Category: Reading

Open post

Some Things I’ve Read Recently . . .

. . . and why I’ve liked them:

  • “Sharpen Your Quills!” by Rob Deemer, NewMusicBox. After an introductory blurb about how composers use notation software in their composition process, you then get easily more than a dozen responses on who uses what software and how. A good number of composers have had strong opinions on what tools you should/should not use (piano, notation software, your instrument, etc.), but to my mind, prohibitions on certain tools are more a pedagogical exercise than a practical concern. Thus, I loved reading about the process of all these composers and how it intersected their use of notation programs. The variety of their experiences affirmed the idea that different creators will use tools their own way—that there’s no one right way for the act of composing just as there is no one right way for the style of composition. (By the way, the composers whose process sounded most similar to my own were Kevin Puts and David Little.)
  • “Crossing the Atlantic: A Primer on Euro-American Musical Relations” by Evan Johnson, NewMusicBox. I’m across the Atlantic right now at an international music festival, and it’s interesting to note the differences among my colleagues, too, regardless of their original nationality. One thing this festival has shown me, underscored by Johnson’s article, is that I’m really an American in my sensibilities. (As a side note, it’s been refreshing attending daily colloquiums led by Chris Theofanidis and seeing his understanding of and warmth towards a wide variety of music. In a discipline that has had a recent history of turf battles and parsimoniousness, his generosity is something I aspire to.)
  • Neil’s Carillonairum. Okay, so this isn’t so much an article, but did you know Neil Thornock has an entire page of carillon (bell tower) music, his and others? (Do you even know who Neil Thornock is? If not, you should. I love a lot of his music.) It’s a cool sound and really different.
The Centennial Carillon tower at BYU. (Yes, it always looks that pretty.)

A Good Summer for Reading, part 2

As promised, in this entry I’ll finish off the survey of books I’ve read this summer. I’ve had a few good ones sneak in toward the end, and I’m excited to tell you about them.

The very first book I read this summer was C.S. Lewis’s novel Till We Have Faces. The book takes place in pre-Christian Europe and is a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. A few months later, I picked up another book by Lewis, this time his classic The Great Divorce. As a Christian, I found the book to be a moving and insightful fictionalization of people’s reactions to grace. Though I enjoyed both, Till We Have Faces had a stronger impact on me and, of the two, has a more universal message.

Growing up, I had the complete Sherlock Holmes short stories, read them, loved them. Incidentally, from this memory, I decided the new movie didn’t look a thing like the books I loved, so I still haven’t seen it. I did, however, read a couple of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels this summer: first A Study in Scarlet then The Hound of the Baskervilles. Though it was fun learning where Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson came from and how they met, I found the first book to be uneven. The second book, was fantastic. In it, Doyle tells the story of a crime eerie enough to be suspenseful, but not so much to be creepy. (I find the bizarre fascinating, but I can’t stand the viscerally creepy.)

Overall, I’d say that my favorites from the summer were Till We Have Faces, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and Ender’s Game. Tomorrow, a new semester begins, and with it, I will sadly no longer have time to read three or four novels a month.

A Good Summer for Reading, part 1

As the end of summer draws near, it’s struck me what a great summer it’s been for reading. Not only have I had ample opportunity to read new books, but I also found a whole bunch of winners in different genres. Today, I’ll start by reviewing the sci-fi/fantasy books I’ve read. In future posts, I’ll tackle some of the other genres.

I can’t remember the last book I had read by Isaac Asimov, only that I liked it and that I read it in middle school. While poking around the library’s sampler collection, I stumbled onto his Foundation Trilogy. Granted by now it’s a whole series, but I decided to stop at the end of the original trilogy. The series is pretty much a fictionalization of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire <corny radio voice> in space! </corny radio voice>. The books are written as strings of short stories, stories that become progressively longer from book to book, until in Second Foundation, there are only two. I found the books to be good, quick reads, and at first I thought, “Why don’t they make this into a movie?” But around the time I found out that someone had similar thoughts, I decided that it probably wouldn’t work too well. The fragmented narrative works fine in book form, but would be difficult to translate into the big screen. And with Roland Emmerich directing, you may want to read the books now before they get spoiled.

The first time I remember hearing about Ender’s Game was as a freshman in college, when my friend Dani told me it was her favorite book. I tried reading it then, but for some reason, couldn’t get into it. Now, six years later, I’ve finally read it, and I loved it. Briefly, the book takes place in Earth’s future. Humanity has been twice confronted by a mysterious alien race and is now preparing for a third invasion by training children to become military geniuses. One of these children is Andrew (Ender) Wiggin. The book follows his progress through battle school up until he passes his final examination. As with many sci-fi books, the series goes on from there, but as with Foundation, I was content to end at the ending. What makes the book great is Orson Scott Card’s ability to get you to care about the characters. Even though there’s a lot of action and excitement, the book is about people and relationships. More than being awed by technology and space battles, you can read it and say, “I’ve felt that.” I liked all the books I read this summer, but this one is in my top 3.

I remember as a kid watching the cartoon version of The Hobbit, it’s folksy music and occasional cheesiness. Around the time, I started into The Lord of the Rings, though I don’t think I even made it out of the shire it moved so slowly. On picking The Hobbit up this summer, I was pleased that it moved much more swiftly than I remember it’s counterpart did. The story of The Hobbit I expect is familiar: a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, goes with a bunch of dwarves and the wizard Gandalf to retrieve the dwarves’ treasure from the dragon Smaug. They have various adventures along the way, including Bilbo’s discovery of a magic ring that lays the foundation for the ensuing trilogy. My thoughts? It was a fun read with lots of adventure. I also appreciated how Tolkein took time to make the world of Middle Earth real without getting lost in it himself (as I remembered him doing in the Lord of the Rings).

Over the next few weeks, I’ll write about some of the other books I’ve read. Until then, if you’re looking for a good book, I’d recommend any of the above. Particularly if you like sci-fi/fantasy. (Though if you do, you’ve probably already read these.)

Scroll to top