2008: A Look Back At My Year In Blogging

At the beginning of 2008, I decided that I wanted to write more and I thought that this blog would be as good a place as any to get that ball rolling. Because I've always loved to read, it made sense to write about the books I read on my blog. Before this year, activity on this blog was sporadic at best but, in '08 I wrote here more regularly than ever before and also began co-authoring the Subject To Debate blog with my friend John Bertosa.

I read, and wrote about, 18 books in the past year, which is actually a little less than I thought I would. I was hoping to be in the neighborhood of two per month. I've never kept track of the number of books that I read in any other year so, I really don't have anything to compare that number with. I also wrote four additional posts that weren't about books. This year, I plan to continue writing about each book I read but I also plan to write about each new album I purchase. I think I'll probably stick to new releases but, who knows, I may try to write about every piece of music I buy. Over the course of any given year, I buy a lot of music so, that would be a tall task.

In terms of sheer numbers, I wrote 22 posts on this blog in 2008, which is ten more than I've ever written in a single year before. I also wrote twelve posts over at Subject To Debate. So, a total of 34 posts in one year isn't too bad. I know there are plenty of people who write on their blogs once a day, sometimes two or three times a day but, as I said, my history has been pretty sporadic so, I feel good that I've kept it up a bit more regular this year.

I'm hoping that I can continue writing steadily in 2009. Actually, I'd like to get on more of a weekly schedule with this blog. Maybe having a deadline will help keep me focussed. Anyway, however it goes for me blogging this year, I want to thank anyone who has taken the time to read some of my writing in the past twelve months. I hope you've enjoyed and I'd love to hear from you.

Black Sabbath's Master of Reality: 33 1/3 by John Darnielle

For those who are not familiar with it, 33 1/3 is a series of short books published by Continuum. Each book focuses on a different rock album. The subject of this book is, you guessed it, Black Sabbath's classic "Master of Reality."

I haven't read any of the other 33 1/3 books but, from what I've read about them, most take the form of either critical essays or rock journalism on the making of the record in question. John Darnielle, who is himself a musician being the singer, songwriter and principle member of a band called The Mountain Goats, has crafted something entirely different and ultimately more satisfying. "Master of Reality" is a short novel about a troubled teen in a psych ward who is a devoted fan of Black Sabbath.

Darnielle chooses to tell the story from the perspective of his main character, who's name is Roger. The first half of the story is Roger's journal while a 16 year old patient at a psych ward in 1985. Later, the story is picked up in the form of a letter from Roger to one of his therapists, written ten years after the main events of the story took place.

Although the character in the story was several years younger than me (five to be exact) and I never spent any time in a psych ward, it was impossible for me not to empathize with his passion for music in general and Black Sabbath in particular. In many ways, I think that Black Sabbath's role has always been to speak to the troubled teenager that many of us once were and that still seems to live inside. His passionate pleas to his therapist, whom he assumes is reading the journal, to give him back his Black Sabbath tapes, or at least "Master of Reality," made me think of the hours and hours I spent as a teenager listening to and talking about music. For that matter, it made me think of the huge amounts of time I still spend in these endeavors as an adult.

To put it simple, this little book blew me away. It is a very quick read but I wanted to turn back and reread it as soon as I had finished. In the reading and rereading, I found myself thinking about periods of my life that I hadn't thought about in a long time. Like Roger, I have changed greatly since my misspent youth as a troubled teen but, also like Roger, I look back on that time of my life with a complicated mixture of pain and affection. In this wonderful little book, John Darnielle has perfectly captured the complexity of those feelings while also conveying the dark masterpiece that is Black Sabbath's "Master of Reality."

The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

This is a book that I probably would've never picked up on my own but, Amazon offered it briefly as a free download so, I decided to check it out. It is a fairly standard serial killer thriller but, don't let that dissuade you from reading it. "The Surgeon" is gripping suspense and Gerritsen is a gifted story teller.

The story centers around a serial killer in Boston who performs living dissections on his female victims. At times, the story is extremely grizzly but the juxtaposition of descriptions of the Surgeon's exploits with those of a female surgeon, who is the focus of the killer's wrath, give the novel a context that is often missing in suspense fiction.

It is unfair to compare the writing in a mystery or thriller to that of a more "literary" genre, however, it is Tess Gerritsen's writing which propels this story. The believability and vulnerability of her characters pulls the reader in and the sections of the book told from the perspective of the killer border on tortured genius. "The Surgeon" had me clicking through the pages as fast as I could read them and at the end of the day, that is the job of a successful suspense novel.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (with an introduction by Robert DeMott)

Like most people, I first read Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" in high school. It was one of four books that we read in a class called "20th Century Literature." For most of the class, it's very length and breadth made the reading of the book a daunting task. I was the geek in the corner who literally lapped the class, reading the entire book twice in the time that everyone else read it once.

Although this isn't my first time to re-read this classic, I was drawn to it this time by all of the correlations that are currently being made in the media between the Great Depression and today's financial crisis. First and foremost, "The Grapes of Wrath" is the quintessential dust bowl ballad of American literature. Steinbeck was able to capture the struggle of the migrant farm worker in 1930s America in a way that makes it not only accessible but also resonant to readers far removed from the events of the novel.

In this reading, which is either my third or fourth reading of the book, I can't remember for sure, I was struck more than ever by the power of the expositional or background chapters, which alternate with the narrative chapters on the plight of the Joad family. In his fascinating and informative introduction, Robert DeMott compares these chapters to jazz riffs, which is as appropriate a comparison as I can think of. The writing throughout the book is powerful and moving but, it is in these "interchapters," as Steinbeck called them, that the author really flexes his muscles as a writer.

I was also moved by the never ending resolve of the Joad family in the face of what amounts to a constant assault on their human dignity. There is an underlying goodness to most of the characters in the book that, while it may be old fashioned, is a powerful assessment of the ability of human beings to rise to an occasion or at least to band together in defeat.

"The Grapes of Wrath," is by no means a happy story and the ending is probably as far from the classic "happy ending" as could be imagined. It is, however, a story that is often moving and at times inspiring. If it's been awhile since you've read it, you should revisit this masterpiece of American literature. If you've never read it, then stop fooling around on the Internet, get yourself a copy of this book and read it.

Vote For Barack Obama (If You Haven't Already)

I spent yesterday afternoon hanging around on the mall in downtown Cleveland, waiting to hear Barack Obama speak. Four years ago, I spent most of the night before the election in the same place waiting to hear John Kerry make his final pitch for the presidency. While there was a sense of deja vu to yesterday's event - thousands of democrats, Bruce Springsteen performed etc., - the differences couldn't have been more palpable.

Both crowds felt like rock concert crowds but Kerry's crowd felt like a Springsteen concert while yesterday's rock star was the candidate, Barack Obama. There were vendors wandering about selling t-shirts, buttons and rally towels. Near where I was standing, dozens of parents cheerfully boosted their children up on top of what appeared to be a very wobbly structure for a better look. I don't condone putting children in danger but it did say something about the historic nature of the event. There was a sense of this being something that we've never seen before.

I don't remember seeing a more diverse crowd at any event I've ever attended. There were old people, young people, white people, black people, Hispanics, Asians, hippies, preppies, gays, straights and even a few football fans spilling over from the Browns game. I don't believe that his ability to unite diverse groups of people is reason enough to elect Barack Obama president but I think it's a start. There has never been a president or public figure in my lifetime that has galvanized the American population in this way.

So, if not for his ability to unite diversity, why should you vote for Barack Obama? Because it's time for America to take the plunge. To put our money on the horse that has the most potential instead of the one who has been in the game the longest. A vote for John McCain is a vote in support of the politics of misdirection. We must, once and for all, repudiate the idea that half truths and outright lies are just part of a so called "tough campaign." The attempts by the McCain campaign to characterize Barack Obama as a terrorist who hates America or a Socialist are at least as repugnant as the legendary Willy Horton incident that sunk the campaign of Mike Dukakis back in 1988. The difference is that this time they don't seem to be working.

So if you haven't already voted, get to the polls early tomorrow and stand in whatever length of line you need to and cast your vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. It's time to have a president who can inspire us to actually be the greatest country in the world instead of merely mouthing those words that we've been told since childhood. Use your voice to cast a vote for leadership over cynicism, hope over fear, ideas over character assassination and hope over anger.