O essencial da década de 1990 de Caio Fernando Abreu

Comecei o ano 2025 com a meta de ler um livro por mês. Tristemente, exigências do trabalho, problemas com meus olhos, e (francamente) falta de motivação fizeram com que eu não conseguisse cumprir esta meta. Agora, no fim do ano, percebo que li poucos livros. Eu passei meu tempo livre escutando podcasts, fazendo palavras cruzadas, e lendo notícias e histórias curtas. Espero que no ano que vem, eu consiga ler mais livros.

Na primavera eu li O essencial da década de 1990 de Caio Fernando Abreu, um escritor e jornalista Brasileiro gay que morreu jovem com 47 anos, em 1996. Comprei este livro numa loja de livros usados em São Paulo durante minha primeira viagem ao Brasil em fevereiro de 2025. As coleções de Caio F. Abreu foi um dos 5 ou 6 livros que comprei. Busquei uma mistura de gêneros - ficção, novelas, histórias, coleções dos artigos dos jornais, para ter uma variedade de leitura. É quase impossível achar livros em portugues nos EUA. Fiquei limitado por causa do peso dos livros.

Eu demorei tanto para terminar esta coleção, e, na verdade, não li tudo. Especificamente, as cartas aos amigos do autor foram difíceis porque contêm muitas referências pessoais combinado com gírias. Abreu tem um vocabulário amplo. Para não parar de buscar toda palavra, eu li muito sem saber que estava acontecendo!

Vou dar minhas opiniões sobre as histórias que foram as mais memoráveis.

Bem Longe de Marienbad é uma historinha de solo sete capítulos curtos. Começa e termina numa estação de trem numa cidade francêsa anônima, só referida como “une ville sinistree” (uma vila sinistra). Sem diálogo o narrador fala da perspectiva primária. Ele é um homem buscando um conhecido chamado “K” que ele acha está esperando-o.

Curiosamente, um velinho com chapéu usando sobretudo xadrez preto e branco aparece na estação. O velinho cumprimenta o narrador com a mão no chapéu, mas sem falar nada.

O narrador, também sem nome, vai a um restaurante e fica lá observando duas enguias num aquário que fica no restaurante. Ele passa muito tempo lá fumando e pensando onde está K.

Ele entra em um apartamento que o narrador pensa que pertence ao K mas ninguém está lá. Fora da janela é um pássaro branco grande na varanda. Lá embaixo, na rua, o velho com sobretudo xadrez aparece.

Enfim, ele não encontra K. Ele vai pela estação do trem e viaja para outra cidade.

Foi uma história interessante porque não sabemos o nome do narrador, cidade, nome completo de “K.” Enquanto o narrador busca uma pessoa que ele acha que deve ser buscado por ele mesmo, aquele homem de sobretudo xadrez aparece repentinamente. Também o pássaro branco aparece várias vezes.

Pela Noite é uma novela sobre um encontro entre dois homens gay. Eu não havia lido muitas histórias sobre homossexuais, não a propósito, mas só porque não entra em minha lista de livros que eu quero ler.

O anfitrião e personagem principal é um homem de cerca de 45 anos, um homem gay de cultura, bem lido, um ex-produtor e ator de teatro. É óbvio que os anos de glória estão atrás dele. Parece entediado com a banalidade da vida. Por isso, ele recompensa falando bastante, usando palavras dramáticas como se ele fosse o protagonista de seu próprio mundo. Como tentando esconder a vazio que ele se sente dentro de si.

O convidado é um homem um pouco mais jovem, mais educado, mais calmo, que está lutando contra uma depressão. Ele resiste a ser nomeado “Santiago", um nome que o anfitrião quer dar-o. Pelo jogo que o anfitrião está brincando, ele se refere como “Pérsio".

A maioria da história envolve Pérsio se divertindo, falando de si mesmo, usando idiomas brutos e divulgando demais dos próprios pensamentos, tentando provocar o acompanhante, talvez para esconder a dor que ele sente por dentro. Parece que Santiago realmente quer um encontro normal, e ele é realmente atraído ao Pérsio.

Eles saíram do apartamento do Pérsio para comer pizza e beber vinho num restaurante. Como Pérsio é um tipo de celebridade local, um jovem chamado Carlinhos reconhece-o, e tenta conversar. Pérsio mente que é casado com Santiago, quem ele se chama em nesse momento “Beto” que é o nome do ex do Santiago que morreu anos atrás. Santiago fica bravo com Pérsio e o faz ameaça de sair.

Ao fim da novela, Pérsio e Santiago dormem juntos, mas é claro que terminou com uma mistura de vergonha, pena, tristeza, e mais perguntas sobre as vidas deles.

Eu gostei desta história porque mostra um lado, talvez exagerado, dos encontros entre homens gay naquela época dos anos 80 e 90. E é difícil imaginar esta mesma interação com um casal hetero.

Eu não vou contar mais do Caio Fernando Abreu exceto que eu gostei de algumas histórias dele. Pelo próximo livro, vou ler algo mais leve.

Pensamientos Sobre El Viaje de los Colibríes de Sue Zurita

Detrás de terminar La Ballena Blanca de Luis Seplúveda, que fue tan corto que yo no marque esto como "mi libro en español," busqué otro en los estantes de la biblioteca local. La capa colorida y el título con colibrí me intrigaron.

Me ha gustado leer novelas desde la perspectiva de la protagonista porque es una manera de entender mejor una cultura, y en este caso, la cultura mexicana.

Ya he leído muchas historias, novelas en español, pero no tantas originalmente escritas en español aparte de Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Isabel Allende, y algunos libritos para niños.

Lo que más me gustó de esta historia es cuanto uno puede identificarse con ella. No es una aventura de proporciones épicas, ni una fantasía de trastornos que sucede en planetas distantes, es una historia que parece casi autobiográfica, en que la autora abre el alma y el corazón, contando la vida de ella con todo lo bueno y lo malo.

El cuento es de una mujer, Romina Pármeno, que creció con una madre soltera alcohólica, hermana menor, sin mucho amor o atención maternal. Ella comenzó a trabajar en un mercado a los 13 años, terminó la preparatoria, y se fue a vivir sola en Puebla. Su hermana ya se había mudado para vivir en Cabo San Lucas con su novio.

Romina eligió a Puebla por impulso, queriendo ir a un lugar lejano de su ciudad natal. (No se si su ciudad fue Tierra Blanca?) Consiguió trabajo como cajera de casino que empleaba otras personas de su misma edad.

La novela cuenta las amistades, novios, amantes, y conexiones familiares que Romina tuvo en los años en Puebla. Me encanta cómo ella escribe detalladamente sobre los días cotidianos, fiestas nocturnas, relaciones con hombres, y las relaciones entre sus amigas. Es una ventanita al mundo de una mexicana. Sé que es una obra de ficción, pero parece muy real. Aprendí cosas de la cultura mexicana. Algunos desafíos son parecidos a los de todo el mundo: corazones rotos, problemas en el trabajo, el sentimiento de ser perdida en vida; mientras que otros son únicamente mexicanos como tipos de bebidas y comida, música, ubicaciones, jergas, y formas de fiestas.

También, me gustaron los dichos resaltados en las páginas. Aparecen entre imágenes de colibríes o en tipografía negrita. Quizás debo decir lo que significa el colibrí. Romina nos cuenta en el primer capítulo:

"Samanta (su hermana) me llamaba Colibrí desde niña. Cuando yo tenía seis años y ella cuatro, un colibrí chocó contra la ventana...   Entre en la casa con el ave entre los manos. .. El colibrí no sobrevivió ni una noche, pensé que fue debido a que no supe cómo cuidarlo. ..Desde entonces tuve la atracción por las aves. Por su majestuosidad y belleza, por lo que representa volar. Ir por doquier sin que nada te detenga..."

Un poco más bajo en la misma pagina, ella escriba uno de esos dichos:

"Mi corazón me decía que mi espíritu era el de un colibrí y que yo tampoco tenía por que vivir en cautivero."

Lo que me sorprendió de este libro son todas las historias de Romina bebiendo alcohol excesivamente, durmiendo con hombres diferentes, y los trastornos que les pasaron a sus amigos. No porque yo nunca haya leído estos tipos de historias, sino porque normalmente cuando leo, son desde la perspectiva de un hombre. El libro contiene todo: escenas de la alegria de encontrar una alma gemela, la profunda tristeza de um suicidio, traicion, homexualidad, cancer, y viajes al Paris, Oaxaca, y CDMX. Quiero leer más de Sue Zurita.

Historia de una Ballena Blanca de Luis Sepúlveda

Acabo de terminar de leer el libro Historia de una Ballena Blanca, una novelita del escritor chileno Luis Sepúlveda. Es un tipo de "precuela" a Moby Dick de Herman Melville. La novela propone una razón para la rabia de la ballena blanca contra los humanos. Es una historia mística en la cual una joven ballena cachalote es testigo de la llegada de los balleneros de otras partes del mundo. Pero no todo es sobre esta confrontación. Nacida cerca de la costa de Chile, la ballena habla mucho de la vida cotidiana del mar, el comportamiento de la vida acuática, y algunas interacciones bonitas que tiene con seres humanos.

Despues de ver a otra ballena atrapada y sufriendo con un arpón, una ballena más vieja que ella le cuenta algunos hechos sobre los hombres que vienen de tierras extranjeras. La joven había visto algunas embarcaciones y sevquedaba cerca de ellas por curiosidad. Nunca fue atacada. Pero los hombres que vienen ahora eran peligrosos porque ellos buscan la grasa y el aceite que tienen los cuerpos de las ballenas. La vieja pide que la joven quede vigilando las cuatro ballenas viejas que viven entre la costa y una isla grande.

Las cuatro ballenas viejas son importantes porque ellas traen a los difuntos del tribu local desde las orillas del mar hasta la isla para salir al otro mundo. Cuando una persona muere, los sobrevivientes colocan el cuerpo en las orillas, acostado en la arena, y ponen cinco piedras en cada mano. En la realidad, las cuatro ballenas viejas son ancianas, seres humanos que transforman en ballenas cuando entran al agua. La ballena joven tiene la tarea de vigilar esta processo mortuorio para asegurar que ninguna de ellas sea atacada por los balleneros.

La ballena blanca muestra valentía contra los balleneros al proteger las ancianas. No quiero dar spoilers entonces solo voy a decir que la lucha contra los seres humanos está más que justificada por causa de la determinación de los balleneros en cazar a estas criaturas majestuosas.

Yo recomiendo Historia de una Ballena Blanca para cualquier persona a la que le gusten historias del mar y la naturaleza.

Thoughts on The Portable Beat Reader

A good friend of mine asked if I had ever read any of the Beats. The term "beatnik" has come up at various points in my life journey, but I never understood what it meant. Beat writers were never prescribed reading in the schools I attended. UMass must have had courses dedicated to, or at least included, Beat writers, but I never took any of them. Having recently become more interested in 20th century literature, valuing my buddy's tastes in cultural things, and not having any burning desire to read anything in English in particular, I searched online for Beat writers. At first I was inclined to just read one book to get a sense of the movement; instead, I decided that an anthology would be most appropriate. I asked for The Portable Beat Reader by Ann Charters for Christmas.

I had finished 2024 reading H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man and selected short stories by H.P. Lovecraft so I was already in the mindset to read works from the turn of the 20th century. The Portable Beat Reader summarizes the movement, identifies the primary and secondary participants, and provides excerpts of prose, and poetry, and criticism of the movement by the members themselves and by outsiders. It is an excellent introduction for someone like me who has not ready anything by Beat writers.

To me, the Beat generation is group of mostly precocious, energetic, young men who felt marginalized and dissatisfied with the post-industrial, post-WWII American society with all of its conservatism, consumerism, and classical literary formalism. Their ideals were broad enough to connect them to other types of counter-cultural movements like hippies, such as free expression, fairness, justice, and pacifism, but they had unique characteristics such as stream-of-consciousness prose, unorthodox (and sometimes shocking) unmetered poetry, an interest in eastern mysticism, and lawlessness. Also, the group wasn't merely bohemian, as John McClellon Holmes points out in his The Game of the Name essay:

Of course, Bohemians have always, drearily, derived most of their behavior patterns from attentively watching the bourgeoisie and doing the opposite, but the Beatniks, unlike most Bohemians, could admit that their need to shock the Squares was only the obverse side of the Squares' need to be shocked...

Based on what I have learned about the Beats, being Beat was more about action as opposed to boredom with the civilized world. It was about a passion for living rather than pure hedonism, though there was plenty of that to go around. Beats were more spiritual. There was more of an emphasis on Zen Buddhism, an openness to drug-assisted insights, a fervor for self-expression through literature, and the seeking of adventure. Imagine a group of Ivy League dropouts who huddle together in New York City, steal a car to race across the country to San Francisco to read poetry at open mic nights, then hitchhike all the way back, meeting all kinds of colorful characters along the way. And don't forget run-ins with the Law.

What I liked most about the Beat generation and their writing was the energy they had. It reminded me of my partying days in New York City where everything was so new and I thought I would live forever. The contagiousness of the energy of New York was something that I had never felt before because I grew up in a small town and went to college in remote cities. Reading the Beats brought me right back to Manhattan among the grid of buildings, busy sidewalks, underground bars, and beer flowing all around. It must have been so exciting to be part of this counter-cultural movement among friends, doing what they loved, loving each other, traveling.

I never read The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley, nor have I read many books about drugs so it was interesting to read excerpts from William S. Borroughs who spent many years addicted to heroin, searching for drugs in South America, and living cheaply in Tangier, Morocco. It is a lifestyle completely alien to me. The writings of and about Neal Cassady were my favorites. He is such an unusual character, a ball of energy, an inspiration that you would love to have in your group.

The search for belonging, for self-expression, for capturing the essence of experiences in the written and spoken word are all admirable because of the amount of censorship at that time. Society was not kind to non-conformists, be they literary, cultural, economic, or political. And unlike today when you can find any group with similar interests online, back then you had to physically seek out companions with the same mindset. That takes effort!

The sexism, alcoholism, and general lawlessness is not something I am sympathetic to, though I understand the time period was different. I also do not understand the poetry. I appreciate that Allan Ginsburg's "Howl" was revolutionary, but I just simply do not like it. To me his and most other poetry of the group seem like ramblings of inside jokes and time-bound cultural references. Add to that the lack of meter and rhyme and it's hard for me to enjoy. Perhaps if I was enrolled in a class where we dissected the works I would learn to appreciate it more.

The poetry did not draw me in as much as the prose and analysis. Jack Kerouac is my first choice for further reading as he was the standard bearer for the movement and because I enjoy his writing. He writes as he prescribes - frenetically, in a stream-of-consciousness, filling his writing with images that paint the picture of his escapades with his friends. The stories are action-packed. Charles Bukowski is another who I had heard of prior to reading The Portable Beat Reader and would like to read more of Notes of a Dirty Old Man. Others I would like to read more of: William S. Borroughs, Herbert Huncke, John McClellan Holmes, William Borroughs Jr., Carolyn Cassady, Norman Mailer, Neal Cassady, Jan Kerouac, Brion Gysin, Brenda Frazer, Diane DiPrima, and Alan Watts.

Motivação de Medo em Inspeção

            Inspeção é uma novela de um casal de meio-idade que lançam um grande experimento com seres humanos. Eles querem criar 26 meninos e 26 meninas isoladas de um grupo a outro e do todo mundo real. A pareja P.A.I. e M.Ã.E querem que seus respectivos “meninos do alfabeto” sejam criados sem as distrações do sexo oposto e do mundo, com todas as más influências. De acordo com os líderes, a falta de consciência do mundo real, especificamente do sexto oposto, deixaria os meninos enfocar-se em estudos ao fim de ser as pessoas mais inteligentes de todos os tempos.

Nós, os leitores, não descobrimos as motivações ou os recursos dos líderes para criar o micro-sociedade nas Duas Torres localizadas no meio da floresta de Wisconsin, EU, até mais tarde na história de Inspeção. O que percebemos é que os líderes primários, Richard (P.A.I.) e Marilyn (M.Ã.E), criam essa sociedade, também conhecida como “a Parentalidade,” por causa do medo. Os “P.A.I.s” acharam uma psicóloga para ajudar-lhes com a direcção dessa sociedade. Essa psicóloga, Dra Bárbara Burt, em vez de destacar a loucura deste empreendimento, ajuda com administração, análise psicológica, e talvez está envolvida no financiamento do projeto.

Apesar dos grandes problemas morais com a proposta, aprendemos que Richard e Marilyn começam o experimento no basis de medo. Ambos se preocupam que as próprias vidas deles não seguiram as trajetórias expectativas, e as vidas teriam mais sentido criando um grupo de super-gênios. Não aprendemos muito das vidas do P.A.I. e M.Ã.E.. Os poucos capítulos deles explicam que eles são meio-idade, solteiros, e que eles se sentem estranhos dos amigos.

O livro explica mais da vida da M.Ã.E. do que do P.A.I. O círculo das amigas mais queridas de Marilyn se compôs de mulheres que viraram-se mais esposas que indivíduos, enquanto a vida solteira da Marilyn não mudava tanto assim. “Ela morava sozinha e acreditava gostar disso” (p. 248). Mas é óbvio lendo os pensamentos dela que tudo não está bem. Ela tem muita dificuldade em se identificar com as amigas depois delas serem casadas. As amigas parecem que elas perdem as identidades individuais.

Enquanto as vidas das antigas amigas da Marilyn mudavam, por causa da idade, serem casadas, ou outros fatores, a vida da Marilyn continuava a mesma. Em vez de se sentir feliz pelas amigas em seus próprios papéis, carreiras, interesses, Marilyn odeia como elas esquecem e param de fazer coisas de solteira. Casar-se, relocar-se, parar de sair da noite parece a Marilyn como coisas más. Marilyn não consegue parabenizar as amigas por evoluir porque ela se enfoque pessimistamente, convencida que as mulheres perderam as próprias identidades. Isso “era bastante para enlouquecer Marilyn” (p. 249).

A verdade é que Marilyn sente este jeito por causa do medo. Embora ela não admita, é óbvio lendo os pensamentos dela que Marilyn vê pessoas mudando e ficando felizes ao mesmo tempo enquanto ela fica a mesma como sempre. Ironicamente, sem ela perceber, Marilyn quer um marido. Ao fim do capítulo sobre a festa que ela organiza para as amigas dela, o evento termina em um desastre quando os maridos chegam inesperadamente, ela é atraída pelo único homem solteiro no grupo: Richard.

Aprendemos mais tarde no livro que esta pareja se junta para criar uma escola utópica depois dos 15 anos de casamento. Como nós não aprendemos muito das vidas do Richard e Marilyn, também não sabemos como eles financiam o grande experimento. Um sinal chega ao fim da novela em um capítulo curto que contém uma carta escrita por Dra Bárbara Burt a um desconhecido Michael Stowe. Dra Burt é uma psicóloga que conversa regularmente com Richard e Marilyn e até está presente para o interrogatório do aluno J. O interrogatório tem lugar como uma sessão de Barcos, um tipo de detetor de mentiras escondido como um jogo de tabuleiro. Quando o menino se chama “J” pergunta a Richard por que ele fez tudo experimento com os meninos do alfabeto, Richard admite, “Eu achava que minha vida tinha sido um fracasso. Exatamente por causa disso”(p. 374).

Na carta, Burt dá conselhos a Michael Stowe enquanto ela fala de “experimentos avançados” (p. 408) e como evitar um “fracasso de uma enorme iniciativa” (p. 409). Parece que Dra Burt pode ser o cérebro por trás de múltiplos experimentos. Talvez ela financie eles. Na carta ao Michael Stowe, ela implicitamente se refere a Richard e Marilyn como sujeitos de um experimento. O resultado do experimento das Duas Torres realmente foi um fracasso porque era defeituoso desde que começou. Seres humanos super-gênios podem ser criado, mas parte de que contribui a um ser humano completo é exposicao ao mundo real e o sexo oposto.

As Duas Torres cheias de meninos numa e meninas noutra, criado em segredo, sob inspeções invasivas diárias, foi conceitualizado por Dra Burt, Marilyn, e Richard com a meta de criar um grupo de super-gênios. Esses meninos crescem assim por causa da falta das “distrações” do mundo real e o sexto oposto. Richard e Marilyn criam esta sociedade de medo porque eles não estão contentes com suas próprias vidas.

Citações

Malerman, Josh. Inspeção. Intrínseca, 2019. ISBN 978-85-510-0526-2

Finally Finished Harry Potter Series

*Spoiler Alert*

This week I finished reading Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows. It is the seventh and final volume of the internationally renowned fantasy series about a good young wizard named Harry and his lifelong battle against the evil Voldemort.

When author J.K. Rowling debuted the first novel, the Sorcerer's Stone, in 1997, I arrogantly dismissed it as being a book for children. During my sophomore year of college in 2002 I dated someone who was still into the series. She was so into it! Again, I thought it was a book for kids and adults who read it were a little off (how off I was!).

But over the years I had heard constant references to the books, including such strange terms like "quiddich, Gryffindor, Voldemort, Dumbledore, Hogwarts," but I dismissed them the way someone who isn't into Star Wars would roll their eyes at terms like "Chewbacca, The Force, R2-D2, and Luke Skywalker." I also realized that it wasn't just children that enjoyed the books and movies but adults too. I took a trip to Salem for Halloween 2015 and went into an Ollivander Wand Store. I was impressed that the series had such an impact that someone could have a successful Harry Potter store in Massachusetts.

Starting in 2016 I started reading more fantasy novels by Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafon. These were not wild science fiction stories where the characters are part of a different universe abiding by a different set of physical laws and where the nature of the characters strays so far from human nature, but stories that actually take place on Earth. In general I prefer stories that have a clear connection to the world as we know it. In the past I have mostly been into classic fiction. If a fantasy or science fiction book has obvious moral lessons with believable characters I am more likely to read it. Examples of reality-bending novels I have enjoyed in the past include The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut, Amnesia Moon by Jonathan Lethem, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and miscellaneous utopian and dystopian tales.

Zafon's books were all in Spanish. I started learning Spanish seriously in 2016 when my Argentinian sister-in-law came to live in the US. Her family and some friends came to the wedding. It was such a pleasure meeting them. I wish I had been able to converse with them in their language because they spoke very little English. In the summer of 2016 I decided to learn starting with Duolingo and kids books.

My sister-in-law loaned me her copy of Marina by Zafon and I devoured it because it was so good. Maybe I could get into these types of fantasy books like Harry Potter. After this book, a few simple kids books, and practice with the language learning apps, I tried reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Spanish. It was way too hard! I was so discouraged! This was a "kids book" that I couldn't even read! So I kept practicing, making it a goal of mine to be able to read Harry Potter without having to look up words from every sentence.

Eventually by 2017 was able to start reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Spanish on Kindle. It took a while for me to get into the story because, in addition to my version being in a foreign language, it starts out immediately with fantastical characters and events. My problem with reading fantasy novels had always been that they were so disconnected from reality that I couldn't wrap my head around the "rules" of the world the author created. In my opinion, it demanded too much of the reader, and was too far from the world we know to be relevant. As I read more and more of the book, I saw how relatable the main characters were. The students' challenges of attending a school a world where grownups were in charge, but didn't always know what they were doing, was very compelling to me.

There were times during the Sorcerer's Stone that I debated whether I should continue. I had to look up so many words in the dictionary, often discovering that the word was made up by the author! While words like "varita" (wand) and "duende" (goblin) are commonly known words in magic in any language, other terms like "Gringotts" (the magic bank run by goblins) and "mortifagos" (death eaters - followers of Voldemort) were new terms that were not in the dictionary. I was hesitant to look them up on wikis because I didn't want any spoilers. So I had to get just enough information from dictionaries and web searches to know what the the term meant.

If the reader feels overwhelmed by the magical world they are introduced to by Rowling in the first chapter, imagine how Harry must have felt! To him, the magic was real, and since he had grown up with "muggles" (non-magical humans), he needed to be educated along with the rest of us. Getting through the first novel was a struggle because of the new terms, new world, new characters, and (to me) a new genre. By the end of the novel I had a crash course in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, poltergeists, muggles, strange magical plants, fantasy creatures, wands, brooms, potions, etc., etc. I used this as a reference for book #2 and beyond. Rowling opens up this magical world more and more as the series progresses so you have to keep up, but by taking it slow, rereading parts, looking a few things up, you start to understand the incredible depth and connections she is able to make between the characters.

There were books in English on my reading list and other books in Spanish that I wanted to read in addition to Harry Potter. I would never read two Harry Potters back-to-back. I would always read at least one book in English between, and often a different Spanish book too. For example, instead of going right to Harry Potter 2 after 1 I might have read a Hemingway novel then a book in Spanish by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. My sister-in-law got me A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab because she knew I liked Harry Potter and Zafon novels. This was in English so I read this book and the next two in the trilogy between other Spanish books. Spacing out my reading of the Harry Potter series was the reason why it took me three years to read them all. Not to mention that the Order of the Phoenix was so long (800 pages!).

Immediately after reading the Deathly Hallows I sat back in my chair, took a deep breath, let out a sigh with a smile on my face as if just finishing the last morsel of a satisfying meal. I knew what I wanted to do next: go to the wikis and review what the heck happened in the first 5 books! The Half-Blood Prince was the 6th book so I had read it recently. Plus, Half-Blood was my favorite of all of the books so I remembered a lot of what happened. I had been wanting to review the previous books since I finished the second one. What prevented me was fear of reading something in the summaries that would spoil something for me down the road. For example, I didn't want to know which characters would appear in the later books, which couples would be romantically involved. I didn't even want to know what the characters looked like from the films because I preferred the versions I had in my imagination. Of course, because images of Snape, Harry, Hermione, and Voldemort were everywhere in popular culture, I could not help but picture those characters as the actors who played them. But I wanted to minimize that association for the rest.

So after I finished Deathly Hallows I spent a day reading and writing down the synopses and highlights from each story. Things I had forgotten which I wanted to reviewe were:

• What exactly was the Sorcerer's Stone?
• How was Tom Riddle's diary discovered?
• Why did Dobby start out against Harry?
• Why did Sirius take the form of a dog?
• What happened to Cedric Diggory?
• How did Sirius die?
• Who were all the Defence Against the Dark Arts professors?
• What exactly were all the Horcruxes (Horrocruxes in Spanish) and how were they destroyed?
• What exactly were all the Deathly Hallows (I knew them as Relics of Death in Spanish) and how were they created and passed down?

This review was so important for me to appreciate the series in full because the events of each of Harry's school years were clearer in my mind. I had forgotten how important Neville's character was from the very beginning of the series. I never understood how Voldemort came back from the dead. Now it makes so much more sense.

I was so thrilled with the series I wrote J.K. Rowling a handwritten letter thanking her for the amazing world she created, for getting kids to read more, and for making the books so much richer than I had expected. I also told her that I thought the books were much darker than expected. I asked her if that was because I was reading them as an adult and I see so many similarities between the out of control adults in the book and the same breed in the real world. Her page says she does not personally sign books, which is too bad because I would love to have a signed copy of the Half-Blood Prince, which was my favorite.

Half-Blood Prince was my favorite because Harry finally was getting so wise. He felt confident enough in himself to speak up to the adults who were behaving badly. He was doing well academically. The journeys he would take with Dumbledore to learn about the history of Tom Riddle were amazing! I also loved seeing Harry and Ginny getting together and Ron and Hermione becoming a thing. The scene where Harry and Dumbledore get the Slytherin Locket in the cave will be with me forever. What an incredible story! By developing Riddle's character, Rowling made Voldemort much more relatable and much more scary. When you can see how a villain becomes evil, it makes the character more real.

At some point I would like to check out the Cursed Child and the spinoff books that Rowling has created like Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Update on 7/11/20. I wrote this blog entry last week. Today was my first trip to Barnes and Noble bookstore since retail stores closed down because of Covid. I bought Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter y el Legado Maldito) in Spanish. And I also got the next novel in the Zafon series - El Prisionero Del Cielo. I saw the Beedle the Bard book which is a children's fairy tale book with five or six stories. I might get that later. There is also a book called The Crimes of Grindelwald, which I might get too.

My First Wikipedia Article - From "Virus" Starring Brian Bosworth to "Spill" by Les Standiford

For over a year some buddies and I have been getting together regularly to watch movies or play retro video games. This all started when we got together in the Fall of 2018 to get wings and beer at Wendell's then play old Sega and NES games afterward. We had such a great time that when one of us had an idea for a game to play or movie to watch, we would send a group email to discuss and coordinate schedules. A shared google document was even created to list the movies we all wanted to watch together. The list includes a variety of films ranging from horrible ones like The Room to Oscar nominated upsets like Face Off. Most of them are action movies with stars like Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme headlining.

The last movie we watched as a group was Virus starring former NFL linebacker Brian Bosworth. This 1996 action thriller was picked up by one member of our group for $1 at a church tag sale. What caught his eye was the awful photoshop job on the cover of a person in a spacesuit floating in water. He knew of Brian Bosworth, but forgot he was a Hollywood actor. And we love to make fun of awful action movies so why not add this to the list?

It sat in a pile of other renowned films such as Cobra and a Steven Seagal collection just waiting to be watched. What made us pick Virus over others had to do with current events. One of our meetups occurred in February during the time that the coronavirus was spreading like wildfire in the US. We all joked that Brian Bosworth was the only one who could stop it. We had to see how he would defeat this invisible foe!

Like the other B-rate films in our list, our expectations for Virus were quite low. Our group can enjoy any movie though. The good films we appreciate for their artistry, acting, and storytelling. We also have a ton of fun bashing the crappy movies, wondering how many people had to say "yes" to get such a horrible movie made! Not to say that Virus was not famous or had no artistry to be appreciated. No doubt, the rocket launcher scenes with the villain Skanz, the gay relationship the President had with his chief of staff, and the incessant cries of "We gotta get out of here" from Bosworth's character - these were all masterful touches approved by director Allan A. Goldstein.

The plot of the movie had us scratching our heads. Even with poorly made movies, you don't want to be left more confused about the world than you were before. You want answers! Especially when it involves something as serious as a deadly virus. We found ourselves asking the following questions:

• Why does the President have a gay lover?
• How can Ripley fall down so much?
• Is Brian Bosworth overly concerned about losing his shoes?
• The cover says there is no antidote. So how do they get rid of the virus?
• Can you set fire to water underground?

We read the synopsis on the back cover of the DVD to see if we could get more clarity after we had watched the film. The description was not helpful. Then we saw that the movie was based on a book called "Spill" by Les Standiford. We joked how funny it would be to buy the book, read it, and see if there was a story that made more sense.

And you know what, ladies and gentlemen? That's exactly what I did.

Immediately after finding out that the movie was based on a book, I ordered a used copy from Amazon. I read the book not once but TWICE! There were so many differences between the book and the movie that I wish the movie directors had stayed closer to the original story. The book had an actual love scene, did not involve a gay president, and Bosworth's character had a completely different occupation! There was a lot more background about why the virus was being transported and who was responsible for it. I actually enjoyed the novel so much that I decided to create a Wikipedia page for it. I kept this secret from the guys I watched the movie with because I wanted it to be a surprise.

I had heard that anyone can edit a Wikipedia page. But I didn't just want to edit one; I wanted to create one from scratch. The author of "Spill" is Les Standiford. He has a Wikipedia page already so I hoped that I could link to that. Creating a Wikipedia page is free and does not require the author to be an authority on the issue, but it does involve more time and attention than I had anticipated. Here are all of the things I had to overcome in order to get the page up:

• Become an expert on the novel, understanding the plot, places, characters, and all the information about the published product. This was the most fun part, and the part I thought would be the most difficult. It turns out, having references on your article are the most important. It has to be considered publish-worthy. Are there enough references out there to justify the page's existence in the body of knowledge that is Wikipedia.

• Learn Wikipedia page formatting. When you create a page you need to use certain markups to create headings, lists, or text boxes. The page does not appear as a template. You have to create that box that shows the book image on the right side. You have to tell the page how to show a list. Rather than try to learn all the rules from scratch, I went to an existing page of a novel similar to Spill, then copied that format. I think I used The Hot Zone and Jurrasic Park. I copied and pasted large swaths of the format and edited the information for Spill.

 

• Post an image of the book. I wanted to have the book cover in the box on the left. As you can see from the above image, the article still does not have this image. Why? Because in order to post an image it has to not infringe on any copyright. There are lists of rules about how to satisfy these requirements. I was able to get the following image up until some editor took it down because I did not do the right things. Perhaps in the future I will try to get the image posted again.

Copyright Peter Thorpe

• Have sufficient references. Let's face it - "Spill" was not exactly a best seller. There are so few references to it online that I had to search through every database I had access to from my public library to get even simple press releases about its publication. This was Standiford's first novel so he was not well known when he wrote this. His later works have gotten more attention. Still, I was able to find some blurbs about it. Plus, the book was adapted into a movie! The references I attached were not enough to get it published. It was at this time I told the group about the page I was creating. They thought it was hilarious I was making a Wikipedia page for it. I told them because I wanted to enlist their help in getting it published. Much to my surprise, while I was telling them about the page, a fairy godmother of an editor attached the necessary references and got my article published! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spill_(book) I sent him or her a thank you and asked them what they did to satisfy the reference requirements. They said that I just needed a couple more references and to put them in the right format. The person even linked the page to and from Standiford's Wikipedia page.

Who would have thought that a B-rate action movie purchased at a church tag sale, starring a former NFL linebacker, would result in a Wikipedia page about the book which inspired the movie to begin with?

This meetup has continued through the coronavirus lockdown. Instead of watching movies, though, we use the time to share what news we have been reading, games we have played, or any other thing that's on our minds. We can't wait to get back together when things get back to normal.