FEB
2017
AUDIO BOOK REVIEWS
by Jonathan Lowe
 |
ALL
OUR WRONG TODAYS: There’s no such
thing as the life you’re “supposed”
to have… You know the future that people in
the 1950s imagined we’d have? Well, it happened.
In Tom Barren’s world, humanity thrives in
a techno-utopian paradise of flying cars, moving
sidewalks, and moon bases, where avocados never
go bad and punk rock never existed . . . because
it wasn’t necessary. Except Tom just can’t
seem to find his place in this dazzling, idealistic
world, and that’s before his life gets turned
upside down. Utterly blindsided by an accident of
fate, Tom makes a rash decision that drastically
changes not only his own life but the very fabric
of the universe itself. In a time-travel mishap,
Tom finds himself stranded in our world, what we
think of as the real world. For Tom, our normal
reality seems like a dystopian wasteland. It’s
an intriguing plot with pathos, anecdotes about
love and happiness, science, and the possibility
of eight new novels by Kurt Vonnegut. Elan Mastai
is a screenwriter who co-wrote the movie FURY,
starring Samuel L. Jackson. He also wrote
THE F WORD, starring Daniel Radcliffe and
Zoe Kazan.
Jonathan:
What is your experience related to narration or
public speaking, and how was the recording process?
Elan
Mastai: I used to host a radio show back in
university, so I'm fairly comfortable sitting in
a soundproof booth talking into a microphone for
hours at a time. Hopefully that background served
me well when recording the audio book.
Jonathan:
Regarding the physics of your alternate reality,
I've heard it postulated that other parallel worlds
may have physics different than ours. Is that part
of what gave you the idea? Cat's Cradle defied physics
too.
Elan
Mastai: In terms of the physics of alternate
realities, a subject handled with great verve and
imagination in Neal Stephenson's novel ANATHEM,
I chose to focus primarily on how technological
innovation altered the history and society of my
parallel world. But of course I also opened the
door to potential discrepancies, like a form of
radiation that was discovered in the alternate world
that we don't have here, what I call "tau radiation"—so
the suggests differences do exist.
Jonathan:
Writing a novel requires a different skill set than
screenplays. Have you written fiction before, like
short stories?
Elan
Mastai: You're absolutely correct that writing
a novel requires a different skill set than a screenplay.
Screenplays, as you know, are written in the third
person present tense, in a visually expressive but
lean and laconic style. Of course a terrific novel
can be written in that way too, but I chose to write
All Our Wrong Todays in the first
person, as a kind of faux memoir, because I wanted
the protagonist's point of view to explicitly frame
the way the story was told. Drawing off my experience
writing dialogue for actors, I wrote the novel in
a deliberately casual tone, which was a big help
when narrating the audio book. I haven't published
any short stories, All Our Wrong Todays is both
my first novel and my first foray into literary
fiction. But I've been writing movies for over a
decade and, although a very different form, that
experience greatly informed my novel-writing.
|
|
 |
RAY
& JOAN: The Founder movie stars Michael
Keaton and Laura Dern, along with Nick Offerman
and John Carroll Lynch, Patrick Wilson, BJ Novak,
and Linda Cardellini. It’s not Birdman, but
there are moments just as fascinating. Keaton plays
Ray Kroc, “the founder” who wasn’t
really…he was a shake machine salesman, down
on his luck. A kind of Willy Loman with huge dreams
and little success, shown with sympathy by both
director and actor at the opening as he tries and
fails again and again, despite listening to an inspirational
sales recording on a record player in his hotel
rooms on the road. When he sees the McDonald brothers’
restaurant, he is skeptical until it gives him an
expansion idea, and then more inspiration than any
speech ever could. His ultimate goal isn’t
realized by the brothers until near the end, and
that is to wrest the company from them, using their
formula, and make a killing with it. He’s
a typical narcissist, and seizes on advantage with
an eye for the long term. Accordingly, as also told
in more depth in the audiobook, he sets his sights
on franchises, and his first CEO’s idea that
he can only oust the brothers by focusing on real
estate, with the line, “You’re not in
the hamburger business, Ray, you’re in the
real estate business.” So Kroc becomes a real
estate tycoon, leasing property to franchises and
thereby controlling them. This includes the brothers,
who are cheated out of hundreds of millions by a
handshake deal for 1% that they couldn’t prove
happened. The key to Kroc’s success, as related
with always believable tone and nuance by Keaton,
is persistence. Never giving up the quest. There
was also a huge luck factor, as has been shown in
the cases of other titans, like Steve Jobs and Bill
Gates. Being at the right place at the right time
was vital. Add the right product, a revolutionary
idea, and you have what McDonalds has become: the
most successful restaurant in history. Is bigger
better, though? A key quote is the question asked
by Kroc in the film to one of the brothers: “If
my competitor was drowning, I’d walk over
with a hose and spray him in the mouth. Would you?”
McDonald responds, “No, I wouldn’t do
that.” And Kroc’s response, “That’s
why you’re in one location and I’m nationwide.”
The McDonalds are later forced to remove the name
from their one store, as Kroc then owned rights
to their name. Ironic? Amazingly, all were relentless
in business during their climb to the top, only
to give a major portion of their fortunes to charity
after retirement, when they realized they are mortals
after all. (In the case of Kroc, his wife was generous…not
his first wife but a franchiser's wife, whose husband
signed up only because Ray was in love with her.
Gates’ wife changed Bill in another way.)
Interesting. A must watch, and must hear. Regarding
the audiobook, Lisa Napoli is a skilled
narrator (a rarity) and a journalist whose
last staff job was on the public radio show Marketplace
(which explains it.) An early chronicler of the
dawn of the World Wide Web as a columnist at the
New York Times CyberTimes, she has also been the
Internet correspondent at MSNBC. She began her career
at CNN, worked in local news in North Carolina,
and has directed several documentaries about Southern
culture. Her book sets the record straight on Ray
& Joan, she told me, including some
things the film's screenwriter got wrong.
|
|
 |
Own
a home, or thinking of buying one? THE MONEY
PIT series is now on audio. It’s a
radio show recommended by Talkers magazine, and can
be downloaded or bought on CD or Mp3-CD. The great
thing about that is there’s no commercials,
and you can skip ahead to whatever you like. Tom Kraeutler
and Leslie Segrete host, taking calls from listeners
on every conceivable subject. The series is ongoing,
each volume about 9 hours in length. You can get whatever
volume fits your needs, or if you’re into real
estate or house flipping, the whole series would be
a huge education. Entertaining, especially if you’re
driving a lot and are tired of political talk radio
and the endless junk food ads. Here’s what just
one volume has: Fixing Flooded Yards, Easy Cleaning
Tips, Adding Outdoor Lighting, Get the Look of Wood
without the Maintenance, Fence-Building Tips, How
to Know If a Home Is Worth Fixing. Fixing Stuck Windows,
Replacing Your Fence, Tips on Color Choices, Bath
Updates to Cut Water Costs, Best Home Improvement
Projects for House Value. Protect Your Home from Storm
Damage, Tips on Trouble-Free Plants, and How to Contract
with Your Contractor, Building Blocks for Backyard
Projects, Easy Appliance Cleaning Ideas, Spot Termites
before They Dine on Your House. Tips for Deck and
Fence Stains; Backyard Bee Hives, Screening Porches
and Patios; Finding Hidden Storage Spaces; Fresh Filtered
Water from Your Fridge; Stopping Mold, Mildew, Algae,
and Moss. Dress Up a Boring Garage Door, Installing
a Pet Door, Mold and Mildew Removal Tips, Father’s
Day Top Gift Ideas, Picking the Perfect Mattress,
Keeping Away Dangerous Radon Gas. Cutting Pool-Heating
Costs, Building a Pollinator Garden, Prevent Slippery
Sidewalks, How to Stage Your Home for a Fast Sale,
the Next Generation of Smart Home Products, Ideas
for Kitchen Counter Makeovers. |
|
Other
titles I’ve heard this past month that I can
recommend are HIT MAKERS: THE SCIENCE OF
POPULARITY IN AN AGE OF DISTRACTION by
Derek Thompson, read by the author. OUR
LADY OF THE OPEN ROAD, scifi stories by
various authors read by various narrators. REALITY
IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS by Carlo Rovelli,
read by Roy McMillan. THE AISLES HAVE EYES:
How Retailers Track Your Shopping, Strip Your Privacy,
and Define Your Power by Joseph Turow, read by Rob
Grgach (yes, that spelling is correct.) For anyone
wishing to support literacy on Youtube by reading
a short passage from any fav print book, go to Good-Reads.blog
for details. And be sure to leave comments about
what you like, and why
|
|
|
|
