What I’m Reading/Watching (2010)

This post contains a list of books I’ve been reading recently. Starting January 2010.  See also my 2009 Reading/Watching List,  2008 Reading/Watching List , 2007 Reading/Watching List my previous Sept 2004 to Oct 2005 reading list or my Nov 2005 to Nov 2006 Reading List , so definitely check that out as well. See also my Best of 2006 for a scoop about favorites. See also Writers who have Changed Me. A few remarks. I’m reading several books at a time, and to be honest, sometimes I don’t read all of them depending on the content or my interest. Usually however, it’s been a matter of attention span and what other projects I’ve been doing. Also, you might want to check my favorite novels, and my Amazon.com wishlist. Also here’s an annotated photo of my bookshelf Also, I haven’t read most of these books, but I’ve been setting up Amazon lists of classic Texas novels (100 novels and counting). You also might enjoy reading my Amazon list of Unforgettable Forgettable Novels. I’ve also started adding my book inventory to librarything.com (although I’m allowed to input only 200 titles). At the bottom of this page you will find a list of movies I’ve been watching.

What I’m Reading

1. Memoirs of a Bookman by Jack Matthews.
2. Therapy of Desire by Martha Nussbaum. Fascinating discussion of Hellenistic philosophy and its insights into contemporary morality.
3. Dog Bible. Tracie Hotchner’s classic reference guide to pet ownership. The book is so indispensable that I have to wonder how people had dogs before this book was written.
4. Purple Cloud by M.P. Shiel.
5. CSS: The Definitive Guide by Eric Meyer. Not a bad book, but it’s definitely a case where print books matter less than seeing it on a web page. Still a handy reference.
6. Eureka Street by Robert McLaim Wilson. Really terrific social novel about living in Belfast during the political turbulence of the 1990s. In many ways this is a perfect novel. Lots of subplots and reprises and characters.  I’ll be honest; I haven’t been really  interested in the internecine squabblings of  Belfast, but this book made me care about it.  This is a rough bawdy novel with lots of skirmishes, outbursts, silliness and even introspection. Someone compared it to Bonfire of the Vanities or the Corrections; never having read that, I don’t know how apt this comparison is, but I enjoyed being surprised by new characters and situations. The central character is a  boorish fellow who is utterly sick of the political nonsense swirling about him; in a way he just lets everything slide over him without caring.  By the end, we learn that he has turned into an assertive and active character has started to care  (and so do we the readers)    Highly recommended.
7. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. Listened in my car. Highly recommended.
8. Dachshunds for Dummies. Any idea why I bought this book?

What I’m Watching . (See also my Netflix Movie Queue)

1. Coupling. Bawdy British comedy that seems to center mainly around sexual humor. Snappy writing and strong actors make this a joy to watch.
2. Unforeseen. dir. Laura Dunn. Documentary about real estate development in Austin. Regrettably, this documentary about Austin real estate development had too much style and not enough substance. I think there was some drama in the subject matter, but the narrative wasn’t constructed well enough.
3. Syndecdoche, New York. Charlie Kaufman. Total snoozefest with some interesting set pieces. This is a good example of the anti-hero artist. It’s hard for films to depict the artistic struggle in an interesting or sympathetic way.
4. Too much sleep by David Maguilin. Entertaining and not-totally great film about a security guard who loses his pistol and goes on a wild goose chase with his uncle to find it. Good color, and lots of good fun, but the scenario didn’t strike me as plausible, especially as the film wound to a close
5. Welcome to the Dollhouse. by Todd Solondz. Uncensored look at adolescence. This film could have gone overboard but did not. Highly recommended.
6. Candidate by Michael Ritchie Highly Recommended.
   
7. Zero Effect dir by  Jake Kasdan. Totally entertaining detective mystery, with lots of twists. I was guessing the whole time.  Highly recommended.
8. Doctor Who (2005 incarnation)
9. Get Smart Again, TV sequel  in the late 1980s, starring most of the original cast. I watched that mainly for nostalgia reasons; oddly, I didn’t laugh a lot, but  I enjoyed it nonetheless. I liked the experience of a show that was made before my birth takes place in my own time.
10. Nine Lives, directed by Rodrigo Garcia. Great series of dramatic shorts. Sometimes, the melodrama was over the top, but overall, I liked the dialogue and the everyday setups. Recommended.
11. Man from Earth. Eerie philosophic tale by sci fi writer Jerome Bixby about a man who claims to be thousands of years old and tells his friends. All the dialogue sparkled. Parts were predictable, but the dialogue was so fascinating that I indulged some of the artifices. Also, I like people-in-a-room films (see Richard Linklater adaptation of Stephen Belber’s play,  Tape).  Highly recommended.
12. Black Hawk Down,  directed by Ridley Scott of a book by Mark Bowden. Harrowing and intense war tragedy involving American elite troops in Somalia. This movie was well-done and fitting, but my main complaint is that it goes for the orgy of violence approach. My sense is that even in slaughters like this, there is a lot of waiting and pauses between gunfire.  Instead, the film portrays it as a nonstop gunbattle — which strikes me as very Hollywood.
13. Hurt Locker. Generally a great film, but I am growing tired of the usual testosterone cliches (playful punching, cockiness, self-righteous yelling,  nonstop profanity). Egad, I read somewhere that during the Civil War, soldiers never cussed. Hollywood changes perceptions.
14. Lost 6th season. I am so psyched for this season! Bring on the tricks!
15. Office. 6th Season. This series still seems fresh and on target; it manages to capture the essence of the American workplace perfectly.
16. Lars and the Real Girl. Total dud of a film about nerdy guy who falls in love with a mannikin. No new ground, not even intelligently written.
17. Dr. Who Season 1 and 2
18. Real Genius. A surprisingly contemporary film with no real point.  (The premise is faulty: why would students gleefully accept military grant money and not have any pangs of guilt until later). That said, I love movies/TV shows about geniuses. Great material for satire.
19. My Darling  Clementine. A film more interesting for its ambience than for plot (See also
20. Abel Raises Cain. great documentary about master of hoaxes