Thanks for this Brian! And I agree! I remember that early on Netflix had wonderful abilities for searching and I found some real treasures. Unfortunately that all stopped as time went on.
I read "Pillars of the Earth" but found it to be eminently forgettable. However, the Shardlake series by C.J. Sansome was very enjoyable and brought to life the trauma and chaos that was life when Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church.
And I will never watch Only The Brave as both of my children were firefighting for the US Forest Service that year. For a couple of days I had no idea where they were or if they were involved. Where they were (in CA) was so remote they and their crew had to be transported to the nearest pay phones to call relatives. I've spent half my working life doing admin work for various fire depts and people who choose this line of work are true heroes.
I’ve read - and enjoyed - two of the Shardlake books! And thanks to you - and your children - for their service. They are indeed heroes and wildfire firefighting is too little recognized. (I can’t imagine what you went through during those agonising time periods when you didn’t know).
I agree that “Cat’s Cradle” is a wonderful book, and I have used Vonnegut’s “karass and a granfalloon” in many presentations. These Vonnegut-coined words should be more widely used in our everyday lexicon. They help explain so many things about us and our organizations.
Thanks for another good article, Brian! I loved the book, Pillars of the Earth, when it came out (BC-Before Children). I am reluctant to reread it, though, because I seem to always be disappointed by rereading books I loved in what seems now like a previous lifetime (I guess I have grown more than I give myself credit for?). Has anyone reread it and still loved it?
>If we’re not careful, modern life will detach us from the miracle of our own humanity, as we all try to gorge on maximal soma, drifting distractedly toward our Brave New world.
The people in 'Brave New World' were at least getting lots of (state sanctioned!) sex and drugs. Not just clicking on stuff.
I also enjoyed 'Pillars of the earth'. But I thought the villains were comically 2-dimensional.
Not managed to get to Kurt V yet but the documentary that was on sky arts (I think) last year is as close as you can get to spending time with him. Great documentary.
Are there any producers/directors left with the artistic free license, and the financial backing, to make movies unconstrained by their studios ? Looking at what Netflix/Prime/Apple spew out I suspect not. Thanks for the recommendations Brian…keep ‘em coming.
Back in the old days, you needed loads of people, equipment and money to shoot a film and have the physical film editing and transferred to celluloid. But you can now make a fairly decent quality video with a modern SLR camera costing around ~$1000 and stick it straight on YouTube.
It really burns me up about Netflix and Prime and whatever that they are now making us watch even dumber ads about American Football and American wrestling (as if the dumb who watch that need to be advertised about it?). We are already paying them for the streaming, now we have to watch more ads so they can have bigger profits? I truly and especially now am sick of American Capitalism and just want to know where to go. I loved Captain Fantastic. I homeschooled my kids (well not exactly the way he did) but could totally relate. :) Thanks for your brilliant (not dumbed down) writing Brian! Cheers!
I'm with you on Pillars of the Earth. A friend who knew I love medieval stuff gave it to me shortly after it was published. I LOVED it. I'm also with you on Cat's Cradle, though I do also like Slaughterhouse Five. So it goes.
I hadn't read your older piece on "surefire mediocre" but the pictures remind me of a trend I've noticed on book covers. Novels about WWII involving British women. The woman is standing with her back to us, or 3/4 profile--and there are several (3 or four) planes in the sky. I found that cover on a mystery about a murder at the Seattle Boeing plant, too. Nothing to do with Britain.
This isn't really new. Years ago, gothic romances all had covers with women either crawling toward or climbing a hill towards an old mansion--which always had ONE window lit.
I’m so sorry I can’t share your enjoyment of Pillars of the Earth, even though I also love cathedrals and historical fiction. I found the prose very pedestrian and the construction clumsy because the author didn’t trust the reader to understand things unless they were spelt out. (A cousin to the Netflix drama “show and tell” technique you describe?) I am currently reading and listening to The Count of Monte Cristo and no one could accuse Dumas of making his readers work hard to understand what is going on, yet I am prepared to forgive him and read on. Is it because his prose style or skill in plot construction make up for that? Or because the French language makes me feel like I am already working hard enough? Just intellectual snobbery? Not sure.
Surefire mediocre may seem like a new trend, but it harkens back to the heyday of US network television — one set per household, three channels (plus public broadcasting, which didn’t count) from which to choose. From the ‘50s to 1971, programmers competed to air the LOP — Least Objectionable Program, the term they actually used — in each timeslot. The result was what Newton Minow dubbed “the vast wasteland.” What happened in 1971 to change it? Norman Lear’s ALL IN THE FAMILY.
Great roundup. I’ve not read Cats Cradle or Pillars of the Earth (mostly because of the length). But I’ll put them in the queue! My favorite book is still Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
Hope you enjoy them - they’re very different. I should have made clear - Pillars of the Earth is interesting and enjoyable and a thriller that I loved for the vivid history of a time period and a subject that fascinates me, but it’s not super intellectually demanding.
History is my favorite subject. Recently finished a book on the Battle of Actium. Octavian, Antony, Cleopatra, betrayal, intrigue, gory death, it had everything!
Thanks for this Brian! And I agree! I remember that early on Netflix had wonderful abilities for searching and I found some real treasures. Unfortunately that all stopped as time went on.
I read "Pillars of the Earth" but found it to be eminently forgettable. However, the Shardlake series by C.J. Sansome was very enjoyable and brought to life the trauma and chaos that was life when Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church.
And I will never watch Only The Brave as both of my children were firefighting for the US Forest Service that year. For a couple of days I had no idea where they were or if they were involved. Where they were (in CA) was so remote they and their crew had to be transported to the nearest pay phones to call relatives. I've spent half my working life doing admin work for various fire depts and people who choose this line of work are true heroes.
I’ve read - and enjoyed - two of the Shardlake books! And thanks to you - and your children - for their service. They are indeed heroes and wildfire firefighting is too little recognized. (I can’t imagine what you went through during those agonising time periods when you didn’t know).
Sorry Brian, I was thinking of the firefighters killed in Colorado in 1994.
I agree that “Cat’s Cradle” is a wonderful book, and I have used Vonnegut’s “karass and a granfalloon” in many presentations. These Vonnegut-coined words should be more widely used in our everyday lexicon. They help explain so many things about us and our organizations.
Thanks for another good article, Brian! I loved the book, Pillars of the Earth, when it came out (BC-Before Children). I am reluctant to reread it, though, because I seem to always be disappointed by rereading books I loved in what seems now like a previous lifetime (I guess I have grown more than I give myself credit for?). Has anyone reread it and still loved it?
>If we’re not careful, modern life will detach us from the miracle of our own humanity, as we all try to gorge on maximal soma, drifting distractedly toward our Brave New world.
The people in 'Brave New World' were at least getting lots of (state sanctioned!) sex and drugs. Not just clicking on stuff.
I also enjoyed 'Pillars of the earth'. But I thought the villains were comically 2-dimensional.
Yes, a fair point on both counts!
Not managed to get to Kurt V yet but the documentary that was on sky arts (I think) last year is as close as you can get to spending time with him. Great documentary.
Are there any producers/directors left with the artistic free license, and the financial backing, to make movies unconstrained by their studios ? Looking at what Netflix/Prime/Apple spew out I suspect not. Thanks for the recommendations Brian…keep ‘em coming.
Back in the old days, you needed loads of people, equipment and money to shoot a film and have the physical film editing and transferred to celluloid. But you can now make a fairly decent quality video with a modern SLR camera costing around ~$1000 and stick it straight on YouTube.
It really burns me up about Netflix and Prime and whatever that they are now making us watch even dumber ads about American Football and American wrestling (as if the dumb who watch that need to be advertised about it?). We are already paying them for the streaming, now we have to watch more ads so they can have bigger profits? I truly and especially now am sick of American Capitalism and just want to know where to go. I loved Captain Fantastic. I homeschooled my kids (well not exactly the way he did) but could totally relate. :) Thanks for your brilliant (not dumbed down) writing Brian! Cheers!
I'm with you on Pillars of the Earth. A friend who knew I love medieval stuff gave it to me shortly after it was published. I LOVED it. I'm also with you on Cat's Cradle, though I do also like Slaughterhouse Five. So it goes.
I hadn't read your older piece on "surefire mediocre" but the pictures remind me of a trend I've noticed on book covers. Novels about WWII involving British women. The woman is standing with her back to us, or 3/4 profile--and there are several (3 or four) planes in the sky. I found that cover on a mystery about a murder at the Seattle Boeing plant, too. Nothing to do with Britain.
This isn't really new. Years ago, gothic romances all had covers with women either crawling toward or climbing a hill towards an old mansion--which always had ONE window lit.
I’m so sorry I can’t share your enjoyment of Pillars of the Earth, even though I also love cathedrals and historical fiction. I found the prose very pedestrian and the construction clumsy because the author didn’t trust the reader to understand things unless they were spelt out. (A cousin to the Netflix drama “show and tell” technique you describe?) I am currently reading and listening to The Count of Monte Cristo and no one could accuse Dumas of making his readers work hard to understand what is going on, yet I am prepared to forgive him and read on. Is it because his prose style or skill in plot construction make up for that? Or because the French language makes me feel like I am already working hard enough? Just intellectual snobbery? Not sure.
Surefire mediocre may seem like a new trend, but it harkens back to the heyday of US network television — one set per household, three channels (plus public broadcasting, which didn’t count) from which to choose. From the ‘50s to 1971, programmers competed to air the LOP — Least Objectionable Program, the term they actually used — in each timeslot. The result was what Newton Minow dubbed “the vast wasteland.” What happened in 1971 to change it? Norman Lear’s ALL IN THE FAMILY.
Great roundup. I’ve not read Cats Cradle or Pillars of the Earth (mostly because of the length). But I’ll put them in the queue! My favorite book is still Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
Hope you enjoy them - they’re very different. I should have made clear - Pillars of the Earth is interesting and enjoyable and a thriller that I loved for the vivid history of a time period and a subject that fascinates me, but it’s not super intellectually demanding.
History is my favorite subject. Recently finished a book on the Battle of Actium. Octavian, Antony, Cleopatra, betrayal, intrigue, gory death, it had everything!