In the current election cycle, America is once again finding out the power of metaphor. Mitt Romney got some points out of “trickle-down government” in the first presidential debate. Barack Obama failed to counter with one of his own. While the principle famously guiding the Clinton campaign in 1992 was, “It’s the economy, stupid,” perhaps the better piece of wisdom would be, “It’s the Metaphors, Stupid.”
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Category: Book review
I Is an Other (2): Wired for Metaphor
Metaphors aren’t just clever comparisons. Metaphors are the way we think.
In I Is an Other James Greary (see previous blog here) demonstrates this by considering Rebecca. When she reads a headline that says, “Belt Tightening Lies Ahead,” or if someone says, “I’ll show you the ropes,” she has no idea what either means. She doesn’t wear a belt, and no one showed her any ropes. Rebecca is an extremely intelligent person who has Asperger’s syndrome. Her brain is virtually incapable of processing metaphors. She only understands what is literal (or metaphors whose meaning she has memorized).
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I Is an Other (1): Awash in Metaphors
Louise, my mother-in-law who died a few years ago at age ninety-one, grew up in southern Illinois with her siblings, including Bertha. The two of them did not get along well, finding various ways to be at odds with each other over the years. Even some time after Bertha died Louise commented to me, “Why, Bertha had a tongue that could sit on the front porch and pick grapes in the back yard!”
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The Sparrow Again
I can’t remember the last time I read a book a second time–except perhaps for Goodnight Moon.
But when our neighborhood book club decided to discuss The Sparrow, I was delighted to read it again.
Sherlock and Me
I’ve never been much of a mystery reader. And not much of a Sherlock Holmes enthusiast either. I found the Robert Downey Jr. movies enjoyable but not enthralling. Nonetheless I have become of megafan of the new Masterpiece Mysteries series. Definitely watch the premier of season two of Sherlock this Sunday. The writing is fabulous, the casting perfect, the production values high, the setting fresh (present-day London), the soundtrack terrific, the balance of humor and tension spot on.
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Hungry for The Hunger Games?
Massive box office smash. Best selling books. What’s the appeal of The Hunger Games? My take is that boys love the action. The girls love it as a romance. The guys love it as a video game/reality show mashup with not-so-virtual violence. The girls love the idea of being torn between and pursed by two courageous, honorable hunks, especially as that is played out more in the second and third books.
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The 2012 Andys
What are the winning books from the list of titles I finished this year? Yes, you will get the answer to that pressing question here. In addition you’ll find my über-creative categories and the wit-soaked comment of the judge. More than that (yes, it is hard to believe), you also find below what the people demanded– short summaries of each. So included for the first time is a Synop-Tweet (a tweet-like synopsis) of the winning books. Here they are.
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The Nominees for 2012
The nominees are in for 2012. No, I’m not talking about Iowa. I’m talking about nominees for the 2012 Andys, of course. The list of books I read last year seems to have a pretty good variety to me. (What’s your opinion?) But certain trends may be discernible. Below you’ll find:
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“I Complained to God” (Outliers 3)
Malcolm Gladwell, as I’ve noted in previous blogs here and here, makes the case in his book Outliers that success is not totally the result of individual initiative or ability. It is inextricably wrapped up in our background and historical circumstances. This doesn’t mean that individual responsibility is a myth.
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Titles That Stick
I always get in trouble when I talk about what makes a great book title. I know people have other opinions, but this is something I happen to be right about.
This time, however, I’ve got two experts on my side. In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath not only lay out what makes ideas memorable, but (even though they may not know it) they also unveil the principles for a great book title.
Great ideas (and titles) are:
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