things They Carried', a book about the Vietnam War, was suggested to me as a good and quick read. While the book is actually a collection of short stories and vignettes that capture the feeling, texture and emotion of being a soldier in Vietnam, it does so through an overall arc. The stories all portray characters which were inspired by O'Brien's personal life and embodied the personas of his fellow soldiers. Through the book, the line between fact and fiction is often blurred, and what he shares is a compelling struggle to come to grips with these events, allowing the reader to better understand the experience of being a soldier.

The book, being published in 1990, was written almost a generation after the incidents which it portrays. In a time when movies such as Apocalypse Now and Platoon depict this war through characterizations, action and visuals, a book such as this seems vital in portraying emotion and the affects of war on the individual. The book covers a lot of emotional ground between a story about running away from the draft to another about an ex-soldier's deep seeded desire to talk about the war and many harrowing incidents in between. Some stretch the truth more than others, but all of them share an underlying awe and remorse for a time that has deeply affected so many.

Because 'The Things They Carried' was specifically about the Vietnam War, it is almost easy to read it and remain slightly detached from the incidents that have occurred a generation ago. It is important, however, 20 years after this book was released to be reminded of its relevance to modern day. With two wars going on right now, there are many in the military that will have their own stories to tell. That have experienced acts just as gruesome, but in the desert instead of the jungle. It is easy to utter the old mantra "War is Hell", but something else entirely to experience it. This book aimed to share the impressions of these experiences, and I feel it was successful at that, bringing character and life to something that so often is distant and removed.

(Book #22) John Steinbeck - Cannery Row

John Steinbeck is considered one of the greatest American writers, and despite this, 'Cannery Row' was only the third novel of his that I have read. The other two books, Of Mice and Men and The Pearl, were both read in High School English, and at the time I really enjoyed one and was completely bored by the other. Maybe it was because of this that I didn't read another for so long, but after having lived in California for nearly ten years now, I felt a sense of obligation to try another.

'Cannery Row', above all, is a portrait of a place, a stretch of town in Monterey, California. To Steinbeck, the best way to depict and characterize this location was through the people that lived there, which he does beautifully. The book follows a handful of characters, but the structure of the novel gives way to a storytelling technique that is unique and works well for the purpose of the book. Steinbeck splices his overall arc with small side-stories of other peculiar townsfolk and manages to give them a sense of unity with the others. The characters we follow are not the well-to-do upper-class, they are the dregs of society: homeless, prostitutes, artists, a Chinese grocer, and a mild-mannered scientist who collects and sells specimens of marine animals. These people, despite their inadequacies, still strive for a sense of community and friendship with each other, and it is through these connections overlaid with the texture, sights and sounds of the place itself that we really get a feel for what Steinbeck may have experienced in his time at Cannery Row.

(Book #21) Rainer Maria Rilke - Letters to a Young Poet

In an effort to catch up… a really quick read:

Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke is a small collection of ten letters from a well established writer and poet, Rilke, to another young, eager and struggling writer at the beginning of his career in the craft. Over the course of these letters, we get a brief but rich glimpse into the mind of an artist whom has experienced and grappled with many of life's challenges. As we never actually read any of the titular young poet's letters to Rilke, the passages are a little one-sided at first, with each opening with responses to specifics of a previous letter. Beyond this, though, the meat of the letters are attempts at bestowing a bit of knowledge about life, love, religion, sexuality, death and every emotion in between. So, while it was a fast read, it proved to be an enlightening one that provided a view of humanity that any reader could take a bit of inspiration from.