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Archive for March, 2010

The Glister by John Burnside

Mar 30

Posted by The Valet in Fiction | 1 Comment

The Glister by John Burnside

What the hell is the point of spending 50 pages introducing the reader to characters that never reappear in a story? I honestly have no clue. I can say with finality that I did not enjoy this book.

Within those first fifty pages we meet four characters, a sheriff, his wife, the villain and the villain’s henchman. Somehow it reminds me of Mccarthy’s No Country For Old Men. Except, I like Mccarthy and his books. It probably has to do with the fact that the henchman couldn’t have been anymore prototypical, “He had that air of affability that let you know know he didn’t give a fuck about you or anybody else.” I’m pretty sure I’ve read about that character a couple of times in the past 6 months alone. And to be clear, Chigur was way more bad ass.

Following those 50 pages Burnside decides to start the actual story which involves missing boys, a derelict chemical plant, a social divide and hormonal adolescents. Reading the back cover of the novel you’d almost think that there might be something in here worth checking out. It did actually make the book sound compelling and even encouraged me enough to buy it (if anyone wants it, please, just let me know).

Not uncommon in a book that situates a town near a derelict chemical plant, the incidence of cancer and disease is unfathomably high. The environment has been decimated and the moral of said town is, well, down in the dumps.

oh hell, just keep going…

This Weeks Book Events, SF (week of 3/29)

Mar 29

Posted by The Valet in Events | No Comments

Ladies and gentleman, the week of my farewell is finally upon us. Hold up, don’t get the wrong idea, the blog will be trudging along. Not only will I be finally leaving for Colombia but this Wednesday, March 31st will be my last day working for NASDAQ. Am I disappointed, sure. My true source of income will be null until I find another job. Thankfully, NASDAQ is treating me nicely and I can easily survive for quite awhile before I have to find something else. As mentioned, I also say farewell because on Friday, April 2nd, I will be departing for Bogota, Colombia for a three week vacation. As far as I’m concerned it’s well deserved. The last time I left the country was to watch my brother compete in Canada (which doesn’t really count, although there was that whole passport dilemma) and prior to that was the time I spent in New Zealand (which feels like centuries ago). I have to say I haven’t exactly done a ton of research for the trip, although I did watch Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations: Colombia” which gently informed me, that should I choose, I can dine on pig ears.

As for the blog, my loyal readers, I am very happy to tell you that it will not stop while I am away. You will see your weekly events schedules for LA and SF as well as the scheduled two book reviews a week. I am going to try and enlist my brother to update my twitter so the people who use that for notification will know when the new posts are up. And don’t worry, I won’t actually be doing the writing when I’m in Colombia (I say that now), instead I will truly be vacationing. Although, I am sure that I will be reading quite a bit and visiting any and all book stores I come across. So don’t be too surprised if you see a rogue post in there sometime.

Before I go I would like to mention a few things. This past week sucked. Not the whole week, just Monday through Friday. You would think that with my upcoming trip, a new phase of my life beginning and so much to look forward to that wouldn’t be the case. But, it was. There were tears (not my own), a goodbye or two, deep discussions (oddly enough none of them, yes more than one and with more than one person, were on the phone or in person, damn you internet), high emotions, promises made (that I regret making) and several instances where my newly acquired optimistic attitude smacked me in the face. I’m fed up with a lot of other shit but in the end it doesn’t matter and you don’t want to hear it. I’d like to think I’ll come home from my little soiree and all will be well… we’ll see.

And with that, I bid you aideu and I will see you again the last week of April.

Monday, March 29th
@ 730
- Arthur Phillips, author, will be at Pegasus Books in Berkeley reading from his latest novel The Song Is You. The book clearly has something to do with songs and such as is almost to be expected with a novel about songs is love. Ahh, that word, how it makes me feel….

Friday, April 2nd
- Yours truly, want to be writer and unemployed student of the world, will be on an airplane headed to Colombia where I will indulge in… (whatever your dreams desire).

Saturday, April 3rd
@ 3pm
- Gordon Edgar, cheese connoisseur, will be at Omnivore Books in San Francisco discussing his book Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge. In case you were wondering TheFreeDicitionary.com defines “Cheesemonger” as “a person dealing in cheese, butter, etc.” More than guide book apparently Mr. Edgar goes in depth into the field of cheese. Mr. Edgar is the “cheesemonger” for San Francisco’s pretty awesome Rainbow Grocery and in his book tells tales of cheese and his interesting industry. If you’re a cheese fan this may be kind of interesting for you.

Sunday, April 4th
@ 4pm
- Hugh Raffles, author, professor and insectologist will be at Mrs. Dalloway’s in Berkeley reading from his latest book Insectopedia. I’m not huge on insects, they don’t really bother me but would I want to be around them all day everyday, no. This book on the other hand looks pretty rad. It’s a series of vignettes that depict “a mesmerizing exploration of history and science, anthropology and travel, economics, philosophy, and popular culture that shows how insects have triggered our obsessions, stirred our passions, and beguiled our imaginations.” Sorry, didn’t feel like summarizing or restating, quotes work better anyways.

This Weeks Book Events, LA (week of 3/29)

Mar 29

Posted by The Valet in Events | No Comments

Los Angeles, my apologies. As happens all too frequently I tell you I’m going to visit and then I don’t. What can I say, I got trapped in San Diego. Once I’m there (even if I do have to sleep on a fold out bed) it’s hard for me to leave. After all, mom and dad do have that steam room. Pretty hard to beat that isn’t it? I did spend some time in Oceanside and will be spending tonight in Orange County so that’s got to be some sort of consolation right?

Anyways, this is my last week in San Francisco until I return from Colombia. There’s details on how the blog won’t stop, just cause I’m away, in the SF events post so be sure to read that. And I promise you Los Angeles, this Summer I will come and see you.

Monday, March 29th
@ 12pm
- Karl Rove, politico, probable dumb ass and author, will be at Borders (Thousand Oaks) signing copies of his book Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight. Honestly, I don’t know why you’d waste your time going to this event but I’m sure some of you may like to go just to laugh at the chubby bastard.

Wednesday, March 31st
@ 730pm
- Arthur Phillips, author, will be at Skylight Books talking about his latest book The Song Is You. The book clearly has something to do with songs and such as is almost to be expected with a novel about songs is love. Ahh, that word, how it makes me feel…. Oh, I also just found a copy of Phillips book Prague which I plan on reading shortly and providing you, my friends, with a review.

Friday, April 2nd
@ ~5pm
- Yours truly heads to Colombia for a little bit of R&R and some other dangerous stuff.

Marching Powder by Rusty Young and Thomas McFadden

Mar 25

Posted by The Valet in Non-Fiction | No Comments

Marching Powder by Rusty Young and Thomas McFadden

I’m am so relieved to have read this prior to my upcoming trip to Colombia. Even though the story takes place in Bolivia, it’s nice to know that should I be imprisoned in Latin America, there is a slight chance that I may be put in a prison such as San Pedro. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking to get imprisoned, but from what I gather, in Bolivia at least, being “locked up” has the potential to be a party.

Sometimes you read a piece of non-fiction and think it’s too over the top, too extravagant or too complicated to be a true story. Well, at least I do. Luckily, this book was written so simplistically that it’s obvious there’s a lot of truth to what’s being said. But, I kind of think this book could have benefited from some extravagances or complications in the story. I’m not trying to be arrogant, but I kind of think this book was written for sixth graders. Of course the content wouldn’t suitable for them but the writing itself certainly could.

The story revolves around one of the authors, Thomas McFadden, and his time spent in San Pedro prison in Bolivia after being locked up for attempting to smuggle cocaine out of the country. Seeing as I’m not even stupid enough to attempt something like that, this guy’s IQ must be in the single digits. A part of me thinks that while reading this story the authors were attempting to illicit a feeling of sympathy from the readers for the jailed smuggler. Really? Come on. My theory on this is that he committed the crime (or more importantly got caught) and therefore should serve the time.

For me this story was less about Mr. McFadden than it was about San Pedro. I’m not going to go out of the way and say that this prison is equatable to one of our very own federal “country club” prisons like Butner Prison, with their manicured lawns and cable television (where Bernie Madoff is incarcerated), but in terms of Central/South American jails I think it’s about as close as you can get.

Do Not Pass Go, Go Directly To Jail…

Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead as told to Jody M. Roy

Mar 23

Posted by The Valet in Non-Fiction | 1 Comment

Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead: Frank Meeink's Story as told to Jody M. Roy, Ph.D.

“In West Philadelphia born and raised, on the playground where I spent most of my days, chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool, and all shooting some b-ball outside of the school, when a couple guys, they were up to no good, started making trouble in my neighborhood, I got in one little fight and my mom got scared, and said ‘you’re moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Aire.’”

Errr, oops, rewind, wrong story. It should be a little something more like this…

“In South Philadelphia born and kind of raised, in the alley where I spent most of my days (and nights), chatting it up, grovelling, fighting like mad, and all smashing some skulls outside on the street, when a couple of friends, they followed me along, we started making trouble in the city of brotherly love, I beat someone silly and the cops got mad, and I said I’m going to Indiana to get away from it all. The cops caught up with me and sent me to jail, just like they said they always would, I made some new friends and tried to turn my life around and this here is the story I’m going to tell.”

In all likelihood you’re familiar with American History X. After all, it was a pretty popular and powerful movie. I don’t like to be cliche but it would be ridiculous of me not to recognize the similarities between this book and that movie. The book itself at one point actually makes a reference to this fact, but rest assured Frank Meeink is a real person unlike X’s fictional Derek Vineyard.

Meeink’s story is exactly something that you would expect to see a 20/20, Dateline or 60 Minutes news story on. It’s got all of the right elements. Obviously you start with the hatred, move along to addiction, followed by fathering children, turning around, returning to addiction and eventually becoming whole again. But, I will say that reading it in autobiographical form was a lot more powerful than a short television vignette. Sure you may not get the actual visuals but they’re really not necessary. The words are themselves all the visuals you need.

It’s really quite a scary story. For me one of the hardest things was reading about Frank’s upbringing. It was physically hard for me to continue reading about his mother and the way he was treated in her home. If reading something like that doesn’t make someone grateful for the way they were raised I really don’t know what will. This is of course the beginning of his story and as you can guess it only gets harder from there.

Don’t stop believen’

This Weeks Book Events, LA (week of 3/22)

Mar 22

Posted by The Valet in Events | 1 Comment

Thank you Josh, thank you for once again making me feel inadequate. Yesterday my brother ran the LA Marathon. But you see, running a typical 26 mile marathon is too easy for him these days. So what does he do? Well he runs something like 32 miles instead. Being the person he is though he did not do it for himself but so he could help his friends. Pretty admirable in a “Aaron you’ve got a lot work to do to reach my karma levels” kind of way. I don’t exactly know how he did it but his reason for running more than any normal human ever should was to help to his friends reach their own PR’s (personal record).

Anyways… I may or may not be in Los Angeles this weekend. I mean, I know I’ll be in Southern California. After all Passover starts soon and I can’t remember the last time I spent it with my family and of course my brother is competing in yet another race, this time the Oceanside 70.3 (a half ironman). Pretty weak for his standards but it’ll be cool. Oh, and I also get to hang out with a bunch of little dogs including the newest family member Gus, the new puppy.

Tuesday, March 23rd & Thursday, March 25th
@ 7pm
- Todd Bridges, actor, author and apparently a wrestler, will be at Barnes & Noble (Grove) on Tuesday and Borders (Tampa Ave.) on Thursday signing copies of his book Killing Willis: From Diff’rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted. No you’re not imagining things, this is the same Todd Bridges that played Willis on Diff’rent Strokes (as if the title of the book doesn’t give it away).

Wednesday, March 24th, Thursday, March 25th & Friday, March 26th
@ 7pm, 730pm & 9pm
- Jeff Garlin, author, comedian and actor, will be at Barnes & Noble (Huntington) on Wednesday, Skylight Books on Thursday and The Comedy Store on Friday signing copies of his book My Footprint: Carrying the Weight of the World. You’re probably more familiar with Mr. Garlin from his role in Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm in which he plays Larry’s best friend. The book is about Jeff’s attempt to live healthier while filming the seventh season of Curb. In a side note, not having anything to do with Mr. Garlin, I somehow came to be watching the Marriage Ref last night on television (sympathy and disgust welcome). Larry David, Madonna and Ricky Gervais were on it and I almost thought that Madonna was going to beat up Larry David, she could too. That’s it.

Wednesday, March 24th
@ 7pm
- Raquel Welch, actress, sex symbol and author, will be signing copies of her book Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage (not sure you want to go beyond that) at Barnes & Noble (Grove). Given the choice I think I’d actually prefer to see or hear Raquel Welch speak over Pamela Anderson. Not because I think one is more intelligent than the other but based on looks alone, I’d have to give the wreath to Raquel. Pamela is just kind of washed up, wait, its kind of hard not to say that about Welch too, damn. But at least Welch has some dignity.

Saturday, March 27th & Sunday, March 28th
@ 7pm & 2pm
- Jennifer Love Hewitt, actress and author, will be at Barnes and Noble (Grove) on Saturday and Barnes and Noble (Huntington) on Sunday signing copies of her book The Day I Shot Cupid: Hello, My Name Is Jennifer Love Hewitt and I’m a Love-aholic by Jennifer Love Hewitt. Um, pretty much the most ridiculous title of a book ever. I actually saw the book this weekend and I think it’s also fair to say that it is also the most ridiculous looking book ever as well. I’m sure there are some big fans out there and some of them are probably men so I’ve decided to let you know about this appearance.

This Weeks Book Events, SF (week of 3/22)

Mar 22

Posted by The Valet in Events | No Comments

For getting awfully close to unemployment I’m shockingly calm at the moment. Of course the fact that I have a nice package coming my way doesn’t hurt but still… I tend to go a little bit batty when I don’t have work. I guess I actually always tend to get a little batty regardless of what’s going on but at least with a job I have a routine. And it certainly doesn’t help any that the weather has just turned amazing. Most of the time that’d be a great thing but when you’re unemployed I think it’s a curse because all I’ll want to do is sit outside and either read or drink a few bevies!

Um, did I also forget to mention that I was just yesterday told about some quasi-important things I need to do before I leave for Colombia. I’m not going to go into the possible shots or medications I may need to take with me cause my mother reads this and she’ll probably get over worried. I mean the shots are recommended, but I’m pretty confident they’re not required. But that said I do still need to look into getting these shots. Yay for excitement!

Tuesday, March 23rd
@ 7pm
- Christopher Moore, author, will be at Books, Inc. at Opera Plaza for the release of his latest book Bite Me! So far in this blog I have now reviewed two of Mr. Moore’s books Lamb and Bloodsucking Fiends and enjoyed both but definitely prefer Lamb. This latest book is actually connected to or is in the same series as Bloodsucking and because of that I cannot be so sure I’ll read it. That’s not to say that it won’t be ridiculously funny, but I’m entitled to my opinion right? Honestly, I almost want to call these books “Lady-Books” but I don’t know if I can.

Tuesday, March 23rd
@ 630pm
- Gever Tulley, author, will be talking about and presumably signing copies of his book Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do) at Ink Spell Books in Half Moon Bay. When I first saw the title of this book I was pretty interested in finding out what this is all about. So, I’m not going to lie but when I actually saw a partial list of these “fifty” things I was more than a bit disheartened. I mean come on is “licking a 9-volt battery,” “play[ing] in a hailstorm,” or “look[ing] at the sun” really dangerous? I wanted something like sneaking out of the house at night, sneaking girls into the house at night, lighting firecrackers in quiet quaint neighborhoods and how to ask someone who’s old enough to buy you alcohol. Little more reasonable right? Well, I guess I knew all along this book would be tame and I’m sure if you’ve got some kids this might be fun for them. So, it’s up to you.

Wednesday, March 24th
@ 830pm
- Yoram Bauman, writer and the world’s only “stand-up economist,” will be providing comedy as he talks about his book The Cartoon Introduction to Economics at Booksmith. Having studied way too much economics in my day I can say that there is nothing humorous about studying the subject. In fact it’s much more likely to put you to sleep, it certainly did me more times than I remember. But, apparently Mr. Bauman has made the study of microeconomics enjoyable through cartoons and humor. I may just have to check this out for a refresher.

Friday, March 26th
@ 830pm
- Jessica Anthony and Chris Adrian, authors who both work with McSweeney’s will be at Booksmith presenting their books The Convalescent and A Better Angel. While I’m unfamiliar with Ms. Anthony, her book, which includes a bearded man selling meat from his van, does sounds pretty interesting. And you know if McSweeney’s likes it, you are bound too as well. As for Mr. Adrian though, I am familiar with his book The Children’s Hospital which was damn good so I’d be curious to hear and see what this new piece of work is all about.

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

Mar 18

Posted by The Valet in Non-Fiction | No Comments

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

When this book was first given to me I got a little worried. Was the person who gifted this book to me trying to tell me something? Do I need to search for “meaning?” I honestly wasn’t quite sure what to do with this book, I was perplexed. Having never heard of the book before I looked at the title and took this book to be in the self-help genre. A genre which I typically steer away from. Of course, things are not always as they seem.

The first word out of my mouth upon finishing reading this was “intense.” I’m not quite sure that another word could amply explain the way I felt. My fear of it being a self-help book was quickly put to bed and in it’s place was a fear that perhaps I, myself, am not quite adequate.

The book itself is not a story but gives the reader an inside look at “how… everyday life in a concentration camp [was] reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?” If you were to try and answer that question from an outside perspective (by outside I mean from the perspective of someone who was not actually in a concentration camp) you would maybe have some ideas of how life was reflected. In all fairness, you’d be wrong.

In what is a juxtaposition of psychiatry, philosophy and religion, Viktor Frankl imparts on the reader why there is a “reason” to live. This book is broken down into two sections, the first of which is the section on the concentration camp circumstances and the second is that of Frankl’s theory of Logotherapy.

It’s for your own good that you keep reading…

Regional Bookstore Review, Kinokuniya Bookstore (San Francisco)

Mar 17

Posted by The Valet in Other | No Comments

How I haven’t already reviewed this bookstore I just don’t know. Considering the fact that for over a year I lived within a block and a half from it and was in it at least three times a month. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I never ever bought anything there. Pretty strange right, me walking into a bookstore and not buying anything, but just as “for every thing there is season” for every book store I don’t buy something in, there is a reason.

Located in the Japantown neighborhood of San Francisco (Fillmore and Post) this bookstore is two levels of awesome. Awesome in a non-traditional American book store kind of way. Why non-traditional? Well, for starters most of the books on the shelves in the store are written in Japanese. Therefore making it impossible for me to pick up a book and just start reading but also precluding me from making any purchases. Despite this though, I still love wandering around this store.

Another view of the entrance, pretty regal huh?

2nd Floor entrance to Kinokuniya

Sure I’ve been in bookstores in foreign countries that don’t have any English titles in them but clearly there is something unique about a bookstore in the United States that is more or less the same. I say “more or less” because they do actually have some titles written in English.

It had been sometime since I visited the store when I went there to do my research for this post and I must have spent over an hour in there browsing and having fun.

If you stop now, you’ll miss out on the good stuff and I will be forced to get Sumo on you…

You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers

Mar 16

Posted by The Valet in Fiction | 3 Comments

You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers

This is now the fourth of Eggers books that I have read, or at least remember reading, and the second work of fiction. I had and have high regards for the works I’ve already read Zeitoun, Wild Things & What is the What. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when reading this book although it had been recommended to me by many people, including people in the publishing industry and a girl who has a crush on Mr. Eggers (if he weren’t married, I’d tell him he’d be foolish not to get her number).

You Shall Know Our Velocity! is a whirlwind, a veritable tornado of adventure, action and words. I had no idea that that’s what I was getting into, it threw me for a loop to say the least. I know that, or believe that, Eggers is a very intelligent guy. Therefore it’s somewhat impossible for me to just read the story as a story, while the whole time knowing there is depth in the words he chooses to use.

When two characters, Will and Hand, have to confront the death of their close friend, Jack, who has died in a tragic accident, they are besought my misery. It is hard for me to imagine them feeling any other way. Their pain is compounded when the title character, Will, is unable to use a large sum of money he has received to try and save Jack’s life. In lieu of using the money to save their friend Will and Hand decide to travel the world and disperse the money to those who seem deserving.

This book would be a little more typical and stagnant if it weren’t for the fact that Will and Hand aim to travel around the world in only one week. Most of us know that this is next to impossible, but the creative ways in which these two design itineraries is awesome. I only wish I could make something like that happen. While their trip and actions on the trip, doling out money, may be perceived as a statement about the nature of American tourists and their over zealous consumerism and propensity to want to do the right thing, I do not see that as being the mission behind the story or their adventure.

Velocity: Rapidity or speed of motion; swiftness. Keep moving…

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