Book Log 2015 #14: A Kim Jong-Il Production by Paul Fischer

One of the few things we know (or think we know) about Kim Jong-Il is his love of film. Beyond his personal passion, he saw how movies could serve as both propaganda and as a way to promote North Korea to the wider world.

To that end, a well known South Korean actress and her director ex-husband (both on the tail end of their careers at home) were apparently kidnapped and brought to the north to make movies that would inspire the citizenry and improve the country's reputation globally. And this kind of worked - the duo made a number of films that were well-received, even winning some international rewards. This all came to an end when the pair, allowed to travel abroad as part of their duties, escaped to the West.

This book tells what is a pretty fantastic story, even by the measure of what we hear about life in North Korea. Fischer provides plenty of background about the country and its leaders to flesh out the story (some reviews say too much, I didn't find it so). The most interesting part of the story to me, though, was the theory that the pair actually went to North Korea voluntarily and left because they thought they'd been rehabilitated enough to find film work in the West. I was a little surprised at how widely held this belief was, especially among South Koreans. But I suppose it's no more weird than a pair of kidnappings.

Worth a read if you're interested in North Korea, certainly.

(Popsugar Reading Challenge: a book published this year)

Book Log 2015 #13: Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

This is the first book I've chosen specifically to meet part of the Popsugar Reading Challenge (I knew Silver Screen Fiend would meet parts of the challenge, but picked it because of the tremendous word of mouth support). I've read Chabon's more recent novels, so I was curious to see how this stacked up. And while I liked it, I did not like it as much as his newer works. I never could build up the requisite sympathy for Grady Tripp, and some of the wackiness seemed like it was included for wackiness' sake.

Another problem is that I could not stop mentally comparing the book to Straight Man, the Richard Russo novel which is very similar in several respects (set in Pennsylvania, features an English professor struggling to write a novel, extramarital romantic conflicts, moody male writing student), and while Russo's book is written based on his experiences as an English professor, the similarities were distracting. It's not fair to ding Wonder Boys for the order in which I read the two books, but it was a problem nonetheless.

All that being said, it's still really good.

(Popsugar Reading Challenge: book that became a movie, a book written by an author with your same initials)

Book Log 2015 #12 : Silver Screen Fiend by Patton Oswalt

This short but hugely entertaining memoir recounts Oswalt's early days in Hollywood, when he developed a self-described addiction to classic films, seeing as many as possible between comedy gigs. The plan, ostensibly, was to use this compulsion for film as an autodidactic film school leading toward directing. That never quite panned out, but it did help him add writing and performing skills to his comedic skills. Beyond the movies, this book also gives us a look at the alternative comedy scene in LA in the 1990s, as well as insight into Oswalt's progression into TV and film.

I'm mostly familiar with Oswalt through his Twitter account and appearances on talk shows, so this gave me a much better appreciation of how he got to where he is now. I also appreciated the appendices where Oswalt created a month-long festivals of films that never were for the deceased owner of his favorite theater and a complete listing of the films Oswalt saw during the time of the book. It's a quick and entertaining read, very much recommended.

(Popsugar Reading Challenge: a memoir, a funny book, a book with a color in the title. It could also be a book you can finish in a day, but where I've already used it I'll stick with the triple.)

Book Log 2015 #11: The Empty Throne by Bernard Cornwell

The future of England is in peril again, but this time the Danes aren't the main problem. Aethelred, ruler of Mercia, is dying, and without a male to succeed him there's a good chance that Wessex will find a way to finally absorb Mercia, either by force or by installing a puppet on the Mercian throne.

Enter Uhtred, champion and occasional lover of Athelflaed, the queen who can't succeed to the throne. Or can she?

It's another solid outing for the Saxon tales, with the additional surprise (spoiler alert) of Uhtred, son of Uhtred, taking over some of the narration duties. The series has been going on for quite a bit, but as we know that the elder Uhtred lives to retake his ancestral home, it'll be interesting to see if the younger Uhtred plays a larger role in future books. 

Book Log 2015 #10: The American Plate: A History of the United States in 100 Bites by Libby O'Connell

This book should have been right up my alley, but I never quite connected with it. Not sure why, given that it combines American and food history, both of which really interest me. I do have two theories:

1. I was already familiar enough with the "bites" that start the book that I got bored and didn't bother to skip ahead.

2. Overly pedantic expectations about what "bite" meant. Several of the entries aren't bites at all, and there was some repetition (Thanksgiving was covered by at least 2 or 3 bites).

Likely it was parts of both of these. You should give it a shot.