November's Book: I Am Legend

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Horror (1954 - 96 pp.)

I Am Legend occupies a weird space in literary history. It's too late to be Dracula yet too early to be about zombies. It's far past the Victorian era of Gothic revival yet predates the slasher movie by a solid 24 years. (For anyone wondering why I'm being so exact, it's a reference to the release date of the original Halloween, which I consider to be among the greatest horror movies ever created.) Yet here it is, vaguely in the same era as a book like Brave New World or 1984. Perhaps that's the kind of book that makes the most sense as a comparison for it.

The dominant theme in the book is that of the self and the other, at least from what I can tell. Who is the in-group? Who is the out-group? Why do they differ? Consideration of why we maintain our selves and others is important to consider when reading I Am Legend, especially in light of the racial issues present in America at the time of its writing. Much of the rest of the book deals with the difficulty of dealing with one's own mind: "He turned away from the bar as if he could leave the question there. But questions had no location; they could follow him around." (44) Such a thought is chilling, as it makes the reader consider his or her own unanswered questions. Being left alone with them is almost as scary as the vampires besieging our protagonist, Robert Neville.

The question I am certain every scholar has asked bears repeating here: what if instead of Neville being a human and all the other characters being vampires, the situation had been reversed? What if Neville was the only vampire and everyone else was human? The reader's perception of Neville would likely be very different.

This is a very easy read. A few hours should be enough for anyone, even when re-reading some of the key passages like I did. It teaches the reader plenty about the human condition but not much else - but then again, I'm sure that's just an issue of the book focusing where Richard Matheson wants it to focus. As an aside, the Peggy Lee lyrics from her classic 1948 single "Love, Your Magic Spell Is Everywhere" humanize Neville in a way almost anything never could.

Ease of Reading: 8
Educational Value: 5

October's Book: To Kill a Mockingbird

Astonishingly, I hadn't read this one yet. A little less astonishingly, events prevented me from writing this entry until now despite having actually finished reading the book on Halloween. To the benefit of all my American friends' consciences for now knowing I've read To Kill a Mockingbird, here it is:

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Literature (1960 - 257 pp.)

More than enough has been said about To Kill a Mockingbird, and I have read almost none of the many binders full of essays and book reports filed on it. Therefore, I will be brief. The storyline is easy to follow and well-told, with the plot acting as the defining feature of the book. The setting is convincing, the characters less so. Atticus Finch is the most essential Mary Sue I have ever read, and the antagonists - however defined, but the Ewells will suffice - have so few redeeming qualities they are barely human. The blatantly clear good versus evil dynamic in such a socially complex setting dampens the conflict, as none of the characters ever seem to be torn up about anything. Mrs. Dubose is possibly the most human character in the whole book, mainly because Atticus explains why she is to Jem and Scout partway through. If there is one thing I can possibly add, and I presume someone has thought of this well before I have, it is the observation that Atticus is basically Eddard Stark. Doing right and accepting blame to a fault crosses over multiple genres and time periods, it appears.

The quotation from the book that resonates most with me is one from Atticus a short time before the famed trial: "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do." (103) It's something I have found true in my life and I am sure many others who have read the book in its 53 years of existence have as well.

This is an easy read, with a couple points taken off for the occasional Southernisms that make us Northerners pull up a dictionary. The book, while educational in the sense of providing a telling picture of interwar Alabama, is not a traditionally educational book in the way some of the others I have read for this blog are. As a side note, the anti-Hitler comments on page 223 seem more like they are from 1960 than 1935. In 1935, Adolf Hitler's various actions were either not nearly as publicized or simply not done yet. That a family in small-town Alabama would even know who the leader of Germany was at the time seems surprising, let alone that it would take that particular view toward the particular issue mentioned (i.e. reasoned opposition to his persecution of the Jews).

Ease of Reading: 8
Educational Content: 5

Observance of Virtues and Rejection of Sins

Today, I did something I've been meaning to do for almost a year now. I listed the seven cardinal virtues and seven deadly sins, and then listed how I observe the former and reject the latter. I then listed corresponding ways I can improve, whether becoming more virtuous or less sinful in the area I identified. I made a spreadsheet with four cells for each virtue and sin. Here's a blank version in case you're motivated to try it. As with all things of this nature, my finished version is blissfully private. It was a great experience, though - really enlightening. It forced me to think. I like to think of it as a Christian version of something like, say, The Happiness Project.

This I Believe: Pain Passes But Memories Remain

An essay I submitted to This I Believe is now on the site. Here it is!

Full text:
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Pain Passes but Memories Remain

Matthew - Toronto, Ontario Canada

Entered on May 15, 2013

Themes: self-knowledge,setbacks

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When I was 22, I broke my elbow two days before a scheduled flight from Toronto to Minneapolis. The X-ray tech in the ER described my prognosis as “very painful”. Forty-five minutes of surgery later, I had a plate and six screws in my elbow. Shortly thereafter, I received a potent blend of Demerol and morphine that kept me going through the following two nights in hospital. I told my mom to tell the people I was slated to see in Minneapolis about the injury. I would have called them myself but I was bedridden, frail and periodically hallucinating.

I was determined to make the trip to Minneapolis. I also knew my parents were going to Vancouver to visit my dad’s side of the family at the end of the month, and I really wanted to go with them. My dad’s father’s health was failing, and besides, I hadn’t seen most of his side of the family in four years. My aunt and uncle’s daughters were growing up so quickly, I didn’t want to miss a stage of their adolescence. The fracture unit staff at the hospital told me I couldn’t fly in a full cast – there was a worry of my arm expanding in midair – so I had a half cast put on.

I flew twice in that half cast, thrice if you count a hop from Vancouver Island to the mainland. I spent an extra week in the cast so I could make the Vancouver trip. Those trips ended up being some of the most valuable of my life. In Minneapolis, I got a better idea of where I wanted to move. (It ended up not being Minneapolis, but I still loved the city.) In Vancouver, I got to see my dad’s side of the family for the first time as an adult. Most importantly, it was the last time I ever saw my grandfather, who died a year and a half later. My dad had urged me to come to Vancouver, even though it would have been so much easier to get the half cast off a week earlier and stay home. To this day, I’m glad I took my dad’s advice.

I learned some valuable lessons from that month. One, that I was tougher than I’d realized; a person can really fight through even the most painful adversity. Two, that my pain would pass but the memories from those trips would remain. Three, that family can make almost anything worthwhile, even flying across Canada in a half cast. Four, that opportunities aren’t always there, so to take them every chance you get.

September's Book: Heat Wave

Heat Wave by Richard Castle
Mystery (2009 - 274 pp.)

Heat Wave is the first tie-in book to the hit ABC series Castle, which premiered a few months before this book's release. I was a latecomer to the show, only starting to watch it at the behest of a friend a few months ago, so this whole mystery-writer-joins-the-cops thing is still relatively new to me. I'm hooked, though.

The book is basically a textual Castle episode. Journalist Jameson Rook rides along with Detective Nikki Heat, bearing absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to writer Richard Castle riding along with Detective Kate Beckett. The characters, setting and plot are almost carbon copies of the show - set in New York City, a high-profile homicide with lots of twists and turns, and lots of bullets flying. Rook is cheeky, Heat is tough, the other main characters Raley and Ochoa ("Roach") have the same great characters their TV equivalents have, and the bad guys don't have many redeemable qualities. The character of Casper is an interesting one of a type not often seen in Castle episodes, which is a highlight. However much you like Castle, that is exactly how much you will like this book. The writing is very stock mystery but it works perfectly as a portrayal of how the pulp author Castle writes rather than attempting to tie some kind of literary masterpiece to a show that simply isn't about them. I got over the imperfections as soon as the plot started advancing.

As a bonus, there's a fake interview with Richard Castle at the end. It's hilarious. I was in stitches the whole time. Whoever wrote this book, a mystery ABC is keeping from us all until an undisclosed future date, has Richard Castle's personality down pat.

Completely unrelated to the book, I just had to listen to the Martha Reeves & the Vandellas classic "Heat Wave" while writing this entry. Having known the song since childhood, it played in my head a little every time I saw the book's cover.

Ease of Reading: 10
Educational Content: 1

Soup Diet Week: It's All Over Now

I successfully completed Soup Diet Week! After a check-in, I've done everything I need to do. As of 12:00AM this morning, I've been able to eat whatever I want. I've responded by eating healthy food like chicken and pasta, and not so healthy food like a bit of candy and chips. Of all things, I've also eaten a couple cups of applesauce, which were such a staple on my fruit days I thought I'd be sick of them by now.

Day 4 ended up just as well as I could have hoped. Day 5 was a boon, the steak being just the thing I needed, although it was frustrated not being allowed to eat vegetables that day. The six fresh tomatoes I ate made for a nice snack cut into sixth like apple slices and seasoned with black pepper. On Day 6 I bought fast food - ginger beef and chow mein vegetables from a Chinese-Canadian place in my local food court. It was painful not being able to get chow mein noodles with them but such are the rules. Day 7's brown rice, which I cooked with the remainder of Day 2/3's zucchini and onion, was just as welcome as the steak.

I finished the week by killing off the rest of the soup. There was a surprisingly high amount left. I ate about two and a half bowls with less than two hours to go in the diet and even had enough to let a friend eat one. (She enjoyed it - it's not just me who likes the soup.)

Something any Soup Diet Week participant learns rather quickly is it's not about healthy eating habits, although those are encouraged. It's an Iron Man-style challenge. As tempting as it is to say, "you're already eating healthy, so why go to this extreme?" it's probably equally tempting to walk up to someone five hours into the Iron Man and say "you're already getting your exercise, so why go to this extreme?" It's a mental challenge and a personal achievement. I can now say I've done it, as little credibility as that I'm sure that buys me with anyone.

That said, I had fun cooking some of the dishes, I was still able to go to a bar and eat fast food, and I genuinely enjoy the soup. I may even start making roasted potatoes and salads a little more often now.

Here's my weight, by day, since I started. I'm 5'10" and am reasonably athletic. My scale measures in 1/5 pound increments.

Soup Diet Week: Weight Record (September 4-11, 2013)
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Day 1 (Wednesday, September 4): 170.0
Day 2 (Thursday, September 5): 167.4
Day 3 (Friday, September 6): 165.2
Day 4 (Saturday, September 7): 164.2
Day 5 (Sunday, September 8): 164.0
Day 6 (Monday, September 9): 163.2
Day 7 (Tuesday, September 10): 163.8
Final (Wednesday, September 11): 163.2

I lost 4.8 pounds the first two days, which amazed me. The 2.0 pounds in the next three days is still quite impressive but is overshadowed by the first two days. After that, I leveled off considerably, which is to be expected once all the initial water weight is gone. I lost 6.8 pounds for the week, less than Ralph Pohlman's estimate of 8-10, but I think it was still a success. Perhaps people with greater weight loss goals than mine are more inclined to lose an extra couple pounds. The final measurement also factors in the food I ate after midnight, candy and diet cola included. I still haven't picked up a slice of bread since I finished, though.

Day 7's measurement was annoying. Gaining any weight on any day while on a crash diet is depressing. For a rebound effect, it was nothing. Now let's see if the weight stays off.

Soup Diet Week: The Halfway Update

As I'm now most of the way through Day 4 of Soup Diet Week, this seems like a good time to share some observations from the first three days and most of today. My weight loss will be documented in the finale post because there's more of a pop to it when it hits all at once. Suffice to say it's going well.

Day 1 was surprisingly livable, largely thanks to my decision to fill up on potatoes and eggs at about 11:50PM the night before. It was also the time when I ate the most soup, seeing as the soup/fruit diet is probably the most restrictive of any day. A couple things I've realized while doing this diet are (1) to really lean on each day's prescribed foods, limiting the soup to about one meal per day in order to not get sick of it; and (2) to view it as a cooking challenge, and actually have fun with different foods on their allotted days. I've also upped my coffee consumption, as there's nothing prohibiting that, and I can barely drink anything else besides water for the first six days.

That leads us to Day 2, i.e. baked potato day. Seeing as Ralph Pohlman allows butter on the baked potato on this day, and I normally substitute out butter for olive oil when I cook, I figured I'd use some olive oil instead. That gave me enough to oil a pan. I ended up making this medley of a russet baker, an onion and a green pepper in the oven. I'm aware peppers contain seeds and are therefore fruit but it was easier to hold off on them on fruit day to use them on vegetable day for culinary purposes. I added plenty of basil, garlic, pepper and paprika, the last of which blackened a bit. For those interested in trying it, cut everything up and bake it at 400 for 70 minutes. I also ordered a mixed green salad with minimal balsamic vinaigrette dressing at a bar, proving that Soup Diet Week isn't a complete social life killer.

Day 3 was vegetable overload. I dealt with that by making this stirfry from zucchini, orange and yellow pepper, thai green chili, onion and bok choy, and then this salad (at 11:43PM!) from artichokes, the rest of the peppers, onions and chili garlic paste. I used a minimal amount of canola oil for the stirfry seeing as Ralph Pohlman doesn't specifically allow oil for this day. Planning certain foods for right before or right after midnight is smart if you're someone like me who's typically awake then.

Day 4 hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought it'd be. I never eat bananas as a snack, nor do I drink much milk. Maybe as a result of this diet, bananas and milk have never tasted so good. I'm down three of each and have three of each to go. Tomorrow, I finally get to eat meat again. That will be a boon.

As an aside, this is my 100th post! ...and it has nothing to do with books. So be it.