rc-3: A new book in my top 5

In case you forgot... Sugar & Gravy's Reading Challenge #3 a.k.a. rc-3 is to read 20 books in the year 2011. I am now 7.5 months into the year and as of 15 minutes ago have read 12 books. With 8 books to go and 4 months to read them, I'd say I'm doing just fine!

Book #12 was The Help by Kathryn Stockett. At least on my mini-feed, this book has been receiving a lot of attention. 4/6 of my family members have read it, a few friends have, too, or are in the process of reading it right now... it's a popular book! On top of that, the movie's coming out super soon... or did it come out yesterday? I can't remember. Anyway, it's coming out soon.

It seems a hot topic is how the movie is going to be. Is it going to do the book justice? Will it turn the novel into another "white lady saves the po' black women" movie? Will the masses, with their infinite lack of wisdom, take the wrong message from the movie when the book's message was so powerful?

I have no idea.

Here's what I do know: the novel was beyond fantastic!!! It was one of the best works of fiction I've ever read. I look back (see below) at the list of books I've read so far this year, and The Help beats them all by far (and they were all great)! I think it's right up there in my top 5 along with She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. It's not just because there's an important message. It's not just because the writing is so nuanced. It's because it's a fantastic story! It's because the characters are so wonderful, and wonderfully flawed, and real, and endearing. I just... loved it!!!

So, rc-3 -- it's going well! On to the next one!

1. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
2. The Girls by Lori Lansens
3. Live from New York by Tom Shales & James Andrew Miller
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
5. The Divinity Gene by Matthew J. Trafford
6. 38 Witnesses: The Kitty Genovese Case by A.M. Rosenthal
7. I Met the Walrus by Jerry Levitan
8. Saturday by Ian McEwan
9. Bossypants by Tina Fey
10. Animal Farm by George Orwell
11. No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod
12. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Anyway, I should get back to watching "Jersey Shore". Finishing The Help and then watching "the Shore" seems so wrong... oh well! Pump your fists!!!

EM-TEE-VEE

“MTV doesn’t even play music videos anymore!”

Have you ever said this or heard someone say this? If so, you or they are right! Rarely does MTV play music videos, and these days if it does, it’s not usually the whole video. When it was originally launched in 1981, MTV (Music Television) was intended to be a channel dedicated to music and music videos. In 2010, MTV no longer includes “Music Television” in their logo. They are not a music television channel. Perhaps it would be more fitting to call them an entertainment channel; they play reality shows, a little bit of music news, live talk shows, and sometimes documentaries. They don’t pretend they’re all about music, and they’ve shown that by rebranding themselves (and excluding the Music Television from their logo).

How do I feel about this? Well I love music, and when I was younger I watched the MuchMusic countdown the whole way through most Friday nights. However, I don’t really care about music videos anymore. I listen to music almost exclusively on my iPod, and I’m usually doing a bunch of other stuff while listening. I don’t sit down on the couch to “watch” music.

It’s not about me though. Even if I was a die-hard music video fan, I’d understand why MTV wasn’t catering to me. Most people don’t care about music videos anymore! If they do, they’re going to watch them on YouTube, and not wait for them to come up on a music channel’s rotation. Most people DO care about seeing celebrities on television, and say what you will about that fact, it’s a fact. Why would MTV cater to a small audience when they could meet the needs of the masses? It’s just the way it is.

If people care about celebrities (and by people, I mean people ages 14-28, which has always been the MTV audience), then MTV should work to be the network showing the best celebrity content, or even better – creating celebrities themselves. Did I know who Snooki or The Situation were before Jersey Shore? No. But I certainly know who they are now! If you don’t care about Jersey Shore, then I understand, but you are unfortunately of the minority.

As always, take what I say with a grain of salt. I just think that what MTV puts out meets and exceeds the desires of their majority audience. Music videos or not, they’re a force to be reckoned with.