American Idle

After a recent uprising for my lack of posts from the fellow CU brethren and after a fantastic few weeks of quality news reporting and TV shows , it is more than time for an update to my recent readings.

American Gods , (Neil Gaiman – 2003)
Teaser: This is a story about gods, men, belief, and change. In brief, it is about a hero’s journey, the rite of passage, and the invisible living among us. Shadow, just released from prison, finds his wife dead, realizes his future is undetermined, and befriends a mysterious stranger who guides him on a journey through a very real America and this loosely connected network of burned-out, down-on-their-luck deities who are the remnants of every god, godling or whatever that any person has ever believed in – an extremely intersting twist on the modern ‘Melting Pot‘
Thoughts: holy crap, what an amazing read! This book has an amazing balance of humor, history, artistry, and just good story-telling. For anyone that can keep their minds open, this is one hell of a journey (the last 100 pages is some of the most vivid writing I have picked up in a long time)

- Sailing Alone around the Room (Billy Collins – 2001)
First off, I have to give much love to Mindy for this fantastic recommendation!
Teaser: This book is both a compilation of some of his older works and about 20 new pieces. In a very simple style of writing, the subjects have an incredibly wide array of subjects ranging from the beauty of a Japanese Haiku, to the thoughts of a mooing cow on a Irish field, to shoveling snow with the Buddha. Though his subjects may be wide, what striked me most about Collins was his ability to, in short bursts, to open this perfect perfect window into his thoughts, imagination, musings, and meditations.
Thoughts: being fairly fresh to really reading poetry, I have to tell you that this was a perfect beginning. One of my favorites in the book is about the perils of actually being a writer and wanting to strip yourself down all the way to your skeleton to find the truth of purity and thought. He has a great balance of sarcasm, reflection, irony, and most importantly – imagery. All I can suggest is to get this book and find a quiet place in the park to spread out – you will not put this one down until you have read each one twice.

- Still Life with Woodpecker (Tom Robbins – 1990)
Teaser: This one is a basic story of free will and social responsibility. Robbins uses classic characters (a beautiful princess, a loyal handmaiden, a barren attic, frogs, and Spaghetti-O’s) and sets up a modern love story with one of the best characters I have read in a long time – an outlaw with a conscience and an affection for dynamite. A phenomenally twisted story that moves you from the absurdity of society, to introversion, to this insanely surreal alternate world inside a pack of Camel cigarettes.
Thoughts: Undoubtedly, one of the best I have read – not only does he create some of the best characters, but quirky humor of this one is indescribable. If you even take one shred from this post, it is to buy this book and not go to bed until you are finished (and then read it again!)

As always, all are up for grabs for anyone interested to borrow –