Orpheus Lost

I don't normally write about books that I've read on my blog. I've got a separate reading journal where I write a quick page about the book I've just finished. I'm going through 2 0r 3 a week, so I always thought that the blog would just turn into a book report kind of thing. Better to save it for the reading journal.

I just finished a book, though, that I've got to mention. Its entitled "Orpheus Lost" by Janette Turner Hospital. I'm spinning right now. I just finished it a few minutes ago. Started it yesterday. A short one, about 370 pages. But I'm pretty blown away by how good it is.

The writing is definitely top notch. Dialogue flows, descriptions are dense, pace moves. But the story itself is amazing. Simply amazing. I haven't read an actual story that good in a long time. Yeah, the more I think about it, I haven't read a story that good in a long time. I'm going to definitely be thinking of this book for a while to come. Trust me, friends and neighbors, the story is that good.

And some other good ones I've read lately:

-"The Quiet Girl" by Peter Hoeg. That one was amazing. The way he wrote about sound and music and spatial relationships of sound. And he wove the story between present and past so seamlessly that you'd get lost and not know where you were.

-"Then We Came To The End" by Joshua Ferris. This puppy stands out because I think its got the best ending of a book ever. I mean, when I read the end I literally screamed, "hell yeah!" If you've read it, I think you'll understand. Its written in such an unusual way, and then all the sudden there's this incredibly powerful chapter about a woman's struggle with cancer. And then in the end... wow!!!!!!!!!

-"Zeroville" by Steve Erickson. The funniest book I've read in a while. And so bizarrely original. I could very confidently give this book to anyone and know that they'd really like it.

-"Man Gone Down" by Michael Thomas. This, I think, is the best written book I've read in a bit. Thomas is an incredible writer. A true master of words. The story was powerful too, but what hit me with such strength was they way he told his story and the words he used.

-"The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz. This one won the pulitzer last year. And yes, its that good. I read it in no time. I enjoyed the Faulknerian way he told the same story from each characters eyes. By the end, the story, sad as it is, is so full and rich. Great book.

And then you might ask, what is your favorite book of all time. And that one is quite simple:

-"Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. I have never read a book with such powerful characters. People that you hate and who are more real and more evil than I could ever imagine trying to create myself. Passages that so enraged me that I wasn't sure if I could finish them. Passages so powerful and intelligent that I had to reread them over and over just to try to understand them. And a story that is so amazingly huge, that it is damn near impossible to describe. That book will I sure remain at the very top of the stack........

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Thoughts on Phish

The first time I heard about Phish was my senior year at Episcopal back in 1992. At that time in music history, grunge was just beginning to explode on the scene. Pearl Jam was about all we listened to. But I always kept time for my jam bands. I had already seen The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers Band, Widespread Panic and many others. CDs were still the way we listened to music, but cassette tapes were still around and were what you got all your bootlegs on. The internet didn't exist, or at least not to the public. Hearing about new bands was largely done by word of mouth. And that's how I heard about Phish. My first taste of Phish was their album "Lawnboy." I remember being impressed with the musicianship. I thought there was some Zappa-esque arrangements going on, as the music seemed to dart in crazy tangents. I also remember seeing a picture of the band and I thought they looked like a bunch of Trekky nerds. They definitely didn't look like MTV material,...

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