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It’s the birthday of J.R.R. (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien, born in South Africa (1892). His family came back to England after his father died and his mother taught him Latin and converted him to Catholicism. She died when he was twelve and friends said he stayed a Catholic and continued to study languages in her memory.

…Literature stops in 1100. After that it’s only books…

He went on to philology, or the study of the derivation of languages, at Oxford, and it was there that he met his friend C.S. Lewis. Lewis later said, “At my first coming into the world, I had been warned never to trust a [Catholic], and at my first coming into the English Faculty, never to trust a philologist. Tolkien was both.” Despite Lewis’ suspicion they took to one another right away and with a number of other men formed The Inklings, a group of writers who met in a local pub each week to talk about books and read aloud what they’d been writing. Lewis and Tolkien often talked late into the night about the idea that books could be “morally serious fantasy,” dressing correct theology in the clothing of a ripping good tale.

Tolkien’s idea for a novel came from his love for language. He was fluent in Classical Greek and Latin, Old Norse, Old English, medieval Welsh and Anglo-Saxon and an ancient form of German called Gothic, among other ancient European languages. He was so interested in the structure of language that he decided to invent an entire language of his own. He even invented a new alphabet to write in that language and when he began writing Lord of the Rings, he gave that new language to the Elves calling it “High Elvish”. He later said, “I wrote Lord of the Rings to provide a world for the language… I should have preferred to write the entire book in Elvish.”

Many critics now consider Lord of the Rings to be one of the greatest fantasy novels ever written. It’s the story of Frodo Baggins¹, a lowly hobbit who sets out on a quest to destroy a magic ring so that it cannot fall into the hands of the evil Sauron.

It took Tolkien twelve years to write The Lord of the Rings, in part because he was a great procrastinator and refused to take any time off to work on the book. He was constantly stopping his writing in order to research various details he wanted to include, such as the proper way to stew a rabbit. He wrote to his editor more than once to say that he wasn’t sure he could finish the book, but after twelve years he had finally done it. He wrote, “It is written… in my life-blood.”

Tolkien wasn’t sure anyone would want to read The Lord of the Rings since it was hardly the children’s book his editor had asked for. He wrote, “My work has escaped from my control. I have produced a monster… a complex, rather bitter and rather terrifying romance. I now wonder whether many beyond my friends would read anything so long.”

The book was moderately successful when the first volume came out in 1954, but it didn’t become a huge bestseller until the 1960’s when American college students fell in love with it and psychedelic rock bands like Led Zeppelin began writing songs about it. Tolkein never enjoyed having become a cult figure in his own lifetime. He tried to live quietly for the rest of his life.

J.R.R. Tolkein said, “Literature stops in 1100. After that it’s only books.”

He once said, “I am in fact, a hobbit in all but size. I like gardens, trees and unmechanized farmlands. I smoke a pipe and like good plain food (unrefrigerated), but detest French cooking. I am fond of mushrooms (out of a field)…. I go to bed late and get up late (when possible). I do not travel much.”

Notes:

1. Original article listed name as Bilbo Baggins

During the holidays I like to read some light fiction that raises my spirits. Who better to turn to than Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series? Always entertaining, always fast paced and light, always thought provoking after you recover from rolling on the floor and laughing you nether regions off.

My first venture was a an oldie but a goodie, number eight in the series with a bullet (or more aptly a crossbow bolt), Guards! Guards!

Pratchett introduces us to those lovable characters of Ankh-Morpork’s Night Watch; Captain Vimmes, Carrot, Colon and Nobby. It is a study in the pursuit of power versus the rule of law, with a “thought to be extinct” dragon thrown into the mix to bring the tale to a riotous boil. The denizens of the divided city get a little more than they bargained for while searching for a king, a king with an appetite for barbequed virgins. A very enjoyable read.

Wile ruminating on the nature of politics and power I thought, “what would a holiday season be without some kind of traditional holiday tale?” Well Pratchett delivers with all the ribbons, tinsel and other trimmings of the season; like say pigs.

The second dive into Discworld was a timeless story of the true spirit of the holidays. It is none other than the tale of Hogfather, that magical being who flies his hog pulled sledge around Discworld on Hogswatch eve delivering toys to all the girls and boys in all the lands. This Hogswatch, however, something has gone terribly wrong and Death has to fill in as the Hogfather’s replacement. Follow the adventure as Susan, the Raven, and the Death of Rats try to solve the mystery and save Hogswatch and the very existence of existence. Read to find out why “You’d better watch out…”

On a lazy weekend one’s thoughts should turn to chores that need to be done. Notice I say “should”. But on this lazy weekend I’m curled up with geopolitics and a rereading of this book.

Dyer, Gwynne. 2004. Future: Tense; The Coming World Order. McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0771029780.

What I liked about this book:This book should be seen as a counter point to Colossus by Niall Ferguson. While the premise in Colossus is that America should willingly take on the mantle of empire and global policeman, Future: Tense: argues that such action is a return to large international power blocs like we had prior to the First World War. By acting unilaterally and by ridiculing established international structures, America is planting the seeds for a return to imperial power blocs.

Dyer outlines the various influences in today’s political climate that are working to create a crisis in international cooperation. The Islamicists who are trying to goad the USA into a hopeless conflict like the Soviets in Afghanistan. The American Neo-Conservatives looking for a sovereign state to invade contrary to establish international law to demonstrate the policy of Pax Americana. Both groups absolute adversaries. Both groups feeding on each other, and in the failure of the international order, power blocs forming in Europe, China, and India. It’s the good old, bad old days, of fingers on the buttons again.

What I disliked about this book: My inability to get Gwynne Dyer’s voice out of my head while reading him. Anyone who has watched him on the CBC or in his documentary film and book War will know what I’m talking about. One of the best parts of his writing is listening to him speak it in his own words. The effect is a little haunting while reading him in the comfort of your own home.

I just finished this book. I borrowed it from a friend and I could not put it down. I got right into the historical setting of the piece and with the plight of the characters against terrible odds. It was suspenseful and engaging. I may need to put it on my Christmas list so I’ll have a copy when I give my friend’s copy back.

Roth, Phillip. 2005.The Plot Against America Vintage. ISBN: 1400079497

The Plot Against America is a fictional work which follows an alternative history of the United States in the 1940’s. We are told the tale the from the point of view of the young Phil Roth, who watches the destruction of his family, neighbourhood and country. In the alternative history, America elects Charles Lindberg President over FDR and the slow deliberate march towards Fascism, neutrality, and the destruction of the American Jew begins.

The scary thing (after you’ve suspended your disbelief that such a thing could come to pass) is how easily America slips into the grip of the fascists. How patriotism, love of country and sense of duty are turned towards absolute evil.

It was a great read. The suspense is magnified through the lens of a young Jewish boys’s experience of his family’s hardships. We think to ourselves that “it could never happen here.” This book shows in chilling steps how it could.

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If your thoughts turn to Voltaire on this, the day of his birthday, why not look into one view of how Voltaire’s legacy of Reason has turned out over the ages. I’m sure if Voltaire knew what this legacy had become, he would disown it.

Saul, John Ralston. 1993. Voltaire’s Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West. Penguin. ISBN 014015373X.

What I liked about this book: I originally read this book when it was first published in 1993. I bought it in hardcover at the World’s Biggest Bookstore in Toronto, and then I devoured it. It is witty, intelligent and for the first time opened my eyes to the “reasons” the world is the way it is - ratioanlism taken to extremes, exercised by technocrats, to the ruin of freedom.

Saul… argues that the Age of Reason, now nearing 500 years old, displaced medieval society with a reason-based state-corporate structure in which there are no values–and power became the new religion. Reason without values left the citizenry confused and yearning for meaning, Saul writes, and the new ideology was exploited by the ambitious to seize and justify power. “Knowledge became the currency of power,” he says. “The most common characteristics of our elites are cynicism, rhetoric and the worship of both ambition and power. These were also the characteristics of eighteenth-century courtesans.”

What I disliked about this book: nothing at all.

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Garrison Keillor over at the Writer’s Almanac tells us today that it is the birthday of Margaret Atwood. In Canadian Literature the name Atwood either evokes feelings of admiration and love or fear and loathing. In some readers the journey has been from the latter to the former.

Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake. Seal Books; ISBN: 0770429351.

I picked this one up on impulse. If truth be told, the thought of reading a Margaret Atwood novel was a little daunting. I was forced to read Atwood in high school. Forced to read an author I was not ready to appreciate. It left a bad taste in my mouth, and I was reluctant to read anything by Atwood again. It didn’t help that my English Lit teacher had a finely honned skill of sucking the life and joy out of any collection of printed words no matter how great the author.

Well I’m glad I got over my “atwoodophobia”, because I really liked this book. It is a cautionary tale about what can go wrong if we sit back and let business and scientific elites tell us what’s good for us. It is a tale of the aftermath of the unconscious society’s plumet to extinction. It is a tale told with wit, humour and an understanding of the urges that drive us. Well worth the read.

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It’s the birthday of humorist and essayist P.J. (Patrick Jake) O’Rourke, born in Toledo, Ohio (1947). He chose to be a writer because he said, “It was the ’60s—there was no quality control on anything. If I wrote, who’s to say that I wasn’t a writer?”

He said, “Humor is a terrific tool for explaining things, especially when what you’re explaining is frightening or dull and complicated.”

O’Rourke’s most recent book is Peace Kills: America’s Fun New Imperialism, which came out last year, in which he wrote, “Wherever there’s injustice, oppression, and suffering, America will show up six months late and bomb the country next to where it’s happening.”

From the Writer’s Almanac by Garrison Keillor
Available by e-mail daily.

Further very funny reading available at Amazon Canada, US and UK

One of the things that I really enjoy reading about is fantastical homes. Whether it is the description of Hobbit holes in The Lord of the Rings or the Neverland tree fort from Peter Pan magical homes have cast their spell on my imagination. This book is a fantastic pictorial of homes from around the world that are real and magical at the same time.

Kahn, Lloyd. 2004. Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter. Shelter Publications. ISBN 0936070331.

What I liked about this book: This is an absolutely luscious photo essay on the topic of hand made shelters and homes. The structures span the globe and each has an enchanting magical quality that blends it to the surrounding environment. The photos are warm and inviting and you wish that you could dive into them and live in these buildings if only for a day.

What I didn’t like about this book: Of all things, the binding. It is a softcovered book and I would have preferred a hardcover coffee table style. This was inconsequential, however, because the contents more than make up for it.

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Trying to take my mind off things during the NaoWriMo-a-thon I’ve taken to leafing through a book I really enjoy. Someday I hope to be able to build one of these on a little piece of land up in the bush. A guy has to have dreams.

Kennedy, Joseph & Smith, Michael & Wanek, Catherine eds. 2002. The Art of Natural Building: Design Construction Resources. New Society Publishers. ISBN 0865714339.

What I liked about this book: This is a wonderful book for those who are starting to think about how the types of buildings and architecture affects our environment and our daily lives. This book has a wealth of information in it about making better, more environmentally healthy living spaces that do not cost an arm and a leg.

What I disliked about this book: The one factor I disliked was that the book was not self contained. I suppose one can ask for too much, but one isn’t going to get it. This book is a starting place only. If you are looking for complete and full detailed plans, this book will only point you in the right direction for your research.

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I first read this book during the 2004 Presidential Election in the United States. At the time there was a lot of talk about Democrats fleeing to the the Dominion where it would be a “nicer” version of America. It opened my eyes, and any American thinking about life in the snowy north might give it a read too and discover the differences.

Adams, Michael. 2003. Fire and Ice: The United States, Canada and the Myth of Converging Values. Penguin Books. ISBN 0143014234.

What I liked about this book: I think the things that I liked most about this book were the humour (it’s pretty funny) and the hope for the future that it inspired. Too often we are bombarded by the media about how Canada is becoming more and more like the United States. This book shows, rather sharply, that this is not the case. It also has good background information on the historical differences between our two nations; “Life, Liberty and Happiness” as opposed to “Peace, Order and Good Government”. Very entertaining.

What I disliked about this book: While it was informative, and funny, there were times when it read like a sociology textbook. I suppose that is to be expected when covering a topic like sociology, but there were sections in it where I found myself mumbling “blah blah blah” and then fell promptly asleep. But I struggled through and it was worth the read.

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It’s the birthday of the man who created Batman: Bob Kane, born in the Bronx (1916). He’s one of the few boys in American history ever encouraged by his father to become a cartoonist. His father worked as an engraver for a newspaper, and he learned that cartoonists were being paid quite well. He knew his son had a talent for drawing, so he told young Bob to work on cartoons. By the time he was 16, Bob Kane was selling his work for $5 a page.

Batman is the alter-ego of multimillionaire Bruce Wayne and one of the few superheroes in the history of comic books who doesn’t have any special powers.

From the Writer’s Almanac by Garrison Keillor
Available by e-mail daily.

Further “Bat” reading available at Amazon Canada, US and UK

When I was languishing away at the dreaded International Greed Enablement Corp, I couldn’t believe the things that that company did. Things to further the bottom line, things that squeezed every ounce of “value” out of their employees. Things that revealed them to have not one iota of concern for anything other than the the almighty dollar. I thought they were unique in this regard, and then I read this book.

Bakan, Joel. 2004. The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power. Penguin Books. ISBN 0670889768.

What I liked about this book: It’s a well thought out and explained essay on the origin, growth and function of the corporation as an institution. It is also a warning that, if left unchecked, the corporate form will seek to maximize it’s influence and profits at the expense of the public good and the ruin of democratic institutions.

What I disliked about this book: It was far too short…

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