Writer's Block: Top 10
Dec. 23rd, 2008 12:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatHey, my third post today! Can you tell I'm bored? :P This is something I'd been wanting to do anyway, though, and here's an excuse!
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Top Ten Albums of 2008:
1. Ditty Bops - Summer Rain
2. Ben Folds - Way to Normal
3. Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
4. Vermillion Lies - What's in the Box?
5. Black Francis - Svn Fngrs
6. Piñataland - Songs for the Forgotten Future, Volume 2
7. Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live!
8. Magnetic Fields - Distortion
9. Sloan - Parallel Play
10. Dresden Dolls - No, Virginia
I haven't listened to some of these in a while, and it's possible my opinions will change when I do, but it's still a good indication as to what new albums I heard this year.
I'll also list books, but unlike the albums, none of these were actually RELEASED this year. That's just when I read them.
1. Collected Fictions, by Jorge Luis Borges - The stories varied in quality, but the best of them had a great surrealistic quality to them, and even the weaker ones showed some good writing. Of course, I read them in English translation, but I hope I didn't lose out on much by doing so, as I don't know Spanish.
2. The Once and Future King, by T.H. White - A quite philosophical and sometimes funny retelling of the Arthurian saga. I'm a little disappointed that Merlin disappeared so soon into the story, though, as I quite enjoy White's characterization of him as an absent-minded genius (one of my favorite archetypes, I must say).
3. Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift - A classic that it took me a little time to get into, but that clearly heavily influenced some of my favorite authors.
4. Asimov's Guide to the Bible, by Isaac Asimov - I got through this entire book (actually a combined volume, covering both the Old and New Testaments) surprisingly quickly. The science fiction writer examines the historical context of the Bible in an interesting way.
5. Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature, by L. Sprague de Camp - I came across a mention of this book on the Internet, and found it fascinating. It's a great skeptical look at stories regarding Atlantis and other lost continents.
6. The Astonishing Tale of the Gump of Oz, by Dennis Anfuso - It's somewhat amazing that, despite the relative obscurity of all but the first book, people are still writing new Oz stories. Just a testament to the power of the fairyland, I suppose. This is one of the better ones, featuring a search for the parts of the Gump, as well as a concurrent quest for Ozma's long-lost mother.
7. Question Quest, by Piers Anthony - I read a lot of Xanth books this year, but this was the best of the lot, giving the often silly fantasy land a real sense of history, and providing a background for the grumpy Good Magician Humfrey.
8. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley - What with all of the embellishments to the story by Hollywood and the like, it's interesting to read the original story, and find that the monster was originally conceived as a sympathetic and thoughtful character, not the hulking bolt-necked brute that popular culture often presents.
9. The Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell - Finally got around to reading this, and I found its explorations of the similar themes in different mythologies quite interesting. I wasn't as thrilled by the psychological parts, but hey.
10. The Bible As History, by Ian Wilson - Unlike Asimov, Wilson seemed more determined to present a fair number of Bible stories as being true in their most basic forms, and so accepted some archaeological evidence that I've seen dismissed or at least questioned elsewhere. Still, a fascinating and lavishly illustrated volume, and one that will also remind me of waiting for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bethje to get up while staying at Disney World. {g}
[Error: unknown template qotd]
Top Ten Albums of 2008:
1. Ditty Bops - Summer Rain
2. Ben Folds - Way to Normal
3. Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
4. Vermillion Lies - What's in the Box?
5. Black Francis - Svn Fngrs
6. Piñataland - Songs for the Forgotten Future, Volume 2
7. Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live!
8. Magnetic Fields - Distortion
9. Sloan - Parallel Play
10. Dresden Dolls - No, Virginia
I haven't listened to some of these in a while, and it's possible my opinions will change when I do, but it's still a good indication as to what new albums I heard this year.
I'll also list books, but unlike the albums, none of these were actually RELEASED this year. That's just when I read them.
1. Collected Fictions, by Jorge Luis Borges - The stories varied in quality, but the best of them had a great surrealistic quality to them, and even the weaker ones showed some good writing. Of course, I read them in English translation, but I hope I didn't lose out on much by doing so, as I don't know Spanish.
2. The Once and Future King, by T.H. White - A quite philosophical and sometimes funny retelling of the Arthurian saga. I'm a little disappointed that Merlin disappeared so soon into the story, though, as I quite enjoy White's characterization of him as an absent-minded genius (one of my favorite archetypes, I must say).
3. Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift - A classic that it took me a little time to get into, but that clearly heavily influenced some of my favorite authors.
4. Asimov's Guide to the Bible, by Isaac Asimov - I got through this entire book (actually a combined volume, covering both the Old and New Testaments) surprisingly quickly. The science fiction writer examines the historical context of the Bible in an interesting way.
5. Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature, by L. Sprague de Camp - I came across a mention of this book on the Internet, and found it fascinating. It's a great skeptical look at stories regarding Atlantis and other lost continents.
6. The Astonishing Tale of the Gump of Oz, by Dennis Anfuso - It's somewhat amazing that, despite the relative obscurity of all but the first book, people are still writing new Oz stories. Just a testament to the power of the fairyland, I suppose. This is one of the better ones, featuring a search for the parts of the Gump, as well as a concurrent quest for Ozma's long-lost mother.
7. Question Quest, by Piers Anthony - I read a lot of Xanth books this year, but this was the best of the lot, giving the often silly fantasy land a real sense of history, and providing a background for the grumpy Good Magician Humfrey.
8. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley - What with all of the embellishments to the story by Hollywood and the like, it's interesting to read the original story, and find that the monster was originally conceived as a sympathetic and thoughtful character, not the hulking bolt-necked brute that popular culture often presents.
9. The Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell - Finally got around to reading this, and I found its explorations of the similar themes in different mythologies quite interesting. I wasn't as thrilled by the psychological parts, but hey.
10. The Bible As History, by Ian Wilson - Unlike Asimov, Wilson seemed more determined to present a fair number of Bible stories as being true in their most basic forms, and so accepted some archaeological evidence that I've seen dismissed or at least questioned elsewhere. Still, a fascinating and lavishly illustrated volume, and one that will also remind me of waiting for
bethje to get up while staying at Disney World. {g}
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no subject
Date: 2008-12-23 09:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-24 06:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-23 10:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-24 06:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-24 06:13 pm (UTC)I know!
Does the Gump take Dumps?
no subject
Date: 2008-12-24 06:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-23 11:59 pm (UTC)Hah yeah, I was thinking, don't you do this every year anyway? The lj-writing-block people have been skimming YOUR archives for ideas, I think....
I think it's funny, I'd be the very opposite-- I could easily list 10 books from 2008 I've read, but I don't think I've heard ANY new albums. Okay, I've heard Metallica's latest because I gave it to Jason for his birthday. But otherwise, you know... actually, I don't think I've even heard any previously released albums for the first time this year. Not really a year for new music for me.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-24 06:12 pm (UTC)Well, I'm pretty sure I saw other people doing that before I did it myself.
Actually, I think the Oz book did come out in 2008, but none of the others did. And as for music, those were pretty much all of the new albums I listened to this year, save about two.