Bad Buzz and the Bestsellers They Create

Is this book better than sex?

I often wonder how bad books can generate so much buzz and positive reviews.  It almost seems as if the disenfranchised of the world got suckered into a lame read one time too many and created a conspiracy to crow about the merits of intellectual garbage while most of the truly great work of our time sleeps undisturbed as a means of passing on the whammy.  After a time, it becomes accepted that the more eyeball bleeding and brain hemorrhaging it induces, the more it must be proselytized as the next great thing.

This bad buzz can be found everywhere:  commercials, dust jackets overflowing with sparkling reviews from the otherwise admirable, bookstore displays, internet sights, pop culture references.  Anthony Bourdain did this, touting this cooking memoir as the greatest thing since sliced bread when it was actually a disjointed stinker, thus breaking my fan-girl heart as I recalled all of the fondness I had amassed for him watching him on television.  Worst of all, these books can be proscribed by friends and family, who have also heard about the book.  Maybe they’ve read it, maybe not.  Either way, they have good things to say.  During the few times I have elected not to control my penchant for negative gossip-mongering, I find myself chided for my unkindness.  If the friend in question has not read the book, she inevitably knows someone who has who really enjoyed it…even if that person would rather keep this information a secret. 

Such has been the case with Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon.  I know of someone who bashes the series publicly, especially when it comes to her mother.  Her mother would not forbid her to read it, as these are grown women who do not even share the same roof.  Rather, she thinks her daughter to intelligent for the drivel.  The daughter, meanwhile, insists that the series is quite good and continues to work her way through it.  I have also heard of an upstanding elderly man who enjoys bodice-rippers as a means of making up for his lack of physical capability for such actions by settling for temporal seductions.  He was apparently somewhat ashamed to admit that he loved this title as well because he is afraid of what people may think of him.  My own husband has been reading the first book now and again.  This is the man I married for his massive brain and nerdy physique.  Perhaps a bit ridiculous is the fact that I was upset he would pay full price for his copy, as I was convinced he would hate it and that it must surely be beneath him on some rudimentary level.  He says the writing is not too disappointing, and he has even learned a few words from the small amount he has covered thus far.  I may eventually sneak a peek at his copy, but I doubt I will be converted.  In all actuality, I will probably never even look beyond the back cover because there are so many other books I can’t wait to devour.

I suppose bad is in the eye of the reviewer.  I cast my own stones and laurels regularly on the Goodreads.com website, where I give my honest opinions without worry of how they may be perceived by others.  I may very well tell how a story has changed my life, but I do not promise it will change the lives of others, as that is a very risky guarantee.  If someone has something to say about my review, I welcome any academic-flavored discourse this may generate.  After submitting my review, I look at what others have said, hitting “like” on posts I agree with.  Perhaps I comment now and then about my own experience with a text that the review stirs up within me.  If the reviewer is worlds apart opinion-wise, I see what he or she has to say and move on.  Once I have read the text, it lives inside me, good or bad.  I only wish others were more forthcoming with the natures of their literary occupants.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Author:  Richard Bach

Sad and hopeful at the same time, this is a bittersweet read. My teacher read this aloud to us in elementary school, and I've loved it ever since. Nice name for the seagull too.  This is a good book to read with your children to teach them about life, death, and the flight in between.

Overall Rating:  5 of 5 Stars

Movie Review: Big Miracle

           Today I watched Big Miracle with my six-year-old daughter.  Based on a true story, this movie deals with the plight of a family of whales who become trapped under the ice during their migration and documents the surprising efforts of caring people to free them.  I must say, this movie does live up to its name, which is saying a lot considering how much I rolled my eyes seeing the title and sugary feel-good ads that swamped TV during its original theater run.  Still, it deals with whales and stars the lovely and talented Drew Barrymore, and it was rated a tame PG, so I felt like it would be a good choice.

I feel like this would be an appropriate time to mention that I have seen and did not enjoy March of the Penguins, which many would probably categorize this film with.  I enjoy Morgan Freeman and respect his body of work, but that film was a bit too sad for me.  Seeing the little egg touch the ice and immediately freeze, killing the chick inside was quite traumatic for me for some reason.  Seeing their pain made me feel for the birds and to respect them more, but the movie was not what I would deem feel-good family fare.  I had watched it alone and afterwards decided against letting my girls watch it.  When my older daughter did watch it with my mother, she said she enjoyed it, which did not smooth my hackles over the issue that so many younger children watch it, perhaps without parental guidance or to take the time to discuss the bigger issues portrayed.  I hate to go off on a tangent, but I do feel that grouping these two movies together may not be the best, most informed idea.

Watching this movie with my daughter was fun, mostly because we had so much to discuss.  I feel like there would be even more to discuss if I could watch it with my older daughter sometime.  There seemed to be an understanding about the different factions working together for a common cause, like the Greenpeace people, oil magnates, reporters who may be out for nothing more than the next big story, native peoples, and even home audiences who only saw what was transmitted through their televisions and newspapers.  This is very useful for dealing with issues such as point of view or cultural ideas, especially since there was a conscious effort not be too preachy on any front.  Since the story is mainly set in Alaska, there are economic issues, such as how expensive it can be to live in Alaska, where so much must be imported.  The little aside about the availability of avocados for the Mexican restaurant Amigos was really neat and trumped the supply and demand examples set by the preciousness of new music, batteries, and even hotel rooms or, comically, cardboard for the reporters to stand on.  Like many people, I do not really know much about Alaska, although several of my classmates and old summer camp chums have made their homes there.  Since I have suffered from arthritis since high school and am cold-natured, this was probably the closest I would like to get to actually visiting.

I also enjoyed how the filmmakers made time to work in other mini-lessons, such as differences between these grey whales and the typical bowfins that would normally be found there and why those whales would probably not have had such an issue.  Biology and science can be tough to teach, although they are literally all around us.  I think there could be many things that could come from this, such as making a whale puppet together or even playing together in the tub or a pool (when it gets warmer, of course!).  My daughter found it most interesting that whales breathe air because they are mammals.  This was a bit surprising, since I thought she already knew, which made this movie even more valuable to me.  After a quick primer from me about aquatic mammals, she decided to name a couple more, which made me happy.  I’m thinking of peppering in more mini-lessons in our daily life to see what comes from it.

Perhaps the saddest part was watching the deterioration of the baby calf.  I expected my daughter to be sad, but she seemed to deal with it quite well, highlighting a difference between my daughters.  I felt a twinge of tears threatening to trickle, but I have seen my older daughter cry during movies over less.  This made me even happier when, at the end of the movie, she clapped along with the actors as the whales made their triumphant escape.  It was great that the end credits showcased original footage from the original event to see how the events actually played out and who these people really were. 

Perhaps the biggest payoff from watching this movie with my daughter was when she curled up on me and told me to warm her up because I was her mommy polar bear.  Soooo sweet!

Overall, this was a really good family movie.  The acting was solid, and the pace was appropriate.  I hope that it continues to be popular for years to come.

Overall Rating:  5 of 5 Stars