All posts by Daneekas Ghost

First Monday Book Day

First Monday Book Day: July

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Talking to Ourselves by Andres Neuman is a short novel from the Argentinian author that I read last month.  I had read the first novel of his to be translated (Traveler of the Century) a few years ago and that was a huge 600 page novel of ideas.  This book is very much the opposite of that, it is short and immediate and has a significant impact.

There are three narrators; Lito, the child, Elena, the mother, and Mario, the father who is dying of cancer, but hiding that fact from his son.  All three of the characters are hiding things but the father's illness and approaching death shadows the book throughout.  Father and son embark on a cross country trip that for the father is a last chance to create a memory, and for Lito is his first chance to truly enter his father's adult world.  All three narrative arcs continue to dance around each other always approaching, but never do they actually connect and find common ground.

It's a book about family and grief and illness.  Each of the three narrators is so fully realized and observed by Neuman that the book comes together very well.  Neuman has become one of those authors that I will follow and read whatever comes out from him next (a story collection is coming in October, I hear - consider me excited).

That was one of my favorite books I've read in the first half of the year. Hopefully, you all have had similarly great reading experiences this month and we can while away the next few days discussing them.

First Monday Book Day

First Monday (Observed) Book Day

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  • Don't know if there are any William Gibson fans here, but I read his latest book, The Peripheral, this month and thought it was very good.  The world building was fantastic, and although I was a little let down by a very tidy ending, I would still rank it among my favorite sci-fi books from the last year or so.

 

  • I read Cat's Cradle and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater this month in my Vonnegut re-read project.  Cat's Cradle is still pretty great, although it's funny how much I remembered the post-apocalyptic parts of the book considering how little of that there actually is.  Mr. Rosewater was not my favorite of his, but it was one of the novels I hadn't read before, so the completist in me is happy to have read it.

 

  • I finished The Last Policeman series (The Last Policeman, Countdown City, World of Trouble).  Easy books to read, and I liked the setup for the mysteries (society is breaking down as an asteroid will destroy the Earth very soon).

 

  • I also finally got around to reading Citizen by Claudia Rankine.  It's a powerful book.  I was looking for where others posted their thoughts (I know Pepper and CH have read it as well), but didn't immediately find it.  It's very much worth a read.
First Monday Book Day

First Monday Book Day: Silkpunk

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One of the things that I enjoy about following a lot of the science fiction and fantasy awards is that you get to read great short stories by authors that are getting their first exposure, before they publish a novel.  That's how I was introduced to Ken Liu, through his short story "The Paper Menagerie" which was really good.  Since then, Liu has been really prolific in the short fiction realm, consistently writing really good stories (a collection of his short fiction is coming out later this year, and I'll probably buy it, even though I've read most of its contents already).

All of this is to say that I was very excited to read his debut novel "The Grace of Kings".  It's a fantasy epic that has some steampunk tendencies and a pretty clear basis in Chinese/Asian folklore.  This combination has spawned the term "silkpunk" which Liu has talked about here and there (this podcast was a really interesting - and spoiler free - look at the book and the author's approach and viewpoint on fantasy).

I loved the book.  It wasn't standard fantasy based around a hero's journey, but jumped right in with a large cast and pulled everything together.  It read like the recounting of a legend where various stories were all cast and recast with the same set of characters.  It really played to my enjoyment of his short stories, but at the same time it was cohesive.  It's long (around 700-800 pages), but it felt like it earned that length - the scope is enormous.

It's the first book in a trilogy, but I think it stands perfectly well on its own.  All in all, one of my favorites that I've read this year.

Some short things I read last month:

  • Reading "Labyrinth" by Amelia Gray and then reading this short piece about the editing process for the story was pretty interesting.  Some of the things seem petty and weird, but I find the thought process of an author revising a story that's "finished" really interesting.

 

  • Grunion Run by Juliet Escoria.  This was my favorite story from her collection, Black Cloud. I read the entire collecion this month in about two sittings.  It was good, all the stories were about this short and they all tackled influences (positive and negative) and things that pull at you long after you think you've moved past them.  Every story in the collection has a companion video.  Here's the one for Grunion Run, and it's weird (and maybe NSFW - language).

 

  • Ciaran Berry - For the Birds.  I'm not quite finished with Berry's collection, but this poem is one of the many so far that has caught me up in the mix of rustic image and historic allusion.  Here's the author reading the poem:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul8Zb2LCJQY

Game Logs, NHL

Game Log: Minnesota Wild @ Chicago Blackhawks, Game 1

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Another series that everyone is picking as too close to call.

I'm not sure I can take the Wild being eliminated by the same team three playoff seasons in a row (even the Twins never lost to the Yankees three years in a row).  So I think I'll cheer for the Wild in this round as well.

Historical pessimism:

  • The Wild have lost all six playoff games they've ever played in Chicago.
  • The Wild have never won a game 1 in the second round (0 for 2).

The big question is whether Crawford in goal for the Blackhawks can give them a chance.  If he keeps games close, most people seem to think the "veterans who just know how to win" on the Hawks will prevail over the Wild.

The Wild didn't have to win any games that were too close in round 1 (no overtime, only one lead change all series).  It will be interesting to see if they can continue to lock down and extend leads in the same way.  (also:  scoring first is always good - something they struggled with against Chicago the last two years)

Game Logs, NHL

Game Log: St. Louis Blues @ Minnesota Wild, Game 6

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It's pretty simple at this point.  The Wild need to win one of the next two games to move on and face the Blackhawks (again).

The Wild have really only had 10 good minutes over the course of the last two games.  Fortunately that was enough to steal game 5, so now they get to feed off the home crowd and hopefully replicate game 3.

Historical facts:

  • The Wild are 3-2 in game 6 historically (3-1 at home).
  • This is the first time the Wild have played game 6 with a series lead.
  • When they have won game 5, they are 2-0 in game 6 (both times in 2003).
  • The Wild have never won a series in less than seven games.

2015 Playoff facts:

  • In series where the two teams were separated by less than 10 points in the final standings, the lower seeded team is leading or tied in all 5 series (17-11 record)
  • In series where the two teams were separated by 10 or more points in the final standings, the higher seed has an 11-3 record and leads in or has won all 3 series.
  • The Wild and Blues were separated by 9 points in the final standings.
Game Logs, NHL

Game Log: St. Louis Blues @ Minnesota Wild, Game 3

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I thought the Wild played well in both games in St. Louis, minus a few hiccups that didn't hurt them in game 1, but did in game 2.  The series is shaping up to be the close battle that everyone predicted it to be.

So now the series is in Minnesota and it's on the Wild to hold onto home-ice advantage.  Generally the Wild have been good at home under Mike Yeo in the playoffs (6-2 record in the last two playoff years), but the home record hasn't been exactly spectacular as the season finished.

The historical pessimism corner:

  • The Wild have never finished a home game with a series lead in franchise history.
  • The Wild are 9-15 in games following a playoff loss in their history.
  • The Wild are 10-17 in playoff games played in arenas where I have attended a hockey game.
Game Logs, NHL

Game Log: Minnesota Wild @ St. Louis Blues, Game 2

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Historical pessimism worked so well last time, so here's a few more nuggets.

  • The Minnesota Wild have only ever held a lead in a playoff series twice.
    • Once in 2003 when they won game 1 to lead 1-0 against the Avalanche.  They lost the next three games.
    • Once in 2008 when they won game 3 to lead 2-1 against the Avalanche.  They lost the next three games.
  • The Minnesota Wild have never played a home playoff game where they entered the game with a series lead.  (In actuality, they've never finished a home playoff game with a series lead, but that's a nugget for later in the series, I think)

Game 1 was a good game for the Wild, they just need to do that again.