Thursday, December 27, 2018

Still Trying to "Read Harder"

Previously I aimed to work on Book Riot's "Read Harder" challenges, not quite reaching the 24 goals for either 2015 or 2016. (2017 was a bit of a whirlwind year apparently and I never even looked at the list, let alone attempted it.) This year, I looked at the "tasks" list very late in the game (November!!), but decided to give it a go anyhow. Granted, my reading for 2018 was already constrained by running/belonging to three book clubs and being a reader for a children's book award nominating committee, but I figured all of that reading had to help meet some of Book Riot's tasks for this year! Granted, that may not be how the makers of this challenge meant for this to work, but that's how I'm making it work this year. :)

As always, my reading tastes include children's, YA, graphic novel, and audiobook titles. (Sorry not sorry if you think any of those aren't 'really' reading.) Several books could have fit in more than one category, but I tried to contain them to one 'best fit' category. For each book, I link to my LibraryThing review of it. Inclusion of a book here does NOT mean that I necessarily liked that book, only that it met the parameters of each task.

For the final tally, 19 out of 24 isn't so bad, especially considering that I've read books that met most of the other categories in the past. I will admit to a bit of a reach with some of my titles here, but I'm okay with that.

Hope you find something good to read here!

1. A book published posthumously

2. A book of true crime
The first is a graphic 'novel' about an unsolved murder committed in the 1920s around the area of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The second is part travelogue, part true crime as it concerns a murder that took places in the 1990s among the storied homes of Savannah, Georgia. 

3. A classic of genre fiction (i.e. mystery, sci fi/fantasy, romance)
These are both mystery books written by the dame of the genre for her "Miss Marple" series.

4. A comic written and drawn by the same person
Several others fit this category but are listed in other categories already. 

5. A book set in or about one of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, or South Africa)
These two books are about a Chinese/Chinese-American family and take place in China, then the US, and then back in China again as we follow the family through the generations.

6. A book about nature

7. A western
  • Didn't make one in this year but have in the past.

8. A comic written or drawn by a person of color
This manga is written *and* drawn by Nana Yaa, who I think is of African origin (based on her name and her hand-drawn author's 'photo' in the book). 

9. A book of colonial or postcolonial literature
Book Riot's definition of postcolonial literature is pretty broad, so I think this one fits. Full disclosure: I began reading this book in 2017 but finished it in 2018, so I'm counting it here.

10. A romance novel by or about a person of color
This book is many things (YA, adventure, scifi, etc.) but at the core is the romantic feelings the protagonist has towards his best friend, an English born man of African descent. It's a bit of stretch to put here, but I'm hoping better than nothing. Romance is really not my genre.

11. A children’s classic published before 1980
The Ghost of Windy Hill was published in 1968; I'm not sure if it's really a "classic" given how it's hard to find nowadays, but my sister and I both loved it growing up. 

I went through a Sendak phase this year and read several of his books (whether he was the author and/or the illustrator) that I never read as a child. There were some titles that were actually more recent than 1980. Then going backwards from that date, Some Swell Pup originates from 1976. In the Night Kitchen was originally published in 1970; Higglety Pigglety Pop! in 1967; Alligators All Around, One Was Johnny, and Pierre in 1962; The Sign on Rosie's Door in 1960; The Moon Jumpers in 1959; What Do You Say, Dear? in 1958; and A Hole Is to Dig in 1952. 

Katy No-Pocket is from 1973. Where the Sidewalk Ends was another childhood favorite and was originally published in 1974.

12. A celebrity memoir

13. An Oprah Book Club selection

14. A book of social science
With this title, the social science in question is political science.

15. A one-sitting book
Several others fit this category but are listed in other categories already. I chose not to include short children's books (e.g., picture books and early readers) here as that seemed self-evident. 

16. The first book in a new-to-you YA or middle grade series
The adventures continue with The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy and The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky.

17. A sci fi novel with a female protagonist by a female author
  • Didn't make one in this year but have in the past.

18. A comic that isn’t published by Marvel, DC, or Image
These are respectively published by: 
  • Graphix 
  • Dark Horse
  • Charmz/Papercutz
  • Archie Comics
  • Penny Farthing 
  • Graphix (again)
  • Dark Horse (again)
  • NBM Publishing
  • First Second
  • Boom! Box
  • Top Shelf Productions
  • Boom! Box (again)
  • Z2 Comics
  • Flying Eye Books
  • Great Beast Comics
  • Action Lab Entertainment 
  • Oni Press
  • Graphix (for the third time)
  • Dark Horse (for the third time)
  • KaBOOM!
  • Roaring Brook Press
  • Knopf Books for Young Readers
  • NBM Publishing (again)
  • Dark Horse (for the final time)
  • NBM/Papercutz
Several others fit this category but are listed in other categories already. 

19. A book of genre fiction in translation
This is a work of historical fiction in translation (from Spanish to English). 

20. A book with a cover you hate
  • There are covers that don't seem to match the book and there are covers that disappoint by whitewashing, but this seems more arbitrary than "harder." I think the challenge's architects were trying to get readers outside of their comfort zone and to actually not judge a book by its cover, but this one struck me as silly and I had no interest in doing this one.

21. A mystery by a person of color or LGBTQ+ author
  • Did not get to this one, which is particularly unfortunate because I do love mysteries.

22. An essay anthology
These are both less of an "anthology" and more a literary criticism, but I'm going to call it as a "close enough."

23. A book with a female protagonist over the age of 60

24. An assigned book you hated (or never finished)
  • Again, I wasn't thrilled with this prompt. The idea I assume is to re-visit something you didn't like originally and see how you feel about it now. I just don't have the time or interest anymore to tackle something I already disliked once. Plus, I've done this in the past when books like A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man that showed up in both my high school and college curricula. 

Book Riot has posted the 2019 challenge, and I'm honestly not that thrilled by many of the prompts. Again, there seems to be an arbitrariness to some of them (Why is 2014 a magic date? Who cares about the number of Goodreads reviews?) that I dislike. With so many other things on my plate (book-wise and otherwise), I think I'll probably end up skipping next year's challenge.

*Began in 2018 but did not finish before year end
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Monday, November 26, 2018

High Society in Metropolitan

Recently the 1990 film Metropolitan came across my radar. Although it received an Academy Award nomination for best screenplay and is now part of the Criterion Collection, this movie isn't one I've heard anything about before and it was a bit difficult to track down a copy. However, it seems to have a bit of 'cult following' and has good critical and audience reviews. The movie is written and directed by Whit Stillman, who I am familiar with by and large because he wrote the screenplay for the movie Love & Friendship*, based on Jane Austen's novella Lady Susan.**

In many respects, Metropolitan feels the influence of Austen's stories.*** The film concerns itself with a handful of young men and women recently out of college or finishing up school (it was a bit unclear which) who are members of the mid- to upper classes. During winter break, they attend dances, play games, discuss letters written to each other, and sit around in living rooms expounding their thoughts on such high-brow topics as the classics of literature, class and political systems, personal fulfillment, the effects of divorce and blended families on adult children, and the meaning of romance as well as such low-brow gossip as who is sleeping with whom. There is also the obligatory 'concern' about women's 'virtue,' which felt rather out of place and bordering on sexist (if not downright there). This is definitely a "slice of life" style movie as we see only a limited timeframe and it doesn't seem that much changes for any one character in terms of big life decisions. Arguably the most character development we see is in Tom Townsend, who comes from a less rich background and meets the main group of friends rather by chance, but even he makes only incremental adjustments to his thoughts.

First after-party with interloper Tom at the far right

To get a sense of the dialogue and Stillman's wit, here are some quotes regarding the topics discussed by the characters in their various social forays:

"Broken" Families
Charlie: But that's the exception though. I mean, divorce is actually comparatively rare among standard New York social types, contrary to what people might think.
Nick: Well, usually there's something wrong though. Dead fathers are a common problem. Jane's father is dead. Very suddenly last year.
Tom: That must have been awful for her.
Nick: Yes. It was tough on him, too.
Charlie: That's different though; that doesn't mean a broken home.
Nick: Well, it's still means having your mother go out on dates.
Charlie: My point was that the common image of divorce and decadent behavior being prevalent among New York social types is not really accurate. That's more South Hampton.

Class
Nick: Oh you mean because of his title? We're supposed to be impressed by that? On the contrary, the titled aristocracy are the scum of the earth.
(later)
Sally: You always say "titled" aristocrats. What about "untitled" aristocrats?
Nick: Well, I could hardly despise them, could I? That would be self-hatred.

 Literature
Audrey: What Jane Austen novels have you read?

Tom: None. I don't read novels. I prefer good literary criticism. That way you get both the novelists' ideas as well as the critics' thinking. With fiction I can never forget that none of it really happened, that it's all just made up by the author.

Personal Fulfillment
Businessman at bar: The acid test is whether you take any pleasure in responding to the question "What do you do?" I can't bear it.

Politics
Charlie: Fourierism was tried in the late nineteenth century... and it failed. Wasn't Brookfarm Fourierist? It failed.
Tom: That's debatable.
Charlie: Whether Brookfarm failed?
Tom: That it ceased to exist, I'll grant you, but whether or not it failed cannot be definitively said.
Charlie: Well, for me, ceasing to exist is - is failure. I mean, that's pretty definitive.

Tom: Well, everyone ceases to exist. Doesn't mean everyone's a failure.

Romantic Relationships
Tom: I haven't been giving you the silent treatment. I just haven't been talking to you.

Note the white debutante gowns!

In various articles posted online, people refer to this movie as a "comedy." Indeed, the rapid-fire repartee contains many witty lines as evidenced above; nevertheless, I have a difficult time classifying this movie as a comedy. Yes, there is humor in the earnest conversations and contradictory attitudes held oftentimes by the same character, but I felt an overwhelming current of hopelessness in the film. This is undercut by the lack of any resolution as well as by the distance of time -- we now know that the "downward mobility" mentioned by Charlie and almost immediately dismissed by the others is in fact a real thing. Since 1990, the U.S. economy has crashed spectacularly and we are still reeling from the effects. Perhaps those in the upper class seen here were cushioned to some degree, but the characters depicted don't seem to be among the extremely wealthy (the 1% who hold so much clout) but appear to be more of the upper middle class -- a group rapidly dwindling away to near extinction.

Concern about having enough players for bridge seems very Austen-esque

An interesting thing about the cast was that it was filled with actors just starting out in their careers. Furthermore, some quick internet searching found that many of those actors have abandoned the field altogether and pursued careers outside of film. Others have gone on to appear in TV roles and a few appeared in other films by Stillman. Apparently Metropolitan is considered the first in a loose trilogy of films by Stillman, with the other two titles being Barcelona and The Last Days of Disco. (I suspect that perhaps this is a trilogy in the way that Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge are a "trilogy," but I don't plan on watching the other two Stillman films to confirm that.) The one standout in this film (who went on play roles in the other two movies in this trilogy as well) was Chris Eigeman, who after a bit of time I recognized from his role as Jason Stiles in Gilmore Girls. This is not to say that the other cast did not perform well also, but rather that his character Nick stole the show a little more than the others. As the characters were all introduced at the same time as each other, it took a bit of time before it became clear exactly who was who and what their story was.

Other research revealed that Whit Stillman apparently completed this first film of his on a tight budget. This is rather understandable and can be seen in the final version of the movie; as I already mentioned, the cast was full of unknowns. The musical score is mostly instrumental songs in the common domain, and there is very little action. Most of the movie takes place in living rooms or ballrooms where groups of peers speak to one another. The staging of the people on screen often reminded me of plays, where dialogue is king and set pieces are a side note (although stunning when done well). Occasionally we see scenes of characters walking outdoors and some shots feature quick looks at windows or shops along the streets of New York City. However, I did keep thinking that this movie could easily work nicely as a theater piece as well.

Who is dancing with whom is also very Austen-esque

Stray Observations

  • Despite many mentions of characters' parents, we never see any besides Tom's mother. Supposedly these young adults live with their parents, but none of their parental figures seem to care about the group dropping by unexpectedly and staying until all hours of the night/morning while drinking, doing drugs, and/or stripping out of their clothes.
  • The movie does not have closed captioning options, which is a real shame. I am sure that I missed bits and pieces of dialogue as a result.
  • One article online mentioned that Stillman based the characters and social scene on his own life experiences, but I have yet to find additional verification for that; however, it would seem that at least some of the content is based on razor-sharp, first-hand scrutiny of the bourgeois class and their foibles. 

The Final Word

 This movie is obviously not going to be for everyone. The action is limited and there is no concrete resolution. If you want a movie with adventure or romance, you'll get little of either here. However, if you like sharp social commentary, understated humor, and "slice of life" movies, then this film just might be your cup of tea.


*Side note: I once started a blog post for that movie after viewing it in theaters but only got as far as writing a title. Whoops.
**Second side note: Another screenwriter had previously toyed with the idea of presenting Lady Susan as play, which I saw a reading preview of at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
***Full disclosure note: I am not the first person to argue this; a rather more scholarly criticism draws parallels between Metropolitan and Austen's novel Mansfield Park.
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