Author: Multiple
The annual Best American Essays series compiles the year’s most noteworthy essays, with 2012 dwelling on such diverse topics as modern psychiatry, Edward Hopper, the evils and joys of transcendentalism, the nostalgia of physical objects, boredom, and the multiverse. The essays in this collection are eye-opening and often haunting: though most collections will have you poking around like a Whitman’s sampler (as noted by ’07’s editor David Foster Wallace), this is one of the first in the series where every essay deserves being read and re-read. The Best American Essays 2012 can be found on Acorn’s New Books shelf.
Author: Mike Mills
As you may recall, Christopher Plummer won an Oscar earlier this year for his role here as Hal, a 75-year-old man who comes out as gay after the death of his wife, and who dies himself of cancer several years later. So is this a sad, sentimental exploration of death and identity? Certainly, but it’s also quirky and hilarious (and perhaps even heartwarming), as we watch Hal’s son Oliver (Ewan McGregor) deal his father’s death by falling in love with a French actress and hanging out with an immensely wise Jack Russell terrier named Arthur.
Author: Grimes
Grimes–a 24-year-old Canadian named Claire Boucher–combines breathy vocals, stomping industrial beats, and ghostly atmospherics in this unique confection, which the internet sportingly describes as “witch house” and “grave wave.” At any rate, I heartily recommend this album to anybody who likes their shamelessly cheesy pop with a hint of something sinister.
Author: Asif Kapadia
Ayrton Senna da Silva was a three-time Formula One World Champion who tragically died in an accident while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. This documentary focuses on his racing career, but offers just enough of his intense and charismatic personality to keep you wanting more. If you’re interested in Formula One, sports documentaries, or just want an exciting movie, watch Senna.
Author: Sufjan Stevens
I’m not really a fan of Christmas music, but Stevens has changed my mind (for the moment, anyway). He’s compiled five mini-albums of traditional Christian Christmas songs with his unique signature folksy style and original ones as well that make holiday music more than bearable. Unique tracks (and my favorites) include: “The Friendly Beasts”, which tells the story of the nativity through the eyes of the animals present, “Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella”, and “Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day (Well, You Deserved It!)”.
Author: Daniel Smith
Smith’s memoir, Monkey Mind, dives into the heart of his anxiety problems, stemming back from his earliest memories and experiences. His mother, suffering from crippling anxiety herself, amusingly becomes a therapist who brings her work home where Daniel listens to her sessions through the vents. He recalls his mother blaming herself for everything, but doesn’t give her all the blame; besides genetic influence, Daniel also admits and divulges details to that awkward first sexual encounter with Esther, a curvy co-worker, and another random woman who Esther met at a bar. This situation, instead of being a teenage boy’s dream, ends with disastrous and embarrassing results for Daniel.
More humorous and embarrassing scenes are included within; I love the one particular scene of how Smith ingeniously solves his problem of constant sweating. (so funny!)
Contrasting passages are abundant within the book – there are scenes so funny that I can’t help but laugh out loud; but, at times moments so sad and depressing because I know this is much more detrimental than the author makes it seem. Smith also included factual tidbits that are actually quite interesting; he notes certain performers that suffer from extreme anxiety and explicates on the struggles they regularly face.
As humans, we all suffer from stress and anxiety to a certain degree, and this was an eye-opening book that I read with much enthusiasm. But Daniel Smith’s personal narrative is a human admission to how anxiety can put us in a chokehold and take over our lives yet also reminds us that we must move forward– with a few laughs along the way.
*For more information about the author Daniel Smith and his book, please check out his website “The Monkey Mind Chronicles.”
Author: Bapsi Sidhwa
Normally, I don’t read a book just because it was banned or challenged. I carouse titles and skim through books and if I see something I like, I make a note of it. However, for one of my classes I had to read Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India. (If I was to personally leaf through it, in all honesty I would have just set the book aside and kept looking.) But while reading the book for class, I found out that it was a “banned book” in 2006; this is what eventually piqued my interest.
Cracking India is about story that’s focused on the polio-stricken narrator, 8 year-old Lenny, and the events that she witnesses in Lahore during the 1947 partition of India. There are some heartfelt moments scattered within the text; Lenny is not only coming of age in a dreadful time period, but practically during a time of social unrest and you can sympathize, laugh, and cry with her as she experiences new emotions for the first time. But truth be told, there are lots of explicit details regarding sex, violence, and the monstrosities surrounding the dividing of the British Indian subcontinent into India & Pakistan. Almost close to 12.5 million people were displaced and there was a lot of religious-fueled genocide that is described in the book. Overall, it’s not a book for the weak-hearted.
The book was challenged because “a parent objected to atwo-page scene in which the narrator brushes off an older cousin’s attempt totrick her into performing oral sex”.
I was wondering to myself after reading the book, “Really? This is the only reason why they wanted the book banned?” I found it not surprising that the book was challenged, but why the book was challenged. The parents did not contest to the religious violence that was expanded upon, nor about the blatant abuse towards women specifically. To me, it seemed that there were so many other issues that could have been brought up, but this one seemed so unnecessary.
I really want to recommend this book: yes, it is especially taxing because it deals with a historical event that most of us in the Western world really cannot comprehend or even begin to understand; but the main point is that it’s challenging. It brings a lot of important issues to light: violence against women, one’s perspective, colonialism, etc. – the list is endless. (I caught myself wondering about humanity in general; how could someone give in to such violence, etc.) And isn’t the point of so-called “banned books” supposed to challenge us how we think? Sometimes I think we don’t challenge ourselves enough.
Author: Cheryl Strayed
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is the memoir/travel journal of “Dear Sugar” advice columnist, Cheryl Strayed. It’s not really a travel journal, it’s definitely not descriptive nature writing, and it’s not typical memoir either. There are portions of all three in the story, but the result is somehow more than the sum of its parts. Alternating between her childhood, her recent past, and the trail experience feels completely natural as she walks alone on the mountain trail.
Here’s a very brief synopsis of the book: A young woman with a history of bad decisions makes what seems to be another poor choice by embarking on an 1,100 mile hike in the California mountains, with no hiking experience. Along the way she shares stories about the events that have led her to the California wilderness.
It’s not easy to explain why I liked this book. (Which is why it’s a good choice for Acorn’s first Nonfiction Book Discussion meeting on Oct. 4 at Oliver’s Bar and Grill.) I don’t think I’d like to spend time with her and I definitely wouldn’t take her advice on anything, but she remains unexpectedly relatable. Her honesty in writing about the mistakes she has made involving sex, heroin, and family relationships was refreshing and made for an interesting read. I recommend this book to anyone looking for something to read. Oprah does, too.
Kingdom Come
Author: J.G. Ballard
After the mysterious, but seemingly accidental, murder of his estranged father in a London suburb, former advertising agent Richard Pearson decides to visit his father’s adopted home. As he investigates the murder, he discovers the dark side of the unassuming suburb: the megamall at the center of town. The local residents have become enamored with the mall and the consumerist lifestyle that goes with it. The novel begins as a traditional mystery complete with an elusive love interest, but it gradually becomes a typical Ballard dystopia when the residents’ consumerism leaves them with a void that can only be filled with violence. They harass immigrants, stage violent marches through town, and aggressively support local sports teams. In Kingdom Come, consumerism leads to boredom and boredom leads to fascism. For those readers who are unfamiliar with JG Ballard, this is a light introduction to his more brutal works like Crash and Cocaine Nights.
Author: Cheryl Strayed
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is the memoir/travel journal of “Dear Sugar” advice columnist, Cheryl Strayed. It’s not really a travel journal, it’s definitely not descriptive nature writing, and it’s not typical memoir either. There are portions of all three in the story, but the result is somehow more than the sum of its parts. Alternating between her childhood, her recent past, and the trail experience feels completely natural as she walks alone on the mountain trail.
Here’s a very brief synopsis of the book: A young woman with a history of bad decisions makes what seems to be another poor choice by embarking on an 1,100 mile hike in the California mountains, with no hiking experience. Along the way she shares stories about the events that have led her to the California wilderness.
It’s not easy to explain why I liked this book. (Which is why it’s a good choice for Acorn’s first Nonfiction Book Discussion meeting on Oct. 4 at Oliver’s Bar and Grill.) I don’t think I’d like to spend time with her and I definitely wouldn’t take her advice on anything, but she remains unexpectedly relatable. Her honesty in writing about the mistakes she has made involving sex, heroin, and family relationships was refreshing and made for an interesting read. I recommend this book to anyone looking for something to read. Oprah does, too.
Author: Paul Ingrassia
With the abundance of information regarding every aspect of car ownership, maintenance, and lore available at a moment’s notice, it’s become increasingly difficult to tie both new and meaningful narratives to the history of the automobile. From Henry Ford’s Model T and the beginnings of a middle class, to the alternative-fuel Prius and its barrage of Hollywood drivers, most of the facts have become common knowledge, the type of thing that doesn’t take a history book or a manual to learn. By acknowledging the difficulty in crafting a non-academic study of cars, Engines of Change: A History of the American Dream in Fifteen Cars by the Pulitzer-Prize winning Paul Ingrassia is the perfect text for a shallow study of 20th century car culture.
For example, the chapter on Cadillac tackles the rise of Chrysler’s designer Virgil Exner and his creation of sleek tail-fins, the ultimate status symbol that was later adopted by General Motors to create one of the most iconic symbols of post-war prosperity and a nod to the Cold War space-race. Weaving through references to literature, television, and film captures what made car-culture appealing to both teenagers and their parents, from the appropriation of a German people’s car (originally commissioned by Adolf Hitler) by Grateful Dead-loving hippies, to the excesses of John DeLorean’s quintessential 80’s drug-trafficking vessel popularized by the Back to the Future franchise. More than mere references, the book strays from being overtly preachy or detailed to provide brief snapshots of American culture, whether economic, social, or just a glimpse at the evolving nature of marketing tactics, while avoiding the incomprehensible jargon of automobile aficionados. While most likely unhelpful to experts, the book caters mercifully to the casual curiosity of readers who enjoy seeing where cultural paths cross with their Automobile 101 certificate in hand. In Engines of Change, Ingrassia tackles not just fifteen of the most well-known cars in North America, but their legends as pop culture icons.
Author: Jen Hatmaker
Seven: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker is a new book on Acorn’s shelf. Hatmaker takes seven months to intentionally focus on seven areas of life: clothes, shopping, waste, food, possessions, media, and stress. The book reads like a blog where the author writes about her reflections about each area, how much she has been shaped by each area, and how she takes deliberate action to cut out the excess in her life. She uses this experiment to think about how the average American has so much excess, especially compared to the rest of the world. She considers how her excess has interfered with her relationship with God and with others. Although some of her ideas may be considered radical or extreme, this book does offer ways to reflect on one’s own thoughtless excesses in life, why and how to cut back, and how to generously give to others.
