Juliet, Naked

This was the first book I've read by Nick Hornby. I have seen only one movie based on one of his books, High Fidelity, and really liked it, so after additional recommendation I thought I'd give one of his books a try. Juliet, Naked centers around Annie, Duncan and Tucker Crowe and their intertwining relationships. Tucker wrote an album, Juliet, in the 80s and promptly quit his tour to lead a reclusive life. The album earned him a cult following of which Duncan is the ring leader and he dragged Annie along with him. All of them have regrets about life over the last 15 to 20 years and the book deals with the struggles of never getting that time back.

Duncan is a character I can love to hate. A pretentious know-it-all devotee to Crowe, he spends his life trying to dissect every element of Tucker's life. He goes as far as traveling to America to visit all the places significant to the production of Juliet, marveling at a urinal which he believes played a significant role in the abrupt end of Crowe's career. When he isn't examining his bootleg albums, he's analyzing theories on the Internet about Crowe's personal life. This isn't wrong in and of itself, necessarily, it's more that his opinions and interpretations are, to him, fact, as he is the expert and nobody would know better than him.

All in all, it's a humorous, and sometimes touching story about people trying to figure out how their own lives have passed them by without having done anything of true significance, what they should or could have done differently to avoid it, and how to make up for time lost. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, it reads quickly, it revolves around music, and the characters are all flawed, but possess redeeming qualities. I'll give it a 4 out of 5 and put more of Hornby's books on my list of "To read."

You Shall Know Our Velocity! (Updated for Sacrament)

Maggie's parents gave this hardcover edition to me for Christmas, which was pretty exciting. I didn't ask for this book specifically, just books by Dave Eggers, but I'm glad I got this one. I was told there was some addition made to the paperback, I'll have to look into that because I'm told it changes the story quite a bit.

I just finished this, and it was a hard one to put down, unlike Never Let Me Go. I read this in sort of a glum, monotone voice from the narrator, Will. I'm not sure if that was accurate of me, but Will always seems lost in thought and the real world rarely excited him, like he was just an observer, or maybe nothing understood him or his situation.

Eggers made it easy for me to relate to Will, always having conversations with other people or objects in his head. I like the idea of the spontaneous world traveling, though under the circumstances it was rather sad.

I'm Not A Connoisseur: Bota Box Cabernet Sauvignon

Maggie bought this fine boxed wine, which she hardly enjoyed. I, on the other hand, thought for wine in a box that it was pretty drinkable.

I don't know how seriously I should take this wine, but it was about $18 for 3 liters, which it says is about the equivalent of four bottles of wine. I would say that's a pretty good deal. Not to mention the box is recyclable.

The vintage was 2009, which is remarkable. Don't ask me why. There do seem to be, what come off as, some higher quality boxed wines these days. At least better than the Franzia I drank at times in college because it was sad, funny and cheap.

Freelance Whales: Enzymes

The Freelance Whales, who released their full album Weathervanes way back in April, have put out a new song called "Enzymes" working with Emery Dobyns. I probably would never have known about this had he not tweeted and then have been retweeted by the group themselves. The track is definitely worth checking out. It's a little more haunting than their previous work, but that's not a bad thing. You can find more information at the Green Label Sound website, along with many other tracks. New songs are always fun, but I'm definitely anticipating a new album from them. Sadly, that probably won't come for quite a while.

Facebook Takes 'Anonymous' out of Web Browsing

What Facebook Can Give Back To The Web

I enjoy Facebook and would be happy spending a quarter of my Web life there, if I could leave Facebook for the other 75%. But even if I log out completely, most of the Web’s most popular sites are tied to Facebook, through Share or Like or Connect buttons. Facebook is not just another Web site: it is a service that “Facebookizes” every Web site it touches, making me bring all of my friends with me, like luggage. It’s disconcerting being on a Web site that I’m used to browsing anonymously, and seeing my friends’ faces there. And so I have a holiday wish: Facebook, let me dance if I want to, let me leave my friends behind.