David Given Schwarm

Married, Father, United

Tag: Book

  • Gollum + Aragorn

    Who: Jack, Kate, + David

    What: 1,704

    Where: Our Room

    When: ~60 minutes

    Why:

    1. Why is he named Frodo?
    2. Why do Frodo + Bilbo both have names that end in O?
    3. Why is there only one L in Bilbo, not two–or three?
    4. where is Orodruin
    5. Who is Ancalagon the Black dragon

    How:
    We read with Jack and Kate in Lisa’s and my bed. Lisa and I came in soon after with Cody, who was a barbarian. We listened to the soundtrack and watched a screen saver with images from the recent film. Kate fell asleep fairly qucikly–it was late, we did Open House before we started–so we got a late start.

    We made it to Chapter Three–Three Is Company. We are still in the shire. We are introduced to Aragorn who had captured Gollum for questioning. We learn a great deal more ring-lore. Gandolf’s personality begins to shine. Frodo and he have a converstation in the morning. The fire drowns out the light of day at one point as Frodo gazes into the fire. A really good section.

    I need to read more–Lisa said that we could try for reading twice a day once school ends.

    “‘But you have been chosen, and you must therefor use such strength and heart and wits as you have.’ ‘But I have so little of any of these things! You are wise and powerful. Will you not take the Ring?’”

    “‘Such questions cannot be answered’”

    “These Rings have a way of being found”

    The word of the Day was not found this time–nothing really jumped out at me.


  • After Party, Gandolf returns

    Who: Jack, Kate, + David

    What: 1,403

    Where: Jack’s Room

    When: ~30 minutes

    Why:

    1. What is Gandolf’s last name?
    2. Why is Gandolf so old?
    3. Why is the script Elvish and not Elven?
    4. What is Frodo’s last name?
    5. How does one become a lore-master?
    6. In the movie, why are merry and Pippen there?

    How: I sat in a Jack’s Desk chair with Kate in the Trundle and Jack on his bed. After a while, I grew uncomfortable and moved to Jack’s bed where I promptly fell asleep–we did not read as much as we needed to. Before we started to read Kate did work on our reading log–she tore out pages mostly to remove some old writing that she had done and tried to replace the text from yesterdays reading + our title page.

    The post birthday party fall out was great–Bilbo’s notes were reflective of the rings changing his attitude towards others + creating resentments. The conflict of ownership was reflected–“if you find it, it is yours”. “For he gave it up in the end of his own accord: an important point”. “I could not take it from him without doing greater harm”

    “Thin and stretched he said A sign that the ring was getting control.”

    “hobbit-lore: and obscure branch of knowledge”–Gandolf specializes in this. Saruman specializes in the Lore of Elven-rings–“seeking the secrets of their making”.

    “the lies were too much alike for my comfort”

    The one ring poem. Our first look at Elvish.

    The word of the Day was hitherto














  • Day One

    Jack, Kate, and I got some great reading in–mostly the party at Bag End. We did not get to review during out reading logs this morning, but it is an easy section that we have been over before.

    The Hobbit’s love of geneology is awesome + Kate and I are going to work on that this summer.

    I also like how quickly the Hobbit’s grow of formal speeches.

    The word I found interesting was provender which means “Food, especially for livestock; An edible material that provides sustenance.”

    A fun section on the kindle–got to line 1,071.



  • Adventures on the Isle of Adolescence by La Loca

    Adventures on the Isle of Adolescence (City Lights Pocket Poets Series) Adventures on the Isle of Adolescence by Loca

    My rating: 4 of 5 stars
    I was at UCLA when this book came out and there was a reading at Brentano’s in Westwood. It was upstairs and there was a full bar.

    The reading was completely awesome–everything an undergrad interested in the Beats could hope for–a fired up female poet reading semi-pornographic poetry to a crowded room of drunk literary types.

    Reading the book now it still holds up very very well–there are 18 poems most of which are rather short, but the few longer pieces like the Title poem, Why I Date Black Men, or Mayan are all really wonderful pieces from a time that seems to have been forgotten. Strange sketches of a California that I remember very very fondly. Creative, multicultural, ironic, clever, strong poems that feed on place, personality, culture cross references and the angst of being human and never quite alone.

    Pamala “La Loca” Karol seems to have kind of disapeared since her fantastic work of the late eighties / early nineties + I for one kind of hope she makes a come back of sorts–I could use more of her work.

    View all my reviews >>

  • The Last Temptation by Neil Gaiman & Michael Zulli with inspiration & cooperation from Alice Cooper.


    I got this from the Newport Beach Public Library.

    I read the introduction a few days before I read the entire issue on Kate’s floor and in front of the TV while Cody watched Finding Nemo.

    It was likely the worst Gaiman comic I have read–rather predictable. The introduction defends some of this, he wrote it with his hero + it was a fun rock and roll experience.

    The walk away at the end fell flat. I am not sure I really understood the overall purpose of this–I did like the fact that the “answer” came from the Library + the gaurdian angle following him from the dream into the Library.

    A fun read, but I have really come to expect a lot more from Gaiman–good to see some of his lesser work, I guess.

  • The Coming Insurrection by The Invisible Committee

    I purchased this book from the Barnes and Noble in Irvine. I had read about it online in relation to the commune arrests in France + wanted to get back into reading more criticism.

    I am going to try to read the rest of the semiotext(e) intervention series of which this is number one.

    I loved attempting to apply these rather incoherent and inconsisitent tools to my personal live, and not to the social issues that the authors were tyring to solve.

    I enjoyed their attacks on the Green movements.

    I loved the very European focus, the connection to previous insurrections, I even liked the use of the term insurrection.

    Over all this was a very good read.

  • The Caravan by Stephen Gaskin

    I read the Kindle edition of this book. I bought it from the iTunes store.

    I spent a lot of time reading it hoping that I would never get to the end.

    It tells the great American tale–it has a beginning middle and end. I really loved it.

    The story I remember most is the Rednecks that break out his windows. And being passed from police force to police force. And the fact that he has no drivers license. Just a great book full of amazing spiritual wisdom.

  • Fell


    I got this from the Newport Beach Public Library. I read it in like three hours at night.

    It was awesome.

    A very dark cop tall with some very fun comic moments–creepy, clever, funny, and sadly touching–more of the story is left unsaid then said much of the time.

    A very good comic.

  • Dororo v.1 by Osamu Tezuka

    I picked this up at the Newport Beach Public Library.

    I read it mostly while watching Cody and his friend Will run around the house.

    Amazing. Simply amazing. This is one of the books that I cannot imagine how I missed for so long–staggering in its art, its story telling, it mashing of classic theme’s and architypes with modern struggles. Really a fantastic read–there is a great quote”one does not speak of Tezuka’s weaknesses. There aren’t any” from animenewsnetwork.com which I think is very very nice.

    The story is operatic in the sense that it feels like a retelling of a story that you have heard before. I liked the footnotes (Tezuka means hand bury as he buries his hand, etc.)

  • News of the World by Philip Levine

    I picked this up from the Newport Beach Public Library new book shelf–they continue to get fantastic modern american poetry. I really liked the cover and was excited that Levine was still alive–I had thought he died in the 1980s.

    The book is excellent, but rather pedestrian–a lot of New Yorker style poems without much to challange the reader or remind one of why Levine was such a great poet initially–those working class americans who do not really work or something seem to be missing, if that makes any sense. I did like the last poem about unloading box cars with zoo animals.