What's The Last Book You Read?

[Jurassic Shark 12,776]

3 hours ago, Stu said:

Started John Mauceri’s new book “The War on Music” last night.

 

 

What's the initial impression?

[bruce marshall 1,344]

7 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

What's the initial impression?

Let's start a betting pool:

Who will be  the FIRST JWFANNER to ask: " Is that book about Zimmer?"

 

 

I'm putting my money down on SNark.

[bollemanneke 3,529]

Not a book, but just started a lecture series by Robert Greenberg about Mozart. I'm giving this 5 stars, 100% convinced. What a guy. Such enthusiasm. Audible wishlist is now full of his stuff.

[Disco Stu 15,501]

On 04/06/2022 at 10:34 AM, Jurassic Shark said:

 

What's the initial impression?

 

 

 

Haven't read very far into it yet, so far it's just a fairly standard history of what happened to classical music in Europe in the late 1800s to early 1900s (Brahms, Wagner, Mahler, Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg).  From his introduction, seems the main thrust of the book will be about how the particular politics of post-WWII Europe and America permanently damaged classical music by turning so inward and specialized.  I think he's going to especially look at the story through the lens of the "refugee" European composers in America in the 30s-60s (Korngold, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Hindemith, etc. etc.), which is unsurprising as he has been championing that particular slice of "the canon" for so much of his career.  Basically, a typical anti-Boulez kinda screed, which I always enjoy!

 

 

[Disco Stu 15,501]

On 04/06/2022 at 10:34 AM, Jurassic Shark said:

Started John Mauceri’s new book “The War on Music” last night.

 

I enjoyed this book so now I'm reading Mauceri's previous book from 2019, "For the Love of Music: A Conductor's Guide to the Art of Listening"

 

[Jay 38,746]

I resumed reading JW Rinzler's book on the Indiana Jones trilogy.

 

After the amazing and in-depth section covering Raiders, the section of Doom was quite simplified by comparison, and this week I read the Last Crusade section and it was even more simplified.  They only barely cover the alternate ideas they had before settling on the final script, and don't even really cover all the scenes that were shot and still in the film during scoring and then axed last minute.  They also don't cover any actors considered for any of the new roles at all, only mentioning the ones that actually got the gig.  It was interesting to learn how much of a role Sean Connery played in shaping the final script into place in regards to the father and son dynamic.  

 

I guess I'll read the Crystal Skull part too, maybe I'll learn to appreciate that film in a new way...

[Disco Stu 15,501]

Currently slowly making my way through The Discarded Image by CS Lewis.

 

I say slowly because, while the subtitle describes the book as "an introduction" to medieval literature, it presupposes quite a bit of knowledge/familiarity with classical literature and ideas derived therefrom, so I'm very frequently having to look things up to understand references and assumptions.

 

https://archive.org/details/discardedimage0000csle

[bollemanneke 3,529]

Mary Poppins. A book about children whose mother is unemployed but hires a nanny nevertheless. Nanny gaslights children most of the time and children grow attached to aforementioned smug and snappy woman. Olivia Colman is the best narrator ever.

[Disco Stu 15,501]

Ugh, I want to read this book about the use of music in John Ford films, but it's not available through my library, not even via interlibrary loan.  I want to read it, but I don't know if I $35 want to read it!

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,776]

Buy a used copy.

[Disco Stu 15,501]

13 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Buy a used copy.

 

Not sure why that hadn't occurred to me, as I've done that before, but yeah I just ordered it for $7

[Jurassic Shark 12,776]

1 minute ago, Disco Stu said:

 

Not sure why that hadn't occurred to me, as I've done that before, but yeah I just ordered it for $7

 

You're welcome. 

[Bespin 8,648]

I just started the first book of the Lives of the Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice.

 

My husband managed to find them and all the subsequent ones, even those which merge with the Vampires.

 

Many years ago I read all the 5 Vampire books about Lestat (from Interview to Memnoch), I loved them.

 

So I'm back in Anne Rice's universe!

[Bespin 8,648]

Bisexuality, rape, pedophilia, incest... nothing seems taboo for Anne Rice.

 

I now understand why the Mayfair Witches TV series seems to have been completely rewritten and simplified... they just can't show that on TV! 

 

And yet... I continue to read!!! OMG.

 

Now reading "Lasher", the second volume.

 

[Bespin 8,648]

Here we go for the third installment in the Mayfair Witches Saga!

 

[Naïve Old Fart 10,218]

After trying to censor Roald Dahl, the woke brigade have, now, targeted the James Bond books, in an attempt to remove "offensive references".

[HunterTech 1,154]

Wait, so they edited the books, and they're still adding disclaimers? What the fuck? And even then only some things were changed, leaving a lot of it unambiguous anyway?

 

I was already going to declare once again that big companies only care to give solutions to issues in a manner that try to ensure they never hear anyone complain ever again, but this is just going to satisfy absolutely nobody. Couple that with the fact that I can't legitimately think of any group that actually asked for this, since any discussion about the ways in which the stories were of their time often tended to stay at just that. Not a single human being boycotted the works of those who are long dead, so what gives?

 

I never liked thinking in conspiratorial terms, but the occasional thought of companies self-sabotaging purely for the sake of making others look bad suddenly crosses my mind once again. Especially when this probably won't drive sales at all, so truly a strange decision.

[Nick1Ø66 5,544]

15 minutes ago, HunterTech said:

Especially when this probably won't drive sales at all, so truly a strange decision.

 

I wouldn't be so sure about that. The publisher has already partially backtracked, saying now that both versions of the books will be available, with the originals being published alongside the "updated" ones as the "The Roald Dahl Classic Collection".

 

This sounds like either a PR control band-aid, or was conceived as an attempt to garner attention all along. I'll be curious to see if the "Classic Collection" is sold at a higher price point, how it will be displayed on the shelves, and if either version will be quietly withdrawn once the controversy has passed and the internet has moved onto the next outrage.

[HunterTech 1,154]

I actually was quick to think of a slight counterpoint to my argument right after, since the whole Dr. Suess thing from a while back (Jesus, it feels like yesterday) is somewhat proof that people would be very quick to buy up any remaining stock of books when announcements like these happen. Of course, a good chunk of it is so that they can resell them right after for stupid prices on eBay, but it counts as short-term profit (which is what these usually lead to anyway).

 

With how much these particular stories haven't been in the proper limelight in a while, I definitely feel tempted to think this was a publicity stunt, since controversy proves to still be something you can easily exploit for profit. Then again, I'm sure some out of touch executive also thought this might've been a genius way of getting newer generations to read these stories, so there might be truth to both in the end. A disclaimer alone probably would've sufficed (even if I'd think their reputation would be enough to tell people what they're getting into, at least here).

[Nick1Ø66 5,544]

Well that didn't take long.

 

Quote

James Bond books edited to remove racist references

 

Reissued versions of Ian Fleming’s classic works will feature a disclaimer following a review by sensitivity readers

 

 

[HunterTech 1,154]

Wait, has that not been what we're discussing? The article I found made note of it just being the race references with black people that were changed, with everything else left intact. Which is so oddly selective, given I would think the other stuff sticks out like a sore thumb more.

[Naïve Old Fart 10,218]

What is a "sensitivity reader", anyway?

Are they the book-related moral guardians?

Are they the literature equivalent of Mary Whitehouse?

They read all the naughty stuff, so we don't have to? Is that it?

Fuck that. I want to make up my own mind about what I read, and don't read.

[Jurassic Shark 12,776]

Are you implying you can read? Showoff!

[Sweeping Strings 2,547]

11 hours ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

Well that didn't take long.

 

 

'A segment in the book describing accented dialogue as “straight Harlem-Deep South with a lot of New York thrown in,” has been removed.' 

There's nothing remotely offensive about that, as far as I can see. It's just descriptive. 

Really tiring of milquetoast pearl-clutchers dictating to the rest of us about what's *acceptable*. 

[Naïve Old Fart 10,218]

"Milquetoast pearl-clutchers" 

 

Yep, Sweep.

It's young, leftie, woke, Guardian-reading, electric car-driving, home-schooling, kaftan-wearing, vegan millennials, who eat nothing but alfalfa sprouts and mashed yeast, and who don't use deodorant, and who haven't even read the books that are being gutted, but have, nevertheless, climbed on the "cancel" bandwagon, thus proving that they are stupid fuckwits, with the brain the size of a pea, and an imagination that is even smaller.

They, truly, do not know what they are campaigning against.

I would call them "retards" but that is a grave insult to those with an intellectual disability.

[HunterTech 1,154]

9 hours ago, Sweeping Strings said:

Really tiring of milquetoast pearl-clutchers dictating to the rest of us about what's *acceptable*. 

 

The more you say this, the more I demand legitimate evidence for this actually being the case. Because while there's plenty to go off of for controversies like the one for Hogwarts Legacy, I seriously cannot think of a recent time when literature of decades ago were considered a legitimate danger to society. "But these people do exist!" is not a legitimate argument if most of the population won't be aware of them (and thus would probably even be unaware of situations like these).

 

I really don't understand why we put down certain groups for decisions they absolutely didn't make. I don't think poorly done historical revisionism (again, they were oddly selective in their edits) was ever going to get them to read literature that they either had no interest in, or tended to mainly discuss in contexts of the changes in values through the years. Publishers keep doing a terrible job of properly reading the room, yet it's the fault of those "activist types" for the bigwigs bad assessment skills.

[Jurassic Shark 12,776]

Where have you been the last few years?

[HunterTech 1,154]

Not falling for fear mongering bullshit? If companies like M&M can easily cave to pressure from both sides of the spectrum, then I seriously have a hard time buying that only one side will miraculously keep having influence on matters that they wouldn't even begin to give any real attention to (since quite a few within are kind of busy trying to fight for their existence and all that).

 

Companies only care about profits, and I can basically guarantee you that this was motivated by trying to get more sales, and not because there was a sincere demand for people to only read sanitized versions of old literature.

[Naïve Old Fart 10,218]

1 hour ago, HunterTech said:

 "But these people do exist!" is not a legitimate argument if most of the population won't be aware of them (and thus would probably even be unaware of situations like these).

Neo Nazis exist, but I've never seen one. They hide, in plain sight, behind a veil of respectability, and social class; of polite dinner parties, and July 4th cookouts, with sausage and beer, and friendly baseball matches.

They don't advertise on a billboard, or the side of a bus, but they are out there.

In the same way, Sweep's "milquetoast pearl-clutchers" exit, in the lifestyle they lead, and by the insidious fashion in which they infiltrate school councils, and sit on parent groups. They call themselves "caring", or worse "christian with a small 'c'".

They are definitely something with a small "c".

They are the do-gooders, the crusaders for moral justice, and they are what used to be known in the UK, as the "twin set and pearl brigade". 

They are not so far from those neo Nazis, or, Indeed, the people whom I highlighted in my previous post.

They want to wipe out all independent thought, and replace it with sanitized, edited, family-friendly conformity to fit their world view.

The groups may be different in their approach, but the intentions are the same.

[HunterTech 1,154]

Honestly, fair play, since it can be so easy to conflate some of these groups sometimes. They may have been more outwardly prevalent years ago, but it'd be foolish to think they've disappeared, since it's arguably a lot more effective nowadays to be crafty with presenting your beliefs by framing it in a specific manner.

[Sweeping Strings 2,547]

Nicely put by NOF there. 

[Naïve Old Fart 10,218]

Thank you, my good man 

[Jurassic Shark 12,776]

NOF said.

[Naïve Old Fart 10,218]

Love it! 

[JWFan Moderators 107]

JWFan is not a hosting ground for political rants.

Back to the topic at hand please.

[Naïve Old Fart 10,218]

Killjoys. Who said that the last few posts were "rants"? They were well-crafted, and mature, arguments, which happen to ring true, for a lot of people.

Rants are the product of the intellectually illiterate, and that does not apply to folks at JWfan.

[Sweeping Strings 2,547]

'East, West ... just points of the compass, each as stupid as the other'. 

[HunterTech 1,154]

Pardon me if this comes off as accusatory, but I would say that post about the younger crowd reads exactly like a rant. The subsequent post more gets into the manner in which disingenuous groups have infiltrated these subjects before, but the other is just an attack on a demographic whose exact relation to the topic has yet to be properly dissected with any evidence (besides the Fleming estate hiring people whose credentials we don't know). My "they aren't big enough to matter" argument may have holes, but I would think we'd consider the "companies deliberately taking advantage of our messy culture" point more before deciding to point fingers at some people near us.

I think this video better communicates the points I've tried to make (since I do agree that this is a harmful decision in the long run):

 

[Naïve Old Fart 10,218]

50 minutes ago, Sweeping Strings said:

'East, West ... just points of the compass, each as stupid as the other'. 

Unfortunately, I misjudged you. You're just a stupid policeman.

[Sweeping Strings 2,547]

Honestly think all this sort of thing was dealt with more deftly via this brief exchange in Goldeneye - 

M - 'Your boyish charms, while wasted on me, obviously appealed to that young woman I sent out to evaluate you. I think you're a sexist, misogynist dinosaur ... a relic of the Cold War.' 

Bond (wryly) - 'Point taken.'   

[Naïve Old Fart 10,218]

"Not quite. If you think for one moment that I don't have the balls to send a man out to die, your instincts are dead wrong. I've no compunction about sending you to your death, but I won't do it on a whim, even with your cavalier attitude towards life".

 

 

 

I love it, that, after she tears Bond a new one, she says: "Come back alive" 

[Sweeping Strings 2,547]

Echoed by TWINE's 'He's the best we've got, although I'd never tell him.'  

[Naïve Old Fart 10,218]

"He's the best you have... or, rather, had".

[bollemanneke 3,529]

I'm finally reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in English. I have just come across the first instance of the word 'fat'. And I'm still alive.

[tomsmoviemadness 3,417]

Reading Sarah Polley's Run Towards The Danger

[filmmusic 2,133]

I don't read books, but I was wondering if anyone has read this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936891026

I was suggested this by someone, because I have stopped writing music and can't seem to overcome the obstacles I put myself.

[Naïve Old Fart 10,218]

39 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

I don't read books, but I was wondering if anyone has read this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936891026

I was suggested this by someone, because I have stopped writing music and can't seem to overcome the obstacles I put myself.

 

Have you started the book?

Has it offered any suggestions?

[filmmusic 2,133]

6 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

Have you started the book?

Has it offered any suggestions?

No, I don't have it yet (and it's been translated in Greek too). That's why I asked here in case anyone has read it and what are his thoughts.

[Jurassic Shark 12,776]

You know, as opposed to unnatural fingering.

 

[GerateWohl 4,916]

43 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

You know, as opposed to unnatural fingering.

 

Sounds like the Kamasutra of piano playing.