The weather outside is frightful, so I am going to spend the day reading and drinking tea. And probably shoveling out my car, but lets not think about that just yet.
Happy Sunday, everyone! What are you reading today?
It’s no secret that I have a little soft spot for dystopian fiction. And while I wouldn’t necessarily classify the two books I’m going to review here dystopias, both Arcadia by Lauren Groff and The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker have these currents of things falling apart running through them that I found very appealing. Ultimately though, what makes both of these books great reads in their main characters and the journey each goes though during the course of the novels.
Arcadia by Lauren Groff
In the fields of western New York State in the 1970s, a few dozen idealists set out to live off the land, founding what would become a commune centered on the grounds of a decaying mansion called Arcadia House. Arcadia follows this romantic, rollicking, and tragic utopian dream from its hopeful start through its heyday and after. Arcadia’s inhabitants include Handy, a musician and the group’s charismatic leader; Astrid, a midwife; Abe, a master carpenter; Hannah, a baker and historian; and Abe and Hannah’s only child, the book’s protagonist, Bit, who is born soon after the commune is created. While Arcadia rises and falls, Bit, too, ages and changes. If he remains in love with the peaceful agrarian life in Arcadia and deeply attached to its residents — including Handy and Astrid’s lithe and deeply troubled daughter, Helle — how can Bit become his own man? How will he make his way through life and the world outside of Arcadia where he must eventually live? (Source)
At the beginning of the year, Jeff O’Neal and I had a conversation about Arcadia as part of Book Riot’s Tournament of Books reading project. He really didn’t like the book, in part because of a disconnect between what he thought the book would be about (the people of Arcadia) and what the book actually was about (Bit’s coming of age story in and out of Arcadia). And while to some extent I agree with his impressions, I didn’t mind that the focus of the book was Bit more than it was Arcadia proper. Arcadia is a place and an idea, an idealized version of what the world can be (but also can’t be for long) that informs everything that Bit is throughout his life. Couple that with Lauren Groff’s truly magnificent writing style, and you had a book I enjoyed a lot. I’m not as over-the-moon as I was about The Monster’s of Templeton, but loved it quite a bit on it’s own.
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life — the fissures in her parents’ marriage, the loss of old friends, the hopeful anguish of first love, the bizarre behavior of her grandfather who, convinced of a government conspiracy, spends his days obsessively cataloging his possessions. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues. (Source)
The Age of Miracles did exactly what I love small dystopian novels to do: it took a premise, accepted it was true, and then moved on to explore the possible consequences, both big and small. And while I care that the big consequences of the premise feel true, I’m always more interested in the small consequences. In this case, what does it mean to be 12 years old, a loner and an outcast, with a crush on a boy while the world is slowly spinning out of control (in this case, almost literally)? I devoured this book in a single sitting, and while it certainly wasn’t perfect it was more than enough for me.
Disclosure: I bought my copy of Arcadia and borrowed The Age of Miracles from my local library.
Photo Credit: albertogp123 via Flickr
Title: The Revolution was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers and Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever
Author: Alan Sepinwall
Genre: Nonfiction
Year: 2012
Publisher: Self-Published (Touchstone — February 26, 2013)
Acquired: Bought
Rating: 
Why I Read It: My favorite pop culture critic, Linda Holmes, and a trusted book blogger, Florinda (The 3R’s Blog) both recommended it.
Summary: A mob boss in therapy. An experimental, violent prison unit. The death of an American city, as seen through a complex police investigation. A lawless frontier town trying to talk its way into the United States. A corrupt cop who rules his precinct like a warlord. The survivors of a plane crash trying to make sense of their disturbing new island home. A high school girl by day, monster fighter by night. A spy who never sleeps. A space odyssey inspired by 9/11. An embattled high school football coach. A polished ad exec with a secret. A chemistry teacher turned drug lord.
These are the subjects of 12 shows that started a revolution in TV drama: The Sopranos. Oz. The Wire. Deadwood. The Shield. Lost. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 24. Battlestar Galactica. Friday Night Lights. Mad Men. Breaking Bad. (Source)
Review: If you need an example of how individual recommendations sell books, the way I came to read The Revolution Was Televised is a perfect example. Sometime last November, my favorite pop culture critic, Linda Holmes, tweeted about how great this book was. I looked it up on Barnes & Noble, saw the topic and price, and bought it immediately. Last month, a trusted book blogger, Florinda (The 3R’s Blog) posted a review and recommended I start it right away. So I did.
What makes this interesting, I think, is that The Revolution Was Televised is a self-published book, and I have serious reservations about self-published stories. But in addition to good recommendations, The Revolution Was Televised has the ingredients I think are necessary for a successful self-published book. The author, Alan Sepinwall, is a TV critic for HitFix and has built a strong audience for his pop culture writing through his blog, What’s Alan Watching? The book, a collection of essays about some of the great dramatic television shows of the last decade plus, takes the best of his blog writing and adds to it, offering a new product for regular readers and the general public.
And, because of his public profile, Sepinwall was able to garner the kinds of high-profile, positive reviews that a book without big buck marketing needs, notably a big review from Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times.
Originally, Sepinwall shopped a version of the book around to several publishers (including Touchstone, which recently decided to acquire the book), but got a string of rejections. So, he decided to publish it himself. The book has been a big success and, just recently, was picked up by a major publisher.
The book is, quite often, very “inside baseball” — a lot of talk of producers and writers and network executives who went from Show A to Show B, rejected Show C, and then met up again on Show D to make it a success. I’m not great with names, especially when they jump between chapters as many of these did, but feeling a little bit confused on those small details never got in my way of enjoying the majority of what Sepinwall was doing.
The book is strongest, in my opinion, when Sepinwall is just celebrating television. The book is full of smart analysis of great seasons and great episodes, but also isn’t hesitant to say that the fifth season of The Wire was polarizing or that The Sopranos struggled in the middle of its run. And often it’s not so much about what the shows were doing individually as much as it is about how these shows and their creators, as a collective, built a strong home for dramatic storytelling on television.
Unfortunately (perhaps), it also added a number of shows to my already overflowing Netflix queue. Although I think Oz might be too violent for me, I’m really curious to give others like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlerstar Galactica, and The Sopranos a try at some point. I only became an avid tv drama watcher near the end of this run of shows, so I have some cultural catching up to do.
If you are a reader who also loves television and believe that it’s worth the time to write seriously about our favorite television shows, The Revolution Was Televised will be right in your wheelhouse. It’s available as an ebook now and should be out in paperback this month. I highly recommend grabbing a copy.
Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book, please leave a link to the review in the comments and I will add your review to the main post. All I ask is for you to do the same to mine — thanks!
Football! Woo!
Yep, I am one of those people who is super excited about the Super Bowl today. Even though intellectually I know there are a lot of things to criticize about professional sports, I still love watching a good football game. Come tonight, I’ll be on my couch cheering and eating snacks. I still haven’t decided whether to cheer for the Ravens or the 49ers, but I think this guide to picking a team may help me choose.
If you’re not into football, Jenn over at Jenn’s Bookshelves is hosting a read-a-thon today, The Big Game’s On Read-a-Thon, that looks like a ton of fun. And if you’re not into reading or watching football… I’m not sure I can compute 🙂
But before the big game, I’ve got some work to do. I got a lot of weekend chores done yesterday, but today I still need to do my laundry, make soup, and go to Radio Shack to pick out my new cell phone! My family just got to our two-year upgrade, so I’m heading out today to pick a new phone. I still haven’t quite decided what to get, but I’m leaning towards the Samsung Galaxy S III.
This week, I managed to finish two books: The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall and The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. I liked both of very different reasons, and I hope to have reviews up sometime this week.
When I do find some time to read today, I’ll be picking up either Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe or The Amazing Absorbing Boy by Rabindranath Maharaj. I started The Amazing Absorbing Boy last night before bed and, so far, I think it’s awesome. The main character, Samuel, is a 16-year-old boy from Trinidad who gets shipped off to live with his estranged father in Canada after his mother passes away. I think the book is going to be about family and expectations and new places and adjustment, all wrapped up in a love for comic books that I find appealing.
Anyway, that’s my Sunday. I hope you all are staying warm — it’s been BITTERLY cold in Minnesota this week, so I’m staying under blankets as much as I can. Have a wonderful day!
I had a relatively slow reading month in January, although I’m really not surprised. Between travel, vacation, and work-related travel, this week was the first time I spent five working days in my office since before Christmas. Being gone that many days — coupled with the getting caught up that happens after being away — really put a damper on both my reading and blogging.
But, I have no plans to go anywhere during all of February (save a trip to see some friends and their beautiful new baby), which means I hope I will have plenty of time to read, watch movies, and get caught up on television. I also have big plans to start cooking and exercising more, but the best laid plans always seem to get derailed.
I’m trying out a slightly different template for my wrap-up/look ahead posts, so I’m curious what your thoughts are on it.
Books Read in January
- Groff, Lauren: Arcadia (fiction)
- Konnikova, Maria: Mastermind (nonfiction)
- Pessel, Marissa: Special Topics in Calamity Physics (fiction)
- Georges, Nicole: Calling Dr. Laura (memoir/comic book)
- Flora, Carlin: Friendfluence (nonfiction)
- Walker, Karen Thompson: Age of Miracles (fiction)
Other Reviews Posted in January
- Kidder, Tracy and Todd, Richard: Good Prose (nonfiction)
- Hoffert, Melanie: Prairie Silence (memoir)
