3 Book Reports, including an unpublished book by Martin Mull

Hello Congregation Members,

Here are 3 entries from Penn's private blog. 3 book, one of which is an unpublished book by Penn's hero, Martin Mull. Take a look. -and thanks again for your support here.

Project Hail Mary: A Novel by Andy Weir – 210510 – I loved the movie, “The Martian” and it seemed like it must have been a very entertaining book, but I didn’t want to read it after the movie.  So, when I saw this just came out, it seemed just right. It’s been pointed out, accurately, that my book reports often lead with “This isn’t the kind of book I normally read,” or words to that effect. I guess the only books I read kind of all the time, a science for lay people, and poetry and “literature.”  I don’t often read science fiction, but I sure loved this. And I believe this really is science fiction. As Reddi points out “Star Wars” is not science fiction, it’s fantasy, and “Star Trek” is not science fiction, it’s a morality play.  But I believe this book is science fiction. It does deal with how changes in science technology affect the characters. At least I think that’s the way he explains it.

One of the greatest feelings is the feeling of understanding, the “a-ha.” Like sex, love, friendship, food, and excitement, this is exploited for art. It’s wicked hard to really understand something, but detective books set up a fake situation where you get to feel like you’ve understood something. It’s not a real “a-ha” it’s a manufactured “a-ha.”  Like puzzles are solving a problem that exists only to be solved. Like porn is sex without the work. Like processed food puts together fat and carbs without any work. This book sure generates “a-has” like crazy. I really felt I was understanding stuff and figuring stuff out and I’m barely even learning anything. There is nothing wrong with all this fake stuff, that’s what art is, but it’s amazing how all these forms get to a “bliss point” that real stuff can’t compete with.  It’s just too much, too easy. Crazy.  All that being said, I really enjoyed this book. It was a page turned. I usually read stuff that’s too hard for me. I’m very often slogging through with will power and trying to learn and feel stuff.  This was just so pleasurable.  So pleasurable, that I didn’t even read the other books I had going, I just banged through this. I leave for Budapest tomorrow (and will be able to take “pee pictures” for the first time in 14 months) and it’s 20 hours of travel and I’m a bit worried about all that time masked and anonymous. I found going back to the show, I got so incredibly tired. Even though I exercised and practiced during the break, that which is used develops, that which is not used wastes away, and I wasn’t performing. And I haven’t been traveling and working at my usual rate, so I’m worried about the travel. I bought another one of Weir’s books, and I hope I can get lost in his world of “a-has” and maybe learn a little bit about science.

The book is good. It pushes all the buttons and stayed exciting all the way through. I bet “The Martian” was good.  So, I’ll read another.  But, I might also read a Mike Collins book and see what real feels like.

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Hey, for small spaceship velocities I think in metric! Much better than “cubits per fortnight” or whatever.

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furrowed my brow, mostly to hide the fact that I had no idea what to say.

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I can tell it means trouble, because the word “TROUBLE” is in large type across the top.

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It’s a weird feeling, scientific breakthroughs. There’s no Eureka moment. Just a slow, steady progression toward a goal. But man, when you get to that goal it feels good.

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People nowadays...they have no idea how good they have it. The past was unrelenting misery for most people. And the further back in time you go, the worse it was.”

Sick and Tired – Martin Mull – 210503 – Martin sent me this book he’s working on. Kind of a novela  about a guy who fakes Alzheimer’s to be left alone and be taken care of.  It has such a Martin vibe. I do love the way he tells a story. I love that he lets me read stuff as he works on it.  He’s so good.  Yeah, painter, comedian, musician and . . . writer.  Jesus.

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He knew his multiplication tables, the states and their capitols, his tenses: past, present, perfect (future was never that clear to him)

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When he was satisfied, he said so “I’m satisfied”. He said.

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And those eyes! Like bullet-holes in marshmallows

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There was pathos. There was bathos.

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Carpe diem? No. One didn’t seize the day, one simply tried to get through it

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a patina of victimhood slid over her face.

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My God!! You’re right! And I’m eating pizza because its warm, wet, and “V’ shaped!! I must subconsciously need a woman! Probably an Italian!”

Subdivision: A Novel by J. Robert Lennon – I read a book of this guy’s micro fiction that killed me and a book of short stories that I really liked. I signed up to follow him on Amazon and this came out and I preordered and got it right away. It’s not the kind of thing I usually read. It’s like a long dream. The female protagonist is in a world that’s not real. I was looking for some clue, some way there was a real world behind the dream and what that meant. And I got some of that. It seemed maybe she was in a traffic accident or something.  But all this magical symbolism that I kinda liked but had the feeling I wasn’t really following.  But it kept me hitting the page turn button and I kept reading to the exclusion of other books that I had going, so I was very interested. I just wanted some punchline and didn’t get it, but the set up was really nice.

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In the morning, I woke determined to do what Cylvia had asked. I bathed and dressed and applied enough makeup to indicate a general commitment to the principles of polite society, but not so much that anyone would think I was going out of my way to look better than other people.

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dug into my answers, riffing expertly on death’s status as the one true broken promise.