Favorite Books of 2008

1) Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

My review

I have to say this this was one of the best books I've ever read. Not just this year, or recently, but ever. It is a beautiful book filled with hatred, strange as that may sound. The insights into people & relationships are stunning, and ring every bit as true to me today in 2008 as they must have in 1961 when the novel was published. ... At the same time as this book is truly and relentlessly sad, though, there is yet a rich undercurrent of (absolutely coal-black) comedy. Grim social satire though it may be, it certainly keeps you turning the pages and appreciating those comic touches, those amusing exaggerations that Yates sprinkles throughout. ... I loved it from beginning to terribly depressing end. It is a truly wonderful piece of fiction. Certainly the best novel I have read in a long long time.

2) The Human Stain: A Novel by Philip Roth

My review

...The writing is just flatly phenomenal: gorgeous passages of imaginative inner monologue, powerfully thought-provoking set pieces, amazingly lengthy and convoluted sentences that read as fluidly as anything in a children’s book. It was really a continuing surprise and a joy to read this book.


3) The End of Vandalism: A Novel by Tom Drury

My review

...once you are won over to these characters and style and pacing it is an absolutely wonderful read and ultimately very affecting... The characterizations are especially razor-sharp and always accomplished with a complete deadpan. ... No wild or wacky hilarious people in this book, only deft and quietly funny (and/or quietly tragic) people that you might know, do know, or could certainly imagine knowing. And while there IS a lot of dry humor, there's also a lot of quiet philosophy and rumination about America in general, the Midwest more specifically, the way people relate to each other, and also about a certain quiet, small way of life that may or may not be endangered at this time in the world.

4) The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

My review

..."heart wrenching" might be the best way to describe the entire experience. ... Mostly, the book was filled with elegant and elegiac stories, as well as keen insights – psychological and otherwise – into the experience of foot soldiers in Vietnam. ... I appreciated that the book – without shying away from gore and nastiness – was more about the redemptive power of writing than the actual hard, cold facts of war. .... The most fascinating part of this fascinating book is the glimpse into the mind of one writer struggling with this awful experience and controlling it, redeeming it, through the writing of this very book. It’s post-modern and strange to consider while also being very very interesting. Not to mention: sad and beautiful. ...it is a powerful book: deeply sad and troubling while, at the same time, strangely hopeful.

5) The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq by Rory Stewart

My review

I wish everyone would read “The Prince of the Marshes.” ... The epilogue...should be five pages of required reading for everyone, everywhere. ... Stewart tells the story of his wildly convoluted dealings and efforts clearly and straightforwardly. He seems idealistic yet pragmatic in the same breath, and this balance and depth makes for fascinating reading. ...it is a story that shows, rather than tells, how fundamentally impossible the task is, in Iraq. It is also, strangely, not a despairing book, nor does it really point any fingers. The essentially apolitical nature of the book makes it twice as interesting for me... It’s depressing, and fascinating, and instructive, at the same time as it is, in some ways, the blackest of black comedies.

6) On Chesil Beach: A Novel by Ian McEwan

My review

"On Chesil Beach" is a tight, tiny gem of a book. Almost a novella, the writing is so precise and evocative and meaningful that it takes virtually no time to read at all. ...the careful observations of two characters at an intersection in their lives, at a time of intersection and change in the world, create all the drama and tragedy one could ask for. ...an absolutely beautiful book: emotional, truthful, and as rigorous in its writing as poetry. Truly, no paragraph, sentence, or even word goes to waste. ... These felt like utterly real people, in a completely real situation, saying and doing the things I could imagine myself doing and saying in just such a scenario. It was uncanny, flawless, and truly impressive.

7) His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman

My review

The "His Dark Materials" series really picked up steam. Book one was a lot of necessary but somewhat tedious descriptive work establishing the world(s). Book two was naturally better able to hit the ground running, standing on the foundation laid by the first volume; sleeker, slimmer, more action & less talk helped the series move from an interesting jog to an exciting run. Book three took off at a full, breathless sprint, before a somewhat disappointing denouement. ...the books are exceedingly well-written and thoughtful; there are passages of great beauty and moving detail. It is a thinking persons’ fantasy story, rather than an action-packed book for a literary adrenaline fiend. I think the wild critical praise for these books might be overblown, fed by atheistic reviewers, hungry for young adult fiction with real-life philosophical applications, but the novels themselves are riveting and absorbing.

8) Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klosterman

My review

I enjoyed Chuck Klosterman’s "mix CD" of essays. One of the quotes on the back cover of the books touts Klosterman as "sometimes exasperating but almost always engaging." I couldn’t agree more. As thought-provoking and incisively-reasoned as "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" is, it is also exasperating. ...Klosterman seems to want to have it both ways in many of these essays – he wants to stand outside as the coolest, smartest, snarkiest observer (he is especially obsessed with the idea of 'authenticity' vs. 'irony'), yet is also clearly very much a part of, and a loving participant in, the things he profiles and discusses and trashes! ...sometimes the "jerk factor" was overwhelming; most of the time he keeps it in check and allows his fascinating, obsessive connections to generate wonderful questions and insights. ... On the whole I liked the book a great deal and was engrossed by his hyperverbal, hyperanalytical, hyperconnective analyses...

9) Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

My review

An incredible and moving book about an astounding doctor. It's sad and hopeful at the same time -- it will make you feel incredibly guilty at the state and contributions of your own life, but at the same time puts Dr. Paul Farmer (to some extent) in context among other infectious disease and public health experts. My only criticism of this book is that it jumps around in time and location more than I would have liked. But while the structure felt less than focused and somewhat scattershot to me, the writing itself is elegant and powerful. Ultimately, the story of Paul Farmer and his work is compelling enough and important enough to overcome the difficulties of narrowing the tale to fit a readable, 300-page book.

10) The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama

My review

Of course, right? Yes we can!!!


View all my reviews.

Favorite Albums of 2008

1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

An album seemingly designed specifically for me: haunting, sad, melodic. The backstory helps a lot, but I would be just as captivated by this album if I never knew any of that. In a tough year for rankings, this was a runaway for me. It is impossible to stop listening to, and even harder to stop thinking about.

2. Ray LaMontagne - Gossip In The Grain

It was a good year for weird, bearded folkies! I love both Ray LaMontagne's previous releases, Trouble and Till the Sun Turns Black, but this one has the widest range of song types, sounds, and moods, without losing that trademark raspy intensity.

3. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

MGMT would top the list of "catchiest, hottest, most fun jams of the year," but solidly rests at #3 overall for me. I have a sneaking suspicion, however, that I will never like anything else these guys do.

4. Tift Merritt - Another Country

A beautiful, catchy, solid album from beginning to end. Unlike LaMontagne, Tift Merritt's previous two releases (which I love: Bramble Rose and Tambourine) were wide-ranging, while this album is focused, simple, and well-written.

5. She & Him - Volume One

I couldn't stop listening to this album when it came out, but then I cooled on it and didn't come back to it. Then eventually I came back to it and still liked it a lot, but not as much as I remembered. The production is great and the songs are catchy, but sometimes I get annoyed with Zooey Deschanel's voice. Other times I love her voice along with everything else. Anyway, I didn't know quite what to do, so I put it at #5. It's still a great record.

6. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

The Americana-iest, harmony-iest, beard-iest album of the year, which is certainly saying something this year, right? It helps that these guys sound like nobody else, while evoking all kinds of great sounds that I love (a pinch of The Eagles, a dash of early-period My Morning Jacket, a dose of the Byrds, a dollop of Midlake, among others).

7. Ane Brun - Changing of the Seasons

Plaintive, delicate, haunting songwriting, with soft, gentle melodies galore. A really surprising album that holds up better than I would ever have expected. Ane Brun just kept creeping up further and further my list until she landed here. This is a real breakthrough record, for me.

8. Calexico - Carried to Dust

A sweeping album that manages to be cool and current while still feeling dusty and well-worn. Not in a bad way: "well-worn" like a comfortable pair of Levis that you love. Calexico is one of those bands I have heard here and there (and also heard about) for years without really feeling very strongly towards them. But this is a super strong batch of songs, with some evocative, south-of-the-border sounds behind them.

9. The Weepies - Hideaway

At first I considered this album something of a disappointment, having loved The Weepies' first album, Say I Am You, and the preceeding EP, Happiness SO MUCH. Then I realized that if I had never heard those records, this album would have been even higher up this list. It stands on its own merits, even if it doesn't quite measure up to their debut.

10. Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us

A late entry into my list, but Mates of State (think The Weepies + Ben Folds) forced their way in by sheer force of catchiness. The hooks per second (h/s) ratio is nearly impossible to calculate. This concludes the math references for the rest of my life.


And, because lists are both fun and hard, I present my five runners-up for '08. Honestly, any of these five could be in my top ten this year, but lists being what they are, these are the albums that just barely couldn't make the cut in the end:

11. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
12. Martha Wainwright - I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too
13. Kathleen Edwards - Asking for Flowers
14. Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
15. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology

Puns and Literary Terms??!! I'm In!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, my girlfriend and I saw “Synechdoche, NY,” Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut and all-around brainbender. The film stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a theater director and every single Best Supporting Actress nominee from the past ten years as the women in his life. Catherine Keener appears as his dissatisfied wife, Samantha Morton plays his lovestruck assistant, Michelle Williams shows up as his second wife– you get the idea. The cast is so indie-movie perfect that it could only have been improved if Patricia Clarkson had sung the title song over the end credits. The film belongs in a genre I refer to as “Movies-you-watch-in-your-college-philosophy-class,” which is by no means a slam. It is funny and sad and creepy and touches on all the big themes of life: happiness, mortality, aging, artistic fulfillment. And just when you think it couldn’t get any better, Dianne Wiest shows up in a role too loopy to explain and ends the movie with a moving voice over. After watching it, we found ourselves talking about things in movies I never talk about: tone, themes, shifts in story. I even caught myself at one point plaintively saying, “But what does it all meeeeaaan?” Roger Ebert says you need to see it more than once, and he is probably right. I would much rather take a movie that gives me too much to ponder than one that you can explain away in a sentence.

Critical Reconsideration: Battlestar Galactica, or, How Col. Tigh Teaches Us Something About Ourselves

My Aunt always says “nerds will rule the world one day." And I think that day is now. Think about it: much of what once was solely the domain of the nerds is rapidly moving into greener, more mainstream pastures. Video games? Everybody plays video games now. (Literally everybody, right? Except me?) ESPN: The Magazine recently featured a pro gamer in its pages! Nerds no more, gamers rank with athletes. Comic books? You mean critically acclaimed graphic novels? Batman? He's The Dark Knight now, friend. Even online dating is for everyone now (this was driven home to me rather forcefully when the attractive girlfriend of an attractive friend of mine announced boldly over lunch that they met on Match.com, as if daring anyone at the table to snicker). Let’s face it: nowadays, a lot of stuff that would have gotten you beaten up in Greg’s high school, or moderately teased in mine, is perfectly acceptable. Even the hottest rappers blog.

All of this is in semi-response to Greg’s semi-scathing review of Battlestar Galactica, a show near and dear to my heart. Cast off the shackles of the past, Greg! There is no such thing as embarrassingly nerdy anymore! (Except for Magic: The Gathering.) Accept Battlestar for what it is! Do they say “frak”? Yes. Do some characters have incongruous accents? Sure. Is there some bad acting? I guess, maybe. But the kids who play Tony Soprano's children aren't very good either, and everybody (self included) loves The Sopranos. Ultimately, we ought to accept the "frakking" and the accents along with the existence of humans in another galaxy, faster-than-light travel, and, oh yeah, the robots that became sentient and turned against their human creators, also known as cylons! All of it is just part of the (compelling, edge-of-your-seat) package.

I also cut this show some suspension-of-disbelief slack because at its core it is actually a huge, rambling, messy (not to mention action-packed!) response to September 11th. It deals with a raw tragedy in the way people have so often dealt with situations and issues they can't fathom: allegory. Battlestar, or BSG to the fans, is a serious, sad, ultimately sympathetic portrait of this country (world?) after that tragedy. Not to give anything away, but in the show, a cataclysmic tragedy precipitates a journey of survivors and a reevaluation of their fundamental values and beliefs. In space. With fast-paced battle scenes to boot!
And as to the overt spiritualism that runs throughout the show, it's all part of the response to Sept. 11th, an event inextricably, tragically tied to faith. BSG navigates these tricky waters by exploring the differences and similarities -- the complex, intertwined relationship -- between Humans and their attackers, the Cylons. (Get it?) The critical differences of faith and belief -- as well as the hubris of the "good guys" -- trigger the unimaginable act of violence that begins the show. Once the initial shock passes, the tragedy begets fear, suspicion, mistrust, and internal divisions, as well as hope, healing, and rapprochement over time. Not to mention spiritual and moral reexaminations on both sides. (Sound familiar???)

It's truly the most interesting artistic reaction to September 11th I've seen (and I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, so there!). The uncomfortable, sometimes mawkish frontal assault of someone like an Oliver Stone can't hold a candle to the subtle, occasionally shocking twists BSG puts on these issues we don't like to think about. I know I don't like to dwell on, or talk about, 9/11. But BSG is safe because it's set in space, in science-fiction land, which we all know is nerdy. Really, though, it's a grand, soap-operatic exploration of morality and religion. At the same time it also manages to be tremendously exiting, funny, surprising, thrilling, and, yes, sexy. It's not a philosophical treatise or anything; it's entertainment first and foremost.

Anyway, to each their own. A lot of people liked Slumdog Millionaire and I didn't, so who am I to judge? But I do love Battlestar Galactica, and wanted to offer a few words in its defense. Feel free to disagree, but if you do, you must be a frakking cylon!

WTC photo: Denise Gould

Critical Kool-Aid

In response to Brendan’s post:

I am tremendously curious at the machinations of the Oscar-predictions websites and pundits (most of which Brendan himself has turned me onto over the years). For example, I saw Slumdog Millionaire recently, and, while I didn’t think it was a bad movie by any means, I still don’t understand how it has garnered the downright rapturous love of so many critics, eager to proclaim it an odds-on favorite to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. (See the sites "In Contention" and/or the "Buzzmeter" from the LA Times and/or New York Magazine's "Oscar Futures" for examples.)

For my part, I thought the movie was OK, but just OK. There were plenty of things I didn’t particularly like – ranging from overall plausibility to some individual performances to the awkward, uncomfortable conjunction of gritty realism and Bollywood/romantic fantasy. (Psst, here's a secret...I know that the lead, Dev Patel, is a great story -- this being his first movie role and all -- but his performance is NOT GREAT. Shhhh! I know, this is cold blasphemy in the face of such a warm rags-to-riches tale, but it's true. He's decent, he's OK, but his acting is just not particularly believable or nuanced or great. He's ALSO supposed to have an inside-track to an Oscar nom now. What the hell?) Sure, I might be a bit of a Grinch when it comes to some of these things, but the movie simply didn’t blow me away at all. Am I a small-hearted bastard (in my defense, my HUGE-hearted wife was also unmoved by Slumdog) or are people just drinking the critical kool-aid? And if it’s the latter (as I tend to suspect), why are the critics brewing so much kool-aid for this particular movie, out of all the movies in the world in 2008?

I ask you, Brendan, as well as you, gentle readers? What’s the deal?

First Impressions: Battlestar Galactica, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Admiral Adama

Do I dare open this can of whoop ass from the cultish fan base of Battlestar Galatica? Perhaps you are one of seven people who don't like the show or haven't seen it, so, just in case, no big spoilers. For the rest of you, this might hit a nerve.

So I just finished Season 1 of this "acclaimed" piece of television. I've never been much of a TV watcher, nor am I a science fiction fan*, but I thought I should become educated to the hype surrounding the show. My first impression... a resounding, "MEH."**

Maybe I have become spoiled by the few other series I have watched in their entirety, namely, "Deadwood" and "Six Feet Under," both from HBO. I realize the liberties available to cable are greater than network, but Battlestar's writing, acting and production smack of straight-up TV. It's campy. There are few standout performances. And they say "frack" all the time. That's right. "Frack." Like: "You mother fracker. You're really a Cylon!" Or, "Frack this! My spaceship is broken."

For frack's sake.

Battlestar also requires a much broader suspension of disbelief than perhaps I was prepared for. **SPOILER ALERT** Such as, how did the big tin can armor robots build sophisticated human robots? Why are there British accents in future/space? Why does this show have to be so heavy handed with religious imagery/undertones? We get it Battlestar. You are a drama set in space that is making some serious social commentary on Judeo-Christianity. Zzzz. Hire Richard Dawkins as a writer and let's see some real sparks fly.

This said, the end of Season 1 was compelling enough for me to watch the beginning of Season II. I guess that means that the Cylons have won, and I'm a watcher. Luckily, The Wire just came in the mail, and the mean streets of fracking Baltimore will save me from this misadventure in space.

*this is where people jump in and say, "It's not really science fiction! It's a drama set in space!!!" I thought that was the definition of science fiction. I digress.

** the sound I make when I eat tapioca, hear commentary on NBA basketball, or think of the movie "The Terminal".

Covers, Covered

In response to Greg's post on the topic of covers:

First of all, I will concur with Greg that poor (potentially talentless) Joan Osborne has gutted and diminished a really great song. Sadly, this version of Cathedrals is now featured on the new sampler CD from Paste Magazine. What's more: what the hell is going on with that video? Seriously! Is that a real video or did a mildly religious passerby with a camcorder get shanghaied into that church balcony with a tripod thrust into their hands by a roadie? The camerawork looks like a 9-year-old's birthday party video. And seemingly the high-flying label "Saguaro Road Records" (also apparently home to Edwin McCain!) couldn't even manage to scrounge up a cordless freaking microphone for this VIDEO??? Come to think of it, someone explain to me why she needs a microphone at all for a video! How far you've fallen from your dubious Lilith Fair peak, Joan. Even the band seems profoundly bored (skip to 3:20). I'm with you, dudes. Way to overcook a great song and end up with booooring mush. The leaden literalism of filming in an actual cathedral is also not lost on me.

But cover songs can also, indeed, be fascinating plenty of times. Greg already hit the general key points: some songs you should simply never cover, some you can cover but can't mess with, and some you can really reinvent and go wild with, bringing in a whole new feeling or dimension. I will add to this list my enjoyment of "inappropriate" covers, played straight: I can think of "Stand By Your Man" covered with an absolute straight face by Lyle Lovett:
and "I Will Survive" covered straight up by Cake:


There's just something inherently fun to hear a song I like totally recontextualized without doing much of anything to the original song. But don't take a great song and over-cook (or under-cook) it, don't take a great song and pasteurize it, don't simply regurgutate a great song that's not yours, especially if you fancy yourself a songwriter. I'm looking at you, Joan Osborne, you weirdo.

Lynch-burg Lemonade

I spend a lot of my wasted time trolling sites that chart Oscar predictions for movies that have not yet been released and, in some cases, not yet made. Not to disparage the men and women who devote their time to these sites’ upkeep, but it’s not terribly difficult to do. I mean, it doesn’t take Roger Ebert to figure out that if Meryl Streep is going to play a nun in the film version of a Pulitzer Prize winning play, she’s going to be nominated for a bunch of awards. Meryl Streep could play the lead in “Saw VI” and she would still probably end up with an Oscar nomination (or, at the very least, a Golden Globe). Which leads me to my thoughts on Jane Lynch in “Role Models.” “Role Models” is a very funny movie that would not have seemed out of place had Bill Murray and David Naughton* made it in 1981. It has charming lead actors, brief nudity, and an all-around entertaining story. What sets it apart and made it a film I look forward to seeing again is Jane Lynch. Lynch plays a recovering addict who runs the “Big Brothers”-like program that the two stars must participate in, and she is so funny and crude and weird in each of her scenes that you kind of wish the whole movie was about her (but then you change your mind, because the rest of the movie is so good too). I laughed out loud every time she was on screen and the group of us that went devoted most of our post-show movie discussion to the merits of Jane Lynch. So where is the Oscar Buzz for Ms. Lynch? Whither the FYC ads, Jane Lynch’s publicist? Let’s get this lady on a podium!

*I know Bill Murray and David Naughton were never in a movie together and probably would have had lousy chemistry, but I just spent fifteen seconds trying to think of who the 1981 equivalent of Seann William Scott is and David Naughton was the best I could do (although I considered and rejected Tim Matheson). If you have any better ideas, post ‘em.