April 2011 – Page 2 – Pop Culture Nerd

Book Giveaway: Geraldine Brooks’s CALEB’S CROSSING

Thanks to the generous folks at Viking, I get to give away two galleys of Geraldine Brooks’s latest novel, Caleb’s Crossing. Brooks is the Pulitzer-winning author of March and People of the Book.

Here’s the description for Crossing:

Once again, Geraldine Brooks takes a remarkable shard of history and brings it to vivid life. In 1665, a young man from Martha’s Vineyard became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Upon this slender factual scaffold, Brooks has created a luminous tale of love and faith, magic and adventure.

The narrator of Caleb’s Crossing is Bethia Mayfield, growing up in the tiny settlement of Great Harbor amid a small band of pioneers and Puritans. Restless and curious, she yearns after an education that is closed to her by her sex. As often as she can, she slips away to explore the island’s glistening beaches and observe its native Wampanoag inhabitants. At twelve, she encounters Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a tentative secret friendship that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia’s minister father tries to convert the Wampanoag, awakening the wrath of the tribe’s shaman, against whose magic he must test his own beliefs. One of his projects becomes the education of Caleb, and a year later, Caleb is in Cambridge, studying Latin and Greek among the colonial elite. There, Bethia finds herself reluctantly indentured as a housekeeper and can closely observe Caleb’s crossing of cultures.

Like Brooks’s beloved narrator Anna in Year of Wonders, Bethia proves an emotionally irresistible guide to the wilds of Martha’s Vineyard and the intimate spaces of the human heart. Evocative and utterly absorbing, Caleb’s Crossing further establishes Brooks’s place as one of our most acclaimed novelists.

For more info, visit Brooks’s website, where you can see a map created for the novel. And how gorgeous is that cover? It doesn’t come out until May 3 but two of you can win ARCs before then.

To enter:

leave a comment telling me what you yearned to do as kid (for me, it was flying on a plane to somewhere exotic)
have a U.S./Canada address

Giveaway ends next Wednesday, April 13, 5 p.m. PST. Two winners will be randomly selected via random.org then announced here, on Twitter and Facebook. Winners will have 48 hours to claim prizes before alternate name(s) are chosen.

Now let’s hear about your childhood yearnings!

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AMERICAN IDOL S10: Top 9 Rock Out

This post is by guest blogger Poncho, an expert on AI and many things pop culture.—PCN

Even with the theme being “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” the episode had little rock and less roll. Some of the choices were weird, most of the songs were performed (mostly better) in previous seasons, and the whole thing was more boring than last week. So let’s get rolling:

I just figured out who Jacob Lusk reminds me of. His weird dance moves in the second half of “Man in the Mirror” immediately made me think of Juan Gabriel! Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing; JG is a very successful recording artist…in Mexico. Anyway, the vocals were kind of good, but what’s with him thrusting the backup singer? And what’s with the backup-bots waving boringly? Besides, I’m fed up with his overly theatrical skanky diva faces. The judges loved the performance; I say meh.

I told PCN last week I was on board Haley Scarnatto Grrrreinhart’s bandwagon, and after hearing her cover Erma Franklin/Janis Joplin, I say the girrrrrrl took another “Piece of My Heart.” She wasn’t as good as last week, but she’s growing as an artist, picking songs that fit her grrrowl, improving the phrasing, looking gorgeous on stage, commanding more presence and, in general, looking less awkward. On the downside, she’s still got lots to grrrrrow.

Casey Abrams brought an upright bass! I couldn’t care less for his performance, even though “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” is one of my favorite songs ever. The upright bass upstaged Casey but it might still be me hating him for what he did to Nirvana.

I’ll say it about Lauren Alaina: NOBODY has made that girl feel like a “Natural Woman.” I’m not advocating underage sexin’, just saying you can master the technical aspects of a song as hard as “Natural Woman,” make changes to the phrasing and intonation of the verses (I hated the runs in the first ones, liked the softness in the middle), but if you have no connection, there’s no point. And that’s it—she sang pretty but sold nothing.

One thing we learned (or re-discovered) about James Durbin is that he has serious trouble with his lower register. And I mean serious. It’s a good thing Steven gave him props for “weeping” like his guitar because it was the only good thing about the performance. The pitch problems throughout the song made all guitars around the world need tissues.

This was the first time Scotty McCheesy actually really entertained me. It’s no secret I like his voice and believe he’s got a real chance in country music, but this was the first time he looked like a contender. He raised the tempo and he’s starting to pull the cheese factor back. Weird thing—the cheese he brought kinda worked.

I had a headache watching Pia Toscano. She sang uptempo (more like mid-tempo in my book, but whateva) and even with a few pitch problems here and there, managed to sound amazing. But then, the visuals were all wrong. First, the dress was a fashion no-no (hear it from a straight guy); second, she walked around the stage and her walk was very, very boring. If you close your eyes, you hear a great “uptempo” song. If you mute the TV/VCR/PC, you see someone singing a ballad. Guess she’s still Pia Tosca-bore.

If anyone was really a bore, it was Stefano Langone. Three words: Kick him out.

Finally, Paul McDonald was real fun to watch. It wasn’t the greatest performance, but his voice actually fitted the song and the arrangement. He brought his spastic-chicken dance to the stage, even while playing his guitar (I think the other guys beside him had ants in their pants, too, because they danced very weirdly as well). But somehow it all worked. It was fun, a little underwhelming, but fun nonetheless.

What did you think?

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Authors’ Bios as Marketing Tool

When deciding which books to read, I usually ask myself some of the following:

Is it by someone whose work I’ve enjoyed in the past?
Does the plot seem interesting?
Is the concept unique?
Does the lead character sound like someone I can root for?
Is it by someone who has been compared to an author I like?
Does it take place somewhere I’d like to visit?
Is it about a topic I don’t know much about but find fascinating?
Is the cover art pretty? (What? I like pretty.)

But in the last month, I received two novels that made me immediately want to read them based mostly on the authors’ bios, something that has never happened before. The first was The Informationist by Taylor Stevens and the second was Spycatcher (William Morrow, 8/9/11) by Matthew Dunn. Both are debut novels.

Stevens, from her site

I’m finishing up Informationist and plan to review it sometime in the next week so I’ll touch more on Stevens’s past then. In the meantime, here’s what it says on her website:

In an alternate universe, I spent my formative years living with parents and siblings, showing up for school and getting acquainted with HBO, Michael Jackson, neon clothes and big hair. In reality, childhood and adolescence were spent begging on city streets from Zurich to Tokyo, preparing food and washing laundry for hundreds of people, and otherwise trying to survive dreary life as a worker bee child in a communal apocalyptic cult. My innocence and scholastic education stopped completely when I was twelve-years-old.

Cut off from personal family, at times under the care of sadistic individuals and without access to books or television from the outside world, imagination became a survival mechanism. As a young teenager, I secretly entertained commune children with fantastic stories that took us through time and space, until these sins were discovered by cult leaders. Several laboriously hand-written books were confiscated and burned and I was ordered on pain of–well, a whole lot of pain–never to write again.

The nomadic culture of the cult became an adolescent’s journey across four continents and nearly two dozen countries culminating in four years living in East and West-Central Africa–this the primary setting for THE INFORMATIONIST…

…I was in my twenties when I broke free, and leaving everything I knew brought with the fear, a fresh beginning. Refusing to go to my grave with regrets, “what ifs,” or tears over the lost years, I set out to take back what was taken from me. Through trial and error and observing the masters I taught myself the craft, and gradually the gift of storytelling returned. Learning basics that many take for granted has been a journey to be sure, but on the flip side, if I ever need to make breakfast for 150 people, I’ve already got that covered.

How can someone who has experienced all that not have incredible stories to tell? And without knowing more about the book, I knew this before starting it: Stevens’s heroine would be a survivor.

The other novel, Spycatcher, came with this author bio:

Photo by Adam Scourfield

As an MI6 field operative, Matthew Dunn recruited and ran agents, coordinated and participated in special operations, and acted in deep-cover roles throughout the world. He operated in highly hostile environments where, if compromised and captured, he would have been executed. Dunn was trained in all aspects of intelligence collection, deep-cover deployments, small arms, explosives, military unarmed combat, surveillance, and infiltration.

Medals are never awarded to modern MI6 officers, but Dunn was the recipient of a very rare personal commendation from the secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs for work he did on one mission, which was deemed so significant that it directly influenced the successful conclusion of a major international incident.

During his time in MI6, Dunn conducted approximately seventy missions. All of them were successful.

The back cover also mentions he’s “one of the first in modern memory to write novels under his own name.”

After reading this, I immediately cracked it open and went straight to the first chapter without even glancing at the plot synopsis. How could I resist? That bio says, “This guy’s got balls and he’s a real-life Bond.” And yup, the first chapter is pretty good.

Now, I’m not suggesting every author use their personal stories in their marketing campaigns; I’d guess that few have a background as extraordinary as Stevens and Dunn’s. Reading about how someone toiled in a cubicle for years before selling their first book just isn’t as exciting. Ultimately, it’s the writing and the fictional story within the pages that will hold readers’ interest anyway.

But I couldn’t help but think: When an author’s life is as riveting as any thriller you’ve read, should it be spotlighted more in the marketing campaign? If you attend a signing of such an author, would you want them to share tales from their past or discuss the book only? If their personal stories are highlighted to sell books, is it exploitation? Discuss!

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Beverly Hills Film Festival

Smith and Bowen

L.A. folks, did you know the Beverly Hills Film Festival starts today and runs through this Sunday, April 10th? The festival showcases independent films and tonight has the West Coast premiere of Conception, which was just named “Best of the Fest” at the Palm Beach Film Festival. Check out this cast: Julie Bowen, Connie Britton, Alan Tudyk, David Arquette, Jonathan Silverman, Sarah Hyland, Pamela Adlon, Gregory Smith and more. It’s a romantic dramedy featuring nine couples at different stages of their relationships on the night they conceive a baby. I hope to post a review of this later this week.

For more info on the festival and other films being screened, click here.

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Strong Female Protags in THE KILLING & BODY OF PROOF

I’ve had my nose buried in the grindstone on a couple of fun projects but wanted to pop in here for a few minutes to discuss two new TV shows I found worth watching. The first is AMC’s The Killing, an adaptation of a Danish series about a young murdered girl who may be linked somehow to the campaign of a city councilman running for mayor. Each hour represents a day in the investigation and so far, the first two days have been pretty intriguing. (There are 13 episodes total.)

Mireille Enos, as lead detective Sarah Linden, pops against the gray Vancouver palette that stands in for the show’s Seattle, not just because of her strawberry blonde hair and pale skin, but because she can hold your attention by simply standing still and showing you everything she’s thinking through her translucent blue eyes. I’ve always enjoyed Billy Campbell’s work so it’s good to see him as the councilman who may or may not be involved in the girl’s death. There have been lots of comparisons to Twin Peaks, which could be good or bad depending on how you felt about that show (I loved the first season). So far, I don’t think Killing is as weird—no mentions of dwarfs or log ladies yet—but I’ll be spending Sunday nights wondering, Who killed Rosie Larsen?

The other new show I’ve been following is Body of Proof, starring Dana Delany as a nut-busting coroner who always seems smarter than everyone else in the room. Her Dr. Megan Hunt often behaves inappropriately—she tags along when the police questions suspects and then commandeers the situation—but Delany’s charisma and confidence make us not only accept it but root for her. She also looks amazing, sexier than her overly nip-tucked peers and women half her age.

There are a couple issues, though, that have kept this show from being great for me so far. First, Megan cries way too much. She’s estranged from her teenage daughter and every time she talks to her, she gets all teary. I let that slide since it’s a tough situation. But then in the second episode, Megan cries when she’s telling the parents of a murdered girl how she was killed. C’mon! I know it’s tragic but if she’s going to cry every time she breaks bad news to people, she won’t last long in the job. And she’s supposed to be the best.

Another thing is how her partner Peter (Nicholas Bishop) is always giving her unsolicited parenting advice, including what kind of birthday present she should buy her kid. He doesn’t just make his point and move on, he sometimes lectures her. I find it hard to believe a tough independent-minded woman like Megan wouldn’t tell him to butt out.

Have you watched either of these shows? What do you think? If you missed them, you can watch The Killing without commercials here and Body of Proof here.

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Ask PCN

From time to time, I’d get emails asking me questions about pop culture and random things I cover here. I usually answer privately but thought I’d try running a collection of questions that amused me. I here present the first “Ask PCN” column.

Q: I want to break into reality TV and get on a show like The Bachelor or America’s Got Talent or maybe Project Runway. Any ideas on how to make my audition video stand out?

PCN: It might help if you have a better idea of the kind of show you’d excel on. Ask yourself: Am I handsome but slightly smarmy? Can I juggle baby koalas while clogging? Can I spot polyester from two hundred yards away? If the answer is all of the above, you should try to get your own talk show on Fox.

Q: My next book club meeting is tomorrow night but I’ve barely started this month’s selection, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I see you’ve reviewed the entire trilogy here. Can you give me some spoilers so I’ll sound like I’ve read it?

PCN: Sure. Lisbeth falls in love with a boy named Romeo but when her parents forbid her to see him, she runs away and joins a fight club, where she meets a limping guy named Keyser Soze and starts seeing dead people. At the very end, she reveals she’s a man. Hope that helps!

Q: Do you know when David Hasselhoff’s next album is coming out?

PCN: Any day now. He’s working hard on an album that’s a mix of hip-hop, polka, and Pat Boone. Look for it soon from street vendors in Thailand.

Q: My boss wants to be friends with me on Facebook but I often post pictures of me and my girlfriends doing…fun stuff on vacation. Do you think I should confirm his friend request? I’m afraid if I don’t, he’ll get offended.

PCN: You should definitely friend your boss and then immediately upload not only photos but videos of your weekend activities. Then you should go into “settings” and make everything visible to everyone, not just your Facebook friends. This will surely get you a promotion. Good luck!

Q: How do I break into acting?

PCN: See above answer. Break a leg!

Q: I love James Patterson’s books. Can you recommend similar books I might enjoy?

PCN: You need more help than I can possibly provide. Please call the nearest urgent care facility.

Q: How did the term “douche bag” enter our vernacular as a slang for jerks? What does one have to do with the other?

PCN: I think it’s because if you say to a jerk “Hey, Summer’s Eve!” it just wouldn’t have the same punch.

*As you may have guessed by now, this entire column is an April Fools’ joke. But I do occasionally get questions so if you’d like me to include yours in a real “Ask PCN” column, use this contact form to send them to me. Happy Friday!

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