all persuasive influences
Lately, I've been binging...
And I figured it was time I came clean. No more sweeping these behaviours under the covers. No more secrecy.
The last six weeks have been characterized by some increased media consumption on my part. Sure, I read a fair amount of books during the course of a year, but the rate of consumption has intensified. And the volume.
Shocking as it may seem, I've actually read some fiction.
Even more shocking, I've watched TV. Or rather DVD's of TV. In marathon sittings.
It started innocently enough with a trip to Chapters. I picked up William Gibson's new book Spook Country, determined to give this whole sci-fi thing a try (if I'd known what Gibson wrote was like this I'd have started a lot sooner on his books). Then a non-fiction book: From Lance to Landis by David Walsh, the doping expose about the 7-time winner of the Tour de France. This conveniently coincided with Lance being in town here in Vancouver. No, I didn't go ride with him.
Then onto Pattern Recognition, another William Gibson novel. And then as I was finishing up No Time: Stress and the Crisis of Modern Life by Heather Menzies (non-fiction), I picked up J.G. Ballard's dystopic paperback Kingdom Come.
Whilst not burning the midnight oil turning pages, cable-free me watched all of Season 2 and Season 3 of Arrested Development (thanks Kate) in 3 sittings, each about 5 hrs or so in duration. After going through that experience, I think it's probably the best way to have done it, just to keep up with the intense narrative structure of the show... A year ago, Dan Hill had some things to say about this habit (apparently I'm not the only one to have done this). I recommend reading that if you have some time.
So 5 books and 2 seasons of a TV series in about 5 weeks. I guess it's not really that much, but everything was done all at once, without really pacing myself. Usually a book is a couple of weeks worth of bus reading, down times on the weekend, and before bed. This wasn't the case recently:
Lance to Landis: one 8 hour sitting
Spook Country: 3 days
Pattern Recognition: 2 days
Kingdom Come: 3 days
Arrested Development S2: 2 days (2 x 4 hr sittings)
Arrested Development S3: 1 sitting (6 hrs?)
This time of year definitely has something to do with my propensity to read: that back-to-school feeling in the air, mild academic cravings, riding the bus to work on rainy days.
But I think something else is at play here. Immersion into a given subject or storyline for 4 or 5 hrs at a time, deep focus on one thing and one thing only, has been intensely satisfying, if not a bit disruptive to getting to bed at a reasonable hour. I contrast that to my professional waking hours which, while satisfying at times, take the form of slices of projects, clients, employees, problems, solutions, messenger chats, emails, and voicemails all recorded in 15 minute increments in timesheets.
The impact of this modern working world, one which I help create and recreate through the magic of web-based software development every day, is not so ironically the theme of Heather Menzies' book No Time. And while I take issue with Menzies' critique of an increasingly scattered and symbol-based world (she fails to critique books in that symbol-based world, the very medium she choses to share her ideas which happen to be comprised of the very same symbols you're reading on the screen right now), I will admit that my continuous partial attention span is being stretched in funny ways by the technologies I choose.
True to October form, a quick book roundup of those listed above...
From Lance to Landis
David Walsh
Genre: Sports expose
There's a reason I read this book in one sitting. Pieced together from personal interviews and court testimony, David Walsh has published his evidence against Lance Armstrong and some of his teammates for doping throughout his career. Even if you don't believe the stories told about Lance and the US Postal team, the stories of the early to mid 1990's when the peloton was riding at two speeds, one group on EPO and the others not, and the general frustration from the "non-doping" (really non-EPO or blood doping) riders are pretty convincing. One year riders are in the best shape of their lives, seeing the best V02 and power numbers they've ever produced, and the next year, they're pack filler on the steep climbs of the Alps and the Pyrenees. A sad but engrossing read and no easy answers as to what to do for pro cycling to get any better.
9/10
Spook Country
William Gibson
Genre: cyberpunk? science fiction?
As I'm not a big fiction reader and when told the words "science fiction" I tend to think of stuff that happens in outer space, I wasn't sure what to make of the seemingly present-day, technologically plausible fiction of William Gibson. No galactic outer space battles here... At its heart, I felt the book was a good mystery story involving some interesting characters with a technological twist. Locative art, GPS devices, CIA agents: it all seemed pretty here and now to me - I'm going to have to look up what falls under the Science Fiction genre and reconsider my relationship to it. Loved having part of the book set close to home and Gibson's description of Vancouver through the eyes of someone who's just arrived. The beginning started a bit slow for me, the multiple story lines sometimes a bit hard to get a good flow going when reading. But enjoyable nonetheless.
8/10
Pattern Recognition
William Gibson
Genre: cyberpunk/science fiction
I probably should have read this one before I read Spook Country, especially given the books share a small plot line. A little more action-packed than Spook Country, I really enjoyed it and devoured it in 2 days, basically 120 page sittings at a shot. The London setting was good - especially the Camden bits, which were still fresh from my 2004 visit to the UK. In the story, Cayce Pollard, hired coolhunter/magazine writer, gets caught up in tracking down the source of mysterious video clips that appear on the web. Her allergic reactions to certain brands (oh no, not the Michelin Man!) was quite good and I enjoyed Gibson's sense of humour that ran through the book. Lots of plot twists and international travel. Great reading.
9/10
Kingdom Come
JG Ballard
Genre: dystopic fiction, Ballardian
I'd read Super-Cannes not that long ago, Ballard's novel about a swanky French business/tech park where things go a little sideways, and thought I'd pick up this novel set in a shopping mall in the London suburbs. Oh sure, sounds pleasant enough, but its... um... a bit on the dark side to say the least. A failed ad executive heads off to suburban London to investigate the murder of his father, killed in a shooting spree in the local mall. Hooliganism, consumerism and fascism figure prominently (simultaneously at times) as he digs deeper into the rotting underbelly of this seemingly forgotten place off a motorway near Heathrow. A bit over the top, I found the plot doing circles sometimes, repeating itself, and sometimes generally confusing me. Hard to like anyone in this book, no real hero to root for or even empathize with mildly. In the end, I finished it off, but didn't find myself enjoying it as much as the Gibson novels. Mixed feelings and wondering whether that's the whole point (mission accomplished?). Will have to read the interview on the Ballardian site for some perspective.
6/10
No Time: Stress and the Crisis of Modern Life
Heather Menzies
Genre: non-fiction, theory of technology/society
Completely at home within the pages of this book, Menzies reminded me of the sincere tones of many a Communications lecture at SFU during undergrad. She quotes McLuhan with ease, interviews Arthur Kroker and references Ursula Franklin (ps: Franklin's profile is on Barry's science.ca website which I secured the domain name for back in the day!). It's a good survey of some key themes as to how technology impacts our lives and how late-stage capitalism operates at an individual and societal level. It's quite chatty and anecdotal in its tone, telling stories, recounting interviews with actual snippets of dialogue. As such it made for an easy read and is a good on-ramp to the subject. I could see it on the shelf with Postman's Technopoly or something along those lines as a primer for a 100 level course at university. So not much new, but a good antidote to lots of screen time and computer stuff. A nice reminder to stop, pause, read a book, and connect with people (says the guy spending his evening typing a book review into a text box).
7/10
So that's it for September. We'll see how the pace holds up in October...
When are binging and compulsive behaviors a problem?
Binging and compulsive behaviors are a problem when they:from coping.org
- Interfere with your recovery which includes trying to control consumption of a target element such as food, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, etc.
- Are done in secrecy or are hidden because you don't want to admit they are a problem and don't want to remediate them.
- Are denied by you and swept under the covers.
- Are allowed to have an all-pervasive influence in the course of the lifestyle you choose.
And I figured it was time I came clean. No more sweeping these behaviours under the covers. No more secrecy.
The last six weeks have been characterized by some increased media consumption on my part. Sure, I read a fair amount of books during the course of a year, but the rate of consumption has intensified. And the volume.
Shocking as it may seem, I've actually read some fiction.
Even more shocking, I've watched TV. Or rather DVD's of TV. In marathon sittings.
It started innocently enough with a trip to Chapters. I picked up William Gibson's new book Spook Country, determined to give this whole sci-fi thing a try (if I'd known what Gibson wrote was like this I'd have started a lot sooner on his books). Then a non-fiction book: From Lance to Landis by David Walsh, the doping expose about the 7-time winner of the Tour de France. This conveniently coincided with Lance being in town here in Vancouver. No, I didn't go ride with him.
Then onto Pattern Recognition, another William Gibson novel. And then as I was finishing up No Time: Stress and the Crisis of Modern Life by Heather Menzies (non-fiction), I picked up J.G. Ballard's dystopic paperback Kingdom Come.
Whilst not burning the midnight oil turning pages, cable-free me watched all of Season 2 and Season 3 of Arrested Development (thanks Kate) in 3 sittings, each about 5 hrs or so in duration. After going through that experience, I think it's probably the best way to have done it, just to keep up with the intense narrative structure of the show... A year ago, Dan Hill had some things to say about this habit (apparently I'm not the only one to have done this). I recommend reading that if you have some time.
So 5 books and 2 seasons of a TV series in about 5 weeks. I guess it's not really that much, but everything was done all at once, without really pacing myself. Usually a book is a couple of weeks worth of bus reading, down times on the weekend, and before bed. This wasn't the case recently:
Lance to Landis: one 8 hour sitting
Spook Country: 3 days
Pattern Recognition: 2 days
Kingdom Come: 3 days
Arrested Development S2: 2 days (2 x 4 hr sittings)
Arrested Development S3: 1 sitting (6 hrs?)
This time of year definitely has something to do with my propensity to read: that back-to-school feeling in the air, mild academic cravings, riding the bus to work on rainy days.
But I think something else is at play here. Immersion into a given subject or storyline for 4 or 5 hrs at a time, deep focus on one thing and one thing only, has been intensely satisfying, if not a bit disruptive to getting to bed at a reasonable hour. I contrast that to my professional waking hours which, while satisfying at times, take the form of slices of projects, clients, employees, problems, solutions, messenger chats, emails, and voicemails all recorded in 15 minute increments in timesheets.
The impact of this modern working world, one which I help create and recreate through the magic of web-based software development every day, is not so ironically the theme of Heather Menzies' book No Time. And while I take issue with Menzies' critique of an increasingly scattered and symbol-based world (she fails to critique books in that symbol-based world, the very medium she choses to share her ideas which happen to be comprised of the very same symbols you're reading on the screen right now), I will admit that my continuous partial attention span is being stretched in funny ways by the technologies I choose.
True to October form, a quick book roundup of those listed above...
From Lance to Landis
David Walsh
Genre: Sports expose
There's a reason I read this book in one sitting. Pieced together from personal interviews and court testimony, David Walsh has published his evidence against Lance Armstrong and some of his teammates for doping throughout his career. Even if you don't believe the stories told about Lance and the US Postal team, the stories of the early to mid 1990's when the peloton was riding at two speeds, one group on EPO and the others not, and the general frustration from the "non-doping" (really non-EPO or blood doping) riders are pretty convincing. One year riders are in the best shape of their lives, seeing the best V02 and power numbers they've ever produced, and the next year, they're pack filler on the steep climbs of the Alps and the Pyrenees. A sad but engrossing read and no easy answers as to what to do for pro cycling to get any better.
9/10
Spook Country
William Gibson
Genre: cyberpunk? science fiction?
As I'm not a big fiction reader and when told the words "science fiction" I tend to think of stuff that happens in outer space, I wasn't sure what to make of the seemingly present-day, technologically plausible fiction of William Gibson. No galactic outer space battles here... At its heart, I felt the book was a good mystery story involving some interesting characters with a technological twist. Locative art, GPS devices, CIA agents: it all seemed pretty here and now to me - I'm going to have to look up what falls under the Science Fiction genre and reconsider my relationship to it. Loved having part of the book set close to home and Gibson's description of Vancouver through the eyes of someone who's just arrived. The beginning started a bit slow for me, the multiple story lines sometimes a bit hard to get a good flow going when reading. But enjoyable nonetheless.
8/10
Pattern Recognition
William Gibson
Genre: cyberpunk/science fiction
I probably should have read this one before I read Spook Country, especially given the books share a small plot line. A little more action-packed than Spook Country, I really enjoyed it and devoured it in 2 days, basically 120 page sittings at a shot. The London setting was good - especially the Camden bits, which were still fresh from my 2004 visit to the UK. In the story, Cayce Pollard, hired coolhunter/magazine writer, gets caught up in tracking down the source of mysterious video clips that appear on the web. Her allergic reactions to certain brands (oh no, not the Michelin Man!) was quite good and I enjoyed Gibson's sense of humour that ran through the book. Lots of plot twists and international travel. Great reading.
9/10
Kingdom Come
JG Ballard
Genre: dystopic fiction, Ballardian
I'd read Super-Cannes not that long ago, Ballard's novel about a swanky French business/tech park where things go a little sideways, and thought I'd pick up this novel set in a shopping mall in the London suburbs. Oh sure, sounds pleasant enough, but its... um... a bit on the dark side to say the least. A failed ad executive heads off to suburban London to investigate the murder of his father, killed in a shooting spree in the local mall. Hooliganism, consumerism and fascism figure prominently (simultaneously at times) as he digs deeper into the rotting underbelly of this seemingly forgotten place off a motorway near Heathrow. A bit over the top, I found the plot doing circles sometimes, repeating itself, and sometimes generally confusing me. Hard to like anyone in this book, no real hero to root for or even empathize with mildly. In the end, I finished it off, but didn't find myself enjoying it as much as the Gibson novels. Mixed feelings and wondering whether that's the whole point (mission accomplished?). Will have to read the interview on the Ballardian site for some perspective.
6/10
No Time: Stress and the Crisis of Modern Life
Heather Menzies
Genre: non-fiction, theory of technology/society
Completely at home within the pages of this book, Menzies reminded me of the sincere tones of many a Communications lecture at SFU during undergrad. She quotes McLuhan with ease, interviews Arthur Kroker and references Ursula Franklin (ps: Franklin's profile is on Barry's science.ca website which I secured the domain name for back in the day!). It's a good survey of some key themes as to how technology impacts our lives and how late-stage capitalism operates at an individual and societal level. It's quite chatty and anecdotal in its tone, telling stories, recounting interviews with actual snippets of dialogue. As such it made for an easy read and is a good on-ramp to the subject. I could see it on the shelf with Postman's Technopoly or something along those lines as a primer for a 100 level course at university. So not much new, but a good antidote to lots of screen time and computer stuff. A nice reminder to stop, pause, read a book, and connect with people (says the guy spending his evening typing a book review into a text box).
7/10
So that's it for September. We'll see how the pace holds up in October...
2 Comments:
As a guy who has read way to much science fiction, possibly all of Gibson's novels except Spook Country, and has a nascent collection of Golden Age sf, let me caution you that Gibson's last two novels are very much unlike his other books.
To wit, he (more or less) explicitly set out to write Pattern Recognition as a novel that, while not an actual science fiction novel (it is set in the present day or near-past, and has no forward-looking technology), used the tropes, themes, and stylings of modern science fiction.
I assume Spook Country follows that lead.
His other novels vary in tone, and belong to a semi-connected alternate future (you could separate them into two different trilogies: one near-future, one far-future, and more or less compatible visions of future history, but each trilogy shares no important thematic links with the other trilogy). Oh yeah, and this excepts the so-so Difference Engine, written with Bruce Sterling.
Where was I? His other novels vary from dark stories of a dark future (Neuromancer) to what amounts to a near-future sf comedy (Virtual Light). But they all contain presently-nonexistent technologies and speculative elements in a world extrapolated from our own.
If you want to read more science fiction a bit like Gibson's latest, the obvious place to start is with Neal Stephenson's "Cryptonomicon", a rather oddball reconception of certain nerdy events of recent history, starting with WW II and ending in the present day.
Again, the technology is essentially present-day.
Stephenson may actually take this whole sf-novel-without-being-sf idea even further, in that he has written what amounts to sf-versions of historical fiction, and not really alternate-histories either, just bizarre, nerd's-point-of-view versions of the 17th century that imagine a precursor to MIT, a strangely-hulled ship, and some very odd economic lessons being offered to French aristocrats.
By
Ryan, at 2:07 am
I think I may have watched the entire third season of Arrested Development in one sitting. Next try 'The Wire'.n
By
Anonymous, at 8:27 am
Post a Comment
<< Home