Midwood #48, 2/22/07

Well, you can't win 'em all. And when you (in this case me) take out a 500 page 18th century novel that is centered entirely around how funny it is to have long, pointless narrative digressions instead of a coherent storyline, you may find yourself returning that book at about the 30 page mark. Just saying.

In all actuality, I did enjoy Tristram Shandy, I just couldn't go without a library visit for as long as I knew it would take me to read it. Plus, I wasn't really in the mood for that kind of thing. But what I was in the mood for was another well written book about music, in this case post-punk, and the Midwood Branch had it.

Branch: Midwood
Location: 975 East 16th St. at Avenue J
Transport: R train to Atlantic, Q train to Avenue J
Items: Pastoralia by George Saunders; Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 by Simon Reynolds; Pincus and the Pig: A Klezmer Tale (CD)
Date: Thursday, February 22, 2007

This was a pretty fun trip. It was raining slightly when I got there, but the walk from the train was very short. The neighborhood was very nice, lots of little shops on the avenue and homey looking apartments on E. 16th. It seemed to be largely a Jewish area, partially due to the fact that there was a Yeshiva next door to the library. In any case, the library itself had a large section of Judaism related materials, including the CD I took out. I basically got it because I was curious about Klezmer music, and the pig on the cover looked cool. Turns out it's just a Yiddish retelling of Peter and the Wolf, so I guess I'll have to get a real Klezmer CD next time. Not to say it's bad, just not what I thought it would be.

The library was nice, apparently the building is from the 1950s, and I really enjoyed how spacious it felt. It was well lit, packed with people, and just felt like a real gathering place and not just an internet hub like some others. In fact I sat there and read nearly an entire book, Pastoralia, which I didn't actually check out but thought I would mention anyway. I liked it, the usual themes of alienation from and disgust with the consumer society are there, and the characters deal with adversity but still manage to be fairly unsympathetic. Some disagree with me here and say that it's too formulaic, but I prefer his more recent work that at least has an element of hope and/or redemption for the characters. Pastoralia was well written enough, but all the short stories seemed somewhat similar (five words, I rule) in that the characters were struggling against shitty circumstances and were ultimately no better off than before. Maybe it's reality, but he could've mixed it up a bit, which in later stories, he does.

So far Rip It Up and Start Again is excellent, just the kind of book I've been looking for. I don't know all that much about the stories of the bands he discusses such as Public Image Ltd. and the Pop Group, so it should be informative if I like that sort of thing. And I do. Picture time!



blurry



See the raindrops!?



Pleasant entrance.



And, rectangular.

When I left it was sunny, but colder, and I decided to walk up to Avenue I and then go west the 16 or so blocks to the F train at Avenue I. My map told me I could do this, but reality had other ideas. It seems so obvious now, in retrospect, but as you all know, hindsight is 20/20. I lost a lot of good men that day...

Anyway, have a good weekend everyone!