Amusing Ourselves to Death

Recently in conversation I wondered aloud if we as a society weren't amusing ourselves to distraction. The internet in general and the microscopic attention spans of Twitter and chatting and text messaging was the source.  As I said the phrase it struck a wrong note to my ear.  Where had I heard it?  Why did it sound wrong? Of course I had to turn to the internet for clarification and instant gratification and discovered that I had incorrectly remembered the source as a title of a book I'd read long ago, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman.

Written in 1985 as an examination of how television has reformed our ability to think and communicate, Postman's thesis was that fifty years earlier two literary minds imagined tow distinctly different visions of the future. The more popular one (perhaps because it had the ticking time bomb in its title) was George Orwell's 1984 which postulated a dark world where Big Brother was watching and personal autonomy no longer existed and books would be banned. The other was Aldous Huxley's Brave New World which posed an alternate view, that we would find ourselves in a society that provided us with so much stimuli that we would be reduced to passivity and not care about books.  It was Postman's theory that television had brought us closer to Huxley's vision than any of us had imagined while we were too busy worrying about Orwell's warnings.

Curious to see what I remembered and what I'd forgotten, I was happy to see that Amusing Ourselves to Death had been re-released to coincide with its 20th anniversary, and that it was as startlingly relevant in addressing our current fixation with the internet.  I was also both amused and encouraged that my local library shelved this new paperback edition in the non-fiction YA section of the library.  Indeed, if there is an audience ripe for the history of our electronic culture and where it might be leading us, it would be teens and young adults.

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

As John Keats wrote in the opening lines of his lengthy narrative poem, Endymion,

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darken'd ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits...

And so it is with The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan: the book is a joy to read, a thing of almost breathtaking loveliness that increases with reading more, or reading it again - a thing that "moves away the pall from our dark spirits", even as it sometimes dwells on despondence. It began as a Valentine's story for his friends - David has written one every year since his junior year in high school, and many of them can be found in his collection, How They Met and Other Stories (which I adore - the one about the Starbucks guy (called, appropriately enough, "Starbucks Boy") is a particular favorite) - and ended as this lovely, somewhat experimental novel. A thing of beauty indeed.

The Grass Harp: a band of outsiders

In a 2000 New York Times interview with Frank Rich, Stephen Sondheim, the preeminent dramatist of the American musical theatre, observed, ”the outsider is basic to a lot of dramatic literature. This country’s about conformity. And so nonconformity is a fairly common theme...”

From Hester Prynne to Oedipa Maas, literature’s most compelling protagonists have been those whose conflicts puts them at odds with an entire society. On one level, stories of opposition provide more engaging narrative opportunities than those about unblinking agreement. But who hasn’t received some side-eye from the world’s Mary Worths now and then? Literature about outsiders presents a chance to find meaning in our own experiences of otherness.

Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore

Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore
"Being only half-vamp in a high school like Carpathia Night makes you a whole loser. But Danny Gray manages to escape the worst of the specists at his school. Thanks to genetic treatments he had as an infant, most people assume Danny's other half is human. Which is a good thing.

Ever since the development of synthetic blood – SynHeme – vamps have become society’s elite, while wulves like his father work menial jobs and live in bad neighborhoods. Wulves are less than second class citizens; once a month they become inmates, forced to undergo their Change in dangerous government compounds.

For Danny, living with his vamp mother and going to a school with a nearly all-vamp student body, it’s best to pretend his wulf half doesn’t even exist. But lately Danny's been having some weird symptoms -- fantastic night vision; a keener-than-usual sense of smell; and headaches, right around the full moon.

Even though it's easy to be in denial, it's hard to ignore evidence. There's only a month until the next few moon, and Danny's time is running out."- summary from Amazon

This was a really cool book. I enjoyed reading about this society that knows about vampires and werewolves and they all intermingle to an extent. The fact that it was humorous too helped as well; not many paranormals these days are funny.

With the paranormals being out and about in this world, there are prejudices running rampant and equal rights being wanted for werewolves. It mirrors our world in a way so that was fun to see a parallel there. I also liked the clever songs and artists placed in the book that were altered a bit to reflect the society being lived in (there's David Bo E with his song "Changes" all about the werewolf change).

The characters were really fun to read about and I loved their interactions. Danny was a great protagonist and his journey is a really interesting one with a cool twist. His friends are awesome too- I loved Claire and her sarcastic nature.

Overall, this is a great book that I think really anyone (even a teen boy) can enjoy- it's got an interesting take on paranormal, there is a romance but it doesn't take over the story and it's not overwrought, and it's funny. The ending worked for me as a stand-alone but I do think a series could happen as there are some unanswered questions (that could be left unanswered if it's a stand-alone; I know, confusing, right?). I'm really glad I read it.

When Fantasy Grows Up, or How Babies are Really Made

You've read Tolkien and you've read C.S. Lewis and maybe even all those Eragon books about dragons by Christopher Paolini. Maybe you're thinking, this is great stuff: dragons and swords and magic and all that. Can't get enough of it. But maybe you're also thinking, isn't something missing?

Well, yes. I'll tell you what it is: sex.

Dark Jenny by Alex Bledsoe

Hey guys - as Alex is away from his computer right now, we thought we used his scheduled day to give you a peek at what he's been up to lately. Here's the Booklist starred review for Dark Jenny:

The third Eddy Lacrosse novel finds Eddy and friends snowed in at his tavern-office when a large coffin is delivered. The explanation entails a long story that goes back to Eddie’s early years as an investigator and to the legendary island of Grand Bruan. Readers soon realize that Grand Bruan is an noirish alternate version of Great Britain; that its king, Marcus Drake, is alternate reality’s King Arthur; and that Eddy’s tale is another take on the final days of Camelot. Originally hired to keep an eye on a philandering husband, Eddy just happens to be present when one of the Knights of the Double Tarn is poisoned, and Queen Jennifer is accused of the crime. Worse, her loyal defender, Elliott Spears, is absent, along with Cameron Kern, the King’s old advisor (and magician). Bledsoe’s clever combination of noir and myth makes for an engaging story, and placing investigator Eddy at the center offers a fresh twist. Bledsoe’s characters are especially memorable, including Dave Agravaine, a bully who likes to hit women; overweight and overworked but loyal Bob Kay; and Marc’s nephew, Dread Ted Medraft—not to mention the giggleweed-smoking Kern. Fans of Bledsoe’s other blends of fantasy and noir will love his latest, and new readers will be able to jump right in. Try suggesting this to fans of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files.

The Tomb: Repairman Jack, #1 -- F. Paul Wilson

After reading F. Paul Wilson's recent YA prequels about Repairman Jack's earliest adventures -- things that happened to him before he was even known as Repairman Jack -- I knew it was finally time to sit down and read the series in order. Back in 1984, The Tomb introduced readers to Repairman Jack. It's been re-released a few times, with details updated -- cell phones added and so on -- to keep it set in the present day.

Jack has no last name, no social security number, and no bank account. He keeps his life savings -- in gold Krugerrands, no less -- taped to the pipes in his apartment. He makes his money "fixing" things -- but not appliances. For a fee, he'll fix your problem. But only if he thinks it's a problem that needs fixing -- although he's technically a career criminal, Jack has a stricter moral code than most law-abiding citizens.

In the Days of the Vaqueros: America's First True Cowboys by Russell Freedman

Oh American History class, how I do shake my head when I look back on you. I love American history (I ended up teaching it for five years to soldiers at one point) and yet I have never been able to shake my frustration at how one-sided our study of history is. Yes, yes, yes - the victors write the story but what has driven me nuts about history textbooks and teachers my whole life is all the stories that have nothing to do with winning or losing that get left out anyway. Case in point: cowboys. I grew up on John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, Gunsmoke and The Rifleman. And Wild Wild West, The Big Valley, Wanted: Dead or Alive (Steve McQueen!!!!)

I've got a dog named "Hondo", people. I thought Louis L'Amour was everyone's idea of leisure reading in junior high.

The problem with all this western wonderfulness (and it is all wonderful) is that the heroes were Caucasian thus providing us all with yet another skewed version of our nation's past. Russell Freedman (the great Russell Freedman) makes an attempt at setting yet one more record straight with his outstanding In the Days of the Vaqueros. In this amply illustrated volume readers learn about the cowboys in Spanish Mexico who were there when American settlers first showed up. Cowboys took "their clothing, saddles and lingo from the vaqueros". You could even argue that cowboys took their image as well. But the vaqueros were first and there is a solid record testifying to their achievements. They just didn't make it into the books (or tv shows) and so, like a lot of other great American stories, we have forgotten they every existed.

Can I say again how much I love Russell Freedman?

THE YEAR WE DISAPPEARED by Cylin Busby and John Busby

If you like your stories to have closure, or even poetic justice, don't expect it out of this one. It's gritty, it's frightening, it's messy—and it's true. And just like real life, not everything gets tied up in a neat bow in the end.

The Year We Disappeared: A Father-Daughter Memoir is a true story. In 1979, Massachusetts police officer John Busby was brutally shot while starting his shift, losing much of his lower jaw. He survived, but his life and the lives of his family members were irrevocably altered. The story is told in alternating first-person chapters from the point of view of John Busby and his daughter Cylin, who was nine years old at the time of the shooting.

It's not an easy story to read. First, John does not pull any punches in his description of the horrific shooting or his long, painful recovery.

The Secret Journeys of Jack London by Christopher Golden & Tim Lebbon

Are you ready to take a journey into the wild?

Bestselling authors Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon have teamed up to create THE SECRET JOURNEYS OF JACK LONDON. Jack certainly lived a wild life, which inspired Golden & Lebbon to create this new book series based on his real-life travels. They've taken his true stories and his fiction and mixed in urban legends and myths of the time. While THE SECRET JOURNEYS series is fiction, not biography, the books are extremely well-researched, and spooky elements add another level of intrigue to the richly detailed stories.

But don't just take my word for it -- check out the awesome reviews in VOYA (5Q 4P) and Booklist ("Golden and Lebbon's gamble is peppering their story with the fantastic and the supernatural, and it pays off in this gung-ho series starter...Golden and Lebbon write with gritty assurance. Best of all, this first chapter kicks the door wide open for almost anything in book two.") Also, 20th Century Fox has acquired the film rights to the series, and don't you want to read the books before the movie comes out?

The first book, THE WILD, is now available. (Get it from IndieBound!) When seventeen-year-old Jack London travels to Alaska to join the Klondike Gold Rush, the path he treads is not at all what he expected. Along the way, he encounters kidnappers, traders, traitors, and a mysterious wolf. Jack must face the wild head-on in order to survive.

I had the pleasure of setting up and kicking off the blog tour for THE WILD. Drop by all of the stops on the tour to learn more about the authors, the illustrators, the Gold Rush, urban legends, and, of course, Jack London.

* Little Willow interviews the authors at Bildungsroman
* Tim Lebbon blogs at Lectitans with Kiba Rika
* Kim Baccellia interviews the authors for Si, Se Puede! and reviews the book for Young Adults Book Central (YABC blog)
* Discover the secrets behind the creation of the book's cover with Melissa Walker, author of Small Town Sinners and readergirlz diva
* The authors chat with Justin, another GLW poster, at Little Shop of Stories
* The authors swing by Rebecca's Book Blog
* Martha Brockenbrough picks the brains of Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon...and considers what Jack London may have said
* Martha Brockenbrough interviews Jordan Brown
* Martha reveals The Evolution of a Monster
* Golden and Lebbon visit Brian Keene, author and journalist

Want to help spread the word about this action-packed new series? Download the electronic press kit for THE SECRET JOURNEYS OF JACK LONDON.

2012 Update: Check out my review of The Secret Journeys of Jack London, Book Two: The Sea Wolves.