24 Festive Tasks: Festivus

 

Square Twenty

 

Book: Read anything comedic; a parody, satire, etc., books with hilariously dysfunctional families (must be funny dysfunctional, not tragic dysfunctional), or anything else that makes you laugh (or hope it does).

Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (performed by LA TheatreWorks)

I first saw this in the late 60s at "Theater of the Living Art" on South Street in Philadelphia. It is the first legitimate theater that I remember seeing and I fell in love with immediately. I have seen it many times but I still like the TLA performance the best.

Task 1: The Airing of Grievances: Which were the 5 books you liked least this year and why?

In no particular order ---

1 -- The Deep Blue Good-bye  by John D. MacDonald-- crass, misogynist and outdated

2 -- The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton -- just didn't do it for me

3 -- Summer Lightning by P.G. Wodehouse -- not the book, the narrator -- unintelligible

4 -- Nordic Tales -- the narrator completely sucked out any life this book might have had

5 -- The Wars of the Roses  by Dan Jones -- it is not that Jones did a lousy job but more that I just don't have a enough grounding in English history to keep up with so many people who all have the same names

Task 2: The Scale of Strength: Pick 3 of your weightiest tomes and place them on a scale. Tell us the total weight.

Bonus Task #1: Post your personal list of 3 Festivus Miracles.

I baked bread for the first time in a long time. That the bread rose was a miracle.

I found my car keys.

I slept through the night.

Bonus Task #2: Battle of the Books: pick two books off your shelf (randomly or with purpose); in a fair fight, which book would come out on top? The fight can be based on the merits of the books themselves, their writing, or full-on mano a mano between two characters.

MANO A MANO!  Poirot vs. Inspector Rutledge. Both detectives. Both post WWI. One contemporary, one historical fiction.  One old, one young.  It is going to be some fight. Poirot is confident; Rutledge while strong is damaged goods. Poirot has never fought in a war; Rutledge has -- he has killed the enemy, he has caused to be executed his own man for failure to obey orders, he has had his fill of fighting and killing.  But in the end, in an arm-wrestling match -- you did say mano a mano --  best out of 5, Rutledge, younger and more fit, wins in straight sets. Poirot put up a good fight but he was out-classed.