August Reading, and Two Movies

I took 3 days off practicing piano and memorizing pieces for our trip to Cincinnati last week.  I lost ground, but not too much.  The Brahms Waltz is proving difficult for me to memorize, but the Haydn is coming along nicely.  I hope to begin the 3rd and final movement of that Sonata, memorizing it.  It shouldn't take too long to jam it inside of my head.

In August I managed to complete 7 books related to my vast and virtually unending Avon/Equinox Rediscovery Project.  I also read two outside books.  While the number of books may be lower than my average, the page count remains the same.  Several of the books I read last month were quite long, with very small print.

The first three books were by Ballard, Malzberg, and Blish, the final three authors of a reading segment.  Each time I conclude a full segment of the remaining Avon/Equinox authors, I read a book unrelated to that series.  Thus after every volume by Blish comes something completely different.  The Ballard book was Concrete Island, another nightmare scenario where the protagonist is trapped.  I found this book to have made its point, and it did have a message, but that it was too contrived for my taste.  Even so, many parts of the book stay with you, and likely always will.  Ballard has a sense of what being isolated is really like.

With every book by Malzberg that I read, I like him more and more.  Confessions of Westchester County is a solid 4-star Looney Tunes cartoon, and I loved every minute of this fascinating story, and the sick-minded characters that inhabit it.  Different from anything else I have ever read.

The Blish tale was another total masterpiece.  Called Doctor Mirabilis, it is Blish's historical fiction based on the life of Roger Bacon, a 13th Century scientist trying to reconcile his religious faith with what he was learning about nature.  The novel loosely fits in to a very loose series by Blish called "After Such Knowledge."  I have now completed my rereading of this (loose) series.

With another cycle of Avon/Equinox authors complete, I picked up E. R. Eddison's Viking epic off my shelf, called Styrbiorn the Strong.  When Tolkien and C. S. Lewis revere a writer (their quotes are on the book), one should pay close attention.  I had only read his Zimiamvian cycle.  This was his first work outside of this fantasy world that I have read, and I loved every minute of it.  It also helps to see where his ideas for The Worm Ouroboros might have come from.

I also finished up a hardcover art book I had been reading for some time, called Italian Baroque Paintings.  That title covers a lot of territory, and it was a fascinating read.  It took me ages to complete, but I did finally finish it.  I began reading it after I had completed the two Bruegel catalogues from Vienna.  I love paintings, and I love reading about paintings.  I even love writing about paintings.  But I cannot paint.  I can draw a teeny bit with pencil.  If reading art books and viewing art could make one into an artist, I'd be pretty awesome by now.

It was time to begin a new cycle of Avon/Equinox authors.  I read a 400-page volume of short stories by Silverberg, covering the years 1962-69.  Too many great stories to mention here (see my Silverberg page for short reviews of each story), but I might just mention "To The Dark Star," and "Hawksbill Station."  Great stuff!

Next came Spinrad's magnificent epic novel Greenhouse Summer, his take on global warming and how the world might look once things really begin to get seriously warm.  Hint:  corporations will be in full control.  While a bit on the theatrical side, this is a truly great novel, filled with fun (but theatrical) characters.  Like most of Spinrad's tales, there is a lot of sex, but usually sex with a purpose (not procreation, either).  From 1999, it remains completely timely today. 

I also finished Piers Anthony's 2nd Cluster novel (there are five).  Anthony is a genius, and on the same level as Frank Herbert.  He is not a polished writer, however.  Too many fantastic ideas and details come pouring out of his head, and he can become overwhelming at times.  But truly great, if the reader can keep up with him.

I finished up the month (reading it in Cincinnati) with the third book of John Christopher's Fireball Trilogy, called Dragon Dance.  Not a great book by any means.  The first one in the series is the best, followed by the 2nd.  This one seems a pale shadow of the first two.  However, by a very strange coincidence, Roger Bacon makes an appearance in a book I read within the same month! 

To see the covers of these books, and read the full reviews, refer to my Avon/Equinox website.  It should be found in the left margin.

Nicolas Roeg's SF classic, The Man Who Fell To Earth, had never been seen by us in its longer version.  We saw one many years ago that ran 117 minutes, and it was a very bad print, fitted for TV.  This was a restored wide screen version, with over 20 minutes of extra footage.  David Bowie is nearly perfect as the alien who to Earth seeking help for his family.  They are dying back on his home planet.  He becomes the richest man in the world, seeking to build a rocket ship.  His plan is undone from many directions, not the least of which is his own weakness of character.  This is mostly a thoughtful and engaging film, but there are many moments where rolling ones eyes might be the best way to pass the time.  A ton of extras came with it on Criterion, but the film ended its run there at midnight last night.  It's a flawed film, but worth seeing more than once.

 Last night we watched a rather brilliant film from 2003, called I Capture The Castle.  Based on a novel written during WW 2, it describes a family living in a ruined castle in England in the mid 1930s.  Two teenage girls try to grow up and prosper amid the ruins of the castle and their family.  The acting is first rate, with a special nod to Romola Garai, who plays Cassandra, the sensitive and intelligent young woman searching for love, but finding only pain.

Mapman Mike