Travel Playlist

My daughter and I are driving to my father's, to care for him after he has knee-replacement surgery. It is roughly a 13-hour trip each way, and so we have loaded up on things to listen to on the way. I am staying for nearly a month, so I am including what I am packing with me, too:

Audiobooks:
The President's Vampire, by Christopher Farnsworth
Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
Inferno, by Dan Brown
On the road, we may listen to a few chapters each from World War Z, or Faith of the Fallen.

Music: Including, but not limited to Al Stewart, Bruce Cockburn, John Elefante, the Letter Black, To Kill a Monster, and 77s.

Podcasts:
All 11 episodes of Death & the Acrid Smell of Gunsmoke: A Jonah Hex Podcast. These are re-listens for me, but first-timers for my daughter.
About a dozen of so catch-up episodes (each) of X-Files Truth, Strangers & Aliens, and The LanternCast. These are all shows that I discovered after they had been going on for a while, so am pretty far behind. But this is a chance to do some catching up!

Comic books:
Some reading for my yet-to-be-revealaed upcoming podcast!
The 10-issue series Baker Street, for a future "Adapting Holmes" entry.
Some classic Dr. Doom vs. Iron Man stories.
The awesome hardcover collection, Superman: From the Thirties to the Seventies

On the Nook:
Elizabeth the First Wife, by Lian Dolan 

Dead-tree books:
The She-Hulk Diaries, by Marta Acosta (DON'T JUDGE ME!)
Billion-Dollar Batman, by Bruce Scivally
The Pope Who Quit, by Jon M Sweeney
The Black Prism, by Brent Weeks

Book #34: More or Less

More or Less, by Jeff Shinaberger. Unabridged audio.

Are you familiar with the expression "HumbleBrag?" If you are looking for a definition, I recommend Jeff Shinaberger's book, More or Less.  As I mentioned in a recent review, I do not read a lot of self-help or personal management books, and maybe that lack of familiarity of the genre is influencing my opinion here.

There are certainly many positive things to get out of this book. The basic message is that we in the West have too much, and there are easy ways for us to share our excess with those who have less. This idea of "radical generosity" is certainly a noble sentiment, and a countercultural one, and one with which I heartily agree. Donating gift cards, excess presents, and clothing are all valuable ideas, and the nuanced discussion in the chapter about transportation is a highlight of the book.

And even though Shinaberger does note the charitable work of others, most of the examples of virtuous behavior and innovative service are his own and his own family. There are poignant moments of Shinaberger and his wife growing in the area of generosity and identification with the underclass. But it is frustrating when the moments of passion and commitment on Shinaberger's part are balanced by moments of self-indulgence. The story of watching part of a U2 concert from a parking garage across the street from the stadium was interesting, I guess, but I wasn't sure where exactly it fit in the book.

Source: NoiseTrade website. I appreciate Shinaberger putting his work on this site for a time, which has a "pay what you want" model. This is Shinaberger living up to his ideal of radical generosity.

Happy Birthday, (Captain) America!

I have mentioned the Two True Freaks podcast feed before, and the termendous range of geeky things they talk about regularly. Over the years, the feed has produced a number of excellent Captain America themed episodes. And to note the 237th birthday of America, it seemed a good time to mention some of these episodes, and encourage people to listen.

For the Fourth of July 2012, Scott and fellow podcaster Michael Bailey gave us a commentary for the Marvel film Captain America: The First Avenger. These two guys know their comic books, and they love Cap. It's a great episode.

The prior year, not specifically themed for July 4, TTF released a massive (3 hour) round table discussion of the movie. I believe at least seven podcasters participated. As an extra bonus, they also talked about the unaired pilot for David E. Kelley's Wonder Woman TV show. All of this happens in episode 208.

The British podcasting team of Hey Kids! Comics (mentioned here), have talked about Cap a number of times, most recently in part 2 of their recent coverage of the Marvel Now! initiative. They also recently did two-part coverage of Marvel Comics' Civil War event, in which Cap featured prominently.

All of these episode are available at the new Two True Freaks website, and in iTunes under the "Two True Freaks 2" podcast feed.

New 52 Review: Action Comics

NEW 52 Review: Action Comics, volume 1: Superman and the Men of Steel, collecting issues 1-8. By Grant Morrison, Rags Morales, and Andy Kubert.

Lots of comic book properties get rebooted or reimagined, but when Superman gets rebooted or reimagined (whether on film or in the comics), it is big news. The question is always how much of the accumulated Superman mythology is necessary for the character to be recognizable as Superman?  Krypton? Red briefs? In love with Lois Lane? Newspaper reporter? Smallville's influence?

The New 52 relaunch of Superman, written by Grant Morrison, holds on to much of the past, while moving the Man of Steel into the 21st Century. There are many nods to earlier eras of Superman, including Superman's Golden Age priority of fighting corruption and bringing justice to the poor and unfortunate. Silver-age science fiction is also included in these stories, as there are flashbacks to Krypton, as well as a later appearance by the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Lex Luthor is the primary antagonist in these first issues, although there are strong hints that Mr. Mzyzptlk may be involved. This is the bald, scientific-genius version of Luthor, and he is working with the military to investigate and control the alien invader -- Superman. We quickly learn that Luthor has been in contact with an alien race orbiting Earth, and he has been promised that Earth will be saved from their destructive wrath if the planet turns over Superman. Things do not go as Luthor had planned, and the "Collector of Worlds" (not named Brainiac) pulls Metropolis out of the ground, miniaturizes it, and places it in a bottle, along with many other worlds. Superman is then put in the position of choosing which worlds to save, and decide exactly how important Earth and his Earthling acquaintances are.

There are some typical Morrison-isms in these stories, but as a single volume, the story is easy to follow. From what I understand his penchant for time-hopping and non-sequential narrative become more common in the second volume of stories. I will certainly pick up volume 2 of Action Comics, and finish Morrison's run on the title.

This collection also includes four backup stories that appeared in these issues, all written by Sholly Fisch, with art by Brad Walker and Chriscross. The first two of these, featuring Steel were good enough, but the last two, about Clark's life in Smallville, were terrific. The details that Fisch gives to the relationship between Ma and Pa, and their struggles with infertility before a miracle landed on their farm. This seems to be a modernizing of the tale that has no sense of abandoning the original themes of the origin.

source: public library.

June Reading List

33. Blood & Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter (pb), by various
32. The Children of Hurin (ua), by J.R.R. Tolkien
31. Atlantyx, (pb), by Chase Dalton
30. Callahan's Secret (ua), by Spider Robinson
29. Take Four (ua), by Karen Kingsbury


Earlier in 2013:
28. Skull-Kickers, Treasure Trove volume 1, by Jim Zub and various artists
27. The Dalek Generation (pb), by Nicholas Briggs
26. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (ua), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
25. The Areas of My Expertise (pb), by John Hodgman
24. The Skin Map (ua), by Stephen Lawhead
23. Catching Fire (ua), by Suzanne Collins
22. Quitter (ua) , by Jon Acuff.
21. The Bone Bed (ua), by Patricia Cornwell.
20. Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart (hc), by J.D. Greear
19. Left Behind: The Kids #28 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye, & Chris Fabry
18. Left Behind: The Kids #27 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye, & Chris Fabry
17. Left Behind: The Kids #26 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye, & Chris Fabry
16. Time Travelers Strictly Cash (aa), by Spider Robinson
15. The Devil's Company (ua), by David Liss
14. Deadly Straits (ua), by R.E. McDermott
13. Doctor Who: Paradise Towers (ua), by Stephen Wyatt
12. DC Universe Secret Origins (gn), by various writers and artists
11. The Gods of Mars (ua), by Edgar Rice Burroughs
10. Craving Grace (hc), by Lisa Velthouse
9. The Sign of Four (ua), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
8. DC Dead (ua), by Stuart Woods
7. A Study in Scarlet (ua), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
6. The Hunger Games (ua), by Suzanne Collins
5. Take Three (ua), by Karen Kingsbury
4. Mary Through The Centuries (hc), by Jaroslav Pelikan
3. Roil (ua), by Trent Jamieson
2. The Devil You Know (ua), by Mike Carey
1. Ender's Shadow Ultimate Collection (gn), by Mike Carey

Book #33: Bread and Wine

Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter, by various. Paperback.

I received this book last year for my birthday (maybe Christmas), and started reading it this year as my Lenten devotional. I try to do "seasonal" reading a few times throughout the church year, and have practiced a slightly more ancient-modern version of Lent the last few years.

Unfortunately, I had eye surgery during Lent this year, during which time my wife started reading these to me, as my own eyes were incapable. As I've recovered, we have kept the tradition going of her reading these to me.

The book is designed to go beyond Lent -- there are 72 readings, 26 of which are specifically categorized in the post-Lent categories of "Resurrection" and "New Life." That being said, I confess that this took waaaaay longer to finish up than it should have.

The readings come from a range of Christian traditions, including Methodist, Lutheran, Evangelical, Catholic, and Presbyterian. There are theologians and pastors represented, as well as poets and activists. Most of the writings are from the 1900s, although some older writers (Pascal, Augustine, John Donne, and Thomas a Kempis) are also included.

Of the writers I was less familiar with, I enjoyed most the reading from Walter Ciszek, a Jesuit missionary to Russia and political prisoner. His "Fear Not" essay begins with the compelling opening sentence of "Facing a firing squad is a pretty good test, I guess, of your theology of death."

Book Guys Show: Doctor Who, TIMES TWO!

We have done a couple fun Doctor Who themed, Book Guys Shows recently.

 

In episode 080, two Dalek operators visited the studio, and we talked about all of the Doctors, played some of the theme songs, and (of course) talked a lot about Daleks. We were also joined for a little bit by recording artist Geoff Smith, who played a live version of his "Fantastic Rose" song.

 

In episode 083, we talked with the great Nicholas Briggs. He is voice of the Daleks in the rebooted series, as well as running the audio drama company, Big Finish, which has produced scores of excellent Doctor Who audios. We also talked about his new novel, The Dalek Generation. By the way, the video recording is not great, but the audio version is available in iTunes (search "Book Guys Show")