Looking Back...

I’m hoping you read this long enough after the deluge of pre/post New Years top 10 lists of books, movies, achievements, goals, pictures, events, etc to not add to the pile. For me, it’s always a bit exhausting when news and social feeds are inundated with lists of things you should have seen or done in the past year or things you should see and do in the coming year. What I’d like to share here are some things that inspired and refreshed me last year; things that spoke to my soul, lifted my spirits, and that I thought were pretty awesome. Most of these are art related, but I’ll throw in a few goodies from my personal life as well. These aren’t going to be listed in any particular order, though I will start with the most obvious and important item.

The Birth of Ethan

Ethan James Sweet - 2 weeks old

Annie and I welcomed our third son into the world last April. Ethan James is the happiest baby I’ve ever seen. His older brothers, Gideon and Sullivan, love him so much and it’s adorable to see the three of them playing together. It’s the best kind of challenge raising these three sweet Sweet boys.

Finally Getting Glasses

For any of you benefitting from corrective eyewear, you probably know how life changing this can be. Reading, writing, looking at my phone, and night driving had all become exhausting tasks. Putting on my first pair of corrective lenses was a life changing experience I’ve been happier and healthier for.

Okay, onto the arts:

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Return of the King

I read The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring in 2023 and was blown away by how truly excellent each book is. While I couldn’t wait to dive into the last two entries in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I’m a fan of delayed gratification and put them off for a while. Reading them last year was one of my favourite literary experiences. The books are chock-full of heart, adventure, and creativity. Even mentioning them now, I get chills recalling some of my favourite scenes. Frodo and Sam’s perilous journey through Shelob’s lair in The Two Towers, written in prose worthy of any classic horror novel, will forever be some of my favourite storytelling.

Dickinson and Shakespeare

Over the past year or so, I’ve been rediscovering my love of reading and writing poetry. While I haven’t written nearly as much of it as I would like, I have been indulging in the works some of the highest regarded poets from modern greats like Billy Collins, counter-culturalists like Charles Bukowski, and classic masters like William Wordsworth and T.S. Eliot.

I’ve always been a fan of Shakespeare, having voluntarily read most of his plays in high school, but I’d never read any of his sonnets until last year when I started on a journey to read all 154 of them. I’ve barely scratched the surface because I’m trying to absorb and understand each sonnet, as much as one can do so without a degree in classical literature. Poetry, to me, is something that really needs to be experienced and absorbed. I’m taking my time with these and have been loving the experience.

And then there’s Emily Dickinson. Believe it or not, until last year I had never read a Dickinson poem in my life (that I could recall). I have an old Dover Thrift Edition of some selected poems of hers and opened it on a whim at the beginning of my re-immersion into poetry. Something about her word economy, wit, powers of observation, and the way she interprets the world grabbed my spirit by the short hairs and demanded its attention. From seemingly simple tributes to insects, to her more introspective observations of the human condition, Dickinson had this uncanny ability to distill the world around her into a handful of expertly chosen and cunningly arranged words. And almost all of them are fun to read. I defy anyone to look at a poem of hers and not feel the urge to read it out loud.

“Barcelona” by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé

I’ve long been a casual fan of Queen, having drunkenly belted out in ear-splitting falsetto every line of “Bohemian Rhapsody” more times than I can count at the karaoke bar I frequented in my 20s and early 30s. I wouldn’t say I was ever a “dedicated” fan, but I’ve always appreciated their talent and, of course, their sound. As a lover of a great many musical genres, and as someone who spent seven years of his life as an event & wedding DJ, I was taken by the best kind of surprise when a friend posted a video (which you can find here) of Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé performing the song “Barcelona” live in Ibiza. The passion of these two virtuosoes cannot be denied. This has to be one of the best live performances in the history of music. I would never consider myself anything close to an expert, but I do love opera, and this song immediately made me a fan of María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch (aka Montserrat Caballé). The song, written by Freddie Mercury and Mike Moran, struck my heart like a tidal wave. The lyrics weave a simple narrative delivered in the most compelling way. I’ve listened to it dozens of times since first hearing it last October and the song never fails to electrify me and stir up new emotions.

James Gunn’s Superman Trailer

I can hear some of your eyes rolling, but bear with me. You don’t need to be a fan of Superman to acknowledge the character’s impact on art, society, storytelling, and more. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s creation was an atom bomb dropped on pop culture and was, at one point, considered the epitome of heroism. Largely maligned for his invulnerability and (sadly) unbelievable goodness, Superman has been a bit of a point of contention in the entertainment industry, especially as it leans toward lifting up antiheroes and villains as the good guy. There have been a lot of different versions of Supes, many recent iterations exploring a darker side of his nature. What’s immediately obvious, watching the trailer, is the intent to bring back the wholesome and admittedly campy Superman of the silver age.

Here’s why it’s on this (personal and subjective) list:

Growing up, Superman was, to me, an ideal to strive for. With all the otherworldly power and strength he possessed, he (in most iterations) remained humble and human. He could withstand the most violent of attacks but had an immediate, unhidden, and often exploited weakness for the people he was raised among. A single human death, to him, was the worst thing that could possibly happen under his watch. When Superman Returns (2006) was released, I was studying journalism in college. Guess who inspired me (partially, at least) to go into journalism in the first place? Yeah, Clark Kent. From John Williams’ classic “Superman Main Theme” playing during the title card (it’s been my ringtone for longer than I can remember) to the iconic “airplane scene” to Superman plummeting to the earth after lifting an island of kryptonite into the sky, the movie managed to capture the essence of the Superman I’d grown up with. Gunn’s version at least promises to strive for the same thing. I was swept up in literal chills when the electric guitar version of Williams’ legendary theme started playing. And, yeah, my heart leapt to see an appearance by Krypto, Superman’s super-dog.

These are things that spoke to me, blew smouldering coals in my heart into flaming life, lifted my spirit, and inspired me. What are some things that did the same for you? Obviously you don’t have to share, but it might do your heart some good to reflect upon. I think we spend too much time dwelling on what we want to change, what could be better, what we could have more of, to appreciate the things that have kept us going, filled our cups, and inspired us. And sometimes those things are hard to recognize until we put some real effort into reflecting on them.

That’s all for now, folks. Thanks for stopping in.

Much love,

-Chris

April Reads

For the last few months or so, I’ve been trying to stay diligent posting about the books I’ve read in the month previous. It’s not to act as a book reviewer, which I state here that I am absolutely not, but more to inspire and incite discussion.

These posts are necessarily brief. Since I am not posting with the intent to rate any of them, I only provide a very brief, one or two sentence long synopsis, if it can even be called that. But I like talking about books way too much to just leave it at that.

I’ll keep posting those monthly snapshots but I’d also like to go a bit more in depth, which I will do here. Again, I want to be clear, these are not reviews. These are simply my opinions of the books I’ve been reading.

Opening statements over. Commence book discussion.

Big Magic - Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

This was an inspiring and uplifting read by the author of Eat Pray Love. My sister-in-law recommended I read this one, knowing how important “creative living” is to me. I’m glad she did, as this is not a book I would have picked up on my own. Big Magic is full of encouraging wisdom from the author, complimented by interesting, often charming anecdotes. I wouldn’t say I learned anything new reading this book, but it did affirm much of what I live by and value. It’s the kind of book that I’ll highlight several passages in and will return to frequently, if only to re-read a quote or anecdote.

Sleeping in the Fire - A Collection of 9 Horrifying Tales by John Durgin

The title says it all. Most of these stories are pretty entertaining, if a little campy. There are some great concepts within, from a Flatliners-esque drug, to a carnivorous parasite from outer space, to a Gremlins-esque monster. All but a few of the stories kept me glued to the page. Durgin bravely includes one of his earliest short stories as the last entry in the book, which he states in the introduction is far from his best work. All told, solid anthology and I’m looking forward to reading more by this author!

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

Blake Crouch is one of my favourite cross-genre writers. Author of the Wayward Pines trilogy, Crouch is comfortable blending science fiction with horror, often leaning more into the former. The last book I read by him, Dark Matter, was fantastic. Upgrade had a great, if not entirely original, concept that didn’t really catch fire for me the way the story in Dark Matter did. In a nutshell, the son of a once-renowned and now-disgraced geneticist has his body genetically enhanced, turning him into a sort of superhuman. The near-future America that Crouch paints is disturbingly believable. For me, it was also the most interesting part of the novel. Most of the story was predictable, especially based off of similar entries in the genre. Having read several of Crouch’s other books, it was plain to see what would befall the protagonist, how he would deal with it, what the consequences would be, and what the eventual resolution would be. Don’t get me wrong, this was still a very entertaining, fast-paced sci-fi novel. It just wasn’t my favourite from this particular author.

The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien

It’s going to be hard for me not to rant here. We all know what this book is about, that it is one of the most acclaimed pieces of literature in history, that it inspired millions of people like me to run through the woods with a stick, pretending to slay orcs and fend off balrogs.

I’d never read any of Tolkien’s work before this year. Of course I’ve seen the Lord of the Rings movies a dozen times each and The Hobbit films once (which is enough), so I knew roughly what to expect from the books. I decided that this year I would at least start the Lord of the Rings literary journey. I promised myself I’d take it slow and not force my way through the books. I made that commitment to myself because I’ve been warned for much of my reading life about how “dry” and “boring” and “rambling” the books can be. How The Hobbit is a silly kids book and how the subsequent books are 90% self-indulgent historical blathering. It seems like the popular thing to do these days is to hate on Tolkien’s written work. I can count on half of one hand how many people have actually recommended I read the LotR books. I’ll forever be grateful to those two.

In January I read The Hobbit and loved it. I had to temper my enthusiasm for Fellowship after that.

“Sure The Hobbit is okay,” people would say. “But you won’t make it halfway through Fellowship before you get bored. Too many songs. Too much history. Too many…words.”

Am I ever glad I didn’t listen. Of course there’s very good reason why these books are so highly acclaimed. Fellowship of the Ring was fantastic! I’m sort of glad I saw the movies first—the books are like an expansion on a world I already know and love. If I’d read the books earlier in life, I’m sure I would have been miffed at all that had to be cut out and changed to make them into movies (changes that I know were necessary to make these screen-worthy).

To me, the songs and the history were never too much—they added flavour to the magical world Tolkien created. As a lover of poetry, I found the songs to be nice interludes in the prose. And they’re not even that long!

If you’re on the fence about Lord of the Rings in any way, I say take the chance. Embrace them. Try to enjoy them. I think that, too often, we try to find the fault in things, try to look for the cracks. It might be more fun to find beauty in the cracks, take pleasure in the journey, hear the magic in the songs. I dunno. Maybe I’m just a nerd.

Gwendy’s Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar

This is a sequel to the novella co-written by Chizmar and Stephen King, Gwendy’s Button Box. While I loved the initial entry in this trilogy, this book was a little tougher to enjoy. The story is a slow burn, which I normally enjoy. However, it sort of fizzles out instead of ending, especially when compared to Button Box. Whereas the first book was all magic blended with horror, this was a lot of following a congresswoman around in her day-to-day life with a teardrop of that old magic just to make it a tie-in. Very little would have to be lifted from this story to make it an underwhelming mystery. Here’s hoping the final entry, Gwendy’s Final Task, is a little more exciting.

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

Stephen Graham Jones is one of my favourite authors these days. The guy wields prose like a bullwhip. His writing is at times manic, and always keenly observant and razor sharp. My Heart is a Chainsaw is his homage to slashers and is delivered with the self-awareness of Scream without being derivative about it. I won’t say anything more about the story to avoid spoiling anything. Suffice it to say this was definitely the best horror I read all month. Apparently it’s the first book of a blossoming trilogy—I’m looking forward to the follow ups!

That’s it for my April reads. My May reading is already off to a fun start and I’m looking forward to discussing it with you.

Have you read any of the books I listed here? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments or shoot me a message through the contact page. Or hit me up on social media. I always love talking books!

Til next time.