Review: Sweet and Lowdown: Woody Allen's Cinema of Regret

Sweet and Lowdown: Woody Allen's Cinema of Regret by Lloyd Michaels
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I haven't been a big movie watcher, but I have enjoyed Allen's movies from his "classic" period. And I always enjoy the music. There are scenes in his movies that get etched in my mind, and are memorable years later. I can't say that for most other movies, or for most other directors. And I haven't ever read a book about Allen's films. I enjoyed this one. The author does mostly what you would expect here. He categorizes Allen's films into different styles and periods, then provides some description and some analysis tied to that classification. After you are done reading, you feel you could hold your own in a coffeeshop discussion of Allen movies. Or better, in line for a movie in the city. The miss here was on expectation given the title - Sweet and Lowdown was but one of many films analyzed here and it didn't seem to stick out in comparison to the rest. Another nit to pick is that there are few photos, although the author seems to have sensed that and discussed the few photos he includes at length. Overall, if you don't read many books on film and want to get some of those inside references and see how a career's worth of films adds up to more than it's sum, this is a good book.

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Review: Nevada

Nevada by Zane Grey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm glad I read this one after the first one in this two-book series. In the first book, you learn that Nevada has a secret past, but the book shows he can be a good fellow, not just a devil-may-care gunslinger. Here he comes across as a too-cool-for-school type as he goes undercover to, in effect, right all wrongs in his part of Arizona. It's a kind of spy story in Western garb. On audio, I found it a bit confusing to keep up with the players and the curious plot, but the action, once it got going, kept going. I see from looking at the "inside look" on Amazon that the author uses vernacular with non-standard spelling for some of the dialog. When I read that I usually don't like that it slows me down, but the audio didn't have that problem. It was understandable throughout. I found it interesting in the use of some words and phrases in this book from the 1920s. Those words today would denote a book considered "racy". Use the alternative, dated definitions for highest enjoyment of this (mostly) chaste story (although there is some kissin' -- after all this is a Western).

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Review: Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment

Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment by Robert Wright
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I get the feeling this is one of those “it’s not you, it’s me” books. I wanted to like this, and expected to like this a lot given the topic and many excellent reviews by other readers. But I found the book different than I expected, less on Buddhism in general, more on psychology and research. It reads like a pop psychology book. I found the writing was entertaining, but the examples where so similar to other pop-psychology and meditation books I’ve listened to recently it did not stand out. I suspect I wasn’t in the mood. I may need to try this again at a later time to see if my focus could be sharper…

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Review: American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China

American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China by Matthew Polly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The book starts with the background of the author, who writes himself as a character. He’s smart – he gets into an Ivy college, but he’s a free spirit – working on a religion degree instead of a degree conferring money-making skills. He paints himself a bit of a fool, deciding to go to China soon after the Tiananmen Square demonstrations to learn Kung Fu from a school that he doesn’t even know is real. The early part of the trip is a humorous fish-out-of-water story, which did nothing to dispel his image as a bit of a fool. However, as the story proceeds, you get the idea that he is using his head to better understand Kung Fu, treating it not as a religious practice but more a sporting competition. He applies thought into approaching his fighting opponents to look for weaknesses, which appears to be a tactic used only by the best fighters he runs up against. The author makes it quite a way in the sport, and meets a number of individuals in his training, many with unique personalities and stories (e.g. Iron Crotch - just what you'd think given a sport that focuses on kicks). The combination of the fish-out-of-water story with the sports paradigm, and with the display of growth in understanding the sport as well as the culture makes this a doubly interesting book. I really enjoyed the story – I am near the same age as the author and I recall my cousin buying mimeographed Karate instruction books when we were in junior high, planning on using the martial arts to beat up those bullies that cross us. That’s a very similar story to how the author got invested in martial arts, and I suspect many boys had similar thoughts, especially when martial arts movies or TV shows were popular (David Carradine’s “Kung Fu” for me, “Karate Kid” for the next generation.) I found the thoughts of the writer quite familiar, and really wanted to know where the story went. I found myself cheering on the author as he succeeded in his martial arts training as well as his understanding of the Chinese people. Enjoyable.

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Review: Dog Soldiers

Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Detailed busted drug deal that is very much of its time, the 70s. Much senseless violence, much weird goings on, from dumpy apartments to dreary hidden hippy hangouts in the mountains. What happens when you get a bunch of folks who believe that they are tough guys on the take, when they are actually a bit slow. Was mostly depressing to read, but with interesting dialog that would work well matched with a plot that wasn't such a downer. This doesn't make me want to run out and read another by Stone, but I know I'll take another shot at his work.

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Review: Business for Authors: How to Be an Author Entrepreneur

Business for Authors: How to Be an Author Entrepreneur by Joanna Penn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Perhaps not exhaustive, but if you are a budding author, this book will give you plenty to think about. Covered are the basics of accounting, as well as detailed discussions of self-publishing down to the best software for creating covers, international rights, and the basics of hiring editors, proofreaders, and agents. Substantially answers most of my basic questions.

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Review: Wake Up!: A Handbook to Living in the Here and Now-54 Playful Strategies to Help You Snap Out of Autopilot

Wake Up!: A Handbook to Living in the Here and Now-54 Playful Strategies to Help You Snap Out of Autopilot by Chris Barez-Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The author provides a number of examples of how to "wake yourself up". Many of the "strategies" are described with the instructions of trying it for four days. I found nothing earth-shattering here, but I can see that I have the issue of often operating on autopilot, and I can imagine many of these strategies would allow me to become a bit more mindful, at least for a bit. Pleasant.

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